Predicting spatial distribution of human–black bear interactions in urban areas

Human–wildlife interactions are often associated with a myriad of stakeholder groups, intense political scrutiny, and limited biological data, creating complex decision-making situations for wildlife management agencies. Limited research exists on the development and testing of tools (e.g., models to predict the spatial distribution of interactions) to reduce human–black bear (Ursus americanus) interactions (HBI). Available models predicting spatial distribution of HBI are usually developed at scales too large to predict across urban areas, are rarely tested against independent data sets, and usually do not incorporate both landscape and anthropogenic variables. Our objective was to develop a predictive modeling tool that could identify areas of high conflict potential across urban landscapes. We compared locations of HBI in Missoula, MT, recorded by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks from 2003 to 2008, to random locations using logistic regression. The final model discriminated the relative spatial probability of HBI within Missoula well, and a second study area moderately. The probability of HBI in Missoula increased when residents lived close to forested patches and major rivers and streams and in intermediate housing densities (approx. 6.59 houses/ha). Our results provide a wildlife management tool and a repeatable statistical framework that predicts spatial distribution of HBI using only a small set of variables. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

Global biodiversity research during 1900–2009: a bibliometric analysis

We performed a bibliometric analysis of published biodiversity research for the period of 1900–2009, based on the Science Citation Index (SCI) database. Our analysis reveals the authorial, institutional, spatiotemporal, and categorical patterns in biodiversity research and provides an alternative demonstration of research advancements, which may serve as a potential guide for future research. The growth of article outputs has exploded since the 1990s, along with an increasing collaboration index, references, and citations. Ecology, environmental sciences, biodiversity conservations, and plant science were most frequently used subject categories in biodiversity studies, and Biological Conservation, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Conservation Biology and Biodiversity and Conservation were most active journals in this field. The United States was the largest contributor in global biodiversity research, as the U.S. produced the most single-country and collaborative articles, had the greatest number of top research institutions, and had a central position in collaboration networks. We perceived an increasing number of both internationally collaborative and inter-institutionally collaborative articles, with the latter form of collaboration being more prevalent than the former. A keyword analysis found several interesting terminology preferences, confirmed conservation’s central position as a topic in biodiversity research, revealed the adoption of advanced technologies, and demonstrated keen interest in both the patterns and underlying processes of ecosystems. Our study reveals patterns in scientific outputs and academic collaborations and serves as an alternative and innovative way of revealing global research trends in biodiversity.     

Playing through differences: black–white racial logic and interrogating South Asian American identity

Abstract

This article examines how South Asian American communities ascribe meaning to the category of ‘race’ while adding their own sensibilities to racial categories of ‘black’ and ‘white’. Drawing upon ethnographic methods, I analyse leisure spaces of basketball to demonstrate how racial formation in the US for non-white ethnic American subjects engages the black–white racial binary while simultaneously critiquing this racial logic. Racial categories provide a lexicon for comprehending South Asian American difference, while South Asian idioms perpetuate racializing discourses.     

Combining data from 43 standardized surveys to estimate densities of female American black bears by spatially explicit capture–recapture

Spatially explicit capture–recapture (SECR) models are gaining popularity for estimating densities of mammalian carnivores. They use spatially explicit encounter histories of individual animals to estimate a detection probability function described by two parameters: magnitude (g ₀), and spatial scale (σ). Carnivores exhibit heterogeneous detection probabilities and home range sizes, and exist at low densities, so g ₀ and σ likely vary, but field surveys often yield inadequate data to detect and model the variation. We sampled American black bears (Ursus americanus) on 43 study areas in ON, Canada, 2006–2009. We detected 713 animals 1810 times; however, study area-specific samples were sometimes small (6–34 individuals detected 13–93 times). We compared AIC _c values from SECR models fit to the complete data set to evaluate support for various forms of variation in g ₀ and σ, and to identify a parsimonious model for aggregating data among study areas to estimate detection parameters more precisely. Models that aggregated data within broad habitat classes and years were supported over those with study area-specific g ₀ and σ (ΔAIC _c  ≥ 30), and precision was enhanced. Several other forms of variation in g ₀ and σ, including individual heterogeneity, were also supported and affected density estimates. If study design cannot eliminate detection heterogeneity, it should ensure that samples are sufficient to detect and model it. Where this is not feasible, combing sparse data across multiple surveys could allow for improved inference.     

Achieving disbelief: thought styles,microbial variation,and American and British epidemiology, 1900–1940

The role of bacterial variation in the waxing and waning of epidemics was a subject of lively debate in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century bacteriology and epidemiology. The notion that changes in bacterial virulence were responsible for the rise and fall of epidemic diseases was an often-voiced, but little investigated hypothesis made by late nineteenth-century epidemiologists. It was one of the first hypotheses to be tested by scientists who attempted to study epidemiological questions using laboratory methods. This paper examines how two groups of experimental epidemiologists, the British group led by W. W. C. Topley and Major Greenwood, and an American group directed by Leslie T. Webster at the Rockefeller Institute, studied the role of variations in bacterial virulence in the course of laboratory epidemics of mouse typhoid. Relying on Ludwik Fleck’s concept of thought styles and thought collectives, the paper analyzes the fundamental conceptual differences between these two groups of researchers and analyzes the kinds of innovations they introduced as they attempted to integrate bacteriological and epidemiological approaches. The paper shows that the stylistic differences between the two groups can be understood better in the context of the institutional histories and disciplinary relations of epidemiology and bacteriology in the two countries.     

