Effects of Old Nest Material on Occupancy and Reuse of Artificial Burrows, and Breeding Dispersal by Burrowing Owls (\u3cem\u3eAthene Cunicularia\u3c/em\u3e) in Southwestern Idaho

This thesis comprises two chapters describing my investigations of the breeding ecology of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) in southwestern Idaho. The first chapter details two experimental studies where I examined the effects of old nest material, primarily mammal dung, on the occupancy and reuse of artificial burrows by burrowing owls in 2004 and 2005. For burrows that owls had not used previously for nesting, adding material from actual nests did not induce occupancy. Thus, old nest material does not appear to function as a cue for burrow suitability. Removing old material from burrows that owls had used for nesting in the previous year caused a decrease in reuse rates, but it had no effect on the level of ectoparasitism or reproductive performance (e.g., number of young fledged or body condition of owlets). While the presence of old material does not seem to increase the owls‟ fitness, it may help owls locate specific burrows (for which they have public information) when returning from migration. The second chapter consists of an observational study, where I used data collected during a long-term study of burrowing owls (1994-2007) to address questions about breeding dispersal, or the movement between breeding sites. I examined the percent frequency of owls dispersing and the distance they dispersed, and I compared those to published results from other burrowing owl populations. Additionally, I assessed the effects of sex, productivity, age, mate quality, site quality (as measured by four indices), and level of ectoparasitism on breeding dispersal likelihood and distance. The percentage of owls dispersing (78%; 67 of 86) was greater than previously reported for any owl species. The mean distance owls moved (834.6 m ± 98) was slightly greater than reported distances for most other burrowing owl populations. With the exception of mate quality and two site quality metrics (burrow productivity and proportional occupation), all factors had support for an important relationship with dispersal likelihood. Owls were more likely to disperse if they failed to fledge young, were female, were young, nested farther from agriculture, had closer nesting neighbors, and had lower levels of ectoparasitism. Ectoparasitism and distance to nearest neighbor had inverse rather than the expected direct relationships. Age and one index of site quality were the only predictors with strong relationships to dispersal distance; young owls and owls nesting farther from other owls dispersed longer distances. Sex was somewhat important to distance dispersed, with females moving farther. The factors that most influence breeding dispersal behavior in burrowing owls appear to vary among populations

Supporting school improvement: The development of a scale for assessing pupils' emotional and behavioural development

Available online via the Taylor & Francis Group site by subscription

Factors Affecting Bird-Window Collisions in a Small Urban Area: Stillwater, Oklahoma

This dissertation consists of four concurrent studies of bird-building collisions, which primarily occur at glass surfaces (e.g., windows) and are a major source of direct anthropogenic mortality for birds globally. Although research, public, and policy interest concerning bird-window collisions are increasing, this issue has primarily been studied in larger metropolitan areas, particularly in the eastern third of North America. It is unknown if bird-window collisions in smaller urban areas in other regions (e.g., the U.S. Great Plains) are influenced similarly by the same factors. Chapter 1 examined some biases that cause researchers to underestimate the number of fatal bird-window collisions. Because of high carcass persistence and observer detection rates, we estimated that across seasons we detected about 88% of fatal collision victims. Also, we provided formal definitions to distinguish scavenging and removal events to promote consistent terminology use. Chapter 2 investigated the temporal patterns of fatal and non-fatal window collisions. We found that more collisions occurred at night or early morning than late morning or afternoon. In addition, weekly and monthly variation indicated more collisions during migratory periods, especially spring, and greater mortality of non-migrating individuals than expected. Chapter 3 assessed the fine-scale spatial patterns of window collision mortality. The inter-seasonal and inter-species variation that we found across building facades suggested that targeted mitigation efforts may be applied at small spatial scales but need to identify conservation goals for maximum effect. Chapter 4 considered the effects of artificial lighting at night on building collision frequency. We did not find a strong spatial relationship between the lightscape (variation in nocturnal light intensity) and the collision mortality intensity, but there were several factors that may have confounded our results. Overall, our findings both corroborated and disputed results from previous studies, indicating that although the general phenomenon of bird-window collisions is similar across various contexts, the details of urban development, geographic region, and building facade structure may strongly influence local outcomes. These findings should help inform conservation efforts to reduce bird-window mortality and suggest that further research should be conducted in under-studied localities

