New England (new + england)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Kinds of New England

  • northern new england


  • Selected Abstracts


    Random controls on semi-rhythmic spacing of pools and riffles in constriction-dominated rivers

    EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 11 2001
    Douglas M. Thompson
    Abstract Average pool spacing between five and seven bankfull widths has been documented in environments throughout the world, but has limited theoretical justification in coarse-bedded and bedrock environments. Pool formation in coarse-bedded and bedrock channels has been attributed to bedrock and boulder constrictions. Because the spacing of these constrictions may be irregular in nature, it is difficult to reconcile pool-formation processes with the supposedly rhythmic spacing of pools and riffles. To address these issues, a simulation model for pool and riffle formation is used to demonstrate that semi-rhythmic spacing of pools with an approximate spacing of five to seven bankfull widths can be recreated from a random distribution of obstructions and minimum pool- and riffle-length criteria. It is assumed that a pool,riffle couplet will achieve a minimum length based on dominant-discharge conditions. Values for the minimum-length assumption are based on field data collected in New England and California, while the theoretical basis relies on the demonstrated hydraulic response of individual pools to elongation. Results from the simulations show that the location of pools can be primarily random in character, but still assume an average spacing between four and eight bankfull widths for a variety of conditions. Field verification data generally support the model but highlight a highly skewed distribution of pool-forming elements and pool spacing. The relation between pool spacing and bankfull widths is attributed to the common geometric response of these features to dominant-discharge conditions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Field evidence of trait-mediated indirect interactions in a rocky intertidal food web

    ECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 2 2002
    Geoffrey C. Trussell
    Studies on the implications of food web interactions to community structure have often focused on density-mediated interactions between predators and their prey. This approach emphasizes the importance of predator regulation of prey density via consumption (i.e. lethal effects), which, in turn, leads to cascading effects on the prey's resources. A more recent and contrasting view emphasizes the importance of non-lethal predator effects on prey traits (e.g. behaviour, morphology), or trait-mediated interactions. On rocky intertidal shores in New England, green crab (Carcinus maenas) predation is thought to be important to patterns of algal abundance and diversity by regulating the density of herbivorous snails (Littorina littorea). We found, however, that risk cues from green crabs can dramatically suppress snail grazing, with large effects on fucoid algal communities. Our results suggest that predator-induced changes in prey behaviour may be an important and under-appreciated component of food web interactions and community dynamics on rocky intertidal shores. [source]


    Complexity and the Culture of Curriculum

    EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, Issue 1 2008
    William E. Doll
    Abstract This paper has two main foci: (1) the history of curriculum design, and (2) implications from the new sciences of chaos and complexity for the development of new forms of curriculum design and teaching implementation. Regarding the first focus, the paper posits that there exist,to use Wittgenstein's phrase,,family resemblances' between Peter Ramus' 16th century curriculum design and that of Ralph Tyler in the 20th century. While this 400-year linkage is by no means linear, there are overlapping strands from Ramus to Comenius to the Puritans to colonial New England to Horace Mann to Ralph Tyler. What unites these strands, all belonging to the Protestant Methodization movement that swept across northern Europe into colonial America and the USA, is the concept of Method. Taylor's ,time and motion' studies set the stage for Tyler's Basic Principles of curriculum design,those starting with set goals and concluding with measured assessment. The second focus draws on the new sciences of chaos and complexity to develop a different sense of curriculum and instruction,open, dynamic, relational, creative, and systems oriented. The paper concludes with an integration of the rational/scientific with the aesthetic/spiritual into a view of education and curriculum informed by complexity. [source]


    Optimal production cost of the power producers with linear ramp model using FDR PSO algorithm

    EUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER, Issue 2 2010
    M. Anitha
    Abstract In practice, the power producers have to be rescheduled for power generation beyond their power limits to meet vulnerable situations like credible contingency and increase in load conditions. During this process, the ramping cost is incurred if they violate their permissible elastic limits. In this paper, optimal production costs of the power producers are computed with ramping cost considering stepwise and piecewise linear ramp rate limits using fitness distance ratio particle swarm optimization (FDR PSO) algorithm. Transient stability constraints are also considered while formulating the optimal power flow (OPF) problem as additional rotor angle inequality constraints. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated on a practical 39 bus New England and 62 bus Indian Utility system with different case studies. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Anomalous seaward dip of the lithosphere,asthenosphere boundary beneath northeastern USA detected using differential-array measurements of Rayleigh waves

    GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2002
    William Menke
    Summary Rayleigh wave phase velocities and azimuth anomalies in the period range of 30,100 s are measured for a set of four triangular arrays of broad-band seismometers in coastal northeastern USA. This is a region in which a strong upper mantle slow shear velocity anomaly (a ,New England Anomaly'), crosses the continental margin. Earthquakes from a wide range of directions are used to detect the variation of parameters with azimuth, ,, of propagation. No lateral heterogeneity in phase velocity is detected at these periods between stations at the centre and the edge of the Anomaly. However, large (10,20; per cent) azimuthal variations occur, and have a cos(1,) dependence, which is indicative of a dipping structure in the upper mantle. Corresponding azimuth variations, with a magnitude of ±5°, are also detected. This behaviour is consistent with a southeasterly (N150°E) dip of the lithosphere,asthenosphere boundary beneath New England. This dip is associated with the shoaling of the New England Anomaly beneath the Adirondack mountains, west of the array. It is opposite to the dip associated with lithospheric thickening toward the interior of the craton. [source]


    Historical changes in lake ice-out dates as indicators of climate change in New England, 1850,2000,

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 15 2002
    Glenn A. Hodgkins
    Abstract Various studies have shown that changes over time in spring ice-out dates can be used as indicators of climate change. Ice-out dates from 29 lakes in New England (USA) with 64 to 163 years of record were assembled and analysed for this study. Ice-out dates have become significantly earlier in New England since the 1800s. Changes in ice-out dates between 1850 and 2000 were 9 days and 16 days in the northern/mountainous and southern regions of New England respectively. The changes in the ice-out data over time were very consistent within each of the two regions of New England, and more consistent than four air-temperature records in each region. The ice-out dates of the two regions had a different response to changes in air temperature. The inferred late winter,early spring air-temperature warming in both regions of New England since 1850, based on linear regression analysis, was about 1.5°C. Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Identifying the Activities Affected by Chronic Nonmalignant Pain in Older Veterans Receiving Primary Care

    JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 4 2005
    Bao D. Duong MD
    Objectives: To identify the specific types of activities affected by chronic pain in older persons and the extent to which older individuals modify, perform less frequently, or terminate activities because of pain. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Primary care practice at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New England. Participants: Two hundred forty-four patients (aged 65,90) with chronic nonmalignant pain. Measurements: Open-ended questions were used to identify the activities affected by pain; participants' responses were subsequently organized into distinct categories (e.g., climbing stairs under higher-order physical activities and going out to dinner under social/recreational activities). Participants were also asked to indicate whether they had modified, performed less frequently, or terminated these activities because of pain. Results: Participants had a mean age±standard deviation of 75.4±5.2, were mostly male (84%), and had an average pain intensity score of 6.2±1.9 on a 0- to 10-scale. Two hundred three participants (83%) reported that pain affected one or more higher-order physical activities, and the corresponding percentages for the categories of social/recreational activities, instrumental activities of daily living, and basic activities of daily living were 74%, 57%, and 3%, respectively. The proportions of participants who modified, performed less frequently, or terminated one or more activities because of pain were 71%, 69%, and 22%, respectively. Conclusion: Assessing the effects of chronic pain across multiple functional domains is indicated in older primary care patients, particularly higher-order physical and social/recreational activities. Inquiring about whether the activities are modified, reduced, or terminated may also help to expand understanding of pain-related disability in older persons. [source]


    Inferring long-distance dispersal and topographic barriers during post-glacial colonization from the genetic structure of red maple (Acer rubrum L.) in New England

    JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 9 2008
    Paul F. Gugger
    Abstract Aim, This study aims to assess the role of long-distance seed dispersal and topographic barriers in the post-glacial colonization of red maple (Acer rubrum L.) using chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variation, and to understand whether this explains the relatively higher northern diversity found in eastern North American tree species compared with that in Europe. Location, North-eastern United States. Methods, The distribution of intraspecific cpDNA variation in temperate tree populations has been used to identify aspects of post-glacial population spread, including topographic barriers to population expansion and spread by long-distance seed dispersal. We sequenced c. 370 cpDNA base pairs from 221 individuals in 100 populations throughout the north-eastern United States, and analysed spatial patterns of diversity and differentiation. Results, Red maple has high genetic diversity near its northern range limit, but this diversity is not partitioned by topographic barriers, suggesting that the northern Appalachian Mountains were not a barrier to the colonization of red maple. We also found no evidence of the patchy genetic structure that has been associated with spread by rare long-distance seed dispersal in previous studies. Main conclusions, Constraints on post-glacial colonization in eastern North America seem to have been less stringent than those in northern Europe, where bottlenecks arising from long-distance colonization and topographic barriers appear to have strongly reduced genetic diversity. In eastern North America, high northern genetic diversity may have been maintained by a combination of frequent long-distance dispersal, minor topographic obstacles and diffuse northern refugia near the ice sheet. [source]


    Insights from historical geography to ecology and conservation: lessons from the New England landscape

    JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 10-11 2002
    David R. Foster
    First page of article [source]


    The forests of presettlement New England, USA: spatial and compositional patterns based on town proprietor surveys

    JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 10-11 2002
    Charles V. Cogbill
    Abstract Aim, This study uses the combination of presettlement tree surveys and spatial analysis to produce an empirical reconstruction of tree species abundance and vegetation units at different scales in the original landscape. Location, The New England study area extends across eight physiographic sections, from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The data are drawn from 389 original towns in what are now seven states in the north-eastern United States. These towns have early land division records which document the witness trees growing in the town before European settlement (c. seventeenth to eighteenth century ad). Methods, Records of witness trees from presettlement surveys were collated from towns throughout the study area (1.3 × 105 km2). Tree abundance was averaged over town-wide samples of multiple forest types, integrating proportions of taxa at a local scale (102 km2). These data were summarized into genus groups over the sample towns, which were then mapped [geographical information system (GIS)], classified (Cluster Analysis) and ordinated [detrended correspondence analysis (DCA)]. Modern climatic and topographic variables were also derived from GIS analyses for each town and all town attributes were quantitatively compared. Distributions of both individual species and vegetation units were analysed and displayed for spatial analysis of vegetation structure. Results, The tally of 153,932 individual tree citations show a dominant latitudinal trend in the vegetation. Spatial patterns are concisely displayed as pie charts of genus composition arrayed on sampled towns. Detailed interpolated frequency surfaces show spatial patterns of range and abundance of the dominant taxa. Oak, spruce, hickory and chestnut reach distinctive range limits within the study area. Eight vegetation clusters are distinguished. The northern vegetation is a continuous geographical sequence typified by beech while the southern vegetation is an amorphous group typified by oak. Main conclusions, The wealth of information recorded in the New England town presettlement surveys is an ideal data base to elucidate the natural patterns of vegetation over an extensive spatial area. The timing, town-wide scale, expansive coverage, quantitative enumeration and unbiased estimates are critical advantages of proprietor lotting surveys in determining original tree distributions. This historical,geographical approach produces a vivid reconstruction of the natural vegetation and species distributions as portrayed on maps. The spatial, vegetational and environmental patterns all demonstrate a distinct ,tension zone' separating ,northern hardwood' and ,central hardwood' towns. The presettlement northern hardwood forests, absolutely dominated by beech, forms a continuum responding to a complex climatic gradient of altitude and latitude. The oak forests to the south are distinguished by non-zonal units, probably affected by fire. Although at the continental scale, the forests seem to be a broad transition, at a finer scale they respond to topography such as the major valleys or the northern mountains. This study resets some preconceptions about the original forest, such as the overestimation of the role of pine, hemlock and chestnut and the underestimation of the distinctiveness of the tension zone. Most importantly, the forests of the past and their empirical description provide a basis for many ecological, educational and management applications today. [source]


    Vegetation and disturbance history of a rare dwarf pitch pine community in western New England, USA

    JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 10-11 2002
    Glenn Motzkin
    Abstract Aim, This study documents the vegetation history and age-structure of a rare, ridgetop dwarf pine,oak community and compares the dynamics of this unusual vegetation with similar dwarf pine communities found elsewhere in the north-eastern United States (US). Location, The study area is located on the summit of Mt Everett in the Taconic Mountains of south-western Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA (42°06,N 73°26,W). Methods, Vegetation composition, tree age-structure, physical site characteristics, and evidence of fire and other disturbances were determined for twelve 15 × 15 m plots in dwarf pine,oak vegetation and two plots in oak forests on the summit. Age-structure analyses, tree-ring patterns, and historical records of human and natural disturbance were used to investigate the long-term history and dynamics of the summit vegetation. Results, The summit of Mt Everett has been dominated by dwarf pines (1,3 m tall) and ericaceous shrubs similar to the modern vegetation throughout the historical period; there is no evidence that tall-stature forests occurred on the site at any point in the past few centuries. The summit supports uneven-aged stands; pitch pine (Pinus rigida) recruitment began in the 1830s and occurred in every decade since the 1860s. Average pitch pine age is seventy-eight with a range of 12,170 years. Red oak (Quercus rubra) and red maple (Acer rubrum) increased in importance in the twentieth century, with most stems establishing from 1940 to 1980. Pitch pine radial growth rates averaged <0.5 mm year,1 while red oak and red maple averaged 1.0 and 0.8 mm year,1, respectively. In some areas, hardwoods have overtopped pitch pines, apparently resulting in pitch pine mortality. Whereas most dwarf pitch pine communities occur on sites that burn frequently and have a high degree of cone serotiny, we found no evidence of recent fires or cone serotiny. Small amounts of macroscopic charcoal that we documented may have resulted from fires in the pre-European or early historical periods. Conclusions, Harsh edaphic conditions and chronic low-level disturbances on the summit, including frequent winter storms, have apparently contributed to the establishment, long-term persistence, and slow radial growth of dwarf pitch pines on Mt Everett. The ability of dwarf pines to persist on a site in the absence of frequent fire is highly unusual among North-eastern barrens and has not been well-incorporated into previous conceptual ecological models of these communities. Our results suggest that even among North-eastern barrens, the summit of Mt Everett is characterized by highly unusual vegetation and dynamics. The site has long been recognized as regionally significant and should be afforded the strictest conservation protection. With no evident history of human disturbance or recent fire, there is no apparent need for immediate active management of the site. [source]


