bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Carbon- and nitrogen-isotope tissue–diet discrimination and turnover rates in deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus
Authors: Miller J. F. , Millar J. S. , Longstaffe F. J. 
Published: June 2008

The dietary habits of most small mammals are not well documented, and stable isotope measurements can provide information on when and how diets change. Here we document the discrimination and turnover times for carbon and nitrogen isotopes in blood, liver, muscle, hair, and milk from deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner, 1845)) fed a controlled diet. Nonbreeding adults and pregnant females were livetrapped, maintained on a commercial laboratory chow, and had tissues sampled on a regular schedule. After adjusting to the laboratory diet, most tissues of nonbreeding adults were slightly depleted of 13C and enriched in 15N relative to diet (Δ13Ctissue–diet range = 0.3‰ to –1.1 ‰; Δ15Ntissue–diet range = 1.9‰ to 3.4‰). Liver (half-lives of 2.8 and 3.6 days for C and N, respectively) turned over more rapidly than blood (22.4 and 19.8 days for C and N, respectively) and muscle (18.7 and 24.8 days for C and N, respectively). The isotopic compositions of nonbreeding and breeding adults indicated tissue turnover at approximately the same rate, but juvenile tissues reflected the laboratory diet much more quickly than adult tissues.
Chemical, thermal, and physical properties of sites selected for overwintering by northern wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta)
Authors: Greaves W. F. , Litzgus J. D. 
Published: June 2008

Northern ectotherms must seek refuge from winter conditions for a large portion of their annual activity cycle. The objective of this study was to quantify physical properties of overwintering sites selected by wood turtles ( Glyptemys insculpta (LaConte, 1830)) at the species’ northern range limit. We mapped all structural features (e.g., root balls and log jams), water depth, and sediment types along a 1.5 km stretch of river that was available to turtles outfitted with radio transmitters (N = 8) during winter. Temperature selection was assessed by comparing thermal profiles from data loggers on turtles and temperature stations within the river and other riparian habitats (e.g., ephemeral pools and oxbows). Dissolved oxygen (DO) was measured at each temperature station and turtle location. Wood turtles overwintered in the river, which was colder (~0 °C), had more stable temperatures, and provided higher DO (12.64 ppm) compared with adjacent habitats. Some turtles selected structured refuges for overwintering. Winter movements were not related to temperature or DO, but may be related to maintaining a certain distance from shore and water depth to protect against accidental relocations during winter. We discuss hibernacula as potential factors limiting the northern distribution of wood turtles, a species at risk in Canada.
Landscape effects on anuran pond occupancy in an agricultural countryside: barrier-based buffers predict distributions better than circular buffers
Authors: Zanini Flavio , Klingemann Anna , Schlaepfer Rodolphe , Schmidt Benedikt R. 
Published: June 2008

Species movement and occupancy of habitat patches are dependent on landscape permeability. Some land-use types (e.g., roads) may be barriers to animal movement. Analyses of the effect of landscape structure on patch occupancy usually use circular buffers around focal patches. The main assumption of this methodological approach is that species are affected by a particular landscape element equally in every direction from a given patch. This assumption is likely not to hold if animal movement is restricted by barriers because barriers reduce movement patterns and reshape the ideal circular buffer into a noncircular buffer. We developed a method to determine the effect of landscape variables on the distribution of two amphibian species that explicitly takes dispersal barriers into account. We extracted landscape variables within (i) circular buffers (CB) and (ii) barrier-based buffers (BBB). BBB were produced by reducing the boundaries of CB according to major impassable barriers. The BBB approach almost doubled the explained deviance of multiple regression models in comparison with the CB approach. Moreover, CB and BBB models included different predictor variables. We suggest that the BBB approach is more useful than the traditional CB analyses of species–habitat relationships because ecological barriers are explicitly taken into account.
Visual specialization of an herbivore prey species, the white-tailed deer
Authors: D’Angelo G. J. , Glasser A. , Wendt M. , Williams G. A. , Osborn D. A. , Gallagher G. R. , Warren R. J. , Miller K. V. , Pardue M. T. 
Published: June 2008

To gain knowledge of visual specializations influencing the behavior of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)), we examined gross eye characteristics, structural organization of the retina, and the density and distribution of cone photoreceptors. White-tailed deer possess ocular features similar to other ungulates including a horizontal slit pupil, reflective tapetum lucidum, typical retinal structure, and medium wavelength sensitive cone photoreceptors concentrated in a horizontal visual streak. The tapetum was found to cover the superior portion of the eye and overlapped the horizontal visual streak. Comparisons between fawns and adults did not reveal any differences in retinal thickness, retinal nuclei counts, or cone photoreceptor counts. While M-cones had increased density in the visual streak, S-cones were distributed evenly across the entire retina. Schematic eye calculations of a 0.5-year-old deer indicated a hyperopic eye (+7.96) with a F/# ranging from 5.55 to 1.39 for pupil diameters of 3 to 12 mm. As expected for a crepuscularly active prey species, the visual system of white-tailed deer is specialized for sensitivity in low-light conditions and detection of predators.
FINSLER AND LAGRANGE GEOMETRIES IN EINSTEIN AND STRING GRAVITY
Authors: VACARU SERGIU I. 
Published: June 2008

