Mismanaged waste and marine debris have significant detrimental effects on wildlife, public health, and the economy. Container deposit legislation (CDL) is one of the many legislative actions ...proposed by lawmakers to curb the amount of debris entering the ocean. Beverage containers are consistently among the most commonly littered items, so effective legislation could prove a significant lever to reduce debris inputs to the marine environment. The effectiveness of CDL at reducing the amount of beverage container litter on the coasts of two countries, Australia and the United States, was evaluated by comparing results of debris surveys in states with and without cash incentives for returned beverage containers. The proportion of containers found in coastal debris surveys in states with CDL was approximately 40% lower than in states without CDL. Additionally, CDL states had a higher ratio of lids to bottles, further demonstrating the effectiveness of the incentives in removing bottles from the waste stream. The reduction in beverage containers in the presence of CDL was greater in areas with low socio-economic status, where debris loads are highest. These results provide strong evidence that fewer beverage containers end up as mismanaged coastal waste in states that provide a cash refund for returned beverage containers. Findings are discussed in the context of global governance, social license and opportunities to reduce land-based litter inputs to the ocean.
•Marine debris has significant detrimental effects on wildlife, public health, and the economy.•CDL reduces beverage containers in the coastal environment.•The proportion of beverage containers littered on the coasts is 40% lower in states with Container Deposit Legislation (CDL).•States with CDL had more littered lids than other states, because legislation only targets containers.•CDL reduces beverage containers more in poorer areas, where debris loads are highest.
Marine debris is recognized as an important global issue that can negatively affect wildlife, habitats, environmental processes, ecosystem services, and human activities including tourism, fishing, ...and navigation. To improve understanding of the sources and impacts of marine debris, we carried out a national litter survey at 175 sites around Australia using a stratified random sampling approach. Litter from land-and sea-based sources is ubiquitous, and sampling effects related to coastline shape, substrate characteristics, gradient, and backshore type were highly significant. Source effects related to land-based sources (eg population density and distance to road) were also highly significant. Of the total debris sampled, approximately 75% was plastic; 2% was related to recreational fishing. Litter density significantly increased with proximity to urban areas, suggesting a domestic origin; statistical patterns suggest that illegal rubbish disposal is a major driver. By quantifying debris at a large scales and distinguishing potential litter sources, we can better develop scale-appropriate solutions to reduce debris inputs to the environment.
Anthropogenic debris (AD) including plastics, foams and fishing debris, are an undesirable accompaniment to beaches worldwide, arriving through direct deposition (littering) and oceanic transport. We ...investigated the standing stocks of 12 types of AD on inhabited islands, uninhabited islands and mainland locations, and the potential factors relating to AD deposition. We undertook beach-transects and sea-surface trawl surveys; comparing 13 uninhabited offshore islands, four inhabited/touristed coastal islands and 81 mainland beaches in Queensland, Australia. The abundance and type of AD differed between sites. Geographic factors had stronger relationships with AD density on islands than mainland beaches. Hard plastic density was linked with forcing from wind and sea surface currents. Beach width and onshore/side-shore forcing were the most important factors affecting AD loads (predominantly hard plastics) on islands. We found an inverse relationship between the density of beached plastic and plastic floating at the sea surface nearby and suggest that islands may act as a local sink for buoyant plastic.
•Abundance and type of AD differed between mainland, coastal and remote islands.•Durable buoyant AD, especially hard plastic, dominated remote beaches.•AD on remote island beaches had a strong relationship with onshore forcing.•AD types found solely on visited/inhabited sites arrived mainly via direct deposition.•Islands likely act as sinks for floating plastic.
Sand-based root zones are commonly used for construction of golf course putting greens. Objectives of this field study were to (i) evaluate sand-based root zone mixtures varying in amendment (fine ...loam, peat, and inorganic) on the establishment of 'L-93' creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.), (ii) compare findings to related published studies, and (iii) repeat the trial in two locations varying in air circulation to assess microenvironmental effect. Eleven root zone mixtures, using predominantly medium-sized sand as the majority component, were replicated four times in a randomized complete block design nested within the two microenvironments. Plots were seeded in May 1998 and establishment was assessed to June 1999. Mixtures with a capillary porosity (-3 kPa water potential) at the high end of, or slightly exceeding, the United States Golf Association (USGA) criterion range (0.15-0.25 m3 m(-3)) provided more rapid establishment and better turf performance, yet root mass was lowest in these mixtures. Thus, variation in water availability among mixtures appeared sufficient to affect distribution of dry matter between roots and shoots. Mixtures amended to provide greater nutrient retention improved turf establishment; however, low water retention in the inorganic mixtures negated this advantage longer term as irrigation and fertilization shifted from establishment toward a maintenance objective. While shoot response to microenvironment was more limited, total root mass 1 yr after seeding was 24% greater in the open microenvironment than the enclosed, indicating that the initial effect of enclosed microenvironments on growth may go unrecognized during grow-in unless rooting is assessed.
