Multi-scale use of lands providing anthropogenic resources by American Crows in an urbanizing landscape

The conversion of forests and farmlands to human settlements has negative impacts on many native species, but also provides resources that some species are able to exploit. American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), one such exploiter, create concern due to their impact as nest predators, disease hosts, and cultural harbingers of evil. We used various measures of crow abundance and resource use to determine crows’ response to features of anthropogenic landscapes in the Puget Sound region of the United States. We examined land cover and land use composition at three spatial scales: study sites (up to 208 ha), crow home ranges within sites (18.1 ha), and local land cover (400 m²). At the study site and within-site scales crow abundance was strongly correlated with land cover providing anthropogenic resources. In particular, crows were associated with the amount of ‘maintained forest’ cover, and were more likely to use grass and shrub cover than forest or bare soil cover. Although crows did not show a generalized response to an edge variable, they exhibited greater use of patchy habitat created by human settlements than of native forests. Radio-tagged territorial adults used resources within their home ranges relatively evenly, suggesting resource selection had occurred at a larger spatial scale. The land conversion pattern of new suburban and exurban settlements creates the mix of impervious surfaces and maintained vegetation that crows use, and in our study area crow populations are expected to continue to increase. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Production protocol development for greenhouse cut Linaria, Lupinus, and Papaver flowers

Linaria maroccana Hook. f. Ann., ‘Lace Violet’, Lupinus hartwegii ssp. cruikshankii Lindl. ‘Sunrise’ and Papaver nudicaule L. ‘Meadow Pastels’ seeds were directly sown into 105 cell plug trays and received either ambient light or supplemental high intensity discharge (HID) lighting. For each species, a 2 × 3 × 3 factorial was used with two light intensities during propagation, three transplant stages, and three night temperatures. Seedlings were transplanted at the appearance of 2–3, 5–6, or 8–9 true leaves. Transplanted Linaria and Papaver seedlings were placed at 5/11, 10/16, or 15/21 ± 1 °C night/day temperatures and Lupinus seedlings were placed at 15/24, 18/25, or 20/26 ± 2 °C night/day temperatures. For this study, the optimum production temperature for Linaria was 10/16 °C as the cut stems produced at 15/21 °C were unmarketable and production time was excessively long at 5/11 °C. At 10/16 °C, Linaria seedlings should be transplanted at the 2–3 leaf stage to maximize stem number, stem length and profitability. For Lupinus the optimum temperature was 15/24 °C due to long stems and high profitability per plant. Lupinus seedlings should be transplanted at the 2–3 leaf stage when grown at 15/24 °C to obtain the longest and thickest stems; however, $/m² week was higher for plants transplanted at the 8–9 leaf stage due to less time in finishing production space. For Papaver, the 15/21 °C temperature was optimal as that temperature produced the longest stems in the shortest duration, resulting in the highest $/m² week. At 15/21 °C Papaver plants should be transplanted at the 2–3 leaf stage. Supplemental HID lighting had no effect on any of the species.     

Application of sperm cryopreservation in selective breeding of the Pacific oyster,Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg)

The robustness of Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg), sperm cryopreservation in the context of selective breeding based on family lines was investigated. Irrespective of egg density, high fertilization success was achieved with cryopreserved sperm when sperm:egg ratios of 1000:1 to 10 000:1 were used. Variation among replicate runs on the same oyster batches was minimal, indicating that cryopreservation and larval rearing procedures were repeatable. Twenty independent single male–female crosses were made to assess the utility of cryopreserved sperm in selective breeding. The fertility of unfrozen sperm was generally a poor predictor of cryopreserved sperm fertility. Based on D‐larval yields, 17 of the 20 crosses were likely to yield adequate spat for selective breeding (>10⁵ D‐larvae from 1 million eggs), two were marginal (5 × 10⁴ D‐larvae) and one was inadequate (4 × 10³ D‐larvae). An alternative fertilization strategy to improve D‐yield from a given number of sperm was then tested. Fertilizing 10 million eggs at a sperm:egg ratio of 200:1 increased the total D‐yield when compared with fertilizing 1 million eggs at a sperm:egg ratio of 2000:1 for the same male–female pair. We conclude that, despite wide variation in fertility, cryopreserved sperm is useful for family production.     

