bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Planning for Connectivity on Linear Reserve Networks
Authors: LENTINI PIA E. , GIBBONS PHILIP , CARWARDINE JOSIE , FISCHER JOERN , DRIELSMA MICHAEL , MARTIN TARA G. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAlthough the concept of connectivity is decades old, it remains poorly understood and defined, and some argue that habitat quality and area should take precedence in conservation planning instead. However, fragmented landscapes are often characterized by linear features that are inherently connected, such as streams and hedgerows. For these, both representation and connectivity targets may be met with little effect on the cost, area, or quality of the reserve network. We assessed how connectivity approaches affect planning outcomes for linear habitat networks by using the stock‐route network of Australia as a case study. With the objective of representing vegetation communities across the network at a minimal cost, we ran scenarios with a range of representation targets (10%, 30%, 50%, and 70%) and used 3 approaches to account for connectivity (boundary length modifier, Euclidean distance, and landscape‐value [LV]). We found that decisions regarding the target and connectivity approach used affected the spatial allocation of reserve systems. At targets ≥50%, networks designed with the Euclidean distance and LV approaches consisted of a greater number of small reserves. Hence, by maximizing both representation and connectivity, these networks compromised on larger contiguous areas. However, targets this high are rarely used in real‐world conservation planning. Approaches for incorporating connectivity into the planning of linear reserve networks that account for both the spatial arrangement of reserves and the characteristics of the intervening matrix highlight important sections that link the landscape and that may otherwise be overlooked.El Efecto de la Planeación para la Conectividad en Redes de Reservas Lineales
Use of Experimental Translocations of Allegheny Woodrat to Decipher Causal Agents of Decline
Authors: SMYSER TIMOTHY J. , JOHNSON SCOTT A. , PAGE L. KRISTEN , HUDSON CASSIE M. , RHODES OLIN E. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractTranslocations are an important tool for wildlife conservation, although progress in the field of reintroduction biology has been hindered by the ad hoc and opportunistic nature of many translocations. We used an experimental translocation to elucidate the role of raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) and inbreeding depression in the decline of the Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister), an endangered species. We translocated woodrats from genetically diverse populations in the core of the species range to 4 previously occupied sites (reintroductions) and 2 sites supporting genetically depauperate populations (reinforcements) in Indiana (U.S.A.). In 2 reintroduction sites and 1 reinforcement site, we distributed anthelmintic baits to passively deworm raccoons and reduce the risk of woodrat exposure to roundworms. The remaining sites served as controls. We used raccoon latrine surveys and fecal flotation to monitor temporal variability in roundworm prevalence and effect of treatment. We used live trapping and microsatellite genotyping to monitor the demographic and genetic response of translocated populations over the following 54 months. At the conclusion of the study, 4 of 6 translocations were successfully maintaining abundance through local recruitment. The distribution of anthelmintic baits reduced levels of roundworm contamination, but levels of contamination were also low in 2 of 3 control sites. Reintroductions failed at control sites, one of which was due to high roundworm exposure. The other failed control reintroduction was likely attributable to demographic stochasticity and limited reproductive potential following initial mortality within the first 4 months. In both control and treatment reinforcements, increases in both allelic richness and heterozygosity were accompanied by increases in abundance, which is suggestive of genetic rescue. Our results demonstrate that mitigation of roundworm exposure through the distribution of anthelmintic baits can facilitate woodrat recovery and that diversity within genetically depauperate populations can be restored through the introduction of a limited number of individuals.El Uso de Reubicaciones Experimentales de Neotoma magister para Descifrar Agentes Causales de Disminución
Attitudes of regular injecting drug users towards the legal status of the major illicit drugs
Authors: Darke Shane , Torok Michelle 
Published: May 2013

