Mapping Land Use

So lately all I have time for is looking through other people's blogs and reading what is goin' on outside of the campus (which is definitely more fun than reading what is goin' on at the campus), but I read Highly Allochthonous today, and found this post by Ms. Jefferson.

Land use has been mapped globally and regionally and everywhere in between looking at different use practices to use types (and yes those are different). However, what caught my attention to this was the use of the word "biome". It is a word that is usually applied to natural ecosystems that share climatic characteristics that affects the biotic systems found in those areas. Consequently, those biomes would also affect the land use. This map plots the types of usage, but more interestingly these land use types roughly approximate the biomes that are found there as well.

Picture from http://www.ecotope.org/ "A Framework for Ecology & Earth Science in the 21st Century" by Erle C. Ellis and Navin Ramankutty

Picture from Wikipedia entry "Biomes" - Vegetation - No Legend

Pretty much the general trend is that humans will use whatever land they can (or plants can) survive in. I would like to see what they mean by each of the types of land use, such as the definitions of their use of "Rice Villages" and "Irrigated Villages". However, this is a great example of GIS and land use mapping. Now, to see if I have time to explore more of the Ecotope website...

Friday TED Talks XII

Cary Fowler talks about saving genetic diversity through cold storage of seeds.

He is the Executive Director of Global Crop Diversity Trust where their mission is to store their seeds in a safe remote place.

However good the message is (and I agree with keeping a seed bank to preserve genetic diversity for other reasons), I question the seeds' value if the temperature rises as "in many countries the coldest growing seasons are going to be hotter than anything those crops have seen in the past." If these crops have not seen these temperatures in the past, what good will they do if kept for the future because of systematic crop failure? They couldn't have evolved different mechanisms to live in the hotter climate.

I will be taking a "Small Hiatus"

"Ha! Another one of those" I sure you, my silent readership are saying. Yes, I know that a couple were not small, and another time I said I was not going to post a lot, I ended up posting at least 2 per day.

Anyways, I just started school again (my courses are OK, although I've only been to 2/4 yet), my little Seedling is going to 2 competitions this weekend (road trip!), and its the long weekend in Canada. So hopefully the weather cooperates and makes this a very nice week.

Those are my excuses, and so I will not be posting lots of material, although I will be updating you (whether you are the one who wants it or not) on how it goes. (It = school and road trip).

So hang in there and enjoy your labor day long weekend (and those other countries out there... nya nya nya!)

Ramming My Head Against A Brick Wall. Again.

Now I know that where I live is relatively cut off from the rest of the world (for various reasons), but frankly a lot people here have their heads stuck up their asses.

What is right with this picture? They are not watering mid-day.

There is a reason why Albertans are called the Texans of the North. A large number are uber-conservative &/or wackaloony religious (we have our own ‘creation’ museum by Big Valley), and are intolerant of ‘others’. Lots of Albertans also believe that both water & gas will continue to flow forever and that any claims to the contrary are conspiracies by the government to drive up prices. Many people were surprised when one of the refineries nearby was damaged in the huge storm in the middle of July and many PetroCan stations were without gas for weeks (Quel horror!).

However, there is one thing about them that I am absolutely pissed off about. I’m talking about watering their lawn in the middle of a 30 C day. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Just thinking about this makes my blood pressure rise to dangerous levels. First of all, I hate the thought of watering the lawn on the best of days. Xeriscaping is a great gardening method where planting drought resistant plants will decrease the amount of time you have to spend in the garden working and reduce water bills. Also, collecting rain water is another method of reducing water usage. (And here I feel as if I’m talking to a brick wall ‘cause I’m sure that most people have heard this ad nauseum.) But, I have seen over and over and over and over and over homeowners with their sprinklers going at 1:00 pm with over half the water being evaporated without even hitting the ground.

I’m at a loss at how to stop this (Other than posting a sign on their lawn in the middle of the night saying “Spank me. I’ve been very naughty. I water my lawn at noon”. Which probably won’t make them stop, but it sure will make me laugh as I bike/drive by.

Another way to stop this would be to use drought resistant grasses. Available now at Rona’s/Home Depots around Alberta are eco-grasses that are mixtures of drought resistant grasses that would be great alternatives to Kentucky Blue grass. Researchers have also been working on blue grass hybrids that will be drought tolerant, but retain the desirable texture of Kentucky blue grass. But whether these hybrids will be cold tolerant enough for Albertan users is another question altogether.
So please, please, please STOP watering your lawn during the day, and try not to at any other time. No more excuses or you could end up with that sign on your lawn.

USDA/Agricultural Research Service (2009, August 30). Creating The Ultimate Drought-Resistant Lawn/Pasture Grass. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 31, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/08/090830100514.htm

I Can't Get No BMI Satisfaction

from my seedling, but I try. Oh how I try...

