Stewardship as a Path to Cooperation? Exploring the Role of Identity in Intergroup Conflict Among Michigan Wolf Stakeholders

Post-recovery wolf management remains controversial. In Michigan, dialogue centers on hunting wolves but controversy may be more nuanced than simple pro- or anti-hunting positions. Social identity may cause stakeholders to organize in groups and identity differences may be driving controversy. To explore stakeholder disagreement over wolf management, we conducted semi-structured key informant interviews (n = 21) about identity and stewardship in August–September 2012. Four overarching identity themes emerged regarding: (a) management objectives, (b) focal levels, (c) control methods, and (d) justifications for methods. Themes indicated two main researcher-defined identity groups. Interviewees from both groups identified six common stewardship themes: (a) bequest values, (b) ecosystem health, (c) education, (d) existence values, (e) pride in natural resources, and (f) sustainability. Findings suggest stakeholders may be conflicting over opposing identities vis-à-vis organization affiliation, which may be related to what management strategies individuals oppose. Establishing common stewardship objectives through established participation methods may help alleviate controversy.     

Degradation of the crocodile population in the Olifants River Gorge of Kruger National Park,South Africa

• 1. Top predators such as crocodiles often reflect ecosystem degradation. The recent spate of close to 200 Nile crocodile deaths may reflect the ecosystem state of the Olifants–Letaba River system in the Kruger National Park. This paper investigates whether the crocodile deaths were indeed the consequence of a rare and perhaps acute event given the variability in annual population growth rates of crocodilians.
• 2. Spotlight‐ and helicopter‐based surveys designed to correct for availability and detectability bias were used to estimate population sizes of crocodiles from 2008 to 2010 in and around the Olifants River Gorge, the focal area of crocodile deaths.
• 3. Correction factors derived from individually observed crocodiles for both spotlight‐ and helicopter‐based counts were lower than those typically used for Nile crocodiles as well as other crocodile species. Even so, corrected spotlight‐ and helicopter‐based estimates were comparable and the number of crocodiles in the focal study area declined significantly from 780 (95% CI: 637–1222) to between 460 (spotlight estimate, 95% CI 375–665) and 505 (aerial estimate, 95% CI: 559–1746) during the period of crocodile deaths. The average annual decline of 35% was at the lower end of the distribution of annual population growth rates across the rivers of Kruger National Park.
• 4. The crocodile deaths reflect a possible rare event that suggests a degraded crocodile population, possibly the consequences of broad‐scale cascades of environmental deterioration of the Olifants–Letaba River system.
• 5. Even so, the potential risk of local demise of the population in the focal study area in the short term may be diminished through evolutionary, demographic and spatial resilience inherent within crocodiles that can accommodate the as yet unknown disease dynamics of pansteatitis. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

Sampling error resulting from depth-dependent plankton distributions and current differentials in a two-layered system

We evaluate a source of error observed in standard ichthyoplankton bongo tows in which volumes of water filtered did not result in increased catches of red-fish. Our analyses demonstrate that, under conditions where redfish larvae are distributed in surface waters in a two-layered system, current differentials between surface and subsurface layers resulted in biased, standardized estimates of larval abundances as a result of filtering varying amounts of subsurface waters. Analysis of standard survey results on Flemish Cap demonstrated that this source of bias was limited to the May-June period, after waters became stratified and before redfish passed from the larvae to pelagic juvenile stage. Correcting for this source of sampling bias wIII result in more accurate absolute estimates of ichthyoplankton abundance, and we estimate that variation (CV) for replicate samples may be reduced by 10%.     

基于MapGIS K9的耕地整理潜力测算与分级——以江西省崇仁县为例

结合崇仁县的实际情况,根据2012年末崇仁县耕地分布数据运用增加耕地系数、耕地坡度结构、耕地区位指数和人均耕地面积4个指标综合评价研究区耕地整理潜力,在定量评价耕地整理的基础上,以乡镇为分级单元对崇仁县的耕地整理潜力进行分级,为地方耕地整理工作提供参考.     