    Mechanisms of exclusion of native coastal marsh plants by an invasive grass

    JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2006
    TODD E. MINCHINTON
    Summary 1Determining the mechanisms by which invasive species exclude natives is critical for conserving and restoring native populations in impacted habitats. In recent decades the grass Phragmites australis has been aggressively invading coastal marshes of North America, with monocultures often replacing diverse assemblages of plants. 2Our objective was to quantify how P. australis modifies the abiotic (soil and light conditions) and biotic (litter and shoots) environment and to determine the mechanisms by which it excludes two common forbs, the annual chenopod Atriplex patula var. hastata and the perennial aster Solidago sempervirens, from the highest tidal elevations of a brackish marsh in southern New England, USA. 3In a 3-year field experiment we added seeds of both forb species to stands of P. australis, where we manipulated shoots and litter in an orthogonal design, and to uninvaded marsh areas dominated by the rush Juncus gerardi, where we manipulated the shoots of the marsh vegetation. In general, seedling establishment and the number of plants surviving until the end of the growing season were substantially greater in areas not invaded by P. australis, and both shoots and litter limited the abundance of forbs within stands. 4Forbs surviving within stands of P. australis grew larger and produced more seeds than those in uninvaded areas, indicating that changes to the soil resulting from invasion do not preclude the survival of established forbs. This was confirmed by a glasshouse study where the performance of forbs in soil collected from within stands of P. australis was better than in soil from areas dominated by J. gerardi. 5Similar to many invasive grasses in terrestrial communities, P. australis excludes native forbs through competition, modifying the biotic environment of the marsh at both the ground (litter) and above-ground (shoots) levels. Our results suggest that successful invaders, such as P. australis, are likely to be the ones that can engineer habitats in multiple ways and limit populations of native species across several critical stages of their life history. [source]


    Persistence of coastal spruce refugia during the Holocene in northern New England, USA, detected by stand-scale pollen stratigraphies

    JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2002
    Molly Schauffler
    Summary 1 Pollen data from wet, forested hollows in five spruce (Picea) stands on the eastern coast of Maine, USA, reveal that spruce has been well-established (spruce pollen > 6%) for at least 5000 years at four of the sites (Isle au Haut, Schoodic Peninsula, and Roque Island). Spruce became dominant in the fifth stand (Blackwoods, Mount Desert Island) only in the last 2000 years. This is in contrast to pollen stratigraphies from two inland forest hollows and from inland lakes that indicate a significant region-wide increase in the abundance of spruce only 1000 years ago. 2 All five coastal pollen stratigraphies suggest that conditions along the east coast of Maine became cooler and moister sometime between 6000 and 5000 years ago. Mid-Holocene changes in vegetation and sediment accumulation correspond with the timing of rapid increases in tidal amplitude and diurnal mixing of cold water in the Gulf of Maine, suggestive that these resulted in increased marine effects on the local climate at a time that was generally warmer than present. 3 Two inland forest-hollow stratigraphies do not show evidence of mid-Holocene cooling. Coastal effects therefore persisted for several thousand years despite regional climate changes. 4 The pollen data suggest that refugia along the coast (and probably in isolated sites inland), may have played a critical role in allowing the rapid regional expansion of spruce around 1000 years ago. The steep increases in the abundance of spruce pollen in all forest-hollow and lake pollen stratigraphies in northern New England at that time corroborate other evidence of a region-wide shift to cooler and moister conditions. 5 Pollen stratigraphies from small forested hollows provide a means to examine local vegetation dynamics and interpret those dynamics in the context of regional signals. [source]


    Severely reduced sexual reproduction in northern populations of a clonal plant, Decodonverticillatus (Lythraceae)

    JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2001
    Marcel E. Dorken
    Summary 1,In flowering plants the balance between sexual and clonal, asexual reproduction can vary widely. We quantified variation in sexual reproduction in a tristylous, clonal, aquatic plant, Decodon verticillatus, and investigated the role of ecological and genetic factors in causing this variation. 2,We surveyed components of sexual fertility and vegetative growth in 28 populations distributed along a 500-km latitudinal transect in New England, USA. Northerly populations tend to be monomorphic (M) for style length, and probably therefore have reduced sexual reproduction compared with southerly, trimorphic (T) populations. 3,Compared with T populations (n = 10), M populations (n = 18) exhibited large reductions for all components of sexual reproduction, including flower production, pollen deposition, pollen tube growth, fertilization, fruit set and seeds per fruit. Seven M populations produced no seed at all, and the other 11 very little (mean = 24 vs. 1139 seeds per plant in trimorphic populations). Clonal propagation was also greatly reduced in M populations. 4,A survey of three polymorphic allozyme loci detected only single, usually heterozygous, genotypes in 15 M populations, whereas all T populations were genotypically diverse. The other three M populations contained three or fewer genotypes and one always predominated. Sexual recruitment is therefore extremely rare. 5,Comparison of the sexual fertility of M and T populations in a concurrent common glasshouse experiment with our field data revealed that reduced sexual performance in northern M populations is principally due to genetic factors, but is also caused by ecological factors that covary with latitude. 6,This abrupt shift away from sexual reproduction in populations at the northern periphery of the geographical range in D. verticillatus may greatly limit their evolutionary potential and restrict further northward expansion. [source]


