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Limited resources in conservation dictate the need for efficient means of assessing wildlife abundance. Body mass-day range scaling rules and empirical track counts were applied to an established formula to estimate a wide range of wildlife densities. Using the southern Kalahari ecosystem of Botswana as an example, I provide the first comprehensive density estimates for the mammalian wildlife community (>0.2 kg), including densities for several species previously unattainable by other methods. Among a subset of species, empirical day ranges from this area were consistently greater than those predicted using scaling rules modeled with species from diverse ecosystems. I applied a correction factor based on this discrepancy, which generated values congruent with independent density estimates from the area. Although accurate measures of day range are a practical constraint to estimating densities from track counts, the results suggest that modest efforts to obtain location-specific day range estimates for a subset of species can improve density estimates for others derived from general allometric relationships. Given the strength of track surveys to accumulate unbiased observations quickly, in environments where animal tracks are readily visible, this approach shows potential for the rapid assessment of wildlife abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helium is a finite global resource, which is becoming vitally important to recover and reuse as it continually diminishes. The helium recovery process uses plant machinery that can consume significant amounts of power and generate a large carbon footprint. Many organizations around the world are actively trying to reduce their carbon footprint and, therefore, lessen the impact of their operations on the climate. Here we have assessed the CO2 produced per litre of liquid helium, when processed by the ISIS helium recovery system, and compared it with the estimated carbon footprint of liquid helium that is supplied by the gas companies. The comparison clearly demonstrates that the carbon footprint of liquid helium from the recovery system is significantly smaller than that of liquid helium supplied by the gas companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]