Congregate Sites Research Articles

Readiness of Congregate Nutrition Sites to Deliver Nutrition Education to Older Adults

Title III of the Older Americans Act requires congregate nutrition sites (CNSs) to provide nutrition education. In 2015, we assessed 19 CNSs in Appalachian South Carolina for nutrition education readiness. Nutrition education readiness and general education readiness were both low. Overall, the CNSs were not ready to deliver education interventions due to lack of training/education, funds, drivers, and communication technologies. Addressing these problems could improve the likelihood that education would be effective. The readiness concepts described here can be used by Extension educators to determine whether delivery sites are ready to effectively provide education programs.

Solid Organ Transplant–Transmitted Tuberculosis Linked to a Community Outbreak — California, 2015

In the spring of 2015, a local health department (LHD) in county A notified the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) about three adults with close ties to one another and a congregate community site who had received diagnoses of tuberculosis (TB) disease within a 3-month period. Subsequent review revealed matching TB genotypes indicating that the cases were likely part of a chain of TB transmission. Only three TB cases in California in the preceding 2 years shared this same genotype. One of those three previous cases occurred in a lung-transplant recipient who had no identified epidemiologic links to the outbreak. CDPH, multiple LHDs, and CDC conducted an investigation and determined that the lung-transplant donor (patient 1) was epidemiologically linked to the three outbreak cases and had a tuberculin skin test (TST) conversion detected in 2012 upon reentry at a local jail. Three other solid organ recipients from this donor were identified; none had developed TB disease. This investigation suggests that review of organ donors' medical records from high-risk environments, such as jails, might reveal additional information about TB risk. The evaluation of TB in organ recipients could include genotyping analysis (1) and coordination among local, state, and national partners to evaluate the potential for donor-derived TB.

Solid Organ Transplant-Transmitted Tuberculosis Linked to a Community Outbreak - California, 2015.

In the spring of 2015, a local health department (LHD) in county A notified the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) about three adults with close ties to one another and a congregate community site who had received diagnoses of tuberculosis (TB) disease within a 3-month period. Subsequent review revealed matching TB genotypes indicating that the cases were likely part of a chain of TB transmission. Only three TB cases in California in the preceding 2 years shared this same genotype. One of those three previous cases occurred in a lung-transplant recipient who had no identified epidemiologic links to the outbreak. CDPH, multiple LHDs, and CDC conducted an investigation and determined that the lung-transplant donor (patient 1) was epidemiologically linked to the three outbreak cases and had a tuberculin skin test (TST) conversion detected in 2012 upon reentry at a local jail. Three other solid organ recipients from this donor were identified; none had developed TB disease. This investigation suggests that review of organ donors' medical records from high-risk environments, such as jails, might reveal additional information about TB risk. The evaluation of TB in organ recipients could include genotyping analysis (1) and coordination among local, state, and national partners to evaluate the potential for donor-derived TB.

Predicting foraging hotspots for Yelkouan Shearwater in the Black Sea

The Yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan) is a vulnerable species endemic to the Mediterranean Region, but there is little information of its ecology particularly when at sea. In this study, we assessed the habitat use by Yelkouan shearwater in the Black Sea during the breeding (March–July) and non-breeding (August–February) periods of 2013, using boat-based surveys and shore-based counts. We created a species distribution model (SDM) based on the environmental variables that most accurately reflected the oceanographic habitat of this species in order to delineate foraging hotspots. Our habitat modelling analyses suggest that Yelkouan shearwaters respond to complex bio-physical coupling, as evidenced by their association with oceanographic variables. Foraging Yelkouan shearwaters mainly occurred on the western Black Sea continental shelf, indicating that Yelkouan shearwaters were foraging in shallow, cold and coastal waters. In the non-breeding period, Yelkouan Shearwater occurred beyond the Black Sea continental shelf, a wide pelagic extension of sea, indicating that shearwaters foraged in deep, warm and pelagic waters. These results are consistent with earlier studies, which identified the Black Sea as an important congregation site for Mediterranean Yelkouan shearwater populations outside the breeding season. This study demonstrates how the integration of boat-based survey data, shore-based counts and modelling can provide a wider understanding of the linkage between marine ecosystems that is mediated by marine megafauna such as pelagic seabirds.

Associations of Housing First Configuration and Crime and Social Connectedness Among Persons With Chronic Homelessness Histories.

