Implementation of an occupancy-based monitoring protocol for a widespread and cryptic species, the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis)

Context. Designing effective long-term monitoring strategies is essential for managing wildlife populations. Implementing a cost-effective, practical monitoring program is especially challenging for widespread but locally rare species. Early successional habitat preferred by the New England cottontail (NEC) has become increasingly rare and fragmented, resulting in substantial declines from their peak distribution in the mid-1900s. The introduction of a possible competitor species, the eastern cottontail (EC),may also have played a role. Uncertainty surrounding how these factors have contributed to NEC declines has complicated management and necessitated development of an appropriate monitoring framework to understand possible drivers of distribution and dynamics. Aims. Because estimating species abundance is costly, we designed presence–absence surveys to estimate species distributions, test assumptions about competitive interactions, and improve understanding of demographic processes for eastern cottontails (EC) and New England cottontails (NEC). The survey protocol aimed to balance long-term management objectives with practical considerations associated with monitoring a widespread but uncommon species. Modelling data arising from these observations allow for estimation of covariate relationships between species status and environmental conditions including habitat and competition. The framework also allows inference about species status at unsurveyed locations. Methods. Wedesigned a monitoring protocol to collect data across six north-easternUSAstates and, using data collected from the first year of monitoring, fit a suite of single-season occupancy models to assess how abiotic and biotic factors influence NEC occurrence, correcting for imperfect detectability. Key results. Models did not provide substantial support for competitive interactions between EC and NEC. NEC occurrence patterns appear to be influenced by several remotely sensed habitat covariates (land-cover classes), a habitatsuitability index, and, to a lesser degree, plot-level habitat covariates (understorey density and canopy cover). Conclusions. We recommend continuing presence–absence monitoring and the development of dynamic occupancy models to provide further evidence regarding hypotheses of competitive interactions and habitat influences on the underlying dynamics of NEC occupancy. Implications. State and federal agencies responsible for conserving this and other threatened species can engage with researchers in thoughtful discussions, based on management objectives, regarding appropriate monitoring design to ensure that the allocation of monitoring efforts provides useful inference on population drivers to inform management intervention

Implementation of an occupancy-based monitoring protocol for a widespread and cryptic species, the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis)

Context. Designing effective long-term monitoring strategies is essential for managing wildlife populations. Implementing a cost-effective, practical monitoring program is especially challenging for widespread but locally rare species. Early successional habitat preferred by the New England cottontail (NEC) has become increasingly rare and fragmented, resulting in substantial declines from their peak distribution in the mid-1900s. The introduction of a possible competitor species, the eastern cottontail (EC),may also have played a role. Uncertainty surrounding how these factors have contributed to NEC declines has complicated management and necessitated development of an appropriate monitoring framework to understand possible drivers of distribution and dynamics. Aims. Because estimating species abundance is costly, we designed presence–absence surveys to estimate species distributions, test assumptions about competitive interactions, and improve understanding of demographic processes for eastern cottontails (EC) and New England cottontails (NEC). The survey protocol aimed to balance long-term management objectives with practical considerations associated with monitoring a widespread but uncommon species. Modelling data arising from these observations allow for estimation of covariate relationships between species status and environmental conditions including habitat and competition. The framework also allows inference about species status at unsurveyed locations. Methods. Wedesigned a monitoring protocol to collect data across six north-easternUSAstates and, using data collected from the first year of monitoring, fit a suite of single-season occupancy models to assess how abiotic and biotic factors influence NEC occurrence, correcting for imperfect detectability. Key results. Models did not provide substantial support for competitive interactions between EC and NEC. NEC occurrence patterns appear to be influenced by several remotely sensed habitat covariates (land-cover classes), a habitatsuitability index, and, to a lesser degree, plot-level habitat covariates (understorey density and canopy cover). Conclusions. We recommend continuing presence–absence monitoring and the development of dynamic occupancy models to provide further evidence regarding hypotheses of competitive interactions and habitat influences on the underlying dynamics of NEC occupancy. Implications. State and federal agencies responsible for conserving this and other threatened species can engage with researchers in thoughtful discussions, based on management objectives, regarding appropriate monitoring design to ensure that the allocation of monitoring efforts provides useful inference on population drivers to inform management intervention

Implementation of an occupancy-based monitoring protocol for a widespread and cryptic species, the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis)

