Search

People often visit natural settings for recreation and psychological restoration. This study aims to improve understanding of how exposure to and experiences of mammalian wildlife in local natural settings can permit and promote recreation and restoration. Randomly sampled residents in three regions of Sweden (N = 303) with varying presence of fear-relevant species (wolf, wild boar) and fear-irrelevant species (roe deer, squirrel) completed a questionnaire. Squirrel and roe deer were rated significantly higher than wolf and wild boar for anticipated positive feelings and restoration outcomes, and significantly lower for negative feelings and avoidance of natural settings. The possibility of exposure explained little of the variation in the restoration variables, whereas the experiences anticipated with an animal encounter contributed substantially to explanation. Vulnerability seems to counteract the restorative benefit of fascination. Wildlife conservation efforts and public health initiatives may find practical utility in distinguishing between potential exposure and anticipated experience when designing interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of People & Nature is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The amount of research conducted on geothermal energy as a source for heating and cooling demands of buildings, as well as for electrical energy production, has increased substantially in the past decades. The simulation of freezing and thawing is important for geothermal applications involving ground coupled heat pumps. One area of research is the development of grout cements for borehole heat exchangers (BHE). In many cases, BHEs are operated at temperatures below 0°C due to manifold reasons. Hence, the simulation of freezing and thawing cycles (FTC) is important for such geothermal applications, especially in cold regions. Recently, a testing device for measuring and quantifying the influence of FTC stresses on the mechanical integrity and hydraulic properties of BHE grouts was developed (Anbergen, published in 2014). The testing procedure simulates the downhole in situ conditions as confining radial earth pressure, freezing, and thawing directions from the inside to the outside and under saturated conditions. The hydraulic conductivity can be measured in axial flow direction. Thus, statements regarding the susceptibility of grouts against cyclic freezing and thawing stresses can be made. These results differ substantially from earlier findings, as in situ boundary conditions were not simulated sufficiently. For the verification of the procedure's thermal process, temperature logs were recorded using thermocouples and thermography imaging. The thermal process was simulated using the finite element method (FEM) groundwater, heat, and mass modeling software FEFLOW. FEFLOW is a common software solution for thermohydraulic coupled groundwater applications with mass transport, as well as geothermal applications. However, up until now, the program could not yet simulate phase changes between solid and liquid phases. To enable the program for such simulations, a plug-in was developed. To do this, a C++ code was written and coupled to the simulation routine of the FEM software. The code is based on a modification of the material parameters of fluid and the incorporation of the latent heat effects in the fluid heat capacity. A linear and an exponential approach for the latent heat release were implemented and benchmarked. The code was verified using different analytical solutions and other FEM codes. Finally, the experimental results of the test procedure could be successfully computed using the new plug-in. Thus, it is now possible to compute phase changes with FEFLOW for geothermal applications as well as other applications like permafrost research. Key words: latent heat, apparent heat capacity, phase change, finite element method (FEM) modeling, benchmark, freeze- thaw cycles. Les travaux de recherche portant sur l'energie geothermique utilisee a des fins de chauffage ou de refroidissement de batiments et pour la production d'electricite a se sont beaucoup multiplie au cours des dernieres decennies. La simulation du gel et du degel est importante dans le cadre des applications geothermiques ou l'on utilise des pompes a chaleur couplees au sol. La recherche s'interesse en particulier a la conception de coulis cimentaires destines aux echangeurs de chaleur souterrains verticaux (borehole heat exchangers ou BHE). Dans de nombreux cas, les BHE sont utilises a des temperatures inferieures a 0°C pour de multiples raisons. La simulation des cycles de gel et de degel (CGD) est donc importante dans le cadre de ces applications geothermiques, en particulier dans les regions froides. On a recemment mis au point un dispositif d'essai pour mesurer et quantifier l'influence des contraintes liees aux CGD sur l'integrite mecanique et les proprietes hydrauliques des coulis cimentaires destines aux BHE (Anbergen, publie en 2014). La procedure d'essai simule l'environnement souterrain in situ, la pression de confinement radiale exercee par le sol et la direction de propagation du front de gel et de degel de l'interieur vers l'exterieur, en conditions saturees. La conductivite hydraulique peut etre mesuree dans la direction axiale. On peut alors tirer des conclusions sur la vulnerabilite des coulis cimentaires aux contraintes des CGD. Ces resultats contredisent nettement les observations faites precedemment, les conditions limites in situ n'ayant pas ete correctement simulees. Afin de verifier le processus thermique au cours de la procedure, des mesures de la temperature ont ete effectuees a l'aide de thermocouples et de l'imagerie thermographique. Le processus thermique a ete simule grace au logiciel FEFLOW de modelisation hydrogeologique des transferts de chaleur et