The Fragility of Professional Competence: A Preliminary Account of Child Protection Practice with Romani and Traveller Children

Romani and Traveller children in England are much more likely to be taken into state care than the majority population, and the numbers are rising. Between 2009 and 2016 the number of Irish Travellers in care has risen by 400% and the number of Romani children has risen 933%. The increases are not consistent with national trends, and when compared to population data, suggest that Romani and Traveller children living in the UK could be 3 times more likely be taken into public care than any other child

Earliest Triassic microbialites in the South China Block and other areas; controls on their growth and distribution

Earliest Triassic microbialites (ETMs) and inorganic carbonate crystal fans formed after the end-Permian mass extinction (ca. 251.4 Ma) within the basal Triassic Hindeodus parvus conodont zone. ETMs are distinguished from rarer, and more regional, subsequent Triassic microbialites. Large differences in ETMs between northern and southern areas of the South China block suggest geographic provinces, and ETMs are most abundant throughout the equatorial Tethys Ocean with further geographic variation. ETMs occur in shallow-marine shelves in a superanoxic stratified ocean and form the only widespread Phanerozoic microbialites with structures similar to those of the Cambro-Ordovician, and briefly after the latest Ordovician, Late Silurian and Late Devonian extinctions. ETMs disappeared long before the mid-Triassic biotic recovery, but it is not clear why, if they are interpreted as disaster taxa. In general, ETM occurrence suggests that microbially mediated calcification occurred where upwelled carbonate-rich anoxic waters mixed with warm aerated surface waters, forming regional dysoxia, so that extreme carbonate supersaturation and dysoxic conditions were both required for their growth. Long-term oceanic and atmospheric changes may have contributed to a trigger for ETM formation. In equatorial western Pangea, the earliest microbialites are late Early Triassic, but it is possible that ETMs could exist in western Pangea, if well-preserved earliest Triassic facies are discovered in future work

Why business angels reject investment opportunities: Is it personal?

A major focus of research on business angels has examined their decision-making processes and investment criteria. As business angels reject most of the opportunities that they receive, this article explores the reasons informing such decisions. In view of angel heterogeneity, investment opportunities might be expected to be rejected for differing reasons. Two sources of data are used to examine this issue. Face-to-face interviews with 30 business angels in Scotland and Northern Ireland provided information on typical ‘deal killers’. This was complemented by an Internet survey of United Kingdom that attracted responses from 238 UK business angels. The findings confirm that the main reason for rejection relates to the entrepreneur/management team. However, angel characteristics do not explain the number of reasons given for opportunity rejection nor do they predict the reasons for rejecting investment opportunities. This could be related to the increasing trend for business angels to join organised groups which, in turn, leads to the development of a shared repertoire of investment approaches. We suggest the concept of ‘communities-of-practice’ as an explanation for this finding

Do big athletes have big hearts? Impact of extreme anthropometry upon cardiac hypertrophy in professional male athletes.

AIM: Differentiating physiological cardiac hypertrophy from pathology is challenging when the athlete presents with extreme anthropometry. While upper normal limits exist for maximal left ventricular (LV) wall thickness (14 mm) and LV internal diameter in diastole (LVIDd, 65 mm), it is unknown if these limits are applicable to athletes with a body surface area (BSA) >2.3 m(2). PURPOSE: To investigate cardiac structure in professional male athletes with a BSA>2.3 m(2), and to assess the validity of established upper normal limits for physiological cardiac hypertrophy. METHODS: 836 asymptomatic athletes without a family history of sudden death underwent ECG and echocardiographic screening. Athletes were grouped according to BSA (Group 1, BSA>2.3 m(2), n=100; Group 2, 2-2.29 m(2), n=244; Group 3, 13 mm, but in combination with an abnormal ECG suspicious of an inherited cardiac disease. CONCLUSION: Regardless of extreme anthropometry, established upper limits for physiological cardiac hypertrophy of 14 mm for maximal wall thickness and 65 mm for LVIDd are clinically appropriate for all athletes. However, the abnormal ECG is key to diagnosis and guides follow-up, particularly when cardiac dimensions are within accepted limits

