Today, the issues related to the presence of bears and wolves in the Czech Republic are more frequently discussed due to their occasional occurrence. The significant part of the public still considers these predators dangerous and they even think that a man is supposed to be their potential prey. A lot of surveys confirming this have been already taken, but none of them was focused on the views of primary and secondary schools students. As they are a part of the school education system, their views on the large carnivores should be mainly shaped by it. A questionnaire-based survey was used to find the attitudes of students. The first part of the questionnaire focused on the students' opinions about the dangerousness of predators, its reasons and common wolf presence in the Czech Republic. The second part of the questionnaire is focused on the domestic dog, which has wolf origins. It deals mainly with the attitudes of students to selected dog breeds, dog domestication awareness and views on the so- called "fighting breeds". This work has been aimed at identification of attitudes of the primary and secondary school students from different regions of the Czech Republic to the selected predators. The survey was also taken at primary schools in the High Tatras Mountains, an area where all the large...

La Paléogénétique a pour but l’analyse de l’ADN de pièces archéologiques, et le renouveau de cette discipline tend à intégrer une dimension génomique par le séquençage massif des spécimens les mieux préservés. Les grottes, dont la température reste fraîche et constante, permettent la conservation de l’ADN. Nous avons analysé des échantillons du Pléistocène conservés dans des grottes, dont un site archéologique majeur, la Grotte Chauvet. L’étude a porté sur deux espèces, l’ours des cavernes, Ursus spelaeus et l’hyène des cavernes, Crocuta crocuta spelaea.À partir d’un échantillon particulièrement bien conservé de la Grotte Chauvet, nous avons séquencé le génome mitochondrial de l’ours des cavernes et établi la phylogénie de cette espèce éteinte. Nous avons montré que l’ours des cavernes est une espèce proche des ours bruns et polaires dont elle s’est séparée il y a 1,6 million d’années. Nous avons ensuite analysé la région de contrôle mitochondrial de plusieurs spécimens des Grottes Chauvet et des Deux-Ouvertures datés de 28 000 à 32 000 ans. La forte homogénéité génétique de cette population ardéchoise pourrait être corrélée à la disparition régionale de l’espèce.Enfin, nous avons réalisé l’analyse génomique de coprolithes d’hyène des cavernes. Nous avons mis en évidence des quantités importantes d’ADN nucléaire et mitochondrial dans les coprolithes et reconstitué le premier génome mitochondrial complet d’hyène des cavernes. La présence d’ADN de cerf élaphe, Cervus elaphus, nous permet de décrire une relation proie-prédateur du Pléistocène. / Palaeogenetics aims at analysing DNA from archaeological remains. New genetic sequencing technologies revitalize the discipline through genomic analysis. Because of cool and constant temperature, cave sites allow the preservation of ancient DNA. We carried out DNA analysis of Pleistocene specimens originating from cave sites, especially the Chauvet cave. We studied samples from two extinct species, the cave bear, Ursus spelaeus, and the cave hyena, Crocuta crocuta spelaea.Using a well-preserved sample from Chauvet cave, we characterized the 16,810 bp-long mitochondrial genome of the extinct cave bear, and established its phylogeny. We were able to ascertain that the cave bear is a sister-species to the brown and polar bears, and that the two lineages split about 1.6 million years ago. We also sequenced mitochondrial control region fragments of Chauvet and Deux-Ouvertures cave bear samples. These Ardèche bear specimens, dated back to 28,000-32,000 years BP, display strong genetic homogeneity that may be related to the imminent species extinction.Finally, we analysed cave hyena coprolites from the Coumère Cave by metagenomic DNA sequencing. As these fossilized feces still contain a high amount of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, we were able to decipher the first complete mitochondrial genome for the cave hyena. We found DNA from the red deer, Cervus elaphus, thus depicting a Pleistocene predator-prey relationship.