AbstractIntroduction and AimsThe study aimed to determine injecting drug users' (IDU) attitudes, and correlates of attitudes, towards continued prohibition, decriminalisation or legalisation of the major illicit drugs.Design and MethodsThis study used structured interview with 300 IDUs who had injected on at least a weekly basis over the preceding 12 months.ResultsMethamphetamine was rated the most harmful of the five illicit substances and cannabis the lowest. By far the highest level of support for legislative change was for cannabis, with only 8.7% supporting continued prohibition. While there was majority support for change to the legal status of heroin, the modal position was for decriminalisation. Support for changing the status of the three illicit psychostimulants was low, with the majority believing that methamphetamine (63.3%), cocaine (53.3%) and 3,4‐methylenedioxy‐N‐methylamphetamine (53.3%) should remain illegal. Demographic characteristics were largely unrelated to attitudes. Lower levels of perceived harm were associated with increased likelihood of support for legalisation of all substances. Recent use was positively related to support for both decriminalisation and legality of heroin, but was not associated with views on other substances. Higher lifetime polydrug use was associated with support for the legalisation of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and 3,4‐methylenedioxy‐N‐methylamphetamine.Discussion and ConclusionsIDUs expressed nuanced views on different substances. In policy debates, care should be taken not to speak for IDUs by imputing their beliefs. It is clear that the fact that a group uses illegal drugs does not necessarily imply that they support changes to their legal status. [Darke S, Torok M. Attitudes of regular injecting drug users towards the legal status of the major illicit drugs. Drug Alcohol Rev 2013;32:483–488]
A comparison of methods to identify alcohol involvement in youth injury‐related emergency department presentation data
Authors: Vallmuur Kirsten , Limbong Jesani , Barker Ruth , Hides Leanne 
Published: May 2013

AbstractIntroduction and AimsThe study aims to compare methods for identifying alcohol involvement in injury‐related emergency department (ED) presentation in Queensland youth, and explore alcohol terminology used in triage text.Design and MethodsED Information System data were provided for patients aged 12–24 years with an injury‐related diagnosis code for a 5‐year period 2006–2010 presenting to a Queensland ED (n = 348 895). Three approaches were used to estimate alcohol involvement: (i) analysis of coded data; (ii) mining of triage text; and (iii) estimation using an adaptation of alcohol attributable fractions.ResultsAround 6.4% of these injury presentations overall had some documentation of alcohol involvement, with higher proportions of alcohol involvement documented for 18 to 24‐year‐olds, females, indigenous youth, where presentations occurred on a Saturday or Sunday, and where presentations occurred between midnight and 5 am. The most common alcohol terms identified for all subgroups were generic alcohol terms (e.g. ethanol or alcohol), with almost half of the cases where alcohol involvement was documented having a generic alcohol term recorded in the triage text.Discussion and ConclusionsED data are useful sources of information for identification of high‐risk sub‐groups to target intervention opportunities, though it is not a reliable source of data for incidence or trend estimation in its current unstandardised form. Improving the accuracy and consistency of identification, documenting and coding of alcohol involvement at the point of data capture in the ED is the most desirable long‐term approach to produce a more solid evidence base to support policy and practice in this field. [Vallmuur K, Limbong J, Barker R, Hides L. A comparison of methods to identify alcohol involvement in youth injury‐related emergency department presentation data. Drug Alcohol Rev 2013;32:519–526]
Practical solutions for making models indispensable in conservation decision‐making
Authors: Addison Prue F. E. , Rumpff Libby , Bau S. Sana , Carey Janet M. , Chee Yung En , Jarrad Frith C. , McBride Marissa F. , Burgman Mark A. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAimDecision‐making for conservation management often involves evaluating risks in the face of environmental uncertainty. Models support decision‐making by (1) synthesizing available knowledge in a systematic, rational and transparent way and (2) providing a platform for exploring and resolving uncertainty about the consequences of management decisions. Despite their benefits, models are still not used in many conservation decision‐making contexts. In this article, we provide evidence of common objections to the use of models in environmental decision‐making. In response, we present a series of practical solutions for modellers to help improve the effectiveness and relevance of their work in conservation decision‐making.LocationGlobal review.MethodsWe reviewed scientific and grey literature for evidence of common objections to the use of models in conservation decision‐making. We present a set of practical solutions based on theory, empirical evidence and best‐practice examples to help modellers substantively address these objections.ResultsWe recommend using a structured decision‐making framework to guide good modelling practice in decision‐making and highlight a variety of modelling techniques that can be used to support the process. We emphasize the importance of participatory decision‐making to improve the knowledge‐base and social acceptance of decisions and to facilitate better conservation outcomes. Improving communication and building trust are key to successfully engaging participants, and we suggest some practical solutions to help modellers develop these skills.Main conclusionsIf implemented, we believe these practical solutions could help broaden the use of models, forging deeper and more appropriate linkages between science and management for the improvement of conservation decision‐making.
