Using Repeat Photography to Examine Change in a U.S. National Park Gateway Community: A Case Study of Estes Park, Colorado

Since the creation of the National Park Service in the United States, tourists from around the world visiting America\u27s national parks are served by gateway communities. Gateway communities are the towns and cities that border public lands and protected spaces. The impact of our visits on these gateway communities is considerable, with many gateways and their residents relying on consistent and ever-increasing visitation to national parks to spur economic growth and development. To better understand the impacts that national park designations have had on their gateway communities, it is important to determine what changes have occurred both physically and culturally in these communities. This research is a case study of Estes Park, Colorado, the gateway community of Rocky Mountain National Park, the third most visited national park in the United States in 2018. This project utilized a repeat photography method to analyze the changes in Estes Park since the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park in 1915. This analysis suggests that Estes Park has grown considerably around tourism, with new development focused mainly on meeting the needs of visitors and a larger resident population spurred by the creation of the park

Possibilities for Modifying the System of Proportional Representation Aimed at Stabilizing the Executive in the CR

As a result of the Czech Republic's experience of a series of unstable minority governments, serious debate has arisen over the need for changes to the electoral system. The aim here is to find a suitable alternative to the representational system, one capable of ushering in a period of government stability, by modeling the results of the 1996 & 1998 elections. It is also necessary to determine which type of proportional electoral system could transform the party system in such a manner so as to render it capable of setting up a two-party majority coalition government. The method of modeling the election results is rooted in an exact calculation of specific election results by applying particular mathematical formulas to examples of various sizes of electoral constituencies. Three possible solutions emerge, one of which appears to be exceptionally effective. A number of options have been worked out whereby the political party system in the Czech Republic could be reconstructed. A description & brief evaluation of the proposal for changing the electoral system made by the two largest political parties in Jan 2000, which is also grounded in making modifications to the representational system, is presented

Isotopic Niche Analysis of Silver Carp and Gizzard Shad

Kentucky Lake is the largest impoundment east of the Mississippi River and is located on the Tennessee River in western Kentucky. The reservoir has a diverse fishery that includes large populations of native planktivorous Gizzard Shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) and Threadfin Shad (D. petenense). Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) are an invasive planktivorous fish species that invaded Kentucky Lake in 2004 and have successfully established a reproducing population. Silver Carp and Gizzard Shad have been shown to feed on similar food items that include both phytoplankton and zooplankton. Therefore, diet overlap between Silver Carp and Gizzard Shad is a major concern to biologists, commercial fishermen, and recreational fishermen due to the potential for competition with commercial and sportfish populations. We used stable isotope analyses to determine trophic position and potential for competition between Silver Carp and Gizzard Shad in Kentucky Lake. Samples of fish and end members were collected at two embayment sites and one channel site. Preliminary results suggest that Silver Carp and Gizzard Shad are filling similar isotopic niches within Kentucky Lake. As populations of Silver Carp increase, the potential for competition with native fish species may increase and potentially result in ecosystem effects

Nesting and Brood Rearing Ecology of the Vancouver Canada Goose on Admiralty Island Southeast of Alaska

Nesting and brood rearing biology of Vancouver Canada geese (Branta canadensis fulva) was studied in 1978 (preliminary) and from April-August 1979 in Seymour Canal, Admiralty Island, Alaska. Geese used trees for perching during the incubation period (24 April-7 June) and use was significant (P \u3c .0001) for early morning hours. This behavior is considered unique among all Canada goose subspecies. An average of 86.3 search hours were conducted for each of 19 active nests located in 1979. Seven additional nests from previous years were also located. Twenty-two nests were located in forest habitat •. All forest nests were in association with vegetation similar to vegetation described for U.S. Forest Service classification of F4 and F5 (poorly drained) soil types. Mean clutch size was 4.4 ± 1.3 eggs. Mean egg length and width were 86.1 mm± 3.14 and 56.4 mm± 2.76, respectively. Success of all nests hatching at least one egg was 55.6%. Egg hatching success of successful nests was 95.7%. Total hatching success of all eggs was 62.0%. Forest habitat was used extensively for brood rearing. Broods generally avoided large bodies of water. Single family broods were found most often in forest habitat while creches were more common in meadows and intertidal zones. Breeding adults and goslings were comparatively less vocal in the forest. Goslings less than 2 weeks of age used forest habitat extensively and shifted to forest edge and intertidal zones with age. Forest habitats, rather than open water, were used as escape cover by breeding adults and broods. Nesting and brood rearing habitat was similar, thus, nest site selection may be closely tied to requirements for brood rearing habitat. Molting, non-breeding or unsuccessful breeding geese also used forest habitat freely and avoided observers by fleeing into the forest. Use of habitat compared to tide stage was significant (P \u3c .0001) and may be a function of availability. Habitat use compared to daily time periods appeared to reflect feeding activity peaks in early morning and late afternoon. Adult geese primarily used the intertidal zone during pre-incubation; the grassy intertidal zone was used more during incubation and post-incubation. Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum) comprised 23.8% aggregate of foods utilized and appeared to be the most important food during brood rearing. Goslings and molting geese also utilized sea lettuce (Ulva spp.) and blueberry (Yaccinium spp.) berries. Plant matter comprised the bulk of food items

Analysis of tunnel excavation based on linear DFN-FEM modelling

Simulations of tunnel excavations have to take into account the natural occurrence of joints and faults in the surrounding rock mass, which dominantly control its mechanical response. In this paper, we present work in progress toward 3D finite element analysis of excavation using equivalent rock-mass properties derived from stochastically generated discrete fracture networks (DFNs). The equivalent stiffness is determined by volume averaging. Presently, we solve the problem linearly for an incremental change of the stress state. The fracture’s stiffness is assumed to depend on the initial normal stress acting in direction normal to it. However, within the solved incremental step, we assume the fracture’s stiffness to be constant. This assumption is acceptable for small stress changes. Since the fractures represented in the DFN model have preferred directions, the equivalent stiffness is anisotropic

Комендар В.І. Лікарські рослини Карпат. Дикорослі та культурні. – 3-є вид., доп. і перероб. – Ужгород: Мистецька лінія, 2007. – 504 с.

Review on the book of Komendar V.I. "Medicinal plants of Carpathian Mountains: Wild and cultivated plants

The effect of sampling volume size on the apparent stiffness of jointed rock mass

Overall mechanical properties of a jointed rock mass are strongly affected by discontinuities – fractures – that naturally occur in rocks. Stochastically-generated discrete fracture network (DFN) modeling, which uses a probabilistic approach to describe the spatial distribution of fractures, such as position, size, or orientation, offers an explicit way to describe geometry of the fracture system. Many in-situ measurements and analyses presented in literature indicate that fractures’ sizes can be adequately represented by the power law probability distribution. The parallel plate model of individual fractures combined with an averaging technique makes it possible to estimate the overall compliance or stiffness of jointed rock mass (Oda et al. [1]). In the present study, a series of numerical simulations of jointed rock mass modeled by DFN and Oda’s approach were conducted to analyze the effect of different sizes of the sampling volume on the overall elastic moduli. The results of the numerical study show that the variance as well as the average of the apparent stiffness decrease as the size of sampling element grows