Use of Waterfowl Production Areas by Ducks and Coots in Eastern South Dakota

The use of Waterfowl Production Areas (WPA) by American coots (Fulica americana) and ducks was studied during 1970 and 1971 in east-central South Dakota The Eriksrud WPA, a type IV wetland with 55 acres of water area and 35 acres of upland, contained 188 coot nests during the 2-year study. Of the 188 coot nests, 178 hatched for a success rate of 95 percent. Average clutch size of 130 completed clutches was 8.4. Average size of 21 coot broods from 4 to 6 weeks of age was 6.1. Coot production on the Eriksrud area was estimated at 543 young per year. Most coot nests were located in stands of cattail (Typha latifolia), the dominant plant species of the wetland. Condition of the habitat influenced the number of coots nesting on the area. Lowered water levels in 1971 left many emergents standing in very shallow water or on dry ground, limiting available nesting sites. Renesting by coots depended on the stage of incubation at the time of egg removal; 90 percent of the nests in which eggs were removed early in incubation resulted in renesting attempts. Counts of breeding pairs of dabbler ducks were made on four WPAs in 1971 and blue-winged teal (Anas discors), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and gadwall (Anas strepera) were found to be the most abundant. On the Eriksrud area, the most common nesting ducks were blue-winged teal and canvasback (Aythya valisineria), eight nests of each being located during the 2-year study. Mallards, ruddy ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) , and a redhead (Aythya americana) also nested on the area. The most commonly observed duck broods on the Eriksrud area were those of blue-winged teal, ruddy duck, mallard and canvasback. One wood duck (Aix sponsa) brood was observed

Othering through Gendering Discourses and Patriarchal Hegemonies in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible

Many postcolonial studies of the relationship between the 'empire' and the 'margin' have revealed that it is characterized by persistent dominance and exploitation. Scholars like Frantz Fanon have argued that colonial encounters between the West and Africa constitute a relationship of dominance and oppression in which the oppressed is maintained as an exploited Other to the dominant Self. While the power differential in this relationship is obsessively guarded through varying forms of othering, the dominant self subtly explores new ways of upholding the structures of supremacy over the Other. Gender is one such subtle means, in the sense that the colonial Other is often ingeniously conceived as the traditional female who is a subordinate (Other) to the male. This essay examines ways in which such othering through gendering is achieved in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible.Keywords: Gender, Othering, Post-colonialis

Cosmological backreaction in the presence of radiation and a cosmological constant

V. A. A. S. and T. C. both acknowledge support from the STFC

Nitrite production by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria mediates chloramine decay and resistance in a mixed-species community.

As water distribution centres increasingly switch to using chloramine to disinfect drinking water, it is of paramount importance to determine the interactions of chloramine with potential biological contaminants, such as bacterial biofilms, that are found in these systems. For example, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are known to accelerate the decay of chloramine in drinking water systems, but it is also known that organic compounds can increase the chloramine demand. This study expanded upon our previously published model to compare the decay of chloramine in response to alginate, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Nitrosomonas europaea and a mixed-species nitrifying culture, exploring the contributions of microbial by-products, heterotrophic bacteria and AOBs to chloramine decay. Furthermore, the contribution of AOBs to biofilm stability during chloramination was investigated. The results demonstrate that the biofilm matrix or extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), represented by alginate in these experiments, as well as high concentrations of dead or inactive cells, can drive chloramine decay rather than any specific biochemical activity of P. aeruginosa cells. Alginate was shown to reduce chloramine concentrations in a dose-dependent manner at an average rate of 0.003 mg l-1  h-1 per mg l-1 of alginate. Additionally, metabolically active AOBs mediated the decay of chloramine, which protected members of mixed-species biofilms from chloramine-mediated disinfection. Under these conditions, nitrite produced by AOBs directly reacted with chloramine to drive its decay. In contrast, biofilms of mixed-species communities that were dominated by heterotrophic bacteria due to either the absence of ammonia, or the addition of nitrification inhibitors and glucose, were highly sensitive to chloramine. These results suggest that mixed-species biofilms are protected by a combination of biofilm matrix-mediated inactivation of chloramine as well as the conversion of ammonia to nitrite through the activity of AOBs present in the community

Sociological factors in Reefs-Santa Cruz language vitality: a 40 year retrospective

This article looks back over 40 years of language and culture change in the region of the Solomon Islands where the four Reefs-Santa Cruz (RSC) languages are spoken. Taking the works of Davenport and Wurm as a starting point, we list specific linguistic changes we have identified and discuss the sociological factors which have both promoted and undermined the vitality of these languages. We then determine the level of vitality for each language through the recently proposed Extended Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale — EGIDS (Lewis and Simons 2010), and based on our results for the RSC languages, we provide a short evaluation of the usefulness of EGIDS for prioritizing language documentation effort

The Impact of Implementing Core Curriculum in an Outdoor Classroom on Primary-Aged Students’ Academic Achievement

This paper explores the impact teaching core curricula outdoors has on primary aged students’ academic achievement. A four-week study was conducted in eight primary aged classrooms found in four Minnesota public schools. The study, featuring students in kindergarten, second grade and third grade, was conducted in both mainstream classrooms as well as gifted and talented classrooms. The study compared students’ academic achievement after being taught core curricula in the outdoor classroom to their peers in a control classroom that received the core instruction inside. The experimental design of the study included various forms of qualitative and quantitative data including pre- and post-assessments, anecdotal inventories and checklists, and Fountas and Pinnell benchmark assessments. Due to the varying degree of correlation amongst the classrooms, the results of the study were inconclusive. There proved to be a stronger connection to teaching curricula outdoors in mainstream classrooms compared to those in gifted classrooms. It is suggested that teachers begin to implement core instruction outdoors alongside traditional indoor instruction