12 research outputs found
Spatial and temporal patterns of foraging activity by breeding Common Scoters (Melanitta nigra) in Scotland
No full textMany populations of sea ducks have declined; poor foraging conditions in freshwater breeding habitats could be a contributory factor. The UK breeding population of Common Scoters (Melanitta nigra) declined by 63% between 1995 and 2007, prompting research which showed that lake use by breeding scoters was correlated with food abundance (large invertebrates) and accessibility (shallow water). Building on this earlier work, here we investigate scoter foraging activity at Scottish breeding lakes, in order to better understand declines and inform conservation measures. We hypothesised that foraging effort would (i) be concentrated in shallow water holding large invertebrates, (ii) differ between sexes, and (iii) vary through the season. We recorded scoter foraging activity during 208 c. one-hour watches, at 13 lakes over three years. Water depth and food abundance (invertebrates) were measured. Foraging was significantly associated with shallow water: areas within 10 m of lake shores, typically less than 0.9 m in depth, had 1.9 and 4.1 times more foraging use than expected by chance, for females and ducklings respectively
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Trendsetters, Trend Followers, and Individual Players: Obtaining Global Counterterror Actor Types from Proscribed Terror Lists
No full textThis article seeks to conceptualize global counter-terror actor types by examining the designated terrorist organisations lists of six countries; the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Russia and China. It is argued that these countries should be placed into one of three distinct categories: Trendsetters, Trend Followers and Individual Players. Being able to classify countries according to these categories is important for global policy makers. It raises awareness of the differences between countries, and emphasises that ‘one-fits-all’ policies are inappropriate and have little chance of achieving global endorsement
Borrowing from the palaeolimnologists toolkit; the use of lake sediment cores in diagnosing the causes of freshwater species decline
No full textPopulations of freshwater species are experiencing dramatic declines globally. Tools that facilitate the diagnosis of decline and identify management solutions and/or restoration targets are thus vital. Typically approaches taken to diagnose decline are carried out over short timescales and rely upon identifying spatial associations between presence or abundance of declining species and variables hypothesised to be driving decline. The potential to contextualise observed declines on longer time scales, with a broader range of potential explanatory variables is frequently dismissed, because of a perceived lack of existing long-term data. In this study we explore the value of incorporating a longer-term perspective to decline diagnosis using the common scoter as a case study. The number of scoter breeding in Scotland has declined substantially since the 1970s. Hypotheses for decline include a reduction in macroinvertebrate food available for females and young at the breeding lakes. In this study we apply palaeolimnological techniques to generate standardised, long-term ecological data, enabling us to characterise recent changes at four common scoter breeding lakes. Our results demonstrate that the (macroinvertebrate) food resource of common scoter has, in fact, gradually increased in abundance at all four sites from ca. 1900, and that a further statistically significant increase in macroinvertebrate abundance occurred at ca. 1970. We draw on our palaeolimnological data, to explore alternative hypotheses for common scoter decline. Increases in overall abundance across multiple algal, macrophyte and macroinvertebrate taxa, combined with specific increases in nutrient tolerant taxa, and concurrent declines in nutrient sensitive taxa indicate that the lakes have experienced enrichment within their current oligotrophic state during the last 100 years, and that this trajectory has become more marked during the period of common scoter decline. There is no evidence of changes to habitat, turbidity or increased competition from fish. In the absence of within lake changes that could be detrimental to the benthic (and generalist) feeding common scoter, we conclude that factors outside of the lake, such as increased predation, associated with afforestation in the surrounding area, are the most plausible drivers of common scoter decline. Prioritisation/testing of management solutions that address these issues are indicated
DataSheet_1_Borrowing from the palaeolimnologists toolkit; the use of lake sediment cores in diagnosing the causes of freshwater species decline.xlsx
No full textPopulations of freshwater species are experiencing dramatic declines globally. Tools that facilitate the diagnosis of decline and identify management solutions and/or restoration targets are thus vital. Typically approaches taken to diagnose decline are carried out over short timescales and rely upon identifying spatial associations between presence or abundance of declining species and variables hypothesised to be driving decline. The potential to contextualise observed declines on longer time scales, with a broader range of potential explanatory variables is frequently dismissed, because of a perceived lack of existing long-term data. In this study we explore the value of incorporating a longer-term perspective to decline diagnosis using the common scoter as a case study. The number of scoter breeding in Scotland has declined substantially since the 1970s. Hypotheses for decline include a reduction in macroinvertebrate food available for females and young at the breeding lakes. In this study we apply palaeolimnological techniques to generate standardised, long-term ecological data, enabling us to characterise recent changes at four common scoter breeding lakes. Our results demonstrate that the (macroinvertebrate) food resource of common scoter has, in fact, gradually increased in abundance at all four sites