Drought Spatiotemporal Characteristics Based on a Vegetation Condition Index in Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Drought is a complex phenomenon that has severe impacts on the environment. Vegetation and its conditions are very sensitive to drought effects. This study aimed to monitor and assess the drought severity and its relationships to some ecological variables in ten districts of Erbil Governorate (Kurdistan Region), Iraq, throughout 20 years (1998-2017). The results revealed that droughts frequently hit Erbil throughout the study period. The Landsat time-series- based on Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) significantly correlated with precipitation, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and latitude. Extreme VCI-based drought area percentages were recorded in 1999, 2000, 2008, and 2011 by 43.4%, 67.9%, 43.3%, and 40.0%, respectively. The highest crop yield reduction in the study area occurred mainly in 2000, 2008, and 2012 due to low precipitation rates. These results reveal the capability of the VCI for drought characteristics and highlighting relationships with some ecological variables, which provide vital information to the decision-makers, environmental, and economic sectors.

The Influence of Ecological Variables on Archaeological Site Density in the Owyhee Region, Southwest Idaho

Vegetational resources are reported to have had multiple uses in indigenous groups who were present in the Great Basin area throughout the Archaic periods. Resource acquisition and position of resources is documented to have had impacts on settlement patterns, but the impact of the range of vegetational resources, specifically, is lacking thorough study in the northern Great Basin area. Due to fluctuating climates, modern development, and other factors both anthropogenic and otherwise, Archaic vegetation ranges may not be wholly visible in the same locations today; however, the environments surrounding sites may be determined by observing a variety of ecological variables, including soil type, hydrology, slope, and elevation. Using Owyhee County, Idaho for an example, this study seeks to evaluate if known locations of archaeological sites have any visible correlation to four variables reported to have critical importance to the ecology and ranges of vegetation communities: soil type, groundwater accessibility, slope, and elevation. I analyze how ecological variables heavily associated with vegetation types can be mapped against known archaeological resource location ‘hotspots’, and use them to create a well-informed analysis of the vegetations correlated with these variables and estimate a general assessment of the resources most likely to have been available in these locations. Observing how these variables are associated with vegetation that correlates to documented ethnographic usages, this thesis advances possible factors that influence the selection of residential, temporary camp, and resource-specific processing site locations, and provides strong evidence for the need to consider environmental factors when conducting archaeological surveys.

Disentangling the Impacts of Speciation, Sympatry and the Island Effect on the Morphology of Seven Hynobius sp. Salamanders

Closely related individuals from different areas can see their morphologies change based on differences between clades, but also ecological variables such as the island effect or sympatry. This is the case of salamanders, which have adapted to a broad range of ecological niches, ranging from underground dwellers in xeric landscape to tropical arboreal habitats. On the Korean Peninsula, salamanders from the Hynobius clade are widespread on the mainland and islands, with several partially sympatric clades and candidate species. Currently, seven lineages have been identified based on mtDNA, four of them matching named species and three others for which the species status remains untested. While the morphology of Korean Hynobius is known to be variable between genetically segregated clades, we hypothesise that (1) the candidate species are morphologically different, and that (2) the island effect and (3) the sympatric status have significant impacts on the morphology of individuals within the genus. Here we measured 329 Hynobius salamanders from all seven clades, in areas of sympatry and allopatry, and on islands and on the mainland (Graphical Abstract A). We determined that the island effect had a significant impact on the morphology of the genus, with mainland individuals generally displaying a broader range of morphology than islandic individuals (Graphical Abstract B). We also determined that sympatry had an impact on morphology, with the sizes of individuals from clades in sympatric areas diverging from each other (Graphical Abstract C). Finally, we demonstrated that all seven clades have significantly different morphologies, and we described the three candidate species that had already been isolated based on mtDNA and microsatellite data: Hynobius notialis sp. nov., Hynobius geojeensis sp. nov. and Hynobius perplicatus sp. nov. We conclude that looking at morphology alone would be misleading about the true diversity of Hynobius species, and species in general, because of the island and patry effects.

Abstract 13362: Socio-ecological Variables Influenced Moderate-to-vigorous Intensity Physical Activity Levels Amongst Hospital-based Nurses: A Multi-site Study

Introduction: Previous research has shown that nurses are not meeting recommended moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA (MVPA) guidelines (≥150 minutes/week) for optimal cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Socio-ecological approaches have been used to explore the determinants of PA levels. We examined personal, social and environmental factors associated with the MVPA levels of Canadian nurses. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from a multi-site cross-sectional study was undertaken. Nurses were recruited from 14 hospitals in Ontario, Canada. An accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X) was used to measure MVPA levels (minutes/day). Socio-ecological variables were derived from sociodemographic, anthropometric and cardiometabolic data, and questionnaires assessing determinants of PA (Table 1). Multivariate generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to explore associations between socio-ecological variables and MVPA levels while accounting for hospital sites. Variables were selected for multivariate analyses if they were significant ( p <0.05) in univariate analyses. Results: A total of 257 nurses (42±12 years) had complete accelerometer (≥10 hours of wear time for ≥4 days) and questionnaire data. Of these nurses, 54% were overweight/obese and 6% were smokers. Multivariate analyses showed positive associations between MVPA levels and high perceived capability to exercise despite common barriers (e.g. poor weather; β=0.13, p =0.02) and feeling connected to their exercise peers (β=1.34, p =0.01). Greater shiftwork associated daytime sleepiness and/or insomnia were inversely associated with MVPA levels (β=-4.87, p <0.01). Conclusion: Future endeavors to accentuate nurses’ PA levels should address modifiable socio-ecological variables such as encouraging exercise despite common barriers, and with peers to whom they feel connected. Nurses should consider increasing time spent engaging in MVPA to minimize the negative effects of shiftwork.