Trends in carbon flux to seabirds in the Peruvian upwelling system: effects of wind and fisheries on population regulation

We hypothesized that change in the annual population size of guano‐producing seabirds (cormorant, Phalacrocorax bougainvillii; booby, Sula variegata; pelican, Pelecanus thagus) is a response to changes in primary and secondary production of the Peruvian upwelling system. We tested this hypothesis by modeling nitrate input through upwelling to the upper layers of the ocean off Peru between 6° and 14°S using data on wind stress and sea surface temperature. The model predicted the amount of carbon fixed by primary production each year from 1925 to 2000, which was then apportioned to the Peruvian anchovy (Engraulis ringens) biomass and ultimately to the seabird population and the anchovy fishery, the largest single‐species fishery on Earth. The model predicted a marked increase in primary production as a consequence of increasing wind stress. It overestimated the anchovy biomass after the collapse of the fishery in 1972, but closely predicted the growth of seabird populations from 1925 to the mid‐1960s, and their decline thereafter, explaining about 94% of the variation in seabird numbers from 1925 to 2000. The model indicates the seabirds consumed 14.4% of the available anchovies and, thus, that seabirds consumed 2.3% of the new production, before the development of the anchovy fishery, and only 2.2% of the available anchovies and 0.3% of the new production after the development of the fishery. The model results clarify the roles that environmental and anthropogenic factors may have had in regulating the guano‐producing seabird populations. It indicates that the growth of seabird populations from 1925 to 1955 was likely a response to increased productivity of the Peruvian upwelling system and that the subsequent drastic decline in seabird abundance was likely due to competition for food with the fishery, which caught ～85% of the anchovies, which otherwise would have been available for the seabirds. This model also shows that an increase in oceanic primary production promotes reproductive success and population growth in higher trophic level organisms.     

Monitoring distances travelled by horses using GPS tracking collars

Objective The aims of this work were to (1) develop a low-cost equine movement tracking collar based on readily available components, (2) conduct preliminary studies assessing the effects of both paddock size and internal fence design on the movements of domestic horses, with and without foals at foot, and (3) describe distances moved by mares and their foals. Additional monitoring of free-ranging feral horses was conducted to allow preliminary comparisons with the movement of confined domestic horses. Procedures A lightweight global positioning system (GPS) data logger modified from a personal/vehicle tracker and mounted on a collar was used to monitor the movement of domestic horses in a range of paddock sizes and internal fence designs for 6.5-day periods. Results In the paddocks used (0.8–16 ha), groups of domestic horses exhibited a logarithmic response in mean daily distance travelled as a function of increasing paddock size, tending asymptotically towards approximately 7.5 km/day. The distance moved by newborn foals was similar to their dams, with total distance travelled also dependent on paddock size. Without altering available paddock area, paddock design, with the exception of a spiral design, did not significantly affect mean daily distance travelled. Feral horses (17.9 km/day) travelled substantially greater mean daily distances than domestic horses (7.2 km/day in 16-ha paddock), even when allowing for larger paddock size. Conclusions Horses kept in stables or small yards and paddocks are quite sedentary in comparison with their feral relatives. For a given paddock area, most designs did not significantly affect mean daily distance travelled.     

Nature and origin of stone stripes on the Columbia Plateau

Beds of size-sorted stones forming stripes perpendicular to the contour are conspicuous on hillsides of the Columbia Plateau. Stripes occur on terrain ranging from 0° to about 30° in steepness, often beginning among Mima-type mounds on mesa tops and extending downward onto steep, unmounded slopes. Four mechanisms of their origin have been hypothesized: 1) water erosion, 2) solifluction and soil creep, 3) weathering of rock outcrops, and 4) tunneling by pocket gophers. We measured characteristics of five stripes on slopes of differing exposure and steepness. These stripes were 58–124 m long, and widths showed a maximum range of 0.55–3.70 m. Data on physical and biotic characteristics of the stripes suggest that pocket gopher tunneling is a basic mechanism of stripe formation on gentle slopes, and that this mechanism is augmented by outcrop weathering and colluvial dynamics on steeper slopes, with erosion playing a secondary role.     