Energy and resource consumption of land-based Atlantic salmon smolt hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest (USA)

This paper evaluates the resource and energy requirements of six different types of land-based, hatchery production systems located in the U.S. Pacific Northwest: flow-through with a gravity water supply, flow-through with a pumped water supply, flow-through with pure oxygen, partial reuse system, partial reuse with heating, and a reuse system for the production of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts. Key parameters used in the evaluation include direct energy, indirect energy, transportation energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and pollutant discharges.Power (electricity and natural gas) and feed energy accounted for the majority of the required energy for all the rearing option evaluated. The sum of the fixed capital and chemicals components accounted for less than 2–12% of the total energy budget for any rearing option. The energy efficiency (energy output/energy input) of the six options ranges from 0.97% for flow-through with pumped supply to 3.49% for the flow-through with gravity supply. The rearing options with the three highest energy efficiencies were flow-through with gravity supply (3.49%), partial reuse (2.75%), and reuse (2.64%).On a kg of smolt produced basis, the six rearing options showed a wide range in performance. The reuse system had the lowest water (2 m³ kg^− 1) and land (0.13 m² kg^− 1) requirements and the third lowest total energy requirement (288 MJ kg^− 1). The partial reuse system had the second lowest total power requirement (276 MJ kg^− 1), a low land requirement (0.21 m² kg^− 1), and moderate water requirements (33 m³ kg^− 1). The partial reuse with temperature control had the second highest total power requirement (657 MJ kg^− 1) and land and water requirements similar to the partial reuse system without temperature control. The flow-through system with pumped water supply had the highest water (289 m³ kg^− 1), land (2.19 m² kg^− 1), and energy requirements (786 MJ kg^− 1) of any of the rearing options. By comparison, the flow-through system with gravity water supply had the lowest energy requirement (218 MJ kg^− 1), a moderate land requirement (0.78 m² kg^− 1), and a high water requirement (214 m³ kg^− 1). The ranking of the six rearing options based capital and operating costs are likely to be quite different from those based on energy, water, and greenhouse gas emissions.     

Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) bycatch in Canadian pelagic longline fisheries: Relative importance in the western North Atlantic and opportunities for mitigation

Little is known about the ecology of loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, in Canadian waters. However, Canada's eastern waters off the Scotian Shelf, Georges Bank and Grand Banks appear to be seasonal foraging habitats based on dates and locations where they have been captured as fishery bycatch. Estimates derived from data recorded by the international observer program (IOP) and used for this study suggest that thousands of mostly immature loggerheads have been captured in the Canadian pelagic longline fishery (PLF) in the western North Atlantic since 1999. These data suggest that the PLFs for tuna and swordfish are among the most important causes of incidental capture. Although U.S. and Canadian bycatch estimation methods differ and uncertainty associated with the estimates is high, it is clear from the IOP data that bycatch in the Canadian PLF is substantial and roughly within the same magnitude as that reported for the entire U.S. fleet in the North Atlantic for the same period (1999–2005). Analysis of bycatch observer data from the Canadian PLF and other empirical data suggests that fishing at temperatures below 20 °C using fish rather than squid bait and size-18 circle hooks could reduce loggerhead bycatch and mortality. However, research is needed to identify the best options and their commercial viability. Loggerheads that use Canadian Maritime waters are one of the least studied groups of loggerheads in the world, so systematic long-term studies on the ecology of loggerheads in Canada would help fill important information gaps and assist in developing effective recovery plans for this species.     

Crop structure in winter oats and the effect of nitrogen on quality-related characters

The relationship between panicle structure and oat grain quality characteristics was examined in a winter oat (Avena sativa) experiment, cv. Gerald, fertilized with 80 and 200 kg/ha N. Spikelets on each whorl were counted and separated into primary, secondary, and tertiary grains, which were counted and weighed, and the kernels extracted manually and weighed. Tiller and whorl rank had relatively small effects on weight per grain and kernel content. Nitrogen application significantly increased weight per primary and secondary grain on the main stem and T1, the first tiller, while spikelet and grain numbers increased only on T1. However, weight per grain and kernel contents in all whorls on both the main stem and T1 were not significantly affected by nitrogen. Although kernel contents were significantly affected by nitrogen application on some occasions, increases and decreases were less than 2.5%. Across the whole plant, numbers of primary and secondary grains increased at the higher nitrogen application, but weight per primary grain and kernel contents were unaffected. However, weight per secondary grain significantly increased at the higher nitrogen application, thus improving uniformity of grain size which is of value to millers.     

