Roadkill mitigation: trialing virtual fence devices on the west coast of Tasmania

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Fox ◽  
Joanne M. Potts ◽  
David Pemberton ◽  
Dale Crosswell
Keyword(s):  
Endemic Species ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Single Site ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
The West ◽  
Game Species ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Spatial Replication ◽  
Mitigation Methods ◽  
The Impact

Wildlife roadkill is a worldwide issue being tackled using several mitigation methods that have variable efficacy. Tasmania has a significant roadkill issue, and several endemic species that are vulnerable to roadkill. Virtual fence devices are manufactured in Austria and were originally designed to mitigate against the impact of vehicles hitting large game species such as deer and boar. Here, we trial the devices over three years at a single site in Tasmania to determine whether they are effective in reducing roadkill of Tasmanian mammal species. While there was no spatial replication in this trial, a reduction in total roadkill rate, and in the most commonly affected species, by 50% suggests that these devices have enormous potential to substantially reduce roadkill rates. Many unique mammal species no longer found in the wild on mainland Australia are still found in Tasmania, making mitigating roadkill hotspots an important conservation tool to help maintain presence of these species in their last remaining stronghold. Road managers, including councils, in other Australian States that suffer from high rates of wildlife roadkill may benefit from the knowledge of the results of this trial.

scholarly journals ENSO and Wintertime Extreme Precipitation Events over the Contiguous United States

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siegfried D. Schubert ◽  
Yehui Chang ◽  
Max J. Suarez ◽  
Philip J. Pegion
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Daily Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Variability ◽  
The West ◽  
Extreme Precipitation Events ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Precipitation Events

Abstract In this study the authors examine the impact of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on precipitation events over the continental United States using 49 winters (1949/50–1997/98) of daily precipitation observations and NCEP–NCAR reanalyses. The results are compared with those from an ensemble of nine atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulations forced with observed SST for the same time period. Empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) of the daily precipitation fields together with compositing techniques are used to identify and characterize the weather systems that dominate the winter precipitation variability. The time series of the principal components (PCs) associated with the leading EOFs are analyzed using generalized extreme value (GEV) distributions to quantify the impact of ENSO on the intensity of extreme precipitation events. The six leading EOFs of the observations are associated with major winter storm systems and account for more than 50% of the daily precipitation variability along the West Coast and over much of the eastern part of the country. Two of the leading EOFs (designated GC for Gulf Coast and EC for East Coast) together represent cyclones that develop in the Gulf of Mexico and occasionally move and/or redevelop along the East Coast producing large amounts of precipitation over much of the southern and eastern United States. Three of the leading EOFs represent storms that hit different sections of the West Coast (designated SW for Southwest coast, WC for the central West Coast, and NW for northwest coast), while another represents storms that affect the Midwest (designated by MW). The winter maxima of several of the leading PCs are significantly impacted by ENSO such that extreme GC, EC, and SW storms that occur on average only once every 20 years (20-yr storms) would occur on average in half that time under sustained El Niño conditions. In contrast, under La Niña conditions, 20-yr GC and EC storms would occur on average about once in 30 years, while there is little impact of La Niña on the intensity of the SW storms. The leading EOFs from the model simulations and their connections to ENSO are for the most part quite realistic. The model, in particular, does very well in simulating the impact of ENSO on the intensity of EC and GC storms. The main model discrepancies are the lack of SW storms and an overall underestimate of the daily precipitation variance.

The impact of the Saldanha Steel Project on the West Coast economy

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 771-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Fitschen
Keyword(s):  
West Coast ◽  
The West ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals COVID-19 Personal Protection Equipment (PPE): A Potential Source of Microplastic Pollution in the State of Qatar

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subramanian Veerasingam ◽  
Jassim A Al-Khayat ◽  
Ponnumony Vethamony
Keyword(s):  
West Coast ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Personal Protection ◽  
The West ◽  
Home Office ◽  
Personal Protection Equipment ◽  
Marine Litter ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Impact

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic. The personal protection equipment (PPE), especially medical face masks and N95 filtering face piece respirators (FFRs) are typically worn by people at home/office/working place/outside to protect from infection. Thus, the increase in consumption of facemasks and FFRs across Qatar has given rise to a new environmental challenge, adding to the vast plastic waste in the environment. Our team has already established the baseline levels of marine litter (ML) including plastic waste along the west coast of Qatar based on November 2019 ML survey (Veerasingam et al., 2020a). To study the impact of COVID-19 on ML, we have conducted another survey along the west coast of Qatar in July 2020. The distribution of PPE is higher on the southern part of west coast of Qatar than the northern part. Attenuated total reflectance - Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was used to characterize the polymer types of surgical facemasks, N95 FFRs and gloves. Polypropylene (PP) and polyamide (PA) were the abundant polymer types of PPEs. This study confirmed that the PPE could be a potential source for microplastic contaminant in the environment, especially if the present situation continues. Therefore, proper waste removal measures have to be followed.

