Evaluation of Stream Assessment Protocols for the Evaluation of Habitat in Intermittent Headwater Streams

EPA and state water resource agencies are now placing greater emphasis on monitoring and managing headwater streams. Two EPA stream protocols are available for headwater stream assessment but little effort has been made to compare these two methods or their resulting habitat quality index scores. The objectives of this effort were to 1) compare data types of the two protocols; 2) compare how the two protocols assess intermittent streams using habitat quality index (HQI) scores; and 3) compare stream characteristic emphases (geomorphology, riparia, substrate, in-stream cover for biota and hydrology) between the two protocols and their effect on overall HQI scores. This study was conducted within the Northern Glaciated Plains Ecoregion (NGP) of South Dakota. Forty reference sites were chosen using EPA’s Analytical Tools Interface for Landscape Assessments (ATtILA). Twenty more sites were chosen to validate the reference sites condition. Ten of the validation sites were selected at random and the other ten were targeted sites selected through consultation with state officials. All sites were field validated using the “North Carolina Division of Water Quality’s Identification Methods for the origins of Intermittent and Perennial Streams” and the “Riparian, Channel, and Environmental Inventory for small streams in the agricultural landscape.” Habitat assessments of 60 total streams occurred monthly (April-August) during the summer of 2008 following EPA’s “Western Pilot Study: Field Operations Manual for Wadeable Streams” and “Field Operations Manual for Assessing the Hydrologic Permanence and Ecological Condition of Headwater Streams.” Headwater streams in the NGP can be summarized as low gradient ( X = 0.02%) streams showing little incision ( X = 0.4 m). Channel dimensions were variable (CV = 1306.1 width/depth ratio) with flat banks ( X = 27.4ºC) and homogenous thalwegs ( X CV = 48.9 %). Substrates consisted of mostly soft/small sediments with herbaceous vegetation as the most frequently occurring instream cover for biota. With the exception of the Prairie Coteau Escarpment Ecoregion (46l), riparian trees were rare. Peck’s protocol had 51 measurements with a mixture of ratio (n = 14), interval (n = 2), ordinal (n = 23) and nominal (n = 12) data types. Fritz’s protocol had 15 measurements yielding mostly ratio (n = 10) data types, and a few interval (n = 2) and nominal data (n = 3). Substrate type was assessed differently by the two protocols. Organic substrates occurred with a frequency of 65% using Peck’s protocol, while the substrate class “sand/silt/clay” occurred most frequently (89%) using Fritz’s protocol. HQI scores for both protocols were compared using a sign test and a Wilcoxon Rank Sum test, revealing that they were different (p \u3c 0.01). Reference HQI scores generated from Fritz metrics ( X = 71%) were higher (p \u3c 0.01) than Peck’s HQI’s ( X = 63%). Riparian metrics composed 51% of Peck’s measurements and 7% of Fritz’s measurements but Peck’s riparian HQI’s scored lower (p \u3c 0.01) than Fritz’s riparian HQI’s. Hydrologic metrics composed 36% of Fritz’s protocol and 4% of Peck’s protocol and still the HQI’s compared favorably between the two protocols. Evaluation of stream assessments within either protocol revealed high variability in stream characteristics within the NGP ecoregion. Stream habitat scores exhibited greater similarity within level IV EPA ecoregions than between ecoregions. This supports that regionalization by level IV ecoregions may be necessary to account for regional differences in landscape features. The use of more measurements for Peck’s protocol increased the ability to detect the influence of human management practices. However, some metrics were similar within Peck’s protocol, leading to high redundancy. Fritz’s protocol contained fewer metrics with less focus on riparian metrics, reducing the sensitivity of this protocol to human management practices. Data types also differed between and within the two protocols, complicating integration and analysis. Peck’s protocol included a large number of ordinal and nominal measurements, which require training and consistency to remain unbiased. Thus, Peck’s assessments were more subjective, adding another source of disparity between protocol assessments. Substrate was the only parameter measured by both protocols, but assessments differed due to the use of different substrate classes and a different cross-sectional methodology. Results of HQI differences provide evidence that the two protocols do not respond similarly to physical habitat changes. This can be attributed to the divergence in stream characteristics emphasized by the two protocols. Differences in metric emphasis reflect a focus on hydrologic permanence by the Fritz protocol and riparian metrics by the Peck protocol. Riparian condition reflect the influence of human activities more successfully based on HQI scores than hydrologic condition. This helps to explain differences seen in HQI scores and provides incentive for the continued use of riparian metrics in stream habitat assessments. A new combined habitat metric set is proposed which places more balance between riparian and hydrologic stream characteristics