    Forest change and stream fish habitat: lessons from ,Olde' and New England

    JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 2005
    K. H. Nislow
    The North Atlantic region has a long history of land use change that has influenced and will continue to influence stream ecosystems and fisheries production. This paper explores and compares the potential consequences of changes in forest cover for fish production in upland, coldwater stream environments in New England, U.S.A. and the British Isles, two regions which share important similarities with respect to overall physical, biotic and socio-economic setting. Both regions were extensively deforested and essentially no extensive old-growth forest stands remain. In New England, recovering forests, consisting almost entirely of naturally-regenerated native species, now cover >60% of the landscape. Associated with this large-scale reforestation, open landscapes, common in the 19th and first half the 20th century, are currently rare and declining in this region. In the British Isles, forests still cover <20% of the landscape, and existing forests largely consist of exotic conifer plantations stocked at high stand densities and harvested at frequent rotations. While forest restoration and conservation is frequently recommended as a fisheries habitat conservation and restoration tool, consideration of the way in which forests affect essential aspects of fish habitat suggests that response of upland stream fish to landscape change is inherently complex. Under certain environmental settings and reforestation practices, conversion of open landscapes to young-mature forests can negatively impact fish production. Further, the effects of re-establishing old-growth forests are difficult to predict for the two regions (due to the current absence of such landscapes), and are likely to depend strongly on the extent to which critical ecosystem attributes (large-scale disturbances, fish migrations, keystone species, large woody debris recruitment) are allowed to be re-established. Understanding these context-dependencies is critical for predicting fish responses, and should help managers set realistic conservation, management and restoration goals. Management may best be served by promoting a diversity of land cover types in a way that emulates natural landscape and disturbance dynamics. This goal presents very different challenges in New England and the British Isles due to differences in current and predicted land use trajectories, along with differences in ecological context and public perception. [source]


    Monazite geochronology in central New England: evidence for a fundamental terrane boundary

    JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 3 2008
    F. S. SPEAR
    Abstract Monazite crystallization ages have been measured in situ using SIMS and EMP analysis of samples from the Bronson Hill anticlinorium in central New England. In west-central New Hampshire, each major tectonic unit (nappe) displays a distinctive P,T path and metamorphic history that requires significant post-metamorphic faulting to place them in their current juxtaposition, and monazite ages were determined to constrain the timing of metamorphism and nappe assembly. Monazite ages from the low-pressure, high-temperature Fall Mountain nappe range from c. 455 to 355 Ma, and Y zoning indicates that these ages comprise three to four distinct age domains, similar to that found in the overlying Chesham Pond nappe. The underlying Skitchewaug nappe contains monazite ages that range from c. 417 to 307 Ma. 40Ar/39Ar ages indicate rapid cooling of the Chesham Pond and Fall Mountain nappes after 350 Ma, which is believed to represent the time of emplacement of the high-level Chesham Pond and Fall Mountain nappes onto rocks of the underlying Skitchewaug nappe. Garnet zone rocks from western New Hampshire contain monazite that display a range of ages (c. 430,340 Ma). Both the metamorphic style and monazite ages suggest that the low-grade belt in western New Hampshire is continuous with the Vermont sequence to the west. Rocks of the Big Staurolite nappe in western New Hampshire contain monazite that crystallized between c. 370 and 290 Ma and the same unit along strike in northern New Hampshire and central Connecticut records ages of c. 257,300 Ma. Conspicuously absent from this nappe are the older age populations that are found in both the overlying nappes and underlying garnet zone rocks. These monazite ages confirm that the metamorphism observed in the Big Staurolite nappe occurred significantly later than that in the units structurally above and below. These data support the hypothesis that the Big Staurolite nappe represents a major tectonic boundary, along which rocks of the New Hampshire metamorphic series were juxtaposed against rocks of the Vermont series during the Alleghanian. [source]


