bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Partitioning ecosystems for sustainability
Authors: Murray Martyn G. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractDecline in the abundance of renewable natural resources (RNRs) coupled with increasing demands of an expanding human population will greatly intensify competition for Earth's natural resources during this century, yet curiously, analytical approaches to the management of productive ecosystems (ecological theory of wildlife harvesting, tragedy of the commons, green economics, and bioeconomics) give only peripheral attention to the driving influence of competition on resource exploitation. Here, I apply resource competition theory (RCT) to the exploitation of RNRs and derive four general policies in support of their sustainable and equitable use: (1) regulate resource extraction technology to avoid damage to the resource base; (2) increase efficiency of resource use and reduce waste at every step in the resource supply chain and distribution network; (3) partition ecosystems with the harvesting niche as the basic organizing principle for sustainable management of natural resources by multiple users; and (4) increase negative feedback between consumer and resource to bring about long‐term sustainable use. A simple policy framework demonstrates how RCT integrates with other elements of sustainability science to better manage productive ecosystems. Several problem areas of RNR management are discussed in the light of RCT, including tragedy of the commons, overharvesting, resource collapse, bycatch, single species quotas, and simplification of ecosystems.
How livestock and flooding mediate the ecological integrity of working forests in Amazon River floodplains
Authors: Lucas Christine M. , Sheikh Pervaze , Gagnon Paul R. , McGrath David G. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractThe contribution of working forests to tropical conservation and development depends upon the maintenance of ecological integrity under ongoing land use. Assessment of ecological integrity requires an understanding of the structure, composition, and function and major drivers that govern their variability. Working forests in tropical river floodplains provide many goods and services, yet the data on the ecological processes that sustain these services is scant. In flooded forests of riverside Amazonian communities, we established 46 0.1‐ha plots varying in flood duration, use by cattle and water buffalo, and time since agricultural abandonment (30–90 yr). We monitored three aspects of ecological integrity (stand structure, species composition, and dynamics of trees and seedlings) to evaluate the impacts of different trajectories of livestock activity (alleviation, stasis, and intensification) over nine years. Negative effects of livestock intensification were solely evident in the forest understory, and plots alleviated from past heavy disturbance increased in seedling density but had higher abundance of thorny species than plots maintaining low activity. Stand structure, dynamics, and tree species composition were strongly influenced by the natural pulse of seasonal floods, such that the defining characteristics of integrity were dependent upon flood duration (3–200 d). Forests with prolonged floods ≥140 d had not only lower species richness but also lower rates of recruitment and species turnover relative to forests with short floods <70 d. Overall, the combined effects of livestock intensification and prolonged flooding hindered forest regeneration, but overall forest integrity was largely related to the hydrological regime and age. Given this disjunction between factors mediating canopy and understory integrity, we present a subset of metrics for regeneration and recruitment to distinguish forest condition by livestock trajectory. Although our study design includes confounded factors that preclude a definitive assessment of the major drivers of ecological change, we provide much‐needed data on the regrowth of a critical but poorly studied ecosystem. In addition to its emphasis on the dynamics of tropical wetland forests undergoing anthropogenic and environmental change, our case study is an important example for how to assess of ecological integrity in working forests of tropical ecosystems.
Post‐fire vegetation and fuel development influences fire severity patterns in reburns
Authors: Coppoletta Michelle , Merriam Kyle E. , Collins Brandon M. 
Published: May 2016

