Every year the Eurasian crane travel from northern Africa to northern Europe and Asia. On their migration route they need to rest and often choose places around shallow lakes in agriculture landscapes. During their time in these resting sites the cranes forage in agriculture fields surrounding the lakes, which often cause crop-damage and thereof also financial loses. The last 30 years the population has increased radically, resulting in more extensive crop-damage. This study was set out to gain a better understanding how these migrating cranes choose sites to forage, based on four environment factors: roads, water, buildings, trees and shrub. A study-area in north of Lake Tåkern was selected and during six days in the spring all the cranes in the area were counted and marked on a map. The results showed that the factors affected the occurrence of cranes in the fields. They wanted to be close to shallow water and keep a distance to buildings, roads, trees and shrub. The cranes often spend the night in shallow water and search for food in the area close by to not lose too much energy, which probably was the main reason for the birds to stay close to the water. The distance to buildings and roads suggests that the cranes want to avoid interference from humans and the distance to trees and shrub that they want to have a good awareness of their surroundings. Through this understanding, areas with higher risk to attract groups of cranes can more easily be identified.

The genetic status of the critically endangered Mississippi sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pulla) was analyzed using 2009 studbook data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managed captive breeding and release program. Microsatellite DNA data provided information on shared founder genotypes, allowing for refined analysis of genetic variation in the population, and informed breeding recommendations. The genetic variation observed in the Mississippi sandhill crane was contrasted with variation observed in the Florida sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pratensis). Results show far less variation in the Mississippi population. Results also suggest that while gene flow no longer occurs between the two populations, the introduction of cranes from the Florida population would help to increase the observed genetic diversity of the Mississippi sandhill crane population.

Wetland species are declining and efforts are being made to protect wetlands and their biodiversity. In Europe, these efforts could be hampered by the recent rise in the Western European Common crane (Grus grus) population. Increasing anecdotal evidence has raised concerns that this population increase has led to an increase in crane predation on other bird species’ eggs and chicks. This study aims to investigate, weather cranes are a potential threat to other bird species by predating on eggs and chicks, and ultimately biodiversity. Proxies, like habitat selection and time devoted to foraging in wetlands, were used to investigate risk of crane predation. Habitat selection and time devotion were studied using location data derived from 13 GPS-tagged Common cranes during May and June in 2017 to 2019. Observational foraging data was collected in the protected wetland Kvismaren, Sweden in June 2019, including adult non-breeding cranes only. During daytime, the three habitats with highest mean relative probability of presence within a 95% confidence interval for cranes are open wetland (0.87, CI: 0.86-0.89), followed by inland water (0.60, CI: 0.56-0.63) and arable land (0.55, CI: 0.52-0.59). The proportion of time cranes spend in wetlands is 0.39 in May and 0.28 in June. Cranes spend a proportional majority of their time (0.69) on foraging behavior compared to other activities they perform in wetlands. Since every encounter with a chick or egg can end in predation and cranes spend most of their time foraging in wetlands a population increase in cranes could have severe impact on bird species. Future research should take into account crane diet, which categories of cranes (e.g., non-breeding versus breeding) are most likely to predate on eggs and chicks and the negative impact on bird populations in relation to crane numbers to fill in the major research gap in this field. Lastly, future studies should evaluate how an increasing crane population also could impact the abundances of other wetland species such as, rodents, amphibians, fish and invertebrates.

