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A Cave In Miocene Conglomerate: The Törökpince-Abaliget Cave System, Hungary, Krisztina Sebe, Piroska Pazonyi, Márton Bauer, Bálint Szappanos, Márton Szabó, Zoltán Szentesi, Mihály Gasparik, Ákos Juhász, Luca Pandolfi, Máté Gregorits, József Haász, Ágnes Novothny, Zsófia Ruszkiczay-Rüdiger

International Journal of Speleology

Conglomerate caves are rare, and only a few have been described in the scientific literature. Here, we present a newly discovered and significant cave system in SW Hungary, comprising over 500 m of upper passages and a shorter, lower section of a through-cave developed in Lower–Middle Miocene conglomerates. The formation of these cave passages was controlled chiefly by bedding and fractures. Dissolution has produced typical karstification morphologies, whereas corrasion, granular disintegration, and rock collapse have also played a role in shaping the cave. The cave is dominated by vadose-zone morphologies, but sediment infills indicating upward water flow, along with ceiling …

Predator Exclusion Grids Protect Common Terns From Avian Nest Predators At Presqu’Ile Provincial Park, Lake Ontario, Jennifer M. Arnold, Stephen A. Oswald, Donald J. Tyerman, Michael J. Barker

Ontario Birds

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) breeding populations in inland areas of North America have experienced significant declines, particularly in the Canadian waters of the lower Great Lakes. Once home to two-thirds of the Great Lakes population, Presqu’ile Provincial Park maintained only a small breeding colony of Common Terns from the 1970s to the early 2010s. In 2008, a research program was started to understand the population status of this colony. This involved close collaboration between faculty at Penn State University and Ontario Parks staff, and identified poor reproductive success at this site. Although many factors contributed to this poor reproductive success …

Full Issue, Ontario Field Ornithologists

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

The Bird Specimen Collection Of George And Edward White Of Ottawa, Ontario (1874-1949), Daniel F. Brunton

Ontario Birds

No abstract provided.

Common Gallinule Banding In Ontario, Ross W. Wood, Barbara A. Campbell, Shawn W. Meyer, Tore Buchanan

Ontario Birds

Between 2012 and 2017, we conducted a Common Gallinule banding study to determine the feasibility of catching and banding gallinule with an airboat in Ontario, estimate how many birds could potentially be banded and subsequently encountered, calculate an index of productivity and assess whether enough data could be obtained to inform management decisions and conservation planning. We captured gallinules using dip nets and spotlights at night from an airboat. In total, we banded 440 (approximately 28%) of the 1,564 gallinules that have ever been banded in Ontario. Five of our banded birds were subsequently encountered, four within Ontario and one …

Geographic Patterns Of Educational Achievement: A Methodological Case Study Of Regression Modeling Approaches, Leokadia Lipien

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This methodological case study introduces a novel approach to investigate the impact of student, teacher, and geographic factors on the academic achievement of virtual school students in Florida. Traditional linear regression models, and even multilevel models, often overlook spatial dependencies, which can lead to biased estimates and incomplete inferences. This research addresses this limitation by comparing a cross-classified multilevel model (CCMM) with a novel cross-classified spatial model (CCSM) that incorporates coefficients from geographically weighted regression (GWR). Utilizing secondary data from a statewide virtual school, including student demographics, teacher characteristics, and standardized test scores, along with U.S. Census Bureau data, the …

Enhancing Nitrogen Removal In High Permeability Bioretention Media: The Combined Role Of Biochar, Wood Chips And Hydraulic Design, Joshelyn Guimaray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urban stormwater runoff can transport high nutrient loads to receiving waters, leading toeutrophication, harmful algal blooms, and the formation of hypoxic zones. Bioretention systems are a form of green infrastructure designed to mitigate these impacts, but their application in dense, ultra-urban environments is often limited by large land area requirements. This has led to the adoption of high permeability media (HPM) to accommodate higher hydraulic loading rates (HLRs) and reduce the system footprint. However, conventional HPM systems often show inconsistent removal of dissolved nitrogen species due to short hydraulic retention times (HRTs), a lack of organic carbon, and insufficient anoxic …

Proceedings Of The Global Conference On Business And Economics, Bhuvan Unhelkar, Valentina Della Corte, Cihan Cobanoglu, Mehmet Erdem

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the third volume of the Global Conference on Business and Economics Proceedings Series. This volume also includes papers presented at the Global Conference on Technology & AI in Hospitality and Tourism.