SUSTAINABLE NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PACKAGE FOR COST-EFFECTIVE BIOENERGY BIOMASS PRODUCTION

Commercial fertilizer (particularly nitrogen) costs account for a substantial portion of the total production costs of cellulosic biomass and can be a major obstacle to biofuel production. In a series of greenhouse studies, we evaluated the feasibility of co-applying Gibberellins (GA) and reduced nitrogen (N) rates to produce a bioenergy crop less expensively. In a preliminary study, we determined the minimum combined application rates of GA and N required for efficient biomass (sweet sorghum, Sorghum bicolor) production. Co-application of 75 kg ha^?1 (one-half of the recommended N rate for sorghum) and a modest GA rate of 3 g ha^?1 optimized dry matter yield (DMY) and N and phosphorus (P) uptake efficiencies, resulting in a reduction of N and P leaching. Organic nutrient sources such as manures and biosolids can be substituted for commercial N fertilizers (and incidentally supply P) to further reduce the cost of nutrient supply for biomass production. Based on the results of the preliminary study, we conducted a second greenhouse study using sweet sorghum as a test bioenergy crop. We co-applied organic sources of N (manure and biosolids) at 75 and 150 kg PAN ha^?1 (representing 50 and 100% N rate respectively) with 3 g GA ha^?1. In each batch of experiment, the crop was grown for 8 wk on Immokalee fine sand of minimal native fertility. After harvest, sufficient water was applied to soil in each pot to yield ～1.5 L (～0.75 pore volume) of leachate, and analyzed for total N and soluble reactive P (SRP). The reduced (50%) N application rate, together with GA, optimized biomass production. Application of GA at 3 g ha^?1, and the organic sources of N at 50% of the recommended N rate, decreased nutrient cost of producing the bioenergy biomass by ～$375 ha^?1 (>90% of total nutrient cost), and could reduce offsite N and P losses from vulnerable soils.     

Improved Calibration for Estimating Soil Properties with a Multifunctional Heat Pulse Probe

A multifunctional heat pulse probe (MFHPP) can measure soil thermal and hydraulic properties. Though its successful implementation has been documented, previous studies have reported some limitations. One specific cause of the limitations is the absorption of the generated heat pulse within the probe itself, which creates error in the measurements. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a new calibration method to account for measurement error due to heat loss to the probe. A MFHPP was constructed and tested in six soil types using both a traditional method and the newly developed calibration method. The new calibration utilizes heat pulse response curves from real soils with thermal conductivities similar to that of the MFHPP rather than the traditional agar-stabilized water solution. This new approach significantly reduced average measurement errors from 9.1% to 2.4% for heat capacity and 13.5% to 4.5% for volumetric water content.     

Field estimates of scalar advection across a canopy edge

Measurements of the horizontal and vertical fluxes of energy and mass were taken at a crop canopy edge and downwind of it to examine the effects of inhomogeneity on surface-atmosphere exchange, for the ideal case of flat uniform terrain. Energy balance closure was also examined and the effects of the often-neglected advection terms on the energy budget were evaluated. The results show that neither vertical nor horizontal advection should be neglected for moderate distances downwind from heterogeneous boundaries, with the energy budget closure near the leading edge improved by more than 20% with the inclusion of the horizontal and vertical advection of latent and sensible heat. Significant mean advective horizontal and vertical flux divergences of water vapor and temperature were found even in typical daytime conditions. In stable conditions horizontal advection can be responsible for more than 15% of the scalar (water vapor) transport 136 canopy heights downwind of a change in water vapor source density and surface roughness.     

Biological Degradation of Common Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Soils with High Water Content

Biological degradation rates of six pharmaceuticals and personal care products were examined in soil from a land application site and in adjacent soil with no prior history of effluent exposure. Microbial degradation rates were compared over 2 weeks under standing water or saturated conditions and draining conditions after having been saturated for 3 days. Biological degradation of 17??-estradiol exhibited rapid rates of biological degradation under both saturated and draining conditions. Half-lives for 17??-estradiol ranged from 1.5 to 4 days; 66?C97% was lost from the soils. Estriol showed a pattern of biological degradation in both saturated and draining conditions though the half-lives were longer (8.7?C25.9 days) than those observed for 17??-estradiol. Twenty-eight percent to 73% of estriol was lost over the 14 days treatment period. Estrone and 17??-ethinylestradiol exhibited slower rates of biological transformation under saturated and draining conditions. Half-lives for estrone ranged between 27.5 and 56.8 days with loss of at most 21%. 17??-ethinylestradiol exhibited half-lives of 22.6?C207 days. Half-life data for ibuprofen ranged from 30.4 to 1,706.4 days in this experiment. Losses of up to 17% were observed in draining soils. Triclosan loss was at most 10%, and half-lives were 70.9?C398.8 days. In all cases, soils that were draining from saturated conditions exhibited faster degradation rates than soils that remained saturated. Prior exposure of the soil to effluent did not always result in higher biological degradation rates.