We review the current status of Finsler–Lagrange geometry and generalizations. The goal is to aid non-experts on Finsler spaces, but physicists and geometers skilled in general relativity and particle theories, to understand the crucial importance of such geometric methods for applications in modern physics. We also would like to orient mathematicians working in generalized Finsler and Kähler geometry and geometric mechanics how they could perform their results in order to be accepted by the community of "orthodox" physicists. Although the bulk of former models of Finsler–Lagrange spaces where elaborated on tangent bundles, the surprising result advocated in our works is that such locally anisotropic structures can be modeled equivalently on Riemann–Cartan spaces, even as exact solutions in Einstein and/or string gravity, if nonholonomic distributions and moving frames of references are introduced into consideration. We also propose a canonical scheme when geometrical objects on a (pseudo) Riemannian space are nonholonomically deformed into generalized Lagrange, or Finsler, configurations on the same manifold. Such canonical transforms are defined by the coefficients of a prime metric and generate target spaces as Lagrange structures, their models of almost Hermitian/Kähler, or nonholonomic Riemann spaces. Finally, we consider some classes of exact solutions in string and Einstein gravity modeling Lagrange–Finsler structures with solitonic pp-waves and speculate on their physical meaning.
GENERALIZED BÄCKLUND–DARBOUX TRANSFORMATIONS IN ONE-DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM MECHANICS
Authors: CARIÑENA JOSÉ F. , RAMOS ARTURO 
Published: June 2008

We consider an action of the group of curves in GL(2,ℝ) on the set of linear systems and therefore on the set of Schrödinger equations in full similarity with the action of the group of curves in SL(2,ℝ) on the set of Riccati equations considered in previous articles. We also consider the transformations defined by a first-order differential expression which carry solutions of a Schrödinger equation into solutions of another one. We find then two non-trivial situations: transformations which can be described by the previous transformation group, generalizing previous work by us, and transformations which are singular. We show that both situations appear, e.g., in the usual problem of partner Hamiltonians in quantum mechanics. We show that the difference Bäcklund algorithm, both in the finite and confluent versions, can be understood in terms of the above mentioned transformation group, the case of two exactly equal factorization energies being an instance of the singular case. We apply the generalized theorem relating three eigenfunctions of three different Hamiltonians to the generation of new potentials with a known (excited state) eigenfunction, starting from potentials of Coulomb, Morse and Rosen–Morse type. The potentials found are new and non-trivial.
A history of the Geological Conservation Review
Authors: Ellis Neil 
Published: June 2008

Abstract
A particularly ambitious programme for overhauling site assessment and documentation for geoconservation in Great Britain was initiated in the mid-1970s by the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) resulting in the formal launch of the ‘Geological Conservation Review’ (GCR) in 1977. The GCR was a world-first project of its type in the assessment of the whole geological heritage or ‘geodiversity’ of a country from first principles. Criteria and assessment methods were developed, with a view to selecting the very best sites to represent the diversity of British geology and geomorphology. A list of selection categories—GCR ‘Blocks’—encompassing British geology and geomorphology was devised. Widespread consultation with geologists and geomorphologists across Great Britain was co-ordinated; and the criteria refined and interpreted to suit the selection category at hand. Field investigation of proposed sites was a key component of site selection, although the selection process relied heavily on expert knowledge, literature-review and consensus-building. Almost 3000 sites had been selected for around 100 site selection categories for the GCR ‘register’ by 1990. Most GCR sites are now conserved under British law as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. In Great Britain, the GCR has formed the ‘benchmark’ for attainment of national importance (in a British context), rather than regional importance; a ‘minimum number of sites’ criterion is enshrined in the GCR ethos to assist in defining this benchmark. As part of the site-selection process, a considerable archive of information about sites was amassed. A major publication exercise detailing all of the GCR sites in what was to become the GCR series of books was devised early on in the GCR programme of work. An electronic GCR database was also created in the 1980s and has been the subject of ongoing revision. Although this paper has a historical outlook, the GCR project is not intended to be a finished record of Britain's best sites up to 1990. Instead, the GCR register will keep pace with new discoveries and developments in geological research. In the future, further re-evaluation and confirmation of the ‘conservation value’ of each site is envisaged; assessment of additional sites will also take place, so that the GCR designation can continue to be a hallmark for quality in geoconservation for years to come.
A historical perspective on local communities and geological conservation
Authors: Worton Graham J. 
Published: June 2008