The Ruling Relations Of Care: An Institutional Ethnography Of High-Risk Prenatal Care Experiences, Nicole L. Harris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disrespect during pregnancy, labor, and delivery is common in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that approximately one in five women overall, and over 30% of Black women, report being ignored, dismissed, or verbally mistreated during their care. Public health efforts have primarily focused on individual-level interventions to improve patient-provider communication or reduce provider bias; however, these strategies have been critiqued for their limited scope and effectiveness in shifting outcomes. Instead, researchers and advocates have called for an examination of the structures that shape clinical encounters, including policies, protocols, workflows, and organizational culture. This …

Rattlesnakes And Enlightenment Science: An Unlikely Epistemology Of Early American Herpetology, Sahir Hismiogullari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the hybrid epistemologies developed by early American naturalists, such as Hans Sloane, Pehr Kalm, John and William Bartram, and Benjamin Smith Barton that blended empirical observation, spiritual frameworks, and Indigenous ecological knowledge. These figures, implicitly or explicitly challenging the dominant mechanistic and reductionist models of Enlightenment science, pioneered a more holistic ecological thinking, even as they operated within colonial power structures.

Through historical and textual analysis based on letters, natural histories, and other written sources, the study reveals how these naturalists synthesized multiple ways of knowing, particularly in their encounters with New World peoples and environments. Within …

A Political Ecological Exploration Of The Caracol Road Project In Belize, Lorenzo A. Pantano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Caracol Road Project is a new BZ$148,100,000 (US$74,050,000) road infrastructure development in the Cayo District of Belize and financed largely by foreign sovereign wealth funds. The areas adjacent to the road, broken into two phases include: communities, forest reserves, national parks, recreational areas, private lands and estates, and archaeological sites. This paper seeks to ask the questions: (i) For whom is the CRP being developed? (ii) For what is the CRP being developed? (iii) What visual evidence exists of sacrifice zones because of the production of the CRP? I sought to answer these questions through ethnographic observations, interviews, and …

Fort Brooke After 200 Years: A Public Heritage Approach, Alex F. Fawbush

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fort Brooke, established in 1824 at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, shaped the growth of Tampa and Florida’s west coast for nearly sixty years and served as the nucleus for the forced removal of Indigenous people. Though the Fort itself has long since vanished beneath the modern city, archaeology has preserved its legacy. Excavations since the 1970s have uncovered rich assemblages of ceramics, glass, military equipment, faunal remains, and domestic refuse. These materials reveal daily life at the post, highlighting the interactions of soldiers, Seminoles, African Americans, white settlers, and Cuban fishermen, while also uncovering the deeper prehistoric, referred …

Connectedness And Belonging: An Autoethnography About Military Veteran Transition, Benjamin A. Smet

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Military veterans often face profound challenges transitioning to civilian life, yet prevailing narratives focus narrowly on PTSD and combat trauma. This dissertation uses autoethnography to broaden that view, blending personal narrative with theory to explore seven interrelated transition stressors: grief and bereavement, loss of military identity, autobiographical memory, service-connected nostalgia, moral injury, stereotype threat, and socialized masculinity and stoicism. These layered stories illuminate the cultural, emotional, and relational dimensions of transition, showing how isolation, disconnection, and loss of belonging shape veteran experiences as deeply as trauma. The analysis demonstrates that healing emerges not from prescriptive programs but from relational practices …

2024 American Field Ornithologist (Afo) And Western Bird Banding Association (Wbba) Joint Annual Meeting Scientific Abstracts, Walter H. Sakai

North American Bird Bander

No abstract provided.

