Play in Elephants: Wellbeing, Welfare or Distraction?

We explore elephant play behaviour since (a) play has been proposed to represent a potential welfare indicator; and (b) play has been associated with long-term survival in the wild. We categorised play into four types, and investigate both social (gentle, escalated-contact) and non-social (lone-locomotor, exploratory-object) play from observations made on wild (Asian N = 101; African N = 130) and captive (Asian N = 8; African N = 7) elephant calves ranging in age from birth to five years. Social play was the most frequent type of play among immature elephants, accounting for an average of 3%–9% of active time. Non-social play accounted for an additional 1%–11% of time. The most time spent in play was seen in captive Asian calves, particularly at the ages of 1–6 months, while wild African calves spent the least time in play overall, even though they had the greatest number and most diverse range of play partners available. We assessed calf energetics using time spent suckling, resting, moving and independent feeding. Time spent playing was unrelated to time spent suckling but negatively associated with time spent independently feeding. There were no associations with time spent moving or resting. Maternal energy via lactation was unrelated to play early in life, but energy acquired independently may constrain or enable play. Play, while a potential indicator of compromised welfare for many species when absent, can act as a highly stimulating activity for captive elephants in the absence of other forms of arousal

The reproductive advantages of a long life: longevity and senescence in wild female African elephants

Long-lived species such as elephants, whales and primates exhibit extended post-fertile survival compared to species with shorter lifespans but data on age-related fecundity and survival are limited to few species or populations. We assess relationships between longevity, reproductive onset, reproductive rate and age for 834 longitudinally monitored wild female African elephants in Amboseli, Kenya. The mean known age at first reproduction was 13.8years; only 5% commenced reproduction by 10years. Early reproducers (<12.5years) had higher age-specific fertility rates than did females who commenced reproduction late (15+ years) with no differences in survival between these groups. Age-specific reproductive rates of females dying before 40years were reduced by comparison to same-aged survivors, illustrating a mortality filter and reproductive advantages of a long life. Overall, 95% of fertility was completed before 50, and 95% of mortality experienced by age 65, with a mean life expectancy of 41years for females who survived to the minimum age at first birth (9years). Elephant females have a relatively long period (c. 16years) of viability after 95% completed fertility, although reproduction does not entirely cease until they are over 65. We found no evidence of increased investment among females aged over 40 in terms of delay to next birth or calf mortality. The presence of a mother reproducing simultaneously with her daughter was associated with higher rates of daughter reproduction suggesting advantages from maternal (and grandmaternal) co-residence during reproduction

Intraseasonal variability of air-sea fluxes over the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon

In the Bay of Bengal (BoB), surface heat fluxes play a key role in monsoon dynamics and prediction. The accurate representation of large-scale surface fluxes is dependent on the quality of gridded reanalysis products. Meteorological and surface flux variables from five reanalysis products are compared and evaluated against in situ data from the RAMA moored array in the BoB. The reanalysis products: ERA-Interim (ERA-I), TropFlux, MERRA-2, JRA-55 and CFSR are assessed for their characterisation of air-sea fluxes during the southwest monsoon season (JJAS). ERA-I captured radiative fluxes best while TropFlux captured turbulent and net heat fluxes (Qnet) best, and both products outperformed JRA-55, MERRA-2 and CFSR, showing highest correlations and smallest biases when compared to the in situ data. In all five products, the largest errors were in shortwave radiation (QSW) and latent heat flux (QLH), with non-negligible biases up to ∼75 W m−2. The QSW and QLH are the largest drivers of the observed Qnet variability, thus highlighting the importance of the results from the buoy comparison. There are also spatially coherent differences in the mean basin-wide fields of surface flux variables from the reanalysis products, indicating that the biases at the buoy position are not localized. Biases of this magnitude have severe implications on reanalysis products ability to capture the variability of monsoon processes. Hence, the representation of intraseasonal variability was investigated through the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation and we found that TropFlux and ERA-I perform best at capturing intraseasonal climate variability during the southwest monsoon season

Using formative research to develop a hospital-based perinatal public health intervention in the US: The Thirty Million Words Initiative Newborn Parent Education Curriculum

Parents and caregivers do not exist in a vacuum, and with regard to crafting impactful interventions, it is increasingly being recognized that there are no one-size-fits-all approaches to behavior change. Implementing research to practice is a complex endeavor and requires the adaptation of basic research findings to different cultural and environmental contexts of intended beneficiaries (Sepinwall, 2002; Weisner & Hay, 2014). The practice of formative research allows for the systematic assessment of diverse implementation contexts and provides insights into responsive adaptations of content and delivery. In this study, we detail the use of formative testing to inform the development of a curriculum designed to support the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS): the Thirty Million Words Initiative Newborn (TMW-Newborn) Parent Education Curriculum provides caregivers of newborns with information on the UNHS and illustrates the importance of identifying if a newborn is deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) to ensure that caregivers learn how to promote early language development. The information provided could potentially reduce lost-to-follow up (LFU) rates for newborns who may be D/HH. Using qualitative methods, we collected and responded to feedback obtained from caregivers of newborns and were able to gear content, messaging and delivery of the intervention to stakeholder needs. A subsample of participants also completed a knowledge survey testing their understanding of intervention content prior to receiving the intervention, as well as the day after. The results showed that participant scores increased significantly post-intervention