<p>NCC Roads producerar och tillhandahåller krossprodukter, asfalt samt asfaltbeläggning. En av företagets strategiska inriktningar år 2006 och framåt är fokus på kostnadseffektivitet. Under den senaste tiden har arbetet koncentrerats mot området logistik, framförallt inköp samt transport. Transporter beställs och styrs idag decentraliserat utan att större hänsyn tas mellan asfaltverk, asfaltbeläggning och krossverk. Det leder till onödigt långa transporter, väntetider och lågt utnyttjande av transportkapaciteten. Kostnaden för transporter och hela logistiken beror till stor del av hur distributionsstrukturen är utformad. Av denna anledning har NCC Roads inlett ett arbete, som detta examensarbete är en del av, mot en mer effektiv distributionsstruktur.</p><p>Examensarbetets syfte är att kostnads effektivisera distributionsstrukturen. Syftet är brett och fokus lades inom områden med hög potential för kostnadseffektivisering. Rapporten utreder därmed hur NCC Roads kan utnyttja distributionsstrategin direktleverans från fabrik och transportstrategierna kontinuerlig förflyttning, utnyttja transportkapaciteten, minska tomkörning, rörlig kapacitet, skalfördelar samt integrera transportkedjan för att kostnadseffektivisera distributionsstrukturen. Strategierna är allmängiltiga och ger inte färdiga alternativa lösningar till nuläget, utformade efter Roads specifika situation. För att skapa alternativa lösningar till nuläget jämförs teori, idéer och nuläget med avvikelser från strategierna samt parametrar till avvikelserna.</p><p>En avvikelse är någonting, exempelvis arbetssätt eller faktum, som resulterar i att verkligheten i det studerade systemet skiljer sig från det som en strategi förespråkar.</p><p>En parameter är ett arbetssätt eller faktum som gör att en avvikelse uppstår.</p><p>När avvikelser med parametrar detekterats fanns en mängd olika alternativa lösningar till nuläget som är av intresse för kostnadseffektivisering. Vid detta skede valdes en vidare analys av den alternativa löningen som skapats från strategin direktleverans från fabrik för att undersöka totalkostnaden vid ett införande. Valet gjordes utifrån potential till kostnadsbesparing, tillgänglig tid samt möjlighet till att samla in information.</p><p>År 2006 transporterades 76 000 ton krossprodukter internt inom det studerade systemet, vilket sedan har avhämtats av kund eller transporterats till kund av NCC Roads. Om företaget använder direktleverans istället för interntransport och vidare transport till kund, som NCC Roads står för, kan besparingen bli 56 till 1 476 SEK per fordon. Beräkningarna är utförda för kunder placerade inom en radie på 15 km från täkten där mellanlagring sker varför kostnadseffektiviseringen kan vara än högre vid längre avstånd.</p><p>I rapporten presenteras även alternativa lösningar till nuläget för transportstrategierna kontinuerlig förflyttning, utnyttja transportkapaciteten, minska tomkörning, rörlig kapacitet samt skalfördelar vilka kan leda till en kostnadseffektivisering av distributionsstrukturen.</p> / <p>NCC Roads manufacture and provide gravel, asphalt and asphalt paving. One of the company’s strategic directions year 2006 and forward is focus on reducing costs. During the last few years the work has been concentrated to logistic, especially purchase and transport. Today transports are booked and controlled decentralized with out any consideration between asphalt factory, paving teams and gravel factory. This leads to unnecessary long transports, waiting time and low use of transport capacity. The cost of transports and the entire logistics depend on how the distribution structure is designed. Because of this NCC Roads has started a work, which this thesis is a part of, against a more cost efficient distribution structure.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to reduce the cost of the distribution structure. This purpose is wide why focus was concentrated to areas with high potential of cost reduction. Therefore the report examine how NCC Roads can use the distribution strategy direct delivery from factory and the transport strategies continues movement, use of transport capacity, reduce empty transports, agile capacity, economies of scale and integrating the transport chain to make the distribution structure more cost efficient. The strategies are general and do not give any direct alternative solution to the present situation at NCC Roads. To create alternative solutions to the present situation theories, ideas and the present situation were compared with deviations from the strategies and parameters to the deviations.</p><p>A deviation is something, for example a way of work or a fact, that result in that present situation differ from what the strategy recommend.</p><p>A parameter is a way of work or a fact that makes a deviation appear.</p><p>When the deviations with parameters were detected many alternative solutions to the present situation were of interest. At this point the alternative solution created from the strategy direct delivery from factory was chosen to bee investigated further regarding the total cost. This choice was made based on potential cost saving, available time and the possibility to collect information.</p><p>Year 2006, 76 000 tons of gravel were transported within the studied system which later on were picked up by the customer or transported to customer by NCC Roads. If the company uses direct delivery instead of internal transports and then transport to customer the potential savings is 56 to 1 476 SEK per vehicle. The calculation is based on customers placed within a radius of 15 kilometers from the middle storage. For that reason the saving can be even larger on longer distances.</p><p>Alternative solutions to the present situation are also presented for the strategies continues movement, use of transport capacity, reduce empty driving, agile capacity and economies of scale which can lead to a cost reduction of the distribution structure.</p>

