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Šumski ekosustavi složeni su sustavi u kojima je ponekad teško predvidjeti i objasniti procese međusobnog djelovanja i interakcije pojedinih čimbenika. Neodvojivi dio šumskih ekosustava su različite vrste krupne divljači. Divljač, a posebice krupni preživači i divlja svinja, u stalnoj su interakciji sa florom područja koje naseljavaju. Njihovi pozitivno/negativni utjecaji mijenjaju se tijekom različitih fenofaza i starosti sastojine te ovise o prisutnosti i brojnosti divljači, dostupnosti hranjiva i sl. Negativni utjecaji krupnih vrsta divljači predmet su brojnih istraživanja u svijetu i kod nas. U ovome istraživanju obrađene su štete koje uzrokuje jelen obični (Cervus elaphus L.) na kori mladih stabala poljskog jasena (Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl). Na dvije lokacije unutar poplavnog područja rijeke Save, u staništima gdje se preklapaju zajednice poljskog jasena i areal jelena običnog, izvršeno je istraživanje oštećenja na kori poljskog jasena. Rezultati pokazuju da guljenje kore mladih stabala jasena započinje odmah po uklanjanju zaštitne ograde kojim se sastojine štite u fazi oplodnih sječa. Oštećivana stabla jasena kreću se u rasponu prsnog promjera od 2 do 18 cm. Na stablima promjera 18 cm i više, zbog formiranja debljeg sloja mrtve kore, jeleni prestaju s guljenjem, a štete iz prethodnih godina postaju teže uočljive. Oštećivanja kore kreću od pridanka debla (vrata korijena) pa sve do 190 cm visine. Porastom promjera unutar raspona 2 – 18 cm, raste i stupanj prstenovanja odnosno kumulativna višegodišnja oštećenja. Na nekim lokacijama šteta je zabilježena na svim stablima poljskog jasena. Oštećenja nisu pronađena na hrastu lužnjaku (Quercus robur L.) i amorfi (Amorpha fruticosa L.) kao dvjema najzastupljenijim drvenastim vrstama pored jasena. Provedene analize kore ne upućuju da je nedostatak hranjiva, šećera ili minerala razlog zašto jeleni gule koru mladih jasenovih stabala., Forest ecosystems are complex systems where it is often hard to predict and explain mutual activities and interactions of individual factors. Different species of big game make an inseparable part of these ecosystems. Game, particularly big ruminants and wild boar are in a constant interaction with the flora of the area they inhabit. Their positive and negative effects vary during different forest stand phenophases and depend on the forest stand age, presence and number of different game species, availability of food, etc. The negative effects of big game on forest stands have been studied worldwide and in Croatia as well. The focus of this research was to analyse the bark damage induced by red deer on young trees of narrow-leaved ash. The research was conducted in two narrow-leaved ash forest stands situated in the Sava river basin in Croatia, where red deer is known to be present. The obtained results indicate that debarking (bark peeling) of young trees starts immediately upon the removal of the protective fence which is usually put up around forest stands during the regeneration period. Diameter at the breast height (DBH) of damaged narrow-leaved ash trees varied from 2 to 18 cm. In trees of greater diameter, new bark peeling didn’t occur, and damage induced in previous years became less conspicuous due to the formation of thicker bark layer. Bark damage was visible from the root collar (ground level) up to 190 cm of the stem height. With the increase of DBH (in the range from 2 to 18 cm), the girdling intensity, i.e., the cumulative damage from previous years increased as well. In some research plots the damage was visible on all narrow-leaved ash trees. Bark damage induced by red deer was not observed on the pedunculate oak and indigo bush, which were the two most common woody species in the researched area just after narrow-leaved ash. Conducted bark analysis didn’t indicate that the lack of nutrients, soluble sugar or minerals is the reason for the extensive bark peeling of the narrow-leaved ash bark.