Revised chronostratigraphy of the Faroe Islands Basalt Group and the British Palaeogene Igneous Province : implications for Selandan-Thanetian palynofloral assemblages and correlation with the Faroe-Shetland Basin

The chronostratigraphy of the Faroe Islands Basalt Group, and thereby the entire North Atlantic Igneous Province, presents a long-standing controversy among government, industry and academic stakeholders with activities in the Faroe-Shetland region. The application of biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, radio-isotopic dating and seismic analysis have all failed to agree on the absolute age span of the volcanic province. The lack of an externally consistent chronostratigraphic framework pose a risk to the hydrocarbon prospectivity in the economically important Faroe-Shetland Basin. This report provides a review of the onshore geology of the Faroe Islands Basalt Group and the British Palaeogene Igneous Province, and the contrasting age models for the emplacement of the North Atlantic Igneous Province are described in detail. New high-precision U/Pb zircon age determinations and palynological analyses of key stratigraphic sections from the Faroe Islands, Inner Hebrides and Northern Ireland are given. Available magnetostratigraphic, biostratigraphic and radio-isotopic age-constraining data from the literature and this study are assessed. It is demonstrated in detail how previous biostratigraphic interpretations, that constrain the collective pre- to syn-breakup eruptive products of the NAIP to the late Thanetian – early Ypresian (T40-T45), are fundamentally flawed. These interpretations have strongly influenced chronostratigraphic correlations between volcanically-saturated onshore basins and volcanically-starved offshore basins, and the portrayal of interaction between sedimentary and volcanic depositional processes in the Faroe-Shetland region. A consistent multidisciplinary age model for the protracted emplacement of the NAIP is presented, including absolute numerical age constraints and assessment of palynofloral assemblages from two key onshore occurrences of the Staffa Flora. The report also highlight the identification of remaining outstanding problems regarding the absolute chronostratigraphy for Palaeocene to early Eocene formations and sequences of the Faroe-Shetland Basin

Excavating the 'Rutland Sea Dragon': The largest ichthyosaur skeleton ever found in the UK (Whitby Mudstone Formation, Toarcian, Lower Jurassic)

An almost complete ichthyosaur skeleton 10 m long was discovered in January 2021 at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve in the county of Rutland, UK. This was excavated by a small team of palaeontologists in the summer of the same year. Nicknamed ‘The Rutland Sea Dragon’, this almost fully articulated skeleton is an example of the large-bodied Early Jurassic ichthyosaur Temnodontosaurus. The specimen was analysed in situ, recorded (including a 3D scan using photogrammetry), excavated and removed from the site in a series of large plaster field jackets to preserve taphonomic information. Significantly, the specimen is the largest ichthyosaur skeleton to have been found in the UK and it may be the first recorded example of Temnodontosaurus trigonodon to be found in the country, extending its known geographic range significantly. It also represents the most complete skeleton of a large prehistoric reptile to have been found in the UK. We provide an account of the discovery and describe the methods used for excavating, recording and lifting the large skeleton which will aid palaeontologists facing similar challenges when collecting extensive remains of large and fragile fossil vertebrates. We also discuss the preliminary research findings and the global impact this discovery has had through public engagement

Orbital pacing and secular evolution of the Early Jurassic carbon cycle

Cyclic variations in Earth’s orbit drive periodic changes in the ocean–atmosphere system at a time scale of tens to hundreds of thousands of years. The Mochras δ13CTOC record illustrates the continued impact of long-eccentricity (405-ky) orbital forcing on the carbon cycle over at least ∼18 My of Early Jurassic time and emphasizes orbital forcing as a driving mechanism behind medium-amplitude δ13C fluctuations superimposed on larger-scale trends that are driven by other variables such as tectonically determined paleogeography and eruption of large igneous provinces. The dataset provides a framework for distinguishing between internal Earth processes and solar-system dynamics as the driving mechanism for Early Jurassic δ13C fluctuations and provides an astronomical time scale for the Sinemurian Stage