Temporally stable and distinct fish assemblages between stream and earthen stormwater drain reaches in an urban watershed

Streams and rivers have essential roles in landscape connectivity; however, urban watersheds are frequently modified to drain stormwater from urban areas. To determine whether an earthen stormwater drain in an urban landscape provides fish habitat temporally, we compared the fish assemblage among three reaches of a contiguous urbanized watershed in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. Watts Creek is connected to an earthen municipal surface stormwater drain (herein Kizell Drain), before discharging into the Ottawa River. We delineated transects in three reaches of the system, in Watts, in the Drain, and below their confluence (Main) and assessed the fish community using single-pass electrofishing repeated across eight months covering all seasons. Fish community composition was compared among reaches using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and permutated multivariate analyses of variance (perMANOVA). Sign association tests identified indicator species driving assemblage patterns among reaches. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to assess the influence of physical characteristics of the transects on fish assemblage structure. Finally, fish assemblage measures were separated by month and temporal comparisons of fish assemblage were performed with NMDS and perMANOVA. Over the year, fish assemblages were distinct among the three reaches, and appear to be significantly influenced by temperature, undercut banks, and riparian vegetation type. Biotic homogenization in the Drain can be attributed to degraded physical features associated with channel modification in stormwater drains. Despite management and jurisdictional differences between streams and stormwater drains, evidence that earthen stormwater drains can maintain fish assemblages temporally demonstrates their biological potential and need to be considered as interconnected fish habitat elements within the overall watershed.     

Herbivores and natural enemies of brassica crops in urban agriculture

Urban agriculture has been growing in popularity around the globe. As more land is allocated to urban agriculture, there is a greater need to understand arthropod herbivores and natural enemies in these sites. The area and production type of urban agriculture could influence the risk of pest outbreaks, since larger food production areas are hypothesized to host more abundant herbivore populations. To determine the potential for pest outbreaks, we sampled for pests and above-ground natural enemies at three types of sites with variable amounts of cultivated areas: residential gardens, community gardens, and urban farms. We focused on pests of brassica, a widely cultivated crop family attacked by cabbageworms and aphids. We investigated the relationships of garden characteristics and surrounding land cover on natural enemies and herbivores of brassica. More herbivores and plant damage were expected in larger community gardens and urban farms. However, herbivore populations were low across sites and not explained by garden characteristics or area of production. Herbivory on brassica averaged less than 15% at all sites. Limited plant damage and low herbivore numbers may be attributed to the positive effects of garden flowers on parasitoids and high numbers of parasitoids and generalist predators across sites. Garden area and floral resources had positive relationships with natural enemy abundance, although community composition was similar across sites. Since arthropod natural enemies were abundant across all types of food production, this suggests that urban agriculture is a beneficial habitat that could support regulating ecosystem services such as biological control.     

Coyote,fox, and bobcat response to anthropogenic and natural landscape features in a small urban area

Increasing urbanization across the southeastern United States presents unique challenges for wildlife; however certain species have learned to adapt and thrive in these environments. Coyotes (Canis latrans), bobcats (Lynx rufus), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) are four common medium-sized carnivores that have become closely associated with urban areas. The goal for this study was to determine how urban landscape features influence density and occurrence of these species in a small urban area and to evaluate if any effects were similar to those observed in larger urban areas. We conducted two eight-week camera surveys in the city of Nacogdoches, Texas (pop. 32,699) and immediate surrounding areas in summer and fall 2013. We evaluated single-season spatially explicit capture-recapture and occupancy models to estimate density, and occurrence, respectively, based on anthropogenic and natural features around each camera site. Coyotes (fall: 1.38 coyotes/km²) and bobcats (fall: 0.64 coyotes/km²) were associated with areas of green space, but their response to large and small green spaces changed seasonally. Conversely, red foxes (fall: 2.53 red foxes/km²) were more likely to occur near developed areas and were less detectable in areas with greater probability of coyote presence in fall only. In summer, gray foxes (fall: 0.05 gray foxes/km²) were more likely to occur in areas with lower building density and closer to buildings. This study indicates coyotes, foxes and bobcats respond to small-scale urbanization in a similar manner as large-scale urbanization.     