Human-bear interactions are an important consideration of bear biology, as interactions can lead to destruction of property as well as injury or death for both human and bear. Successful analysis of why these interactions occur can lead to appropriate preventative measures and mitigation of further conflict. Bryce Canyon National Park (BRCA) is comprised of relatively poor bear habitat, but a black bear population exists on the Paunsaugunt Plateau, on which the park occupies the eastern edge. Park managers expressed interest in learning more about bear movements and, specifically, bear use of anthropogenic features following a number of human-bear incidents located at backcountry campsites within park boundaries. By analyzing data from GPS radio-collared bears, trail cameras, existing literature, park incident reports and in-depth campsite assessments, we were able to show how bears are using both natural and anthropogenic features on the Bryce landscape. Campsites were assessed for bear habitat, displacement and encounter potential in order to establish an overall human-bear conflict potential. AIC model selection and resource selection functions using GPS collar data showed that bears selected for some anthropogenic features (campsites, springs), while actively avoiding others (trails, roads). Trail camera data, existing literature and park incident reports all pointed toward use of trails. We then considered all data sources used in the analysis and compiled rankings of human-bear conflict potential for each of the backcountry campsites within BRCA, and submitted a detailed report of findings, conclusions and recommendations to NPS personnel. Second, we investigated human-bear interactions at polar bear dens sites on Alaska's North Slope. As parturient female polar bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation increasingly construct maternal dens on coastal land features rather than sea ice, they become more likely to interact with industry and other human activity. We wanted to understand what levels of human interaction could lead to disturbance of denning polar bears, and what types of responses were being exhibited by bears following those interactions. We subdivided potential disturbance stimuli into groups based on their size, motion and sound and the used AIC model selection techniques and multinomial logistic regression to analyze records of human-bear interactions at den sites ranging from 1975 through the present day. We found significant probabilities of varying levels of bear disturbance response among a number of stimuli and intensities. However, denning bear families were overall more tolerant of human activity near den sites than expected. Den abandonments were rare, and we documented no cases of reproductive failure following a disturbance event. We hope that our results from the analysis can be used to further enhance management of industry when operating in polar bear denning habitat.

In May 2016 Bear Family Records will release its third of three boxed sets documenting the three commercial location recording sessions conducted in east Tennessee during the years 1927-1930. Each of the three sessions was held in a different city by a different record company, and each was unique in terms of the specific musicians and types of music recorded; the three sessions had in common the fact that they were all conducted in east Tennessee and that they ultimately documented a broad range of the musical sounds, styles, and repertoire of Appalachia. More

Nearly all deep-sea cephalopod life history studies have been completed by examination of specimens collected in the wild. Much of this work is like piecing together a puzzle; knowledge of the life history of many species remains fragmented and hence, taxonomically and phylogenetically confused. Molecular approaches and sequencing technologies are powerful tools for deciphering wild-type cephalopod life history and population dynamics. Use of molecular markers offers additional certainty for identifying specimens damaged during deep-sea collections and can elucidate often cryptic, intra- and interspecific diversity. The research presented in this study assessed broad genetic patterns of biodiversity in deep-sea cephalopods from the Gulf of Mexico and northwestern Atlantic Ocean. This study has two key objectives: [1] to examine intraspecies variation among regionally disjunct subpopulations, comparing collections separated by the Florida Peninsula, and [2] to examine intraspecies variation within deep-sea cephalopods in the Gulf of Mexico. Through Sanger sequencing marker genes COI, 16S rRNA, and 28S rRNA, this study has generated a genetic baseline characterization of deep-sea cephalopods in the Gulf of Mexico, assessed intraspecies genetic variation, and linked morphological identification with DNA barcodes, testing morphological hypotheses of species identification and naming. Results of investigating intraspecies variation within regionally disjunct subpopulations reveal there is no regional distinction between the Gulf of Mexico subpopulations of Vampyroteuthis infernalis, Pyroteuthis margaritifera, and Cranchia scabra, and the Bear Seamount subpopulations in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Results of investigating intraspecies variation within the Gulf of Mexico displayed potential for cryptic species, novel sequence records, and large expansions to sequence records for species known to inhabit the Gulf of Mexico. Analysis of intraspecies variation within the Gulf of Mexico facilitated identification of damaged specimens used for this study, but also revealed GenBank database issues of misidentified records, and outdated nomenclature in accession records. Because cephalopods play a central role in most oceanic ecosystems, characteristics like a short average life span and a rapid growth rate mean that cephalopod populations have the potential to serve as an invaluable reflection of ecosystem change.

