Your search

We studied nest site and habitat characteristics associated with 75 Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) nests in Connecticut, northern New Jersey, and southeastern New York. Nest sites were categorized as either urban (30) or rural (45) and were compared to data from available habitat (24 random sites for microhabitat; 70 random sites for macro-habitat). Urban nest trees were significantly larger in diameter and taller than rural nest trees, and accordingly, nests were higher in urban nest trees as well. Urban nest sites were significantly different than random sites for all eight habitat variables, but rural nests were significantly different for only five variables. Urban nests were significantly different than rural nests for five of eight habitat variables. Only urban owl nests had significantly lower site basal area, higher conifer composition, and lower shrub cover. Both urban and rural owl nests showed lower canopy cover and closer proximity to forest edge, paved roads, human habitation, and water than random sites. Although both urban and rural Great Horned Owls demonstrated habitat selection (use different from availability), urban owls showed a stronger degree of selection, probably because of the greater complexity of habitats available in the urban landscape.

Because clients are demanding better health care for their pets, more advanced and quicker techniques for obtaining a diagnosis are essential. Veterinary endoscopy gives veterinarians and clients a noninvasive option for evaluating diseased tissue without surgical intervention. Although patients must be anesthetized, they often are released from the veterinary facility on the same day the procedure is performed. Technicians play a vital role in communication between veterinarians and clients and provide valuable procedural skills during the endoscopy.

A new approach is presented for the observation and analysis of diffraction phenomena. Using the discussed procedures, direct comparison between measured light intensity and theoretical predictions is possible. A modified version of a Poisson spot experiment where the resulting diffraction pattern is recorded by a Sanyo vidicon camera is presented. A double slit experiment is also discussed, demonstrating the quantitative possibilities while addressing detector linearity. A video signal is connected directly to a computer and analyzed using public domain software. This is an excellent arrangement for demonstrations, student labs, or a more general diffraction experiment. © 1999 American Association of Physics Teachers.

Centroptilum ozarkensum, new species is described from distinctive adult males collected from springs within the Ozark National Scenic Rivers area of southeastern Missouri. The adult male of this species is similar to the widespread species C. album, hut is easily distinguished from it by color and morphological characters.

We investigated the response of the forest raptor community to broadcasts of all potentially occurring raptors in a New Jersey watershed. Raptors were systematically surveyed using high-volume broadcasts of conspecific and heterospecific calls during the breeding season at a total of 81 survey stations. Results showed 107 responses from 10 species of breeding raptors following 891 broadcasts of 11 species. Among responses that occurred during or after broadcasts, at least 50% of the forest raptor species responded to heterospecific calls. Response rates to conspecific or heterospecific broadcasts were significantly different between hawks (68% heterospecific) and owls (26% heterospecific), suggesting that hawks showed greater heterospecific conflict than members of the owl guild. The hawk guild had a higher species packing (six versus four species) which is thought to increase the likelihood of competition in the community. In addition, most hawks probably need to re-establish territories each spring because the vast majority of them will migrate south for the winter. In contrast, most of the owl guild members are permanent residents and territories may be more permanent. Overall, the prevalence of heterospecific response is an indicator that current competition exists and continues to shape present-day community structure among forest raptors.

The purpose of this investigation was to identify dynamic balance strategies used by 18 boys and girls who were deaf. Each child was simultaneously videotaped from the frontal and sagittal planes while walking forward on a balance beam and stepping over a stick placed knee high. Next their performance was evaluated on a pass-fail basis. Following testing, each participant was assigned to the respective group (pass n = 9; fail n = 9) for kinematic analysis. Based on a discriminant function analysis of the data, head and trunk ranges of motion (ROM) were significant (p < .05) predictors of pass/fail performance. Children in the fail group had significantly greater head and trunk sway causing them to lose balance. Factors contributing to poor dynamic balance among children who are deaf are discussed as are implications for intervention and further research.

The Foxwoods Casino Resort owned by the Mashantucket Pequots of Connecticut is the largest gambling casino in the Western world. The Pequots' Connecticut location enabled the tribe to open a casino, with accessibility to a large market and limited competition. The opening of Foxwoods is also the result of changes in relationships between Americans and Indians and shifts in American attitudes toward gambling. As attitudes and laws change, however, there is little chance that another Indian Foxwoods will be created here or elsewhere in the United States.

The aesthetics of Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) have been evaluated by aestheticians and social scientists of various ideological persuasions. Because of Veblen's stature as an American critical theorist and the debate which has ensued over the nature of his aesthetics, further efforts to both clarify and extrapolate from them are self-justificatory. The focus here is on (1) Veblen's view of aesthetic experience, (2) the nature of the non-invidiously beautiful in his aesthetics, (3) his distinction between pure and applied art forms and its importance to the common person and (4) the social basis and artistic consequences of the non-invidious as exemplified in the painting of the American artist Winslow Homer (1836-1910). Problematic areas in Veblen's social theory and aesthetics are addressed and a non-invidious aesthetic of countervailence articulated using Homer's work. Copyright © 1998 SAGE Publications.

