Space Habitat Research Articles

Application of Metapopulation Theory to Northern Bobwhite Conservation

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have declined throughout the majority of the species’ range, and have experienced the largest declines in fragmented habitats, suggesting landscape scale processes may be responsible for this decline. We used the results from a stochastic population dynamics model of South Texas bobwhites as conceptual justification for use of metapopulation theory in bobwhite management. Annual quasi-extinction probabilities for isolated bobwhite populations were 0.003 (95% CI: 0.001 0.006), 0.105 (95% CI: 0.083 0.126), and 0.773 (95% CI: 0.750 0.796) for simulated populations harvested at 20, 30, and 40% annually. The probability of regional persistence at 30% harvest increased to ~ 100% in scenarios where we modeled 5 occupied hypothetical 800-ha habitat patches; however, at 40% harvest rates, probability of regional metapopulation persistence did not reach 95% until 12 habitat patches were occupied. This suggests bobwhites probably require somewhere from 800 to 9,600 ha of available habitat space to maintain 95% probability of regional metapopulation persistence as harvest varies from 0 to 40% annually. Our results have strong implications for bobwhite harvest management given the high probability of quasi-extinction of isolated populations at rates of harvest 25%. Multiple patches of habitat (where individual patch size is 800 ha) must be available to ensure bobwhite metapopulation persistence.

A Decade of Progress, A Decade of Frustration

The past decade has seen tremendous research progress for the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Research conducted during the 1990s advanced our understanding of bobwhite breeding biology, habitat relationships, long-term population trends, and genetics, among other things. Technological advances allowed improvements in censusing techniques, tracking broods, assessing population status in relation to broad scale land use changes, and identifying nest predators. The 1990s also saw the development of a National Strategic Plan for Quail Management and Research, the emergence of the Southeast Quail Study Group, and a renewed interest in National Quail Symposia. Despite this recent renaissance in research and related activities, bobwhite population declines continued throughout much of the southeastern United States and elsewhere. There is a palpable level of frustration among quail hunters, resource agency managers, and other quail enthusiasts who feel that: (1) seemingly nothing is being done to reverse the bobwhite population decline, and (2) that the scientific community has not developed a meaningful or realistic research agenda. It is an amazing paradox that we have made great bobwhite research progress during the past decade, but virtually none of the new insights gained from research have been successfully applied, on the ground, to improve bobwhite numbers. I hypothesize that the disconnect between recent scientific advances, and management applications to reverse the bobwhite decline, is a function of numerous cultural and economic factors that will be difficult to overcome. These factors include: (1) broad scale land use trends that are hostile to the production and maintenance of wild bobwhite populations, (2) habitat management and maintenance costs that are beyond the reach of most resource agencies and individuals, and (3) lack of incentives to motivate individuals and organizations to tackle bobwhite management on a meaningful scale. Whether land use planning, land management policy, and/or market incentives can conspire to provide useable habitat space through time for bobwhites (and other quails) on a scale that will be sufficient to reverse widespread population declines, is one of the most vexing wildlife management problems for the next century.

Space Use and Habitat Selection by Resident and Transient Red Wolves (Canis rufus).

Recovery of large carnivores remains a challenge because complex spatial dynamics that facilitate population persistence are poorly understood. In particular, recovery of the critically endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) has been challenging because of its vulnerability to extinction via human-caused mortality and hybridization with coyotes (Canis latrans). Therefore, understanding red wolf space use and habitat selection is important to assist recovery because key aspects of wolf ecology such as interspecific competition, foraging, and habitat selection are well-known to influence population dynamics and persistence. During 2009–2011, we used global positioning system (GPS) radio-telemetry to quantify space use and 3rd-order habitat selection for resident and transient red wolves on the Albemarle Peninsula of eastern North Carolina. The Albemarle Peninsula was a predominantly agricultural landscape in which red wolves maintained spatially stable home ranges that varied between 25 km2 and 190 km2. Conversely, transient red wolves did not maintain home ranges and traversed areas between 122 km2 and 681 km2. Space use by transient red wolves was not spatially stable and exhibited shifting patterns until residency was achieved by individual wolves. Habitat selection was similar between resident and transient red wolves in which agricultural habitats were selected over forested habitats. However, transients showed stronger selection for edges and roads than resident red wolves. Behaviors of transient wolves are rarely reported in studies of space use and habitat selection because of technological limitations to observed extensive space use and because they do not contribute reproductively to populations. Transients in our study comprised displaced red wolves and younger dispersers that competed for limited space and mating opportunities. Therefore, our results suggest that transiency is likely an important life-history strategy for red wolves that facilitates metapopulation dynamics through short- and long-distance movements and eventual replacement of breeding residents lost to mortality.