Examination of the relationship between urban form and urban eco-efficiency in china

The present study aims at exploring whether aspects of urban form are associated with urban eco-efficiency in China. Quantitative indicators relating to urban form (form, compactness ratio, elongation ratio and population density) and urban eco-efficiency (resource efficiency, environmental efficiency and overall eco-efficiency) were selected and quantified using remote sensing and data envelopment analysis methods. The urban form aspects of form and compactness ratios were positively correlated with urban eco-efficiency and resource efficiency. Conversely, the urban elongation ratio exhibited negative correlations with urban eco-efficiency and resource efficiency. Regarding environmental efficiency, no significant correlation is found with compactness though a negative correlation is found with population density. These results indicate that, within China, designing cities to be compact may be lead to increases in eco-efficiency and resource efficiency, but if the population density is too high the increased pollution costs will result in a decrease in environmental efficiency.     

City-wide relationships between green spaces,urban land use and topography

The growing proportion of human populations living in urban areas, and consequent trends of increasing urban expansion and densification fuel a need to understand how urban form and land use affect environmental quality, including the availability of urban green spaces. Here we use Sheffield as a case study of city-wide relationships between urban green space extent, quality (vegetation cover and tree-cover), and gradients in urban form and topography. The total area of buildings and length of the road network are equally strong negative predictors of extent of green space, while the former predictor is a more important negative influence upon green space quality. Elevation positively influences extent of green space but negatively influences tree-cover. In contrast, slope of terrain positively influences green space quality and is the best predictor of tree-cover. Overall housing density is a more important negative predictor of extent of green space and tree-cover than the densities of individual housing types. Nevertheless, the latter are more important influences upon levels of vegetation cover. Threshold effects of densities of different housing types suggest opportunities for optimising green space quality, with implications for housing policy. Variation in ecological quality of green space may partly reflect different historical intensities of industrial activity.     

Overfishing,social problems,and ecosocial sustainability in Senegalese fishing communities

ABSTRACT

This study explores living conditions of people in Senegalese fishing communities in relation to environmental change and unregulated fishing by foreign boats, weakening local opportunities and increasing forced migration of youth, creating problems for the future development of local fishery communities. It employs a postcolonial perspective and analyzes data collected through interviews with individuals from Senegalese fishing communities, social workers and relevant documents. The results show local reactions based on alliances between social workers and local community members to overfishing and the need for national and global structural changes. It is argued that EU’s fishing agreements with Senegalese government is one of the reasons behind youths’ forced migration to EU countries and that the betterment of the living conditions of fishery communities in Senegal requires not only already emerging alliances between social workers and local community members, but also national and global structural changes to protect Africa’s fishing communities and local fisheries.     

Estimating free-roaming cat populations and the effects of one year Trap-Neuter-Return management effort in a highly urban area

Free-roaming cat populations are increasing in urban areas around the world. Management strategies remain controversial, as attempts to rapidly minimize the impact of cats may conflict with finding an ethical means of population reduction in this domesticated species. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is a non-lethal strategy which can theoretically lead to population decline with an ethical approach. The present study aimed to estimate free-roaming cat populations and also to measure the efficacy of a one-year TNR campaign in a highly urban area. Using a sight/resight methodology, we examined free-roaming cat populations in four sites across two neighbourhoods (Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant) in New York City. Sampling was repeated after 1 year, during which an intensive TNR effort occurred in each of those areas. Results from this study found population estimates range from 2.6-4.1 cats/km. Additionally, we found between 78-98% turnover in each study area. After one year of TNR, the proportion of sterilised individuals in our treatment sites increased to 50%. Model results suggest there is no evidence that sterilised individuals are more likely to be encountered, indicating that sterilisation may not affect movement patterns of cats. Free-roaming cats occur at high densities at all study sites, though populations varied, even within the same neighbourhood. We found evidence of considerable migration within study sites, which further complicates the application of a sterilisation management strategy. Management strategies directed toward free-roaming cats, such as TNR, may require a broad-scale approach, involving different facets of the community and should occur over multiple years.     

Developing a framework for assessing muscle effort and postures during computer work in the field: the effect of computer activities on neck/shoulder muscle effort and postures

The present study, a part of the PROOF (PRedicting Occupational biomechanics in OFfice workers) study, aimed to determine whether trapezius muscle effort was different across computer activities in a field study of computer workers, and also investigated whether head and shoulder postures were different across computer activities. One hundred twenty participants were measured continuously for two hours each while performing their own computer work. Keyboard activities were associated with the highest intensity of left and right trapezius muscle efforts, and mouse activities were associated with the smallest variability in left and right trapezius muscle efforts. Corresponding trends in head and shoulder postures included that the greatest head flexion and left and right shoulder internal rotation was observed during keyboard activities, and that the smallest variability in head flexion, head lateral tilt, and right shoulder internal rotation was observed during mouse activities. Identifying which muscle efforts and postures are different across computer activities is the first essential step for developing prediction rules for muscle efforts and postures, which can be used to link muscle efforts and postures to musculoskeletal symptoms in epidemiological studies.     

