text:
Home | Archives | About | Login | Submissions | Notify | Contact | Search | ||
Copyright © 2001 by the author(s). Published here under license by The Resilience Alliance. The following is the established format for referencing this article: Dominy, N. J. and B. Duncan. 2001. GPS and GIS methods in an African rain forest: applications to tropical ecology and conservation. Conservation Ecology 5(2): 6. [online] URL: http://www.consecol.org/vol5/iss2/art6/ To print the entire article (including any tables, figures, or appendices), use this link to the unified version of the article. To print separate parts of the article, click in the frame containing that part (text, figure, table, or appendix) before choosing File, Print. Insight GPS and GIS Methods in an African Rain Forest: Applications to Tropical Ecology and Conservation Nathaniel J. Dominy1 and Brean Duncan2 1University of Hong Kong; 2Dynamac Corporation, Kennedy Space Center
Since the completion of the Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS) in 1995, the integration of GPS and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology has expanded to a great number of ecological and conservation applications. In tropical rain forest ecology, however, the technology has remained relatively neglected, despite its great potential. Notwithstanding cost, this is principally due to (1) the difficulty of quality satellite reception beneath a dense forest canopy, and (2) a degree of spatial error unacceptable to fine-scale vegetation mapping. Here, we report on the technical use of GPS/GIS in the rain forest of Kibale National Park, Uganda, and the methodology necessary to acquire high-accuracy spatial measurements. We conclude that the stringent operating parameters necessary for high accuracy were rarely obtained while standing beneath the rain forest canopy. Raising the GPS antenna to heights of 25–30 m resolved this problem, allowing swift data collection on the spatial dispersion of individual rain forest trees. We discuss the impact of the 1996 Presidential Decision Directive that suspended U.S. military-induced GPS error on 1 May 2000, and comment on the potential applications of GPS/GIS technology to the ecological study and conservation of tropical rain forests. KEY WORDS: Kibale National Park, Uganda, biodiversity conservation, canopy interference, differential correction, frugivores, geographic information systems, global positioning system, seed dispersal, spatial ecology, tropical rain forest, vegetation mapping. Published: November 20, 2001 The occupation and utilization of space is implicit to any ecological investigation and is central to ecological theory (Dale 1999, Folt and Burns 1999). In this regard, the spatial dispersion of trees has long captivated ecologists (Wallace 1878) and has stimulated decades of research (Diggle 1979, Condit et al. 2000, Plotkin et al. 2000). In the tropics, the mapping of individual trees is beginning to yield great insight into patterns of recruitment limitation, seed dispersal, and tropical tree diversity (Wills et al. 1997, Hubbell et al. 1999, Condit et al. 2000, Harms et al. 2000). Indeed, the work of Harms and colleagues (2000) is so compelling that, in the words of Howe and Miriti (2000:434), there is now "no question: seed dispersal matters." However, although this study underscores the hypothesized relationship between patterns of vertebrate seed-dispersal and tropical species diversity (see Howe 1989), it also calls attention to the sixth great mass extinction currently facing tropical ecosystems (May 1999, Pimm and Raven 2000). Forest plotting and the measurement of species diversity are thus important components of forest conservation and management (Hubbell and Foster 1983) because, as Plotkin et al. (2000) emphasize, these techniques are poised to answer controversial questions such as: How does habitat loss relate to species extinction of both vertebrates and plants? What is the best possible design of a natural reserve to maximize the number or genetic diversity of surviving species? Forest plotting, however, is often tedious work. Classic methods of ground-based mapping frequently involve triangulation from a known point, which, in a rain forest, may involve extensive labor without being outstandingly accurate. Distance accuracy using reconnaissance-type mapping is at best only 1 part in 80 (4.5°) with a hand-held compass, and 1 part in 300 (1.2°) with a staff-held forester's compass (Mosby 1959). These techniques have served tropical ecology well, but mapping accuracy and efficiency can be greatly improved today by utilizing Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies. The relatively recent development of GPS and GIS technologies appear ideally suited to conservation efforts because they empower ecologists to expeditiously acquire, store, analyze, and display spatial data on organisms and their environment (Johnston 1998, Wadsworth and Treweek 1999). For example, in Bwindi National Park, Uganda, GPS was used to determine that mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) preferentially sleep in areas outside park boundaries (Goldsmith 2000). This finding has important conservation implications because many plant species may rely on both gorillas and their sleeping sites for seed dispersal and seedling recruitment (Tutin et al. 1991, Rogers et al. 1998). Simply enlarging the perimeter of Bwindi to include these sites would therefore seem an important step to preserve both the vulnerable gorillas and the diversity of the system as a whole. In this regard, the application of integrated GPS/GIS technology to habitat utilization models is particularly strong because it is capable of identifying those habitats most at risk of human encroachment and essential to species' demographic success (e.g., Breininger et al. 1991, 1995, Duncan et al. 1995). When using GPS in a forest, however, one is faced with two critical problems: (1) a 10–30 m spatial error presently found in autonomous GPS coordinates is unsuitable for plotting and differentiating individual trees, and (2) a dense forest canopy may pose a significant physical barrier to accurate GPS satellite reception and data acquisition (Wilkie 1989, Petersen 1990, D'Eon 1995, Wills 1996, Phillips et al. 1998). Our objective in Kibale National Park, Uganda was to mitigate these problems in a wet and remote environment. We were interested in the rapid and highly accurate (i.e., ± 1-m) plotting of individual trees in order to understand how scatter vs. clumped patterns of vertebrate seed dispersal (sensu Howe 1989) account for the spatial dispersion of adult trees (N. J. Dominy and B. Duncan, unpublished manuscript). Our aim here is to report on the feasibility and systems capabilities of a 12-channel backpack GPS with satellite-based differential correction in a rain forest environment. We believe that the findings may aid effective management decisions by increasing the efficiency of data collection and analysis, reducing spatial error, reducing the volume of archived records, easing data management, and increasing information sharing between tropical ecologists. Definition of GPSThe Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS) refers to the group of 24 geosynchronous satellites owned and maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense (USDOD). Equipped with atomic clocks, each satellite emits a unique radio signal that is received by a GPS receiver on Earth. The quartz clock in a GPS receiver is calibrated to a satellite's atomic clock via information imbedded in the GPS signal. Because each GPS receiver generates the same unique code at the same time as each satellite, it is able to measure the time lag between radio signals sent and received. Because radio signals travel at a standard speed (299,460 km/s), a precise Earth location is thus a trigonometric equation solving for the intersection of four spheres with known radii (the radius being the measured distance between a receiver and satellite). Therefore, a minimum of four accurate distance measurements is theoretically required to determine a precise three-dimensional location on the surface of the Earth. Because each of six orbital planes contains at least four satellites inclined to the equator at an angle of 55 degrees, all areas of the Earth have at least four satellites visible at any given time. GPS data are usually expressed as latitudes and longitudes relative to a mathematical model called the World Geodetic System 1984 datum (or WGS-84). Coordinates in the WGS-84 model are based on both an origin point and the GRS-80 ellipsoid, the standard most closely approximating the shape of the Earth. Prior to 1 May 2000, the greatest source of GPS error was called Selective Availability (S/A), which referred to ephemeris errors (epsilon) and satellite clock errors (dithering) deliberately induced by the U.S. Department of Defense. Autonomous GPS accuracies of 10–30 m were restricted to all except those authorized by the U.S. military and its allies. The combination of S/A and other sources of error (e.g., ionospheric and tropospheric delay) resulted in 95% of all civilian GPS positions being somewhere within 100 m of truth (Trimble Navigation 1998). Although the recent presidential decision to remove S/A now improves civilian GPS accuracy to 10–30 m (McDonald 1999), differential correction is still necessary to compensate for error sources preventing the accuracy at < 1 m possible with current GPS technology. Definition of GIS
Geographic information systems are an information technology with the capacity to store, analyze, and display both spatial and nonspatial data (Parker 1988). Although some modern Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems can link geographic features with attributes in a database, they are considered graphic systems only (Cowen 1988). The utility of GIS (Scholten and de Lepper 1991) is more sophisticated in:
