Modeling Sediment Accumulation in North American Playa Wetlands in Response to Climate Change, 1940–2100

Playa wetlands on the west-central Great Plains of North America are vulnerable to sediment infilling from upland agriculture, putting at risk several important ecosystem services as well as essential habitats and food resources of diverse wetland-dependent biota. Climate predictions for this semi-arid area indicate reduced precipitation which may alter rates of erosion, runoff, and sedimentation of playas. We forecasted erosion rates, sediment depths, and resultant playa wetland depths across the west-central Great Plains and examined the relative roles of land use context and projected changes in precipitation in the sedimentation process. We estimated erosion with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) using historic values and downscaled precipitation predictions from three general circulation models and three emissions scenarios. We calibrated RUSLE results using field sediment measurements. RUSLE is appealing for regional scale modeling because it uses climate forecasts with monthly resolution and other widely available values including soil texture, slope and land use. Sediment accumulation rates will continue near historic levels through 2070 and will be sufficient to cause most playas (if not already filled) to fill with sediment within the next 100 years in the absence of mitigation. Land use surrounding the playa, whether grassland or tilled cropland, is more influential in sediment accumulation than climate-driven precipitation change

Nestling diet, secondary sexual traits and fitness in the zebra finch

We examined the effect of nestling diet quality on a suite of physiological, morphological and life-history traits in adult male zebra finches,Taeniopygia guttata. Compared with birds reared on a supplemented diet, nestlings reared on a seed-only diet showed a reduced rate of growth and reduced cell-mediated immune function as measured by an in vivo response to aT lymphocyte-dependent mitogen. There were no differences between birds reared on the two diets in any of the following adult traits: body size, primary sexual traits (testes mass, numbers of stored sperm, sperm function, velocity and morphology), secondary sexual traits (beak colour and song rate), serological traits or immunological traits. The only differences we detected were a lower body mass and a greater proportion of individuals with plumage abnormalities among those reared on a seed-only diet (this latter effect was transient). The fact that male zebra finches reared on a seed-only diet were, as adults, virtually indistinguishable from those reared on a supple- mented diet, despite having reduced growth and immune function as nestlings, demonstrates that they subsequently compensated through the di¡erential allocation of resources. Our results indicate that differ- ential allocation is costly in terms of fitness since birds reared on a seed-only diet experienced a significantly greater mortality rate than those reared on a supplemented diet. This in turn suggests the existence of a trade-of between the development of traits important for reproduction, such as primary and secondary sexual traits and longevity

Long-Billed Curlew (\u3ci\u3eNumenius americanus\u3c/i\u3e) Rangewide Survey and Monitoring Guidelines

LBCUs are a species of special concern throughout much of their breeding range in North America, with both the U.S. and Canadian Shorebird Plans listing them as “Highly Imperiled” (Brown et al. 2001). LBCUs are also listed in the U.S. as a Bird of Conservation Concern, at the National level, within FWS Regions 1, 2, 4 and 6, and for many Bird Conservation Regions (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2002). This level of concern is due to apparent population declines, particularly in the shortgrass and mixed-grass prairie of the western Great Plains (Brown et al. 2001). Threats include habitat loss and fragmentation due to agricultural conversion (cropland and tame pasture), encroachment of woody vegetation, and urban development. For details on LBCU ecology, management, and conservation, refer to Dugger and Dugger (2002)

Landbird Migration in the American West: Recent Progress and Future Research Directions

Our knowledge of avian behaviors during the non-breeding period still lags behind that of the breeding season, but the last decade has witnessed a proliferation in research that has yielded significant progress in understanding migration patterns of North American birds. And, although the great majority of migration research has historically been conducted in the eastern half of the continent, there has been much recent progress on aspects of avian migration in the West. In particular, expanded use of techniques such as radar, plasma metabolites, mist-netting, count surveys, stable isotopes, genetic data, and animal tracking, coupled with an increase in multi-investigator collaborations, have all contributed to this growth of knowledge. There is increasing recognition that migration is likely the most limiting time of year for migratory birds, and this places increasing importance on continuing to decipher patterns of stopover ecology, identifying critical stopover habitats, and documenting migration routes in the diverse and changing landscapes of the American West. Here, we review and briefly synthesize the latest avian migration findings and advances and consider research needs to guide future research on migration in the West

Geography of Spring Landbird Migration Through Riparian Habitats in Southwestern North America

Migration stopover resources, particularly riparian habitats, are critically important to landbirds migrating across the arid southwestern region of North America. To explore the effects of species biogeography and habitat affinity on spring migration patterns, we synthesized existing bird abundance and capture data collected in riparian habitats of the borderlands region of the U.S. and Mexico. We determined the importance of geographic factors (longitude and latitude) in explaining variation in abundances and capture rates of 32 long-distance and three short-distance migrant species. Abundances and capture rates of 13 and 11 species, respectively, increased with increasing longitude, and four species\u27 abundance and capture rates decreased with increasing longitude. Riparian associates, but not nonriparian species, were more abundant in western sites. Their abundance patterns were only weakly influenced by species biogeography. In contrast, biogeography did influence abundance patterns of nonriparian birds, suggesting that they choose the shortest, most direct route between wintering and breeding areas. We hypothesize that riparian obligate birds may, to some degree, adjust their migration routes to maximize time spent in high-quality riparian zones, but they are able to find suitable habitat opportunistically when crossing more hostile landscapes. In contrast, nonriparian birds adhere more closely to a hierarchical model in which the migratory route is determined by biogeographic constraints. Conservation of riparian habitats is necessary to meet future habitat stopover requirements of many western Neotropical migrant birds. We advocate a coordinated research effort to further elucidate patterns of distribution and habitat use so that conservation activities can be focused effectively