Interactions between birds, fruit bats and exotic plants in urban Hong Kong, South China

I observed the use of exotic plant species by native birds and bats in 8 km² of urban Hong Kong. Twenty-nine plant taxa were used repeatedly. Five species accounted for most interactions with birds: Cinnamomum camphora (10 bird species), Ficus religiosa (6), Livistona chinensis (7) and Pyracantha crenulata (6) provided fruits, while Bombax ceiba (6) supplied nectar. Panicum maximum (2) and C. camphora (1) provided seeds for granivorous birds and Leucaena leucocephala is host to a psyllid consumed by small insectivores in winter. Most trophic interactions between exotics and fruit bats involved the fruits or flowers of Syzygium jambos, while Livistona chinensis provided roosting sites for Cynopterus sphinx. The fruiting phenologies of the exotic species differed from the local flora, with fruit of some species available for the majority of the year. Fruit characteristics for the most commonly eaten species are within the range for native fruit species, although most are larger and have a lower seed load than the medians for native species. Seed dispersal by birds and/or fruit bats is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for the naturalization of fleshy-fruited plants in Hong Kong, but S. jambos is the only naturalizing exotic species that needs vertebrates for pollination.     

Relationships between urban parks and bird diversity in the Bangkok metropolitan area,Thailand

An analysis of the birds in Bangkok’s urban parks and landscapes provided guidance in designing healthy urban ecosystems. This research studied the relationships between bird diversity, park size, distance to the nearest main park, and habitat compositions in 10 urban parks in the Bangkok metropolitan area between January and August in 2013. Thirty sampling points per park were used to observe the number and species of birds in each urban park. A total of 50 bird species were found. Phutthamonthon, the largest urban park (400 ha), contained the greatest number of species (39 species), followed by Suan Luang Rama IX (80 ha and 34 species) and Wachirabenchatat (60 ha and 29 species). Moreover, the diversity index (H′) was highest in Phuttamonthon (1.17), followed by Thawiwanarom (1.08), and Wachirabenchatat (1.04). Larger urban parks and parks closer to the largest urban park had higher species richness than smaller parks and parks further from the largest urban park. The large parks contain higher habitat compositions than small parks. These findings can be applied to future urban ecosystem planning to combine the importance of park size (island size, and its proximity to a large park) and its arrangement, including features such as wetland, forest, buildings and grassland; and provide basic advice for future urban park design, as well as re-design of current urban parks.

     

Differences in soil chemical properties with distance to roads and age of development in urban areas

The main objective of this study was to characterize variation in soil chemical properties with length of urbanization period and distance to roads. Urban boundaries from 1920’s (old), 1960’s (middle) and 2000’s (new) were identified for three cities in northeast Ohio: Massillon, Wooster and Canton. Within each identified historic boundary, soil samples were collected from two road-side and two interior lawns in one public school site in each city. Thus, there were three urban age and two distance-to-roads classes. Soil particle composition and basic chemical properties including pH, available phosphorus (P), exchangeable potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), cation exchange capacity (CEC), nitrate, total carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), and soil organic matter (SOM) were measured. Two notable spatio-temporal patterns appeared repeatedly in the data set. First, total C, total N and SOM were higher in the soils of old (>50 years) urban sites than of newly developed sites. Similar, but not always significant, trends in soil pH, and exchangeable Ca were also observed. Second, road-side soils had higher pH, Ca, total C and N than interior sites regardless of urban age. These data indicate that key soil chemical properties can vary in predictable ways with urban age and distance-to-roads classes. Such variations in key soil chemical properties may influence or reflect soil biota and biogeochemical processes in urban soils.     

Differences between sexual orientation behavior groups and social background,quality of life,and health behaviors

Within the literature, there is some question as to whether bisexual or homosexual persons practice more unhealthy lifestyles and experience a lower quality of life than heterosexual individuals. This study examined possible differences between sexual orientation behavior groups (homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, and no sex partners) on demographic and social background variables, quality of life variables, lifestyle and health variables, and mental health or health background variables in a series of seven national probability samples between the years 1988 and 1996. Respondents were asked to report the sex of their sexual partners since they were age 18 and in the last 12 months. Data from a total of 11,543 interviews were collected by the National Opinion Research Center. Although there were some demographic and social background differences among the sexual orientation behavior (SORB) groups, there was little evidence that the behavioral dimension of sexual orientation is either strongly or directly related to quality of life, lifestyle, or health indicators. The report closes with a consideration of future research questions for this issue.     

