286 research outputs found

    The global food chain

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    Jonathon Porritt is Founder Director of Forum for the Future www.forumforthefuture.org.uk; Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission www.sd-commission.org.uk; and author of Capitalism as if the World Matters (Earthscan, 2007)

    Rapid Tidal Marsh Development in Anthropogenic Backwaters

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    Tidal marsh restoration and creation has been proposed as a tool to build coastal resilience in the face of rising sea level and increasing intensity of coastal storms. However, it is unclear what conditions within constructed settings will lead to the successful establishment of tidal marsh. We used sediment cores and historical geospatial data in the tidal freshwater Hudson River to identify the rapid creation and development of marshes that are sheltered by human-made structures including railroad berms, jetties, and dredge spoil islands. These backwater areas rapidly accumulated clastic material following anthropogenic modification that allowed for transition from tidal mudflat to emergent marsh. In one case, historical aerial photos document this transition occurring in less than 18 years, offering a timeframe for marsh development. Accretion rates for anthropogenic tidal marshes and mudflats average 0.8-1.1 cm yr-1 and 0.6-0.7 cm yr-1 respectively, equivalent to 2-3 times the rate of relative sea level rise as well as the observed accretion rate at a 6000+ year old reference marsh in the study area. Paired historical and geospatial analysis revealed that more than half of all the tidal wetlands on the Hudson are anthropogenic and developed since the industrial era, including two thirds of the emergent cattail marsh. These inadvertently constructed tidal wetlands currently trap roughly 6% of the Hudson River’s sediment load. Results indicate that when sediment is readily available freshwater tidal wetlands can develop relatively rapidly in sheltered estuarine settings, and serve as useful examples to help guide future tidal marsh creation and restoration efforts

    A conceptual review of interprofessional expertise in child safeguarding

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    It is increasingly accepted that practitioners across a range of professional fields must work together in order to promote children's welfare and protect them from harm. However, it has also become apparent that interprofessional working is a challenging area of practice that cannot simply be prescribed through protocols and procedures, nor acquired as a set of technical competences. This article develops the concept of interprofessional expertise in order to explain how practitioners become more proficient at working with others to manage complex child welfare issues. Key principles are outlined with reference to relevant theoretical frameworks, including models of skill acquisition. The article concludes by discussing some potential implications for future research and contemporary developments in child safeguarding practice

    Allylic C—H activation to access anti-1,3-amino alcohol motifs

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    1,3-Amino alcohols are common motifs in a variety of biologically active molecules including antivirals, antibiotics, antifungals, and various alkaloids. Due to their prevalence and utility as synthetic intermediates, a variety of methods have been developed to access these motifs in a diastereoselective fashion, which are outlined in detail herein. This thesis documents a novel approach to access anti-1,3-amino alcohols through an intramolecular palladium (II)/sulfoxide-oxazoline catalyzed C—H functionalization between a terminal olefin and an N-tosyl carbamate, generating anti-1,3-oxazinanones. These motifs can be further elaborated upon, making this method ideal for the late stage diversification of complex molecules and pharmaceuticals. This new method can be carried out in the presence of reactive functionality that is not well tolerated by existing methods.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2020-05-01The student, Jonathon Young, accepted the attached license on 2018-04-25 at 09:29.The student, Jonathon Young, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2018-04-25 at 09:40.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2018-04-25 at 14:08.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #12470 on 2018-08-31 at 17:30:26Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-04T20:47:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 YOUNG-THESIS-2018.pdf: 17381393 bytes, checksum: e7e97dc99ab1ce290a64d3a5a9836002 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4211 bytes, checksum: 6e0b64d3ab5cba30177cd6924932d927 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-25Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 107460 Lift date: 2020-09-04T20:47:38Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 107460 Lift date: 2020-09-04T20:50:11Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemLimited Restriction Lifted for Item 107460 on 2020-09-05T09:15:26Z

    Data and script for Van Berkel et al: Can starlings use a reliable cue of future food deprivation to adaptively modify foraging and fat reserves?

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    Supporting materials for: Can starlings use a reliable cue of future food deprivation to adaptively modify foraging and fat reserves? Menno van Berkela, Melissa Batesona, Daniel Nettlea and Jonathon Dunna* aCentre for Behaviour and Evolution & Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK *Author for correspondence (email: [email protected]; telephone: (+44)7730015855; postal address: Institute of Neuroscience, Henry Wellcome Building, The Medical School, Framlington Place, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, NE2 4HH). R script and 3 .csv files.</p

    Distributions and Community Composition of Birds in Iraq’s Central Marsh

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    The Central Marsh (CM) in southern Iraq is known to provide important habitats for both resident and migrant birds. The CM has been used extensively by humans, in part due to its high levels of productivity and biodiversity. It was drained in the 1990s by the government and reflooded and restored in 2003. Recent brief surveys of the CM from 2005 to 2010 recorded 94 bird species. Our study combined transects and point counts in detailed monthly surveys from October 2013 to June 2014 in the CM. We found a total of 125 bird species in the CM across all surveys, with 31 species recorded for the first time in the CM and 11 species categorised as red listed by the IUCN. Fourteen species were confirmed breeding in the CM. Cluster analysis using NMDS ordination showed that the study area can be divided into three main clusters of bird assemblages which are presented here. We provide management recommendations based on our findings.</jats:p

    Historical legacies, competition and dispersal control patterns of invasion by a non-native grass, Microstegium vimineum Trin. (A. Camus)

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    Biological invasions can be controlled by a number of factors, and the importance of these factors for individual species can change depending on the spatial scale under consideration. Furthermore, the long-term legacies of past land use may be among the major factors structuring contemporary communities. This study was designed to merge these two lines of thought by observing the processes influencing invasion success of an exotic grass species, Microstegium vimineum. Plots within twenty hardwood forest stands of different ages (40 years old to [greater than] 100 years) were surveyed in central New Jersey for the presence and abundance of this species, and the data was analyzed using simple, multiple linear and logistic regressions, as well as regression trees. At the stand scale, M. vimineum abundance was influenced by age, slope, shrub cover and forest connectivity, with far more predictable responses in younger stands than in old. On the plot scale, forest age and prior use were again the dominant influences on abundance of the invasive. Invasion in old forests was most promoted by thinner canopy cover, while younger stands were most influenced by soil type and distance to forest edge. Further studies along dispersal corridors (streams and trails) in these stands consistently showed more invasion in younger stands than older, but also found the intensity of invasion to be higher along such corridors than through areas without them. Observation of isolated patches confirmed that seed dispersal is mostly short-range without dispersal conduits, with most seeds germinating less than a meter from their parent patch boundaries. Finally, an experimental study of the role of understory shrub cover and litter depth on seed germination and seedling growth showed that shade from shrubs strongly limits survival and growth. Seeds also need to be in contact with mineral soil to establish, but otherwise litter depth does not influence growth. These studies demonstrate that the establishment and spread of this invasive species is affected by complex hierarchies of factors that differ in stands with different land use histories. Land managers can use these differences to design targeted control programs that are more effective and stand-specific.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-159)
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