from ca. 1900, and that a further statistically significant increase in macroinvertebrate abundance occurred at ca. 1970. We draw on our palaeolimnological data, to explore alternative hypotheses for common scoter decline. Increases in overall abundance across multiple algal, macrophyte and macroinvertebrate taxa, combined with specific increases in nutrient tolerant taxa, and concurrent declines in nutrient sensitive taxa indicate that the lakes have experienced enrichment within their current oligotrophic state during the last 100 years, and that this trajectory has become more marked during the period of common scoter decline. There is no evidence of changes to habitat, turbidity or increased competition from fish. In the absence of within lake changes that could be detrimental to the benthic (and generalist) feeding common scoter, we conclude that factors outside of the lake, such as increased predation, associated with afforestation in the surrounding area, are the most plausible drivers of common scoter decline. Prioritisation/testing of management solutions that address these issues are indicated.</p
Beyond Bounds
No full textLike a slug, leaving a trail of mucus behind, I leave this long secretion of words. Stained pages, soiled underwear, spilled dreams. Life is not beautiful. It is the accumulation of scars, the imposition of cuts, the kniving of the womb, the stabbing of the soul, and the mind learning to lie and to live with the lies of its own making. Somewhere in this struggle, there appear glimpses of consummated desire, but they remain tiny, miniscule chinks oflight viewed from the bottom of the prison cell. Break open the bars. Walk in my womb. Bathe yourself in the presence of these words, the soapsuds of now. The lather of this page. But do not grow drunk. Do not water the future with these words. These words are too acidic, too acerbic, too alcoholic. They will burn and scar the future, rip and strip the body of its skin. Rather wipe out the residue that remains around this bowl. Douse the lava. Pull out the plug on these words. Let them seep down to the bottom of the drain. Let only echoes remain of the words whispering, gurgling into the underworld. Black-out everything. The dregs of my cup must not remain. No future must carve its route from these words. Every utterance must have its deathbed. And the dying must be able to choose whether their last words should be forgotten and die with them or whether they should be remembered and abused. I choose the former, euthanasia for the author, and plead with the reader not to be an informer, not to use these words for future seductions, mindless mutations of life. Now drive carefully. You have been forewarned. This is a cul-de-sac. Any attempts to press forward will be made in vain. Do not jump over the precipice of reality. You will find yourself back in the black hole of my womb. Frozen in time. Spiralling towards your end. In infinite cycles of erection and ejaculation. Pleasure which suddenly sours. The unending pain of permanent orgasm. Without pauses. Without breathing spaces. You do not have the stamina for this journey. Let me not whet your appetite for this kind of death. Do not lose your wits. Turn your back on this book. Go now. Before its brutal teeth make their presence felt. Run now. Every word is beyond repair. A song gone wrong. Every word is simply a swipe at your freedom, a fatal bite that sharpens your skin to the permanent perversions inherent in words. While I persist in playing pussy and pissing on the future. While I stroke your skin and suck the gaping hole in your soul. Escape now when you have the chance. Pull your naked self from under the covers of this book. Dress yourself in your own dreams, tmtouched by my hands. Forget the magnetic pull on your body parts, the throbbing longing in your loins. Walk away from this whoring of words, this story that is diseased in its spine. In the decalcifying of its bones. The petrifying of desire. The putrefying of privacy. This story that gets a kick out of selling itself, out of ripping its own knickers. This story that lingers interminably like stretch marks. Leave now. Wean yourself off these words. Weave your own song and go with the flow. Cleanse the world with your warm words. Let the future find its own form from your stream
Further declines of the Western Capercaillie <i>Tetrao urogallus</i> in Scotland as shown by the 2021–2022 winter survey
No full textThe estimated number of Western Capercaillies Tetrao urogallus in Scotland in winter 2021–2022 was 532 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 227–810. To produce an updated estimate of the number of Western Capercaillies in Scotland. Line transects were surveyed across the current distribution, sampling in two separate strata: a primary stratum in the core range and a secondary stratum in peripheral areas. Multi-covariate distance sampling was used to fit alternative detection functions to the sighting data, deriving national, regional and sex-specific estimates of abundance. The survey recorded 115 Western Capercaillies in 104 separate encounters across 635 transects, yielding a population estimate of 532 individuals (95% CI: 227–810). This estimate was 52% lower than from the population survey in 2015–2016 (1114 individuals, 95% CI: 805–1505). Declines were greater for females than for males, leading to an adult sex ratio in favour of males. Most of the population (80%) continues to be concentrated in the region of Badenoch and Strathspey. With the population at its lowest level since the start of national monitoring in 1992–1994, the likelihood of extinction in Scotland for a second time seems inevitable without a step-change in conservation action. Measures to improve breeding success and survival are needed and should be targeted in the core of the range to maximize impact on the population.</p
Observed and predicted effects of climate change on species abundance in protected areas
