1,720,967 research outputs found
American Bison Ecology and Bison-Cattle Interactions in an Isolated Montane Environment
Get PDFAs bison are considered to be ecologically extinct, and negative interactions between bison and cattle are perceived to limit bison restoration and cattle production, I designed a series of studies to test for potential competition between bison (Bison bison) and cattle (Bos taurus) for forage on the Henry Mountains in southern Utah. These studies provide insight into key information gaps previously identified by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), Bureau of Land Management, and the local grazing association. The results indicate that bison and cattle are not strong competitors for forage on the Henry Mountains. Jackrabbits (Lepus californicus) emerged as the strongest competitive threat to cattle, consuming more than twice the amount of forage consumed by bison. Further, bison habitat preferences did not match with cattle habitat needs as reported by a survey of the local ranching community. This suggests that negative impacts on cattle due to bison have been overstated. Still, any potential negative impacts of bison will be felt by a small group of local individuals. This prompted me to design a new management scheme, which has the potential to increase the number of bison on the Henry Mountains while also compensating local ranchers for reducing the number of cattle they graze in the area. This system should be mutually beneficial for the local ranching community and the UDWR, and easily implemented by taking advantage of the currently exiting conservation license program
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Challenges to Professional Accreditation of Forestry Degree Programs with Low Enrollments: The Utah State University Experience
Get PDFAs a result of its setting in the semi‐arid Intermountain West where forests are confined largely to montane environments, Utah State University (USU) has historically had relatively low undergraduate enrollments in forestry compared to other natural resource disciplines and compared to other institutions in the U.S. also offering a broad range of natural resource degrees. As a result of this history, coupled to the national trend over the past two decades of proportionally lower enrollments in forestry compared to other natural resource disciplines, undergraduate enrollment in forestry at USU currently constitutes less than 4% of total enrollments in natural resources. This situation makes it difficult to justify the offering of forestry courses and the hiring of faculty with forestry degrees, which in turn is a challenge to the maintenance of professional accreditation in forestry. Our response to this challenge has been to create a solid professional core of courses that is basic to the science and management of terrestrial ecosystems and is taught by faculty from a wide array of natural resource disciplines, coupled to a modest component of specialization in forestry in the third and fourth years of study. This approach, while perhaps disadvantageous from the standpoint of professional accreditation under current standards, provides our forestry majors with a broad background in the science and management of terrestrial ecosystems and in some ways anticipates current discussions at the national level regarding the accreditation of broader programs in natural resources
Competition on the range: science vs, perception in a bison-cattle conflict in the western USA
No full text1. Competition between livestock and wild ungulates is commonly perceived to occur on shared rangelands. In the Henry Mountains (HM) of Utah, a free-ranging population of bison Bison bison has raised concerns among ranchers holding grazing permits on these public lands. Bison are the most conspicuous potential competitors with cattle, but lagomorphs (mainly jackrabbits Lepus californicus) are also abundant in this area. The local ranching community is applying political pressure on state and federal agencies to resolve ‘the bison problem’, but the relative grazing impacts of bison, cattle and lagomorphs have not previously been quantified. We constructed 40 grazing exclosures (each 5·95 m2) in the conflict area: 20 excluded bison + cattle (‘partial’) and 20 excluded bison + cattle + lagomorphs (‘full’). All exclosures, each with a paired open reference plot, were monitored for 1 year, and above-ground plant production was measured. GPS telemetry (bison) and scheduled grazing (cattle) allowed visitation to be quantified for each ungulate species based on the number of ‘animal days’ in the area. Rancher perceptions of wildlife–cattle interactions were recorded in a questionnaire survey. Ranchers perceived bison as a high-level competitor with cattle, whereas lagomorphs were perceived as low-level competitors. Grazed reference plots yielded an average (±SE) of 22·7 g m−2 (±5·16) of grass, compared to 36·5 g m−2 (±7·33) in the partial exclosures and 43·7 g m−2 (±7·61) in the full exclosures. Exclusion of large herbivores thus resulted in a 13·8 g m−2 increase in grass biomass relative to the reference plots (P = 0·005), with the additional exclusion of lagomorphs resulting in a further 7·18 g m−2 increase (P = 0·048). Overall, lagomorphs accounted for 34·1%, bison 13·7% and cattle 52·3% of the total grass biomass removed by all herbivores on the shared range.Synthesis and applications. Cattle face a greater competitive challenge from lagomorphs than from bison in the study area. This case study illustrates the need for science-based management of social–ecological systems in which even long-term resource users might underestimate the complexities of trophic interactions. Attention should be redirected at the lagomorphs and their main predators, coyotes Canis latrans, which are currently subject to population control. To reduce negative perceptions among local ranchers, options should be explored to incorporate benefit-sharing into the management of the bison population