Ticks and Borrelia in urban and peri-urban green space habitats in a city in southern England

Ticks are becoming increasingly recognised as important vectors of pathogens in urban and peri-urban areas, including green space used for recreational activities. In the UK, the risk posed by ticks in such areas is largely unknown. In order to begin to assess the risk of ticks in urban/peri-urban areas in southern England, questing ticks were collected from five different habitat types (grassland, hedge, park, woodland and woodland edge) in a city during the spring, summer and autumn of 2013/2014 and screened for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. In addition, seasonal differences in B. burgdorferi s.l. prevalence were also investigated at a single site during 2015. Ixodes ricinus presence and activity were significantly higher in woodland edge habitat and during spring surveys. DNA of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. was detected in 18.1% of nymphs collected across the 25 sites during 2013 and 2014 and two nymphs also tested positive for the newly emerging tick-borne pathogen B. miyamotoi. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. prevalence at a single site surveyed in 2015 were found to be significantly higher during spring and summer than in autumn, with B. garinii and B. valaisiana most commonly detected. These data indicate that a range of habitats within an urban area in southern England support ticks and that urban Borrelia transmission cycles may exist in some of the urban green spaces included in this study. Sites surveyed were frequently used by humans for recreational activities, providing opportunity for exposure to Borrelia infected ticks in an urban/peri-urban space that might not be typically associated with tick-borne disease transmission.

Space use in a South African agriculture landscape by the caracal (Caracal caracal)

Agricultural expansion has replaced many natural habitats and the landscape structure with potential benefits to certain wildlife species. Some of mesocarnivores widely use man-made habitats in agri-ecosystems that are devoid of large carnivores and often prey on livestock. We examined the space use and habitat relationships of radio-collared caracals Caracal caracal between May 2013 and December 2014 in the Drakensberg Midlands, South Africa, to identify suitable habitat for better management of caracals that are perceived as pests in these fragmented agricultural mosaic landscapes. Home ranges of males were bigger than those of females. Caracal movements increased more during the night than the daytime indicating avoidance of peak exposure time to human activities during the day in agricultural lands. Generalized linear mixed models showed that caracal space use increased with area availability of plantations and cultivations while their space use decreased with increasing altitude and area availability of forests. Our results showed that the modified habitat use over natural habitats and preference to altitude <1200 m by caracals are a consequence of behavioural facilitation and adaptation to access highly available prey resources, particularly, livestock and rodents in irrigated farmlands. Caracals have adapted to take advantage of the trophic resource enhancement by farming practices in agri-ecosystems, thereby facilitating their range expansion in agri-ecosystems, South Africa. Our findings aid in the sustainable management and planning of production-orientated agricultural lands. Therefore, management of these mesocarnivores is dependent on the conservation of sufficient natural habitats and prey species, to minimize their dependence on livestock and consequently reduce farmer-caracal conflict.