Post-adoption service need and access: Differences between international,kinship and non-kinship foster care

Post-adoption services are important to bolster a family's commitment to their adopted children, thus avoiding potential problems following adoption finalization. It is vitally important to assess post-adoption services in an effort to ensure families are provided with effective supports for successful family functioning. Few investigators have assessed service needs and access according to adoptive family type. This study focuses on international, foster care kin and foster care non-kin adoption types. Utilizing the National Survey of Adoptive Parents, this research investigated twelve post-adoption services. Two comparisons were made with respect to whether, according to the adoptive parents, post-adoption services were received or not received: 1) international and foster care non-kin adoptive families; and 2) foster care kin and foster non-kin adoptive families. International non-kin families were more likely to indicate they discussed post-adoption services than foster care non-kin families, particularly among those who were white, had adopted boys, had no other children in the home, and whose socio-economic background was lower. When comparing foster care non-kin families with kinship families, non-kin families tended to receive more desired services than kinship families, with kinship families indicating less need for services. Policy efforts and program design need to focus on reaching out to families and developing effective post-adoption services based on the expressed needs of families.     

The influence of garden flowers on pollinator visits to forest flowers: comparison of bumblebee habitat use between urban and natural areas

Urban Ecosystems - As garden plants in urbanized environments provide considerable diverse floral resources to pollinators, the availability of floral resources has changed as a consequence of...     

Structural Aspects of Differences in Income between Anglophones and Francophones*

Cet article compare les données publiées par Raynauld et al. concernant les différences dans le revenu entre les Français et les Anglais à l'aide de données récentes provenant d'une enquête sur échantillon. Il souligne plusieurs faiblesses méthodologiques de l'analyse de Raynauld. Une mise en parallèle des données recueillies en 1961 et en 1968 révèle un nivellement des différences dans le revenu durant cette période. Bien que le taux « national » du revenu moyen des francophones par rapport à celui des anglophones se rapproche de l'unité, les différences dans le revenu se sont accentuées chez les travailleurs au bas de l'échelle professionnelle. Cette conclusion ainsi que d'autres résultats permettent d'invoquer la « discrimination » comme étant un facteur influençant le niveau de revenu. This paper compares the data on French-British income differences presented by Raynauld et al. with more recent survey data. It mentions several methodological criticisms of Raynauld's analysis. Comparisons between data gathered in 1961 and 1968 indicate a levelling of the income differences during that period. Although the nation-wide ratio of francophone to anglophone incomes is now closer to unity, the income disparity has increased for persons in lower-skilled occupations. These and other findings invite various interpretations of “discrimination” as a variable related to income.     

Differences between risk factors for truancy and delinquency in Dutch adolescents

The present study examined differences in risk factors for truancy and delinquency. Research questions were: (1) Which risk factors are significantly different between truants and delinquents? (2) Which risk factors make the strongest distinction between truancy and delinquency? Participants were Dutch adolescents (N = 365) who received a penal sanction in the Netherlands. 83% (n = 304) of them had violated the penal law, and 17% (n = 62) received the penalty for truancy. Differences in risk factors for truancy and delinquency were found for age and parental punishment. Binary logistic regression showed that only parental punishment retained its predictive effects when controlling for other differences. Truants experienced more parental punishment than delinquent adolescents. The present study shows that addressing dysfunctional home circumstances could be more important for truants, indicating that existing interventions do not differentiate enough between truants and delinquents.     

Challenging Parenting Behavior from Infancy to Toddlerhood: Etiology,Measurement, and Differences between Fathers and Mothers

Based on evidence that fathers show more challenging and physical play than mothers, it has been theorized that fathers have a different parenting role, more focused at stimulating exploration and taking chances. Challenging parenting behavior (CPB) may foster confidence and buffer against anxiety development in children. In this study, CPB was assessed in fathers and mothers at child ages of 4 months, 1 year, and 2.5 years, using newly developed questionnaires and observational tasks. Reliability of the questionnaire and observational measures was good, and fathers' and mothers' self‐rated CPB showed a similar factor structure. Modest and significant convergence between questionnaires and observations provided support for validity of CPB, whereas negative correlations with overprotection supported divergent validity. CPB correlated positively with warmth. We further found moderate to high stability of CPB from early infancy to toddlerhood, and interparental correspondence in CPB. Fathers and mothers did not differ in observed CPB, but fathers rated themselves higher than mothers in toddlerhood. It is concluded that the development of the instruments to assess CPB was successful. Overall, the results reveal similarities rather than differences between fathers' and mothers' CPB in early childhood. The potential relevance of CPB in child development and psychopathology is discussed.