de masse base sur la methode des elements finis (MEF). FEFLOW est un logiciel couramment utilise dans les applications thermohydrauliques et hydrogeologiques impliquant des transferts de masse et dans les applications geothermiques. Cependant, jusqu'a present, le programme ne pouvait pas simuler les changements de phase (solide-liquide et liquidesolide). Pour permettre a ce programme d'effectuer de telles simulations, un module complementaire a ete developpe. Pour ce faire, une application en langage C++ a ete con^ue et couplee a la simulation normale effectuee par le logiciel utilisant la MEF. Cette application est basee sur la modification des parametres materiels du fluide et l'integration des effets de la chaleur latente a la capacite calorifique d'un fluide. Une methode lineaire et exponentielle appliquee a la liberation de chaleur latente a ete mise en reuvre et etalonnee. L'application C++ a ete mise a l'essai a l'aide de differentes solutions analytiques et d'autres codes C++ bases sur la MEF. Enfin, les resultats experimentaux de la procedure d'essai ont pu etre calcules avec succes a l'aide du nouveau module complementaire. Ainsi, il est desormais possible de calculer les changements de phase au moyen du logiciel FEFLOW dans le cadre d'applications geothermiques et d'autres domaines d'application tels que la recherche sur le pergelisol. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: chaleur latente, capacite calorifique apparente, changement de phase, modelisation basee sur la methode des elements finis (MEF), etalonnage, cycles gel-degel., Introduction Shallow geothermal systems are used for space heating and cooling: nearly constant temperatures in the subsurface allow the ground to be used as a heat source (in winter) and [...]

Livestock depredation by large carnivores is a global conservation challenge, and mitigation measures to reduce livestock losses are crucial for the coexistence of large carnivores and people. Various measures are employed to reduce livestock depredation but their effectiveness has rarely been tested. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of tall fences to reduce livestock losses to snow leopards Panthera uncia and wolves Canis lupus at night-time corrals at the winter camps of livestock herders in the Tost Mountains in southern Mongolia. Self-reported livestock losses at the fenced corrals were reduced from a mean loss of 3.9 goats and sheep per family and winter prior to the study to zero losses in the two winters of the study. In contrast, self-reported livestock losses in winter pastures, and during the rest of the year, when herders used different camps, remained high, which indicates that livestock losses were reduced because of the fences, not because of temporal variation in predation pressure. Herder attitudes towards snow leopards were positive and remained positive during the study, whereas attitudes towards wolves, which attacked livestock also in summer when herders moved out on the steppes, were negative and worsened during the study. This study showed that tall fences can be very effective at reducing night-time losses at corrals and we conclude that fences can be an important tool for snow leopard conservation and for facilitating the coexistence of snow leopards and people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large carnivores are prioritized in conservation, but their co-occurrence with humans and domestic animals can generate conflict. Interventions preventing carnivore attacks are central to carnivore conservation, but are only effective if implemented. This study investigates drivers of the intention to use interventions among animal owners in Sweden based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, extended with the emotion construct Worry. Additionally, the study includes an explorative analysis investigating the processes behind this worry based on the Appraisal Theory of Emotion. In a survey comprising 1,163 animal owners, the subjective norm is identified as an important driver in the regression model of intended intervention use. Adding Worry to the model increased the amount of explained variance. Worry, in turn was mainly explained by experienced vulnerability among animal owners. This study illustrates how emotion theory can extend TPB to enhance understanding of human behavior, important for future coexistence between humans and wildlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fear of large carnivores such as brown bears may restrict people's outdoor activities regardless of experts' estimated risk of attack. This research study empirically examined three exposure interventions in the form of guided walks intended to give people living in brown bear areas tools for coping with their fear. All interventions significantly reduced fear, decreased people's perceived vulnerability, and increased their social trust in wildlife management authorities. The walk including an encounter with a radio-collared bear in a wild bear habitat resulted in the largest reduction in fear, followed by the walk in the wild bear habitat only and then the walk in a park with captive bears. The wild bear habitat walk was the intervention best suited for further development as it may be used in any area where bears occur and without affecting animal welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carnivore predation on livestock often leads people to retaliate. Persecution by humans has contributed strongly to global endangerment of carnivores. Preventing livestock losses would help to achieve three goals common to many human societies: preserve nature, protect animal welfare, and safeguard human livelihoods. Between 2016 and 2018, four independent reviews evaluated >40 years of research on lethal and nonlethal interventions for reducing predation on livestock. From 114 studies, we find