Context. Designing effective long-term monitoring strategies is essential for managing wildlife populations. Implementing a cost-effective, practical monitoring program is especially challenging for widespread but locally rare species. Early successional habitat preferred by the New England cottontail (NEC) has become increasingly rare and fragmented, resulting in substantial declines from their peak distribution in the mid-1900s. The introduction of a possible competitor species, the eastern cottontail (EC),may also have played a role. Uncertainty surrounding how these factors have contributed to NEC declines has complicated management and necessitated development of an appropriate monitoring framework to understand possible drivers of distribution and dynamics. Aims. Because estimating species abundance is costly, we designed presence–absence surveys to estimate species distributions, test assumptions about competitive interactions, and improve understanding of demographic processes for eastern cottontails (EC) and New England cottontails (NEC). The survey protocol aimed to balance long-term management objectives with practical considerations associated with monitoring a widespread but uncommon species. Modelling data arising from these observations allow for estimation of covariate relationships between species status and environmental conditions including habitat and competition. The framework also allows inference about species status at unsurveyed locations. Methods. Wedesigned a monitoring protocol to collect data across six north-easternUSAstates and, using data collected from the first year of monitoring, fit a suite of single-season occupancy models to assess how abiotic and biotic factors influence NEC occurrence, correcting for imperfect detectability. Key results. Models did not provide substantial support for competitive interactions between EC and NEC. NEC occurrence patterns appear to be influenced by several remotely sensed habitat covariates (land-cover classes), a habitatsuitability index, and, to a lesser degree, plot-level habitat covariates (understorey density and canopy cover). Conclusions. We recommend continuing presence–absence monitoring and the development of dynamic occupancy models to provide further evidence regarding hypotheses of competitive interactions and habitat influences on the underlying dynamics of NEC occupancy. Implications. State and federal agencies responsible for conserving this and other threatened species can engage with researchers in thoughtful discussions, based on management objectives, regarding appropriate monitoring design to ensure that the allocation of monitoring efforts provides useful inference on population drivers to inform management intervention

Review of economic bubbles

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This paper investigates the history of economic bubbles and attempts to identify whether there are direct correlations between different bubbles. To support this research, literature has been consulted on historical and recent bubbles, theories surrounding speculation, the market for venture capital, and bubbles in the technology sector. By analysing a range of bubbles, rather than just those in the technology sector, general bubble-principles are also identified. All the economic bubbles are classified under "uncontrolled risk" and a recommended method that can detect and analyse full impacts by uncontrolled risk will be presented, together with future directions to be discussed

Children\u27s Sleep during COVID-19: How Sleep Influences Surviving and Thriving in Families

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to disrupt the lives of families and may have implications for children with existing sleep problems. As such, we aimed to: (1) characterize sleep changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in children who had previously been identified as having sleep problems, (2) identify factors contributing to sleep changes due to COVID-19 safety measures, and (3) understand parents and children s needs to support sleep during the pandemic. Methods Eighty-five Canadian parents with children aged 4 14 years participated in this explanatory sequential, mixed-methods study using an online survey of children s and parents sleep, with a subset of 16 parents, selected based on changes in their children s sleep, participating in semi-structured interviews. Families had previously participated in the Better Nights, Better Days (BNBD) randomized controlled trial. Results While some parents perceived their child s sleep quality improved during the COVID-19 pandemic (14.1%, n 12), many parents perceived their child s sleep had worsened (40.0%, n 34). Parents attributed children s worsened sleep to increased screen time, anxiety, and decreased exercise. Findings from semi-structured interviews highlighted the effect of disrupted routines on sleep and stress, and that stress reciprocally influenced children s and parents sleep. Conclusions The sleep of many Canadian children was affected by the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the disruption of routines influencing children s sleep. eHealth interventions, such as BNBD with modifications that address the COVID-19 context, could help families address these challenges

Floods, drying, habitat connectivity, and fish occupancy dynamics in restored and unrestored oxbows of West Central Iowa, USA

1. In the agricultural landscape of the Midwestern USA, waterways are highly altered. Oxbows are among the few remaining off‐channel habitats associated with streams, supporting fish assemblages that include the endangered Topeka shiners Notropis topeka in portions of their remaining range. Oxbow restorations seek to increase the number and quality of oxbows for Topeka shiners. For oxbows to provide optimal habitat, periods of isolation from streams and connection with streams during floods are necessary. 2. Water levels and patterns of drying and hydrological connectivity between 12 oxbows and their neighboring streams in West Central Iowa were continuously monitored from May to October 2011, and fish assemblages were assessed for responses to the differing hydrodynamics using dynamic occupancy modelling. 3. The 12 oxbows exhibited varied hydrodynamics and connectivity with streams. Two oxbows never contained fish; these oxbows never flooded and were among the three oxbows that were dry for the longest periods. 4. Occupancy modelling suggested that connection with the stream via floods significantly increased the probability of colonization, and low water level increased the probability of local extinction from oxbows. Thirteen of the 16 fish species encountered had detection probabilities over 60%, and eight had detection probabilities over 90%, including Topeka shiners. 5. None of the five previously restored oxbows flooded; all five contained fish, but only one contained Topeka shiners. Three of the four oxbows containing Topeka shiners flooded and all four dried at least once. 6. These results suggest that planning for future oxbow restorations should consider: (i) sites that flood frequently; and (ii) construction methods promoting alternating periods of isolation from and connection with streams