AbstractIn areas where fire regimes and forest structure have been dramatically altered, there is increasing concern that contemporary fires have the potential to set forests on a positive feedback trajectory with successive reburns, one in which extensive stand‐replacing fire could promote more stand‐replacing fire. Our study utilized an extensive set of field plots established following four fires that occurred between 2000 and 2010 in the northern Sierra Nevada, California, USA that were subsequently reburned in 2012. The information obtained from these field plots allowed for a unique set of analyses investigating the effect of vegetation, fuels, topography, fire weather, and forest management on reburn severity. We also examined the influence of initial fire severity and time since initial fire on influential predictors of reburn severity. Our results suggest that high‐ to moderate‐severity fire in the initial fires led to an increase in standing snags and shrub vegetation, which in combination with severe fire weather promoted high‐severity fire effects in the subsequent reburn. Although fire behavior is largely driven by weather, our study demonstrates that post‐fire vegetation composition and structure are also important drivers of reburn severity. In the face of changing climatic regimes and increases in extreme fire weather, these results may provide managers with options to create more fire‐ resilient ecosystems. In areas where frequent high‐severity fire is undesirable, management activities such as thinning, prescribed fire, or managed wildland fire can be used to moderate fire behavior not only prior to initial fires, but also before subsequent reburns.
Decadal Bering Sea seascape change: consequences for Pacific walruses and indigenous hunters
Authors: Ray G. Carleton , Hufford Gary L. , Overland James E. , Krupnik Igor , McCormick‐Ray Jerry , Frey Karen , Labunski Elizabeth 
Published: May 2016

AbstractThe most significant factors currently affecting the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) population are climate change and consequent changes in sea‐ice morphology and dynamics. This paper integrates recent physical sea‐ice change in the Bering Sea with biological and ecological conditions of walruses in their winter–spring reproductive habitat. Historically, walrus in winter–spring depended on a critical mass of sea‐ice habitat to optimize social networking, reproductive fitness, feeding behavior, migration, and energetic efficiency. During 2003–2013, our cross‐disciplinary, multiscale analysis from shipboard observations, satellite imagery, and ice‐floe tracking, reinforced by information from indigenous subsistence hunters, documented change of sea‐ice structure from a plastic continuum to a “mixing bowl” of ice floes moving more independently. This fragmentation of winter habitat preconditions the walrus population toward dispersal mortality and will also negatively affect the availability of resources for indigenous communities. We urge an expanded research and management agenda that integrates walrus natural history and habitat more completely with changing sea‐ice morphology and dynamics at multiple scales, while also meeting the needs of local communities.
Reciprocal feedbacks between spatial subsidies and reserve networks in coral reef meta‐ecosystems
Authors: Spiecker Barbara , Gouhier Tarik C. , Guichard Frédéric 
Published: May 2016

AbstractTop‐down processes such as predation and herbivory have been shown to control the dynamics of communities across a range of ecosystems by generating trophic cascades. However, theory is only beginning to describe how these local trophic processes interact with spatial subsidies in the form of material (nutrient, detritus) transport and organismal dispersal to (1) shape the structure of interconnected (meta‐) ecosystems and (2) determine their optimal management via reserve networks. Here, we develop a meta‐ecosystem model to understand how the reciprocal feedbacks between spatial subsidies and reserve networks modulate the importance of top‐down control in a simple herbivorous fish–macroalgae–coral system. We show that in large and isolated reserve networks where connectivity between protected and unprotected areas is limited, spatial subsidies remain largely confined to reserves. This retention of spatial subsidies promotes the top‐down control of corals and macroalgae by herbivores inside reserves but reduces it outside reserves. Conversely, in small and aggregated reserves where connectivity between protected and unprotected areas is high, the spillover of spatial subsidies causes a reduction in top‐down control of corals and macroalgae by herbivores inside reserves and an increase in the strength of top‐down control outside reserves. In addition, we demonstrate that there is a trade‐off between local and regional conservation objectives when designing reserve networks: small and aggregated reserves based on the extent of dispersal maximize the abundance of corals and herbivores regionally, whereas large and isolated reserves always maximize the abundance of corals within reserves, regardless of the extent of dispersal. The existence of such “conservation traps,” which arise from the fulfillment of population‐level objectives within local reserves at the cost of community‐level objectives at regional scales, suggests the importance of adopting a more holistic strategy to manage complex and interconnected ecosystems.
Effects of habitat composition and landscape structure on worker foraging distances of five bumble bee species
Authors: Redhead John W. , Dreier Stephanie , Bourke Andrew F. G. , Heard Matthew S. , Jordan William C. , Sumner Seirian , Wang Jinliang , Carvell Claire 
Published: May 2016

