EFFECTS OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICESmON GRASSLAND BIRDS: BREWER’S SPARROW

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 5,500 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which provides the fundamental components or keys to management for the species. A section on breeding range outlines the current breeding distribution of the species in North America, including areas that could not be mapped using BBS data. The suitable habitat section describes the breeding habitat and occasionally microhabitat characteristics of the species, especially those habitats that occur in the Great Plains. Details on habitat and microhabitat requirements often provide clues to how a species will respond to a particular management practice. A table near the end of the account complements the section on suitable habitat, and lists the specific habitat characteristics for the species by individual studies. A special section on prey habitat is included for those predatory species that have more specific prey requirements. The area requirements section provides details on territory and home range sizes, minimum area requirements, and the effects of patch size, edges, and other landscape and habitat features on abundance and productivity. It may be futile to manage a small block of suitable habitat for a species that has minimum area requirements that are larger than the area being managed. The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) is an obligate brood parasite of many grassland birds. The section on cowbird brood parasitism summarizes rates of cowbird parasitism, host responses to parasitism, and factors that influence parasitism, such as nest concealment and host density. The impact of management depends, in part, upon a species’ nesting phenology and biology. The section on breeding-season phenology and site fidelity includes details on spring arrival and fall departure for migratory populations in the Great Plains, peak breeding periods, the tendency to renest after nest failure or success, and the propensity to return to a previous breeding site. The duration and timing of breeding varies among regions and years. Species’ response to management summarizes the current knowledge and major findings in the literature on the effects of different management practices on the species. The section on management recommendations complements the previous section and summarizes specific recommendations for habitat management provided in the literature. If management recommendations differ in different portions of the species’ breeding range, recommendations are given separately by region. The literature cited contains references to published and unpublished literature on the management effects and habitat requirements of the species. This section is not meant to be a complete bibliography; a searchable, annotated bibliography of published and unpublished papers dealing with habitat needs of grassland birds and their responses to habitat management is posted at the Web site mentioned below

When the Facts and the Law Are Against You, Argue the Genes?: A Pragmatic Analysis of Genotyping Mitigation Defenses for Psychopathic Defendants in Death Penalty Cases

The penalty phase in a capital case represents the most challenging, yet important part of the trial. Once a trial progresses to this stage, the jury has already rendered a guilty verdict, and the defense attorney faces the uphill battle of humanizing the defendant in order to distance him or her from the heinous act. Such a task proves especially difficult in cases involving a psychopathic defendant. This individual‘s emotionally detached, manipulative, and callous nature severely inhibits the attorney‘s ability to connect with the defendant. Even more troubling, the combination of these characteristics exudes an air of remorselessness to the jury. In this situation, the attorney faces a difficult situation in which he or she is constitutionally required to provide a humanizing composite picture of the defendant for the mitigation phase, but such a task seems nearly impossible when the client appears to be devoid of all characteristics we typically associate with human nature. Without some creative form of mitigation evidence, the jury will undoubtedly find this defendant more monster than human and impose the death penalty. In the past, such a situation may have ended with the defendant receiving the death penalty, or, in some rare instances, the case getting reversed for a Sixth Amendment violation for ineffective assistance of counsel. New advances in neuroscience technology over the last twenty years, however, have allowed criminal defense attorneys to identify a wide array of brain abnormalities that may assist in mitigation. While brain scanning technology has received the majority of research and application in criminal cases in recent years, relatively new to the courts is genetic research that has revealed a genetic predisposition for one‘s propensity for violence. Specifically, independently conducted research studies in the field of behavioral genetics suggest that the combination of genetic predisposition and an abusive environment may significantly contribute to violent antisocial behavior, including psychopathy. While past scholarship and recent public debate have focused upon the long-term normative implications of neuroscience and culpability, this Note explores genotyping‘s practical application in current capital cases involving psychopathic defendants.This Note avoids any normative discussions concerning morality and culpability in light of the new advances in neuroscience. Instead, it focuses more on the pragmatic considerations that capital defense attorneys routinely encounter while attempting to fulfill their constitutional obligations. Even though this Note does not propose genotyping defenses as the ultimate panacea for mitigation difficulties,the Note does advocate that genotyping evidence, combined with psychological evaluation, family history evidence, and expert psychological testimony, could provide a potentially powerful mitigation tool to capital defense attorneys when representing a psychopathic defendant. This Note proceeds in four parts. Part I defines psychopathy and discusses potential causes and diagnostic devices used to identify this disorder. Part II explores the basic structure of capital cases, common mitigation techniques, and potential deficiencies in mitigation evidence when applied to psychopathic defendants. Part III discusses how neuroimaging and genotyping may account for some of the deficiencies in mitigation. Part IV conducts an in-depth case analysis, examines the potential costs and benefits of using genotyping defenses, and provides recommendations for use in future trials