Development of Equipment that Uses Far-Red Light to Impose Seed Dormancy in Arabidopsis for Spaceflight

Abstract In order to use plants as part of a bioregenerative life support system capable of sustaining long-term human habitation in space, it is critical to understand how plants adapt to the stresses associated with extended growth in spaceflight. Optimally, dormant seeds would be germinated on orbit to divorce the effects of spaceflight from the one-time stresses of launch. At an operational level, it is also important to develop experiment protocols that are flexible in timing so they can adapt to crew schedules and unexpected flight-related delays. Arabidopsis thaliana is widely used for investigating the molecular responses of plants to spaceflight. Here we describe the development of a far-red light seed treatment device that suppresses germination of Arabidopsis seeds for periods of ≥12 weeks. Germination can then be induced when the seeds encounter red light, such as transfer to the illumination from on orbit plant growth hardware. This device allows for up to twelve 10×10 cm square Petri dishes containing seeds on nutrient gel to be irradiated simultaneously. The far-red device is contained within a light-proof fabric tent allowing the user to wrap the Petri dishes in aluminum foil in the dark, preventing room lights from reversing the far-red treatment. Long-term storage of the wrapped plates is accomplished using foil storage bags. The throughput of this device facilitates robust, high-replicate biological experiment design, while providing the long-term pre-experiment storage required for maximum mission flexibility.

Demographic Costs Associated with Differences in Habitat Space Occupancy

Delimiting the habitat characteristics describing the environmental conditions required by a species has become a critical tool for predicting organismal responses to environmental change. Grinnell emphasized the effects of environmental factors on the ability of a population to maintain a positive growth rate, yet few studies have included demographic or reproductive data in analyses of the Grinnellian niche. Identifying differences in habitat exploitation patterns in response to structural variation in the environment presents an incomplete description of the ability of species to adapt to changing habitats if demographic traits are not included. We estimated the vegetation characteristics used by individuals within a population of hooded warblers (Setophaga citrina) across a spatial transect that includes three structurally different forest habitats. We predicted individuals should select similar structural characteristics within each habitat and have similar reproductive success across sample sites. In the two years post burn, adults were present but no young fledged indicating the habitat requirements necessary for reproduction were absent in this habitat. We found significant differences in habitat space occupied by individuals in unaltered and harvested habitats. Nesting habitats used by female warblers differed from available habitat. Fledging success was lower in the harvested habitat 10 to 12 years post-harvest. In the harvested habitat, fledging success was greater on mesic slopes but decreased along a habitat gradient to xeric ridgetops, suggesting compensation in habitat use does not ameliorate fitness costs. In contrast, there was no difference in the number of fledged young along this gradient in the unaltered habitat. Based solely on occupancy data, traditional ecological niche models would incorrectly conclude the environmental characteristics found across the three forested habitats are included in the Grinnellian niche of the hooded warbler. However, examination of demographic and environmental data simultaneously allows differentiation between occupied habitat space and niche space.

Ciudad de la Cultura: Modernity and Architecture in Santiago de Compostela – Photo Essay

Santiago de Compostela has been a pilgrimage site for centuries. It was founded due to the discovery of the tomb of St. James (Santiago), whose remains are said to lie inside the city’s famous cathedral. Compostela is, nonetheless, a modest city of around 100,000 inhabitants, with a small but consolidated historic centre, and is the cultural and political centre of Galicia. It is the capital of the autonomic community of northwest Spain. With the objective of projecting Galicia as a centre of culture and knowledge on the world stage, the Xunta de Galicia (Council of Galicia) approved the construction of a monumental building complex over the top of Monte Gaias, a hill that dominates Santiago and its surrounding topography. Construction began in 2001, supervised by architect Peter Eisenman, and the structure is still incomplete. The project has provoked a great deal of controversy, transcending all sectors of Gallegan and Spanish society. It has become an enormous expenditure for a Gallegan economy that is still one of the most traditional and modest in Spain. The controversy is especially sensitive given that Spain is already enduring a profound economic crisis. Critics say the project lacks clear purpose, without a sense of mission for the uses of the new buildings. This is especially so when contrasted to the historic centre of the city, a complete success in terms of public space habitability and economic solvency (due to tourism). One can only ask: Why, in front of such an exemplary model of small-scale, high-impact development, promoting long-term, ‘small-dose’ growth, is a complex built that opposes all the values of the community and city it represents? Haven’t the Gallegans learnt from their millenary past and their strong cultural heritage? It is becoming more evident, with time, that the City of Culture (Ciudad de la Cultura), the new development, is an example of what should not be done in the fields of urban and social development, at least in the context into which it has been inserted.