Causes of the extinction of native mammals of the Western Division of New South Wales: an ecological interpretation of the nineteenth century historical record

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Lunney
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
New South ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
The West ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Western Division ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Wool Industry

Twenty-four mammal species – predominantly the medium-sized, ground-dwelling mammals with a dependence on grass/herbs and seeds – disappeared forever from the landscape of the Western Division of New South Wales in a period of 60 years from first settlement in 1841. The present study examines the causes of this extinction episode by constructing a picture of the changing landscape from the historical record and interpreting the findings ecologically. The conclusions point to an extinction process that can be largely attributed to the impact of sheep, an impact that was exacerbated in the scarce and fragile refuges of the flat landscape in times of intense and frequent drought. This conclusion differs from those of many others, particularly Kerin in the Western Lands Review, who pointed to "the impact of feral animals, rather than overgrazing" as the cause of mammal extinctions, and Morton, who considered that the rabbit was "principally (although not entirely)" responsible for mammal extinctions in the rangelands. The rabbit plague in the Western Division from the early 1880s and the influx of foxes in the last years of the 19th century expedited the local demise of some species and even delivered the final blow to surviving remnant populations of a few species of native mammals but they were not the primary agent of extinction. Historical accounts give prominence to the rapidly growing wool industry in the 19th century. From its dominant position as an export commodity, wool became the chief means of the successful spread of colonial settlement. By 1853 there were about 300,000 sheep based at the southern end of the Darling on the watered frontages, which were all taken up by 1858. The west of the Darling was largely occupied by sheep farmers between 1859 and 1876. The history of settlement around Menindee from 1841 can be read as a devastating critique of the failure to realise that the west could not sustain a pattern of land use imposed on it from another world. The deterioration of the pastoral landscape was such that by the late 1880s the "walls of the pastoral fortresses... were beginning to crumble of their own accord, as the foundations on which they were built — the physical environment — altered under stresses...". The sequence of occupation and land use in the Western Division and the timing of the loss of native mammal species allows the conclusion to be drawn that it was sheep, and the way the land was managed for the export wool industry, that drove so many of the mammal species to extinction. The impact of ever-increasing millions of sheep on all frontages, through all the refuges, and across all the landscape by the mid 1880s is the primary cause of the greatest period of mammal extinction in Australia in modern times.

Water quality simulation of sewage impacts on the west coast of Mumbai, India

2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Vijay ◽  
P. J. Khobragade ◽  
R. A. Sohony
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Current Data ◽  
The West ◽  
Water Quality Simulation ◽  
Hydrodynamic Behaviour ◽  
Treated Effluent ◽  
Treatment Facilities ◽  
The Impact

Most coastal cities use the ocean as a site of waste disposal where pollutant loading degrades the quality of coastal waters. Presently, the west coast of Mumbai receives partially treated effluent from wastewater treatment facilities through ocean outfalls and discharges into creeks as well as wastewater/sewage from various open drains and nallahs which affect the water quality of creek and coastal water. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to simulate and assess the hydrodynamic behaviour and water quality due to impact of sewage and wastewater discharges from the west coast of Mumbai. Hydrodynamics and water quality were simulated based on present conditions and validated by using measured tide, current data and observed DO, BOD and FC. Observed and simulated results indicated non compliance to standards in Malad, Mahim creeks and the impact zones of ocean outfalls. The developed model could be used for generating various conditions of hydrodynamics and water quality considering the improvement in wastewater collection systems, treatment levels and proper disposal for proper planning and management of creeks and coastal environment.

scholarly journals Historical Evolution of the Wave Resource and Energy Production off the Chilean Coast over the 20th Century

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Ulazia ◽  
Markel Penalba ◽  
Arkaitz Rabanal ◽  
Gabriel Ibarra-Berastegi ◽  
John Ringwood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Wave Energy ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Energy Resource ◽  
The West ◽  
Chilean Coast ◽  
Resource Variability ◽  
The Impact