This study compared changes in criminal justice contact, quality of life, and social connectedness over a 12-month follow-up period between participants in two Housing First configurations (scattered site [SS] and congregate site [CS]). A longitudinal, quantitative design was utilized for this ecological study. Changes in individual outcomes over time were compared for SS and CS participants who completed both baseline and 12-month follow-up surveys (N=63). The number of contacts with various types of criminal justice system channels differed significantly between SS and CS participants, decreasing significantly among SS participants and increasing significantly among CS participants. The two groups did not differ on quality-of-life outcomes or social-connectedness measures, with the exception of case management engagement, whereby a greater proportion of SS participants disengaged from this service over time compared with CS participants. At follow-up, significant within-group changes over time emerged, with increased boredom reported among SS participants, whereas CS participants reported improvements in social relationships, with fewer reporting losing their temper. The findings supported the notion that the Housing First approach has the potential to significantly improve the lives of persons who have experienced chronic homelessness, a traditionally marginalized and vulnerable group. Over time, this may result in a reduction in the use of acute services, thereby reducing societal costs. The challenge remains to identify the suitability of particular configurations of housing and support and how service delivery can optimize individual outcomes so positive outcomes are maintained in the longer term.

Stable housing, stable substance use? Evaluation of two ‘Housing First’ programs for homeless individuals

Background and aims: Australian and international evidence highlights the heightened prevalence of substance use disorders in homeless populations. In recent years, adaptations of the Housing First initiative, whereby chronically homeless individuals are provided long-term housing with support, have been implemented across Australia. Two such adaptions include scatter-site (private rental apartments; SS) and congregate site (apartments in the one building; CS) models. There is currently limited Australian evidence on the effect that these variations of Housing First programs have on client outcomes. The primary aim of this study is to undertake a longitudinal evaluation of two adaptations of the Housing First model (one SS and one CS) in relation to clients’ housing and health outcomes, specifically substance use patterns and service utilisation.

High juvenile mortality during migration in a declining population of a long‐distance migratory raptor

Many populations of long‐distance migrants are declining and there is increasing evidence that declines may be caused by factors operating outside the breeding season. Among the four vulture species breeding in the western Palaearctic, the species showing the steepest population decline, the Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus, is a long‐distance migrant wintering in Africa. However, the flyways and wintering areas of the species are only known for some populations, and without knowledge of where mortality occurs, effective conservation management is not possible. We tracked 19 juvenile Egyptian Vultures from the declining breeding population on the Balkan Peninsula between 2010 and 2014 to estimate survival and identify important migratory routes and wintering areas for this species. Mortality during the first autumn migration was high (monthly survival probability 0.75) but mortality during migration was exclusively associated with suboptimal navigation. All birds from western breeding areas and three birds from central and eastern breeding areas attempted to fly south over the Mediterranean Sea, but only one in 10 birds survived this route, probably due to stronger tailwind. All eight birds using the migratory route via Turkey and the Middle East successfully completed their first autumn migration. Of 14 individual and environmental variables examined to explain why juvenile birds did or did not successfully complete their first migration, the natal origin of the bird was the most influential. We speculate that in a declining population with fewer experienced adults, an increasing proportion of juvenile birds are forced to migrate without conspecific guidance, leading to high mortality as a consequence of following sub‐optimal migratory routes. Juvenile Egyptian Vultures wintered across a vast range of the Sahel and eastern Africa, and had large movement ranges with core use areas at intermediate elevations in savannah, cropland or desert. Two birds were shot in Africa, where several significant threats exist for vultures at continental scales. Given the broad distribution of the birds and threats, effective conservation in Africa will be challenging and will require long‐term investment. We recommend that in the short term, more efficient conservation could target narrow migration corridors in southern Turkey and the Middle East, and known congregation sites in African wintering areas.

Improvement of food safety for older adults participating in congregate meal sites

The elderly population in the USA is rapidly growing and is expected to reach 72 million people by 2030, more than double the number in 2000. Older adults are more likely than younger adults to contract foodborne illness and therefore they experience more health complications from food contamination. As the elderly population increases, the number of participants in government-sponsored programmes such as congregate meals will also surge and more elderly people will become dependent on these meals for their daily nutritional needs. The purpose of this study is to evaluate food safety practices and to examine the benefit of additional monitoring of the facilities that provide food to the elderly. The four-year (2009–2012) survey of senior sites indicated a significant increase in the percentage of menus planned by dieticians and nutritionists from 2010 to 2012. Dieticians and nutritionists planned 11.2% of menus (2010) and 60% in 2012 ( p < 0.01). Another statistically significant improvement was in the number of cycle menus used; only 4.8% in 2010 and 38% in 2012 ( p = 0.02) Additional monitoring and inspection will improve food safety in congregate sites.

