The Fulmars of Cape Searle

Contains summary of earlier observations and references to the fulmar colony at Cape Searle (67 13 N, 62 30 W) on the east coast of Baffin Island; a general account of the fulmar, its three geographical races, their characteristics (size of bill, build, coloration) and distribution (one in the North Pacific and two in the North Atlantic). Notes from the author's trip to Cape Searle in Aug. 1950, are given, his observations and estimate of the colony (minimum: upward of 200,000) its composition, etc. Bibliography (13 items)

Stress Hormones: A Link between Maternal Condition and Sex‐Biased Reproductive Investment

Abstract: In species where offspring fitness is sex‐specifically influenced by maternal reproductive condition, sex allocation theory predicts that poor‐quality mothers should invest in the evolutionarily less expensive sex. Despite an accumulation of evidence that mothers can sex‐specifically modulate investment in offspring in relation to maternal quality, few mechanisms have been proposed as to how this is achieved. We explored a hormonal mechanism for sex‐biased maternal investment by measuring and experimentally manipulating baseline levels of the stress hormone corticosterone in laying wild female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and examining effects on sex ratio and sex‐specific offspring phenotype adjustment. Here we show that baseline plasma corticosterone is negatively correlated with energetic body condition in laying starlings, and subsequent experimental elevation of maternal baseline plasma corticosterone increased yolk corticosterone without altering maternal condition or egg quality per se. Hormonal elevation resulted in the following: female‐biased hatching sex ratios (caused by elevated male embryonic mortality), lighter male offspring at hatching (which subsequently grew more slowly during postnatal development), and lower cell‐mediated immune (phytohemagglutinin) responses in males compared with control‐born males; female offspring were unaffected by the manipulation in both years of the study. Elevated maternal corticosterone therefore resulted in a sex‐biased adjustment of offspring quality favorable to female offspring via both a sex ratio bias and a modulation of male phenotype at hatching. In birds, deposition of yolk corticosterone may benefit mothers by acting as a bet‐hedging strategy in stochastic environments where the correlation between environmental cues at laying (and therefore potentially maternal condition) and conditions during chick‐rearing might be low and unpredictable. Together with recent studies in other vertebrate taxa, these results suggest that maternal stress hormones provide a mechanistic link between maternal quality and sex‐biased maternal investment in offspring

School-aged children who have witnessed wife abuse : a descriptive study of social, educational, and health issues

xiv, 125 leaves ; 28 cmSince the 1970s, wife abuse has been recognized and studied as a major problem in the Western World. Until this decade, little attention has been directed to the effects of these battering relationships on the children who witnessed them. This exploratory study described a group of children whose mothers had been previously physically abused by their intimate partners. Specifically, the school behavior and achievement, social behavior, and health concerns of the children were described. Twenty school-aged children between the ages of seven and thirteen years formed the sample. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research modes were used in the study. The children and their mothers were interviewed using semi-structured interviews designed for the study. A standardized behavior checklist, the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, was also completed by each mother, which further described her child and allowed for comparisons between the children in this study and children in a normalized sample. Comparisons were made between gender groups within the sample. The data were also reviewed for indications of the modeling behavior described in Social Learning Theory. Children in the sample were reported to have witnessed the abuse of their mothers for an average of 4.7 years. Child abuse as well as wife abuse had occurred in a high percentage of the homes. There was a high incidence of intergenerational violence in the families of the children studied. Mother and child reports were highly consistent and comparisons based on gender showed no significant differences between boys and girls. Many school problems including a high percentage of school grade repeats were described. Aggressive behavior was reported for over half of the children. Few serious health problems were reported although many of the children complained of headaches and stomachaches. A large number of improvements occurred in the children after the abuse of the mother ended. In spite of the many problems described, most of the children in the study seemed to be functioning well and the mothers were optimistic about their futures. It was concluded that with the help of such measures as supportive parenting and short-term counselling, these children should continue to function well. However, approximately one quarter of the children had more severe problems and will probably require long-term help

Persistence of Perennial Ryegrass, Tall Fescue and Cocksfoot Following Sequential Annual Sowings: Influence of Species, Cultivar and Pasture Age on Inter-Annual Variability in Yield and Botanical Composition

The persistence of sown, temperate pasture species is an important determinant of perennial pasture-grass productivity. Defining the traits that affect persistence is essential for improving pasture longevity through plant breeding and for identifying criteria that should be included in cultivar ranking indices such as the DairyNZ, Forage Value Index. Compared with a conventional longitudinal study, in which pasture from a single sowing is monitored over time, repeated annual sowings allow the effects on persistence of sowing year and the ensuing interactions between environment and age of pasture to be identified. A repeated sowings experiment was commenced at two sites: under sheep grazing in Canterbury, New Zealand and under cattle grazing in Waikato, New Zealand. At each site, eight cultivars of perennial ryegrass representing different ploidy, flowering date, and decade of cultivar release, and one cultivar each of tall fescue and cocksfoot were sown in a randomised complete block design with four replicates, in autumn each year. The longitudinal cohort (i.e., the measurements conducted over time following each annual sowing) is the experimental unit for effects of sowing year and age. This paper reports interim data from the longest available longitudinal cohort, sown in autumn 2016 at Waikato on pasture yield and botanical composition measured in spring and autumn for six successive years following sowing. Repeated measures analysis of the six years of pasture data was used to identify trends over time and inter-annual variability in the effects of cultivar and site

Health of community nurses: a case for workplace wellness schemes

Community nursing is associated with stress and burnout, which can impact heavily on the individual and the NHS both economically and on the quality of patient care. Recent Government publications have called for an increase in workplace health schemes, with the public sector ‘leading by example’. As the largest employer in Europe, the NHS is well placed to develop workplace wellness schemes to address the health needs of staff and to indirectly influence primary prevention among patients. Lessons from an innovative employee wellness programme in an NHS hospital setting demonstrates that such schemes may positively alter individual health and attitudes towards the employer. There is scope for development of such schemes to improve health and well-being in community nurses

Prenatal hormones in first‐time expectant parents: Longitudinal changes and within‐couple correlations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111071/1/ajhb22670.pd

The constitution of risk communication in advanced liberal societies

This article aims to bring to the fore some of the underlying rationales that inform common conceptions of the constitution of risk communication in academic and policy communities. ‘Normative’, ‘instrumental’ and ‘substantive’ imperatives typically employed in the utilisation of risk communication are first outlined. In light of these considerations a theoretical scheme is subsequently devised leading to the articulation of four fundamental ‘idealised’ models of risk communication termed the ‘risk message’ model, the ‘risk dialogue’ model, the ‘risk field’ model and the ‘risk government’ model respectively. It is contended that the diverse conceptual foundations underlying the orientation of each model suggest a further need for a more contextualised view of risk communication that takes account not only of the strengths and limitations of different formulations and functions of risk communication, but also the underlying knowledge/power dynamics that underlie its constitution. In particular it is hoped that the reflexive theoretical understanding presented here will help to bring some much needed conceptual clarity to academic and policy discourses about the use and utility of risk communication in advanced liberal societies