First of all my disclaimer… I am not in the public health field, and nor will I ever be. However, I do (as most people should) have an interest in certain findings especially if they relate to me and my family. I have a “pre-teen” girl, so these findings are interesting as I am already aware that she is conscious of her body image. Sometimes she likes it and at other times she doesn’t. I just want to know if I’ll be paying for her therapy for years to come.

The study (soon to be) published regarding overweight children and their "happiness" regarding their self-image has interesting results. What was most surprising is that normal weight boys overall had a more negative image of themselves than girls did. However, girls’ satisfaction with themselves was reduced when their BMI increased.

Girls - Poor body satisfaction
Normal 5.7%
Overweight 10.4%
Obese 13.1 %

Boys - Poor body satisfaction
Normal 7.6%
Overweight 8.4%
Obese 8.1%

Now the reason why this is so interesting is that there have been previous studies that claim that poor body satisfaction can be indicative of their future health (namely eating disorders). The authors also claim that the satisfaction of body image can change over time. Are the children at risk for eating disorders always unhappy with their bodies or just sometimes? I can see that I have to read many more papers to see if someone answered that question. Also, these numbers seem relatively low. Only ~13% of obese girls feel that they have poor body satisfaction?! That is not a lot. Less than 10% of all of the boys in each of the 3 different groups felt they had poor body satisfaction. I am surprised because I expected that over 50% of the obese children would feel that they don't like their bodies from the girls and the boys. Very surprising. (And they took a relatively large sample size; over 2000 girls and boys each were analyzed).

Oh well... I will keep my little seedling active (with hockey, soccer, and dance) and save up some money for her therapy ('cause you know its gonna happen; if not this she will have to go because I kept her too active as a child and she missed lounging around and that ruined her for life). But she will keep questioning her image. I know I still do (and I’m relatively happy with my body… all the parts are in the right places, lol, oh my! how expectation lowers as you get older!)

And Open Access:

Austin, B.S., Haines, J., Veugelers, P.J. (2009). Body satisfaction and body weight: gender differences and sociodemographic determinants. BCM Public Health. (In Press) Accessed (August 28, 2009): http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/9/313/abstract

BioMed Central (2009, August 28). 10- And 11-year-olds Feel Pressure To Have A Perfect Body. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 28, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/08/090826191843.htm

Friday TED Talks XI

Snob, me???!!!

Listen/Watch/Read this fantastic TED Talk by Alain de Botton. Great speaker & very funny.

Also, what is true success by John Wooden.

Wildlife in My Backyard

In my yard, we have a new visitor which is quite interesting to watch. The Goldenrod Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) was found preying upon innocent bumblebee's (not sure the exact sp. sorry...I try not to touch other things' lunch, lol) Try and see if you can see it in the picture on the left (click on pics for a closer view). Its in between the two petals in the front. That fuzzy black blob in the yellow centre is its lunch. A poor fuzzy little bee. (I know bee colonies are currently in trouble because of Colony Collapse Disorder, but I can't help it. Watching these spiders attack their prey is fascinating!) These spiders are found throughout Alberta, and due to its size (~7mm), I think that this was a female Goldenrod Crab Spider. (I say "was" because while researching on the type of spider, etc. I haven't seen it since taking the pictures). During my research, I found that these spiders can range in colour from yellow to white, but always has the darker red stripes down its abdomen which is visible in the fuzzy picture to the left. It is very good at blending into this Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum var. Alaska), but can be found anywhere waiting for its next snack. After I finished taking its picture, I sat with my little seedling and watched as it dragged the bee across the flower to nestle it between two rows of petals. The next day, it was gone!

Acorn, John and Sheldon, Ian. 2000. Bugs of Alberta. Pg.150. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton, AB.

Scientific Poetry

I LOVE this blog...
The Digital Cuttlefish

Check it out... you'll know why a couple of the posts have been featured in OpenLab...
my absolute favorite is The Evolutionary Biology's Valentines Day Poem :)

Friday TED Talks X

Biomimicry as a blueprint for design...

Janine Benyus talks about using nature as a muse and to take advantage of millions of years of trial and error (aka evolution).

Wisdom from Unlikely Places

I just finished reading "The Wisdom Of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS" by Elizabeth Pisani. It was well written and the narrative format gave a natural progression through her experiences from a somewhat hopeful to a battle-worn epidemiologist. The collective struggle with politicians, religious leaders, and the bureaucratic nightmare that are individual countries and global programmes is nothing short of heroic.

As an inspirational epidemiologist, she does not hide behind organizational red-tape/policies, but truly tells the science and the reasoning behind each prevention method. Use condoms... have needle exchange programs... find ways to protect the people. It doesn't matter who the people are or what they do. They are still people.

If I could nominate her for a Nobel prize, I would. But I have a feeling that there are many people doing the same type of work just like her. However, I do want to hear her on TED Talks. She is truly inspirational and her book is a must-read. You may not agree with the methods or policies and you may not like who the "people most at risk" are, but it is important to know for preventative measures. This IS something that can be fought with good prevention policies, and there are some innocent victims.