Stable Fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), Dispersal and Governing Factors.

Although the movement of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), has been studied, its extent and significance has been uncertain. On a local scale (<13 km), fly movement occurs between host animals and resting sites to feed and mate, mainly at on-farm locations where herbivorous livestock regularly congregate. Small numbers emigrate from livestock congregation sites in search of other hosts and oviposition substrate, mostly within <1.6 km. Such local movement occurs by flight ~90 cm above ground, or with moving livestock. While stable flies are active year-round in warm latitudes, cold winters in temperate areas result in substantial population and activity declines, limiting movement of any sort to warmer seasons. Long-distance dispersal (>13 km) is mainly wind-driven by weather fronts that carry stable flies from inland farm areas for up to 225 km to beaches of northwestern Florida and Lake Superior. Stable flies can reproduce for a short time each year in washed-up sea grass, but the beaches are not conducive to establishment. Such movement is passive and does not appear to be advantageous to stable fly’s survival. On a regional scale, stable flies exhibit little genetic differentiation, and on the global scale, while there might be more than one “lineage”, the species is nevertheless considered to be panmictic. Population expansion across much of the globe likely occurred from the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene in association with the spread of domesticated nomad livestock and particularly with more sedentary, penned livestock.

A study of the winter congregation sites of the Gangetic River Dolphin in southern Assam, India, with reference to conservation

The Gangetic River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica) is an exclusive river dolphin subspecies and inhabits the freshwater river systems of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. This cetacean is primarily piscivorous and strictly inhabits the freshwater ecosystems, chiefly rivers. They generally wander to different parts of the river in the monsoon, but congregate at meander bends in the river course where an eddy counter-current is prevalent and there are greater water depths during winter months. These meander bends are locally called ‘Dhar’ in the Barak river of southern Assam. The dolphin population in this river and its tributaries and distributaries has declined steeply in the recent past. Although certain factors have been identified, reports on these dolphins are extremely limited. The present study was carried out at the reported and possible winter aggregation sites in the Barak river, its tributaries and one of the distributaries, the Kushiyara river, to find the present status of the dolphin and its habitats, along with prey fish abundance, threats and possible conservation strategies. We also conducted a survey on the responses of the local people, generally the fisher-folks, towards different dolphin conservation issues.

Aligning conservation and research priorities for proactive species and habitat management: the case of dugongsDugong dugonin Johor, Malaysia

AbstractConservation efforts use scientific data to provide an adaptive framework wherein habitat and wildlife sustainability can co-exist with human activities. Good science informs decision-makers and facilitates the development of successful conservation approaches. However, conservation concerns for the dugongDugong dugonin South-east Asia are sufficiently urgent that action must be taken quickly, even though science has not provided complete answers to critical questions. In Johor, Malaysia, aerial surveys were conducted to assess dugong numbers, dugong high-use areas and overlap of dugong sightings with areas of seagrass. Dugong distribution included existing marine parks and locations where known conservation threats exist. We conclude that the Johor islands may represent a significant congregation site for dugongs in Peninsular Malaysia, with as many as 20 dugongs recorded in a single day. The existence of a marine park where the dugong sightings were most prominent is encouraging but only 38% of those sightings fell within the boundaries of the park. Anthropogenic threats need to be assessed and addressed prior to complex development activities such as dredging and coastal reclamation for tourism development in this critical area. We use this case to explore the concept of advancing species conservation through focused research and management, particularly where uncertainties exist because data are scarce.

Congregation Sites and Sleeping Roost of Male Stingless Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

Very little is known about stingless bee reproductive biology or male behaviour. In this note we provide the first observations on the male aggregations (congregation sites and roosting sites) of some stingless bee species. Our observations show that males of two stingless bee species can congregate on the same site. We also report for the first time the substrates used by stingless bee males for resting at night, that at least one species forms large sleeping roosts composed of hundreds of individuals, and that sleeping roost locations are not reused on subsequent nights.