Using internet intelligence to manage biosecurity risks: a case study for aquatic animal health
Authors: Lyon Aidan , Grossel Geoff , Burgman Mark , Nunn Mike 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAimAquaticHealth.net is an open‐source aquatic biosecurity intelligence gathering and analysis application. The system collects information in much the same way as other similar systems (e.g. HealthMap, BioCaster). However, the information collected undergoes minimal automated analysis, and analysis is largely left to AquaticHealth.net's users. The result is an automated system of intelligence gathering, combined with a manual system of intelligence analysis. This approach relies on a large number of users, and so AquaticHealth.net relies on an open‐intelligence analysis method: any user can publish their own analyses for all to see and analyse further. By combining automated data collection and human analysis, AquaticHealth.net will provide fast and accurate forecasts, accompanied with nuanced explanations. These methods can be applied to other areas of biosecurity and disease surveillance.LocationCanberra, Australia; College Park, Maryland, USA; Melbourne, Australia.MethodsAutomated: AquaticHealth.net performs hourly scans of an array of RSS feeds, blogs, social networks and news sites. It analyses this information and removes redundancies and applies taxonomy and geospatial tags. The information is then pushed to the Daily Scan, where users then analyse it further. Manual: Users assess the information for inaccuracies and its importance. They decide whether an article should be a disease alert, which is emailed to all users. Users can change tags, edit reports, add commentary, apply rankings, change search terms and summarize issues in the Emerging Issues blog (formerly a wiki).ResultsAquaticHealth.net publishes seven daily reports and 2 weekly disease alerts (on average). Ninety per cent of CEFAS's (www.cefas.defra.gov.uk) Emerging Disease Updates cite AquaticHealth.net. The Australian Sub‐Committee for Aquatic Animal Health (SCAAH) uses the system to compile quarterly reports. The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) uses AquaticHealth.net to make forecasts—for example, used aquaculture equipment is a high‐risk pathway for OsHV. AquaticHealth.net's users forecasted an increase in emerging marine finfish disease outbreaks in Southeast Asia and are actively watching this issue.Main conclusionsAquaticHealth.net's open‐intelligence approach has proven to be an effective and flexible biosecurity forecasting method.
Risks, decisions and biological conservation
Authors: Burgman Mark A. , Yemshanov Denys 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAimRisk assessments in applied scientific disciplines have evolved somewhat in isolation, adopting conventions, assumptions and tools from other disciplines almost haphazardly. This editorial provides background for the articles in this special issue, which sample six broad themes in risk assessment in conservation biology and presenting new innovations and applications.LocationGlobal.MethodsThe articles in the special issue address themes related to species distribution modelling, population viability analysis, threatened species management, biosecurity, uncertainty analysis, cost–benefit analysis and foresight. We sought articles that address new and emerging topics in each of these areas.ResultsThe articles identify new and potentially useful innovations in a variety of areas relevant to conservation biology. Collectively, they paint a picture of risk assessment as an important element in supporting transparent, rational decisions and effective policy.Main conclusionsPolicy makers and conservation managers aspire to set evidence‐based priorities, and technical specialists aim to have their methods used in decision‐making. Scientists will succeed if, as the articles in this issue exemplify, they develop a sound understanding of the context of the decisions in which their tools are to be used and shape them accordingly.
Mapping ecological risks with a portfolio‐based technique: incorporating uncertainty and decision‐making preferences
Authors: Yemshanov Denys , Koch Frank H. , Ducey Mark , Koehler Klaus 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAimGeographic mapping of risks is a useful analytical step in ecological risk assessments and in particular, in analyses aimed to estimate risks associated with introductions of invasive organisms. In this paper, we approach invasive species risk mapping as a portfolio allocation problem and apply techniques from decision theory to build an invasion risk map that combines risk and uncertainty in a single map product.LocationCanada.MethodsWe divide the study area into a set of spatial domains and treat each domain as an individual ‘portfolio’ with a unique distribution of the expected impacts of invasion. The risk of invasion is then mapped by finding nested ‘efficient’ portfolio sets that identify the geographic areas exhibiting the worst combinations of the estimated risk of invasion and the uncertainty in that estimate. For Canadian municipalities, we apply the approach to quantify the risk that a given location will receive invasive forest pests with commercial freight transported via the North American road network. We compare risk allocation techniques that employ the concepts of nested mean‐variance (M‐V) frontiers and second‐degree stochastic dominance.ResultsWhile both methods based on M‐V and the stochastic dominance principles identified similar areas of highest risk, they differed in how they demarcated moderate‐risk areas. Furthermore, they address uncertainty in different ways, treating it as a risk premium (in the case of nested M‐V frontiers) or producing risk‐averse delineations (in the case of stochastic dominance).Main conclusionsThe portfolio‐based approach offers a viable strategy for dealing with the typically wide variability in risk estimates caused by a lack of knowledge about a new invader. The methodology also provides a tractable way of incorporating decision‐making preferences into the final risk estimates and thus better aligns risk assessments with particular decision‐making scenarios about the organism of concern.