Spatial data were collected in order to analyze the influence of seed dispersal by large frugivores on the spatial dispersion of adult rain forest trees (N. J. Dominy and B. Duncan, unpublished manuscript). Here, we describe our use of GPS and GIS technology to map individuals of three tree species representing an elephant–ape–monkey continuum of seed dispersal. They are, respectively: Balanites wilsoniana (Balanitaceae), Chrysophyllum gorungosanum (Sapotaceae), and Uvariopsis congensis (Annonaceae). Site descriptionThe study was located in the Kanyanchu research area (~1300 m a.s.l.) of Kibale National Park, Uganda (0°13' N to 0°41' N and 30°19' E to 30°32' E). Forest canopy typically ranges from 25 to 40 m, although some trees may obtain heights of 50 m. Vegetation classification ranges from moist evergreen forest (but closely related to moist montane forest) to lowland tropical rain forest, with affinities to both montane and mixed tropical deciduous rain forest (Langdale-Brown et al. 1964, Struhsaker 1997). Mean annual rainfall is 1700 mm (1990–1996; C. A. Chapman and L. J. Chapman, unpublished data) and bimodal in distribution, occurring in two distinct rainy seasons: March–May and August–November. Equipment and data collectionFrom April to July 1999, we used a 12-channel GPS Pathfinder Pro XRS System (Trimble Navigation 1998) equipped with subscription to a satellite differential correction service (Fugro-OmniSTAR, Houston, Texas). The selection of this unit was based on the demands of a rain forest environment and the need for the highest possible accuracy (the unit is sub-meter capable). In addition to being light in mass (1.35 kg) and battery powered, this backpack GPS has several other features that are suited to meet those needs: (1) the capacity to simultaneously track 12 satellites; (2) real-time differential correction capability; (3) a rugged, waterproof housing; and (4) built-in, multipath rejection technology. Data were collected using the manufacturers' suggested critical settings. The Position Dilution of Precision (PDOP) mask was set to <6.0, the Signal-to-Noise (SNR) mask was set to >6.0, and the Elevation mask was set to 15°. PDOP is a measure of how clumped the satellites are in space and how strong the trilateration base will be for determining a position on Earth. The more evenly distributed the satellites are in space, the better the trilateration base and the lower the PDOP number. The SNR is a measure of satellite signal strength; hence, the higher the number, the stronger the signal. The elevation mask helps to prevent the GPS unit from using unfavorable satellites by eliminating those that are low on the horizon. After configuring the critical settings, we established a link between the Pro XRS and the satellite differential service (XSAT satellite, 1538.053 MHz, data rate: 2400 bps). Given an ideal physical environment and these configurations, Fugro-OmniSTAR specifies the expectation of 1-m data for study locations in Africa (M. Huff, personal communication). This is because OmniStar's 10 regional base stations around the southern half of Africa and their unique "Wide Area Solution" give any user, regardless of distance or location, approximately the same 1-m accuracy (Huff 1995). We began data collection with a series of tests aimed to assess equipment function. To compare differences between differentially corrected and uncorrected data, we walked along a relatively open and unobstructed logging road and collected a single location point every 7 s. We then plotted and analyzed the differences between uncorrected and corrected data to determine whether the difference was within the expected range of USDOD specifications for autonomous GPS (Fig. 1). After satisfactory results, we began to map individual trees when Trimble's Quick Plan software indicated optimal conditions (i.e., at times during the day featuring the greatest number of satellites with PDOP <6.0). To measure the positions of trees, we placed the GPS antenna against individual boles in both undisturbed forest and near canopy gaps. If neither GPS nor differential (DGPS) readings were obtained at ground level, trees were ascended using a safety belt and Buckingham tree climbers (essentially, steel gaffs and shanks strapped to the feet). Data on the attributes and spatial location of individual trees were then downloaded onto a portable laptop computer and exported into GIS software (ArcView version 3.1, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, California, USA). In conditions under which the sky was relatively open and free of obstruction, a minimum of four satellites in optimum position and signals of optimum strength were always located and tracked, allowing consistent collection of high-accuracy data in real time. Often, however, ground-based attempts to log differentially corrected data points beneath the forest canopy resulted in total failure. Although the GPS receiver was, at times, able to locate the required minimum of four satellites, the narrow signal parameters needed for high-quality, differentially corrected positions were rarely obtained. Attempts to plot trees in the forest interior failed because the SNR became so convoluted by heavy foliage that even the minimum requirement of tracking four satellites was rarely achieved (Fig. 2A). In trials with the GPS antenna positioned near canopy gaps, the hand-held data logger indicated favorable SNR levels, but these were confounded by conditions of poor satellite positioning or high PDOP (Fig. 2B). In an attempt to mitigate these factors, we climbed trees in order to escape as much signal interference as possible. From a height of 25–30 m, the SNR increased and PDOP decreased sufficiently to allow high-accuracy DGPS measurement. This strategy always worked, although the GPS receiver sometimes required 10–15 min to locate satellites with the optimum PDOP required for collecting the highest quality measurements. In 135 DGPS measurements, we tracked 6.65 � 0.92 satellites (mean � 1 SD), and PDOP was 2.48 � 0.75. The map (Fig. 3) produced by our methods shows the degree to which high-accuracy GPS data can be plotted with the aid of GIS technology. Uvariopsis congensis (Annonaceae), for example, was exceptionally dense: the modal distance between nearest conspecifics was 3.95 m (minimum 0.023 m). Every tree was represented by a single point because, in addition to the sheer time commitment required to climb trees, the degree of error was considered minor relative to the circumference of the tree itself. In Kibale Forest, we experienced one of the main limitations of GPS technology. Dense forest canopy posed a significant physical barrier to quality GPS signal reception. Although researchers have described using GPS technology beneath the rain forest canopies of Africa (Wilkie 1989), Southeast Asia (Wills 1996), and Central America (Phillips et al. 1998), none has attempted to mitigate induced or inherent signal errors. Even if their measurements were repeated now in the absence of S/A, their methodologies did not include differential correction and would thus result in an error of at least 10–30 m (McDonald, 1999). Although this degree of error is probably acceptable to many ecological applications, fine-scale vegetation mapping requires high levels of spatial accuracy. It is unlikely that traditional mapping techniques would have produced the differentiation between trees reported here. Our solution to achieving high spatial sampling accuracy in a tropical rain forest environment is just one of many that can be taken using today's available technology. We chose to use a satellite subscription service for producing our DGPS measurements, rather than using a base station. A base station is an additional GPS receiver with an antenna stationed in an area that has an unobstructed view of the sky and is relatively close to the study site (at least within 1500 km, or 250 km for the highest accuracies). Ideally, the antenna of this unit would be surveyed in so that its position would be known with precision. A base station operates simultaneously while the rover unit is collecting field data. Because the base antenna is on a known position, geographically close, and running at the same time that the rover is collecting data, its files can be used to remove unwanted error inherent in the GPS signal. This is referred to as post-processed differential correction, because the corrections are applied after field data collection is completed. In a typical collecting environment, post-processed GPS data will yield greater accuracy than data produced by real-time differential correction techniques. However, one thing we knew prior to commencing work in Kibale Forest was that we would not be working in a typical GPS collecting environment: a dense, multilayered forest environment is one of the most challenging for this technology. We quickly ruled out post-processing using a separate base station, reasoning that we would need to purchase two units instead of one. This was possible, but not likely, considering our research budget. Moreover, it would be difficult to find a surveyed locality (a monument or survey marker) with known coordinates on which to place the antenna. Although a fixed reference may be obtained with a second unit collecting and averaging data, this is time consuming and unlikely to produce greater accuracy than a real-time differential correction service. Finally, concerns regarding theft contributed to the decision to avoid use of a base station. We chose the Trimble Pro XRS because of its proven performance and suitability for real-time differential correction. Although the methods described here involved climbing trees, a tiring and arguably dangerous pursuit, we believe that outfitting the GPS antenna with a telescoping pole would achieve the same results. Although using a telescoping range pole could be very effective and efficient if used properly, there are several considerations when elevating the antenna. The first is simply being able to control and balance the elongated range pole, a task that may be facilitated with an assistant and/or supporting vegetation. The second consideration is protection of the antenna and cable from damage by vegetation. Lastly, the Pro XRS antenna cable may not exceed 30 m without an inline repeater. In a rain forest environment, however, the manufacturer's accuracy specifications may only be used as a guideline. Absolute accuracy may only be gauged by comparing DGPS measurements made using field techniques with a point of known coordinates. Unfortunately, we were unable to locate a nearby locality with known, highly accurate coordinates, so this comparison was not made. Real-time DGPS techniques and elevating the antenna may have contributed to the overall error, but, despite this, we are confident that our measurements fall within a 1–2 m error range, with the majority being closer to 1 m. SpeculationWhat is the value of rapid, high-accuracy mapping techniques in the rain forest? Recent studies analyzing plots of rain forest trees are now yielding great insights into patterns of recruitment limitation, seed dispersal, and tropical tree diversity (Hubbell et al. 1999, Condit et al. 2000, Harms et al. 2000). The patterns of seed deposition, seedling demography, and adult tree recruitment are critical to making sound conservation decisions regarding tropical rain forest habitats (Hubbell and Foster 1983). This is particularly true in light of the probable co-dependence of many tropical trees on large-bodied frugivores vulnerable to poaching and habitat destruction (Chapman and Chapman 1995, Chapman and Onderdonk 1998, Balcomb et al. 2000). With 'biodiversity hotspots' (sensu Myers et al. 