Predation Danger Can Explain Changes in Timing of Migration: The Case of the Barnacle Goose

Understanding stopover decisions of long-distance migratory birds is crucial for conservation and management of these species along their migratory flyway. Recently, an increasing number of Barnacle geese breeding in the Russian Arctic have delayed their departure from their wintering site in the Netherlands by approximately one month and have reduced their staging duration at stopover sites in the Baltic accordingly. Consequently, this extended stay increases agricultural damage in the Netherlands. Using a dynamic state variable approach we explored three hypotheses about the underlying causes of these changes in migratory behavior, possibly related to changes in (i) onset of spring, (ii) potential intake rates and (iii) predation danger at wintering and stopover sites. Our simulations showed that the observed advance in onset of spring contradicts the observed delay of departure, whereas both increased predation danger and decreased intake rates in the Baltic can explain the delay. Decreased intake rates are expected as a result of increased competition for food in the growing Barnacle goose population. However, the effect of predation danger in the model was particularly strong, and we hypothesize that Barnacle geese avoid Baltic stopover sites as a response to the rapidly increasing number of avian predators in the area. Therefore, danger should be considered as an important factor influencing Barnacle goose migratory behavior, and receive more attention in empirical studies

Promising Practices in Supporting Student Development of Self-Determination Skills (NCSET Teleconference)

A transcript summarizing a teleconference on Florida's Self-Determination Initiative that helps educators support youth with disabilities in developing self-determination skills.NCSET is supported through cooperative agreement #H326J000005 with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of the U.S. Department of Education, and no official endorsement should be inferred

Diurnal cortisol patterns of young male patients with schizophrenia

Aims: It has been suggested that schizophrenic patients are more vulnerable to stress than healthy persons, and that stressors can trigger a psychotic episode or worsen symptoms. The biological system often studied in relation to stress is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which controls the release of cortisol. We investigated whether the diurnal basal activity of the HPA axis differed between young male patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Methods: Twenty-seven male patients (mean age 22 +/- 5 years) and 38 healthy male control subjects (mean age 22 +/- 3 years) were included in the present study. Saliva was sampled at five time points during the day: directly after awakening, 30 min thereafter, and at 12.00 hours, 16.00 hours and 22.00 hours. Results: The cortisol concentration decreased significantly more during the day in the patient group thanin the control group. Patients also showed a significantly decreased area under the curve with respect to the increase, again indicating that the cortisol concentrations decreased more during the day in patients than in controls. Both the morning increase and the area under the curve with respect to the increase were significantly negatively correlated with negative symptom severity. Conclusions: Patients with schizophrenia showed a different daytime sensitivity of the HPA axis. Our findings further suggest that an increase in negative symptom severity is related to a decreased HPA axis sensitivity

Analyse der Vorschläge der EU-Kommission vom 12. Oktober 2011 zur künftigen Gestaltung der Direktzahlungen im Rahmen der GAP nach 2013

Zusammenfassung : Dieser Arbeitsbericht analysiert und bewertet die Auswirkungen der Vorschläge der EU-Kommission zur künftigen Gestaltung der Direktzahlungen an landwirtschaftliche Betriebe ab 2014. Im Mittelpunkt der auf Deutschland bezogenen Analysen stehen die Vorschläge zum sogenannten Greening, das neue Anforderungen hinsichtlich der Anbaudiversifizierung, der Bereitstellung ökologischer Vorrangflächen und des Erhalts von Dauergrünland vorsieht. Darüber hinaus werden zentrale weitere Vorschläge, wie zum Beispiel die allgemeine Kürzung der Direktzahlungen, deren mögliche Umverteilung in die 2. Säule der GAP sowie die Degression und Kappung der Zahlungen behandelt. Neben eher kurzfristig und auf das Machbare orientierten Empfehlungen betonen die Autoren der Studie, dass sie die 2. Säule der GAP für zielgerichtete Maßnahmen geeigneter halten als die 1. Säule. Daher sollten langfristig für Direktzahlungen vorgesehene Mittel zunehmend in die 2. Säule verlagert werden und dort möglichst gezielt eingesetzt werden. In der Förderperiode 2014 bis 2020 sollte Deutschland die Optionen zur Stärkung der 2. Säule ausschöpfen. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary: This working paper presents recently published proposals of the European Commission for direct payments to farmers as of 2014, and both analyses and assesses their impacts. The focus lies on the so called greening measures with regard to Germany which include new requirements regarding crop rotation, the provision of ecologically favoured areas and a conservation of permanent pastures. Furthermore, the analyses deal with other important proposals, e.g. a general reduction of direct payments in Germany, their optional reallocation towards the 2. pillar of the CAP and the degression and capping of the payments. In addition to a number of feasible short term recommendations, the authors of the study stress that in the long run direct payments should be more focused on goods that are desired by society. During the funding period 2014 to 2020 Germany should fully utilize the options to strengthen the 2. pillar