Seasonal changes in moult, body mass and reproductive condition in siskins Carduelis spinus exposed to daylength regimes simulating different latitudes

Birds use change in daylength during the year to time events during their annual cycles. Individual Eurasian siskins Carduelis spinus can breed and winter in widely separated areas in different years. Birds at different latitudes will experience different changes in photoperiod. So how does latitude affect photoperiodic control? Our aim in this study was to find whether siskins caught from the wild in Britain and exposed to different photoperiodic regimes, typical of widely separated latitudes, would differ in the subsequent timing and duration of their moults and associated processes. Siskins were caught in late February and early March, and initially kept outside on natural photoperiods. From the spring equinox (21 March), they were divided into three groups kept under photoperiodic regimes that simulated latitudes 40º, 55º and 70º N respectively. All three groups showed highly significant subsequent changes in body mass, fat scores and cloacal protuberance size. Moult of the primary feathers started during June – August (mean 9 July), and lasted 61-99 days (mean 75 days). Birds that started to moult late in the season had shorter moult durations. All individuals showed lower mass and fat levels during moult than before or after moult. Crucially, there were no significant differences in the timing of these events between the three photoperiodic groups. Apparently these birds did not use prevailing absolute photoperiod or the prevailing rate of change in photoperiod to time moult-related seasonal events, but used instead some other feature of the annual photoperiod cycle or some form of interval timer linked to photoperiod

Realistic undulators for intense gamma-ray beams at future colliders

The baseline designs for the ILC and CLIC require the production of an intense flux of gamma rays in their positron sources. In the case of CLIC the gamma rays are produced by a Compton backscattering source, but in this paper we concentrate on undulator-based sources as proposed for the ILC.We present the development of a simulation to generate a magnetic field map based on a Fourier analysis of any measured field map. We have used a field map measured from the ILC helical undulator prototype to calculate the typical distribution of field errors, and used them in our calculations to produce simulated field maps. We show that a loss of gamma ray intensity of ~8% could be expected, compared to the ideal case. This leads to a similar drop in positron production which can be compensated for by increasing the undulator length

Possible uses of gamma-rays at future intense positron sources

The baseline design of the ILC (International Linear Collider) positron source requires the production of an intense flux of gamma rays. In this paper we present an investigation of using the gamma ray beam of the ILC for additional applications, including nuclear physics. As a result of changing the collimator shape, as well as the parameters of the undulator magnets, we obtained spectra from numerical simulations using the HUSR/GSR software package. We present results from simulations and a discussion of possible future investigations in this paper

Killing of raptors on grouse moors: evidence and effects

Owing to the intensity of game management in Britain, managers of grouse moors have illegally killed raptors to increase the numbers of Red Grouse Lagopus l. scotica available for shooting. This paper summarizes evidence for the recent scale of illegal raptor killing on grouse moors and its effects on populations. It provides insights into how raptors themselves respond demographically to different levels of killing. Over Britain as a whole, most raptors have increased and expanded considerably since the 1970s, in response to reduced killing and nest destruction, and the diminished impacts of organo‐chlorine pesticides; however, in recent decades the populations of some species have declined on and around grouse moors. This is widely evident in Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus, Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus and Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos populations and in more restricted areas also in Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis and Red Kite Milvus milvus populations, in all of which illegal killing has been sufficient to affect numbers over wider areas. The evidence consists mainly of: (1) greater disappearance of nesting pairs, lower breeding densities or reduced occupancy of apparently suitable traditional territories on grouse moors compared with other areas; (2) reduced nest success compared with other areas; (3) reduced adult survival compared with other areas; (4) reduced age of first breeding, reflecting the removal of adults from nesting territories and their replacement by birds in immature plumage; (5) greater levels of disappearance of satellite‐tracked birds on grouse moors than elsewhere; and (6) the finding of poisoned baits and traps, and shot or poisoned carcasses of raptors. Not all these types of evidence are available for every species, and other types of evidence are available for some. The Common Buzzard Buteo buteo is currently the most numerous raptor in Britain and also seems to be killed in the greatest numbers. Other raptor species, including Merlin Falco columbarius, Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus and Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus which nest on or near grouse moors, have little or no significant impact on grouse and are killed less often or not at all. In the absence of illegal killing, some raptor species breed as well or better on grouse moors than in other habitats. Merlins, in particular, seem to thrive on grouse moors, benefiting from the management involved (including predator control). Other aspects of illegal raptor killing are discussed, including suggestions for ways in which it might be reduced

Broadening Responsibilities: Consideration Of The Potential To Broaden The Role Of Uniformed Fire Service Employees

What is this report about? This report, commissioned by the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services (NJC), aims to identify what impact, if any, firefighters can have on the delivery of emergency medical response and wider community health interventions in the UK. What are the overall conclusions? Appropriately trained and equipped firefighters co-responding1 to targeted, specific time critical medical events, such as cardiac arrest, can improve patient survival rates. The data also indicate that there is support from fire service staff – and a potential need from members of the public, particularly the elderly, isolated or vulnerable – to expand ‘wider work’. This includes winter warmth assessments, Safe and Well checks, community defibrillator training and client referrals when staff believe someone may have dementia, are vulnerable or even, for example, have substance dependencies such as an alcohol addiction. However, there is currently insufficient data to estimate the net benefit of this work

Skewed sex ratios in a newly established osprey population

With recent increases in the numbers of reintroduction projects, it has become crucial to know the main factors that allow colonization of new areas and prevent the extinction of small and reintroduced populations. Dispersal is one of the most important phenomena in population biology with consequences to the proportion of individuals that keep breeding in the natal population and the number of individuals that move to other populations to breed. We studied changes in offspring sex ratio and differences in dispersal patterns between the sexes in a reintroduced population of osprey (Pandion haliaetus). Results showed that at the beginning of the colonization process breeding pairs produced more males, which dispersed shorter distances and were more philopatric than females. However, with increasing breeding population size over the years, the offspring production was skewed to females, which dispersed longer distances from their natal area and tended to breed in different areas. Here we suggest that changes in offspring sex ratio during colonization processes, together with differences in dispersal pattern between sexes, could influence colonization rate and the probability of success of future reintroduction projects

A majority of one: Tom Aikens and independent politics in Townsville

No abstract availabl