NCC Roads producerar och tillhandahåller krossprodukter, asfalt samt asfaltbeläggning. En av företagets strategiska inriktningar år 2006 och framåt är fokus på kostnadseffektivitet. Under den senaste tiden har arbetet koncentrerats mot området logistik, framförallt inköp samt transport. Transporter beställs och styrs idag decentraliserat utan att större hänsyn tas mellan asfaltverk, asfaltbeläggning och krossverk. Det leder till onödigt långa transporter, väntetider och lågt utnyttjande av transportkapaciteten. Kostnaden för transporter och hela logistiken beror till stor del av hur distributionsstrukturen är utformad. Av denna anledning har NCC Roads inlett ett arbete, som detta examensarbete är en del av, mot en mer effektiv distributionsstruktur. Examensarbetets syfte är att kostnads effektivisera distributionsstrukturen. Syftet är brett och fokus lades inom områden med hög potential för kostnadseffektivisering. Rapporten utreder därmed hur NCC Roads kan utnyttja distributionsstrategin direktleverans från fabrik och transportstrategierna kontinuerlig förflyttning, utnyttja transportkapaciteten, minska tomkörning, rörlig kapacitet, skalfördelar samt integrera transportkedjan för att kostnadseffektivisera distributionsstrukturen. Strategierna är allmängiltiga och ger inte färdiga alternativa lösningar till nuläget, utformade efter Roads specifika situation. För att skapa alternativa lösningar till nuläget jämförs teori, idéer och nuläget med avvikelser från strategierna samt parametrar till avvikelserna. En avvikelse är någonting, exempelvis arbetssätt eller faktum, som resulterar i att verkligheten i det studerade systemet skiljer sig från det som en strategi förespråkar. En parameter är ett arbetssätt eller faktum som gör att en avvikelse uppstår. När avvikelser med parametrar detekterats fanns en mängd olika alternativa lösningar till nuläget som är av intresse för kostnadseffektivisering. Vid detta skede valdes en vidare analys av den alternativa löningen som skapats från strategin direktleverans från fabrik för att undersöka totalkostnaden vid ett införande. Valet gjordes utifrån potential till kostnadsbesparing, tillgänglig tid samt möjlighet till att samla in information. År 2006 transporterades 76 000 ton krossprodukter internt inom det studerade systemet, vilket sedan har avhämtats av kund eller transporterats till kund av NCC Roads. Om företaget använder direktleverans istället för interntransport och vidare transport till kund, som NCC Roads står för, kan besparingen bli 56 till 1 476 SEK per fordon. Beräkningarna är utförda för kunder placerade inom en radie på 15 km från täkten där mellanlagring sker varför kostnadseffektiviseringen kan vara än högre vid längre avstånd. I rapporten presenteras även alternativa lösningar till nuläget för transportstrategierna kontinuerlig förflyttning, utnyttja transportkapaciteten, minska tomkörning, rörlig kapacitet samt skalfördelar vilka kan leda till en kostnadseffektivisering av distributionsstrukturen. / NCC Roads manufacture and provide gravel, asphalt and asphalt paving. One of the company’s strategic directions year 2006 and forward is focus on reducing costs. During the last few years the work has been concentrated to logistic, especially purchase and transport. Today transports are booked and controlled decentralized with out any consideration between asphalt factory, paving teams and gravel factory. This leads to unnecessary long transports, waiting time and low use of transport capacity. The cost of transports and the entire logistics depend on how the distribution structure is designed. Because of this NCC Roads has started a work, which this thesis is a part of, against a more cost efficient distribution structure. The purpose of this thesis is to reduce the cost of the distribution structure. This purpose is wide why focus was concentrated to areas with high potential of cost reduction. Therefore the report examine how NCC Roads can use the distribution strategy direct delivery from factory and the transport strategies continues movement, use of transport capacity, reduce empty transports, agile capacity, economies of scale and integrating the transport chain to make the distribution structure more cost efficient. The strategies are general and do not give any direct alternative solution to the present situation at NCC Roads. To create alternative solutions to the present situation theories, ideas and the present situation were compared with deviations from the strategies and parameters to the deviations. A deviation is something, for example a way of work or a fact, that result in that present situation differ from what the strategy recommend. A parameter is a way of work or a fact that makes a deviation appear. When the deviations with parameters were detected many alternative solutions to the present situation were of interest. At this point the alternative solution created from the strategy direct delivery from factory was chosen to bee investigated further regarding the total cost. This choice was made based on potential cost saving, available time and the possibility to collect information. Year 2006, 76 000 tons of gravel were transported within the studied system which later on were picked up by the customer or transported to customer by NCC Roads. If the company uses direct delivery instead of internal transports and then transport to customer the potential savings is 56 to 1 476 SEK per vehicle. The calculation is based on customers placed within a radius of 15 kilometers from the middle storage. For that reason the saving can be even larger on longer distances. Alternative solutions to the present situation are also presented for the strategies continues movement, use of transport capacity, reduce empty driving, agile capacity and economies of scale which can lead to a cost reduction of the distribution structure.

Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 2000--Darmstadt.

Sand and gravel are compounds that are directly needed in the fine fraction of making concrete. Concrete is used as a foundation in 90 % of the cases when establishing new buildings in Sweden. Usually, sand and gravel are taken from land based areas. These land based areas with sand and gravel are also needed for the cleaning of the groundwater. Groundwater is the source of drinking water in big parts of Sweden and should therefore not be jeopardized. In the marine environment, there are areas that possess sand and gravel that could be used instead of land based material, and therefore will not jeopardize the quality of drinking water. By learning how the law is regulated in marine sand and gravel extraction cases, looking at existing maps of the marine geology’s structure, learning about the environmental impacts and by looking at the technique that are used for extracting the material of the bottom of the ocean - this report shows the possibilities of marine sand and gravel extraction of the ocean floor outside of Umeå’s coastline. The result shows that there are a few areas that have the right material and lies on the right depth of the ocean floor, but these areas did not have the right thickness. Therefore, an extraction of marine sand and gravel at these areas (Area A and B) would affect the volume percentage. This could lead to a change of the bottom structure that destroys the recovery after the extraction and damage the marine environment.

In this study, I modeled the suitability of habitat on the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge for the federally endangered Mississippi Sandhill Crane (Grus Canadensis pulla). Habitat type and suitability changed over time due to seasonality of vegetation and succession in the absence of burning. Cranes used highly suitable habitat more in the non-growing than in the growing season, and may have been more constrained by resource availability during winter months. Cranes used some less-suitable areas including cypress drains, which provide roosting sites, and supplemental food plots. The mismatch between predicted quality and crane use suggests that no single habitat provides all resources required for the population to persist. Prescribed burning to maintain grassland habitat is essential for maintaining high quality habitat for cranes. The relative availability of food on supplemental food plots and grasslands, as well as the behavior of cranes toward roads, require additional investigation.