The Taxonomy And Origins Of Folia: A Brief Review, Donald G. Davis, Louise D. Hose, Harvey R. Duchene

International Journal of Speleology

All folia demonstrate a few common elements: folia (singular, folium) are planar or sub-planar speleothems, slanting downward and away from cave walls and ceilings, and genetically associated with fluctuating environmental interfaces. They were first identified and named from examples in western USA hypogenic caves but have since been identified elsewhere in the world. Folia shelves are typically composed of calcite and interweave smoothly along sub-horizontal contours. Calcite accretion, both chemical and mechanical from suspended particles, follows water-surface fluctuations to form protrusions in arrays along walls and ceilings where new accretion tends to follow the water-surface downward during descending phases, gradually …

India’S Policy Shift Towards Afghanistan Under De Facto Taliban Government, Neha Manhas, Sitakanta Mishra

Journal of Strategic Security

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is no longer at the forefront of the global agenda, though after four years of its rule, the Islamic Emirate strives for global legitimacy. India, one of the major partners in the reconstruction of Afghanistan since 2001, has drastically minimized its role, and no major attempt was made to deal with the Taliban until the withdrawal of US/NATO forces in 2021. Similarly, the Taliban regime in turn has not made any breakthrough with India in its diplomatic pursuits. However, sporadic meetings between the Indian and Taliban government officials have taken place, leading to speculation …

Threat Perception In Taiwan: Trend And Implications, Christina Chen

Journal of Strategic Security

The rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait, driven by China’s growing aggression, have prompted Taiwan to explore ways to bolster its defense and deterrence capabilities. Given that successful deterrence requires the involvement of both military and civilian sectors, the Taiwanese public’s threat perception—specifically, how they view China as a security threat—becomes crucial. This article examines changes in Taiwan’s public threat perception of China. It finds that while Taiwan’s public threat perception has increased since the late 2010s, this shift is more nuanced. External events likely contributed to an overall rise in threat perception, but Chinese coercive actions were associated with …

Ai-Enabled Terrorism: A Strategic Analysis Of Emerging Threats And Countermeasures In Global Security, Shai Farber

Journal of Strategic Security

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming terrorist methods and counter-terrorism strategies, with far-reaching effects on global security. This paper examines how terrorists use AI for new attack tactics, propaganda, and coordination, while also evaluating the ethical, legal, and strategic challenges AI introduces into counter-terrorism. Through a systematic literature review and qualitative analysis, the study identifies key trends in AI's impact on security dynamics, highlighting its role in blurring the lines between peace and conflict. An analytical framework is proposed to navigate the complex landscape of AI-driven asymmetric warfare, providing practical insights for policymakers and researchers. The study …

Full Issue 19.1

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Where Are The Criminologists?: The Persistent Absence Of The Field In Genocide Research, Grace Allbaugh, Susan A. Woollen, Jacqueline L. Schneider, Joanne Savage

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The rallying cry of “Never Again” was heard worldwide after the Nazis’ annihilation of Jews and other victims were discovered after WWII. The global community promised that the crime of genocide would be prevented and signatory parties of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (December 9, 1948) would do everything in their power to prevent another Holocaust from occurring. Unfortunately the “crime of all crimes” remains an almost permanent fixture in international news while signatory parties remain reluctant to call the ongoing conditions genocide. The field of genocide studies is built upon an interdisciplinary field …

Reviews: Conservation Of Marine Birds (Young, L. & Vanderwerf, E.); Science, Secrecy And The Smithsonian: The Strange History Of The Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program (Regis, E.); New(Ish) And Noteworthy: Seabirds Count: A Census Of Breeding Seabirds In Britain And Ireland (Burnell, D., Perkins, A.J., Newton, S.F., Bolton, M., Tierney, T.D., Dunn, T.E.); Sea Change: An Atlas Of Islands In A Rising Ocean (Gerhardt, C.); Bird Day: A Story Of 24 Hours And 24 Avian Lives (Hauber, M.E.); Journeys With Emperors: Tracking The World’S Most Extreme Penguin (Kooyman, G.L. & Mastro, J.), Mark J. Rauzon, Eric Wagner

Marine Ornithology

No abstract provided.

