scholarly journals Faunal isotope records reveal trophic and nutrient dynamics in twentieth century Yellowstone grasslands

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 838-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kena Fox-Dobbs ◽  
Abigail A. Nelson ◽  
Paul L. Koch ◽  
Jennifer A. Leonard
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Gray Wolves ◽  
The Past ◽  
Grassland Ecosystems ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Insight Into

Population sizes and movement patterns of ungulate grazers and their predators have fluctuated dramatically over the past few centuries, largely owing to overharvesting, land-use change and historic management. We used δ 13 C and δ 15 N values measured from bone collagen of historic and recent gray wolves and their potential primary prey from Yellowstone National Park to gain insight into the trophic dynamics and nutrient conditions of historic and modern grasslands. The diet of reintroduced wolves closely parallels that of the historic population. We suggest that a significant shift in faunal δ 15 N values over the past century reflects impacts of anthropogenic environmental changes on grassland ecosystems, including grazer-mediated shifts in grassland nitrogen cycle processes.

New Light on Sterne: An Old Man's Recollections of the Young Vicar

PMLA ◽  
1965 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 549-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Kuist
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Laurence Sterne ◽  
Present Knowledge ◽  
Private Life ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Public Records ◽  
The Past ◽  
Insight Into

In a volume of miscellaneous manuscripts at the British Museum, placed at random and inconspicuously among larger folio leaves, is a set of notes headed “Sterne.” The notes were written by Joseph Hunter, the nineteenth-century antiquary and literary historian, and they came to the British Museum with Hunter's other papers shortly after his death in 1861. In view of the abundant information about Sterne's private life which the notes contain, it is surprising that this item has remained unindexed and that it is not mentioned in the catalogue description of the volume. In the absence of such references, very likely only an occasional reader who has happened upon them has seen these notes, and, since the major biographies of Laurence Sterne make no use of distinct details which Hunter provides, it is quite possible that none of Sterne's biographers have encountered Hunter's information during the past century. At present, our familiarity with the early years of Sterne's marriage and his residence at Sutton-on-the-Forest is rather limited, based as it is upon isolated public records, some letters, fugitive anecdotes, and the unflattering and sometimes vicious account written by John Croft. No impartial memoirs with any claim to authenticity or wealth of details have until now seemed available. Thus, the intimate account of Sterne which Hunter has given presents to modern scholars an unexpected and promising opportunity to gain new insight into the life and, perhaps, into the work of one of England's most unusual writers. A transcript of Hunter's notes appears below, followed by a brief evaluation of them according to our present knowledge of Laurence Sterne.

scholarly journals Traditional conservation and human-primate conflict in Ujungjaya Village Community, Ujung Kulon, Banten, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
SIDIK PERMANA ◽  
Ruhyat Partasasmita ◽  
JOHAN ISKANDAR ◽  
ENENG NUNUZ ROHMATULLAYALY ◽  
BUDIAWATI S. ISKANDAR ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Village Community ◽  
The Past ◽  
The People ◽  
Medicinal Use ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Human Primate

Abstract. Permana S, Partasasmita R, Iskandar J, Rohmatullayaly EN, Iskandar BS, Malone N. 2020. Traditional conservation and human-primate conflict in Ujungjaya Village Community, Ujung Kulon, Banten, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 521-529. In the past, rural Sundanese people’s interactions with wild animals, including nonhuman primates (hereafter ‘primates’), is influenced by traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) with foundations in various myths and beliefs. Today, because of environmental changes, development of a market economy, cultural change, and the enhancement of agricultural technology, the beliefs and practices associated with TEK have eroded. We aim to describe the present perceptions of primates by the Sundanese people of Ujungjaya Village, Sumur Subdistrict, Ujung Kulon, Banten Province, and demonstrate how these myths and beliefs manifest in behavior towards primates. We use qualitative methods based on an ethnobiological approach to gain insight into people’s perceptions of their natural surroundings. Our results show that the people of Ujungjaya still maintain deep perceptions that are manifested in stories, songs, poems, spells, and invocations that prohibit the killing of primates. However, on their own, these manifestations are insufficient to protect primates from harm as the penetration of market economies and the fragmentation of habitats create the conditions for increased human-primate conflict. Indeed, the people of Ujungjaya sometimes hunt and capture primates for consumption, trading, and medicinal use. As such, laws and regulations designed to promote conservation are insufficient without an understanding of the cultural and socio-economic aspects of people’s lives.

