Preliminary Satellite Telemetry of East Pacific Green Turtles Nesting on Playa Cabuyal, Costa Rica

The eastern pacific green turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizi) is endangered and nests along the Pacific coast of Central America. Understanding where turtles are going when they are not nesting on the beach can help us to better preserve the resources and ocean habitats that are important to these species. There are three characteristic behaviors of adult sea turtles when in the water: they are either migrating to or from foraging areas, foraging, or spending time in off-shore habitats in between depositing clutches of eggs. I studied post nesting migrations and interesting movements in eastern pacific green turtles nesting on Playa Cabuyal, Montes de Oro, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The scientific questions I am answering are: 1) what locations are the utilized by as inter-nesting turtles, and 2) where do these nesting turtles go to forage after nesting and do the migrations vary from year to year or within the season. In Cabuyal we patrol the beach every night looking for turtles. Once a turtle has started nesting we check that her carapace for abnormalities. If she has a suitable carapace, when nesting is completed we attach a Spot5 Wildlife computers satellite transmitter to the upper center of her carapace using Powers T-380 epoxy. These satellite transmitters connect to the Argos system every time the turtle surfaces to breath or when on land nesting and we map the movements using this information. I created a complete map of initial oceanographic factors that affect turtles in conjunction with the turtle track data. I currently have data on one post-nesting migration and two inter-nesting turtles. This research will dramatically increase our understanding of the population and how to implement conservation efforts.http://opus.ipfw.edu/stu_symp2013/1009/thumbnail.jp

Comparison of microbial community structures in soils with woody organic amendments and soils with traditional local organic amendments in Ningxia of Northern China

Background Addition of organic amendments has been commonly adopted as a means to restore degraded soils globally. More recently, the use of woody organic amendments has been recognized as a viable method of capturing and retaining water and restoring degraded and desertified soil, especially in semi-arid regions. However, the impacts of woody amendments on soil microbial community structure, versus other traditional organic supplements is less understood. Methods Three locally available natural organic materials of different qualities, i.e., cow manure (CM), corn straw (CS), and chipped poplar branches (PB) were selected as treatments in Ningxia, Northern China and compared with control soils. Four microcosms served as replicates for each treatment. All treatments contained desertified soil; treatments with amendments were mixed with 3% (w/w) of one of the above organic materials. After 7 and 15 months from the start of the experiment, soil samples were analyzed for chemical and physical properties, along with biological properties, which included microbial α-diversity, community structure, and relative abundance of microbial phyla. Results Both bacterial and fungal α-diversity indices were weakly affected by amendments throughout the experimental period. All amendments yielded different microbial community compositions than the Control soils. The microbial community composition in the CS and PB treatments also were different from the CM treatment. After 15 months of the experiment, CS and PB exhibited similar microbial community composition, which was consistent with their similar soil physical and chemical properties. Moreover, CS and PB also appeared to exert similar effects on the abundance of some microbial taxa, and both of these treatments yield different abundances of microbial taxa than the CM treatment. Conclusion New local organic amendment with PB tended to affect the microbial community in a similar way to the traditional local organic amendment with CS, but different from the most traditional local organic amendment with CM in Ningxia, Northern China. Moreover, the high C/N-sensitive, and lignin and cellulose decompose-related microbial phyla increased in CS and PB have benefits in decomposing those incorporated organic materials and improving soil properties. Therefore, we recommend that PB should also be considered as a viable soil organic amendment for future not in Ningxia, but also in other places

Impacto positivo del capital social en la gobernanza forestal comunitaria: Un análisis cuantitativo

Social capital is unobservable but can be inferred from its effects on society. We evaluated the influence of cognitive and structural social capital on deforestation rates in community forests in Mexico using surveys and statistical modeling. We examined predictions concerning the influence of demography, education, ethnicity, gender, and geography on community-based forest governance outcomes. Results revealed lower deforestation rates in remote forests managed by majority indigenous communities with above-average education levels and a higher proportion of female-headed households. Our findings support the main hypothesis, which proposed that sustainable forest governance is determined by social capital and cohesion. Our methodology constitutes a transferrable analytical framework and the results serve as a point of reference for the design of agrarian, conservation, and rural development policies. We recommend additional studies to reduce sampling uncertainty and increase the explanatory power of the models.El capital social es inobservable, pero se infiere por sus efectos en la sociedad. En un contexto de manejo forestal comunitario, evaluamos la influencia del capital social cognitivo y estructural sobre la deforestación en México empleando estudios en terreno y modelación estadística. Examinamos predicciones acerca del efecto de la demografía, educación, etnicidad, género, y geografía sobre el desempeño de la gobernanza comunitaria. Los resultados revelaron que la deforestación disminuyó en bosques aislados, manejados por comunidades mayoritariamente indígenas, con escolaridad superior al promedio, y mayor proporción de hogares con jefatura femenina. Nuestros hallazgos sustentan la hipótesis principal, la cual sostiene que la cohesión y el capital social son determinantes para la gobernanza forestal sustentable. Nuestra metodología aporta un marco analítico transferible, y los resultados fundamentos para diseñar políticas agrarias, de conservación, y desarrollo rural. Recomendamos estudios adicionales para aumentar la certidumbre muestral y el poder explicativo de los modelos