Rapid Increase In Size Of Wedge-Tailed Shearwater Ardenna Pacifica Colony Following Rat Eradication, Danielle Z. Keys, Robert W. Bullock, Clare Keating, Pierre A. Pistorius

Marine Ornithology

Invasive mammalian predators have devastating effects on seabird nesting colonies. A census was conducted on breeding Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna pacifica in 2016 and 2021 on D’Arros Island, Seychelles, which has been rat-free since 2003. Results were compared with an earlier population estimate to assess population growth following the rat eradication. Compared to counts in 2009, we estimated a 10-fold increase in breeding population size, with 2768 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2424–3112) and 2406 (95% CI 2143–2667) breeding pairs in 2016 and 2021, respectively. While the estimated increase is partly attributable to differences in the timing of the conducted census between …

Oiling Threats To Marine Birds On Southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, Douglas F. Bertram, Patrick D. O’Hara, Alexandra M. King, Clifford L.K. Robinson, Mark Maftei, Kerry J. Woo

Marine Ornithology

Information on the distribution and abundance of marine birds is needed to evaluate current status in relation to threats from potential increases in vessel traffic off southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC), Canada, in the Salish Sea. We conducted year-round boat based surveys in waters between Sidney, BC and Victoria, BC from November 2015 to August 2019 and examined seasonal variation in bird distribution and abundance. Our study area included parts of the Sidney Channel Important Bird Area, the Shoal Harbour and Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuaries, and the Chain Islets Ecological Reserve, adjacent to major shipping lanes, as well …

Lesser Noddy Anous Tenuirostris Migration From A Non-Breeding Area In The Northern Maldives To A Breeding Site In The Seychelles, A. Farhath Ali, Richard A. Phillips, R. Charles Anderson

Marine Ornithology

The Lesser Noddy Anous tenuirostris occurs in large numbers in the northern Maldives during the northeast monsoon season (December to April). These birds do not breed in the Maldives, but their breeding site(s) are unknown. We attached GPS Argos satellite transmitters to seven Lesser Noddies roosting on Gallandhoo Island (Haa Alifu Atoll, northern Maldives) on 25 March 2022. Only one transmitter provided data, but it tracked the migration of one Lesser Noddy to the Seychelles, where the bird first roosted on the island of Poivre before moving to the large nesting colony on Cousine. The tracked bird departed the Maldives …

Nesting Distribution Of Masked Booby Sula Dactylatra At Trindade Island, Western South Atlantic Ocean, Victória R.F. Benemann, Leonardo D. Araújo, Arthur Z. Fabbris, Rosalinda C. Montone, Maria V. Petry

Marine Ornithology

The Masked Booby Sula dactylatra is a surface-nesting seabird that breeds on offshore islands across the tropical and subtropical oceans. On inaccessible rocky areas on Trindade Island, located about 1200 km from Espírito Santo, Brazil, the nesting of this species has been poorly studied. To model the species’ nesting habitat suitability at Trindade Island, we mapped active nests during the breeding seasons of 2017 and 2019, from October to November, using a hand-held Global Positioning System receiver and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. In order to identify key areas, we created nesting habitat suitability maps using seven different algorithms (Random Forest, …

Studies Of The Time Budget And Daily Activity Of Common Eider Somateria Mollissima During Incubation, Grigori M. Tertitski, Evgeny V. Semashko, Alexander E. Cherenkov, Vladimir Y. Semashko