Fine-scale habitat use and behavior of a nearshore fish community: nursery functions, predation avoidance, and spatiotemporal habitat partitioning

We have a limited understanding of habitat use and behavior in nearshore fish communities because they are rarely observed in situ. Consequently, ecologists recommend a process-based conceptualization of nursery habitats, but lack knowledge of nursery processes on fine scales along shore, and studies in controlled settings suggest that context-dependent behaviors allow fish to balance predation avoidance with other objectives, but there is little observational corroboration of these behaviors in situ. We used a long-term dataset of underwater observations to quantify the fine-scale habitat use and behavior of a shallow estuarine fish community. We asked, ‘Within species, how does behavior vary with habitat context and developmental stage?’ and ‘Do species partition habitats in space and time?’ We found that smaller fish occupied shallower depths where predators were less abundant; smaller fish schooled in larger groups; pelagic fish schooled in larger groups in deeper water; demersal fish schooled in larger groups when occupying the water column; and species partitioned habitats by depth and season. Additionally, smaller fish were proportionally less abundant along deep shorelines created by intertidal armoring. Overall, habitat use was suggestive of nursery functions, including ontogenetic habitat shifts, provision of predator refuge, and appropriate food/predation risk tradeoffs. Additionally, fish behaved in a manner consistent with adaptive decisionmaking to avoid predation, and time and space may be important axes on which transient juveniles partition habitats. Some nursery functions appeared to be mediated by a shallow depth gradient, which may be compromised by shoreline infrastructure and rising sea levels along built shorelines.

Ocean warming expands habitat of a rich natural resource and benefits a national economy.

Geographic redistribution of living natural resources changes access and thereby harvesting opportunities between countries. Internationally shared fish resources can be sensitive to shifts in the marine environment and this may have great impact on the economies of countries and regions that rely most heavily on fisheries to provide employment and food supply. Here we present a climate change-related biotic expansion of a rich natural resource with substantial economic consequences, namely the appearance of northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) in Greenlandic waters. In recent years, the summer temperature has reached record highs in the Irminger Current, and this development has expanded the available and realized mackerel habitat in time and space. Observations in the Irminger Current in east Greenland in 2011 of this temperature-sensitive epipelagic fish were the first records so far northwest in the Atlantic. This change in migration pattern was followed by a rapid development of a large-scale fishery of substantial importance for the national economy of Greenland (23% of Greenland's export value of all goods in 2014). A pelagic trawl survey was conducted in mid-summer 2014 and the results showed that the bulk of ~1million Mg (=t) of mackerel in the Irminger Current in southeast Greenland were located in the relatively warm (>8.5°C) surface layer. Mackerel was also observed in southwest Greenland. Finally, 15 CMIP5 Earth System Model projections of future marine climate were used to evaluate the epipelagic environment in Greenland. These projections for moderate and high CO2 emission scenarios (representative concentration pathways [RCP] 4.5 and 8.5) suggest how the available mackerel habitat may expand further in space and time. Overall, our results indicate that, if the stock remains large, productive, and continues its current migration pattern, then climate change has provided Greenland with a new unique opportunity for commercial exploitation. However, positive cases like this should not be cherry-picked and misused as arguments against timely and effective mitigation of climate change.

Hidden biodiversity in cryptic habitats provided by porous coastal defence structures