Polar bear cubs may reduce chilling from icy water by sitting on mother’s back

The principal habitat of polar bears Ursus maritimus is sea ice where they hunt seals. Much of the sea ice habitat is scattered or with leads of open water. Adults are good swimmers. They are well adapted to cold water, while small cubs do not yet have fat layer sufficient to avoid chilling if swimming in icy water for any prolonged period of time. An important question is thus how female mothers and their cubs may behave to avoid that cubs get chilled, but at the same time making it possible for the families to hunt is those areas. We describe an observation of a polar bear cub on its mother’s back while the mother was swimming among ice floes in Svalbard, Norwegian Arctic. Similar observations are to our knowledge not earlier described in the scientific literature. We point out that this behaviour minimize exposure to cold water and hence significantly may reduce chilling of the cub. It may also be a way for the mother to transfer cubs not yet able or willing to swim. The behaviour may be necessary to allow the families to get around in areas of sea ice with many open leads.     

Human–elephant coexistence challenges in Myanmar: An analysis of fatal elephant attacks on humans and elephant mortality

Understanding the underlying causes behind human–elephant conflict (HEC)-driven mortality of humans and elephants will help improve both parties’ wellbeing. The objective of this study was to examine the temporal and spatial mortality patterns of humans and elephants and the influence of local attitudes, conflict factors and habitat factors on elephant poaching. We used the Myanmar Forest Department data from 2001 to 2020 for humans and 2011 to 2020 for elephants together with explanatory data on human attitudes, habitat, and conflict factors. Approximately seven persons were killed annually in elephant attacks, with a bias towards men. The annual mortality of elephants during the study period was on average 16 individuals, and most elephants were killed by humans. There was a significant relationship between the number of killed humans and human-killed elephants around HEC villages. Villages with more property damage exhibited a higher rate of human mortality, which also correlated with negative feelings of local people towards elephants. Elephant poaching was higher in villages with less suitable habitat available for elephant use. Human encroachment is an important cause of HEC, leading to human loss and forming the main threat to the survival of wild elephants. We suggest local involvement to ensure good governance in conflict resolution and mitigation strategies and to strengthen law enforcement.     

A bibliometric analysis of research papers published on photosynthesis: 1992–2009

We present here a bibliometric analysis of publications on photosynthesis research from 1992 to 2009 in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-Expanded) Web of Science. This has allowed us to examine the growing trends and the key topics on this subject. We have assessed the document type, language of the publications, publication output, subject category, journal distribution, countries and territories of these publications, institutions involved, hot topics and highly cited papers. The top 30 countries/territories were ranked according to their total number of articles (TA), single country articles (SCA), internationally collaborative articles (ICA), first author articles (FAA) and corresponding author articles (CAA). Research directions on the subject of photosynthesis were also investigated and evaluated by statistically analyzing the distribution of author keywords in the database. Our analysis indicates that “water”, “stress”, “carbon dioxide”, “nitrogen” and “climate change” are hot topics of research on photosynthesis during this period.     

Can mustard seed meal increase attacks by Aleochara spp. on Delia radicum in oilseed rape?

Responses to mustard seed meal of two parasitic beetles, Aleochara bipustulata and A. bilineata, were assessed by measuring levels of parasitism of Delia radicum puparia and of root damage to oilseed rape, and by pitfall trapping of the beetles. Levels of parasitism and trap catches of A. bipustulata were higher in meal-treated plots than in untreated control plots; however, there were no significant effects on A. bilineata, numbers of D. radicum in roots or on levels of root damage. Olfactometry confirmed the absence of response by A. bilineata and showed that A. bipustulata is attracted to volatiles released by dry or wet mustard seed meal. From GC-MS, the most abundant volatiles from mustard seed meal were limonene and structurally-similar compounds. These results are discussed with respect to mechanism of attraction, the host finding cues used by the major parasitoids of D. radicum, and the value of mustard seed meal for enhancing biological control.     

The impact of desegregation on black teachers in the metropolis, 1970–2000

One-third of public school students are racial and/or ethnic minorities. Yet only 14 per cent of teachers represent these groups. Frequently lost in broader debates concerning this disparity is the paradoxical contribution of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. Schools were mandated under Brown to desegregate the student body. But the law did not necessarily protect the jobs of black teachers and administrators. Using a unique database of court orders, we examine the impact of mandated desegregation on black teachers. Findings indicate regional differences. Mandated desegregation created conditions that resulted in decreases in the black teaching force in the South. The opposite occurred in the non-south, with mandated desegregation positively associated with increases (although small) in the black teaching force. Our findings suggest that the legacy of mandated desegregation may have created broader institutional conditions in which black and other minority teachers remain underrepresented in the teaching force.     