Extinction risk in cloud forest fragments under climate change and habitat loss
Authors: Ponce‐Reyes Rocio , Nicholson Emily , Baxter Peter W. J. , Fuller Richard A. , Possingham Hugh 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAimTo quantify the consequences of major threats to biodiversity, such as climate and land‐use change, it is important to use explicit measures of species persistence, such as extinction risk. The extinction risk of metapopulations can be approximated through simple models, providing a regional snapshot of the extinction probability of a species. We evaluated the extinction risk of three species under different climate change scenarios in three different regions of the Mexican cloud forest, a highly fragmented habitat that is particularly vulnerable to climate change.LocationCloud forests in Mexico.MethodsUsing Maxent, we estimated the potential distribution of cloud forest for three different time horizons (2030, 2050 and 2080) and their overlap with protected areas. Then, we calculated the extinction risk of three contrasting vertebrate species for two scenarios: (1) climate change only (all suitable areas of cloud forest through time) and (2) climate and land‐use change (only suitable areas within a currently protected area), using an explicit patch‐occupancy approximation model and calculating the joint probability of all populations becoming extinct when the number of remaining patches was less than five.ResultsOur results show that the extent of environmentally suitable areas for cloud forest in Mexico will sharply decline in the next 70 years. We discovered that if all habitat outside protected areas is transformed, then only species with small area requirements are likely to persist. With habitat loss through climate change only, high dispersal rates are sufficient for persistence, but this requires protection of all remaining cloud forest areas.Main conclusionsEven if high dispersal rates mitigate the extinction risk of species due to climate change, the synergistic impacts of changing climate and land use further threaten the persistence of species with higher area requirements. Our approach for assessing the impacts of threats on biodiversity is particularly useful when there is little time or data for detailed population viability analyses.
Testing the focal species approach to making conservation decisions for species persistence
Authors: Nicholson Emily , Lindenmayer David B. , Frank Karin , Possingham Hugh P. 
Published: May 2013

AbstractAimMost risk assessments and decisions in conservation are based on surrogate approaches, where a group of species or environmental indicators are selected as proxies for other aspects of biodiversity. In the focal species approach, a suite of species is selected based on life history characteristics, such as dispersal limitation and area requirements. Testing the validity of the focal species concept has proved difficult, due to a lack of theory justifying the underlying framework, explicit objectives and measures of success. We sought to understand the conditions under which the focal species concept has merit for conservation decisions.LocationOur model system comprised 10 vertebrate species in 39 patches of native forest embedded in pine plantation in New South Wales, Australia.MethodsWe selected three focal species based on ecological traits. We used a multiple‐species reserve selection method that minimizes the expected loss of species, by estimating the risk of extinction with a metapopulation model. We found optimal reserve solutions for multiple species, including all 10 species, the three focal species, for all possible combinations of three species, and for each species individually.ResultsOur case study suggests that the focal species approach can work: the reserve system that minimized the expected loss of the focal species also minimized the expected species loss in the larger set of 10 species. How well the solution would perform for other species and given landscape dynamics remains unknown.Main conclusionsThe focal species approach may have merit as a conservation short cut if placed within a quantitative decision‐making framework, where the aspects of biodiversity for which the focal species act as proxies are explicitly defined, and success is determined by whether the use of the proxy results in the same decision. Our methods provide a framework for testing other surrogate approaches used in conservation decision‐making and risk assessment.
High‐volume sports club participation and autonomic nervous system activity in children
Authors: Radtke Thomas , Khattab Kerstin , Brugger Nicolas , Eser Prisca , Saner Hugo , Wilhelm Matthias 
Published: May 2013

AbstractBackgroundSixty minutes of daily moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (PA) are recommended for children. This study investigated the additional impact of high‐volume sports club participation on the autonomic nervous system in active children, while controlling for acute effects of short‐term PA.Materials and methodsForty‐nine children (29 females) aged 10–13 years were investigated. Sports club participation was assessed with a validated questionnaire. Short‐term PA and night‐time autonomic tone (spectral power and nonlinear analysis of heart rate variability) were measured with an ambulatory device (Actiheart®). Children were dichotomized into two groups, based on their individual weekly time spent in a sports club: low‐volume group < 180 min/week (N = 26) and high‐volume group ≥ 180 min/week (N = 23).ResultsChildren in the high‐volume group exhibited higher indices of vagal tone compared with the children in the low‐volume group. Short‐term moderate PA had a significant impact on the night course of autonomic activity. Boys showed a linear increase in vagal activity over the night course in relation to volumes of short‐term moderate PA of the previous day. A similar but nonsignificant trend was observed for girls.ConclusionsIn active children, higher volumes of sports club participation have an additional benefit on indices of autonomic tone.