AbstractBumble bees (Bombus spp.) are important pollinators of both crops and wildflowers. Their contribution to this essential ecosystem service has been threatened over recent decades by changes in land use, which have led to declines in their populations. In order to design effective conservation measures, it is important to understand the effects of variation in landscape composition and structure on the foraging activities of worker bumble bees. This is because the viability of individual colonies is likely to be affected by the trade‐off between the energetic costs of foraging over greater distances and the potential gains from access to additional resources. We used field surveys, molecular genetics, and fine resolution remote sensing to estimate the locations of wild bumble bee nests and to infer foraging distances across a 20‐km2 agricultural landscape in southern England, UK. We investigated five species, including the rare B. ruderatus and ecologically similar but widespread B. hortorum. We compared worker foraging distances between species and examined how variation in landscape composition and structure affected foraging distances at the colony level. Mean worker foraging distances differed significantly between species. Bombus terrestris, B. lapidarius, and B. ruderatus exhibited significantly greater mean foraging distances (551, 536, and 501 m, respectively) than B. hortorum and B. pascuorum (336 and 272 m, respectively). There was wide variation in worker foraging distances between colonies of the same species, which was in turn strongly influenced by the amount and spatial configuration of available foraging habitats. Shorter foraging distances were found for colonies where the local landscape had high coverage and low fragmentation of seminatural vegetation, including managed agri‐environmental field margins. The strength of relationships between different landscape variables and foraging distance varied between species, for example the strongest relationship for B. ruderatus being with floral cover of preferred forage plants. Our findings suggest that management of landscape composition and configuration has the potential to reduce foraging distances across a range of bumble bee species. There is thus potential for improvements in the design and implementation of landscape management options, such as agri‐environment schemes, aimed at providing foraging habitat for bumble bees and enhancing crop pollination services.
Birds of a feather: using species assemblages to assess vulnerability to extinction
Authors: Paini Dean R. , Mokany Karel 
Published: May 2016

AbstractEstimating extinction vulnerability for a large number of species presents significant challenges for researchers, but is of high importance considering the large number of species that are currently unassessed. We present a method using a type of artificial neural network (self organizing map; SOM), which utilizes the co‐occurrence patterns of species to estimate each species’ vulnerability to extinction. We use this method on Australian bird assemblages and compare the SOM‐generated rankings for vulnerability with assessments from the IUCN Red List for those species in which populations have actually been estimated. For species that have had their populations estimated, the SOM performed well in distinguishing those species ranked of least concern by IUCN from those species in one of the other IUCN categories. Further, 19 species that were identified as highly vulnerable by the SOM analysis have never had their populations estimated and have been ranked by the IUCN of least concern. We show how the SOM can identify spatial variation in vulnerability for a species, and identify those regions in Australia in which the resident species have the greatest levels of vulnerability (central Australia). We conclude that the SOM provides a useful tool for researchers and agencies dealing with conservation strategies focused on large numbers of species and we urge a more detailed assessment of the 19 bird species identified by this analysis as vulnerable to extinction.
A sonic net excludes birds from an airfield: implications for reducing bird strike and crop losses
Authors: Swaddle John P. , Moseley Dana L. , Hinders Mark K. , P. Smith Elizabeth 
Published: May 2016

