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Inland Sites (inland + site)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	80%

Selected Abstracts

Biocultural interpretations of trauma in two prehistoric Pacific Island populations from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2010
Rachel M. Scott
Abstract Two Pacific Island skeletal samples originating from the inland site of Nebira, Papua New Guinea (1230,1650) and a coastal site on the small island of Taumako, Solomon Islands (1530,1698) were examined for evidence of skeletal trauma using a biocultural approach. The types of trauma identified were cranial trauma, postcranial fractures, and piercing and sharp force trauma. Both samples exhibit trauma (Nebira, n = 9/28, 32.1%; Taumako, n = 17/133, 12.8%). Postcranial fractures are significantly higher in males from Nebira (Fisher Exact P value = 0.025). The prevalence of cranial trauma (n = 6/28, 21.4%) is significantly higher in Nebira individuals (Fisher Exact P value = 0.007). There is no conclusive evidence of piercing trauma at Nebira unlike Taumako, which has four individuals with evidence of piercing or sharp force trauma. Both samples show evidence of interpersonal violence and warfare. The results suggest the environment may have contributed to the pattern of trauma at these sites. These patterns are discussed within their cultural and environmental contexts. Am J Phys Anthropol 142:509,518, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Wading birds as bioindicators of mercury contamination in Florida, USA: Annual and geographic variation

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2002
Peter C. Frederick
Abstract Mercury contamination in wetland biota is often dynamic, difficult to predict, and costly to track. In this paper, we present results from a six-year study of growing feathers of piscivorous birds as monitors of wetland Hg exposure in Florida, USA, wetlands. Between 1994 and 2000, we collected feathers of growing great egret (Ardea alba) nestlings from colonies in the freshwater Everglades of southern Florida, and during 1998, feathers were collected from chicks of both great egrets and white ibises (Eudocimus albus) at a variety of colonies throughout peninsular Florida. Coastal colonies showed significantly lower feather Hg concentrations than did inland sites. Within the Everglades, we found significant effects of both geographic location and year on age-adjusted mean total Hg concentrations in feathers. Over the course of our study, Everglades colonies maintained their Hg concentration rankings relative to one another, but all showed strongly declining Hg concentrations (mean of 73% averaged across colonies, between 1994 and 2000). Using a previously established predictive relationship between Hg consumption in food and feather Hg for great egrets, we estimated that Hg concentrations in the aggregate diet of egrets have been reduced by an average of 67%. We conclude that the Everglades has undergone a biologically significant decline in Hg availability in the wetland food web, possibly because of decreased local inputs. [source]

Grassland-breeding waders: identifying key habitat requirements for management

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
JENNIFER SMART
Summary 1Habitat loss and degradation of wetland ecosystems, principally through large-scale drainage and conversion to arable farmland, have been implicated in the widespread, dramatic declines of breeding waders across Europe. Managing the remaining wetlands to reverse these declines will require a detailed understanding of their habitat requirements. 2In the UK, grazing marshes are key components of the remaining wetlands in both coastal and inland sites, and the structure of grazing marsh habitat can differ between these locations. Redshank Tringa totanus is a declining wader species that breeds in both marsh types. We quantified the habitat features that influence redshank selection of breeding and nest site locations, across coastal and inland marshes, in eastern England. 3On both marsh types, breeding location and breeding densities within fields were positively related to the lengths of pool edge and all wet features, respectively. Nest site location was principally influenced by vegetation characteristics, with soil penetrability also important on inland sites but proximity to wet features and vegetation type at the nest important on coastal sites. Hatching probability was higher when the surrounding soils were more penetrable. 4Synthesis and applications. The wet features of critical importance for breeding redshank are common on coastal marshes and can be deliberately established on inland sites. Coastal marshes are often rare and frequently threatened by dynamic coastal processes, whereas inland marshes are more abundant but largely unsuitable for breeding waders at present. These analyses highlight the scope for improving the management of inland marshes for breeding redshank. As habitat suitable for breeding redshank frequently supports a range of other wader species, this information can also direct management efforts to improve breeding wader populations in the wider countryside. [source]

York and its Region in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries AD: An Archaeological Study

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2001
John Naylor
The archaeological study of the early medieval economy, and especially the emporia, has traditionally focused on aspects of long-distance exchange. The paper highlights the need for a more regional focus, by assessing the role and impact of the emporia on the surrounding areas, using York and its region as the basis for the study. Coinage, pottery, and stone artefacts are examined through their regional distributions, and implications for trade and exchange (long-distance, regional and local) discussed. The concluding discussion suggests that York, whilst probably the main centre for long-distance trade, may have been only one of a number of trading centres, and that during the later eighth and ninth centuries, regional exchange may have become increasingly important with the rise of potential markets at a number of inland sites. [source]

Linkages between household wealth, bushmeat and other animal protein consumption are not invariant: evidence from Rio Muni, Equatorial Guinea

ANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 6 2009
J. E. Fa
Abstract Bushmeat consumption is affected by household wealth. However, how household wealth impacts bushmeat eaten in different environmental and social settings (i.e. whether urban, rural, coastal or forest) is poorly understood. In this study, we sampled households in six contrasting localities in Rio Muni, Equatorial Guinea, in coastal (Bata, Cogo), central (Niefang, Evinayong) and eastern parts of the territory (Ebebiyin, Nsork). On average, 32.3 g of bushmeat per adult male equivalent per day were consumed, though this varied widely between sites and most households ate no bushmeat on the survey day. Fish was the most frequently recorded source of protein and in a coastal site, Cogo, significantly more fish was consumed than in the other localities. Overall, average protein consumption was correlated with household wealth, but the strength of this effect varied among sites. At the site where average wealth was highest (Bata, the most urban site), bushmeat was more expensive, and wealthier households ate more of it. Elsewhere bushmeat consumption was not associated with wealth, and the cost of bushmeat was a higher proportion of household wealth. In Bata, wealthier households reported consumption of more than one meat type (most frequently bushmeat and either domestic meat or fish), and diversity of dietary items also increased with wealth. In all sites, wealthier households ate less fish. We demonstrate distinct differences in relationships between urban versus rural areas, and between coastal versus inland sites. We therefore caution that general patterns of wealth,wild meat consumption must be evaluated taking account the circumstances of wild meat consumers. [source]