A Practical and Cost Effective Approach to Airport Wildlife Management in the Context of Local Landuse: Two Australian Case Studies

The average strike rates at Australian airports are 4.5, 6 and 0.9 per 10,000 movements for different category airports. These rates reflect the diversity and density of Australian avifauna as well as the littoral distribution of most of our major airports. In the past, isolated and piecemeal management approaches such as fixed position scare devices and dispersal by poorly trained and equipped patrols were ineffective at managing strike risk. Here we describe a practical, cost effective and integrated approach that commences with audit, habitat review and field surveys and is followed by risk assessment and mitigation strategies that are reviewed according to quantifiable targets. Risk assessments are based on both historical strike and current survey data. Mitigation strategies include on and off airport habitat management, regional wildlife population assessments, surrounding landuse refinement, airport staff training programs in addition to expanded options for active dispersal. At each airport the process is coordinated by a local wildlife consultative committee which comprises operators, airport tenants, air traffic control, regulators and local land users and authorities. Two case studies using this approach and spanning the period 1997- 2007 are presented. At one airport strikes reduced by 88% over the first two years of the integrated program. At a second airport strikes reduced by 30% and risk indices reduced by 50% in the first two years of the program. However, in the following 5 years, while strike risk and damaging strikes remained steady, total strikes steadily increased

A Practical and Cost Effective Approach to Airport Wildlife Management in the Context of Local Landuse: Two Australian Case Studies

The average strike rates at Australian airports are 4.5, 6 and 0.9 per 10,000 movements for different category airports. These rates reflect the diversity and density of Australian avifauna as well as the littoral distribution of most of our major airports. In the past, isolated and piecemeal management approaches such as fixed position scare devices and dispersal by poorly trained and equipped patrols were ineffective at managing strike risk. Here we describe a practical, cost effective and integrated approach that commences with audit, habitat review and field surveys and is followed by risk assessment and mitigation strategies that are reviewed according to quantifiable targets. Risk assessments are based on both historical strike and current survey data. Mitigation strategies include on and off airport habitat management, regional wildlife population assessments, surrounding landuse refinement, airport staff training programs in addition to expanded options for active dispersal. At each airport the process is coordinated by a local wildlife consultative committee which comprises operators, airport tenants, air traffic control, regulators and local land users and authorities. Two case studies using this approach and spanning the period 1997- 2007 are presented. At one airport strikes reduced by 88% over the first two years of the integrated program. At a second airport strikes reduced by 30% and risk indices reduced by 50% in the first two years of the program. However, in the following 5 years, while strike risk and damaging strikes remained steady, total strikes steadily increased

Jean Toomer and Carl Van Vechten: Identity, Exploitation, and the Harlem Renaissance

Jean Toomer\u27s Cane is considered one of the literary achievements of the Harlem Renaissance, though the many of his philosophical ideas which inspired it are dismissed. Inversely, Carl Van Vechten\u27s influence as an advocate and patron of African American art is foundational though his Nigger Heaven is dismissed. However, there are commonalities in each authors identity positioning and subsequent exploitation of the black Harlem Renaissance ethos. Further, their utilization of Gurdjieffian principles of objectivity and primitivist images of blacks links and explains, in part, how their identities contributed to the ideas expressed in the novels

The role of dietary breadth in national bumblebee (Bombus) declines: Simple correlation?

Bumblebee species declines have been reported in Europe, North America and Asia. Loss of suitable habitat to agricultural intensification is considered to be the main cause of declines in Europe. Differential impacts on species have been recorded but insufficient knowledge of species ecology means that effective conservation management prescriptions cannot be put into place with certainty. Dietary specialisation, specifically on flowers of Fabaceae, has been hypothesised as driving differential declines but the reliability of previous studies has been questioned. Here we present a three-year study of the foraging behaviour of two UK Biodiversity Action Plan bumblebee species. For the first time, analysis of nectar and pollen foraging was performed on sites where nationally rare UK bumblebees were as abundant as more nationally ubiquitous species. Results indicated that the nationally rare Bombus sylvarum collected the majority of its pollen from flowers of Odontites verna and had a significantly narrower mean nectar dietary breadth than ecologically similar species Bombus humilis and Bombus pascuorum (p = 0.004 and 0.008 respectively). In contrast, the dietary breadth of the nationally rare B. humilis was similar to the more nationally ubiquitous species B. pascuorum and Bombus lapidarius. Moreover, B. lapidarius was recorded as having the narrowest pollen dietary breadth, collected pollen from the least number of floral taxa and was the most specialised of the Bombus species on pollen of Fabaceae. Patterns of dietary specialization were inconsistent with national declines and results highlighted a need for further detailed investigation into the factors contributing to differential declines

Quantification and characterization of Ti-, Ce- and Ag5 nanoparticles in global surface waters and precipitation