Practicing Food Sovereignty: Spatial Analysis of an Emergent Food System for the Standing Rock Nation

Food sovereignty is understood as the right to determine food systems, and the ability to exercise this right requires the capacity to obtain, produce, and distribute culturally relevant foods. In the Standing Rock Nation of the northern Great Plains, efforts to reclaim food sovereignty include projects to increase the availability of gathered and gardened plants that are necessary components of traditional foods. Toward this objective, a voucher-based food assistance program administered by the Standing Rock Tribe is helping elders obtain culturally meaningful foods while contributing to the growth of farmers' markets within the reservation. As program enrollment and market attendance increase, organizers are considering the spatial arrangement of food system components and its influence on accessibility and participation. Our GIS spatial analysis of voucher issuance and redemption patterns reveals that the minimum cost-distance to market explains 33% of variance in voucher redemption. In order to improve program equity and efficiency, cost-distance models are used to identify potential additional market locations that would reduce the effort associated with trips to market and thus encourage participation. These analyses and possible spatial solutions contribute a powerful tool to improve food-system planning and to enhance the food sovereignty of indigenous communities in rural areas

Assessing the adequacy of a protected area network in conserving a wide-ranging apex predator: The case for tiger (Panthera tigris) conservation in Bhutan

Protected area networks (PAN) are essential for conserving wide‐ranging apex predators but their adequacy in species protection has rarely been assessed. Here, we assess the adequacy of Bhutan's PAN in conserving and providing connectivity to the endangered tiger (Panthera tigris). We determine the current extent of tiger habitat, predict new suitable habitat, identify potential corridors, and empirically estimate the range of tiger numbers that Bhutan can spatially support. We use two spatial models with different approaches to ascertain current tiger distribution and predict new suitable tiger areas: (a) an expert model based on tiger ecology and (b) an observation model from observed tiger distribution. The expert model identified more suitable tiger areas (32,887 km2) over the observation model (29,962 km2), with the PAN encompassing 46% and 45% of predicted suitable areas, respectively. Vast suitable tiger habitat remains unprotected. Based on our estimates of total suitable habitats, Bhutan can spatially support 138–151 tigers compared to the current estimate of 103, thereby precluding a doubling in tiger numbers. To ensure adequate protection of tigers in Bhutan, we recommend readjusting and/or expanding existing PAN boundaries, including the designation of new corridors, protecting habitats, and conserving prey population

Proportions of movements of anglers, ranging from 201x to 300x, among study area watersheds in the study year.

Lines showing the network of linkages among the 66 watersheds (HUC4 Hydrologic Units) that comprise the 12 US states surrounding the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi River basins. Lines between watersheds represent direct connections made by individual anglers fishing in multiple watersheds in the survey year. The multiple direct connections among watersheds demonstrate the potential for introduction and inter-basin spread of aquatic invasive species by anglers along linked pathways. Connecting lines represent the unweighted numbers of anglers among the 2576 survey participants who connected separate watersheds in a single year. Unweighted values, ranging from 201–300, represent proportions of the millions of licensed anglers in the study area; these three major linkages all connect watersheds to large metropolitan centers. (TIF)</p

Proportions of movements of anglers, ranging from 1x to 10x, among study area watersheds in the study year.

Lines showing the network of linkages among the 66 watersheds (HUC4 Hydrologic Units) that comprise the 12 US states surrounding the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi River basins. Lines between watersheds represent direct connections made by individual anglers fishing in multiple watersheds in the survey year. The multiple direct connections among watersheds demonstrate the potential for introduction and inter-basin spread of aquatic invasive species by anglers along linked pathways. Connecting lines represent the unweighted numbers of anglers among the 2576 survey participants who connected separate watersheds in a single year. Unweighted values, ranging from 1–10, represent proportions of the millions of licensed anglers in the study area. (TIF)</p

Movements of anglers among study area counties with >10,000 linkages in the study year.

Connections and estimated magnitudes of movements of anglers among counties in the 13 US states surrounding the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi River basins. The estimated 14,766 links among counties in a single year demonstrate the likelihood of spread by anglers and the potential pathways of transfer of aquatic invasive species. Double-yellow lines represent annual connections between counties numbering from 10,017–15,000, and double-red lines range from 9001–10000 angler trips between counties in a single year. (TIF)</p

Proportions of movements of anglers, ranging from 51x to 100x, among study area watersheds in the study year.

Lines showing the network of linkages among the 66 watersheds (HUC4 Hydrologic Units) that comprise the 12 US states surrounding the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi River basins. Lines between watersheds represent direct connections made by individual anglers fishing in multiple watersheds in the survey year. The multiple direct connections among watersheds demonstrate the potential for introduction and inter-basin spread of aquatic invasive species by anglers along linked pathways. Connecting lines represent the unweighted numbers of anglers among the 2576 survey participants who connected separate watersheds in a single year. Unweighted values, ranging from 51–100, represent proportions of the millions of licensed anglers in the study area. (TIF)</p

Weighted sum of all fishing trips by anglers in the broader Great Lakes region in a single year to counties in 12 US states surrounding the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi River basins.

The estimated numbers of fishing trips with destinations to each of the 1042 individual counties ranged from 1199 (blue), to more than1.95 million (red) in the single year of 2011. Only 148 of the 1042 counties in the study area were not reported as fishing destinations (white).</p