1st international experts' meeting on agitation. Conclusions regarding the current and ideal management paradigm of agitation

Agitation is a heterogeneous concept without a uniformly accepted definition, however, it is generally considered as a state of cognitive and motor hyperactivity characterized by excessive or inappropriate motor or verbal activity with marked emotional arousal. Not only the definition but also other aspects of agitated patients' care are still unsolved and need consensus and improvement. To help the discussion about agitation among experts and improve the identification, management, and treatment of agitation, the 1st International Experts' Meeting on Agitation was held in October 2016 in Madrid. It was attended by 20 experts from Europe and Latin America with broad experience in the clinical management of agitated patients. The present document summarizes the key conclusions of this meeting and highlights the need for an updated protocol of agitation management and treatment, the promotion of education and training among healthcare professionals to improve the care of these patients and the necessity to generate clinical data of agitated episodes

Legumain in acute coronary syndromes: A substudy of the PLATO (Platelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes) trial

Background The cysteine protease legumain is increased in patients with atherosclerosis, but its causal role in atherogenesis and cardiovascular disease is still unclear. The aim of the study was to investigate the association of legumain with clinical outcome in a large cohort of patients with acute coronary syndrome. Methods and Results Serum levels of legumain were analyzed in 4883 patients with acute coronary syndrome from a substudy of the PLATO (Platelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes) trial. Levels were analyzed at admission and after 1 month follow‐up. Associations between legumain and a composite of cardiovascular death, spontaneous myocardial infarction or stroke, and its individual components were assessed by multivariable Cox regression analyses. At baseline, a 50% increase in legumain level was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.13 (95% CI, 1.04–1.21), P=0.0018, for the primary composite end point, adjusted for randomized treatment. The association remained significant after adjustment for important clinical and demographic variables (HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.02–1.19; P=0.013) but not in the fully adjusted model. Legumain levels at 1 month were not associated with the composite end point but were negatively associated with stroke (HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44–0.88; P=0.0069), including in the fully adjusted model (HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.37–0.88; P=0.0114). Conclusions Baseline legumain was associated with the primary outcome in patients with acute coronary syndrome, but not in the fully adjusted model. The association between high levels of legumain at 1 month and decreased occurrence of stroke could be of interest from a mechanistic point of view, illustrating the potential dual role of legumain during atherogenesis and acute coronary syndrome. Registration URL: https://www.clini​caltr​ials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT00391872

Spatiotemporal scaling of North American continental interior wetlands: implications for shorebird conservation

Within interior North America, erratic weather patterns and heterogeneous wetland complexes cause wide spatio-temporal variation in the resources available to migrating shorebirds. Identifying the pattern-generating components of landscape-level resources and the scales at which shorebirds respond to these patterns will better facilitate conservation efforts for these species. We constructed descriptive models that identified weather variables associated with creating the spatio-temporal patterns of shorebird habitat in ten landscapes in north-central Oklahoma. We developed a metric capable of measuring the dynamic composition and configuration of shorebird habitat in the region and used field data to empirically estimate the spatial scale at which shorebirds respond to the amount and configuration of habitat. Precipitation, temperature, solar radiation and wind speed best explained the incidence of wetland habitat, but relationships varied among wetland types. Shorebird occurrence patterns were best explained by habitat density estimates at a 1.5 km scale. This model correctly classified 86 % of shorebird observations. At this scale, when habitat density was low, shorebirds occurred in 5 % of surveyed habitat patches but occurrence reached 60 % when habitat density was high. Our results suggest scale dependence in the habitat-use patterns of migratory shorebirds. We discuss potential implications of our results and how integrating this information into conservation efforts may improve conservation strategies and management practices

When assessment defines the content—understanding goals in between teachers and policy

© 2020 The Authors. The Curriculum Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Educational Research Association.Education policy development internationally reflect a widespread expansion of learning outcome orientation in policy, curricula and assessment. In this paper, teachers’ perceptions about their work are explored, as goals and assessment play a more prominent role driven by the introduction of a learning outcomes‐oriented system. This is investigated through interviews of Norwegian teachers and extensive policy analysis of Norwegian policy documents. The findings indicate that the teachers are finding ways to negotiate and adjust to the language in the policies investigated in this study. Furthermore, the findings show that the teachers have developed their professional language according to the policies. The teachers referred to their self‐made criteria and goal sheets as central tools in explicating what is to be learned. In many ways, the tools for assessment, thus determine the content of education as well as what is valued in the educational system.publishedVersio