Coyote (Canis latrans) use of marine resources in coastal California: A new behavior relative to their recent ancestors

Coyotes ( Canis latrans) are known to consume marine foods, but the importance and persistence of marine subsidies to coyotes is unknown. Recent access to a marine subsidy, especially if gained following apex predator loss, may facilitate coyote expansion along coastal routes and amplify the effects of mesopredator release. Our goal was to quantify and contextualize past and present marine resource use by coyotes on the central coast of California via stable isotope analysis. We measured δ13C and δ15N values in coyotes, their competitors, and their food resources at two modern sites, seven archaeological sites spanning in age from ~3000 to 750 BP, and from historical (AD 1893–1992) coyote and grizzly bear hair and bone sourced from coastal counties. We found evidence for marine resource use by modern coastal California coyotes at one site, Año Nuevo, which hosts a mainland northern elephant seal ( Mirounga angustirostris) breeding colony. Seals and sea lions account for ~20% of Año Nuevo coyote diet throughout the year and this marine subsidy likely positively impacts coyote population size. Isotopic data suggest that neither historic nor prehistoric coyotes consumed marine-derived foods, even at sites near ancient mainland seal rookeries. Marine resource use by some contemporary California coyotes is a novel behavior relative to their recent ancestors. We hypothesize that human alteration of the environment through extirpation of the California grizzly bear and the more recent protection of marine mammals likely enabled this behavioral shift

Bifurcations and the Emergence of L2 Syntactic Structures in a Complex Dynamic System

We report on a complex dynamic systems study of an untutored adult French learner\u27s development of English syntax, specifically two non-finite adverbial constructions. The study was conducted over one academic year of 30 weeks. From an analysis of L2 speech samples collected weekly, certain patterns in the flux emerged. The learner\u27s ensuing second language development is characterized by a series of bifurcations, stemming from forms competing for the same functional terrain. Each bifurcation is accompanied by turbulence as the system moves from one attractor state to another. The transition is characterized by loss of stability, an increase in variability, and a period of dysfluency. It is in the dynamic relationship of accuracy and fluency that novel syntactic forms emerge, both convergent with and divergent from dominant contextual patterns, with dominance established by consulting a well-known corpus of contemporary English. Non-linear development occurs with continuous and iterative exposure to and interaction in English-from relexification to adaptation and synchronization, animated by the learner\u27s perception and memory of regular sequential associations, to pruning of divergent forms. What results over time is a branching hierarchy, connecting online processing with over time development. Multiple competing forms continue to co-exist in the learner\u27s repertoire, which is likely more typical of adult L2 development than of L1 acquisition

The (mis)matching of resources and assessed need in remote Aboriginal community aged care

© 2014 The Authors. Australasian Journal on Ageing published by Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd on behalf of Australian Council on the Ageing and The Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.Aim: To examine processes of aged-care needs assessment for Aboriginal people in remote central Australia to assist development of appropriate models of aged care. Method: A qualitative study involving 11 semistructured interviews with aged-care assessors and two focus groups with Aboriginal community members. Results: This paper reports four major themes concerning how needs assessments relate to realities of service delivery: cultural perspectives on aged care, context of service delivery, equity and access to services, and program (mis)alignments. Conclusion: Disparities exist between assessment recommendations and service availability, with a potential mismatch between Aboriginal understandings of needs, interpretations by individual assessment staff and program guidelines. Incorporating a conceptual framework, such as the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, into service guidelines to ensure structured consideration of a person’s holistic needs may assist, as will building the capacity of communities to provide the level and type of services required

Prenatal to Grade 3 Alignment Initiative

The purpose of this project is to create stronger connections between elementary schools & providers of early childhood care/education programs; and between schools & parents of young children in 10 grantee communities across Oregon. The evaluation team developed data collection tools and is currently providing data collection and utilization training and technical assistance, and conducting systems evaluation data collection and analysis

Editorial : In Asia-Pacific journal of teacher education, v.39 n.1

In the last issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education in 2009, the editorial team predicted an increase in the number of quality paper submissions to the journal in 2010. This was certainly the case

