Quantifying temporal and spatial variations in sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus transport in stream inflows to a large eutrophic lake

High-frequency sampling of two major stream inflows to a large eutrophic lake (Lake Rotorua, New Zealand) was conducted to measure inputs of total suspended sediment (TSS), and fractions of nitrogen and phosphorus (P). A total of 17 rain events were sampled, including three during which both streams were simultaneously monitored to quantify how concentration–discharge (Q) relationships varied between catchments during similar hydrological conditions. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations declined slightly during events, reflecting dilution of groundwater inputs by rainfall, whereas dissolved inorganic P (PO₄–P) concentrations were variable and unrelated to Q, suggesting dynamic sorptive behaviour. Event loads of total nitrogen (TN) were predominantly DIN, which is available for immediate uptake by primary producers, whereas total phosphorus (TP) loads predominantly comprised particulate P (less labile). Positive correlations between Q and concentrations of TP (and to a lesser extent TN) reflected increased particulate nutrient concentrations at high flows. Consequently, load estimates based on hourly Q during storm events and concentrations of routine monthly samples (mostly base flow) under-estimated TN and TP loads by an average of 19% and 40% respectively. Hysteresis with Q was commonly observed and inclusion of hydrological variables that reflect Q history in regression models improved predictions of TN and TP concentrations. Lorenz curves describing the proportions of cumulative load versus cumulative time quantified temporal inequality in loading. In the two study streams, 50% of estimated two-year loads of TN, TP and TSS were transported in 202–207, 76–126 and 1–8 days respectively. This study quantifies how hydrological and landscape factors can interact to influence pollutant flux at the catchment scale and highlights the importance of including storm transfers in lake loading estimates

Warming of the Antarctic ice-sheet surface since the 1957 International Geophysical Year

Assessments of Antarctic temperature change have emphasized the contrast between strong warming of the Antarctic Peninsula and slight cooling of the Antarctic continental interior in recent decades. This pattern of temperature change has been attributed to the increased strength of the circumpolar westerlies, largely in response to changes in stratospheric ozone. This picture, however, is substantially incomplete owing to the sparseness and short duration of the observations. Here we show that significant warming extends well beyond the Antarctic Peninsula to cover most of West Antarctica, an area of warming much larger than previously reported. West Antarctic warming exceeds 0.1 °C per decade over the past 50 years, and is strongest in winter and spring. Although this is partly offset by autumn cooling in East Antarctica, the continent-wide average near-surface temperature trend is positive. Simulations using a general circulation model reproduce the essential features of the spatial pattern and the long-term trend, and we suggest that neither can be attributed directly to increases in the strength of the westerlies. Instead, regional changes in atmospheric circulation and associated changes in sea surface temperature and sea ice are required to explain the enhanced warming in West Antarctica

Effect of Foreclosure Status on Residential Selling Price

Real estate professionals believe that foreclosed houses sell at a discount. This article empirically investigates whether foreclosed houses sell at a discount. A sample of 2,482 residential transactions in Arlington, Texas, is used in a hedonic pricing model to test this hypothesis. The results indicate that foreclosed properties sold at a 23% discount.

Doing gender locally: The importance of ‘place’ in understanding marginalised masculinities and young men’s transitions to ‘safe’ and successful futures

Observable anxieties have been developing about the position of boys and young men in contemporary society in recent years. This is expressed as a crisis of masculinity, in which place is often implicitly implicated, but is rarely considered for its role in the shaping of young men’s practices, trajectories and aspirations. Drawing on research conducted with young people who accessed a range of social care support services, this article argues that transition means different things for young men in different locales and that local definitions of masculinity are required to better understand young men’s lives and the opportunities available to them. The authors argue that home life, street life, individual neighbourhoods, regions and nations all shaped the young men’s identities and the practices they (and the staff working with them) drew on in order to create successful futures and ‘safe’ forms of masculinity. It is suggested that this place-based approach has the potential to re-shape the ‘crisis’ discourse surrounding masculinity and the anxieties associated with young men

Thyroid Function and Perchlorate in Drinking Water: An Evaluation among California Newborns, 1998

Perchlorate (ClO(4)(−)) has been detected in groundwater sources in numerous communities in California and other parts of the United States, raising concerns about potential impacts on health. For California communities where ClO(4)(−) was tested in 1997 and 1998, we evaluated the prevalence of primary congenital hypothyroidism (PCH) and high thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels among the 342,257 California newborns screened in 1998. We compared thyroid function results among newborns from 24 communities with average ClO(4)(−) concentrations in drinking water > 5 μg/L (n = 50,326) to newborns from 287 communities with average concentrations ≤5 μg/L (n = 291,931). ClO(4)(−) concentrations obtained from the California Drinking Water Program provided source-specific data for estimating weighted average concentrations in community water. Fifteen cases of PCH from communities with average concentration > 5 μg/L were observed, with 20.4 expected [adjusted prevalence odds ratio (POR) = 0.71; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.40–1.19]. Although only 36% of all California newborns were screened before 24 hr of age in 1998, nearly 80% of newborns with high TSH were screened before 24 hr of age. Because of the physiologic postnatal surge of TSH, the results for newborns screened before 24 hr were uninformative for assessing an environmental impact. For newborns screened ≥24 hr, the adjusted POR for high TSH was 0.73 (95% CI, 0.40–1.23). All adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were controlled for sex, ethnicity, birth weight, and multiple birth status. Using an assessment of ClO(4)(−) in drinking water based on available data, we did not observe an association between estimated average ClO(4)(−) concentrations > 5 μg/L in drinking water supplies and the prevalence of clinically diagnosed PCH or high TSH concentrations

A genome-wide investigation of adaptive signatures in protein-coding genes related to tool behaviour in New Caledonian and Hawaiian crows

Funding: A David Phillips Fellowship to C.R. from the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC; grant BB/G023913/2). Further funding for personnel and data generation of the remaining species was provided by the European Research Council (ERCStG-336536 FuncSpecGen to J.B.W.W.), the Swedish Research Council Vetenskapsrådet (621-2013-4510 to J.B.W.W.), the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (to J.B.W.W.), the Lawski foundation (to V.E.K. and J.B.W.W.) and the German Research Foundation (KU 3402/1-1 to V.E.K.). A Marsden Fund Grant to G.R.H., R.D.G. and N.J.G. from the Royal Society of New Zealand (UOA1208), a Japanese Society for Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship (H.A.), together with funding from University of Auckland (G.R.H. and R.D.G.), the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, and University of Otago (N.J.G.). N.D. acknowledges funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (P2SKP3_165031 and P300PA_177845) and the Carl Tryggers Foundation.Very few animals habitually manufacture and use tools. It has been suggested that advanced tool behaviour co-evolves with a suite of behavioural, morphological and life-history traits. In fact, there are indications for such an adaptive complex in tool-using crows (genus Corvus species). Here, we sequenced the genomes of two habitually tool-using and ten non-tool-using crow species to search for genomic signatures associated with a tool-using lifestyle. Using comparative genomic and population genetic approaches, we screened for signals of selection in protein-coding genes in the tool-using New Caledonian and Hawaiian crows. While we detected signals of recent selection in New Caledonian crows near genes associated with bill morphology, our data indicate that genetic changes in these two lineages are surprisingly subtle, with little evidence at present for convergence. We explore the biological explanations for these findings, such as the relative roles of gene regulation and protein-coding changes, as well as the possibility that statistical power to detect selection in recently diverged lineages may have been insufficient. Our study contributes to a growing body of literature aiming to decipher the genetic basis of recently evolved complex behaviour.PostprintPeer reviewe