Assessing Population Trends of New-Hampshire Forest Birds: Local vs Regional Patterns

We examined the changes in abundance between 1969 and 1986 of 19 forest-dwelling, mostly migratory bird species breeding in New Hampshire at 2 different scales: one local (an intensively studied 10-ha plot in unfragmented forest) and the other regional (Breeding Bird Surveys statewide). Twelve of the 19 species exhibited similar trends at both scales. Eight neither increased nor decreased, and 4 (Least Flycatcher, Winter Wren, Wood Thrush, and Swainsoh\u27s Thrush) declined significantly. Others increased, decreased, or re-mained steady at one or the other scale. Overall, more species declined than increased both locally (8 vs. 1) and regionally (5 vs. 1). Comparisons of these patterns, combined with results of intensive studies at the local level, suggest that changes in food abundance and in vege-tation structure related to forest succession on the breeding grounds, along with other pro-cesses that influence bird reproductive success and survivorship, are the most plausible explanations for most of the observed trends. Winter mortality was also identified as affecting breeding abundances, but only in short-distance migrant and permanently resident species. We have no evidence to indicate that the numbers of long-distance migrants were affected by events in their Neotropical wintering areas, although this possibility is difficult to assess from breeding-ground data. We urge caution in attributing declines of breeding forest migrant birds to tropical deforestation or similar causes until we either can eliminate alternate explanations that involve breeding-season events or have available critically needed demo-graphic information on migrant populations in their wintering areas

Site-Dependent Regulation of Population Size: a New Synthesis

The nature and extent of population regulation remains a principal unanswered question for many types of organisms, despite extensive research. In this paper, we provide a new synthesis of theoretical and empirical evidence that elucidates and extends a mechanism of population regulation for species whose individuals preemptively use sites that differ in suitability. The sites may be territories, refuges from predation, oviposition sites, etc. The mechanism, which we call site dependence, is not an alternative to density dependence; rather, site dependence is one of several mechanisms that potentially generate the negative feedback required for regulation. Site dependence has two major features: (1) environmentally caused heterogeneity among sites in suitability for reproduction and/or survival; and (2) preemptive site occupancy, with the tendency for individuals to move to sites of higher quality as they become available. Simulation modeling shows that these two features, acting in concert, generate negative feedback when progressively less suitable sites are used as population size increases, reducing average demographic rates for the population as a whole. Further, when population size decreases, only sites of high suitability are occupied, resulting in higher average demographic rates and, thus, population growth. The modeling results demonstrate that this site‐dependent mechanism can generate negative feedback at all population sizes in the absence of local crowding effects, and that this feedback is capable of regulating population size tightly. Operation of site dependence does not rely on the particular type of environmental factor(s) ultimately limiting population size, e.g., food, nest sites, predators, parasites, abiotic factors, or a combination of these. Furthermore, site dependence operates in saturated or unsaturated habitats and over a broad range of spatial scales for species that disperse widely relative to site diameter. A review of relevant field studies assessing the assumptions of the mechanism and its regulatory potential suggests that site dependence may provide a general explanation for population regulation in a wide variety of species

Integrating Wildlife Conservation with Commercial Silviculture — Demography of the Swainson’s Warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii), a Migrant Bird of Conservation Concern in Southern Pine Forests, USA

Intensively managed pine (Pinus spp.) forests encompass over 15.8 million hectares in the southeastern United States and provide an important source of wood products and an economic return to landowners. Given the extent of this landscape and the diversity of management goals and stakeholders, understanding how these forests can also be managed for biological diversity is important. Swainson’s warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii; SWWA), a species of high conservation priority, has been documented occupying young, unthinned pine plantations (a novel habitat type), but demographic assessment is lacking. We compared breeding phenology and reproductive success of SWWA in commercial loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands versus bottomland hardwood forest (the historical habitat type). Timing of nesting, clutch size, and hatching rates were not significantly different with 59% (n = 32) of eggs hatching in pine versus 69% in bottomland hardwood (n = 52). Mayfield estimates of nesting success were similar in pine (27%) versus hardwoods (32%) within and across years. These results indicate that closed-canopy, short-rotation pine stands can provide suitable breeding habitat for SWWA. We also review the value of intensively managed pine landscapes for avian conservation in general

The Role of Perceived Control in Customer Value Cocreation and Service Recovery Evaluation

Treating customers as passive recipients of service recovery does not account for their naturally elevated desire for control following a service failure. Focusing on value cocreation by customers in service recovery, this study conceptualizes three types of customer perceived control in service recovery: process control, decision control, and information control. Using both a field study and a controlled experiment to test the conceptual model, this study reveals various ways service firms can engage customers in service recovery to enhance their service experience. The results show that customers are motivated to exert influence on and regain control over service recovery because they care not only about the economic gains rendered by control but also about their social self-esteem in their relationship with a service firm. An investigation of the interaction effects among the three types of control reveals either complementary or substitution effects between different pairings of the three types of control on customers\u27 justice evaluations of service recovery and repurchase intentions. The findings provide managers with new guidance on developing and implementing successful service recovery programs