AbstractCollisions between birds and aircraft cause billions of dollars of damages annually to civil, commercial, and military aviation. Yet technology to reduce bird strike is not generally effective, especially over longer time periods. Previous information from our lab indicated that filling an area with acoustic noise, which masks important communication channels for birds, can displace European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) from food sources. Here we deployed a spatially controlled noise (termed a “sonic net”), designed to overlap with the frequency range of bird vocalizations, at an airfield. By conducting point counts, we monitored the presence of birds for four weeks before deployment of our sonic net, and for four weeks during deployment. We found an 82% reduction in bird presence in the sonic net area compared with change in the reference areas. This effect was as strong in the fourth week of exposure as in the first week. We also calculated the potential costs avoided resulting from this exclusion. We propose that spatially controlled acoustic manipulations that mask auditory communication for birds may be an effective long term and fairly benign way of excluding problem birds from areas of socioeconomic importance, such as airfields, agricultural sites, and commercial properties.
Winter Wheat Yields Are Increased by Seed Treatment and Fall‐Applied Fungicide
Authors: Turkington T. Kelly , Beres Brian L. , Kutcher H. Randy , Irvine Byron , Johnson Eric N. , O'Donovan John T. , Harker K. Neil , Holzapfel Christopher B. , Mohr Ramona , Peng Gary , Stevenson F. Craig 
Published: May 2016

Poor stand establishment resulting in lower yield is a major constraint to expanding winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) land area across the semiarid temperate regions of the northern Great Plains. We conducted a direct‐seeded study at nine sites across western Canada totaling 26 environments (site‐years) over three growing seasons (2011–2013) to observe the responses of the winter wheat cultivar CDC Buteo to five levels of seed treatment (i) Check–no seed treatment, (ii) tebuconozole [(RS)‐ 1‐(4‐Chlorophenyl)‐4,4‐dimethyl‐3‐(1H, 1,2,4‐triazol‐1‐ylmethyl)pentan‐ 3‐ol], (iii) metalxyl {2‐[(2,6‐dimethylphenyl)‐(2‐methoxy‐1‐oxoethyl) amino} propanoic acid methyl ester], (iv) imidacloprid (N‐{1‐[(6‐Chloro‐3‐pyridyl)methyl]‐4,5‐dihydroimidazol‐2‐yl}nitramide), and (v) dual fungicide/insecticidal seed treatment: tebuconozole, + metalxyl + imidacloprid; and two levels of fall‐applied fungicide (i) Check–no application or (ii) foliar‐applied prothioconazole {2‐[2‐(1‐chlorocyclopropyl)‐3‐(2‐chlorophenyl)‐2‐hydroxypropyl]‐1H‐1,2,4‐triazole‐3‐thione} performed in mid‐October. The check and the fungicide seed treatment, metalaxyl, produced similarly low grain yield resulting in lower net returns, whereas the dual fungicide/insecticide seed treatment provided the highest yield and net returns (CAN+$13 ha−1). Fall‐applied fungicide improved yield (0.06 Mg ha−1), but decreased net returns (–$12 ha−1). Plant density increased slightly (13 plants m−2) when seed treatments included the insecticide component, imidacloprid. Fall foliar fungicides generally improved spring plant density; however, no benefit was observed in seed treatments containing imidacloprid. Greater yield and plant stand stability was observed with fall‐applied foliar fungicide applications; however, fall foliar would be cost prohibitive. The benefits of a fall foliar fungicide application requires further exploration in the context of an added input or as an alternative to a spring application as the net returns of a fall foliar compared to no application in the system render the input cost‐prohibitive.Core Ideas

Seed treatment increases winter wheat yield.
Fall‐applied fungicide increases winter wheat yield.
Seed treatment increases winter wheat net returns.
Phosphorus Release to Floodwater from Calcareous Surface Soils and Their Corresponding Subsurface Soils under Anaerobic Conditions
Authors: Jayarathne P. D. K. D. , Kumaragamage D. , Indraratne S. , Flaten D. , Goltz D. 
Published: May 2016

