Nitrogen concentrations in lichens as a proxy for Nitrogen deposition

This study addressed the potential for using lichens as a metric to estimate rates of nitrogen (N) deposition in the Colorado subalpine. I tested the hypothesis that lichen tissue N concentration could be used as a proxy for N deposition in the absence of deposition monitors. To test this hypothesis I conducted two experiments using four species of lichens that occur throughout the subalpine ecosystems of the southern Rocky Mountains. The first experiment measured the changes in lichen N concentration in response to 5 treatment levels of N additions in a greenhouse environment over three months. The second experiment measured lichen tissue N concentration in the vicinity of deposition monitors throughout the Colorado subalpine. For each experiment I used a linear regression to test whether the relationship between N deposition and lichen tissue concentration could be used as a predictive model for N deposition. There was a significant positive relationship between treatment and tissue concentration for Usnea lapponica in the greenhouse experiment. The other three species included in this study showed no correlation. N concentration in Xanthoparmelia coloradoensis showed a significant correlation with measured wet deposition in the field study. The other three species showed no relationship

Understanding Patterns and Functional Impacts of an Invasive Tree and Its Biological Control in a Riparian System

Invasive species have become an inextricable part of the landscape, particularly in riparian plant communities, and removal is often a key component of restoration programs. Biological control (biocontrol) is a method of removal that is often both efficient and effective. However, the impact of biocontrol on target species and indirect effects from invasive species removal can be hard to predict. While monitoring the impact of invasive species removal usually involves some species-based assessment such as changes in diversity, historically dominant species or native species, these strategies do not typically provide insight into the mechanisms underlying plant community response to removal. My research that I present here seeks to expand our understanding of the drivers underlying variations in impact of a biocontrol beetle (Diorhabda spp.) on a dominant invasive tree (Tamarix spp.) in the southwestern United States. I used spatial modeling to uncover underlying structure in the response of Tamarix to Diorhabda. I found evidence for compensatory growth in response to defoliation. I also showed that a large portion of spatially structured variation in Tamarix cover was not associated with abiotic conditions, suggesting that biotic factors may be more important in determining the impact of biocontrol. Biocontrol defoliation creates a natural gradient of invasive species cover across the landscape. I examined Tamarix dominated sites across a large geographic extent to understand how both the abiotic environment and varied levels of Tamarix influence the functional composition of underlying plant communities. I found that Tamarix cover encourages shade tolerance, sexual reproduction and short life cycles in the understory plant community. To better understand the long-term effect of Tamarix defoliation and the response to a specific defoliation event, I examined traits and functional diversity over the course of 8 years, up to 14 years after initial defoliation. This study provides evidence that understory plant communities stabilize after an initial defoliation event and supports the previous findings on plant community functional response to Tamarix. My research adds to the body of knowledge regarding the role of environmental filters in structuring the plant communities and aids land-managers in anticipating plant community response to invasive species removal

Examining the Mediating Role of Challenge and Threat Appraisal Tendencies on the Relationships Between Mastery Imagery Ability, Perceived Stress and Proactive Coping

Given the associations between mastery imagery ability, challenge and threat appraisal tendencies, perceived stress and proactive coping, and the implications for health, this research utilised a two-study approach to assess these associations and was the first study to examine whether appraisal states had a mediating role on the relationships of mastery imagery ability with perceived stress and proactive coping. Study 1 used a sample of 148 participants (M age = 22.52, SD = 4.36 years) and Study 2 used a sample of 338 participants (M age = 19.26, SD = 1.58 years). Participants completed online questionnaires measuring mastery imagery ability, challenge and threat appraisal tendencies, perceived stress, and proactive coping. In Study 1, only threat appraisal mediated the relationship between mastery imagery ability and perceived stress. However, both challenge and threat appraisal mediated the relationship between mastery imagery ability and proactive coping. Study 2 results showed challenge appraisal also mediated these relationships, but threat appraisal played no mediating role. Both studies demonstrate the important mediatory role of stress appraisal states, and the role they can have in regulating stress, but further research is warranted to establish when one stress appraisal may mediate the relationship over the other