a striking conclusion: scarce quantitative comparisons of interventions and scarce comparisons against experimental controls preclude strong inference about the effectiveness of methods. For wise investment of public resources in protecting livestock and carnivores, evidence of effectiveness should be a prerequisite to policy making or large-scale funding of any method or, at a minimum, should be measured during implementation. An appropriate evidence base is needed, and we recommend a coalition of scientists and managers be formed to establish and encourage use of consistent standards in future experimental evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing authorities in Scandinavia arrange public information meetings when members of the public express fear because wolves or brown bears approach human settlements. This study aimed to increase the understanding of the potential effect of information meetings on self-reported fear of wolves and brown bears. In total, 198 participants completed questionnaires before and after the information meetings. Nine follow-up interviews were held 1 year later. The quantitative analyses revealed that participants who found the information credible reported a significant increase in social trust and a decrease in vulnerability and fear. The qualitative analyses pointed to the importance of information content and meta-communication, for example, nonverbal cues. It is proposed that, among participants who find the information credible, information meetings may change the appraisal of wolves and brown bears, and therefore they might prove useful as an intervention to address fear of these animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depredation of semi-domesticated reindeer by large carnivores reflects an important human–wildlife conflict in Fennoscandia. Recent studies have revealed that brown bears (Ursus arctos) may kill substantial numbers of reindeer calves (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in forest areas in Sweden. Several authors have suggested that predation risk is an important driver of habitat selection in wild Rangifer populations where predation is a limiting factor, but little is known about these mechanisms in semi-domesticated populations. We examined the habitat selection of female reindeer in relation to spatial and temporal variations in brown bear predation risk on the reindeer calving grounds and evaluated the simultaneous responses of brown bears and reindeer to landscape characteristics. We used GPS data from 110 reindeer years (97 individuals) and 29 brown bear years (19 individuals), from two reindeer herding districts in the forest area of northern Sweden. Our results did not indicate that reindeer alter their behavior in response to spatiotemporal variation in brown bear predation risk, on the scale of the calving range. Instead, we suggest that spatiotemporal behavioral adjustments by brown bears were the main driver of prey-predator interactions in our study system. Contrasting responses by brown bears and reindeer to clear-cuts and young forest indicate that forestry can influence species interactions and possibly yield negative consequences for the reindeer herd. Even if clear-cuts may be beneficial in terms of calf survival, logging activity will eventually cause greater abundance of young regenerating forest, reducing available reindeer habitats and increasing habitat preferred by brown bears. Domestication may have made semi-domesticated reindeer in Fennoscandia less adapted to cope with predators. Areal restrictions, limiting the opportunity for dispersion and escape, possibly make the calves more susceptible to predation. Also, a generally higher population density in semi-domesticated herds compared to wild populations can make dispersion a less efficient strategy and the reindeer calves easier prey. Overall, the lack of ability of the reindeer females to reduce brown bear encounter risk on the scale of the calving range is probably an important reason for the high brown bear predation rates on reindeer calves documented in our study areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of wolves in Scandinavia is associated with socio-ecological conflicts, and the conservation and management of this species is as much a political and socio-cultural challenge as a biological matter. One component in this conflict is people's feeling of fear, but there have been very few evaluations of management interventions aimed at addressing human fear of wolves. Based on the theory of human-environment interaction, this paper presents a first attempt to evaluate the effect of introducing a hand-held ultrasonic scaring device. A total of 27 persons living in wolf territories had access to the device for six months. No significant effect on participants' appraisal of wolves, trust in managing authorities, or selfreported fear could be identified. The investigated psychological variables were stable over time in a reference sample of people in the large-carnivore counties (n = 202). The introduction of the device was largely rejected by the public. In-depth interviews with 10 persons who declined the invitation to have access to the device revealed that the device was considered an irrelevant solution to the conflict between humans and wolves, and that people lacked trust in the technology. It is concluded that the potential in using an ultrasonic device to reduce fear of wolves seems very limited in the present context. Further interventions to address human fear must be identified in dialogue with the people affected, and should preferably be based on psychological principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Our research focuses on mechanisms that promote and stabilize social behavior, fitness consequences of cooperation, and how interactions with conspecifics structure