Species and habitat conservation through small locally recognised and community managed Special Conservation Sites

Species extinction rate is accelerating at an alarming rate all over the world. Conservation organizations are working day and night to halt this process by mapping areas for important biodiversity and highlighting these as priority areas for conservation. Most priority sites for conservation so far have been very large in area. Although some biodiversity is already lost, there is still much to conserve in the Himalayan region. Special Conservation Site (SCS) is an innovative concept for the conservation of small but important biodiversity congregation sites through a people participatory approach. Various guidelines and criteria are set as standard towards making this initiative readily accepted by all conservationists. By initiating this concept, we argue that SCS become a centre for education and awareness on the significance of biodiversity, mentor community-based conservation leaders, provide some income and ultimately add value to the larger landscape level initiatives and protected areas. SCS conservation should be an agenda for all.

Congregations of wintering Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus in Afar, Ethiopia: present status and implications for conservation

The Endangered Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus congregates in communal roosts in the wintering areas and where food availability is high, where even a single threat might lead to substantial population declines. Thus, more research on the congregation sites is needed for timely detection of threats and effectively directed conservation measures. We studied bird numbers, use of roosting substrates and roosting habitat of wintering Egyptian Vultures in Ethiopia. Vultures were counted using the road-count technique in 2009, 2010 and 2013 along c. 600 km of roads in the Afar region. Over 1 000 individuals were counted each year and the sites with the highest congregations were identified. Nearly half of the birds were adults and the majority roosted on bird-safe types of electric pylons. Most of the Egyptian Vultures were found below 500 m above sea level, in bare areas, open savannas or grasslands, and their abundance was negatively related to the amount of cover of bush vegetation. The distribution of roosting birds was not affected by distance to human settlements. To avoid disasterous effects on the population of the Egyptian Vultures, we strongly recommend that the sites sheltering the highest numbers of roosting birds should be included in the Important Bird Area network, the use of poisons should be banned, and dangerous power lines should be insulated or substituted with safer types.

Trapping and Capture Myopathy in Ludwig's Bustard

Banding and deploying tracking devices are important techniques to study birds of conservation concern, but require that individuals can be safely and efficiently caught and handled. We describe the trapping techniques used to catch Ludwig's Bustards (Neotis ludwigii) in the Karoo, South Africa, for a satellite tracking programme aiming to better understand the movement biology of this poorly known and threatened bird. Trapping sites on transformed land used as congregation sites were difficult to locate for these nomadic and partially migratory birds, but six of nine prospective trapping trips were successful. Although labour-intensive, extensive deployment of leg nooses coupled with guide-lines to direct birds proved effective. We caught 12 bustards at four sites across the Karoo over 37 trapping days in 2010–2012. Success was male-biased, with only two females caught. Noose traps were safe, with no injuries to captured birds. However, in common with other studies, we encountered problems with capture myopathy after handling five bustards; two subsequently died and three recovered.We designed a ‘harnessing chair’ to reduce the risk of capture myopathy, but still encountered problems. We recommend noose traps with guide-lines to catch other large, wary birds in open environments where there is some predictability of habitat use,but caution against long handling times and trapping in extreme temperatures.

Identification of Environmental Supports for Healthy Eating in Older Adults

Many environmental settings and influences can affect food choices and eating behaviors in the growing population of community-dwelling older adults. Using the Social Ecological model, an expert panel participated in online discussions and an Analytic Hierarchy Process survey to identify the most important and changeable environmental settings and enabling factors that promote healthy eating in older adults. Food stores were rated most important when considering accessibility and affordability. Congregate nutrition sites were important for social support along with supporting access and affordability of healthful foods and living accommodations. Senior housing, health care, and religious settings also contributed to the goal of promoting healthful eating in aging adults. Restaurants were rated of lower importance. Based on these results, it is recommended that community food policies include the nutritional needs of older adults by addressing food accessibility and affordability, social support, and living accommodations, with a focus on congregate nutrition sites, food stores, senior housing, health care, and religious organizations.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Parents and Youth After Health-Related Disasters

This study investigated the psychosocial responses of children and their parents to pandemic disasters, specifically measuring traumatic stress responses in children and parents with varying disease-containment experiences. A mixed-method approach using survey, focus groups, and interviews produced data from 398 parents. Adult respondents completed the University of California at Los Angeles Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (PTSD-RI) Parent Version and the PTSD Check List Civilian Version (PCL-C). Disease-containment measures such as quarantine and isolation can be traumatizing to a significant portion of children and parents. Criteria for PTSD was met in 30% of isolated or quarantined children based on parental reports, and 25% of quarantined or isolated parents (based on self-reports). These findings indicate that pandemic disasters and subsequent disease-containment responses may create a condition that families and children find traumatic. Because pandemic disasters are unique and do not include congregate sites for prolonged support and recovery, they require specific response strategies to ensure the behavioral health needs of children and families. Pandemic planning must address these needs and disease-containment measures.