Elephant crop-raiding and human-elephant conflict in Cambodia: crop selection and seasonal timings of raids

Elephants are threatened globally by habitat loss, poaching and accelerating levels of human-elephant conflict. For Elephas maximus in Cambodia, crop raiding underlies this conflict. Understanding the timing of raids and selection of crops can help design locally appropriate mitigation and management strategies. This study, using a 4-year database of events, investigated the most frequently raided crops and patterns of raids, over time and seasons and by location. Damage frequency varied significantly by crop, with rice, banana, cassava, sugar cane and papaya most frequently raided. Considering raid events per unit crop area, banana, sugar cane and pineapple were raided more than would be expected based on their availability. There were differences in both crop-raiding events and crop-damage frequencies over study years and there was a peak raiding season in October-December. Nationally, significant differences were found among provinces but not between years. Rates of damage decreased after mitigation strategies such as observation towers, deterrents and fences were implemented. We suggest further mechanisms to improve human-elephant conflict monitoring in relation to crop choice and availability

Thresholds for adding degraded tropical forest to the conservation estate

Logged and disturbed forests are often viewed as degraded and depauperate environments compared with primary forest. However, they are dynamic ecosystems1 that provide refugia for large amounts of biodiversity2, 3, so we cannot afford to underestimate their conservation value4. Here we present empirically defined thresholds for categorizing the conservation value of logged forests, using one of the most comprehensive assessments of taxon responses to habitat degradation in any tropical forest environment. We analysed the impact of logging intensity on the individual occurrence patterns of 1,681 taxa belonging to 86 taxonomic orders and 126 functional groups in Sabah, Malaysia. Our results demonstrate the existence of two conservation-relevant thresholds. First, lightly logged forests (68%) of their biomass removed, and these are likely to require more expensive measures to recover their biodiversity value. Overall, our data confirm that primary forests are irreplaceable5, but they also reinforce the message that logged forests retain considerable conservation value that should not be overlooked

Hawking emission from quantum gravity black holes

We address the issue of modelling quantum gravity effects in the evaporation of higher dimensional black holes in order to go beyond the usual semi-classical approximation. After reviewing the existing six families of quantum gravity corrected black hole geometries, we focus our work on non-commutative geometry inspired black holes, which encode model independent characteristics, are unaffected by the quantum back reaction and have an analytical form compact enough for numerical simulations. We consider the higher dimensional, spherically symmetric case and we proceed with a complete analysis of the brane/bulk emission for scalar fields. The key feature which makes the evaporation of non-commutative black holes so peculiar is the possibility of having a maximum temperature. Contrary to what happens with classical Schwarzschild black holes, the emission is dominated by low frequency field modes on the brane. This is a distinctive and potentially testable signature which might disclose further features about the nature of quantum gravity.Comment: 36 pages, 18 figures, v2: updated reference list, minor corrections, version matching that published on JHE

Genealogies of Slavery

This chapter addresses the concept of slavery, exploring its character and significance as a dark page in history, but also as a specifically criminological and zemiological problem, in the context of international law and human rights. By tracing the ambiguities of slavery in international law and international development, the harms associated with slavery are considered. Harms include both those statutorily proscribed, and those that are not, but that can still be regarded as socially destructive. Traditionally, antislavery has been considered within the parameters of abolition and criminalization. In this context recently, anti-trafficking has emerged as a key issue in contemporary anti-slavery work. While valuable, anti-trafficking is shown to have significant limitations. It advances criminalization and stigmatization of the most vulnerable and further perpetuates harm. At the same time, it identifies structural conditions like poverty, vulnerability, and “unfreedom” of movement only to put them aside. Linked to exploitation, violence and zemia, the chapter brings to the fore some crucial questions concerning the prospects of systemic theory in the investigation of slavery, that highlight the root causes of slavery, primarily poverty and inequality. Therefore, the chapter counterposes an alternative approach in which the orienting target is not abolition of slavery but advancing structural changes against social harm

BoBBLE: ocean-atmosphere interaction and its impact on the South Asian monsoon

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) plays a fundamental role in controlling the weather systems that make up the South Asian summer monsoon system. In particular,the southern BoB has cooler sea surface temperature (SST) that influence ocean-atmosphere interaction and impact on the monsoon. Compared to the southeast, the southwestern BoB is cooler, more saline, receives much less rain, and is influenced by the Summer Monsoon Current(SMC). To examine the impact of these features on the monsoon, the BoB Boundary Layer Experiment (BoBBLE) was jointly undertaken by India and the UK during June–July 2016. Physical and bio-geochemical observations were made using a CTD, five ocean gliders, a uCTD, a VMP, two ADCPs, Argo floats, drifting buoys, meteorological sensors and upper air radiosonde balloons. The observations were made along a zonal section at 8◦N between 85.3◦E and 89◦E with a 10-day time series at 89◦E, 8◦N. This paper presents the new observed features of the southern BoB from the BoBBLE field program, supported by satellite data. Key results from the BoBBLE field campaign show the Sri Lanka Dome and the SMC in different stages of their seasonal evolution and two freshening events during which salinity decreased in the upper layer leading to the formation of thick barrier layers. BoBBLE observations were taken during a suppressed phase of the intraseasonal oscillation; they captured in detail the warming of the ocean mixed layer and preconditioning of the atmosphere to convection