2000) rapidly shrinking in area, it is essential to understand how seed-processing by these animals affects forest composition. In this regard, the main advantage of GPS/GIS technology is its speed. In addition, the integration of GPS/GIS technology with habitat utilization models is particularly strong, because it is capable of identifying those habitats most at risk of human encroachment and essential to species demographic success (e.g., Breininger et al. 1991, 1995, Duncan et al. 1995). To this end, the recent miniaturization of GPS receivers for use in radio collars (Moen et al. 1996) will obtain animal ranging data faster and far more accurately than would cumbersome radiotelemetry equipment. In sum, the methods described here allow for the application of GPS/GIS to rapid and fine-scale vegetation mapping of rain forest environments. We believe that the utility of this technology to address important empirical and theoretical issues, along with the speed and accuracy of the methods, are well worth the effort and cost. Responses to this article are invited. If accepted for publication, your response will be hyperlinked to the article. To submit a comment, follow this link. To read comments already accepted, follow this link. Research permission was gratefully received from the Makerere University Biological Field Station, Ugandan Wildlife Authority, and the Uganda National Research Council of Science and Technology. We thank Charles Preuss at Trimble Navigation, Jack Dangermond and Marcus Chan at ESRI, and Mike Huff at Fugro-OmniSTAR for patience, kind technical assistance, and generous donation of equipment and services. This study was influenced by the NASA Planetary Biology Internship program and supported by the NASA Science and Engineering Office–Biological Sciences Branch, Sigma Xi, Explorer's Club, National Geographic Society (grant number 6584-99 to Peter Lucas), and the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (grant number 7241/97M to Peter Lucas). Thanks to Eastman Ting for the drawings, and very special thanks to Patrick Kagoro, Boniface Balyeganira, and Moses Musana for aiding with field data collection and climbing trees. The manuscript was improved by comments from Peter Lucas, Richard Corlett, and two anonymous reviewers. Balcomb, S. R., C. A. Chapman, and R. W. Wrangham. 2000. Relationship between chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) density and large, fleshy-fruit tree density: conservation implications. American Journal of Primatology 51:197-203. Breininger, D. R., V. L. Larson, B. W. Duncan, R. B. Smith, D. M. Oddy, and M. Goodchild. 1995. Landscape patterns in Florida scrub jay habitat preference and demography. Conservation Biology 9:1442-1453. Breininger, D. R., M. J. Provancha, and R. B. Smith. 1991. Mapping Florida scrub jay habitat for purposes of land-use management. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 57:1467-1474. Chapman, C. A., and L. J. Chapman. 1995. Survival without dispersers: seedling recruitment under parents. Conservation Biology 9:675-678. Chapman, C. A., and D. A. Onderdonk. 1998. Forests without primates: primate/plant codependency. American Journal of Primatology 45:127-141. Condit, R., P. S. Ashton, P. Baker, S. Bunyavejchewin, S. Gunatilleke, N. Gunatilleke, S. P. Hubbell, R. B. Foster, A. Itoh, J. V. LaFrankie, H. S. Lee, E. Losos, N. Manokaran, R. Sukumar, and T. Yamakura. 2000. Spatial patterns in the distribution of tropical tree species. Science 288:1414-1418. Cowen, D. J. 1988. GIS versus CAD versus DBMS: what are the differences? Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 54:1551-1555. Dale, M. R. T. 1999. Spatial pattern analysis in plant ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. D'Eon, S. P. 1995. Accuracy and signal reception of a hand-held global positioning system (GPS) receiver. Forestry Chronicle 71:192-196. Diggle, P. J. 1979. Statistical methods for spatial point patterns in ecology. Pages 95-150 in R. M. Comack and J. K. Ord, editors. Spatial and temporal analysis in ecology. International Co-operative, Fairland, Maryland, USA. Duncan, B. W., S. Boyle, D. R. Breininger, P. A. Schmalzer, and V. L. Larson. 1995. Validating a Florida scrub jay habitat suitability model using demography data on Kennedy Space Center. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 56:1361-1370. Folt, C. L., and C. W. Burns. 1999. Biological drivers of zooplankton patchiness. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14:300-305. Goldsmith, M. L. 2000. Effects of ecotourism on the behavioral ecology of Bwindi gorillas, Uganda. American Journal of Physical Anthropology [Supplement] 30:161. Harms, K. E., S. J. Wright, O. Calderón, A. Hernández, and E. A. Herre. 2000. Pervasive density-dependent recruitment enhances seedling diversity in a tropical forest. Nature 404:493-495. Howe, H. F. 1989. Scatter- and clump-dispersal and seedling demography: hypothesis and implications. Oecologia 79:417-426. Howe, H. F., and M. N. Miriti. 2000. No question: seed dispersal matters. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 15:434-436. Hubbell, S. P., and R. B. Foster. 1983. Diversity of canopy trees in a neotropical forest and implications for conservation. Pages 25-41 in S. L. Sutton, T. C. Whitmore, and A. C. Chadwick, editors. Tropical rain forest: ecology and management. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, UK. Hubbell, S. P., R. B. Foster, S. T. O'Brien, K. E. Harms, R. Condit, B. Wechsler, S. J. Wright, and S. Loo de Lao. 1999. Light-gap disturbances, recruitment limitation, and tree diversity in a neotropical forest. Science 283:554-557. Huff, M. K. 1995. Omnistar. A versatile DGPS positioning tool. [Online, URL: http://www.omnistar.com/papers.html] Johnston, C. A. 1998. Geographic information systems in ecology. Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK. Langdale-Brown, I., H. A. Osmaston, and J. G. Wilson. 1964. The vegetation of Uganda and its bearing on land-use. Government Printer, Entebbe, Uganda. Lucas, P. W., T. Beta, B. W. Darvell. N. J. Dominy, H. C. Essackjee, P. K. D. Lee, D. Osorio, L. Ramsden, N. Yamashita, and T. D. B. Yuen. 2001. Field kit to characterize physical, chemical, and spatial aspects of potential primate foods. Folia Primatologica 72:11-25. McDonald, K. 1999. Opportunity knocks: will GPS modernization open doors? GPS World 10(9):36-46. May, R. 1999. Unanswered questions in ecology. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 354:1951-1959. Moen, R., J. Pastor, Y. Cohen, and C. C. Schwartz. 1996. Effects of moose movement and habitat use on GPS collar performance. Journal of Wildlife Management 63:659-668. Mosby, H. S. 1959. Reconnaissance mapping and map use. Pages 119–134 in R. H. Giles Jr., editor. Wildlife management techniques. Edward Brothers, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Myers, N., R. A. Mittermeier, C. G. Mittermeier, G. A. B. da Fonseca, and J. Kent. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853-858. Parker, H. D. 1988. The unique qualities of a geographic information system: a commentary. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 54:1547-1549. Petersen, C. 1990. Into the woods with GPS. GPS World 1(6):31-36. Phillips, K. A., C. R. Elvey, and C. L. Abercrombie. 1998. Applying GPS to the study of primate ecology: a useful tool? American Journal of Primatology 46:167-172. Pimm, S. L., and P. Raven. 2000. Extinction by numbers. Nature 403:843-845. Plotkin, J. B., M. D. Potts, D. W. Yu, S. Bunyavejchewin, R. Condit, R. Foster, S. P. Hubbell, J. LaFrankie, N. Manokaran, L. H. Seng, R. Sukumar, M. A. Nowak, and P. S. Ashton. 2000. Predicting species diversity in tropical forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 97:10850-10854. Rogers, M. E., B. C. Voysey, K. E. McDonald, R. J. Parnell, and C. E. G. Tutin. 1998. Lowland gorillas and seed dispersal: the importance of nest sites. American Journal of Primatology 45:45-68. Scholten, H. J., and M. J. C. de Lepper. 1991. The benefits of the application of geographical information systems in public and environmental health. World Health Statistics Quarterly 44:160-170. Struhsaker, T. T. 1997. Ecology of an African rainforest: logging in Kibale and the conflict between conservation and exploitation. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Trimble Navigation. 1998. Pro XR/XRS receiver manual. Trimble Navigation Limited, Sunnyvale, California, USA. Tutin, C. E. G., E. A. Williamson, M. E. Rogers, and M. Fernandez. 1991. A case study of a plant–animal relationship: Cola lizae and lowland gorillas in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon. Journal of Tropical Ecology 7:181-199. Wadsworth, R., and J. Treweek. 1999. Geographic information systems for ecology: an introduction. Longman, Essex, UK. Wallace, A. R. 1878. Tropical nature and other essays. Macmillan, London, UK. Wilkie, D. S. 1989. Performance of a backpack GPS in a tropical rain forest. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 55:1747-1749. Wills, C., R. Condit, R. B. Foster, and S. P. Hubbell. 1997. Strong density- and diversity-related effects help to maintain tree species diversity in a neotropical forest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 94:1252-1257. Wills, J. T. 1996. The creation of a geographical information system for the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre. Pages 495-502 in D. S. Edwards, W. E. Booth, and S. C. Choy, editors. Tropical rainforest research – current issues. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Address of Correspondent: Nathaniel J. Dominy Department of Anatomy University of Hong Kong 5/F Li Shu Fan Building 5 Sassoon Road Hong Kong SAR Phone: (+852) 2819-9225 Fax: (+852) 2817-0857 email@example.com Address of Correspondent after Jan. 2, 2002 Nathaniel J. Dominy Department of Ecology and Evolution University of Chicago 1101 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637-1573 USA Phone: (773) 702-1988 Fax: (773) 702-9740 firstname.lastname@example.com |
Home | Archives | About | Login | Submissions | Notify | Contact | Search | ||


text:
Research & Training
Science Highlights
2012 Research Highlights (New)
This week, a special recap of scientific findings published in 2012 by NIH-supported investigators.
More about the 2012 Research Highlights
About Behavioral & Social Sciences Research (PDF - 1.9MB)
The 21st century is an exciting
time—a revolutionary period for the life sciences. We have
learned a lot about the biological parts and systems that make
up all living things. We also realize that it is just as important
to understand how behavior and society affect health and can
help fight disease. Combining information from both biomedical
and behavioral and social sciences research will lead to the
most effective interventions.