We studied the species richness and distribution of the forest raptor community in a New Jersey watershed in relation to urbanization. Raptors were systematically surveyed using high volume broadcasts of conspecific and heterospecific calls during the breeding season at a total of 81 survey stations. Ten habitat variables relevant to urbanization were measured at each survey station using topographic maps and aerial photographs. Results showed a community composed of 10 species of breeding raptors. Buteo lineatus, Accipiter gentilis and Strix varia showed a significant avoidance of suburban habitat, whereas B. jamaicensis and Bubo virginianus had a greater tendency to occupy such areas. Lowland habitat was significantly selected by S. varia, B. lineatus and A. cooperii, a habitat usually most susceptible to development in the study region. Raptor species richness showed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.79, P < 0.01) with wilderness area size. No wilderness area less than 1000 ha had more than four raptor species while four to eight species were found in areas from 1000-8000 ha. Utilization of three increasing size classes of wilderness areas showed increasing trends for B. lineatus, A. gentilis and S. varia, and decreasing trends for B. jamaicensis and Bubo virginianus. © 1997 The Raptor Research Foundation, Inc.

The species Anthopotamus verticis is recorded for the first time in New England from the Housatonic River in western Connecticut. Notes on the larval habitat and observations on the sympatric occurrence of this species with A. distinctus are presented. New distribution records for A. distinctus are presented for Massachusetts and Vermont.

Brachycercus maculatus, a member of a rare group of mayflies, is now recorded for the first time from New York State in the upper Hudson River. An illustrated key to the Brachycercus larvae of northeastern North America is provided to spur further study of the genus in the region.

Space, futurism, exploration, and stardom are some of the themes at a summer camp inspired by Howard Gardner's theories.

The behaviour of the Sterling/European Currency Unit (ECU) exchange rate is examined both during the time before Britain joined the European exchange rate mechanism (ERM) and during the time of Britain's membership. During the latter period, a GARCH (1, 1) model fits the data well but during the pre-ERM period there is evidence of significant non-linear - possibly chaotic - structure in the GARCH residuals. Analysis of the dominant Lyapunov exponents and correlation dimension for the pre-ERM period suggests that the data generation process may be chaotic and this is reinforced by the highly significant BDS statistics obtained for this sample period. © 1997, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

A characteristic of scapulothoracic dysfunction is the tendency for the upper regions of the trapezius to hypertrophy in relation to its middle and lower portions. This creates a muscular imbalance that can alter scapular position and subsequently the length-tension relationship of the shoulder muscles. Tape was applied over the right upper trapezius to inhibit electrical activity in the muscles of 10 uninjured subjects. EMG activity was recorded in two locations of the upper trapezius and one location in the middle to lower trapezius region while each subject maintained an isometric contraction designed to activate both muscles. With the tape applied, there was a statistically significant reduction in EMG activity of the upper trapezius with a corresponding increase in the middle/lower trapezius. The ability of the tape to alter trapezius activity in this fashion may help correct muscular imbalances in the trapezius muscle.

Several major transitions in language use take place during the first 5 years of life. Each transition allows the child to move to a higher level of complexity of expression and to accomplish communicative goals more flexibly and precisely than was done at the previous level. At least three of these transitions appear to be modulated to some degree by speech. In the first transition, prellnguistic to early linguistic communication, babbling provides the infant with a prelinguistic form of vocal behavior that is in many ways analogous to language. A second transition takes place in the movement from single words to multiword combinations. In the process of this transition, word order becomes a means by which children convey semantic role information, and transitional forms such as successive one-word utterances help to facilitate the child's leap from single-word speech to multiword sentences. A third transition involves the development of phonological awareness, an important basis for the acquisition of literacy, which builds on the foundation laid by the phonological system for articulation. In each of these transitions, speech appears important for mediating the move to a higher language level. This paper considers the question of how these transitions can be facilitated in children who use augmentative and alternative communication rather than speech as a first expressive system, in order to provide as precise and flexible a communication modality as possible to children with severe speech impairments.

The ideal user of scientific and technical information: shall we design one? The positive personality traits one would wish for in a spouse would do nicely for a start: patient; thoughtful; caring; able to see our (the librarians') virtues through the fog of early-morning not yet-wakefulness or late evening exhaustion; able to communicate needs and wants clearly and without a lot of emotional overtones; willing to work hard to obtain desired results; and apprecia tive of what We (librarians) do. Add to this other talents which, while useful, are less often associated with marriage: the ability to understand and retain complex organizational details; patience with less-than-perfect systems; an intuitive understanding of how information is organized; and a sense of how best to cope with the inter-face between the deluge of possible information resources and the limited needs of one particular user (not to mention limited capacities for retaining and controlling that information flood once the gates are open). © 1991 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.