Enhanced phosphorus (P) release from soils to overlying water under flooded, anaerobic conditions has been well documented for noncalcareous and surface soils, but little information is available for calcareous and subsurface soils. We compared the magnitude of P released from 12 calcareous surface soils and corresponding subsurface soils to overlying water under flooded, anaerobic conditions and examined the reasons for the differences. Surface (0–15 cm) and subsurface (15–30 cm) soils were packed into vessels and flooded for 8 wk. Soil redox potential and concentrations of dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and total dissolved Ca, Mg, Fe, and Mn in floodwater and pore water were measured weekly. Soil test P was significantly smaller in subsurface soils than in corresponding surface soils; thus, the P release to floodwater from subsurface soils was significantly less than from corresponding surface soils. Under anaerobic conditions, floodwater DRP concentration significantly increased in >80% of calcareous surface soils and in about 40% of subsurface soils. The increase in floodwater DRP concentration was 2‐ to 17‐fold in surface soils but only 4‐ to 7‐fold in subsurface soils. With time of flooding, molar ratios of Ca/P and Mg/P in floodwater increased, whereas Fe/P and Mn/P decreased, suggesting that resorption and/or reprecipitation of P took place involving Fe and Mn. Results indicate that P release to floodwater under anaerobic conditions was enhanced in most calcareous soils. Surface and subsurface calcareous soils in general behaved similarly in releasing P under flooded, anaerobic conditions, with concentrations released mainly governed by initial soil P concentrations.Core Ideas
Phosphorus released to floodwater was greater from calcareous surface soils than subsurface soils.
Floodwater P concentration significantly increased in >80% of surface soils with time of flooding.
Only 40% of subsurface soils showed a significant increase in floodwater P concentrations with flooding.
Phosphorus released to floodwater was mainly governed by the initial soil P concentration in soils.
Changes in floodwater molar ratios suggest sorption and/or reprecipitation involving Fe and Mn.
Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT): Modified Delphi Study
Authors: Slade Susan C. , Dionne Clermont E. , Underwood Martin , Buchbinder Rachelle , Beck Belinda , Bennell Kim , Brosseau Lucie , Costa Leonardo , Cramp Fiona , Cup Edith , Feehan Lynne , Ferreira Manuela , Forbes Scott , Glasziou Paul , Habets Bas , Harris Susan , Hay-Smith Jean , Hillier Susan , Hinman Rana , Holland Ann , Hondras Maria , Kelly George , Kent Peter , Lauret Gert-Jan , Long Audrey , Maher Chris , Morso Lars , Osteras Nina , Peterson Tom , Quinlivan Ros , Rees Karen , Regnaux Jean-Philippe , Rietberg Marc , Saunders Dave , Skoetz Nicole , Sogaard Karen , Takken Tim , van Tulder Maurits , Voet Nicoline , Ward Lesley , White Claire 
Published: May 2016

Abstract

Background
Exercise interventions are often incompletely described in reports of clinical trials, hampering evaluation of results and replication and implementation into practice.

Objective
The aim of this study was to develop a standardized method for reporting exercise programs in clinical trials: the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT).

Design and Methods
Using the EQUATOR Network's methodological framework, 137 exercise experts were invited to participate in a Delphi consensus study. A list of 41 items was identified from a meta-epidemiologic study of 73 systematic reviews of exercise. For each item, participants indicated agreement on an 11-point rating scale. Consensus for item inclusion was defined a priori as greater than 70% agreement of respondents rating an item 7 or above. Three sequential rounds of anonymous online questionnaires and a Delphi workshop were used.

Results
There were 57 (response rate=42%), 54 (response rate=95%), and 49 (response rate=91%) respondents to rounds 1 through 3, respectively, from 11 countries and a range of disciplines. In round 1, 2 items were excluded; 24 items reached consensus for inclusion (8 items accepted in original format), and 16 items were revised in response to participant suggestions. Of 14 items in round 2, 3 were excluded, 11 reached consensus for inclusion (4 items accepted in original format), and 7 were reworded. Sixteen items were included in round 3, and all items reached greater than 70% consensus for inclusion.

Limitations
The views of included Delphi panelists may differ from those of experts who declined participation and may not fully represent the views of all exercise experts.

Conclusions
The CERT, a 16-item checklist developed by an international panel of exercise experts, is designed to improve the reporting of exercise programs in all evaluative study designs and contains 7 categories: materials, provider, delivery, location, dosage, tailoring, and compliance. The CERT will encourage transparency, improve trial interpretation and replication, and facilitate implementation of effective exercise interventions into practice.