This was an applied ethnographic study of natural and cultural resources of contemporary significance for American Ojibway' tribes and Canadian Ojibway First Nations that are or were once present within or in the immediate vicinity of four National Park Service (NPS) units in the Midwest Region: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SLBE), Michigan; Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PIRO), Michigan; Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS), Wisconsin; and Voyageurs National Park (VOYA), Minnesota. The main objective of this study, according to the Scope of Work (SOW) of 1996, was to develop a documented basis of knowledge regarding historic and current use of resources by culturally affiliated Native American tribes that should help park managers anticipate Native American resource use issues that may confront them in the future and thus be better prepared to deal with them in an informed and culturally sensitive manner. The study also was to provide recommendations regarding preservation, monitoring, mitigation, interpretation, and use access issues. The research was designed to provide a historical and ethnographic overview and assessment of Native American, Southwestern Ojibway in particular, land and resource use as it pertains to the region where the parks are located, and to each park unit. This study also provided an inventory of ethnographic resources known to have been significant for culturally affiliated Southwestern Ojibway tribes at different points in time.

This thesis characterizes major factors influencing the accumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine (OC) pesticides, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), in grizzly bears. Dietary differences among grizzly bears have significant implications for contaminant concentrations and patterns. While salmon-eating bears were dominated by lipophilic PCBs, OC pesticides, and lower-brominated PBDEs, non-salmon-eating bears were dominated by the more volatile PCBs and OC pesticides and higher-brominated PBDEs (e.g. BDE-209). Overall, the ocean-salmon-bear pathway appeared to preferentially select for those contaminants with an intermediate log Kow ~6.5, with salmon delivering up to 70% of OC pesticides, 85% of PBDEs and 90% of PCBs to grizzly bears. Fat utilization by grizzly bears during hibernation results in significant contaminant concentration increases in residual fat (“concentration effect”). Overall, total PCBs increased by 2.21 times from pre- to post-hibernation, and total PBDEs by 1.58 times. Interestingly, the patterns of the two distinct pre-hibernation grizzly bear feeding ecologies (salmon- and non-salmon-eating) converged during hibernation, suggesting that shared metabolic capacities drive POP patterns during hibernation. Relative to salmon, grizzly bears have extremely low biomagnification factors (BMFs) for PCBs (0.147), compared to other marine mammals. Low BMF values were a result of >90% depuration (loss) of PCBs through contaminant metabolism and excretion. The results suggest that grizzly bears only metabolize PCB congeners with meta- and para- vicinal hydrogen (H) atoms, suggesting that they have active cytochrome (CYP) P450 2B/3A-like metabolic enzymes. However, congeners structurally resistant to metabolic biotransformation, and those with ortho- and meta- vicinal H atoms, were not readily metabolized, but rather were lost through excretion. This was evidenced by a significant relationship between total retention (Rtotal) of those congeners and log Kow, as well as a lack of change in that relationship during hibernation. Vegetation and the terrestrial food web were dominated by PBDEs and volatile OC pesticides and PCBs, while salmon and the marine food web were dominated by lipophilic PCBs and OC pesticides, mirroring patterns in grizzly bears within their respective food web. Following consumption of these various foods by the grizzly bears, fecal material closely resembled food in contaminant pattern, suggesting that many of the contaminants may go unabsorbed. While previous work identified major factors (e.g. age, sex, diet) influencing POP behaviour in wildlife and food webs, this research highlights the need to refine our ideas about those factors in order to better assess chemical health risk in wildlife by considering: 1) individual differences in feeding behaviour; 2) integrated dietary histories (temporal changes); 3) unique biological traits affecting POP fate; 4) modes of POP loss other than metabolism; 5) selection of the most recalcitrant congener for more robust analysis of POP behaviour; 6) use of non-invasive techniques to study diet and POP exposure; and, 7) tissue residue guidelines underestimate health risks. Our results also suggest that PBDEs show POP-type characteristics as defined under the Stockholm Convention, and thus should be regulated.