No full textThe dynamic nature and diversity of species' responses to climate change poses significant difficulties for developing robust, long-term conservation strategies. One key question is whether existing protected area networks will remain effective in a changing climate. To test this, we developed statistical models that link climate to the abundance of internationally important bird populations in northwestern Europe. Spatial climate-abundance models were able to predict 56% of the variation in recent 30-year population trends. Using these models, future climate change resulting in 4.0 degrees C global warming was projected to cause declines of at least 25% for more than half of the internationally important populations considered. Nonetheless, most EU Special Protection Areas in the UK were projected to retain species in sufficient abundances to maintain their legal status, and generally sites that are important now were projected to be important in the future. The biological and legal resilience of this network of protected areas is derived from the capacity for turnover in the important species at each site as species' distributions and abundances alter in response to climate. Current protected areas are therefore predicted to remain important for future conservation in a changing climate.</p
Empagliflozin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial
No full textBackgroundEmpagliflozin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its anti-inflammatory, metabolic, and haemodynamic effects. The RECOVERY trial aimed to assess its safety and efficacy in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.MethodsIn the randomised, controlled, open-label RECOVERY trial, several possible treatments are compared with usual care in patients hospitalised with COVID-19. In this analysis, we assess eligible and consenting adults who were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus oral empagliflozin 10 mg once daily for 28 days or until discharge (whichever came first) using web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality; secondary outcomes were duration of hospitalisation and (among participants not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline) the composite of invasive mechanical ventilation or death. On March 3, 2023 the independent data monitoring committee recommended that the investigators review the data and recruitment was consequently stopped on March 7, 2023. The ongoing RECOVERY trial is registered with ISRCTN (50189673) and ClinicalTrials.gov(NCT04381936)FindingsBetween July 28, 2021 and March 6, 2023, 4271 patients were randomly allocated to receive either empagliflozin (2113 patients) or usual care alone (2158 patients). Primary and secondary outcome data were known for greater than 99% of randomly assigned patients. Overall, 289 (14%) of 2113 patients allocated to empagliflozin and 307 (14%) of 2158 patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days (rate ratio 0·96 [95% CI 0·82–1·13]; p=0·64). There was no evidence of significant differences in duration of hospitalisation (median 8 days for both groups) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days (1678 [79%] in the empagliflozin group vs 1677 [78%] in the usual care group; rate ratio 1·03 [95% CI 0·96–1·10]; p=0·44). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, there was no evidence of a significant difference in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilation or death (338 [16%] of 2084 vs 371 [17%] of 2143; risk ratio 0·95 [95% CI 0·84–1·08]; p=0·44). Two serious adverse events believed to be related to empagliflozin were reported: both were ketosis without acidosis.InterpretationIn adults hospitalised with COVID-19, empagliflozin was not associated with reductions in 28-day mortality, duration of hospital stay, or risk of progressing to invasive mechanical ventilation or death so is not indicated for the treatment of such patients unless there is an established indication due to a different condition such as diabetes
Neoliberal Corporate Governance, Oil MNCs and the Niger Delta Region: The Barriers to Effective CSR
No full textIn recent years, oil has become a dominant feature of the Nigerian economy. For almost two decades,
the Niger Delta region – where the oil is primarily situated – has been engulfed in crisis which
continues to prove adverse to the socio-economic development of the country. Many have argued that
the unrest in the region is rooted in the inability of MNCs to act in a socially responsible manner. The
MNCs argue that the various CSR projects they have initiated and implemented should be enough to
satisfy host-communities.
This research seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge in this area. It assesses whether CSR in its
contemporary form is capable of making a significant contribution to the resolution of the Niger Delta
crisis. It examines the nature of contemporary CSR in the context of the essentially neoliberal forms
of corporate governance which have risen to dominance in recent years. In the course of the research,
the thesis identifies and separates for analytical purposes, a number of interconnected but
distinguishable barriers that render the CSR practices of MNCs ineffective – ideological, practical and
political barriers. It suggests that these barriers, rooted mainly in the Anglo-American neoliberal
shareholder value model of corporate governance and promoted by international organizations
including the OECD, the World Bank and the IMF, militate against the realization of effective CSR,
both in Nigeria specifically and, perhaps more generally.
It argues that given the current dominance of the ‘maximizing shareholder value’ model of corporate
governance – both in Nigeria and internationally – it will not be advisable to pin too much hope in
CSR as a solution to the problems in the region. Neither the culture of corporations, nor the pressures
to which they are currently subjected encourage socially responsible behaviour. The thesis equally
argues that the problem in Nigeria is exacerbated by the country’s political situation and the close
links between MNCs and key state officials.
In view of the arguments developed in the thesis, one of its main conclusions is that the existence and
operations of these barriers render the CSR practices of MNCs in the area ineffective