Classic methods of stocktaking big game living in a given area have many disadvantages. The main result is the need to ensure appropriate terrain and weather conditions and also require the involvement of a large number of people, so-called observers. The development of technology makes it possible to create new stocktaking methods that will not have as many of the above-mentioned disadvantages, while reducing the cost of stocktaking and increasing its accuracy. This paper presents an analysis of the possibility of using unmanned aerial vehicles, so-called drones, in combination with the observation of game in the infrared wave range with the use of a thermal imaging camera. The paper presents the concept of such a solution, which will of course be further developed. Raids are planned with the use of thermal cameras over areas according to strictly defined transects and subjecting the obtained images to analysis, also with the use of artificial intelligence methods. This article was written as part of the PBL project carried out by a group of students from the Silesian University of Technology under the supervision of dr inż. Arkadiusz Boczkowski.

Populations of North American bison (Bison bison) are widely presumed to have remained stable, numbering in the tens of millions, right up until the hide hunts of the 1870s nearly brought about extinction. Recent scholarship from various disciplines consistently undermines this presumption. Indigenous people likely affected bison populations from their arrival toward the end of the Pleistocene. By the time of Columbus, indigenous populations were high and their impacts were felt keenly. As documented in the 16th century journals of Cabeza de Vaca, big game populations, including bison, were suppressed by hunting. That changed, however, with arrival of Old World diseases that are estimated to have reduced indigenous populations in the Americas by 90 % within a century of contact with Europeans. Such drastic reductions in indigenous human populations allowed bison populations to expand. Gradually, increased pressure from human hunters, along with competition from feral horses, introduced infectious diseases, habitat changes, and droughts, all suppressed bison populations well before the notorious hide hunts began in the 1870s. The hide hunts were the final blow to free-ranging bison, but reduced populations in the decades prior paved the way and helps explain why bison were reduced to near extinction within a few years.

The article deals with digital solutions in the field of healthcare. The author outlines pros and cons of new modern technologies, including big data and its analysis techniques in the said field. The activity of the European Medicines Agency as a model for developing promising data strategies for internal reuse of standardized data has been analyzed. The importance of investing in pharmacological examination has been substantiated.

This paper examines social institutions and norms related to cooperative big game hunting by introducing these explicitly into the basic economic model used to analyze moral hazard in teams [Holmstrom 1982]. Features built into Holmstrom’s basic model include effort to locate and acquire game, trophy taking and carcass sharing among members of a hunting party. The insights offered here are inspired by the norms of the Dumagat of Tanay in hunting, meat sharing and trophy taking. Among the Dumagat, the individual who acquires the game takes the head and the feet as trophy. The rest of the carcass is divided up along the lines described by Fabella’s [1988] natural team sharing formula. JEL classification: J23, J24

This article examines the concept of the “true hunter” (vrai chasseur) among big game hunters in French colonial Indochina. Drawing primarily on French language texts published by highly experienced European hunters between 1910 and 1950, it first examines in detail the true hunter ethic, which required hunters to hunt and kill their prey in a “sporting” (sportif) manner. This ethic involved adherence to an expansive and complicated set of rules related to stalking, marksmanship, knowledge possession, restraint, prey selection, choice of firearms and ammunition, and others. True hunting was regarded as by definition difficult and, as is argued, the practical realization of the true hunter ideal entailed not simply engaging in hunting as an activity, but instead successfully performing a very difficult but specific type of killing. The article's second purpose is to engage a paradox associated with the texts, their authors, and the ethic. While critical of other hunters for “unnecessary slaughter,” many killed staggering numbers of animals. This paradox is accounted for by placing the true hunters in the broader social context of colonial Indochina. Both their type of sport hunting and the virtuosity of their killing distinguished them from the indigenous populations that served their hunts and other European hunters. This virtuosity also legitimized the scale of their killing and placed these hunters into a distinctive social and moral community.

Two studies examined how memories are formed around championship sporting events, which we classify as media events. The first study employed a test-retest methodology to assess how fans of a sport...