In response to flood risk from rising and stormier seas, increasing amounts of natural coastline worldwide are being replaced by a proliferation of coastal defence structures. While the primary role of defence structures is protecting the coastline, consideration should be given to the biological coastal communities they support. Artificial structures are currently seen as poor habitats for marine organisms. They are constructed in harsh coastal environments, lack structural complexity, and are subjected to episodic disturbance from maintenance, reducing their suitability as habitats for coastal species. Recent work has focused on mitigating the impacts of coastal defence structures, through secondary routes such as enhancing biodiversity by encouraging colonisation of marine biota. Research thus far has focused on enhancements to improve structural complexity on the external surfaces of coastal defences. Many structures are porous with internal compartments. To date no work has been undertaken on the habitat provided by the internal surfaces of the blocks used in building structures.We investigated the role of porous coastal defence structures in habitat provision. Taking advantage of a groyne reduction from 45m to 20m length, we surveyed the internal environment of the structure. We also considered the impacts of maintenance activity on coastal assemblages. Our work shows that the internal environment of artificial structures provides functional habitat space supporting higher species richness and diversity than external surfaces. The more benign environment of internal surfaces protects from desiccation stress and is probably less scoured by mobile sediments, and as such is of unrealised importance to coastal assemblages. External surfaces are also subject to high levels of disturbance from maintenance activities, further limiting the potential ecological contribution this area of the artificial habitat might otherwise develop. These findings reveal the multifunctional role of porous coastal defence structures, acting as engineering protection and habitats for coastal assemblages.

Ecological and Evolutionary Diversification Within the Genus &lt;I&gt;Carex&lt;/I&gt; (Cyperaceae): Consequences for Community Assembly in Subarctic Fens

The concept of limiting similarity predicts that closely related taxa are less likely to co-occur than expected by chance. The degree to which the phylogenetic relatedness in plant communities is in accord with limiting similarity has been little tested at the scale where the consequences of adaptive differentiation during speciation should be most evident: the scale of neighboring, congeneric plants within a community. To quantify species co-occurrence patterns in relation to environment, we sampled sedge species, their rooting level relative to the water table, and the water pH in 2,124 0.25 m2 quadrats distributed across 29 subarctic fens in the central Labrador Peninsula. We estimated phylogenetic relationships using four DNA regions (ETS, ITS, matK, trnL-trnF) for all species of Carex (42), Eriophorum (6), and Trichophorum (2) in the region, of which 21, four, and two, respectively, occurred in the sampled fens. We demonstrate that closely related species of Carex are less likely to co-occur than expected by chance using 1) a probabilistic method to test the significance of pairwise co-occurrence patterns of species, and 2) linear mixed modeling to relate these patterns to phylogenetic relationships and ecological tolerances along gradients of substrate pH and rooting level in relation to the water table. The results also indicate that suites of species with significant mutual pairwise co-occurrence belong to distant lineages within the Cariceae-Dulichieae-Scirpeae clade of Cyperaceae and have stabilizing niche differences. We suggest that niche differentiation during the evolution and diversification of a clade of wetland Carex species over the past few million years, especially during the dynamic glacial cycles of the Pleistocene, has resulted in diverse sedge communities that share space and resources in harsh northern peatland habitats.

Packing and deploying Soft Origami to and from cylindrical volumes with application to automotive airbags.

Packing soft-sheet materials of approximately zero bending stiffness using Soft Origami (origami patterns applied to soft-sheet materials) into cylindrical volumes and their deployment via mechanisms or internal pressure (inflation) is of interest in fields including automobile airbags, deployable heart stents, inflatable space habitats, and dirigible and parachute packing. This paper explores twofold patterns, the ‘flasher’ and the ‘inverted-cone fold’, for packing soft-sheet materials into cylindrical volumes. Two initial packing methods and mechanisms are examined for each of the flasher and inverted-cone fold patterns. An application to driver’s side automobile airbags is performed, and deployment tests are completed to compare the influence of packing method and origami pattern on deployment performance. Following deployment tests, two additional packing methods for the inverted-cone fold pattern are explored and applied to automobile airbags. It is shown that modifying the packing method (using different methods to impose the same base pattern on the soft-sheet material) can lead to different deployment performance. In total, two origami patterns and six packing methods are examined, and the benefits of using Soft Origami patterns and packing methods are discussed. Soft Origami is presented as a viable method for efficiently packing soft-sheet materials into cylindrical volumes.