Greater Sage-Grouse Response to Coal-Bed Natural Gas Development and West Nile Virus in the Powder River Basin, Montana and Wyoming, USA

Understanding how population dynamics respond to landscape-scale disturbance and disease are crucial for effective wildlife management and conservation. Two new potential stressors on greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations in the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming are coal-bed natural gas (CBNG) development and West Nile virus (WNv). I first examined how CBNG development, habitat, and other landscape features influenced trends in the abundance of displaying males and the status of sage-grouse leks. Second, I used rates of WNv-induced mortality and seroprevalence from radio-marked birds to estimate rates of WNv infection. Third, I studied the influence of female characteristics, season, and environmental variables on nest, brood, and female survival. I then used population models to estimate potential impacts of WNv on population growth. From 2001-2005, numbers of males on leks in CBNG fields declined more rapidly than leks outside CBNG. Of leks active in 1997 or later, only 38% within CBNG remained active by 2004-2005, compared to 84% of leks outside CBNG. By 2005, leks in CBNG had 46% fewer males per active lek than leks outside CBNG. Persistence of 110 leks was positively influenced by proportion sagebrush habitat within 6.4 km of the lek and negatively affected by CBNG development at multiple scales. Prohibiting CBNG development within 0.4 km of sage-grouse leks is inadequate to ensure lek persistence. From 2003-2005, minimum WNv-related mortality rates from 1 July-15 September ranged from 2.4-13.3% and maximum possible rates ranged from 8.2-28.9%. In spring 2005 and 2006, 10.3% and 1.8% respectively, of newly-captured females tested seropositive for neutralizing antibodies to WNv. Annual WNv infection rates were lower in habitats without CBNG development. Summer mortality from WNv occurred every year, decreased annual female survival rates by 0-27% per year, and reduced estimates of population growth by 7-10% per year. Changes in epizootiology of WNv and in distribution and management of surface water from CBNG development will play an important role in long-term impacts of WNv on greater sage-grouse populations in the Powder River Basin. Management should focus on eliminating man-made water sources that support breeding mosquitos known to vector the virus

Petrologic Insights into Rift Zone Magmatic Interactions under Kīlauea's Nāpau Crater (1922-2011).

M.S. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017

The influence of at-planting insecticide treatments on tobacco thrips, (Thysanoptera:Thripidae), and reniform nematode, (Tylenchida:Hoplolaimidae), in conventional and ThryvOn cotton systems

One of the objectives of this research was to evaluate the need for an additional imidacloprid seed treatment on ThryvOn® (Bayer Crop Science®, St. Louis, MO) cotton to effectively manage tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds). While evaluating thrips densities and damage ratings, ThryvOn cotton continued to display reduced damage and thrips populations than non-ThryvOn. Thrips populations and damage ratings were consistently reduced when incorporating a higher rate of imidacloprid, but they were not reduced enough to justify the higher rates of imidacloprid. Another objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of aldicarb (AgLogic Chemical®, LLC; Chapel Hill, NC) and ThryvOn on reniform nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis (Linford & Oliveira). The impact of aldicarb and ThryvOn technology had no impact on reniform nematode densities in Mississippi cotton throughout this study. The reduced thrips populations and damage ratings provided by ThryvOn cotton has the potential to improve integrated pest management in the southern U.S