In this study, we address two research questions: 1) Can we identify bear market episodes in Australia in the past 20 years? 2) How do investors’ moods change as stock market conditions enter into a bear phase. To address the first question, we use a pattern recognition algorithm, called the penalised LSE approach. By defining bear markets as those stock market regimes where the average returns are statistically significantly negative or below the risk free rate, we are able to detect two bear market periods in Australia in the past 20 years. These are the November 1987 to February 1988 and the April 2000 to May 2000 periods. To address the second question, we study the change in investors’ attitudes to varieties of systematic risk and the aggregate number and dollar value of shares traded in portfolios as a result of the regime switch from pre-bear to bear period. Out of the 7 categories of risk considered in this study, the transition from pre-bear to bear regime in both sample periods had a significant impact mainly on investors’ attitude toward the size risk factor. Investors systematically became more sensitive to firm size as stock market conditions entered into the 1987⁄1988 bear market. In the later sample period, investors’ reaction to firm size was more selective as it depended on the characteristics of the stocks that made up their portfolios. We also find that the regime switches resulted in lower portfolio trading volumes. Based on these results we infer that the November 1987-February 1988 bear market evoked a general sad mood, while the April 2000-May 2000 bear market stirred up both angry and sad feelings in market participants depending on the composition of stocks in their portfolios.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 50).

O presente trabalho busca identificar bull e bear markets para o mercado financeiro brasileiro, especificamente para o índice Ibovespa, através das principais metodologias existentes na literatura: regras não paramétricas e modelos de mudança de regime markoviano. A primeira abordagem foi utilizada como benchmark para comparação com melhor modelo econométrico estimado pela segunda abordagem, visto que trata-se de um método ex-post de identificação. No tange aos modelos de mudança de regime markoviano, constatou-se que permitir regimes distintos também para a variância da série contribui para a identificação dos mesmos. Desta forma, o melhor modelo obtido fora o MSARMA(2,1)-2 para a série de retornos semanais do índice Ibovespa. O modelo foi capaz de identificar os principais eventos que impactaram a economia e o mercado financeiro brasileiro no período. Além disto, o modelo se mostrou útil para a tomada de decisão, visto que a estratégia de investimento, baseada na previsão um passo à frente do estado do mercado, foi capaz de preservar o capital do investidor, gerando um melhor desempenho do que na estratégia buy-and-hold de longo prazo. / This paper seeks to identify bull and bear markets in the brazilian stock market, specifically to the time series of the Ibovespa index, through the main methodologies present in literature: identification based on rules and Markov switching models. The first method was used as a benchmark to compare with the best regime switching model, since it is an ex-post method of identification. Modelling a Markov switching model with two regimes also for the variance of the process resulted in a better identification of the markets. Thus, the best Markov switching model estimated was theMSARMA(2,1)-2 to the time series of the Ibovespa weekly returns. The model was able to identify the main events that have impacted the brazilian economy and also the stock market in the period. Furthermore, the model proved its value in decision making, since in a investment strategy, based on the models one step ahead forecast about the regime of the market, it was able to preserve investor capital, generating a better performance than the buy-and-hold strategy.