Biaxial Loading of a Textile Ribbons Structure for an Inflatable Module of Space Habitats

The aim of the experimental campaign was to assess and observe the biaxial tensile mechanical response of a ribbons structure as part of an inflatable module of space habitats. The structure consists of orthogonal Zylon™ and Kevlar™ ribbons connected at crossover by Nylon thread seams. A clamping system was designed and manufactured to reproduce the biaxial loading condition supposed in the inflatable module application. The tests were assisted by a digital image correlation system. The images post-processing allowed the observation and measurement of the full field strain of the different connection schemes. The results of the tests show the excellent mechanical performance of the ribbons structure at the maximum biaxial load level without visible damage.

Commentaries on Viewpoint: Standardization of bed rest studies in the spaceflight contextCommentaries on Viewpoint: Standardization of bed rest studies in the spaceflight contextCommentaries on Viewpoint: Standardization of bed rest studies in the spaceflight contextCommentaries on Viewpoint: Standardization of bed rest studies in the spaceflight contextCommentaries on Viewpoint: Standardization of bed rest studies in the spaceflight context

to the editor: The work presented by Sundblad et al. ([5][1]) is important and is likely to improve present international efforts to develop countermeasures against, for example, cardiovascular deconditioning during spaceflight. However, one aspect that is not addressed to a sufficient extent is the

Past and predicted future effects of housing growth on open space conservation opportunity areas and habitat connectivity around National Wildlife Refuges

Context Housing growth can alter suitability of matrix habitats around protected areas, strongly affecting movements of organisms and, consequently, threatening connectivity of protected area networks.

시설원예단지 조성이 농업생태계의 식생다양성에 미치는 영향 분석

인간은 생태계로부터 다양한 공익적 기능을 제공받고 있지만 시설원예단지 조성은 불투수면적 확장과 생물서식처 손실로 인해 기능저하의 원인이 될 수 있다. 시설원예단지 조성이 식물 종 다양성에 미치는 영향을 파악하였다. 식생분포 특성 분석결과 논에 비해 시설원예단지의 식물다양성이 상당히 낮다는 것을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 저 영향개발, 서식공간 배치, 식물 보전, 화학비료 사용제한, 서식처 조성, 보전비용 등을 제안하였다. 생활형 분석을 통해 일년생식물과 수생식물의 생육기반 환경 조성을 제시하였다. 귀화식물은 총 10과 20종류가 확인되었으며, 귀화율은 유리온실과 연동형 온실이 매우 높게 분석되어 콘크리트 피복을 지양하고 자연토양 피복을 유도 할 것을 제안하였다. 연구결과는 통계분석을 통해 확인하고 불투수면적을 자연형 토양으로 전환을 제안하였다. 본 연구결과는 지속가능한 농업경관 유지와 대규모 간척지 개발 사업에 있어 친환경, 생태적 시설원예단지 조성을 위한 정책자료에 활용되길 기대한다. Although the ecosystem extends numerous functions for the benefit of humankind, construction of horticultural facilities can potentially lead to the degeneration of some of these functions owing to the expansion of impervious regions and loss of habitats. Thus, this study aimed to examine the effect of construction of horticultural facilities on plant biodiversity. Analysis of the vegetation distribution characteristics showed that horticultural facilities had significantly lower plant diversity than did rice paddies. Hence, the proposed approach involved low-impact development, arrangement of habitat space, plant preservation, restricted use of chemical fertilizer, habitat creation, and reduced preservation cost. Lifestyle analysis suggested the importance of developing favorable environments for the growth of annual plants and aquatic plants. In all, 20 species of naturalized plants belonging to 10 families were identified. Furthermore, the proportion of these naturalized plants was higher in glass greenhouses and multi-span greenhouses, suggesting the advantages of employing natural soil mulching while avoiding concrete mulching. Statistical analysis was performed to validate the results, which suggested that impervious regions be converted to natural soils. Collectively, the findings of this study are expected to be used for establishing policies for the construction of eco-friendly and ecological horticultural facilities; this may aid the maintenance of sustainable agricultural landscapes and large-scale development of the reclaimed lands.

Density-dependent diel activity in stream-dwelling Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus.