Learn More
About Behavioral &
Social Sciences Research
Medical Research with Animals (PDF - 1.6 MB)
Did you know that a child
born today in the United States is expected to live into his
or her late 70s, whereas the same child born at the turn of the
20th century would have been expected to live only into his or
her 40s? Eating better and learning how to keep ourselves and
our environment clean played a role, but medical research using
laboratory animals was a vital factor driving this incredible
More about Medical Research with Animals
Advances in Colorectal Cancer Research
Cancers of the colon and
rectum, also known as colorectal cancers, are the third most
commonly diagnosed cancers among men and women in the United
States and the second leading cause of cancer death in this country.
In 2010, it is estimated that more than 140,000 Americans will
be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and more than 50,000 will
die of the disease.
Learn More about Colorectal
Cancer Research
Advances in HIV/AIDS Research
Over the past several decades,
researchers have learned a lot about the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) and the disease it causes, acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome (AIDS). But still more research is needed to help the
millions of people whose health continues to be threatened by
the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Learn More about HIV\AIDS Research
Advances in Medical Imaging
NIH has an entire institute,
the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
(NIBIB), devoted to developing new imaging devices and other
leading edge technologies. Another NIH institute, the National
Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), supports many
basic researchers who use imaging as a tool to understand life
processes – understanding that lays the foundation for
health advances.
Learn More about Advances in Medical
Nanotechnology at NIH
Nanotechnology is defined
as the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly
1 to 100 nanometers, a scale at which unique properties of materials
emerge that can be used to develop novel technologies and products.
Learn More about Nanotechnology
at NIH
Research Riddle Resolved
18th-century stories of
the strange appearance and behavior of this mystery creature,
now known as the duck-billed platypus, left naturalists mystified
as to what could fit its seemingly catch-all characteristics.
We now know that the platypus is a monotreme, an ancient type
of mammal that lays eggs.
Learn More about this Research Riddle
Stem Cell Research
Studying stem cells will
help us understand how they transform into the dazzling array
of specialized cells that make us what we are. Some of the most
serious medical conditions, such as cancer and birth defects,
are due to problems that occur somewhere in this process. A better
understanding of normal cell development will allow us to understand
and perhaps correct the errors that cause these medical conditions.
Learn More about Stem Cell

subset: commoncrawl


text:
How to overcome shyness and meet your match!
By Gerti Schoen — Written on Mar 21, 2012
1. Fess up. Don't pretend to be a social butterfly. There is nothing wrong with being introverted. Tell your date if you are someone who seeks friendship first or needs time to fall in love. You may scare away a few flakes, and instead attract people who will really appreciate you.
2. Meet at places where you feel confortable. If you don't like loud bars, don't go there. Often introverts are also pleasers, and they will do what they think is asked of them even if they suffer. Find a place that makes you feel comfortable: a laid back coffeeshop perhaps, or a park. Take your date out for a walk with your dog. You'll have an ally who will be there for you whatever happens. 5 Shy Girl Pick-Up Moves
3. Avoid smooth talkers. In a relationship, you need to be heard. If your date won't allow you to get a word in edgewise, it's not the right person for you. 25 Dating Dos And Don'ts [VIDEO]
4. Look for subtle connections. Sometimes we get so flooded by first impressions and things to look out for, it's difficult to just feel what it's like to sit with this person. Do you like being there? Or does it feel crowded, overwhelming, or make you nervous? Make sure you actually enjoy hanging out with your date.
5. Beware of takers. Introverts are often givers. We listen, pay attention, and want to be there for the other. Make sure you get to be on the receiving end of the equation. If you have to ask repeatetly for romantic gestures or to be included, this is what you sign up for down the road. Ask A Dude: How Do I Handle a Shy Guy?
Learn more about the Power of the Gentle Personality.
Related Stories From YourTango:
More Juicy Content From YourTango:


text:
I have received a lot of requests to see my kitchen, now that it is complete...
I think this is the first image I've shared of my pot rack over my Lacanche range. My drapery fabricator, Miguel Salas, ordered the unlacquered brass rod, brackets and hooks from Morgik, the metal design company that fabricated all of our drapery hardware. The simplicity of the pot rack compliments the Lacanche without competing with it.
The kitchen design is working very well. I don't miss having upper cabinets and enjoy the view of the garden every day.
I selected knobs from The Golden Lion. Arnaud Massonnat at the Venice location is extremely helpful and very patient! Arnaud will antique the hardware pieces as much as you like. I asked him to antique the knobs just a bit, to match the Top Knob Somerset Weston cabinet pulls.
In our previous house we chose a Shaws farmhouse sink, but it seemed too heavy for our new kitchen. The 30" Reinhard Single Bowl Fireclay Farmhouse Sink has slimmer lines that look more appropriate with the Barber Wilsons faucet and the detailing of our cabinetry.
On a side note, I have to recommend these Real Simple kitchen towels. They are microfiber and are fantastic for drying dishes, as well as cleaning surfaces. They don't show streaks and never leave a scratch. My Mom gave them to me as part of my house warming gift, and they are one of the best gifts I've ever been given! She bought them at Bed, Bath and Beyond...
We paneled our Miele refrigerator and freezer so that they matched the rest of the kitchen and balanced the antique French cabinet on the other side of the pantry.
We chose the Meile because the 54" width allowed us to have 3 equal panels on the doors. As you can see from this image, the refrigerator is 36" wide and the freezer is 18" wide.
We used the 9" (7" boring) Top Knobs appliance pulls in the German Bronze finish to match the cabinet pull by the sink.
I do most of my cooking "prep" work at my island. We chose the same Reinhardt sink in the smaller 20" size.
I used the same knobs on all of the drawers and cabinet doors. There is one bin pull for the trash. All of the hardware I selected for the island is from The Golden Lion.
We also really enjoy our little breakfast table. Because the table is only 27" high, it's a very relaxed and intimate place to eat breakfast. The swing arm lights from Circa Lighting provide the perfect amount of light for reading the newspaper. All of our lights are on dimmers to allow us to control the amount of illumination, depending on the time of day.
I hope I have answered some of your questions. If you still have more questions, please feel free to ask for answers in the comment section of this post. I tend to answer comment questions more than individual email questions. I just run out of time!


text:
Workers who boast that they can multitask are actually the worst at doing several things at once and at focusing on single jobs, according to a new study.
Serial multitaskers end juggling two activities at once not because they are good at it but because they are easily distracted and cannot concentrate on the job at hand, researchers said.
Conversely, the people who are the most adept at multitasking are the least likely to do so because they are better at focusing on doing one thing at a time.
The study also found that 70 per cent of people believe they are better than average at multitasking, which is statistically impossible.
Prof David Strayer, senior author of the study, said: "The people who are most likely to multitask harbour the illusion they are better than average at it, when in fact they are no better than average and often worse."
The researchers, from the University of Utah, subjected 310 volunteers to tests and questionnaires designed to measure their actual multitasking ability against their imagined multitasking ability.
They also recorded how likely the participants were to use their mobile phone while driving or use a wide array of electronic media, and personality traits like impulsivity.
People who scored highly on the multitasking test tended not to multitask as much as others because they were better at focusing on completing one job at a time, results showed.
In contrast those who scored poorly at multitasking were more likely to end up doing so because they were more impulsive and easily distracted, and had an inflated sense of their ability to carry out two jobs at once.
"If you have people multitasking a lot, you might come to the conclusion that they are good at multitasking. In fat, the more likely they are to do it, the more likely they are to be bad at it," Prof Strayer said.
"The people who multitask the most tend to be impulsive, sensation-seeking, overconfident of their multitasking abilities, and they tend to be less capable of multitasking."
Overestimating one's own capacity to perform multiple jobs at once could lead to dangerous consequences, the researchers warned.
Prof David Sanbonmatsu, who co-wrote the paper published in thePublic Library of Science Journal,


text:
"As Good As Our Bond," Ensign, May 1997, 29
As Good As Our Bond
For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, honesty is the only policy.
I was raised on a small farm in northern Utah. We were blessed to have enough land, not enough to make a living, but enough to make work for a young boy. My parents were good, hardworking, industrious people. In order to make ends meet, my father took outside employment. Each morning before he left for work, he would make a list of chores he wanted me to accomplish before he came home that evening.
I remember on one occasion one of the items on the list was to take a small broken part from our hay rake to the blacksmith shop to have it repaired. I was uncomfortable about going. My father hadn't left any money, and I wondered what I should do. I put off going as long as I could. When all my other chores were finished, I knew I couldn't avoid it any longer. Father expected the broken part to be repaired when he came home, and it was my responsibility to see that it was done.
I can still remember walking the mile or so to the blacksmith shop. I even remember how uncomfortable I was as I watched him weld the part. As he finished, I nervously told him that I had no money, but that my father would pay him later. I'm sure he sensed my anxiety. He patted me on the shoulder and said, "Son, don't worry, your father's word is as good as his bond." I remember running all the way home, relieved that the part had been repaired and grateful that my father was known as a man whose word was as good as his bond.
As a boy I didn't fully understand what that meant, but I knew it was good and something to be desired. It was years later that I recognized that a person whose word is as good as his bond is a person of honesty and integrity, a person to be trusted. In today's world, there are some who think nothing of breaking their word, their promises, their covenants with man and with God. What a blessing it is to deal with those whom we can trust.