Nanoparticle (NP) emissions to the environment are increasing as a result of anthropogenic activities, prompting concerns for ecosystems and human health. In order to evaluate the risk of NPs, it is necessary to know their concentrations in various environmental compartments on regional and global scales; however, these data have remained largely elusive due to the analytical difficulties of measuring NPs in complex natural matrices. Here, we measure NP concentrations and sizes for Ti-, Ce-, and Ag-containing NPs in numerous global surface waters and precipitation samples, and we provide insights into their compositions and origins (natural or anthropogenic). The results link NP occurrences and distributions to particle type, origin, and sampling location. Based on measurements from 46 sites across 13 countries, total Ti- and Ce-NP concentrations (regardless of origin) were often found to be within 104 to 107 NP mL–1, whereas Ag NPs exhibited sporadic occurrences with low concentrations generally up to 105 NP mL–1. This generally corresponded to mass concentrations of <1 ng L–1 for Ag-NPs, <100 ng L–1 for Ce-NPs, and <10 μg L–1 for Ti-NPs, given that measured sizes were often below 15 nm for Ce- and Ag-NPs and above 30 nm for Ti-NPs. In view of current toxicological data, the observed NP levels do not yet appear to exceed toxicity thresholds for the environment or human health; however, NPs of likely anthropogenic origins appear to be already substantial in certain areas, such as urban centers. This work lays the foundation for broader experimental NP surveys, which will be critical for reliable NP risk assessments and the regulation of nano-enabled products

Raptor research during the COVID-19 pandemic provides invaluable opportunities for conservation biology

Authors acknowledge financial support from: the Dean Amadon Grant of the Raptor Research Foundation (to PS); the Raptor Research and Conservation Foundation, Mumbai, and the University of Oxford's Global Challenges Research Fund through the Ind-Ox initiative (KCD00141-AT13.01) (both to NK), and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF9881) and the National Geographic Society (NGS-82515R-20) (both to CR).Research is underway around the world to examine how a wide range of animal species have responded to reduced levels of human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this perspective article, we argue that raptors are particularly well-suited for investigating potential ‘anthropause’ effects, and that the resulting insights will provide much-needed impetus for global conservation efforts. Lockdowns likely alter many of the extrinsic factors that normally limit raptor populations. These environmental changes are in turn expected to influence – mediated by behavioral and physiological responses – the intrinsic (demographic) factors that ultimately determine raptor population levels and distributions. Using this framework, we identify a range of research opportunities and conservation challenges that have arisen during the pandemic. The COVID-19 anthropause allows raptor researchers to address fundamental and applied research objectives in a large-scale, quasi-experimental, well-replicated manner. Importantly, it will be possible to separate the effects of human disturbance and anthropogenic landscape modifications. We explain how high-quality datasets, accumulated for a diverse range of raptor species before, during, and after COVID-19 lockdowns, can be leveraged for powerful comparative analyses that attempt to identify drivers of particular response types. To facilitate and coordinate global collaboration, we are hereby launching the ‘Global Anthropause Raptor Research Network’ (GARRN). We invite the international raptor research community to join this inclusive and diverse group, to tackle ambitious analyses across geographic regions, ecosystems, species, and gradients of lockdown perturbation. Under the most tragic of circumstances, the COVID-19 anthropause has afforded an invaluable opportunity to significantly boost global raptor conservation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Cost-Effectiveness of Treating Upper Limb Spasticity Due to Stroke with Botulinum Toxin Type A: Results from the Botulinum Toxin for the Upper Limb after Stroke (BoTULS) Trial

Stroke imposes significant burdens on health services and society, and as such there is a growing need to assess the cost-effectiveness of stroke treatment to ensure maximum benefit is derived from limited resources. This study compared the cost-effectiveness of treating post-stroke upper limb spasticity with botulinum toxin type A plus an upper limb therapy programme against the therapy programme alone. Data on resource use and health outcomes were prospectively collected for 333 patients with post-stroke upper limb spasticity taking part in a randomized trial and combined to estimate the incremental cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained of botulinum toxin type A plus therapy relative to therapy alone. The base case incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of botulinum toxin type A plus therapy was £93,500 per QALY gained. The probability of botulinum toxin type A plus therapy being cost-effective at the England and Wales cost-effectiveness threshold value of £20,000 per QALY was 0.36. The point estimates of the ICER remained above £20,000 per QALY for a range of sensitivity analyses, and the probability of botulinum toxin type A plus therapy being cost-effective at the threshold value did not exceed 0.39, regardless of the assumptions made

Needles in haystacks: using fast-response LA chambers and ICP-TOF-MS to identify asbestos fibres in malignant mesothelioma models

Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer associated with exposure to asbestos. Diagnosis of mesothelioma and other related lung diseases remains elusive due to difficulties surrounding identification and quantification of asbestos fibres in lung tissue. This article presents a laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) method to identify asbestos fibres in cellular models of mesothelioma. Use of a high-speed laser ablation system enabled rapid imaging of the samples with a lateral resolution of 3 μm, whilst use of a prototype time-of-flight ICP-MS provided pseudo-simultaneous detection of the elements between mass 23 (Na) and mass 238 (U). Three forms of asbestos fibre (actinolite, amosite and crocidolite) were distinguished from a non-asbestos control (wollastonite) based on their elemental profile, which demonstrated that LA-ICP-MS could be a viable technique for identification of asbestos fibres in clinical research samples