Understanding Public Participation in Forest Planning in Australia: How Can We Learn From Each Other?

A round table discussion on public participation in forest planning, during a meeting of the Forest Planners Working group in February 1997 at the ANU, revealed a wealth of unexplored and unrecorded experiences of public participation across the country. It became clear that public participation, which is a legal requirement in most states, was perceived and implemented in different ways by different government agencies to various degrees of success. The first author who attended part of the meeting, could sense some ambient frustration at the ever increasing energy and resources devoted by the various forest agencies to involve the public in planning matters, while the very same 'public' never seemed to be satisfied and was making more and more unreasonable demands. Subsequent discussions with NRE Victoria, DNR Queensland, Forestry Tasmania and CALM WA reiterated that a collaborative effort to systematically record and analyse the experiences of public participation in forestry planning could deliver concrete learning outputs valid for all. Thanks to a grant from NRE Victoria, DNR Queensland and the ANU we designed a research program. It was based on reviewing relevant literature on participatory management processes and conducting field surveys to 1) develop an analytical framework , 2) record field realities in 4 states Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia 3) analyse the processes in those states and 4) put forward ideas and recommendations for further consultation processes. This paper reports on the various findings of the study.This research was made possible thanks to a grant from the ANU, DNR Queensland and NRE Victoria and to logistical support from Forestry Tasmania and CALM

Hoplia equina (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and Nontarget Capture Using 2-Tetradecanone-Baited Traps

Using bucket traps baited with 2-tetradecanone, the sex pheromone of Hoplia equina LeConte, an important pest of cranberries in Massachusetts, we investigated the effect of trap height, color, pheromone load, and lure aging on male capture, as well as captures of nontarget arthropods including pollinators. Male capture was inversely related to height of traps over the four heights tested (0, 20, 60, and 100 cm). Captures increased with increasing pheromone load over the doses of 0, 100, 300, and 600 μg, but captures at the highest load, 1,000 μg, were not significantly different from 300 or 600 μg. H. equina captures were strongly diurnal, with a flight period spanning ≈6 wk starting in mid-June. Vane color of traps (white, yellow, green, blue, red, black) did not affect H. equina capture but significantly influenced capture of nontargets, including pollinators. A bucket trap with the funnel opening at 20 cm, and green (or red) vanes, baited with 600 μg of 2-tetradecanone, was the optimal design for high male capture and low nontarget capture. The low-cost capture of over 50,000 H. equina on a 2.4-ha commercial bog in Massachusetts with this lure-trap combination indicates the feasibility of mass trapping for managing established infestations of H. equin

Parasite Prevalence May Drive the Biotic Impoverishment of New England (USA) Bumble Bee Communities

Numerous studies have reported a diversity of stressors that may explain continental-scale declines in populations of native pollinators, particularly those in the genus Bombus. However, there has been little focus on the identification of the local-scale dynamics that may structure currently impoverished Bombus communities. For example, the historically diverse coastal-zone communities of New England (USA) now comprise only a few species and are primarily dominated by a single species, B. impatiens. To better understand the local-scale factors that might be influencing this change in community structure, we examined differences in the presence of parasites in different species of Bombus collected in coastal-zone communities. Our results indicate that Bombus species that are in decline in this region were more likely to harbor parasites than are B. impatiens populations, which were more likely to be parasite-free and to harbor fewer intense infections or co-infections. The contrasting parasite burden between co-occurring winners and losers in this community may impact the endgame of asymmetric contests among species competing for dwindling resources. We suggest that under changing climate and landscape conditions, increasing domination of communities by healthy, synanthropic Bombus species (such as B. impatiens) may be another factor hastening the further erosion of bumble bee diversity

Descriptive Epidemiology of Bovine Tuberculosis in Michigan (1975–2010): Lessons Learned