Environmental changes in Lake Taihu during the past century as recorded in sediment cores

Hydrobiologia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 581 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Xue ◽  
Shuchun Yao ◽  
Weilan Xia
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Lake Taihu ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Past

scholarly journals Historical Trends in Alpine Ski Design: How Skis Have Evolved Over the Past Century

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Jonas Truong ◽  
Marius Bulota ◽  
Alexis Lussier Desbiens
Keyword(s):  
Past Century ◽  
Performance Parameters ◽  
New Materials ◽  
Historical Trends ◽  
The Past ◽  
Geometric Stiffness ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The University ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Do So

Alpine skis have changed dramatically in the last century. Long and straight wood skis have evolved into shorter lengths and now contain a plethora of modern materials. Shaped skis have become the norm. Today’s skis also offer a variety of waist widths and shapes to cater to specific uses. By studying how skis have evolved, it is possible to gain insight into how the design of alpine skis has progressed. To do so, the mechanical properties of 1016 skis, from the 1920s to 2019, were measured with a machine developed at the University of Sherbrooke. The resulting data are used to calculate various geometric, stiffness and performance parameters. The evolution of these parameters over the years is analyzed. This analysis provides a better understanding of the evolution of ski design and shows when the introduction of new materials and shaping concepts has changed the way skis are designed.

Cattle, progress, and a victimized nation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Past Century ◽  
President Obama ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors ◽  
Congressional Debates ◽  
The Past ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract This paper analyzes three sources of discourse on immigration in the United States: congressional debates from the 1920s representing two polarized sides, a speech by President Obama, and a speech by President Trump. The goal of this analysis was to explore how the conceptual metaphors used in discussing immigration may have changed over the past century, in order to gain insight into the current polarization surrounding this topic. Results reveal striking similarities between Trump’s rhetoric and metaphorical framing and the 1920s anti-immigration side’s arguments, in that both situate the United States as a victim of immigration. In contrast, although there are fewer similarities between Obama’s metaphors and metaphorical frames and those used by earlier supporters of immigration, the claim that immigrants are a benefit to the United States remains constant.

Contribution of Deforestation to Severe Flooding in Southeast Parts of the Caspian Sea: A Case Study with NDVI Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 07 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 2050008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farahnaz Fazel-Rastgar
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Caspian Sea ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Caspian Sea ◽  
The Past ◽  
Color Composite ◽  
Severe Flooding

Iran has been faced with increase in flooding cases during the past 60 years. The human activities have been considered as a devastating factor in the environmental change causing the occurrence of severe flooding cases during past decades. On August 11, 2001, a relatively severe rainfall in the south east of Caspian Sea led to the occurrence of a severe deadly flooding in Golestan province and some parts in northern Khorasan province have been unprecedented in Iran over the past century. The destructive extent of flooding in the urban and rural areas reached about 5,000 km2. Here, the synoptic surface and upper levels of the weather charts have been analyzed along with the monitoring of half hourly METEOSAT7 images to show the convective clouds development over the area of the study. The total precipitation in this area during the flooding period was reported between 2.5 and 153 mm with the maximum estimation over the center of the storm around less than 250[Formula: see text]mm. Using satellite imagery in 1979 and 2000, vegetation changes and environmental changes have been investigated and shown extensive decline in vegetation. The image processing and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) calculation of the color composite 433 of LANDSAT5 and the color composite 211 of TERRA (MODIS sensor) images between 1998 and 2001 have been revealed significant deforestation around 248,131,534.3[Formula: see text][Formula: see text] over the study, particularly over the rivers’ neighborhood. Also, by assumption of the same precipitation for 1998 and 2001, the discharge rate in flood case of 2001 has been intensified 1.3 times (at 13 percent) larger than that of 1998. This shows the direct impact of the deforestation and land use changes over the study area during 1998–2001.

