Reproductive Rates, Kitten Survival, and Den Site Selection of Bobcats (Lynx Rufus) in the Black Hills, South Dakota

The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is an important furbearer in South Dakota. However, management of bobcats can be difficult because of their elusive nature and lack of demographic information. In particular, managers lack information on abundance, survival, and reproductive rates necessary to ensure sustainable harvests and stable populations through time. Additionally, cause-specific mortality can provide insight into the factors influencing bobcat kitten survival rates, as well as reveal actions managers could take to improve survival. Bobcat resource selection can vary depending on spatial scale and it is important to understand how denning may result in different selection patterns at multiple scales. There is currently little known about bobcat den site selection and understanding this aspect of bobcat resource selection will provide valuable information on bobcat ecology. I tracked 35 female bobcats in the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA, during the spring and summer of 2020 and 2021. I obtained estimates of reproductive rates by directly observing the number of kittens in the dens. To evaluate kitten survival and cause-specific mortality, I fitted 40 bobcat kittens with VHF radio collars that were equipped with a mortality switch. Estimates of breeding success, litter size, and kitten survival were analyzed using Bayesian methods and I evaluated if they varied across several intrinsic and extrinsic variables. I evaluated bobcat den site selection on a hierarchical scale: (1) at the den site and (2) at the den area and determined resource characteristics associated with den site selection. Using ground triangulation, I located dens (n = 27) from 18 collared adult female bobcats. I evaluated bobcat den site selection using discrete choice analysis and fitted models using Bayesian methods. Breeding success, the probability a female reproduced, in 2020 (0.56) was more than twice as great compared to 2021 (0.26). Expected litter size was 2.11. Estimated annual kitten survival was 0.17 and was significantly correlated to minimum daily temperatures. Primary causes of mortality were starvation and predation. Bobcats selected dens that had significantly higher horizontal cover compared to random sites at the den site scale. Bobcats also selected sites that had significantly higher horizontal cover and terrain ruggedness compared to random sites at the den area scale. These results suggest that den site selection is perhaps strongly driven by the need for concealment from predators and other disturbances. Estimates of reproductive rates and annual kitten survival are missing elements which will be used to create a demographic growth rate model for bobcats in the Black Hills. Collected vital rates, combined with information on den site selection, provide important insights into bobcat ecology and inform management of bobcats in the Black Hills, South Dakota

Interview with Regina White, and Morrison at A Taste of Country

Regina White and Elaine Morrison discuss local food and where it comes from.https://digital.kenyon.edu/elfs_interviews/1035/thumbnail.jp

Interview with Regina White, and Morrison at A Taste of Country

Regina White and Elaine Morrison talk about a bulk food store in Frederickstown, Ohio.https://digital.kenyon.edu/elfs_interviews/1011/thumbnail.jp

Determination of Stable Isotope Analysis as a Valid Method for Identifying Tick Blood Meals

In order to decrease Lyme disease prevalence it is crucial to understand the role of the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, and its hosts within the ecosystem. This study sought to validate stable isotope analysis as a method of determining tick blood meals by comparing the δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of the mammal host to the blood ingested by the tick. The hosts included white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus, eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus, and eastern gray squirrel, Scuirus carolinensis. The isotopic discrimination factors were found for each species and can be used in future studies. The white-footed mouse based discrimination factors (-4.23 δ¹³C for blood-adult tick and -3.10 δ¹⁵N for blood-nymph tick) were used to correct the spacing for all samples. While both adult and nymph ticks consistently appeared at elevated nitrogen levels, there was not a major difference in the ticks' δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N relative to the host. It would be difficult to determine with confidence what mammal host a tick fed on based on isotopic discrimination

Variations in signal-to-noise characteristics of tissue-equivalent attenuators for mammographic automatic exposure control system performance evaluation