MESSAGES FROM THE ASSEMBLY

Heavenly Father, we give You thanksgiving for these who have dedicated themselves to serve the citizens of Nevada through the Seventy-third Legislative Session. Give to each one the wisdom and compassion that they will need to accomplish their task in the days ahead. Help these Senators to lead with their minds and hearts throughout this new session. I pray that You will give special guidance to the Senate leadership as they guide this Senate. Give strength for the days ahead to Lieutenant Governor Hunt, Majority Leader Raggio and Minority Leader Titus. Thank You for hearing and answering prayer. In the Name of my wonderful Lord and Savior, I pray. AMEN. Pledge of allegiance to the Flag. Senator Raggio moved that further reading of the Journal be dispensed with, and the President and Secretary be authorized to make the necessary corrections and additions. Motion carried

Prospectus, August 23, 1976

$7.4 MILLION BUDGET APPROVED BY PARKLAND BOARD OF TRUSTEES; PC radio permit sought; Calendar of Events; Stephen D. Fisher; Editorial: Letter to a Parkland mommy; Greetings from the school, Stu-Go, and Prospectus: Well Hello, Hello, Hello….....; Food service training prog. to begin; Use your facilities: Game Room open daily; 67 hours and 40 minutes: Julie Corley star rocker; 5 new teachers; Stu-Go elections Sept. 14, 15; Attention Veterans; Projected student government budget; National competitors: Debate needs new talent; Parkland G.E.D.: Program helps diploma-seekers; Sign up for ladder tournaments; Get involved : Poli-sci for Today -- with a little Econ 000.1 thrown in; Donkeys or elephants, the choice is yours; Story of the year: Schorr addresses Parkland; Lost?... and found; Got a dime?; Peer Counseling begins; C-U awareness taught; Cubs-Cards trip Sept. 5; Gen. Ed. courses offered; Creative Writing offered this fall; Peschka receives$10,000; University Theatre Announces 76-77 Schedule; Peggy Cass Stars in Sullivan; Kooning opens Krannert season; Student tax cut proposed; Classifieds; Abbey elected pres. NJCAA coaches; Athletic Schedules \u2776\u27; A Warm Welcome to Parkland College; Directory of Offices and Services; Items of Interest About the Campus; Campus Services - Day and Eveninghttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1976/1015/thumbnail.jp

When evolution is the solution to pollution : key principles, and lessons from rapid repeated adaptation of killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) populations

© The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Evolutionary Applications 10 (2017): 762–783, doi:10.1111/eva.12470.For most species, evolutionary adaptation is not expected to be sufficiently rapid to buffer the effects of human-mediated environmental changes, including environmental pollution. Here we review how key features of populations, the characteristics of environmental pollution, and the genetic architecture underlying adaptive traits, may interact to shape the likelihood of evolutionary rescue from pollution. Large populations of Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) persist in some of the most contaminated estuaries of the United States, and killifish studies have provided some of the first insights into the types of genomic changes that enable rapid evolutionary rescue from complexly degraded environments. We describe how selection by industrial pollutants and other stressors has acted on multiple populations of killifish and posit that extreme nucleotide diversity uniquely positions this species for successful evolutionary adaptation. Mechanistic studies have identified some of the genetic underpinnings of adaptation to a well-studied class of toxic pollutants; however, multiple genetic regions under selection in wild populations seem to reflect more complex responses to diverse native stressors and/or compensatory responses to primary adaptation. The discovery of these pollution-adapted killifish populations suggests that the evolutionary influence of anthropogenic stressors as selective agents occurs widely. Yet adaptation to chemical pollution in terrestrial and aquatic vertebrate wildlife may rarely be a successful “solution to pollution” because potentially adaptive phenotypes may be complex and incur fitness costs, and therefore be unlikely to evolve quickly enough, especially in species with small population sizes.National Science Foundation Grant Numbers: DEB-1265282, OCE-1314567, DEB-1120263; National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences Grant Numbers: R01ES021934-01, P42ES007381; Postdoctoral Research Program at the US Environmental Protection (US EPA); Office of Research and Development; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Grant Number: DW92429801; US Department of Energ