Intraspecific competition plays a significant role in shaping how animals use and share habitats in space and time. However, the way individuals may modify their diel activity in response to increased competition has received limited attention. We used juvenile (age 1+) Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus to test the prediction that individuals at high population density are more active and distribute their foraging activity over a greater portion of the 24‐h cycle than individuals at low population density. Individually tagged fish were stocked in seminatural stream enclosures at low (2 fish/m2) and high (6 fish/m2) density. During each of two 2‐week experimental rounds, activity of all fish within each enclosure was recorded every 3 h over seven 24‐h cycles. At high density, fish were more active and distributed their activity over a greater portion of the 24‐h cycle, with increased activity particularly at crepuscular times. Fluctuations in ecological conditions (e.g., water temperature and light intensity) also affected activity. Fish at high density grew as fast as fish at low density. This study demonstrates that individuals exhibit a degree of behavioral flexibility in their response to changes in ecological conditions and suggests that intraspecific competition can cause animals to modify temporal aspects of their activity to gain access to resources and maintain growth.

Four-year bacterial monitoring in the International Space Station-Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" with culture-independent approach.

Studies on the relationships between humans and microbes in space habitation environments are critical for success in long-duration space missions, to reduce potential hazards to the crew and the spacecraft infrastructure. We performed microbial monitoring in the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo”, a part of the International Space Station, for 4 years after its completion, and analyzed samples with modern molecular microbiological techniques. Sampling was performed in September 2009, February 2011, and October 2012. The surface of the incubator, inside the door of the incubator, an air intake, air diffuser, and handrail were selected as sampling sites. Sampling was performed using the optimized swabbing method. Abundance and phylogenetic affiliation of bacteria on the interior surfaces of Kibo were determined by quantitative PCR and pyrosequencing, respectively. Bacteria in the phyla Proteobacteria (γ-subclass) and Firmicutes were frequently detected on the interior surfaces in Kibo. Families Staphylococcaceae and Enterobacteriaceae were dominant. Most bacteria detected belonged to the human microbiota; thus, we suggest that bacterial cells are transferred to the surfaces in Kibo from the astronauts. Environmental bacteria such as Legionella spp. were also detected. From the data on bacterial abundance and phylogenetic affiliation, Kibo has been microbiologically well maintained; however, the microbial community structure in Kibo may change with prolonged stay of astronauts. Continuous monitoring is required to obtain information on changes in the microbial community structure in Kibo.

Seasonal movements of greater sage-grouse populations in Utah: Implications for species conservation

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) is considered an umbrella species for sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) landscapes in western North America. In 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined sage-grouse unwarranted for protection under the Endangered Species Act (1973) because of conservation actions in priority areas. Understanding seasonal movements is key to delineation and assessment of priority conservationareas.Wemonitored radiomarked sage-grouse from1998 to2013 throughoutUtah,USA,to determine seasonal movements. Maximum distances from nearest lek to nesting, summer, and winter locations across all radiomarkedgrouse averaged2.20 km(90thpercentile1⁄4 5.06 km), 3.93 km(90thpercentile1⁄4 8.45 km), and3.76 km(90thpercentile1⁄4 7.15 km), respectively.Maximummovements fromnest to summer,nest towinter, and between summer and winter locations across all radiomarked grouse averaged 5.77 km (90th percentile1⁄4 13.60 km), 11.77 km (90th percentile1⁄4 26.36 km), and 14.75 km (90th percentile1⁄4 30.77 km), respectively. Maximum distance from lek of capture to summer locations was greater for males than females, whereas femalesmoved farther thanmales fromlek towinter andsummer towinter locations.Adult femalesmoved farther than yearlings from lek to nest and summer towinter areas. The state ofUtah’s Sage-GrouseManagement Areas included approximately 85% of the radiotelemetry seasonal locations and >95% when weighted by lek counts.Our results suggest that seasonalmovements could be facilitatedby increasingusable habitat space through management actions, as emphasized in Utah’s sage-grouse plan. 2016 The Wildlife Society.