PURPOSE: This work investigates the impact of tissue-equivalent attenuator choice on measured signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for automatic exposure control (AEC) performance evaluation in digital mammography. It also investigates how the SNR changes for each material when used to evaluate AEC performance across different mammography systems. METHODS: AEC performance was evaluated for four mammography systems using seven attenuator sets at two thicknesses (4 and 8 cm). All systems were evaluated in 2D imaging mode, and one system was evaluated in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) mode. The methodology followed the 2018 ACR digital mammography quality control (DMQC) manual. Each system-attenuator-thickness combination was evaluated using For Processing images in ImageJ with standard ROI size and location. The closest annual physicist testing results were used to explore the impact of varying measured AEC performance on image quality. RESULTS: The measured SNR varied by 44%-54% within each system across all attenuators at 4 cm thickness in 2D mode. The variation appeared to be largely due to changes in measured noise, with variations of 46%-67% within each system across all attenuators at 4 cm thickness in 2D mode. Two systems had failing SNR levels for two of the materials using the minimum SNR criterion specified in the ACR DMQC manual. Similar trends were seen in DBT mode and at 8 cm thickness. Within each material, there was 115%-131% variation at 4 cm and 82%-114% variation at 8 cm in the measured SNR across the four imaging systems. Variation in SNR did not correlate with system operating level based on visual image quality and average glandular dose (AGD). CONCLUSION: Choice of tissue-equivalent attenuator for AEC performance evaluation affects measured SNR values. Depending on the material, the difference may be enough to result in failure following the longitudinal and absolute thresholds specified in the ACR DMQC manual

Prospectus, January 23, 2020

GOUGH NAMED HEAD COACH, Clean Energy Act Proposed, Why the Tension Between Iran and US?, Faculty Spare Time for Bowling, Meet the Staff: Scott Landells, Black Queens Rock Event Feb. 3, Parkland Basketball Crushes Malcom Xhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2020/1000/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, January 30, 2020

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT CANNABIS USE, Prospectus Welcomes Professor Watt, Parkland Theatre Brings Home Award, Meet the Staff: Michelle Barnhart, Black History Month Events Set for February, Perimeter Road to Release Fourth Singles Series Mid-Februaryhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2020/1001/thumbnail.jp

The F... is Goth Anyway: Classification, Dynamic Practice and Goth in Adelaide

This dissertation utilises dynamic practice theory to examine how goth is negotiated and practiced in two distinct but overlapping scenes (Dar k Alternative and Post-Punk) in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted from 2012 to 2014, I explore how goths negotiate and renegotiate the definition and the boundaries of goth in the flow of practice. This fieldwork included an extended period of participant observation, interviews with key participants and ‘online’ research on social media sites, social networking sites, and various online resources that were available to goths in Adelaide. This multifaceted approach helped account for the complexities of research participants’ lives and practices and of my research field, where goth was a marginal cultural practice that overlapped with other similar practices in local scenes. The primary aim of this thesis is to unpack how goths work to sustain an image of goth as a legitimate cultural practice that is not only distinctive, but ‘normal’ to do and be. As the title of this dissertation suggests, what goth ‘means’ and how it ‘should’ be practiced is a prevalent concern and recurrent source of tension among goths. Throughout my fieldwork these tensions and concerns became apparent in different ways, including: overt questions such as ‘What is goth?’, ‘Is [x] goth?’ and ‘Am I goth if…?’, as well as in implicit and explicit value judgements, the policing of boundaries of inclusion and exclusion, and an emphasis on tacit understandings and actions. This dissertation focuses on these evaluations of authentic and legitimate people, practices, and things. I demonstrate that my participants use these evaluative processes to claim authentic identities and a legitimate status among goths. This impacts where and how they practice goth, and whether or not others believe they have the authority to represent goth in various contexts. An essential part of this process involves participants’ development of personalised interpretations of goth, which I call ‘my goth’. This process requires significant commitments to goth practices and interests, particularly its musical aspects. However, it also necessitates that individuals do not limit themselves to goth but embrace ‘non - goth’ aspects of their lives and interests, negotiating these diverse dimensions in practice. Throughout the thesis chapters, I explore goths’ practical negotia tions of their cultural practice and its boundaries. I contend that these local practices intersect with transnational practices, histories, and definitions—both those within goth and within the popular imagination. I demonstrate that these transnational discourses are vital to the practices of goths in my research field due to the small number of goths in Adelaide. I suggest that locally -grounded practices, especially public performances within Adelaide’s Dark Alternative and Postpunk scenes, are also vital spaces for collective negotiations of goth in Adelaide. My findings make important contributions to both the study of youth cultures and the application of dynamic practice theory. In particular, I demonstrate that dynamic practice theory is a useful theoretical lens that helps account for the complex, dynamic and everyday characteristics of goth as a distinct cultural practice.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 201

Prospectus, October 17, 2019

JESSICA GONDECK: ENTERPRISING MACHINGES AT GIERTZ GALLERY; Club Latino active on campus; The Parkland Library fosters anonymous discussion; Parkland partners with Public Health Flu Clinic; Black Student Success Project and Parkland Police hold event; COM teacher hosts Analog Hour on WPCDhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2019/1045/thumbnail.jp