Energy and the military: Convergence of security, economic, and environmental decision-making

Energy considerations are core to the missions of armed forces worldwide. The interaction between military energy issues and non-military energy issues is not often explicitly treated in the literature or media, although issues around clean energy have increased awareness of this interaction. The military has also long taken a leadership role on research and development (R&D) and procurement of specific energy technologies. More recently, R&D leadership has moved to the energy efficiency of home-country installations, and the development of renewable energy projects for areas as diverse as mini-grids for installations, to alternative fuels for major weapons systems. In this paper we explore the evolving relationship between energy issues and defense planning, and show how these developments have implications for military tactics and strategy as well as for civilian energy policy

Orally Administered P22 Phage Tailspike Protein Reduces Salmonella Colonization in Chickens: Prospects of a Novel Therapy against Bacterial Infections

One of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in man and economically important animals is bacterial infections of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The emergence of difficult-to-treat infections, primarily caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria, demands for alternatives to antibiotic therapy. Currently, one of the emerging therapeutic alternatives is the use of lytic bacteriophages. In an effort to exploit the target specificity and therapeutic potential of bacteriophages, we examined the utility of bacteriophage tailspike proteins (Tsps). Among the best-characterized Tsps is that from the Podoviridae P22 bacteriophage, which recognizes the lipopolysaccharides of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. In this study, we utilized a truncated, functionally equivalent version of the P22 tailspike protein, P22sTsp, as a prototype to demonstrate the therapeutic potential of Tsps in the GI tract of chickens. Bacterial agglutination assays showed that P22sTsp was capable of agglutinating S. Typhimurium at levels similar to antibodies and incubating the Tsp with chicken GI fluids showed no proteolytic activity against the Tsp. Testing P22sTsp against the three major GI proteases showed that P22sTsp was resistant to trypsin and partially to chymotrypsin, but sensitive to pepsin. However, in formulated form for oral administration, P22sTsp was resistant to all three proteases. When administered orally to chickens, P22sTsp significantly reduced Salmonella colonization in the gut and its further penetration into internal organs. In in vitro assays, P22sTsp effectively retarded Salmonella motility, a factor implicated in bacterial colonization and invasion, suggesting that the in vivo decolonization ability of P22sTsp may, at least in part, be due to its ability to interfere with motility… Our findings show promise in terms of opening novel Tsp-based oral therapeutic approaches against bacterial infections in production animals and potentially in humans

Movement, impacts and management of plant distributions in response to climate change: Insights from invasions

Prediction and management of species responses to climate change is an urgent but relatively young research field. Therefore, climate change ecology must by necessity borrow from other fields. Invasion ecology is particularly well-suited to informing climate change ecology because both invasion ecology and climate change ecology address the trajectories of rapidly changing novel systems. Here we outline the broad range of active research questions in climate change ecology where research from invasion ecology can stimulate advances. We present ideas for how concepts, case-studies and methodology from invasion ecology can be adapted to improve prediction and management of species responses to climate change. A major challenge in this era of rapid climate change is to predict changes in species distributions and their impacts on ecosystems, and, if necessary, to recommend management strategies for maintenance of biodiversity or ecosystem services. Biological invasions, studied in most biomes of the world, can provide useful analogs for some of the ecological consequences of species distribution shifts in response to climate change. Invasions illustrate the adaptive and interactive responses that can occur when species are confronted with new environmental conditions. Invasion ecology complements climate change research and provides insights into the following questions: 1) how will species distributions respond to climate change? 2) how will species movement affect recipient ecosystems? And 3) should we, and if so how can we, manage species and ecosystems in the face of climate change? Invasion ecology demonstrates that a trait-based approach can help to predict spread speeds and impacts on ecosystems, and has the potential to predict climate change impacts on species ranges and recipient ecosystems. However, there is a need to analyse traits in the context of life-history and demography, the stage in the colonisation process (e.g. spread, establishment or impact), the distribution of suitable habitats in the landscape, and the novel abiotic and biotic conditions under which those traits are expressed. As is the case with climate change, invasion ecology is embedded within complex societal goals. Both disciplines converge on similar questions of 'when to intervene?' and 'what to do?' which call for a better understanding of the ecological processes and social values associated with changing ecosystems