Pronghorn habitat suitability in the Flint Hills of east-central Kansas
No full textPronghorn (Antilocapra americana) were translocated into the Flint Hills region of Chase County, Kansas, during the late 1970s through the early 1990s as a part of a statewide reintroduction into portions of historical pronghorn range. Since the last translocation in 1992, the Chase County pronghorn population has stabilized at approximately 30 individuals. Several research projects conducted in the 1990s provided important information on the Flint Hills population and local habitat conditions during initial translocations. However, land ownership and land management have changed over time, which may impact pronghorn habitat suitability. Habitat conditions were inventoried in 2021 to determine the current status of pronghorn habitat and potential limiting factors including bottom-wire fence heights, fence density, pasture size, vegetation composition, vegetation height, and coyote occupancy. Maximum bottom-wire height of fences composed of 100% barbed wire was estimated at an average of 41 cm with a minimum average of 30.7 cm, which is below the recommended minimum bottom-wire height of 46 cm. Additionally, only 27.3% of the fences sampled reached a maximum bottom-wire height ≥46 cm, while 100% of minimum bottom-wire heights fell below 46 cm, which suggests a low percentage of fences with adequate bottom-wire height for pronghorn passage. Fence density and pasture size was estimated at 1.8 km/km2 and 2.6 km2 respectively. Vegetation height averaged 8.6, 10.0, and 11.1 cm for June, July, and August 2021, which falls below fawn habitat height recommendations (\u3e25 cm) found in the literature. Coyote naïve occupancy was determined to be 100% among 9 camera trap sites. We recommend that local landowners (1) raise the minimum average bottom-wire height to 46 cm to improve pronghorn passage and movement across the landscape and (2) maintain an average vegetation height \u3e25 cm during June, July, and August to increase potential fawning habitat.El Berrendo o Antílope Americano (Antilocapra americana) fue reintroducido en la región de Flint Hills del condado de Chase, Kansas, durante finales de la década de 1970 hasta principios de la década de 1990 como parte del intento de reintroducción a nivel estatal en partes de su área histórica de distribución. Desde la última translocación en el año 1992, la población de berrendos en el condado de Chase se ha estabilizado a aproximadamente 30 individuos. Varios proyectos de investigación realizados en la década de 1990 brindaron información importante sobre la población de Flint Hills y sobre las condiciones locales del hábitat durante las translocaciones iniciales. Sin embargo, los dueños de la tierra y la gestión de la misma han cambiado con el tiempo, lo cual podría afectar la aptitud del hábitat para los berrendos. En el año 2021 se clasificaron las condiciones del hábitat con el objetivo de determinar el estado actual del hábitat del berrendo y los posibles factores limitantes, incluyendo la altura de las cercas de alambre inferiores, la densidad de las cercas, el tamaño de los pastizales, la composición de la vegetación, la altura de la vegetación y la ocupación de coyotes. Se estimó que la altura promedio de las cercas de alambre inferiores, compuestas al 100% por alambre de púas, era de 41 cm, con un promedio mínimo de 30.7 cm, lo cual está por debajo de la altura mínima recomendada del alambrado inferior de 46 cm. Además, solo el 27.3% de las cercas medidas alcanzaron una altura máxima del alambrado inferior ≥46 cm, mientras que el 100% de las alturas mínimas del alambrado inferior se encontraron por debajo de los 46 cm, lo que sugiere un porcentaje bajo de altura adecuada del alambrado inferior para el paso de los berrendos. Se calculó la densidad de las cercas y el tamaño de los pastizales en 1.8 km/km2 y 2.6 km2, respectivamente. La altura promedio de la vegetación fue de 8.6 cm, 10.0 cm y 11.1 cm en los meses de junio, julio y agosto del 2021, lo cual está por debajo de las recomendaciones de altura de hábitat para crías (\u3e25 cm) encontradas en la literatura. Se determinó que la ocupación primitiva de coyotes era del 100% en nueve sitios de trampas con cámaras. Las recomendaciones de gestión para los propietarios de tierras locales es implementar una altura mínima promedio del alambrado inferior de 46 cm, para mejorar el paso y recorrido del berrendo a lo largo de las tierras, así como mantener una altura promedio de la vegetación mayor de 25 cm durante los meses de junio, julio y agosto, con el objetivo de aumentar el potencial de hábitat de cría
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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