A powerful example of this can be found in the Book of Mormon. You will remember the assignment given to Nephi and his brothers by their father, Lehi, to go to Jerusalem to obtain the plates of brass from Laban. After an unsuccessful attempt, the brothers desired to return to their father in the wilderness. Nephi recognized that they had a task to perform, an assignment to fulfill. He stated, "We will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us."1 They tried again, and again they failed. Nephi then "crept into the city and went forth towards the house of Laban."2 It was there that he found Laban drunken with wine and obeyed the voice of the Spirit, which said to him: "Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. … It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief."3 Then, putting on the clothes of Laban, he went to the treasury and obtained the plates. Nephi had accomplished that which he had been sent to do.
But we must not overlook the powerful example of Laban's servant, Zoram. Nephi commanded Zoram to follow him as he left the treasury, and it was only when he called to his brothers that Zoram realized that it was Nephi and not Laban whom he had followed. The scriptures tell us that Zoram "began to tremble, and was about to flee,"4 when Nephi seized him and told him he need not fear, that he should be a free man if he would go down into the wilderness with them.5 Zoram promised that he would; he gave his word. And Nephi said that "when Zoram had made an oath unto us, our fears did cease concerning him."6 He was a man to be trusted; his oath was binding; his word was as good as his bond.
Honesty and integrity are not old-fashioned principles. They are just as viable in today's world. We have been taught in the Church that:
When we say we will do something, we do it.
When we make a commitment, we honor it.
When we are given a calling, we fulfill it.
When we borrow something, we return it.
When we have a financial obligation, we pay it.
When we enter into an agreement, we keep it.
President N. Eldon Tanner related the following experience:
"A young man came to me not long ago and said, 'I made an agreement with a man that requires me to make certain payments each year. I am in arrears, and I can't make those payments, for if I do, it is going to cause me to lose my home. What shall I do?'
"I looked at him and said, 'Keep your agreement.'
"'Even if it costs me my home?'
"I said, 'I am not talking about your home. I am talking about your agreement; and I think your wife would rather have a husband who would keep his word, meet his obligations, keep his pledges or his covenants, and have to rent a home than to have a home with a husband who will not keep his covenants and his pledges.'"7
We are all familiar with the statement "Honesty is the best policy." For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, honesty is the only policy. We must be honest with our fellowmen. We must be honest with our God. We are honest with God when we honor the covenants we make with Him.
We are a covenant-making people. We make covenants at the waters of baptism.8 We renew those covenants each week as we worthily partake of the sacrament. We take upon ourselves the name of Christ; we promise to always remember Him and to keep His commandments. And in return He promises us that His Spirit will always be with us. We make covenants as we enter into the temple, and in return we receive the promised blessings of eternal life—if we keep those sacred covenants.
Covenants with God are not to be taken lightly. In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord tells us, "I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy."9
The account of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies in the Book of Mormon is a touching example of this. Ammon and his brethren spent 14 years preaching to the Lamanite people. Thousands were brought to the knowledge of the truth, and those who were converted unto the Lord "never did fall away."10 "For they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end."11 They were so grateful for the mercy of God that they covenanted with Him "that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives."12 You will remember that they buried their weapons of war in the ground. They were so true to that covenant that even when the armies of the Lamanites came upon them, "they went out to meet them, and prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord."13 They offered no resistance. Many were slain. These people were willing to die rather than break the covenant that they had made with the Lord.
In our dealings with both God and our fellowmen, let us be examples of honesty and integrity. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin tells us: "The rewards of integrity are immeasurable. One is the indescribable inner peace that comes from knowing we are doing what is right; another is an absence of the guilt and anxiety that accompany sin. Another reward of integrity is the confidence it can give us in approaching God. … The consummate reward of integrity is the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. … Let us live true to the trust the Lord has placed in us."14
It is my prayer that we may honor the commitments and covenants that we make with God and with our fellowmen, that it can be said of each of us, "Our word is as good as our bond." In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.


text:
A reader left this comment yesterday in response to George Weigel's piece about Speakers of the House and Paul Ryan:
Impossible to understand how anyone can conclude Ryan is a faithful Catholic when he is so stuck on the legacy of one Ayn Rand and her objectivism poison. Everything he proposes only confirms his love affair with her philosophy. Simply because Paul happens to be in sync with our positions on the nature of marriage, the evils of abortion, etc., does not mean he is a good Catholic, faithful to Church teachings on social matters, the poor, etc. He is way wrong on a host of significant issues all linked to the essential dignity of life and all individuals. Remember, Ayn Rand is the one who made no bones about espousng selfishness as a virtue. She tagged altruism as absurd and she personally had no problem with abortion, homosexuality, adultry, etc. Her books are, in Paul's own words, recommended/required reading for his staffers. Really? Have the courage to recognize him as he really is, a marginal Catholic at best, a pseudo Catholic at worst.
If you do a search for "Paul Ryan" and "Ayn Rand" you'll find that pundits, scribes, and screamers are covering territory that was thoroughly scorched back in 2012, when Ryan was chosen as Mitt Romney's running mate. Three years, in August 2012, I wrote a long (6,400 words!) piece on the topic, titled "Paul Ryan's radical beliefs about budgets, politics, and society". Not because I was a Ryan apologist, but because 97% or so of what was being written and said was—what's the word I'm looking for?—stupid. Yes, stupid. That doesn't necessarily mean that Ryan is perfect (I doubt it), or that he is the perfect embodiment of a Catholic politician. I'm happy to take a rather agnostic stance on that matter. But when you look at what many leftists, progressives, and ideological shriekers (yes, I repeat my repetition) are putting out there now about Ryan and Rand, it's pretty much the same old stuff. So, I'm reposting, without edits, my 2012 piece. It is, of course, dated in certain ways, but not on the most important points.
Paul Ryan's radical beliefs about budgets, politics, and society (Originally posted August 12, 2012)
This is, without doubt, brazen and even radical stuff, full of the sort of triumphalistic, jingoistic, and greedy rhetoric you expect from Republicans and conservatives. Brace yourself:
[We] will confidently proceed to unshackle American enterprise and to free American labor, industrial leadership, and capital, to create an abundance that will outstrip any other system.
Free competitive enterprise is the most creative and productive form of economic order that the world has seen. The recent slow pace of American growth is due not to the failure of our free economy but to the failure of our national leadership. …
Economic growth is the means whereby we improve the American standard of living and produce added tax resources for national security and essential public services. …
The American free enterprise system is one of the great achievements of the human mind and spirit. It has developed by a combination of the energetic efforts of working men and women, bold private initiative, the profit motive and wise public policy, until it is now the productive marvel of mankind. …
We will seek further tax reduction—and in the process we need to remove inequities in our present tax laws. In particular we should carefully review all our excise taxes and eliminate those that are obsolete. Consideration should be given to the development of fiscal policies which would provide revenue sources to hard-pressed state and local governments to assist them with their responsibilities.
Every penny of Federal spending must be accounted for in terms of the strictest economy, efficiency and integrity. We pledge to continue a frugal government, getting a dollar's value for a dollar spent, and a government worthy of the citizen's confidence.
Our goal is a balanced budget in a balanced economy.
Wow. That Ayn Rand-worshiping Ryan fellow is crazy!
Oh, wait. My apologies; the quotes above were all taken from the 1960 and 1964 Democratic Party Platforms. How did that happen? Whoops. Well, consider it a quick journey down memory lane.
• I actually started writing this post three days ago, not long after the news broke that the most right-wing, narrow-minded conservative in the history of the world had been chosen by Mitt Romney as vice-president candidate for the "Hate the Women!" party (yes, I'm struggling to control the sarcasm). A man so radical that in the early 1960s he would have been reasonably positioned and perceived as a moderate to conservative Democrat. A man so far to the Extreme Right that he is re-elected on a regular basis—by substantial margins—in a district that voted for Obama in 2008. Chew on that for a few seconds and then ask yourself, "Do the Dallas Cowboys have a shot at the Super Bowl this year? How much has changed in the U.S. in the past fifty years?"
I had intended to write a 20,000-word essay about the Righteous Rebukes of the Radical Ryan, but have decided to instead highlight some of the several dozen articles and posts I've read about the topic, adding in a few thoughts of my own. Prepare for analysis, brilliance, sarcasm, typos, and opinions galore. Here goes!
• I will give pride of place to a prelate, Bishop Robert C. Morlino, who is Ryan's bishop. Bishop Morlino's column, "Subsidiarity, solidarity, and the lay mission", was posted today and is must reading for anyone curious as to why an Objectivist puppet (sorry, more sarcasm) such as Ryan should be taken seriously as a Catholic, politician, and VP candidate. Several excellent points are made, including the baseline fact that moral principles come before social doctrine; that is, if you are pursuing policies (say, advocating more contraceptives and abortions) that are contrary to the moral teachings of the Church, you need to lay off the appeals to "social justice" and "common good" because you clearly aren't interested in accurately conveying what they are:
It is the role of bishops and priests to teach principles of our faith, such that those who seek elected offices, if they are Catholics, are to form their consciences according to these principles about particular policy issues.
However, the formation of conscience regarding particular policy issues is different depending on how fundamental to the ecology of human nature or the Catholic faith a particular issue is. Some of the most fundamental issues for the formation of a Catholic conscience are as follows: sacredness of human life from conception to natural death, marriage, religious freedom and freedom of conscience, and a right to private property.