Fine-scale genetic population structure of an understory rainforest

Abstract We studied five populations of a rainforest understory insectivorous bird (Myrmeciza exsul, chestnutbacked antbird) in a fragmented landscape in northeastern Costa Rica in order to test hypotheses about the influence of forest fragmentation on population genetic structure using 16 microsatellite loci. Bayesian assignment approaches-perhaps the most conservative analyses we performed-consistently grouped the sites into two distinct groups, with all individuals from the smallest and most isolated population clustering separately from the other four sites. Additional analyses revealed (1) overall significant genetic structure; (2) a pattern of population differentiation consistent with a hypothesis of isolation by resistance (landscape connectivity), but not distance; and (3) relatively short dispersal distances indicated by elevated mean pairwise relatedness in several of the sites. Our results are somewhat surprising given the small geographic distances between sites (11-34 km) and the short time (*60 years) since wide-spread deforestation in this landscape. We suspect fine-scale genetic structure may occur in many resident tropical bird species, and in the case of the chestnut-backed antbird it appears that anthropogenic habitat fragmentation has important population genetic implications. It appears that chestnut-backed antbirds may persist in fragmented landscapes in the absence of significant migration among patches, but mechanisms that allow this species to persist when many other similar species do not are not well understood

The first example of a paraben-dependent antibody to an Rh protein

Parabens are added to a commercial LISS (C-LISS) to retard microbial growth. Paraben-dependent anti-Jk a has been detected by the use of C-LISS. CASE REPORT: Serum from a D+ woman reacted in antiglobulin tests with RBCs stored (2-4 hours, 22-25 C) in C-LISS (L w and Messeter formulation, Immucor). Freshly prepared C-LISS-suspended RBCs did not react; nor did RBCs stored in LISS-additive reagents, PEG, saline, or homemade LISS. RESULTS: Studies using C-LISS-stored RBCs revealed an antibody that reacted with D+ and rrV+ RBCs, but not with r r, r r, or rrV-VS- RBCs. All partial D RBC phenotypes tested reacted, as did D+LW-, r G r, r G r, r y r, r s rV+VS+, and r s rV-VS+ RBCs. The active ingredient in C-LISS was propylparaben. Other LISS ingredients were not required; saline solutions of propylparaben, ethylparaben, methyl salicylate, 2-phenoxyethanol, and butylparaben were active. Methylparaben and methyl- m -hydroxybenzoate were inactive. Reactivity to C-LISS-stored RBCs could not be inhibited by propylparaben. Reactivity with D+V- and D-V+VS+ RBCs was not separable by adsorption-elution. CONCLUSIONS: This antibody likely detects a neoantigen formed between active compounds and RBC membranes. Review of the structure of active compounds suggests that proximity between methyl and hydroxyl groups is important for binding with RBC membranes. The role of RhD is unclear; no single portion of RhD protein appears to be implicated.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73085/1/j.1537-2995.2001.41030371.x.pd

Accumulation of the common mitochondrial DNA deletion induced by ionizing radiation

AbstractPoint mutations and deletions in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) accumulate as a result of oxidative stress, including ionizing radiation. As a result, dysfunctional mitochondria suffer from a decline in oxidative phosphorylation and increased release of superoxides and other reactive oxygen species (ROS). Through this mechanism, mitochondria have been implicated in a host of degenerative diseases. Associated with this type of damage, and serving as a marker of total mtDNA mutations and deletions, the accumulation of a specific 4977-bp deletion, known as the common deletion (Δ-mtDNA4977), takes place. The Δ-mtDNA4977 has been reported to increase with age and during the progression of mitochondrial degeneration. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether ionizing radiation induces the formation of the common deletion in a variety of human cell lines and to determine if it is associated with cellular radiosensitivity. Cell lines used included eight normal human skin fibroblast lines, a radiosensitive non-transformed and an SV40 transformed ataxia telangiectasia (AT) homozygous fibroblast line, a Kearns Sayre Syndrome (KSS) line known to contain mitochondrial deletions, and five human tumor lines. The Δ-mtDNA4977 was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Significant levels of Δ-mtDNA4977 accumulated 72 h after irradiation doses of 2, 5, 10 or 20 Gy in all of the normal lines with lower response in tumor cell lines, but the absolute amounts of the induced deletion were variable. There was no consistent dose–response relationship. SV40 transformed and non-transformed AT cell lines both showed significant induction of the deletion. However, the five tumor cell lines showed only a modest induction of the deletion, including the one line that was deficient in DNA damage repair. No relationship was found between sensitivity to radiation-induced deletions and sensitivity to cell killing by radiation

Influenza D Virus Infection in Feral Swine Populations, United States

Influenza D virus (IDV) has been identified in domestic cattle, swine, camelid, and small ruminant populations across North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. Our study investigated seroprevalence and transmissibility of IDV in feral swine. During 2012–2013, we evaluated feral swine populations in 4 US states; of 256 swine tested, 57 (19.1%) were IDV seropositive. Among 96 archived influenza A virus–seropositive feral swine samples collected from 16 US states during 2010–2013, 41 (42.7%) were IDV seropositive. Infection studies demonstrated that IDV-inoculated feral swine shed virus 3–5 days postinoculation and seroconverted at 21 days postinoculation; 50% of in-contact naive feral swine shed virus, seroconverted, or both. Immunohistochemical staining showed viral antigen within epithelial cells of the respiratory tract, including trachea, soft palate, and lungs. Our findings suggest that feral swine might serve an important role in the ecology of IDV