Abstract
Like every other human endeavour in the modern world geological conservation has evolved from the changing desires and necessities of evolving communities. Local people in generations past had a need to be ‘in tune’ with their local landscapes and the environments making use of local materials and landform in order to survive and prosper. These early communities have enriched our modern landscapes with their legacy of geodiversity in altered landscapes, the built environment and venerated geological features. In a modern context we may consider ‘geoconservation’ to be the ‘conservation of geodiversity’ and we should acknowledge that local people and historic communities have had a very long involvement in conserving geological heritage although often without consciously doing so. This is particularly the case in terms of landscape and the applied geology of the built environment. Early local communities were usually of low cultural diversity with values of narrow focus. It is commonly local people and local specialist interest societies that have made geological discoveries and brought their importance to the attention of the specialists. In the late 1900s local groups drove the development of what is now the familiar framework for protection of geological heritage and in particular the non-statutory sites and features that rely being locally valued for their sustainability and survival.
This paper cannot be a comprehensive account of the evolution of peoples and their changing engagement with geodiversity. It is, rather, a summary account using selected scattered illustrations of geoconservation through the ages. It examines what we mean by local community and its involvement, either consciously or unconsciously, in protecting geodiversity through stages in human history.
A history of geological conservation on the Isle of Wight
Authors: Munt Martin 
Published: June 2008

Abstract
The Isle of Wight on the south coast of England has near continuous exposures of Early Cretaceous to Early Oligocene and Quaternary deposits and has long been regarded as a classic area of British geology. It has a long history of study dating back to the start of the nineteenth century. The identified threats to geoconservation are coastal erosion, coastal protection schemes aimed at preventing erosion and fossil collecting. Of these, however, erosion and collecting can also be seen as opportunities. Geology has influenced tourism since the eighteenth century which subsequently promoted both interpretation and conservation. Collecting of geological specimens for museum collections is documented as early as 1825. Site-based conservation began in 1951 with the notification of geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Regionally Important Geological/geomorphological Sites (RIGS) have been notified since the mid 1990s. There has been a voluntary set of guidelines for fossil collecting and more recently the preparation of a Local Geodiversity Action Plan (LGAP) brought together diverse groups and individuals to begin developing a strategic approach to interpreting and conserving the island's geological heritage. The main outcome of the LGAP process has been to develop a partnership with a view to applying for membership of the European Geoparks Network.
Context and history of geological conservation in Warwickshire, central England
Authors: Radley Jonathan D. 
Published: June 2008

Abstract
The geology of Warwickshire, central England, is diverse but generally poorly exposed. Geological conservation initiatives can be traced back to the mid to late nineteenth century when the Warwickshire Natural History and Archaeological Society amassed locally collected geological specimens and documented local geological sites. The society declined during the late nineteenth century. Following the Second World War, local geological conservation activity was invigorated by national initiatives, leading to establishment of geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest within the county and a site recording programme at the Warwickshire Museum. The Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group was established in 1990. Subsequently, a partnership between that group and the Warwickshire Museum, with support from the Nature Conservancy Council, resulted in establishment of a Regionally Important Geological/geomorphological Sites network. These sites are presently the focus of funded conservation and interpretation projects.
Cavers and geoconservation: the history of cave exploration and its contribution to speleology in the Yorkshire Dales
Authors: Murphy Phillip J. , Chamberlain Andrew T. 
Published: June 2008

Abstract
Caves are important as they preserve archaeological and palaeoenvironmental data otherwise lost from the land surface. The fragile nature and limited extent of cave deposits is often not appreciated by non‐specialists and the activities of the main group of cave visitors (sporting cavers) are viewed as damaging to the cave interior deposits. Potential threats to the cave interior deposits of the Yorkshire Dales National Park including caver activity are reviewed. It is concluded that sporting cavers have added greatly to our knowledge of the archaeological record contained in the caves. They appreciate the value of the underground environment and take steps to preserve the cave interior deposits. Any geoconservation strategy that deals with caves must involve the caving community.
Conservation at the cutting-edge: the history of geoconservation on the Wren's Nest National Nature Reserve, Dudley, England
Authors: Prosser Colin D. , Larwood Jonathan G. 
Published: June 2008