Violations of the above involve intrinsic evil — that is, an evil which cannot be justified by any circumstances whatsoever. These evils are examples of direct pollution of the ecology of human nature and can be discerned as such by human reason alone. Thus, all people of good will who wish to follow human reason should deplore any and all violations in the above areas, without exception. The violations would be: abortion, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, same-sex marriage, government-coerced secularism, and socialism.
With those principles in place, Bishop Morlino notes, there is a lot of room for debate, dialogue, and conversation—and even compromise.
As one looks at issues such as the two mentioned above and seeks to apply the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, Catholics and others of good will can arrive at different conclusions. These are conclusions about the best means to promote the preferential option for the poor, or the best means to reach a lower percentage of unemployment throughout our country. No one is contesting here anyone's right to the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, etc. Nor is anyone contesting someone's right to work and so provide for self and family. However there can be difference according to how best to follow the principles which the Church offers.
• This is, to put it simply, the thing that drives a lot of Catholics (across the spectrum) over the edge: the fact that Catholic social doctrine allows for a wide range of prudential judgments when it comes to, well, a lot of issues: taxes, economics, etc., etc. But it seems to drive progressive Catholics especially nuts because they have a serious problem: many of them support contraceptives, abortion, assisted suicide, same-sex marriage, Yanni, and so forth, but wish to appear as if they are the true-blue Catholics when it comes to caring for the poor (despite conservatives giving more money to charities), caring for the poor (despite supporting abortions of poor, unborn children), and caring for the poor (okay, you get the picture).
The key point here is that if Paul Ryan says, as he has, that he is a proponent of Catholic social doctrine, that he is a serious Catholic, and that he wants to apply his beliefs to prudent policies and political measures, it behooves people of good will to accept him as his word. (After all, we were told repeatedly in 2007 and 2008 that Barack Obama was a pro-life, pro-Catholic candidate—and to deny it was to epitome of narrow-minded partisanship.) Then, with that established, raise legitimate points of criticism about how Ryan apparently applies the principles he appeals to. But, of course, there are a lot of people who don't care too much about good will, and who would rather paint Ryan in terms that they would likely never use in writing about an guilty Islamicist terrorist. For example, Charles Pierce gleefully lets the cat out of the bag in a piece titled, "Murderer of Opportunity, Political Coward, Candidate for Vice President of the United States", which includes these (ahem!) measure points:
• "… In his decision to make Paul Ryan, the zombie-eyed granny-starver from Wisconsin, his running mate, Romney finally surrendered the tattered remnants of his soul not only to the extreme base of his party, but also to extremist economic policies, and to an extremist view of the country he seeks to lead."
• "… Paul Ryan is an authentically dangerous zealot. He does not want to reform entitlements. He wants to eliminate them. He wants to eliminate them because he doesn't believe they are a legitimate function of government. He is a smiling, aw-shucks murderer of opportunity, a creator of dystopias in which he never will have to live. This now is an argument not over what kind of political commonwealth we will have, but rather whether or not we will have one at all, because Paul Ryan does not believe in the most primary institution of that commonwealth: our government."
• "In any way that will come to matter to the people whose lives his policies will make harder and more miserable, Paul Ryan is still the high-school kid living off Social Security survivor benefits and reading Ayn Rand by flashlight under the sheets. Instead, he's a guy pretending to be something he's not, and doing so back in Janesville in a very swell Georgian mansion, which just happens to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places."
Michael Sean Winters, who writes for a publication with "Catholic" in its masthead, is a bit more circumspect (What? No use of the word "crazy"?): "Mitt Romney's choice of Congressman Paul Ryan to be his running mate is electrifying. But, electricity is dangerous at times and, in this instance, Ryan is standing in a pool of watery dissent from Catholic Social Teaching that has existed on the Catholic right for some time." (Note: several of Winter's assertions about William F. Buckley are taken to the woodshed in this NRO article.]
Of course, being lectured by someone from NCReporter about "dissent" is like being lectured by a fast-food junkie about "eating healthy". Winters continues: "Mr. Ryan has taken to invoking Catholic Social Teaching, and especially the concept of subsidiarity, to defend his budgetary schemes. Alas, he could not tell the difference between subsidiarity and sausage." We now know that Mr. Winters is adept at weak metaphors—electricity! water! sausage! Beyond that, we learn little else. Actually, I think any reasonable person recognizes that Ryan knows what subsidiarity is; Winters' problem is that he confuses his preferred application to it to Ryan's application—probably because most progressive Catholics think they own social doctrine. Ryan, in a April 10, 2012, television interview, said the following (without a teleprompter or notes):
To me, the principle of subsidiarity, which is really federalism, meaning government closest to the people governs best, having a civil society of the principal of solidarity where we, through our civic organizations, through our churches, through our charities, through all of our different groups where we interact with people as a community, that's how we advance the common good. By not having big government crowd out civic society, but by having enough space in our communities so that we can interact with each other, and take care of people who are down and out in our communities.
Those principles are very very important, and the preferential option for the poor, which is one of the primary tenants of Catholic social teaching, means don't keep people poor, don't make people dependent on government so that they stay stuck at their station in life. Help people get out of poverty out onto life of independence.
That is a very sound and Catholic explanation of subsidiarity. Yet Winters snarks:
If Mr. Ryan were advocating innovative local and state programs to help the poor, his pleas for less federal spending might be credible. As it is, he is not. He wishes to slash federal spending on programs that help the poor so he can provide the super-rich with more tax breaks and hope that the miracle of the Unseen Hand of the Market will fix every social ill. Did he sleep through the autumn of 2008? Does he really believe that the market can fix everything?
Ooh, I can smell the sausage burning! Perhaps Winters had this in mind:
There is something wrong with our government transfer programs if they are increasingly steering assistance to the wealthy, while at the same time growing at unsustainable rates. The looming bankruptcy of the federal government, which would shred the social safety net, is the greatest threat these programs face. Lamentably, this study shows that the threat is being intensified as a direct result of the government spending money it doesn't have on higher-income Americans who don't need it. …
A prudent course of action for policymakers would be to advance sensible reforms to the unsustainable benefit structure of these programs so that government is doing a better job of directing assistance to those that need it most, while giving less help to households that need it least. For Social Security, the Bowles-Simpson Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform laid the groundwork by outlining reforms that would reduce the growth in benefits for higher-income workers. For Medicare, the House-passed budget, The Path to Prosperity, proposed no changes for those currently in or near retirement, but for future generations, it proposed a premium-support system that provides more help for the poor and the sick, and less help for the wealthy.
Sausage! Pure watery, electric sausage!
• Actually, instead of letting conservative-bashing, Republican-despising Winters speak for Ryan, why not let Ryan speak for Ryan (I know, it's not how progressives usually operate, but I'm not a progressive)? Here is an excerpt from a recent Ryan essay, "Who Built America?", on the American Spectator site:
Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement requires a community of persons working together. We strengthen our bonds with each other as we offer our unique gifts to others. Customers reward the best and most efficient producers by buying their products and services. We work to advance the common good through our free association with each other, not because a coercive government directs our actions. Each human being has inherent dignity and unique gifts. Individuals thrive as they voluntarily share those gifts and talents with each other, in mutual assistance to meet their neighbors' needs. We could never do this if we were isolated individuals as caricatured in the president's distorted view of America's commitment to free enterprise.
Of course government has a critical role to play in establishing neutral rules that enable open competition, and in securing peace and order with courts, a standard currency, defense forces, first responders, teachers, infrastructure, and a safety net for the most vulnerable.
Government can help create the space for innovation and prosperity, but government can not fill that space. Activist government overreach and ongoing economic stagnation have shown us why Washington should never try to displace what is best left to civil society.
There are pernicious side effects from Washington's ever-increasing intrusion into sectors of our economy and into aspects of our lives. Big-government economics breeds crony capitalism. It's corrupt, anything but neutral, and a barrier to broad participation in prosperity. Both political parties have been guilty of this trend. Most recently, Washington has pursued polices that pick winners and losers in specific sectors of our economy, and that favor well-connected corporations and union bosses with bureaucratic access, tax loopholes, and regulatory waivers. Think Solyndra, bankrupt after a $500 million taxpayer guarantee, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which continue to stifle the recovery while draining billions from the Treasury.
The moral case for individual initiative in a free economy holds that people have a God-given right to use their creativity to produce things that improve their lives. A free economy and strong communities honor the dignity of every person, reward effort with justice, promote upward mobility, and build solidarity among citizens. The president's vision of a collective, government-centered society — reflected in his troubling rhetoric and failed policies — divides class against class and belittles fair rewards for workers, entrepreneurs, and investors — those who have built America into the greatest nation in the history of mankind.
Read the entire piece. Then read, say, Centesimus annus, and see how they compare.
• In other words, the case can be reasonably made that Ryan's position is a moderate one between statism and "slash-and-burn" approaches that would seek to defund and do away with large swaths of the federal government. The most intensive, spittle-spewing attacks on Ryan tell us much more about where the far left is and wishes to be than it does about Ryan's actual positions. (The fact is, not a few political conservatives think Ryan doesn't go far enough in his budget.) In his NYTImes' column, "Why Moderates Should Like Paul Ryan", Ross Douthat writes:
[Ryan's] budget has plenty of faults, to be sure. But some of its more obvious problems reflect his party's continuing deficiencies rather than Ryan's.