    54 Benthic marine algal herbarium of long island sound digital collection

    JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2003
    S. Cudiner
    The University of Connecticut presents the "Benthic Marine Algal Herbarium of Long Island Sound Digital Collection." The collection is available on the web for teaching and identification purposes. Phase One of this project will be finished later by early next year. Currently, the collection has approximately 60% of all Long Island Sound macroalgae species. The taxonomy is part of a collaboration between the University of Connecticut and the Northeast Algal Society (NEAS). Thus far, the specimens have come from Dr. Charles Yarish's herbarium and from the Environmental Laboratory at Millstone Power Station on Long Island Sound. The botanical illustrations are from "Illustrated Key to the Seaweeds of New England" by Martine Villalard-Bohnsack. Database features include the ability to create searches and generate sets based on subjects, division, class, order, family, genus, habitat, species, keyword, and location. Data retrieved includes JPG image, cataloged data, map regions, synonyms, and illustrated microscopic, cross section and surface view for some species. The web site is available for use at: http://www.algae.uconn.edu [source]


    94 An obligate(?) heterokont biflagellate parasite in codium fragile

    JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2003
    T. F. Lee
    Specimens of Codium fragile (Suringar) Hariot ssp. tomentosoides were collected from 9 sites in New England, and Long Island, New York at intervals throughout the years 1999-2003. Segments were removed from the thalli and chopped into fine fragments, mostly individual utricles and medullary filaments. Fragments were incubated in enriched seawater in dim light at 15C, 12:12 LD. Within 2,3 days, in almost all cases (more than 300) motile cells formed in many of the utricles and filaments. These were 10,15 micrometer elongated biflagellate heterokont cells. They appeared to consume the chloroplasts, and within 24 hours were reduced to colorless cells, about 5 micrometers long. These cells are unable to grow in Codium chloroplast suspensions. They appear to be always associated with Codium thalli, despite attempts to clean the thalli, and were never seen in utricles or filaments of intact plants. Their ultrastructure is under investigation and will be reported on here. [source]


    Theological Innovation from Spiritual Experience: Henry Alline's Anti-Calvinism in Late Eighteenth-Century Nova Scotia and New England,

    JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS HISTORY, Issue 3 2009
    KEVIN FLATT
    The strident anti-Calvinism of Nova Scotian revivalist Henry Alline (1748,1784), who left a substantial mark on the religious landscape of Nova Scotia and parts of New England, has been noted but largely neglected by historians. This article investigates Alline's anti-Calvinism and concludes that it is best explained as arising from his own interpretation of his vivid spiritual experiences, particularly his dramatic conversion. Rather than simply rejecting Calvinist theology in favour of an emotive, experiential religion, however, Alline drew on his experiences to formulate an alternative anti-Calvinist theology. Alongside other examples from the period, Alline's case suggests that evangelical "democratization" of popular religion in the eighteenth-century transatlantic revivals could result in theological innovation rather than the abandonment of theology. [source]


    Coping with Family Conflict and Economic Strain: The Adolescent Perspective

    JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 2 2002
    Martha E. Wadsworth
    This study tested two models of family economic problems and adolescent psychological adjustment. Using adolescents' survey data and information regarding school lunch program enrollment, the associations among family SES, perceived economic strain, family conflict, and coping responses were examined in a sample of 364 adolescents from rural New England. Two theoretical models were tested using structural equation modeling , one tested coping as a mediator of the stress , psychopathology relation and the other tested coping as a moderator. Results revealed that family economic hardship was related to aggression and anxiety/depression primarily through two proximal stressors: perceived economic strain and conflict among family members. Family conflict partially mediated the relation between economic strain and adolescent adjustment, and coping further mediated the relation between family conflict and adjustment. These analyses identified two types of coping that were associated with fewer anxiety/depression and aggression problems in the face of these stressors , primary and secondary control coping. Although primary and secondary control coping were associated with fewer adjustment problems, youth who were experiencing higher amounts of stress tended to use less of these potentially helpful coping strategies and used more of the potentially detrimental disengagement coping. The models did not differ according to the age or gender of the adolescents, nor whether they lived with two parents or fewer. No support was found for coping as a moderator of stress. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research involving coping with economic stressors are reviewed. [source]


    Evidence for Changing Flood Risk in New England Since the Late 20th Century,

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 2 2009
    Mathias J. Collins
    Abstract:, Long-term flow records for watersheds with minimal human influence have shown trends in recent decades toward increasing streamflow at regional and national scales, especially for low flow quantiles like the annual minimum and annual median flows. Trends for high flow quantiles are less clear, despite recent research showing increased precipitation in the conterminous United States over the last century that has been brought about primarily by an increased frequency and intensity of events in the upper 10th percentile of the daily precipitation distribution , particularly in the Northeast. This study investigates trends in 28 long-term annual flood series for New England watersheds with dominantly natural streamflow. The flood series are an average of 75 years in length and are continuous through 2006. Twenty-five series show upward trends via the nonparametric Mann-Kendall test, 40% (10) of which are statistically significant (p < 0.1). Moreover, an average standardized departures series for 23 of the study gages indicates that increasing flood magnitudes in New England occurred as a step change around 1970. The timing of this is broadly synchronous with a phase change in the low frequency variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation, a prominent upper atmospheric circulation pattern that is known to effect climate variability along the United States east coast. Identifiable hydroclimatic shifts should be considered when the affected flow records are used for flood frequency analyses. Special treatment of the flood series can improve the analyses and provide better estimates of flood magnitudes and frequencies under the prevailing hydroclimatic condition. [source]


