University of East Anglia

About: University of East Anglia is a education organization based out in Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Climate change. The organization has 13250 authors who have published 37504 publications receiving 1669060 citations. The organization is also known as: UEA.

Spatial regression methods in dendroclimatology: a review and comparison of two techniques

Abstract: We review and compare two alternative spatial regression methods used in dendroclimatology to reconstruct climate from tree rings. These methods are orthogonal spatial regression (OSR) and canonical regression (CR). Both the OSR and CR methods have a common foundation in least-squares theory and converge to the same solution when all p candidate tree-ring predictors of climate are forced into the model. However, the perfomance of OSR and CR may differ when only subsets p' < p predictors are used. Theory cannot predict how either method is likely to perform when best-subset selection is applied, especially with regards to reconstruction accuracy. Consequently, empirical comparisons of OSR and CR are made using three tree-ring and climate networks from western Europe and eastern North America that have been used in previous dendroclimatic studies. These comparisons rely on a suite of regression model verification statistics to validate the accuracy of the climatic reconstructions produced by the best-subset models. The results indicate little real difference between OSR and CR, with each performing equally good or bad depending on the amount of recoverable climatic information in the tree rings. Canonical regression may perform slightly better in high signal-to-noise cases; conversely, OSR may perform slightly better when the signal-to-noise ratio is low. None of these apparent differences are large enough to select one method in preference to the other, however, and many more comparisons would be needed to determine if such indications are generally valid.

Biodiversity soup: metabarcoding of arthropods for rapid biodiversity assessment and biomonitoring

Abstract: Summary 1. Traditional biodiversity assessment is costly in time, money and taxonomic expertise. Moreover, data are frequently collected in ways (e.g. visual bird lists) that are unsuitable for auditing by neutral parties, which is necessary for dispute resolution. 2. We present protocols for the extraction of ecological, taxonomic and phylogenetic information from bulk samples of arthropods. The protocols combine mass trapping of arthropods, mass-PCR amplification of the COI barcode gene, pyrosequencing and bioinformatic analysis, which together we call ‘metabarcoding’. 3. We construct seven communities of arthropods (mostly insects) and show that it is possible to recover a substantial proportion of the original taxonomic information. We further demonstrate, for the first time, that metabarcoding allows for the precise estimation of pairwise community dissimilarity (beta diversity) and within-community phylogenetic diversity (alpha diversity), despite the inevitable loss of taxonomic information inherent to metabarcoding. 4. Alpha and beta diversity metrics are the raw materials of ecology and the environmental sciences, facilitating assessment of the state of the environment with a broad and efficient measure of biodiversity.

Implications of Global Climate Change for Tourism Flows and Seasonality

Abstract: Tourism is a climate-dependent industry, and many destinations owe their popularity to their pleasant climates during traditional holiday seasons. This article explores the potential implications of climate change for global tourism, with special emphasis on seasonality. Combination of two climate change scenarios with the Tourism Climatic Index reveals that the locations of climatically ideal tourism conditions are likely to shift poleward under projected climate change. Whereas destinations such as the Mediterranean may see shifts in their peak seasons from summer months to current shoulder periods, regions in higher latitudes are likely to experience a lengthening of their summer seasons. The effects of these changes will depend greatly on the flexibility demonstrated by institutions and tourists as they react to climate change, with substantial implications for both spatial and temporal redistribution of tourism activities. The reader is referred to http://www.carrs.msu.edu/Main/People/faculty%20bios/...

Anticholinergic medication use and cognitive impairment in the older population: the medical research council cognitive function and ageing study

Abstract: PARTICIPANTS: Thirteen thousand four participants aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Baseline use of possible or definite anticholinergics determined according to the Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale and cognition determined using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The main outcome measure was decline in the MMSE score at 2 years. RESULTS: At baseline, 47% of the population used a medication with possible anticholinergic properties, and 4% used a drug with definite anticholinergic properties. After adjusting for age, sex, educational level, social class, number of nonanticholinergic medications, number of comorbid health conditions, and cognitive performance at baseline, use of medication with definite anticholinergic effects was associated with a 0.33-point greater decline in MMSE score (95% confidence interval (CI) 50.03‐0.64, P 5.03) than not taking anticholinergics, whereas the use of possible anticholinergics at baseline was not associated with further decline (0.02, 95% CI 5 0.14‐0.11, P 5.79). Twoyear mortality was greater for those taking definite (OR 51.68; 95% CI 51.30‐2.16; Po.001) and possible (OR 51.56; 95% CI 51.36‐1.79;Po.001) anticholinergics. CONCLUSION: The use of medications with anticholinergic activity increases the cumulative risk of cognitive impairment and mortality. J Am Geriatr Soc 2011.

The cost-effectiveness of biodiversity surveys in tropical forests

Abstract: The identification of high-performance indicator taxa that combine practical feasibility and ecological value requires an understanding of the costs and benefits of surveying different taxa. We present a generic and novel framework for identifying such taxa, and illustrate our approach using a large-scale assessment of 14 different higher taxa across three forest types in the Brazilian Amazon, estimating both the standardized survey cost and the ecological and biodiversity indicator value for each taxon. Survey costs varied by three orders of magnitude, and dung beetles and birds were identified as especially suitable for evaluating and monitoring the ecological consequences of habitat change in our study region. However, an exclusive focus on such taxa occurs at the expense of understanding patterns of diversity in other groups. To improve the cost-effectiveness of biodiversity research we encourage a combination of clearer research goals and the use of an objective evidence-based approach to selecting study taxa.