The budget repeals the health care bill without replacing it, for instance, not because Ryan doesn't have a substantial alternative in mind (he continues to support a version of the bill he sponsored with Tom Coburn), but because too many of his fellow congressmen remained unwilling to take the plunge into specificity on that issue.
Similarly, the Ryan budget holds discretionary spending below the realm of plausibility in part because he couldn't persuade his fellow Republicans to sign on to Social Security reform, which Ryan himself has repeatedly endorsed.
The budget's proposed tax reform, meanwhile, specifies new lower rates but not the deductions and loopholes that would be closed to pay for them. But Ryan clearly has an idea of which deductions he would cap and which shelters he would eliminate. He just hasn't persuaded his fellow lawmakers to shoulder the political risks involved in getting specific.
All in all, then, on a series of difficult policy questions, Ryan has either pushed his party in a politically risky but more responsible direction (on Medicare reform) or else endorsed the riskier but more responsible approach himself (on health care and Social Security reform). He has twisted arms when arm-twisting was possible and flown solo when it seemed necessary. To the extent that there is a plausible Republican response to the Obama agenda, he's the biggest reason it exists.
• What about the Ayn Rand elephant in the Ryan room? It's a good question and very legitimate one. I think some conservative commentators have been too quick to discount this thorny issue. I also recognize they are responding, in some cases, to claims that Ryan is a Rand disciple like no other, as if the man has an Ayn Rand icon corner set up in his office. Yet it is also the case that Ryan has expressed great admiration for aspects of Rand's thought in the past, as in this 2005 address given to The Atlas Society:
(2:01) I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are, and what my beliefs are. It's inspired me so much that it's required reading in my office for all my interns and my staff. We start with Atlas Shrugged. People tell me I need to start with The Fountainhead then go to Atlas Shrugged [laughter]. There's a big debate about that. We go to Fountainhead, but then we move on, and we require Mises and Hayek as well.
"I always go back to… Francisco d'Anconia's speech [in Atlas Shrugged] on money when I think about monetary policy."
(2:23) But the reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand. And the fight we are in here, make no mistake about it, is a fight of individualism versus collectivism.
My own dislike for Rand began when I was given one of her novels (The Fountainhead, I think) by a librarian when I was in high school. I read about half of it and then ditched it, thinking it was poorly written, dull, and dislikable (otherwise, it was great!). I've never wavered from that initial impression (fortunately, I was reading Solzhenitsyn, Brave New World, Ray Bradbury, and 1984 while in high school). So I am somewhat mystified by the number of people who are taken with her writing. But, having mulled it over the years, I've come to the following conclusion: for many teenage readers, Rand was the first writer who outlined and then critiqued totalitarianism, group think, and statism. In addition, Rand tapped into the teenage angst regarding being, well, an individual in a society that often seems impersonal, cold, and downright dislikable for many teens. Rand, then, is a heretic (I use that term loosely, not necessarily theologically) who gets a few, important things right (or nearly right), and does so in a way that is appealing to certain readers.
When Ryan speaks of Rand, he focuses on two things: individualism vs. collectivism, and capitalism vs. statism. A lot of hay has been made of this, and part of it seems to be because critics don't bother to present how Rand herself defined "individualism" and "collectivism", and so they present Ryan as an emotionally-challenged, hyper-individualist who has no interest in helping his neighbor or having a government that helps those in need. But Rand defined "individualism" in this way:
Individualism regards man—every man—as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses an inalienable right to his own life, a right derived from his nature as a rational being. Individualism holds that a civilized society, or any form of association, cooperation or peaceful coexistence among men, can be achieved only on the basis of the recognition of individual rights—and that a group, as such, has no rights other than the individual rights of its members.
Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an individualist is a man who says: "I'll do as I please at everybody else's expense." An individualist is a man who recognizes the inalienable individual rights of man—his own and those of others. … An individualist is a man who says: "I will not run anyone's life—nor let anyone run mine. I will not rule nor be ruled. I will not be a master nor a slave. I will not sacrifice myself to anyone—nor sacrifice anyone to myself."
Without a basis in a transcendent good—that is, God—Rand's views don't hold up well (for instance: who, then, grants "inalienable individual rights" if there is no one greater than man?). Rand was not a good philosopher. But she communicated some meaningful things with some adeptness. And her understandings of the individual in relation to society as well as her notion of personal rights are hardly outrageous. As for collectivism, Rand described it as "statism", that is, the belief that the State is the End and Goal of human existence:
Collectivism holds that, in human affairs, the collective—society, the community, the nation, the proletariat, the race, etc.—is the unit of reality and the standard of value. On this view, the individual has reality only as part of the group, and value only insofar as he serves it. ..
Collectivism holds that the individual has no rights, that his life and work belong to the group . . . and that the group may sacrifice him at its own whim to its own interests. The only way to implement a doctrine of that kind is by means of brute force—and statism has always been the political corollary of collectivism.
Not surprisingly, some of Ryan's critics have been so eager to paint him as an Objectivist disciple that they have either ignored or misrepresented both Rand's beliefs and the teachings of the Catholic Church. In a Salon.com piece, "Ayn Rand vs. the pope", Matthew Harwood seeks mightily to describe how "the two contradictory philosophies" are "warring for Paul Ryan's soul". In doing so, he makes some dubious, even embarrassingly incorrect, assertions:
This naturally begs the question of how a devout Catholic can follow the social justice theology of the church yet also idolize an atheist that preached the "virtue of selfishness." Somehow in Paul Ryan's mind, Jesus Christ and Ayn Rand are complementary figures, not warring factions in defining how an individual should lead a moral life.
It's not clear how Harwood was able to invade Ryan's mind, but it might have been helpful if he pointed out how Rand defined "selfishness". Which is not to defend said definition, but merely to note that she doesn't define it as most people do, instead seeing it as proper self-interest and the rightful pursuit of self-preservation. A bigger point, however, is that Christians are often criticized for not appreciating and investigating the beliefs of others—but when Ryan, a Catholic, expresses admiration for some of Rand's views, he's presented not as an open-minded, nuanced thinker, but a schizophrenic loon. I suspect, however, that if Ryan expressed admiration for Marx or some notable socialist thinker, he might not hear as much criticism about those author's "anti-Christian, atheistic" beliefs.
Harwood's sloppiness with definitions is also evident here:
It isn't cynical to ask whether Ryan, seeing his career trajectory in ascendancy, chose to not alienate his socially conservative Christian base by repudiating a marginal philosophy he repeatedly touted in the past. But by doing so, he calls into question his intellectual honesty, particularly since his new intellectual role model, Thomas Aquinas, had a habit of writing collectivist things too: "Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need."
Needless to say, Aquinas was not a collectivist as Rand used the term, nor was Aquinas a statist. In fact, Harwood's facile appeal to Aquinas is quite laughable; he would do well to read the entire section of the Summa, which is about as non-collectivist as one can be; actually, it is quite damning of collectivism!
I answer that, Two things are competent to man in respect of exterior things. One is the power to procure and dispense them, and in this regard it is lawful for man to possess property. Moreover this is necessary to human life for three reasons. First because every man is more careful to procure what is for himself alone than that which is common to many or to all: since each one would shirk the labor and leave to another that which concerns the community, as happens where there is a great number of servants. Secondly, because human affairs are conducted in more orderly fashion if each man is charged with taking care of some particular thing himself, whereas there would be confusion if everyone had to look after any one thing indeterminately. Thirdly, because a more peaceful state is ensured to man if each one is contented with his own. Hence it is to be observed that quarrels arise more frequently where there is no division of the things possessed.
Harwood also butchers this one:
Interestingly enough, though, there is one rare area where the modern Catholic Church and Ayn Rand agree, and that's the immorality of war. Unfortunately, this is the one area where Ryan breaks rank with both his intellectual models. Not only did Ryan vote in favor of the Iraq War, his budget proposal increases defense spending.
Apparently he is unfamiliar with a little thing known as the "just war" doctrine, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church helpfully spells out by first stating, "All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war" before stating, "However, 'as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed.'" (par 2308; see pars 2308-17). Was the Iraq War a "just war"? That's debatable. What is not debatable is that Harwood is completely wrong about the moral qualities of all wars.
• While some have blasted Ryan for holding too tightly to Randian beliefs and thus advocating a sort of heartless, neo-libertartianism, others take the tack of blasting Ryan for not following Rand closely enough when it comes to "civil liberties". Ben Adler, writing for The Nation, argues that Ryan is just a heartless jerk, no matter what the topic:
It is true that Ryan, like his mentor Jack Kemp, subscribes to Rand's heartless belief in refusing to aid the less fortunate. But Ryan does not share any of Rand's commitments to freedom, other than the freedom to be selfish. …
-§ Gay rights: Ryan has voted in favor of amending the US Constitution to ban gay marriage. He supported banning gay marriage in Wisconsin and opposed letting gay soldiers serve openly in the military. It is impossible to support individual freedom and limited government while trying to amend the Constitution to take away the rights of consenting adults to marry the person they love, and to take away the rights of more civilized states to recognize such unions.
-§ Reproductive rights: Ryan has all the usual right-wing positions on abortion. He has voted to ban federal funding of abortions and even for training healthcare providers in abortion care. He also opposes requiring insurers to provide coverage for contraception. …
Need it be pointed out, again, that Catholic social doctrine rests on certain moral absolutes, including the inviolable dignity of human life ("Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception." CCC 2270), the fact that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that the very notion of "same-sex marriage" is absurd?