Despite ongoing eradication efforts, bovine tuberculosis (BTB) remains a challenge in Michigan livestock and wildlife. The objectives of this study were to (1) review the epidemiology of BTB in Michigan cattle, privately owned cervids, and wildlife between 1975 and 2010 and (2) identify important lessons learned from the review and eradication strategies. BTB information was accessed from the Michigan BTB Eradication Project agencies. Cattle herds (49), privately owned deer herds (4), and wild white-tailed deer (668) were found infected with BTB during the review period. BTB has occurred primarily in counties located at the northern portion of the state's Lower Peninsula. Currently used BTB eradication strategies have successfully controlled BTB spread. However additional changes in BTB surveillance, prevention, and eradication strategies could improve eradication efforts

Teaching Geophysics with a Vertical-Component Seismometer

Earthquakes are some of the more dramatic expressions of the dynamics of our planet. The sudden release of stress built up slowly by tectonic or volcanic processes often has far-reaching consequences, and can be measured (in classrooms) around the world. This is one reason why designing and building seismometers has been a popular activity,1,2 and why different versions of “Seismometer in Schools” projects thrive in the United States, Australia, and Europe. We present a cheap, robust, and easy-to-build seismometer—called the TC1 —to measure seismic displacements in the vertical direction. Its components are easy to obtain and assemble, yet the resulting instrument is accurate enough to record earthquakes from around the globe. The parts list and building instructions of the TC1 seismometer are freely available online. Alternatively, a complete kit can be purchased for around US$300. Assembling the system naturally introduces students to a number of concepts in physics and engineering, while upon completion seismic recordings trigger discussions about the dynamics and internal structure of the Earth. The discussions are fostered by service learning and shared in the network of TC1s called the Z-NET

Research on the mechanism for removal of soluble BOD5 in clarifier systems. First pilot scale trial. Project 3216, EPA Ref. No. R 803-119-01, report three: a progress report to members of the Institute of Paper Chemistry

"EPA Ref. No. R 803-119-01.""August 18, 1975.""The Institute of Paper Chemistry, George A. Dubey, Averill J. Wiley, and Hardev S. Dugal, director, Division of Industrial and Environmental Systems.

H-1 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spin-Lattice Relaxation, C-13 Magic-Angle-Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, and X-Ray Diffraction of Two Polymorphs of 2,6-Di-Tert-Butylnaphthalene

Polymorphism, the presence of structurally distinct solid phases of the same chemical species, affords a unique opportunity to evaluate the structural consequences of intermolecular forces. The study of two polymorphs of 2,6-di-tert-butylnaphthalene by single-crystal x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), C-13 magic-angle-spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and H-1 NMR spin-lattice relaxation provides a picture of the differences in structure and dynamics in these materials. The subtle differences in structure, observed with x-ray diffraction and chemical shifts, strikingly affect the dynamics, as reflected in the relaxation measurements. We analyze the dynamics in terms of both discrete sums and continuous distributions of Poisson processes

Cellular adaptations to hypoxia and acidosis during somatic evolution of breast cancer

Conceptual models of carcinogenesis typically consist of an evolutionary sequence of heritable changes in genes controlling proliferation, apoptosis, and senescence. We propose that these steps are necessary but not sufficient to produce invasive breast cancer because intraductal tumour growth is also constrained by hypoxia and acidosis that develop as cells proliferate into the lumen and away from the underlying vessels. This requires evolution of glycolytic and acid-resistant phenotypes that, we hypothesise, is critical for emergence of invasive cancer. Mathematical models demonstrate severe hypoxia and acidosis in regions of intraductal tumours more than 100 m from the basement membrane. Subsequent evolution of glycolytic and acid-resistant phenotypes leads to invasive proliferation. Multicellular spheroids recapitulating ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) microenvironmental conditions demonstrate upregulated glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) as adaptation to hypoxia followed by growth into normoxic regions in qualitative agreement with model predictions. Clinical specimens of DCIS exhibit periluminal distribution of GLUT-1 and Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) indicating transcriptional activation by hypoxia and clusters of the same phenotype in the peripheral, presumably normoxic regions similar to the pattern predicted by the models and observed in spheroids. Upregulated GLUT-1 and NHE-1 were observed in microinvasive foci and adjacent intraductal cells. Adaptation to hypoxia and acidosis may represent key events in transition from in situ to invasive cancer