The wave energy resource in the Chilean coast shows particularly profitable characteristics for wave energy production, with relatively high mean wave power and low inter-annual resource variability. This combination is as interesting as unusual, since high energetic locations are usually also highly variable, such as the west coast of Ireland. Long-term wave resource variations are also an important aspect when designing wave energy converters (WECs), which are often neglected in resource assessment. The present paper studies the long-term resource variability of the Chilean coast, dividing the 20th century into five do-decades and analysing the variations between the different do-decades. To that end, the ERA20C reanalysis of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is calibrated versus the ERA-Interim reanalysis and validated against buoy measurements collected in different points of the Chilean coast. Historical resource variations off the Chilean coast are compared to resource variations off the west coast in Ireland, showing a significantly more consistent wave resource. In addition, the impact of historical wave resource variations on a realistic WEC, similar to the Corpower device, is studied, comparing the results to those obtained off the west coast of Ireland. The annual power production off the Chilean coast is demonstrated to be remarkably more regular over the 20th century, with variations of just 1% between the different do-decades.

scholarly journals Some Balkan and Danubian Connexions of Troy

1919 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 185-201
Author(s):  
Ida Carleton Thallon
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Near East ◽  
Single Site ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Northern Limit ◽  
The West ◽  
Aegean Area ◽  
The North ◽  
The Bronze Age

Prehistoric research shows us that in the troubled section of Europe known as the Near East there existed as early as the neolithic period several culture groups which may be classified under four heads as follows:—(1) The Aegean, Minoan-Mycenaean group.(2) The Thessalian.(3) The Upper Balkan and Danubian.(4) The South Russian and allied groups.The first of these is so familiar that we need only emphasize its continuity from the neolithic period through the Bronze Age, and the fact that, although eventually it was widely diffused through the Mediterranean from Spain to Cyprus and the coast of Palestine, in the Aegean area itself the northern limit on the west coast was Thessaly, which it reached in the L. M. period, and on the opposite shore the single site toward the north is Troy, where L. M. is contemporary with the VIth city. The sporadic examples on the coast from Thessaly to Troy are very late and apparently had little influence.The excavations by Messrs. Wace and Thompson in prehistoric Thessaly, which included considerably more than one hundred sites, have led them to differentiate a large number of styles of pottery, including red monochrome, red or black incised, or else painted either light on dark or dark on light in many varieties. The designs are predominantly rectilinear and more closely akin to the northern groups than to the Minoan.

Caves as a key habitat for rare and endemic species of the west coast of North America: a taxonomic revision of the spider genus Oaphantes (Araneae: Linyphiidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4819 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-363
Author(s):  
P. PAQUIN ◽  
N. DUPÉRRÉ ◽  
D.J. BUCKLE ◽  
D. UBICK
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Taxonomic Revision ◽  
The West ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Climatic Variations ◽  
The North ◽  
Sierra Nevada Mountains

The genus Oaphantes is known from the West Coast of North America. Here we revise the genus which now includes three species, two of which are new: O. cryophilus n. sp. and O. prometheus n. sp. All Members of the genus Oaphantes show affinities for cave habitats. Oaphantes pallidulus is known from caves of the Coast Ranges of California and also from epigean records. Oaphantes cryophilus n. sp. is restricted to caves in the southern limit of its distribution in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, but in the north it is known from epigean records in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Oaphantes prometheus n. sp. is an eyeless troglobite endemic to a single cave in the Sierra Nevada of California. The distribution and relationships of the three species suggest an evolutive scenario likely due to climatic variations and affinities for colder conditions.

scholarly journals Supplementary material to "Cloud-scale modelling of the impact of deep convection on the fate of oceanic bromoform in the troposphere: a case study over the west coast of Borneo"

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Hamer ◽  
Virginie Marécal ◽  
Ryan Hossaini ◽  
Michel Pirre ◽  
Gisèle Krysztofiak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Coast ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
The West ◽  
Scale Modelling ◽  
Supplementary Material ◽  
The Impact

The Impact of Regulations on West Coast Towing Vessel Safety

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Allan
Keyword(s):  
Risk Analysis ◽  
West Coast ◽  
The West ◽  
Fiscal Impact ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

The paper summarizes a lengthy study performed for Transport Canada evaluating through risk-analysis the effectiveness of regulations on the safety of towing vessels on the west coast of Canada and the USA, and to establish if there was a bias to one country due to the fiscal impact of regulations.

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