大肠杆菌基因中密码对使用的规律

为了探讨基因组序列的非随机性对密码对使用的影响程度,揭示依赖上下文的密码对偏爱性(CDCB)可能存在的规律,本文主要对大肠杆菌基因组中密码子及其紧邻密码子(密码对)偏爱作了全面的统计分析。结果发现85%的密码子在其紧邻密码子位点有显著依赖上下文的密码对偏爱性,通过密码对与全序列六联体(三联体对)的相对丰度比较发现,大约35%的密码对偏好性不能用基因组的序列组分来解释。当密码子第二和第三位点核苷酸相同,且紧邻密码子相同时,它们的相对丰度有显著相关性。结果表明我们的数据支持依赖上下文的密码子偏好的主要原因是蛋白质合成精确性选择的假设,即本文结果揭示了依赖上下文的密码对偏好性可能存在的规律,从而为今后进一步研究大肠杆菌基因组中密码对使用偏好性提供参考。     

Pattern recognition of geophysical data

A new rock classification method for ground penetrating radar (GPR) data is presented for cases where no additional geological information is available from boreholes. There are non-linear relationships between petrophysical properties of rocks and electromagnetic waves which can be handled using two methods derived from statistical learning theory on pattern recognition. An investigation was carried out looking at proving the feasibility of the method in principle for use on synthetic models as well as measurement data. The different learning methods were also compared.The method is based on multivariate statistical learning algorithms for the discrimination of layer boundaries between different rocks. The discrimination developed works with artificial neural networks (ANN) and support vector machines (SVM). The processing procedure starts with geological models with varying petrophysical rock parameters, which are to be sought in the measurement data. The models are used to generate synthetic radargrams from which rock properties can be derived using wave attributes. The calculated values of the wave attributes are stored in a multivariate data pool. This data pool is used to train the ANN and the SVM. The same wave attributes are derived from the GPR data and also saved in a data pool. This generates two data sets for pattern recognition with which to directly classify rock layers. Wave attributes can therefore be used to derive the non-linear correlative relationships between rock properties and GPR data by the weighted matrices of ANN and SVM.The presented method can be used to match reflections in the GRR data directly with the layer boundaries of rock formations. The classification of a boundary horizon between rock salt and anhydrite is demonstrated on synthetic GPR traces and measurement data from a rock salt mine. The advantage of this method is that rock classification is not a priori dependent on borehole data.     

对《中图法》（第四版）美食学类目设置的探讨

根据对美食学类目文献分类的实践,并结合美食学知识体系,对《中图法》（第四版）美食学类目设置的不足之处进行了分析论述,并对存在的问题提出了修改建议。     

Characterization of MicroRNA* Species in Peking Duck Skin

A substantial fraction of miRNA* species are conserved in animals and can repress activities of target genes. This study aims to investigate the miRNA* species in duck skin by using Solexa sequencing. We obtained a total of 96 miRNA* species in two skin small RNA libraries and identified 56 miRNA/miRNA* (miR/miR*) pairs. Nucleotide bias of miRNA* indicated that the priority was C>A>U>G for the first nucleotide and U>C>A>G for the last nucleotide. Comparison analyses showed that 3′-U accounted for a higher proportion in the 56 miR/miR* pairs. Among the top 20 expressed miRNA* species, 17 were shared by two libraries and most of the miRNA* species were highly conservative, especially in the “seed region”. miR-199a* were expressed highly in our samples, which was also previously shown abundant in mouse hair follicle. Furthermore, four miRNA* species were predicted to target their genes in signal pathways of feather follicle development and feather morphogenesis despite very low levels.     

Notes on the Bathypelagic Fauna of the Seas Around South Africa

The preliminary results of a study of the endemic giant tortoise population of Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean (Geochehne gigantea Schweigger) are briefly described. Their number would appear to have increased dramatically since the turn of the century to their present level of some 141 000 individuals. Crude estimates of mortality and reproductive rates are also given.     

Analysis of the spawning stock–recruitment relationship of vendace (Coregonus albula (L.)) with evaluation of alternative models, additional variables, biases and errors

Abstract –  Spawning biomass and recruitment data for vendace from a central Finnish lake were analysed by fitting various recruitment models and comparing the fits statistically. The compensatory models of Ricker, Cushing and Beverton & Holt fitted the data better than the H ₀ hypothesis of constant proportionality, but model and parameter uncertainties were high. Additional variables were included in an attempt to reduce uncertainties. Heavy wind forcing during the first month after hatching of larvae reduced the recruitment success. For the Ricker and the Cushing models, recruitment seemed to be also negatively associated with the density of the previous year-class. The r ² increased considerably with inclusion of these additional variables, but the precision of model parameters remained low. Monte Carlo simulation of a vendace stock was applied to evaluate the interference of biases from the measurement error (ME) and time series error (TSE) in the analysis. Especially in the case of the Cushing model, compensatory density dependence can be overestimated severely. Increasing the number of observations decreases the biases in some cases. In view of potential biases and uncertainties, a precautionary management policy is recommended.