Automated detection of an insect‐induced keystone vegetation phenotype using airborne LiDAR

Ecologists, foresters and conservation practitioners need ‘biodiversity scanners’ to effectively inventory biodiversity, audit conservation progress and track changes in ecosystem function. Quantifying biological diversity using remote sensing methods remains challenging, especially for small invertebrates. However, insect aggregations can drastically alter landscapes and vegetation, and these ‘extended phenotypes’ could serve as environmental landmarks of insect presence in remotely sensed data. To test the feasibility of this approach, we studied symbiotic ants that alter the canopy shape of whistling thorn acacias (Acacia [syn. Vachellia] drepanolobium), a keystone tree species of the black cotton soils of east African savannas. We demonstrate a protocol for using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data to collect, prepare (including a customizable tree‐segmentation algorithm) and apply a convolutional neural network‐based classification for the detection of ant‐inhabited acacia tree phenotypic variations. Applying this protocol enabled us to effectively detect intra‐specific tree phenotypic variation induced by insects. Surveying ant occupancy across 16 ha and 9680 acacia trees took 1000 work hours, whereas surveyed patterns of ant distribution were replicated by our trained classifier using only an hour‐long airborne LiDAR collection time. We suggest that large‐scale surveys of insect occupancy (including insect‐vectored disease) can be automated through a combination of airborne LiDAR and machine learning

The Effect of Soil Depth Upon Basal Cover and Production of Mixed Prairie Vegetation

The purpose of this study was to find if any correlations exist between soil depth, basal cover, and production of Mixed Prairie vegetation. An effort was made to eliminate the influence of all soil factors other than soil depth. Samples were taken at regular intervals from the same contour position on the slope and from similar slope exposures. Each sample consisted of measurement of basal cover, composition, production of vegetation, and determination of soil depth. In an attempt to correlate soil depth to various factors of native vegetation, 14 variables were chosen and correlated with each other. The soil depths recorded were categorized into four groups; 1) 0 -4 , (2) 4 -12 , (3) 12 -20 , (4) 20 + . An analysis of variance and Duncan’s multiple range tests was applied to the variables displaying a significant F-value. The results indicated that soil depth has a definite effect on basal cover and production of vegetation located on break sites in the Mixed Prairie

Soil Depth-Vegetation Relationships on a Shallow Limy Range Site in Western Kansas

Soil depth heterogeneity within the shallow limy range site in western Kansas results in differences in range composition and production. Deep soils produce more forage than shallow (< 4″) soils. Such variations in production within an apparently uniform range site should be considered when evaluating range condition and establishing stocking rates.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Aspirin as a Risk Factor in Reye\u27s Syndrome

Fifty-six cases of Reye\u27s syndrome (RS) in school-aged children were reported in Michigan during the winter of 1979-1980. The parents of 25 of these children were interviewed in the spring of 1980, as were controls matched to the cases for age, race, school grade, and nature of antecedent viral illness. Children with RS were more likely to have received medication containing aspirin during their viral illness than controls (24/25 v 34/46), even when the child\u27s highest measured fever was added as a criterion for matching (14/14 v 14/19). During the winter of 1980-1981, a second study was undertaken to examine this observed difference more carefully. All 12 school-aged children with RS, and controls matched to the cases for race, school grade, nature of antecedent viral illness, and peak temperature, were interviewed as cases occurred. Again, the ill children had received aspirincontaining products more frequently (12/12 v 13/29). Although RS can occur in the absence of aspirin ingestion, our data indicate that aspirin taken during viral illness may contribute to the development of RS. © 1982, American Medical Association. All rights reserved

BREAST-MILK MONITORING TO MEASURE MICHIGAN'S CONTAMINATION WITH POLYBROMINATED BIPHENYLS

In 1973 and 1974, several thousand Michigan dairy farms were contaminated by polybrominated biphenyls (P.B.B.) as the result of an industrial accident. An unknown quantity of contaminated meat and dairy products entered the food chain before contaminated farms were quarantined. To determine the extent of human exposure, P.B.B. concentrations were measured in human breast milk, which was collected in a random-sample survey from nursing mothers throughout Michigan. 96% of 53 samples from Michigan's lower peninsula and 43% of 42 samples from the less densely populated upper peninsula contained detectable levels of P.B.B. These data indicate that about 8 million of Michigan's 9[middle dot]1 million residents have detectable body burdens of P.B.B.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22528/1/0000072.pd