Effect of supplemental feeding on spatial distribution and browse utilization by white-tailed deer in semi-arid rangeland

We investigate the risk that supplemental feeding of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to improve trophy quality may degrade rangeland through overutilization of forage plants near the feeders. We divided a South Texas ranch into 6 areas (each 1100 ha). Supplemental feed was provided year-round in a centrally placed feeder in 3 areas, no supplement was provided in the 3 control areas. Radio-telemetry collars were fitted on 2 bucks and 2 does in each area. Spatial distribution of these deer was assessed using the CALHOME program. Feed supplementation did not alter home range size of does but did reduce their 50% core area. Bucks without supplemental feed showed 2 spatial strategies; sedentary bucks had home range distributions similar to supplemented bucks, while commuter bucks moved to supplemented areas during the breeding season. Browsing pressure near feeders and control sites was assessed by measuring consumption of seedlings set in arrays radiating from feeders and control points. Deer browsing was heavier near feeders than at the control sites, and the probability of a seedling being browsed increased with proximity to the feeder. We caution against long-term supplemental feeding in fixed locations because of the potential for localized range degradation around the feeders.     

Transparency: aid or obstacle to effective defence of vulnerable environments from reservoir construction? Dam decisions and democracy in North East England

Public participation in transparent decisionmaking has been proposed as a panacea for environmental protection. Bargaining theory suggests drawbacks to transparency such as hardening of attitudes and intransigence. Yet achievement of consensus on environmental values for integrated water resource management demands public involvement. Historical study of attempts to prevent reservoir construction in upland valleys designated for protection of nature suggests that 'closed-door' bargaining proved more effective for environmentalists than open, public debate. Records now open for analysis of disputes over Teesdale and Farndale, 1950–1970, allow comparisons to be made between behind-the-scenes deliberations and 'open-door' public discussion. The ambition of progressing from public participation to devolution of environmental decisionmaking and responsibility to the local scale demands more conceptualization of the process of decisionmaking on water resource development.     

Verification of the motion fields over Southeast Asia by the Florida State University (FSU) superensemble forecast

The Florida State University (FSU) multimodel superensemble forecast is evaluated against several other operational weather models for the Southeast Asia region. The superensemble technique has demonstrated its exceptional skills in forecasting precipitation, motion and mass fields compared to either individual global operational or ensemble mean forecasts. The motion field investigation for the season of 2001 reveals that the superensemble forecasts are closer to the observed data compared to the other global member operational models through its low systematic errors at the 850 hPa level. The FSU multimodel superensemble forecasts exhibit the lowest root mean square errors (RSMEs), the highest correlation against the best observed data and the lowest systematic errors compared to the other operational model members. These forecasts have the potential to provide better daily weather predictions over the Southeast Asia region, particularly during the early northeast monsoon that often causes heavy rainfall in the equatorial part of the Southeast Asia region.     

A subduction wedge origin for Paleoarchean peridotitic diamonds and harzburgites from the Panda kimberlite, Slave craton: evidence from Re–Os isotope systematics

An extensive study of peridotitic sulfide inclusion bearing diamonds and their prospective harzburgitic host rocks from the 53 Ma Panda kimberlite pipe, Ekati Mine, NWT Canada, has been undertaken with the Re–Os system to establish their age and petrogenesis. Diamonds with peridotitic sulfide inclusions have poorly aggregated nitrogen (<30% N as B centers) at N contents of 200–800 ppm which differs from that of chromite and silicate bearing diamonds and indicates residence in the cooler portion of the Slave craton lithospheric mantle. For most of the sulfide inclusions, relatively low Re contents (average 0.457 ppm) and high Os contents (average 339 ppm) lead to extremely low ¹⁸⁷Re/¹⁸⁸Os, typically << 0.05. An age of 3.52 ± 0.17 Ga (MSWD = 0.46) and a precise initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os of 0.1093 ± 0.0001 are given by a single regression of 11 inclusions from five diamonds that individually provide coincident internal isochrons. This initial Os isotopic composition is 6% enriched in ¹⁸⁷Os over 3.5 Ga chondritic or primitive mantle. Sulfide inclusions with less radiogenic initial Os isotopic compositions reflect isotopic heterogeneity in diamond forming fluids. The harzburgites have even lower initial ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os than the sulfide inclusions, some approaching the isotopic composition of 3.5 Ga chondritic mantle. In several cases isotopically distinct sulfides occur in different growth zones of the same diamond. This supports a model where C–O–H–S fluids carrying a radiogenic Os signature were introduced into depleted harzburgite and produced diamonds containing sulfides conforming to the 3.5 Ga isochron. Reaction of this fluid with harzburgite led to diamonds with less radiogenic inclusions while elevating the Os isotope ratios of some harzburgites. Subduction is a viable way of introducing such fluids. This implies a role for subduction in creating early continental nuclei at 3.5 Ga and generating peridotitic diamonds.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.