    Changes in survivorship, behavior, and morphology in native soft-shell clams induced by invasive green crab predators

    MARINE ECOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
    W. Lindsay Whitlow
    Abstract Many studies on invasive species show reduced native densities, but few studies measure trait-mediated effects as mechanisms for changes in native growth rates and population dynamics. Where native prey face invasive predators, mechanisms for phenotypic change include selective predation, or induced behavioral or morphological plasticity. Invasive green crabs, Carcinus maenas, have contributed to declines in native soft-shell clams, Mya arenaria, in coastal New England, USA. We tested the hypothesis that clam ability to detect chemical cues from predators or damaged conspecifics would induce greater burrowing depth as a refuge from invasive crabs, and greater burrowing would require increased siphon growth. To determine how crab predation affected clam survivorship and phenotypic traits in the field, clams in exclosure, open, and crab enclosure plots were compared. Crab predation reduced clam density, and surviving clams were deeper and larger, with longer siphons. To determine whether the mechanism for these results was selective predation or induced plasticity, phenotypes were compared between clams exposed to chemical cues from crab predation and clams exposed to seawater in laboratory and field experiments. In response to crab predation cues, clams burrowed deeper, with longer siphons and greater siphon mass. Overall, crab predation removed clams with shorter siphons at shallow depths, and crab predation cues induced greater burrowing depths and longer siphons. Longer siphons and greater siphon mass of deeper clams suggests clams may allocate energy to siphon growth in response to crabs. By determining native behavior and morphological changes in response to an invasive predator, this study adds to our understanding of mechanisms for invasive impacts and illustrates the utility of measuring trait-mediated effects to investigate predator,prey dynamics. [source]


    Incongruent patterns of genetic connectivity among four ophiuroid species with differing coral host specificity on North Atlantic seamounts

    MARINE ECOLOGY, Issue 2010
    Walter Cho
    Abstract Seamounts are considered to play a defining role in the evolution and diversity of marine fauna, acting as ,stepping-stones' for dispersal, regional centers of genetic isolation and speciation, and refugia for deep-sea populations. This study focused on the patterns of dispersal and genetic connectivity of four seamount ophiuroid species (Asteroschema clavigera, Ophiocreas oedipus, Ophioplinthaca abyssalis, and Ophioplinthaca chelys) displaying differing levels of associative (epifaunal) specificity to cold-water coral hosts inhabiting the New England and Corner Rise Seamount chains, and Muir Seamount in the Northwestern Atlantic. Analyses of mt16S and mtCOI revealed evidence for recent population expansion and high gene flow for all four species. However, species-specific genetic differentiation was significant based on seamount region and depth. Significant differences were found among regional seamount groups for A. clavigera, within seamount regions and seamounts for O. chelys, among 250-m depth intervals for A. clavigera, among 100-m depth intervals for O. oedipus, and there were indications of isolation by distance for A. clavigera and O. oedipus. In addition, A. clavigera and O. oedipus, broadcast spawners with high fidelity to specific coral hosts, displayed predominantly westward historical migration, whereas the ophioplinthacids, with lower host-specificity, displayed predominantly eastward migration. No congruent patterns of historical migration were evident among species and seamounts, yet these patterns can be correlated with species-specific host specificity, specific depth strata, and dispersal strategies. Conservation efforts to protect seamount ecosystems should promote multi-species approaches to genetic connectivity, and consider the impact of the ,dependence' of biodiversity on host fauna in these vulnerable marine ecosystems. [source]


    The Sociopolitical Status of U.S. Naturopathy at the Dawn of the 21st Century

    MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2001
    Hans A. Baer
    Naturopathic medicine in the United States had its inception around the turn of the 20th century. Subsequently, it underwent a process of relatively rapid growth until around the 1930s, followed by a period of gradual decline almost to the point of extinction due to biomedical opposition and the advent of "miracle drugs." Because its therapeutic eclecticism had preadapted it to fit into the holistic health movement that emerged in the 1970s, it was able to undergo a process of organizational rejuvenation during the last two decades of the century. Nevertheless, U.S. naturopathy as a professionalized heterodox medical system faces several dilemmas as it enters the new millennium. These include (1) the fact that it has succeeded in obtaining licensure in only two sections of the country, namely, the Far West and New England; (2) increasing competition from partially professionalized and lay naturopaths, many of whom are graduates of correspondence schools; and (3) the danger of cooptation as many biomedical practitioners adopt natural therapies, [naturopathy, alternative medicine, medical pluralism] [source]


    Capturing the Commons: Devising Institutions to Manage the Maine Lobster Industry

    AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2007
    JULIA OLSON
    Capturing the Commons: Devising Institutions to Manage the Maine Lobster Industry. James M. Acheson. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England, 2003. 264 pp. [source]