• As expected, the Obama administration has already presented the "fact" that "Paul Ryan would take us backward on women's health" by virtue of Ryan's outrageous belief that the unborn are actually people who have the right to life. In the words of ABC News, "Ryan is firmly against abortion rights." Clearly the man from Wisconsin doesn't realize that only 50% of Americans consider themselves "pro-life" while a whopping 41% identify as "pro-choice". He's so out of touch!
• Back to the topic of Ryan and Thomism, I recommend the essay, "Evaluating Paul Ryan's "Thomism", by Joseph Trabbic. A snippet:
I think that when Ryan endorses Aquinas in the above quote a lot of people have taken him to mean that his (Ryan's) economic, social, and political views (and not just his epistemology) are Thomistic or at least that we can legitimately evaluate them from a Thomistic standpoint. This is how it seems that an author named "Joan" at the Subversive Thomism blog and Ed Kilgore at the The Washington Monthly interpret Ryan.
How would we go about evaluating Ryan's economic, social, and political views from a Thomistic perspective? An obvious starting point would be to look at how these views square with Aquinas's teaching on natural law since it is this teaching that informs Aquinas's own views in these areas. So, I hope you will bear with me while I give a brief-all-too-brief account of Aquinas's natural law doctrine as I understand it. Those of you who would just prefer to go straight to my conclusion can skip this part. (Scroll down to the heading: "Is Paul Ryan a Thomist?")
• Also worth reading: "Critics say VP Candidate Paul Ryan's Catholicism Undermined by Atheist Philosopher" by Andrew Walker for the Institute on Relligion & Democracy website.
• And what about the oft-repeated claim that Ryan's budget has been dismissed and deemed immoral by the U.S. bishops? That is based on a May 8th letter to the House of Representatives by Bp. Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California, which said the following about the Ryan budget:
The Catholic bishops of the United States recognize the serious deficits our country faces, and we acknowledge that Congress must make difficult decisions about how to allocate burdens and sacrifices and balance resources and needs. However, deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility efforts must protect and not undermine the needs of poor and vulnerable people. The proposed cuts to programs in the budget reconciliation fail this basic moral test. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states it is the proper role of government to "make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on" (no. 1908). Poor and vulnerable people do not have powerful lobbyists to advocate their interests, but they have the most compelling needs. (emphasis added)
From what I understand, the "proposed cuts" are in rate of growth—not in actual cuts to existing funds. More importantly, in my opinion, Bp. Blaire's opinion on this matter is neither magisterial or even helpful (heaven help us if letters from individual bishops—who are not Pope—are infallible!). As Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann told me in this June 29, 2012, CWR interview:
We cannot simply propose things that are going to increase the debt, and we need to be a responsible voice in the discussion. That was one of my concerns about the criticisms of Paul Ryan's budget proposal. I don't think his proposal is perfect and I think it can be criticized, but I was specifically upset because there were letters sent by the committee [the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development] that spoke about aspects of his proposal being immoral, and I think that was an overstating. We can be critical of aspects of it, but I think Ryan offered a legitimate proposal that was trying to respond to human needs that are there as well as to the national debt, which can also be a great injustice if we pass that on to our children and grandchildren.
And there is the fact that the Senate, on the other side, has offered nothing, hasn't offered a budget. So here, at least, is a proposal, and I think that Representative Ryan makes a case as to how this proposal can be consistent with Catholic principles. Now, whether it is the right proposal or the best proposal, I don't claim to know. But I think it is wrong to call it "immoral"—as opposed to saying how it is really irresponsible for the Senate to not even put a proposal out there while simply sitting back and criticizing the only viable proposal that has been put forward by the Congress at this point.
Rev. Thomas V. Berg, in a May 11, 2012 essay for the Public Discourse website, argued that the Ryan budget is indeed in keeping with Catholic social doctrine, and expressed frustration with the status quo regarding federal welfare reform:
The mistake that some Catholic leaders made in 1995 and 1996 is the same mistake some seem to be making today, which is to equate more federal spending on programs for the poor with the morally superlative approach from the perspective of Catholic social teaching.
Such thinking is oddly negligent of a pillar of Catholic social thought, namely, that no institution is more vital to a healthy society than intact families, with married fathers and mothers raising their children together. Unfortunately, over the past half century, we have witnessed the near total destruction of the family in low-income neighborhoods all across America—neighborhoods in which federal anti-poverty support is ubiquitous. Today, out-of-wedlock births are the norm in these communities, not the exception, with more than 70 percent of African-American children born to unwed mothers.
The hard truth is that the implosion of the nuclear family has coincided precisely with the ramping up of federal low-income assistance programs since the 1960s. Why? Certainly the breakdown of the family is a complex social phenomenon, with many causes. But there's little doubt that large-scale federal assistance to low-income households with single parents and dependent children has contributed to the destruction. In effect, the federal government has underwritten massive irresponsibility on the part of low-income fathers. They don't need to act responsibly because the federal government has woven together a massive financial assistance system for single mothers with kids. The result is that multiple generations of low-income Americans have now grown up in neighborhoods almost entirely bereft of a responsible male presence.
This is not a success story to be defended at all costs, especially from the perspective of Catholic social teaching.
Read his excellent essay, "Catholic Social Teaching and the Ryan Budget".
• And here is part of the landscape that doesn't seem to be improving: An August 13th USA Today article notes:
Americans don't believe GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney hit a home run with his choice of Paul Ryan as a running mate, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, with more of the public giving him lower marks than high ones.
Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, is seen as only a "fair" or "poor" choice by 42% of Americans vs. 39% who think he is an "excellent" or "pretty good" vice presidential choice.
Oh, goodness! Is it because those polled have read Ryan's budget? Have followed his career closely? Have compared his proposals and principles to those of others? Uh, probably none of those, considering this little bit of information:
Ryan isn't well-known. More than half of those surveyed, 53%, say they have never heard of him or don't know enough to have an opinion. Among those who do, 27% give him a favorable rating, 21% an unfavorable one. By 50%-31%, voters say Ryan is qualified to serve as president.
"Hey, we don't know anything about you or what you believe, but we don't think you'd be good at whatever it is that you are trying to do!" How depressing.
• Finally, I'm so glad the media is digging into Ryan's beliefs, principles, and ideological patterns. I was beginning to wonder if they had forgotten how to do that when it came to presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Just remember, Ryan's radical, despicable goal is a is a balanced budget in a balanced economy—just like the Democrats of the 1960s!
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


text:
As Biodiversity Declines, Tropical Diseases Thrive
Global health advocates often argue that the tropical diseases that plague many countries, such as malaria and dengue, can be conquered simply with more money for health care – namely medicines and vaccines.
But a new paper is a reminder that ecology also has a pretty big say in whether pathogens thrive or die off. Using a statistical model, researchers predicted that countries that lose biodiversity will have a heavier burden of vector-borne and parasitic diseases. Their results appear this week in PLoS Biology.
"The general logic is that the more organisms you have out there, the more things there are that can interrupt the life cycle of disease, and the less concentration you'll have of any vector," Matthew Bonds, a researcher at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of the paper, tells Shots.
But plants, mammals and birds are disappearing fast – one-third of the world's species are now threatened with extinction, according to the United Nations. And when the creatures that prey on mice, mosquitoes or other vectors of disease go, parasites and other disease-causing agents discover it's a lot easier to survive.
Scientists have already shown that's one reason for the explosion of Lyme disease in the Northeast United States. A 2002 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that if you have a rich community of tick hosts, like squirrels, mice and other small mammals, the disease is diluted among them. But if the habitat is degraded, and ticks carrying Lyme have only white-footed mice as hosts, the disease risk to humans can rise dramatically.
West Nile encephalitis, a mosquito-borne disease, has also ripped through communities with the help of surging bird populations, according to a study in Nature.
Because of studies like these, Bonds wanted to see how strong the causal relationship was between biodiversity and 12 common vector-borne and parasitic diseases on a global scale. So he chose statistical methods from a new field that blends economics and ecology called "macroecology" to figure out how biodiversity loss affected disease burden, controlling for several different variables.
Ultimately, he found that if a country with a relatively high biodiversity (such as Indonesia) were to lose 15 percent of it, the burden of disease would be expected to increase by about 30 percent. His models also showed how diseases have a significant impact on economic development and explain differences in income between tropical and temperate countries.
"I think what this shows is that the burden of disease is really important, and it's not just driven by health care," he says. "These diseases spend so much of their life-cycles outside of humans, so they're part of the physical environment."
Nevertheless, human disease is still generally viewed as a medical or public health problem — not an ecological problem. Policymakers only just beginning to talk about conservation as they plan for public health.


text:
All servers in a domain run either in development mode or production mode. In general, production mode requires you to configure additional security features. For information on the differences between the two modes, refer to "Creating a WebLogic Domain" in Creating WebLogic Domains Using the Configuration Wizard.
To configure all servers in a domain to run in production mode:
As each Managed Server starts, it refers to the mode of the Administration Server to determine its runtime mode.
Note: Once you have changed to production mode, whether by using a start command argument, the Console, or WLST, you cannot change back to development mode without restarting the server.