Sampling the Grains: Pollen Samples from Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds transmit pollen both actively and passively while feeding or moving through the landscape. They play a largely undocumented role in plant pollination on their breeding grounds. Many hummingbirds also migrate thousands of miles, potentially transporting pollen greater distances than other pollinators. To investigate the role of hummingbirds in both short- and long-distance pollen transfer, we collected pollen samples from the heads and bills of hummingbirds during migration and throughout the breeding season. We identified the pollen from 44 hummingbirds captured during the 2016 and 2017 field season in western Montana. We also solicited and analyzed 9 samples from southwestern Idaho. Pollen analysis revealed 18 different genera of pollen on sampled hummingbirds, including genera (e.g., Pinus, Larix) that passively broadcast pollen. We detected some pollen from plant species not locally available, suggesting that hummingbirds do transfer pollen long distances, and may serve as vectors for plant genetic diversity. Pollen grains differed in their anatomy and potential for adhesion to hummingbird feathers and bills, suggesting that some pollen is better suited for long-distance dispersal. We plan to continue collecting pollen samples from ours and other sites in the future. We also hope to perform experiments that investigate the role pollen morphology may play in adhesion longevity

Intertextual Representations of Drugs, Violence, and Greed in Breaking Bad

In the last two decades there has been a spate of what is considered quality television. The success of these shows, especially in regards to critical approval, has broadened the perspective from which the medium of television is viewed. Television now affords the viewer and critic alike the opportunity to examine and scrutinize elements of these shows in much the same way literature can be examined. A notable example of this phenomenon is the AMC cable show Breaking Bad (2008-2013), the subject of my research. Specifically I am focusing on the idea of intertextuality in order to unravel, in much the same way a critic examines allusions, symbolism, and the imagery of a printed text, an interpretation of Breaking Bad which requires multiple and subsequent viewings. My methodology is to examine the sampling of the intertextual references in Breaking Bad with the specific focus of discussing their relationship to the show’s themes of neoliberalism and medical debt. I have chosen a selection three different types of intertextual reference: music, poetry and film. I have opted to focus on the references that engage in a critique of neoliberalism. By looking at these examples of each type of reference and how they connect to series protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston), I read the series’ narrative arc and the psychological split of its main character, Walt, into the Heisenberg persona he uses as a drug kingpin, as related to the effects of unregulated capitalism brought on by neoliberalism. I will analyze examples of intertextuality from the show and then conclude by illustrating how the overall response of frustration to the advent of neoliberal economic policies can be determined from each of these references and Breaking Bad as a whole. It is my contention that by looking at these elements and how they contribute to the narrative of Breaking Bad that the show is drawing a parallel between Walt’s psychological corruption and the corruptive influence of neoliberalism

The ELMCIP Knowledge Base

This chapter documents the conceptual model of the ELMCIP Electronic Literature Knowledge Base, the development process that led to its development, and its technical implementation. It should be of interest to digital humanities researchers interested in the process of developing research infrastructure for the documentation of a field of research. Developed as part of an international, digital-humanities project, Developing a Networked-Based Creative Community: Electronic Literature as a Model of Creativity and Innovation in Practice (ELMCIP), the ELMCIP Electronic Literature Knowledge Base is an open-access, online database tracing activity in and around the field of electronic literature and the digital literary arts. Inspired by Ted Nelson’s (1981) vision of literature, broadly understood as “an ongoing system of interconnecting documents,” the Knowledge Base is collecting and connecting bibliographic information and archival materials about the literary production in this field. As this information is linked and cross-referenced in various records in the Knowledge Base, the relations between objects and actors in the field of electronic literature become explicit, perceptible, recognizable, and communicable. Together these relations comprise the field. In the Knowledge Base, they are defined through content types that include authors, creative works, critical writing, events, organizations, publishers, teaching resources, and databases and archives. The Knowledge Base now includes more than 9,000 cross-referenced records in these primary content types.publishedVersio