American geneticists and the eugenics movement: 1905–1935

Conclusion I have attempted to show that between 1905 and 1935, both internal and external factors were important in producing and influencing geneticists' attitudes toward the eugenics movement. Internal factors operated in several ways during this period. In the first decade of the century, discoveries within genetics supplied geneticists a mode of expression to evoke their already existing social concern by providing a new vocabulary with which to present eugenic proposals. In addition, because these findings were relatively easy to explain to the layman, it became an easy matter for geneticists to popularize eugenics. After 1915, by suggesting the complexity of inheritance, other developments within genetics helped dim their initial enthusiasm for the movement. During this period, factors external to the science of genetics also were important. By producing a general interest in social affairs among many geneticists, the intellectual and social milieu of the late 1800's lay the foundations for their early participation in the eugenics movement. In the 1920's and 1930's the subjection of genetic theory to support preconceived social and political doctrines prompted them to renounce the movement publicly.While both internal and external factors operated on geneticists, the lesson of this study is that external factors were more important in influencing their attitudes toward the movement than internal factors. At the turn of the century, geneticists inherited from Social Darwinism a general interest in applying biological principles to the analysis of social problems; discoveries within genetics mainly provided a convenient and persuasive terminology with which to express their interest. Later, both internal and external factors caused their enthusiasm for the movement to wane, but their public renunciation of it was caused primarily by external factors alone.The importance of external factors is seen to be even greater by considering the model I suggested to explain the development of social responsibility in modern form among scientists. According to this model, social responsibility results after a crisis in the social uses of a given science—as a response to external factors. This model appears to account satisfactorily for the emergence of geneticists' sense of social responsibility: alarmed by eugenicists' frequent endorsement of Nazi eugenic programs, many geneticists claimed it was their duty to explain the facts of their science to the public so that the layman could see for himself the scientific errors of racism. Geneticists were now presenting the layman the facts, though not necessarily interpreting the facts for him. This same pattern—the emergence of modern social responsibility after an externally induced crisis-appears to be present in the other examples that I gave.The ironies revealed by this study are many. First, it is ironic that principles of genetics created feelings of both pessimism and optimism among many geneticists. Early developments in genetics-Mendel's laws, the concept of unit inheritance, and Weismann's theory-supplemented Social Darwinism in creating an atmosphere of pessimism among many geneticists by posing the grim assumption that human defects are hereditarily determined and incapable of medical cure. In recognizing the importance of heredity in development, many geneticists for a while were overly pessimistic in their forecasts of the evolutionary future of the human race. These same three genetic developments, however, by suggesting the feasibility of a eugenics program, of controlling reproduction to eliminate defective genes from the population, provided a remedy to the problem they had helped create.It is also ironic that even though the classical eugenics movement has been discredited in America for over thirty years, many individuals today are speaking of certain dangers to society in terms remarkably similar to those used by the classical eugenicists. The explosion of the atomic bomb created a sudden awareness among the public of the dangers of gene mutation from radiation and other sources⁴¹. Today, as topics such as the genetic load are increasingly discussed, many individuals are experiencing a growing alarm over the future genetic condition of the American people, a marked concern over the rising genetic and financial costs to society of modern medicine for preserving defectives and allowing them to reproduce.Although geneticists in the 1930's generally abandoned the ideal of using science to prescribe policy, to construct ends for social action, it was this ideal which initially attracted many of them to the eugenics movement in the first place. In the early years of the century, geneticists viewed science in a new light: as a restraint upon conduct. Hitherto, science had been valued for its products, for releasing man from old burdens, for supplying him new opportunities to enjoy and to explore life. In supporting the eugenics movement, geneticists departed from this mode. They now appealed to science, not for a particular product, but to determine who should and who should not reproduce. They let science act as a constraint upon their actions; they let science tell them that individual desires are less important than the biological and moral imperative of improving the human race⁴². Thus, it becomes understandable why many geneticists for a time regarded eugenics as a religion, for they had permitted biology to assume religion's traditional function of defining permissible conduct. The history of geneticists' involvement with the eugenics movement reminds us that science can play many roles and be put to many purposes.     

The politics of black patients' identity: Ward-rounds on the ‘black side’ of a South African psychiatric hospital

There are many macrosocial studies of the political organisation of health and mental health care in South Africa, and the maldistribution of resources by race is well known. Little attention, however, has been given to the minutiae of the negotiation of power in the clinical setting. This article, which reports on part of a larger study of aspects of culture in South African psychiatry, focuses on interactions in ward-rounds on the Black side of a South African psychiatric hospital. Through analysis of cases, the complexity of interpreting what transpires in such a setting and the central role that the concept of culture has in debates amongst staff members are demonstrated. Close analysis demonstrates the inadequacy of models which seek to locate the institutional racism of apartheid psychiatry in the motives of individual clinicians. Clinicians may simultaneously reproduce and subvert aspects of apartheid practice. A consideration of the social positioning of the clinician both as a South African and as a practitioner of psychiatry is central to the development of psychiatry in a post-apartheid South Africa.