Unusual osteochondral lesions of the talus in a horse

A 2-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was evaluated for a grade 3 out of 5 unilateral hind limb lameness. Flexion of the right hock and stifle joints (spavin test) exacerbated the lameness. Response to intra-articular and perineural anaesthesia isolated the source of lameness to the tarsocrural area, despite an absence of tarsocrural joint effusion. Routine radiographic examination of the hock did not reveal any significant abnormalities. Skeletal nuclear scintigraphic evaluation revealed a focal region of increased bone activity in the proximal medial trochlear ridge of the talus. Flexed lateromedial radiographic views identified three discrete semicircular lytic lesions at the proximal articular margin of the medial trochlear ridge of the talus. Conservative management of the lesions was associated with a successful return to racing. The location and appearance of the osteochondral lesions of this report have not been previously reported and may be a manifestation of developmental orthopaedic disease and abnormal endochondral ossification. Nuclear scintigraphy and flexed lateromedial radiographic views facilitated identification of the lesions. This radiographic view is recommended when lameness is isolated to the tarsocrural joint and standard radio-graphic projections fail to identify a cause.     

Does Public Lands Policy Affect Local Wage Growth?

The effects on wage growth of management practices applied on public lands in the Northern Forest region of the United States are quantified. A central objective is to determine if the management of public lands for preservationist uses results in lower average wages. This is a frequent claim made by critics of land preservation who argue that preservationist management, by prohibiting resource extraction, causes the composition of employment to shift from high‐wage jobs in resource‐based manufacturing to low‐wage jobs in the service sector. A model of simultaneous employment and net migration growth is estimated with data on non‐metropolitan counties over the period 1990 to 1999 and applied in a recursive relationship to wage growth. In earlier studies, models of this type have typically been specified in levels. Time‐series evidence that supports a preference for growth rates is provided as the form for such models. Exogenous variables in this model include the 1990 shares of the county land base that are publicly owned and managed for preservationist (non‐extractive) uses and multiple (including extractive) uses. It was found that wage growth rates are not significantly affected by the shares of land under either management regime. As well, recent declines in national forest timber sales are found to have no effect on wage growth.     

Mitochondrial reduction of metmyoglobin: dependence on the electron transport chain

Reduction of ferric myoglobin (metmyoglobin, MetMb) to its ferrous form is important for maintaining fresh meat color because only reduced myoglobin can bind oxygen to form the consumer-preferred cherry red color in fresh meat. The objective of this study was to characterize an apparent mitochondria electron transport chain (ETC)-linked pathway for MetMb reduction in vitro. MetMb was reduced in the presence of mitochondria and succinate (p < 0.05); mitochondria or succinate alone did not facilitate MetMb reduction relative to controls (p > 0.05). Flushing samples with oxygen greatly decreased MetMb reduction, while flushing with argon increased MetMb reduction when compared with controls (p < 0.05). ETC inhibitors were used to localize the site where electrons became available for MetMb reduction. MetMb reduction was increased by rotenone addition and decreased by malonic acid (p < 0.05); the reduction was completely abolished by additions of antimycin A or myxothiazol when compared with controls (p < 0.05). These results suggest that electrons become available for MetMb reduction at a site(s) between complex III and IV. Mitochondrial ETC-linked MetMb reduction increased with increased mitochondrial density and succinate concentration (p < 0.05); the greatest MetMb reduction was observed at pH 7.2 and 37 degrees C, and ETC-linked MetMb reducing activity decreased with time postmortem (p < 0.05). These results indicate that ETC-linked MetMb reduction exists but would be minimally active in postmortem muscles.     

Sediment Quality in Burlington Harbor,Lake Champlain,U.S.A.