Metropolitan-Micropolitan Difference in Available Labor Force Characteristics: Three Great Plains Labor Basins

This study explores differences in labor availability characteristics among those living in metropolitan and micropolitan areas. Data used in this study are from surveys of adults in two adjacent Midwestern states and from three separate labor basins. Primary patterns under examination include wage demands, benefit demands, distance willing to commute for a job, perceived underemployment and entrepreneurial propensity. Bivariate analyses show no relationship between basin size and entrepreneurial propensity nor between basin size and willingness to commute. However, basin size has significant influence on four of the seven dependent variables, even after controlling for many sociodemographic characteristics. In multivariate analyses, health benefits, retirement benefits, education assistance and underemployed for skills continue to be significantly associated with size of basin, while desired wage, on the job (OJT) or paid training and underemployed for education are not significantly associated. Micropolitan area available labor pool (ALP) members place more importance on health benefits, retirement benefits and education assistance in considering new employment than do metropolitan ALP members. Among employed ALP, metropolitan respondents have a stronger perception of being underemployed given their skill level. These data are from only three labor basin areas. Variation is highly restricted due to the small number of places for comparative analysis. Future research will incorporate additional labor basins

Metropolitan-Micropolitan Difference in Available Labor Force Characteristics: Three Great Plains Labor Basins

This study explores differences in labor availability characteristics among those living in metropolitan and micropolitan areas. Data used in this study are from surveys of adults in two adjacent Midwestern states and from three separate labor basins. Primary patterns under examination include wage demands, benefit demands, distance willing to commute for a job, perceived underemployment and entrepreneurial propensity. Bivariate analyses show no relationship between basin size and entrepreneurial propensity nor between basin size and willingness to commute. However, basin size has significant influence on four of the seven dependent variables, even after controlling for many sociodemographic characteristics. In multivariate analyses, health benefits, retirement benefits, education assistance and underemployed for skills continue to be significantly associated with size of basin, while desired wage, on the job (OJT) or paid training and underemployed for education are not significantly associated. Micropolitan area available labor pool (ALP) members place more importance on health benefits, retirement benefits and education assistance in considering new employment than do metropolitan ALP members. Among employed ALP, metropolitan respondents have a stronger perception of being underemployed given their skill level. These data are from only three labor basin areas. Variation is highly restricted due to the small number of places for comparative analysis. Future research will incorporate additional labor basins

Are low-cost sensors good enough for IAQ controls?

This study used laboratory testing to evaluate low-cost (about 200 US) IAQ monitors that measured PM2.5 to determine if they are suitable for controlling IAQ for ventilation or air cleaning systems. Current Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) standards and approaches to minimizing pollutants depend almost exclusively on using dilution with outdoor air for some generic, continuously generated contaminant (e.g., ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2016). Some standards include measurement of CO2 (e.g., EN 13779 standard (CEN, 2007) and NEN 8088 (NEN, 2011)) – however this is not because CO2 itself is a pollutant of concern, but rather because it can be used as an occupancy indicator or as something that correlates with bioeffluents. Ideally, we would like to measure contaminant concentrations directly and ventilate to control their concentration within acceptable limits. This would ensure that concentrations do not got too high (as they can if emission rates exceed our assumptions) and also allow for ventilation reductions, and resulting energy savings, if concentrations are low. Until recently, it was impractical to consider direct contaminant control in residential (and many commercial) spaces due to the high cost and maintenance requirements for monitoring equipment. In the past couple of years low-cost sensors have been developed for some contaminants of concern – the greatest example of which is for particles. These sensors have been incorporated into low-cost (<250 US) IAQ monitors. This has opened up the possibility of direct control of ventilation (and filtration systems) by sensing particles. However, it is important to evaluate these monitors to determine if their results are sufficiently good to control a ventilation system