    Dahlgren/Rappahannock, Tidewater, Northern New England, and Metropolitan Sections

    NAVAL ENGINEERS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2004
    Article first published online: 29 OCT 200
    First page of article [source]


    Co-evolution of invention activities among cities in New England,

    PAPERS IN REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2006
    Catherine Y. Co
    Patent; invention; city; New England Abstract., This article examines how patent activities in metropolitan areas change using New England as a backdrop. Using U.S. patent data from 1975 to 1999, this article uncovers several patterns. First, some patent-lagging cities catch up with patent-leading cities. Second, one contributory factor for catch up is knowledge diffusion. Third, shakeouts in patent specialisations in leading cities are less dramatic compared to those in lagging cities. Fourth, invention activities among cities co-evolve. The co-evolution of invention activities among cities provides an incentive for city and/or state governments to coordinate policies that may affect knowledge creation in their jurisdictions. [source]


    Improving genetic health care: A Northern New England pilot project addressing the genetic evaluation of the child with developmental delays or intellectual disability,

    AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL GENETICS, Issue 3 2009
    John B. Moeschler
    Abstract In 2006, all clinical genetics practices in Northern New England (Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine) formed a learning collaborative with the purpose of improving genetic health care and outcomes. This article describes the current status of this effort. The methodology is based on our own modifications of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement "Breakthrough Series" and the Northern New England Cystic Fibrosis Consortium. Because of similarities across practices and the availability of existing published practice parameters, the clinical genetics evaluation of the child with developmental delay or intellectual disability was chosen as the topic to be studied. The aim was to improve the rate of etiological diagnosis of those with developmental delays referred to each genetics center by improving the processes of care. Process and outcomes were evaluated. Four of five sites also evaluated the impact of array comparative genomic hybridization (a-CGH) laboratory testing of such patients. There was significant site-to-site variation in the rate of new diagnoses by a-CGH with the average new diagnosis rate of 11.8% (range 5.4,28.8%). Barriers to implementation of the process and outcome data collection and analysis were significant and related to time pressures, lack of personnel or staff to support this activity, and competing quality improvement initiatives at the institutional home of some genetics centers. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


    Urban-Rural Differences in Motivation to Control Prejudice Toward People With HIV/AIDS: The Impact of Perceived Identifiability in the Community

    THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2008
    Janice Yanushka Bunn PhD
    ABSTRACT:,Context:HIV/AIDS is occurring with increasing frequency in rural areas of the United States, and people living with HIV/AIDS in rural communities report higher levels of perceived stigma than their more urban counterparts. The extent to which stigmatized individuals perceive stigma could be influenced, in part, by prevailing community attitudes. Differences between rural and more metropolitan community members' attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS, however, have rarely been examined. Purpose: This study investigated motivation to control prejudice toward people with HIV/AIDS among non-infected residents of metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural areas of rural New England. Methods: A total of 2,444 individuals were identified through a random digit dialing sampling scheme, and completed a telephone interview to determine attitudes and concerns about a variety of health issues. Internal or external motivation to control prejudice was examined using a general linear mixed model approach, with independent variables including age, gender, community size, and perceived indentifiability within one's community. Findings: Results showed that community size, by itself, was not related to motivation to control prejudice. However, there was a significant interaction between community size and community residents' perceptions about the extent to which people in their communities know who they are. Conclusion: Our results indicate that residents of rural areas, in general, may not show a higher level of bias toward people with HIV/AIDS. The interaction between community size and perceived identifiability, however, suggests that motivation to control prejudice, and potentially the subsequent expression of that prejudice, is more complex than originally thought. [source]


    Housing developments in rural New England: effects on forest birds

    ANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 1 2000
    Daniel A. Kluza
    In rural New England, forest fragmentation is caused by housing developments in forested areas. To evaluate the effects of these changes on forest birds, we compared bird assemblages between forests with different housing densities in western Massachusetts. Species occurrences and relative abundances were determined from systematic point count surveys and mist-netting at three plots in forest of low housing density (0,0.05 houses/ha) and of moderate housing density (0.60,6.70 houses/ha) in 1993 and 1994. Among guilds, Neotropical migrants and forest-interior species had significantly lower abundances in forests of moderate housing density. Abundances of ground/shrub nesting birds as a group, and of individual species such as veery (Catharus fuscescens), ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus) and wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), were greater in forest of low housing density, but blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) were more abundant in forest of moderate housing density. Although the abundances of ground/shrub nesting birds were positively related to ground cover, this vegetation structure did not differ between forest types. Avian and mammalian nest predators may be responsible for the trends in bird abundance. Avian nest predators may recognize forest of moderate housing density as edge habitat, and this rural development may also support relatively high densities of mammalian nest predators. These trends suggest that birds of New England's relatively extensive forests may be subject to greater fragmentation effects than generally thought, as a result of increasing rural housing development within forests. [source]