Suchergebnisse

"This book investigates the consequences of redundant state and federal environmental regulations in the United States. Drawing on the most exhaustive statistical analysis of US federal wetland permits ever constructed, the book uncovers the disjointed world of wetland regulation. The author starts by examining the socioeconomic and environmental factors driving individuals to apply for environmental regulatory permits and the regional inconsistencies encountered in federal environmental regulatory program performance. The book goes on to demonstrate that states have more power in federal relationships than scholars often believe and that individual state policies are important even in a time of strong federal governance. Evidence shows that such intergovernmental redundancy serves to increase overall regulatory program effectiveness.This book breaks new ground in the subjects of federalism and environmental regulation by rejecting the traditional approach of picking winners and losers in favour of a nuanced demonstration of how redundancy and collaboration between different levels of governance can make for more effective governmental programs. The book is also innovative in its use of the perspectives of regulated citizens not as a point of judgment, but as a means of introducing a constructive new way of thinking about political and administrative boundaries within a federalist system of governance. The book provides relevant context to wider political debates about excessive and duplicative regulatory oversight and will be of interest to Environmental Policy students and administrators"--

Context
It is difficult to determine with accuracy the nutrition of bird diets through observation and analysis of dietary items. Collection of the ingested material from the birds provides an alternative but it is often limited by the small sizes of samples that can be obtained.

Aims
We tested the efficacy of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess the nutritional composition of very small samples of growing-parrot crop content.

Methods
We used 30 samples of the crop content of free-living scarlet macaw (Ara macao) chicks. Samples were scanned with a near-infrared reflectance analyser, and later analysed by traditional wet laboratory methods for crude protein/N, fat, ash, neutral detergent fibre, P, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn and S. A calibration model was developed using principal components analysis.

Key results
Coefficients of determination in the calibration (R2) and standard errors of cross-validation (SECV) for most of the nutrients showed a good performance (mean R2 of 0.91 ± 0.11 s.d., n = 10) when excluding Zn (R2 of 0.15, SECV = 25.37).

Conclusions
The present results established NIRS as a valid technique for the non-destructive, low-cost prediction of a variety of nutritional attributes of avian crop contents as small as 0.5-g dry weight.

Implications
The use of NIRS expands the possibilities of wild-animal nutrition research.