Surface samples and cores were collected in 1993 fromthe Burlington Harbor region of Lake Champlain. Sediment samples were analyzed for trace metals(cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, silver and zinc),simultaneously extracted metal/acid volatile sulfide(SEM-AVS), grain size, nutrients (carbon and nitrogen)and organic contaminants (polycyclic aromatichydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs)). The concentrations of cadmium, copper,silver and zinc from the partial sediment digestion ofthe surface samples correlated well with each other(r ²>0.60) indicating that either a commonprocess, or group of processes determined the sedimentconcentrations of these metals. In an analysis of thespatial distribution of the trace metals and PAHs,high surficial concentrations were present in thesouthern portion of the Harbor. The trace metal trendwas strengthened when the concentrations werenormalized by grain size. A sewage treatment plantoutfall discharge was present in the southeasternportion of the Harbor at the time of this study and isthe major source of trace metal and PAH contamination. Evaluation of sediment cores provides a proxy recordof historical trace metal and organic inputs. Thepeak accumulation rate for copper, cadmium, lead, andzinc was in the late 1960s and the peak silveraccumulation rate was later. The greatestaccumulation of trace metals occurred in the late1960s after discharges from the STP began. Subsequentdeclines in trace metal concentrations may beattributed to increased water and air regulations. The potential toxicity of trace metals and organiccontaminants was predicted by comparing contaminantconcentrations to benchmark concentrations andpotential trace metal bioavailability was predictedwith SEM-AVS results. Surface sample results indicate lead,silver, ΣPAHs and ΣPCBs are potentially toxicand/or bioavailable. These predictions were supportedby studies of biota in the Burlington Harborwatershed. There is a clear trend of decreasing PAHand trace metal contaminant concentrations withdistance from the STP outfall.     

Fungal hyphal dynamics in a western oregon douglas-fir stand

Total length and biomass of fungal mycelium in the soil of a young stand of second-growth Douglas-fir in the central Oregon Coast Range were estimated over 27 months with the agar-film technique. Mycelial mass was at maximum in fall and spring and significantly lower in summer. Melanized hyphae dominated other colors, averaging 66% of monthly litter and 73.7% of soil hyphal weight. The mycorrhizal fungus Cenococcum geophilum Fr. had significantly larger average diameter than other hyphae and contributed from 1.2 to 64.8% of the monthly hyphal volume. Multiple regression analyses with temperature, moisture, and litterfall produced no adequate predictive equations for monthly fungal biomass. Large biomass fluctuations over short periods necessitate frequent sampling and long-term study to fully assess the importance of fungal hyphae in ecosystems.     

Wild-reared aplomado falcons survive and recruit at higher rates than hacked falcons in a common environment

The northern aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis septentrionalis) has been the subject of a large-scale reintroduction effort conducted by The Peregrine Fund since 1993. Intensive monitoring during 2002-2004 revealed approximately 38 breeding pairs and numerous non-territorial individuals in two study areas centered on Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and Laguna Atascosa NWR. Continued releases (“hacking”) of captive-bred young after pair establishment and successful wild breeding provided an opportunity to compare survival and recruitment histories of wild-reared and hacked falcons hatched during 2001-2003. We used Program MARK to rank multi-state models of apparent survival and recruitment rates with Akaike’s Information Criterion scores, corrected for small samples. The top model candidate, with almost 3.5 times more support than the next best model, detected differences due to falcon origin (wild or captivity): although breeder survival was independent of origin, juvenile hacked falcons survived and recruited at lower rates than wild-reared falcons. Given the high density of territorial adult falcons in the study areas, the difference in apparent survival may reflect greater dispersal by hacked falcons, increased tolerance of wild falcons in territory margins due to prior socialization, or other factors effecting higher intrinsic fitness of wild falcons. However, natal dispersal did not differ between the two groups, strengthening the hypothesis of a difference in true survival. Disproportionately greater recruitment of wild falcons into the breeding population again suggests their higher intrinsic fitness. These findings show how close monitoring of population vital rates can efficiently guide adaptive management of recovering populations.