Vid röjning av RSV-ammunition saknas idag adekvat beslutstöd för att dimensionera skadebegränsande åtgärder mot jetstrålens verkan. I uppsatsen vidareutvecklas en beräkningsmodell som författaren tidigare föreslagit. Syftet är att skapa ett verktyg som kan införas i ammunitionsröjningsverksamheten. Fullskaliga skjutförsök har genomförts för att klarlägga inverkan av förhållanden som är typiska vid ammunitionsröjning; en skyddskonstruktion byggd av sandsäckar och med ett långt detonationsavstånd till röjningsobjektet. Försöksresultatet visar att den grundläggande hydrodynamiska penetrationsteorin inte är användbar för dessa förhållanden. Vidare ger sandsäckskonstruktionen signifikant bättre skydd mot jetstrålen än en homogen grusbädd. Genom störningsanalys har känsligheten hos de enskilda parametrarna i beräkningsmodellen för verksamhetstypiska fel utretts. Härefter har Monte Carlo-simulering använts för att analysera den sammanlagda inverkan som dessa fel kan ge. Resultatet har legat till grund för att bestämma modellens säkerhetsmarginal. Militär nytta innebär att modellen skall kunna tillämpas fältmässigt, med korta tidsförhållanden och utan tillgång till avancerade beräkningshjälpmedel. Detta har lett fram till att ett enkelt diagram inkluderats i det kompletta dimensioneringsverktyget. Verktyget föreslås införas i regelverk och utbildningssystem för att avhjälpa den brist som råder idag. / During the clearance of shaped charge ammunition, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) personnel lack adequate means for the design of protective measures against the jet. In this thesis a calculation model, previously suggested by the author, is developed further. The aim is to create a tool that can be applied to EOD operations. Full-scale experiments have been conducted to clarify the effects of conditions that are typical for EOD operations: protective measures built from sandbags with a long standoff distance to the ordnance. The results indicate that the hydrodynamic penetration theory is not suitable for these conditions. Furthermore, a sandbag construction provides significantly better protection against the jet than a homogeneous gravel construction. By disturbance analysis, the sensitivity of the individual parameters in the model is studied for typical errors. Subsequently, Monte Carlo simulation has been used to analyse the effect these errors can cause. The simulation results have then been the used to determine the model´s margin of safety. Military utility implies that it should be possible to use the model under field conditions, with limited time frames and without access to advanced calculating means. This has resulted in a simple diagram included in the comprehensive design tool. It is proposed that the tool is implemented in regulations and curricula in order to remedy today’s lack of decision support.

En beräkningsmodell utvecklas för att skatta miljöpåverkan och ekonomiska effekter vid vägunderhållet grusning. Beräkningsmodellen används för att kunna jämföra alternativa metoder för grusning. Beräkningsmodellen testas genom ett testscenario med tre alternativa metoder för grusning. I alternativ ett används nytt grus och i alternativ två och tre används återvunnet grus. Studiens resultat visar att beräkningsmodellen kan användas för att skatta kostnad och miljöbelastning. Testscenariot visar att det är ekonomiskt och miljömässigt fördelaktigt att använda återvunnet grus vid grusning. Ur ett samhällsperspektiv är det viktigt att belysa fördelarna med att använda återvunnet grus, då detta kan motivera att fler faktiskt väljer detta alternativ och då brytning av naturgrus är en energikrävande process som påverkar miljön negativt. Studiens syfte är att skapa förståelse för miljömässiga och ekonomiska effekter vid återvinning av grus vid grusvägsunderhåll. För att uppnå syftet genomförs en fallstudie som besvarar frågeställningen hur miljömässiga och ekonomiska effekter kan skattas på grusvägsunderhåll. / A calculation model is developed to estimate the environmental impact and economic effects of gravel road maintenance. The purpose of the calculation model is to be able to compare alternative methods for graveling. The calculation model is tested through a test scenario with three alternative methods for graveling. In alternative one, new gravel is used and in alternatives two and three recycled gravel is used. The study's results show that the model calculation can be used to estimate cost and environmental impact. The test scenario shows that it is economically and environmentally advantageous to use recycled gravel in graveling. From a societal perspective, it is important to highlight the benefits of using recycled gravel, as this may motivate more people to actually choose this alternative. Because mining of natural gravel is an energy-intensive process that has a negative impact on the environment. The purpose of the study is to create an understanding of the environmental and economic effects of recycling of gravel during gravel road maintenance. To achieve this, a case study is conducted that answers the question how environmental and economic impacts can be estimated on gravel road maintenance.