Marine Ornithology

In the Common Eider Somateria mollissima, only females incubate the clutch over a period of 25–28 days. Determining their schedule of nest absence, how long they are away, how often, and where they go can be problematic. They must also avoid nest predation while tending to their own needs. We used geolocators to investigate the behavior of incubating females on forested islands in Dolgaya Guba Bay (65°03′N, 035°47′E), White Sea, Russia. Data were obtained for 12 females: three in 2015 and 2016, four in 2017, and two in 2018. During the entire incubation period, females left their nests for the …

Nightly Colony Attendance Patterns Of Provisioning Cassin's Auklet Ptychoramphus Aleuticus Are Consistent And Synchronous, Laura Mcfarlane Tranquilla, John L. Ryder, Louise K. Blight, Patrick D. O’Hara, Douglas F. Bertram

Marine Ornithology

We conducted a multi-year (1999–2001) radio telemetry study to determine patterns of colony attendance among breeding Cassin’s Auklets Ptychoramphus aleuticus during the chick-rearing period on Triangle Island in British Columbia, Canada. A total of 1 625 detections were obtained for 80 individual birds (24–28 birds per year), each detected 20.3 times on average. We found that colony attendance (arrival times, departure times, in-burrow shift duration) and foraging trip duration (i.e., time away from the colony) were remarkably synchronous among individuals and years. On average, birds arrived in a pulse after darkness, with 67% of returns between 23h15 and 00h15 and …

First U.S. Atlantic Record Of Nazca Booby Sula Granti, With Implications For Vagrancy By Pacific Seabirds Into The Gulf Of Mexico, Kate E. Sutherland, Nicholas J. Metheny, J. Christopher Haney

Marine Ornithology

An adult Nazca Booby Sula granti was photographed in the western Gulf of Mexico on 03 August 2024 during a survey of marine birds and mammals over waters east of South Padre Island, Texas, USA (26.384ºN, 096.176ºW). This is the first report of S. granti in US waters of the Gulf of Mexico; previous eBird reports indicate occasional presence in Caribbean waters off Costa Rica (2018) and Colombia (2020). As many as 20% of all marine and waterbird species occurring in the Gulf of Mexico have core ranges in the Pacific Ocean or its continental margins. Dispersal by Pacific birds …

Nape Coloration Varies With Sex, Not Age, Among Great Shearwaters Ardenna Gravis, Ewan D. Wakefield, Anna R. Robuck, Kevin D. Powers, Robert A. Ronconi, Peter G. Ryan, David N. Wiley

Marine Ornithology

Most petrels (family Procellariidae) exhibit little or no obvious variation in plumage with age or sex, either because plumage performs no sexual function or does so in a way poorly perceptible to humans. This limits the inferences that can be made from visual observations of petrels at sea. However, it has been suggested that nape coloration of Great Shearwaters Ardenna gravis whitens with age. Here we test this supposition using observations of known-age-class individuals. We necropsied birds bycaught around Gough Island, a major breeding colony in the South Atlantic Ocean, and in Massachusetts Bay, a wintering area off the northeastern …

Modeling Breeding Habitat Preferences Of Tahiti Petrel Pseudobulweria Rostrata On Ta‘Ū, American Samoa, A. J. Titmus, C. A. Lepczyk

Marine Ornithology

Understanding the prevalence and use of breeding habitat of seabird species is important for evaluating appropriate conservation and management strategies. Seabirds are one taxonomic group for which we have relatively few species distribution studies, particularly on remote islands. To address this limitation, the goals of this study were to (1) build and use a species distribution model to identify which differences in habitat structure, physical characteristics, and environmental conditions affect Tahiti Petrel Pseudobulweria rostrata nesting presence on the island of Ta‘ū, American Samoa; and (2) evaluate how important nesting habitat characteristics can identify the fine-scale extent and location of suitable …