scholarly journals Continuing Environmental Change - An Example from Nova Scotia

2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmund S. Telfer
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Castor Canadensis ◽  
Dermacentor Variabilis ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Lynx Lynx ◽  
The Past ◽  
Severe Reduction

Information from personal experience, from community elders and published literature served as a basis for evaluating environmental changes in the District of North Queens and adjacent areas of Southwestern Nova Scotia over the past century. Major events included disappearance of the Caribou (Rangifer tarandus), the arrival of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the severe reduction of Canada Yew (Taxus canadensis), disappearance of Lynx (Lynx canadensis), a major dieoff of Striped Skunks (Mephitis mephitis), decline of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), the loss of mature birch (Betula spp.), the severe reduction of Moose (Alces alces), the arrival of the American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and Coyotes (Canis latrans), and the restoration of Beaver (Castor canadensis). The proximate cause of many of those changes were plant and animal disease, while the ultimate causes were naturally occurring animal range expansion and human impacts. The warming of the climate over the past 150 years probably played a role. The nature and timing of the events could not have been predicted.

The Human Islet: Mini-organ with Mega-impact

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T Walker ◽  
Diane C Saunders ◽  
Marcela Brissova ◽  
Alvin C Powers
Keyword(s):  
Insulin Resistance ◽  
Human Islets ◽  
Human Islet ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Human Diabetes ◽  
Islet Changes ◽  
New Research ◽  
Islet Physiology ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract This review focuses on the human pancreatic islet – including its structure, cell composition, development, function, and dysfunction. After providing a historical timeline of key discoveries about human islets over the past century, we describe new research approaches and technologies that are being used to study human islets and how these are providing insight into human islet physiology and pathophysiology. We also describe changes or adaptations in human islets in response to physiologic challenges such as pregnancy, aging, and insulin resistance and discuss islet changes in human diabetes of many forms. We outline current and future interventions being developed to protect, restore, or replace human islets. The review also highlights unresolved questions about human islets and proposes areas where additional research on human islets is needed.

scholarly journals Recent environmental changes in the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau inferred from organic geochemical records from the sediments of Fuxian Lake

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haibo He ◽  
Zaihua Liu ◽  
Dongli Li ◽  
Hongbo Zheng ◽  
Jianxin Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Average Chain Length ◽  
Past Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Guizhou Plateau

During the past century, many lacustrine environments have changed substantially at the ecosystem level as a result of anthropogenic activities. In this study, the distributions of n-alkane homologues, carbon isotopes (δ13Corg), organic carbon, and the C/N atomic ratio in two sediment cores from Fuxian Lake (Yunnan, southwest China) are used to elucidate the anthropogenic impacts on this deep, oligotrophic, freshwater lake. The carbon preference index (CPI) of long-chain components, average chain length (ACL), proportion of aquatic macrophytes (Paq), and terrigenous/aquatic ratios (TAR) show different temporal patterns that reflect variations in biological production. Notably, the n-alkane homologues are shown to be more sensitive to environmental changes than δ13Corg and the C/N ratio. Prior to the 1950s, minor variations in the sedimentary geochemical record were likely caused by climate changes, and they represent a natural stage of lake evolution. The onset of cultural eutrophication in Fuxian Lake occurred in the 1950s, when the n-alkane proxies collectively exhibited high-amplitude fluctuations but overall decreasing trends that coincided with population growth and related increases in land-use pressure. In the 21st century, Fuxian Lake has become even more eutrophic in response to human activities, as indicated by sharp increases in C/N ratio, Paq, δ13Corg, ACL, CPI, and TAR. Our findings provide robust molecular sedimentary evidence confirming that the environmental evolution of lakes in the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau over the past century was closely associated with enhanced anthropogenic activities.

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