Benthic foraminifera assemblages in turtle congregation sites along the north-east coast of India

Near-shore recent benthic foraminifera from three ecologically important (Olive Ridley turtle congregation sites) but vulnerable sites encompassing 23 sampling stations (12 in Rushikulya, 5 in Devi and 6 in Gahirmatha) along coastal Orissa, north-west Bay of Bengal (BoB) in India were studied for the first time for their composition, distribution and assemblage patterns. Thirty-nine species of benthic foraminifers (from 6 orders and 23 families) were identified of which all 39 were present in Rushikulya, 22 in Devi and 12 in Gahirmatha with abundance ranging from 35–2620 individuals/10 cm3 in the sediments. The communities across the sites were dominated by eurytopic rotalids followed by miliolids and textularids. Benthic foraminifer assemblages were found to be dominated by Ammonia species complex (up to 38% in Rushikulya, 64% in Devi and 22% in Gahirmatha). Agglutinated foraminifers were infrequent in the sediments (7 species in Rushikulya, 4 species in Devi and 3 in Gahirmatha) on the other hand, being dominated by Quinqueloculina agglutinans in Rushikulya and Trochammina macrescens and Ammobaculites agglutinans in Devi and Gahirmatha. The substrates along the study sites were found mostly to be sand dominated and in some of the stations sediment composition influenced the foraminifer distribution pattern. The present findings on the assemblage patterns of benthic foraminifers from three coastal settings in Orissa along the BoB are comparable with previous reports from other sandy coastal ecosystems in the world. Overall these data provide valuable insights into the distribution and assemblage patterns of benthic foraminifers from the BoB coastal regions.

Investigating Avian Influenza Infection Hotspots in Old-World Shorebirds

Heterogeneity in the transmission rates of pathogens across hosts or environments may produce disease hotspots, which are defined as specific sites, times or species associations in which the infection rate is consistently elevated. Hotspots for avian influenza virus (AIV) in wild birds are largely unstudied and poorly understood. A striking feature is the existence of a unique but consistent AIV hotspot in shorebirds (Charadriiformes) associated with a single species at a specific location and time (ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres at Delaware Bay, USA, in May). This unique case, though a valuable reference, limits our capacity to explore and understand the general properties of AIV hotspots in shorebirds. Unfortunately, relatively few shorebirds have been sampled outside Delaware Bay and they belong to only a few shorebird families; there also has been a lack of consistent oropharyngeal sampling as a complement to cloacal sampling. In this study we looked for AIV hotspots associated with other shorebird species and/or with some of the larger congregation sites of shorebirds in the old world. We assembled and analysed a regionally extensive dataset of AIV prevalence from 69 shorebird species sampled in 25 countries across Africa and Western Eurasia. Despite this diverse and extensive coverage we did not detect any new shorebird AIV hotspots. Neither large shorebird congregation sites nor the ruddy turnstone were consistently associated with AIV hotspots. We did, however, find a low but widespread circulation of AIV in shorebirds that contrast with the absence of AIV previously reported in shorebirds in Europe. A very high AIV antibody prevalence coupled to a low infection rate was found in both first-year and adult birds of two migratory sandpiper species, suggesting the potential existence of an AIV hotspot along their migratory flyway that is yet to be discovered.

Spatial distribution, source analysis, and ecological risk assessment of DDTs in typical wetland surface soils of Poyang Lake

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a typical organic compound characterized by high bioaccumulability, toxicity, and persistence in the environment. To analyze the distribution and sources of DDTs in Poyang Lake, which is an important congregation site for migratory birds, the topsoils from five typical wetlands were sampled to evaluate the ecological threat posed by DDTs to organisms. The results show that as much as 56.1 % of the DDTs detected in this study comprises dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), the aerobic metabolism of DDT. The o,p′-DDT:p,p′-DDT ratio was higher than 0.2, which suggests that there was fresh influx of DDT from the pesticide. These results indicate that DDE was the main component among the metabolisms of DDTs and that the usage of dicofol might introduce DDT into the environment of Lake Poyang in a stealth form. However, an ecological risk assessment shows that the DDTs content in this region poses a low ecological risk.