Describes a test used to assess the critical thinking ability of psychology majors. Asserts that the ability to engage in psychological critical thinking separates psychology majors from other ...students and provides evidence demonstrating that senior psychology majors scored higher on the test than students of other majors and introductory psychology students. (CMK)
We tested a procedure designed to enhance psychology students' learning from educational videos. Introductory psychology students (N = 127) watched a video about social psychology during a regular ...class session. Students in some sections of the course watched the video with no special instructions; students in other sections answered 8 guiding questions in writing while watching the video. After viewing the video, students took a test containing video-related and textbook-related questions. As predicted, students who received guiding questions scored significantly higher on the video-related questions than did those in the control group; there was no effect of experimental condition on students' performance on the textbook-related questions.
The effects of evening feeding and extended photoperiod on feedlot performance, live animal carcass traits and plasma prolactin were investigated in crossbred beef heifers in two consecutive Manitoba ...winters (1998-1999; exp. 1 and 1999-2000; exp. 2) using a 2 x 2 factorial design. Heifers were fed in the morning (1000 exp. 1 and 0900 exp. 2) or evening (2000) and exposed to natural winter photoperiod (NP) of <15 h or extended winter photoperiod (EP) of 16-19 h (65 lux exp. 1, 51 lux exp. 2) in outdoor partially covered pens. Heifers (n = 48; 276.9 +/- 19.4 kg, mean +/- SD) in exp. 1 were given a 60% forage: 40% concentrate backgrounding ration for 56 d followed by a 25% forage: 75% concentrate finishing ration for 70 d. In exp. 2, heifers (n = 48; 228.8 +/- 18.8kg) were given the backgrounding ration for 170 d. Mean ambient temperature during the backgrounding and finishing periods in exp. 1 was -13.7 and 0.5 degrees C, respectively. During the backgrounding period of exp. 1, evening feeding increased (P = 0.05) growth rate 10.1%, and tended (P = 0.08) to improve feed efficiency by 9.0%; EP tended (P = 0.08) to improve feed efficiency by 9.0%. During the finishing period there was a time of feeding x photoperiod interaction (P = 0.02) for feed efficiency with a tendency for most efficient gains in the morning-fed NP heifers. There were no main or interaction effects of time of feeding and photoperiod on ultrasonically measured subcutaneous fat depth or longissimus dorsi muscle area in exp. 1. Plasma prolactin was elevated by EP on day 42 (photoperiod x day; P < 0.01) of exp. 1. Mean ambient temperature during exp. 2 was -5.1 degrees C, and there were no main or interaction effects of time of feeding or photoperiod on weight gain, dry matter intake or feed efficiency. However, subcutaneous fat depth was reduced by EP on day 156 (photoperiod x day; P < 0.01). Plasma prolactin did not change during the first 107 d of exp. 2, but subsequently rose in all but the morning-fed EP treatment group. The results indicate that both evening feeding and extended photoperiod can impact growth and feed efficiency of beef cattle during winter-feeding.
Although use of the Web in teaching psychology courses is becoming increasingly popular, much of the published literature on the topic focuses on using the Web as a supplement to on-campus courses. I ...describe a completely Web-based social psychology course offered at my college and discuss the students' and instructor's reactions to the course.
The social psychology of criminal sentencing is discussed, focusing on how defendant characteristics influence the sentencing behavior of jurors. Finding contradict previous research on the ...significance of age and occupational status on length of sentences.
Five pre-pubertal Holstein heifers were exposed for 16 h to a light intensity of 400 lx and thereafter to intensities of 0, 50, 100, 200, or 400 lx for an additional 8 h (5 x 5 Latin square design). ...Exposure to all intensities inhibited (P < 0.05) melatonin secretion for the initial few hours (of the 8-h exposure period); melatonin concentration subsequently increased, particularly with the lower light intensities. Only the highest light intensity (400 lx) suppressed (P < 0.05) plasma melatonin concentrations for the entire 8-h exposure period.
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