The media maze: guiding and empowering children through media

In this post Dr Alicia Blum-Ross interviews Dr Eric Rasmussen about his book, Media Maze: Unconventional Wisdom for Guiding Children Through Media, which argues in parent-friendly language that the secret to protecting kids online is to change parents’ focus from protecting them to empowering them. Eric is an Associate Professor in the College of Media & Communication at Texas Tech University and is also author of the Children and Media Man blog. Alicia is a Researcher at the LSE’s Department of Media and Communications. She is interested in youth media production and is part of the Parenting for a Digital Future research project. The interview has been condensed for clarity

Asymmetric Galilean conformal algebras

The usual Galilean contraction procedure for generating new conformal symmetry algebras takes as input a number of symmetry algebras which are equivalent up to central charge. We demonstrate that the equivalence condition can be relaxed by inhomogeneously contracting the chiral algebras and present general results for the ensuing asymmetric Galilean algebras. Several examples relevant to conformal field theory are discussed in detail, including superconformal algebras and W-algebras. We also discuss how the Sugawara construction is modified in the asymmetric setting.Comment: 21 pages, comments welcome, v2: minor updates and notation changes, added reference

Migrating and Overwintering Populations of Diurnal Raptors in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana

We identified a major spring and fall migration of diurnal raptors over a low-elevation foothills site in the northeast Bitterroot Valley. We conducted full-time migration surveys in both seasons for 2 years. Red-tailed Hawks were the most abundant species counted in both seasons. During fall migration, species composition differed from other Montana hawk watch sites located on high-elevation ridges. We used a combination of survey techniques to assess overwintering populations of raptors in the Bitterroot Valley during the winter of 2012-2013. We developed an iPad application that allows us to map fine-scale occurrence of birds and used this method to document raptor presence at the north end of the valley. Citizen Scientists affiliated with Bitterroot Audubon performed systematic, broader-scale surveys at the south end of the valley. These two methods will likely document over 3,000 raptor observations by the end of winter 2013. Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks comprise the majority of raptor detections. We will examine these data for spatial and temporal trends in raptor occurrence

Tissue-Specific Transcriptomes Reveal Gene Expression Trajectories in Two Maturing Skin Epithelial Layers in Zebrafish Embryos.

Epithelial cells are the building blocks of many organs, including skin. The vertebrate skin initially consists of two epithelial layers, the outer periderm and inner basal cell layers, which have distinct properties, functions, and fates. The embryonic periderm ultimately disappears during development, whereas basal cells proliferate to form the mature, stratified epidermis. Although much is known about mechanisms of homeostasis in mature skin, relatively little is known about the two cell types in pre-stratification skin. To define the similarities and distinctions between periderm and basal skin epithelial cells, we purified them from zebrafish at early development stages and deeply profiled their gene expression. These analyses identified groups of genes whose tissue enrichment changed at each stage, defining gene flow dynamics of maturing vertebrate epithelia. At each of 52 and 72 hr post-fertilization (hpf), more than 60% of genes enriched in skin cells were similarly expressed in both layers, indicating that they were common epithelial genes, but many others were enriched in one layer or the other. Both expected and novel genes were enriched in periderm and basal cell layers. Genes encoding extracellular matrix, junctional, cytoskeletal, and signaling proteins were prominent among those distinguishing the two epithelial cell types. In situ hybridization and BAC transgenes confirmed our expression data and provided new tools to study zebrafish skin. Collectively, these data provide a resource for studying common and distinguishing features of maturing epithelia