Abstract
In 1949, nature conservation legislation was passed in Great Britain which enabled areas of land to be declared as National Nature Reserves (NNRs). In 1956, the Wren's Nest, Dudley, a Silurian (Wenlock) limestone hill, internationally famous for its geology and fossil reef faunas, was declared a geological NNR. The combination of internationally important geology, abandoned, unstable and dangerous quarries and mines, and a large adjacent urban population have provided continual conservation challenges. This paper uses contemporary correspondence to describe the deliberations that led to the Wren's Nest being declared as one of the first NNRs in England. It goes on to describe the major management challenges which have arisen. These include instability and collapse of mine workings, fly-tipping, vandalism and heavy recreational use by the local community. It highlights the conservation solutions that have been developed during the 50 year history of the reserve. These have included management of unstable and dangerous ground, cutting of new geological sections, establishment of geology trails, use of volunteers and the strengthening of local community links. The Wren's Nest has also played an important role in raising awareness of the geological heritage within the local planning authority. This has led to the adoption of geoconservation policies and to the development of projects using the area's geological heritage to attract visitors. Today the Wren's Nest remains important for its geology and is also one of the most significant geological reserves in the world for demonstrating the challenges of geoconservation and how they may be overcome. This historical perspective on 50 years in the life of a reserve provides an insight into the innovative geoconservation solutions developed at the Wren's Nest that can be applied elsewhere. Although the Wren's Nest NNR is internationally known for its geology, and has a very high profile in geoconservation, this paper is the first to attempt to explore the thinking and process that led to this abandoned industrial site, in an urban setting, being declared as one of the first NNRs in the UK.
A history of geoconservation in the Republic of Ireland
Authors: Parkes M. A. 
Published: June 2008

Abstract
Geoconservation in the Republic of Ireland has had only a short history and very few champions within the geoscience community or from the wider population. An early start came with a listing of Areas of Scientific Interest (ASIs) by An Foras Forbartha in 1981. A successful legal challenge to this scheme required a back-to-the-drawing-board approach but the exclusion of geological heritage from subsequent nature conservation assessment was a major setback. Only persistent effort from within the Geological Survey of Ireland has allowed a belated integration of geoconservation into the work of other state agents over the last eight years, through the Irish Geological Heritage Programme. Today, a twin track approach operates with statutory Natural Heritage Areas and non-statutory County Geological Sites. There are broad parallels to UK geoconservation strategies, but having also amalgamated much best practice from European and other countries, through involvement with ProGEO. The existing geoconservation programme is very modest through lack of human resources; it has evolved rapidly to exploit the available opportunities, especially in conjunction with local authorities. It has worked to keep geoconservation in the public consciousness in parallel with the work through official channels.
History of geoconservation in Europe
Authors: Erikstad Lars 
Published: June 2008

Abstract
Europe consists of many countries and legislative regimes. Some countries have a long history of geoconservation with well developed strategies and practices and others lack the most basic legislation for this kind of work. Some of the earliest geoconservation is found within Germany such as the conservation and visitor control from 1668 in the showcave Baumannshöle. At the start of the twentieth century basic legislation came into force in several countries with more or less effective potential to protect geology. Geology was also important within the National Park movement at the same time.
Modern legislation, inventories and conservation strategies were developed mostly during the second half of the twentieth century. International cooperation has become more important and the association ProGEO and the European Geoparks Network are important in a European context. World Heritage Sites designated on geological criteria are also increasingly common. Geoconservation has been included as a recommendation by the European Council and has begin to be visible in EU policies (such as the soil strategy). As for the future, the challenge lies in getting organizations and disciplines to work together in ways that develop synergy between existing initiatives, share management experience and collaborate over research.
How things began: the origins of geological conservation
Authors: Doughty Philip 
Published: June 2008

Abstract
The origins of geoconservation cannot be investigated without first defining its scope. This presents a problem because there is no established working definition of the field. By using the Giant's Causeway as a case study, useful parameters were identified revealing great complexity. They embrace initial curiosity, scientific communication, mythology, access issues, the involvement of national scientific institutions, controversial but ultimately successful iconography, the invention of new artistic conventions, dissemination by engraving, scientific reaction, rekindling of a fundamental geological controversy, tourism, popular literature, modes of transport, commercialization, additions to fundamental science, designation history and historic associations of the site. Other sites are similarly complex and assist in refining the scope. Sites are seen as the principal resource but on analysis achieve their status from what they reveal or the importance of the materials they yield, in turn spotlighting the major museum collections. These are now well documented though not all are secure. It was not the scientific imperative that established the first public designation but an impassioned delight in unspoiled nature which three men, two Americans, Henry Thoreau and George Marsh but especially the Scots environmentalist, John Muir, projected carefully into the attuned ear of the US President. This brief overview closes with the revelation of neglected areas of heritage, paths that geoconservation could have taken and still may and suggests how earlier definitions could be elevated into a more specific and holistic geoconservation strategy.