A solution to treat mixed-type human datasets from socio-ecological systems

Coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) are frequently represented by large datasets with varied data including continuous, ordinal, and categorical variables. Conventional multivariate analyses cannot handle these mixed data types. In this paper, our goal was to show how a clustering method that has not before been applied to understanding the human dimension of CHANS: a Gower dissimilarity matrix with partitioning around medoids (PAM) can be used to treat mixed-type human datasets. A case study of land managers responsible for invasive plant control projects across rivers of the southwestern U.S. was used to characterize managers’ backgrounds and decisions, and project properties through clustering. Results showed that managers could be classified as “federal multitaskers” or as “educated specialists”. Decisions were characterized by being either “quick and active” or “thorough and careful”. Project goals were either comprehensive with ecological goals or more limited in scope. This study shows that clustering with Gower and PAM can simplify the complex human dimension of this system, demonstrating the utility of this approach for systems frequently composed of mixed-type data such as CHANS. This clustering approach can be used to direct scientific recommendations towards homogeneous groups of managers and project types

A Solution to Treat Mixed-Type Human Datasets from Socio-Ecological Systems

Coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) are frequently represented by large datasets with varied data including continuous, ordinal, and categorical variables. Conventional multivariate analyses cannot handle these mixed data types. In this paper, our goal was to show how a clustering method that has not before been applied to understanding the human dimension of CHANS: a Gower dissimilarity matrix with partitioning around medoids (PAM) can be used to treat mixed-type human datasets. A case study of land managers responsible for invasive plant control projects across rivers of the southwestern U.S. was used to characterize managers’ backgrounds and decisions, and project properties through clustering. Results showed that managers could be classified as “federal multitaskers” or as “educated specialists”. Decisions were characterized by being either “quick and active” or “thorough and careful”. Project goals were either comprehensive with ecological goals or more limited in scope. This study shows that clustering with Gower and PAM can simplify the complex human dimension of this system, demonstrating the utility of this approach for systems frequently composed of mixed-type data such as CHANS. This clustering approach can be used to direct scientific recommendations towards homogeneous groups of managers and project types

Tende – Mont Bego : attelages de la zone IV, secteur des Merveilles

Identifiant de l'opération archéologique : 7881 Date de l'opération : 2007 (RE) Inventeur(s) : De Lumeley Henry (CNRS) ; Échassoux Annie (SUP) ; Romain Odile (MUS) Le relevé des gravures rupestres de la région du mont Bego entrepris par Henry de Lumley, sur un territoire d’environ 2 000 ha à l’est de Tende, est en cours de vérification (BSR PACA, 2006 : 94-96). Chaque année de nouvelles roches, généralement peu gravées, s’inscrivent dans le corpus : il s’agit souvent d’un groupe de cupules ép..

Human RioK3 is a novel component of cytoplasmic pre-40S pre-ribosomal particles

Maturation of the 40S ribosomal subunit precursors in mammals mobilizes several non-ribosomal proteins, including the atypical protein kinase RioK2. Here, we have investigated the involvement of another member of the RIO kinase family, RioK3, in human ribosome biogenesis. RioK3 is a cytoplasmic protein that does not seem to shuttle between nucleus and cytoplasm via a Crm1-dependent mechanism as does RioK2 and which sediments with cytoplasmic 40S ribosomal particles in a sucrose gradient. When the small ribosomal subunit biogenesis is impaired by depletion of either rpS15, rpS19 or RioK2, a concomitant decrease in the amount of RioK3 is observed. Surprisingly, we observed a dramatic and specific increase in the levels of RioK3 when the biogenesis of the large ribosomal subunit is impaired. A fraction of RioK3 is associated with the non ribosomal pre-40S particle components hLtv1 and hEnp1 as well as with the 18S-E pre-rRNA indicating that it belongs to a bona fide cytoplasmic pre-40S particle. Finally, RioK3 depletion leads to an increase in the levels of the 21S rRNA precursor in the 18S rRNA production pathway. Altogether, our results strongly suggest that RioK3 is a novel cytoplasmic component of pre-40S pre-ribosomal particle(s) in human cells, required for normal processing of the 21S pre-rRNA

Mission Critical: Reforming Foster Care and Child Protective Services in Massachusetts

One major topic of debate during the 2014 gubernatorial elections was the functioning of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in Massachusetts. Prior to the debates and subsequently as well, the media has highlighted some challenges and issues that plague DCF, and several high-profile cases have sparked not only the attention of our state government, but the public at large as well. After consultation with legislators, we decided that our 2015 Massachusetts Family Impact Seminar would focus on this crisis