groups and populations. To this end, we studied wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) in the laboratory, in semi-natural enclosures and in the field. In 2002, we initiated a project on a free-living population of house mice in a barn near Zurich, Switzerland, where mice were equipped with RFID transponders and were provided with 40 nest boxes for resting and breeding. The population typically comprised between 250 and 400 mice. Methods: To analyze social group membership, social interactions and social preferences of the mice in our study population over their lifespan, we installed a continuous transponder reading system (AniLoc, FBI Science GmbH, Germany). Mice accessed nest boxes through tunnels equipped with two antennas each. When a mouse implanted with an RFID transponder passed the electromagnetic field of an antenna, its identity was transmitted and registered in real time with AniLoc. Additionally, body weights of mice were automatically registered at eight drinking facilities (Intelliscale, FBI Science GmbH, Germany). Here, a mouse sits on a freely movable platform that connects to a scale registering body weight when drinking, and an antenna around the head of the water bottle registers the drinking individual's RFID transponder. Results: The system enabled continuous remote monitoring of the behavior of a free-living, open population of house mice, when using nest boxes and when drinking. Since such safe places are an important resource for survival and reproduction, time of day, duration and frequency of meetings with conspecifics reveal information about the function of their interactions. Trigger efficiency of antennas was 98.2 %. Mice entered and left the nest boxes with an average speed of 0.03 m/s, which is within the antennas' detection capacity (detection speed of 1 m/s or 3.6 km/h). The antenna devices documented not only social structuring of our study population but also spatial genetic structuring. The observation that mice lived in rather closed social groups and tended to share nest boxes with relatives highlights the importance of kin selection for the evolution and maintenance of social behavior. Conclusions: We suggest that such automatic recording of activity, spatial distribution and social interactions is helpful not only in field studies, for a variety of species, but also in captivity or laboratory studies, to answer basic questions in behavioral ecology, population ecology, population genetics, conservation biology, disease ecology, or animal welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on human fear of large carnivores has mainly been based on self-reports in which individual survey items and the objects of fear are measured, so whether a person fears attacks on humans or livestock and pets has not been identified. The objectives of this study were to differentiate between the objects of fear as well as capturing attitudes towards implementation of management actions and the potential for conflict index (PCI). These concern the implementation of a limited number of management actions currently used or discussed in Sweden that are aimed at reducing human fear of brown bears/wolves. 391 persons living in areas with either brown bear (n = 198) or wolf (n = 193) in Sweden responded to a questionnaire. The degree of self-reported fear varied between residents in brown bear areas and residents in wolf areas. The fear of attacks on livestock and pets was stronger than fear of attacks on humans in both brown bear and wolf areas. In brown bear areas, fear was strongest for livestock, while in wolf areas fear was strongest for pets. The fear of attacks on livestock and pets was significantly stronger in wolf areas, while the fear of attacks on humans was strongest in brown bear areas. In both brown bear and wolf areas, there was little acceptance of implementation of management actions that would allow people to carry pepper spray or a gun outdoors. Management actions aimed at setting a population cap for bear/wolf populations, information on how to act when encountering a bear/wolf, and providing information on local presence of bear/wolf had relatively high acceptability. This was especially true for respondents expressing high fear of attacks on humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In northern Eurasia, large carnivores overlap with semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces). In Scandinavia, previous studies have quantified brown bear (Ursus arctos) spring predation on neonates of reindeer (mostly in May) and moose (mostly in June). We explored if habitat selection by brown bears changed following resource pulses and whether these changes are more pronounced on those individuals characterised by higher predatory behaviour. Fifteen brown bears in northern Sweden (2010–2012) were fitted with GPS proximity collars, and 2585 female reindeers were collared with UHF transmitters. Clusters of bear positions were visited to investigate moose and reindeer predation. Bear kill rates and home ranges were calculated to examine bear movements and predatory behaviour. Bear habitat selection was modelled using resource selection functions over four periods (pre-calving, reindeer calving, moose calving, and post-calving). Coefficients of selection for areas closer to different land cover classes across periods were compared, examining the interactions between different degrees of predatory behaviour (i.e., high and low). Bear habitat selection differed throughout the periods and between low and high predatory bears. Differences among individuals' predatory behaviour are reflected in the selection of habitat types, providing empirical evidence that different levels of specialization in foraging behaviour helps to explain individual variation in bear habitat selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]