Hunting is a resource of rural areas that is traditionally exploited. In the current context, it is conceived as an economic activity that contributes to the creation of employment in municipalities immersed in a profound demographic regression, provided that it is practised in a sustainable manner. The aim of this work is to analyse the geographical distribution of big game hunting reserves in Extremadura and the demographic dynamics in which the municipalities concerned are immersed. For the analysis, official statistics on both variables have been compared. The results obtained show the wide territorial distribution of the big game reserves, which have been clearly expanding in recent years, throughout the different physiographic units, and the regressive demographic trend in the municipalities where they are located. As a result, we propose a discussion including measures that could contribute to generate a greater economic impact in rural areas. La caza es un recurso de los espacios rurales que es objeto de aprovechamiento tradicional. En el contexto actual, se concibe como actividad económica que contribuye a la creación de empleo en municipios inmersos en una profunda regresión demográfica, siempre y cuando se practique de forma sostenible. El objetivo de este trabajo se centra en analizar la distribución geográfica de los cotos de caza mayor de Extremadura y la dinámica demográfica en la que están inmersos los municipios afectados. Para el análisis se ha recurrido a comparar las estadísticas oficiales de ambas variables. Los resultados obtenidos permiten acreditar la amplia distribución territorial de los cotos de caza mayor, en clara expansión durante los últimos años, por las diferentes unidades fisiográficas, y la tendencia demográfica regresiva que sufren los municipios donde se ubican. Como resultado de ello, proponemos una discusión en la que se incluyen medidas que puedan contribuir a generar una mayor repercusión económica en el medio rural. La chasse est une ressource des zones rurales qui est traditionnellement exploitée. Dans le contexte actuel, elle est conçue comme une activité économique qui contribue à la création d'emplois dans les municipalités plongées dans une profonde régression démographique, pour autant qu'elle soit pratiquée de manière durable. L'objectif de ce travail est d'analyser la répartition géographique des réserves de chasse au gros gibier en Estrémadure et la dynamique démographique dans laquelle sont plongées les municipalités concernées. Pour l'analyse, nous avons comparé les statistiques officielles des deux variables. Les résultats obtenus montrent la large distribution territoriale des réserves de grand gibier, en nette expansion au cours des dernières années, par les différentes unités physiographiques, et la tendance démographique régressive dont souffrent les municipalités où elles sont situées. En conséquence, nous proposons une discussion qui inclut des mesures qui peuvent contribuer à générer un plus grand impact économique sur l'environnement rural.

Purpose: To determine whether the presence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) decreases the risk of diabetic retinopathy. Methods: This was a retrospective, case-cohort study performed in patients with a systemic diagnosis of diabetes at a tertiary health care center from May 2011 to April 2020. A total of 43,153 patients (1,024 AMD patients and 42,129 non-AMD patients) were included in the analysis. A total of 1,024 age and diabetes mellitus (DM) duration-matched controls were chosen from the non-AMD group for risk factor analysis. The severity of diabetic retinopathy was compared between the patients with AMD and the patients without AMD. Results: Out of the enrolled 43,153 diabetic patients, 26,906 were males and 16,247 were females. A total of 1,024 patients had AMD and 42,129 had no AMD. The mean age of the cohort was 58.60 ± 0.09 years. The overall prevalence of DR was noted to be 22.8% (9,825 out of 43,153 eyes). A significantly lower prevalence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) (23% in non-AMD, 11.4% in AMD, OR = −0.43, P < 0.001), non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) (12% in non-AMD, 8.2% in AMD, OR = −0.66, P < 0.001), and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) (11% in non-AMD, 3.2% in AMD, OR = −0.27, P < 0.001) was seen in the AMD patients. No significant difference was seen between the dry and wet AMD. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, the lower age, absence of AMD, and male gender were associated with a higher risk of PDR. Conclusion: The presence of AMD was noted to statistically reduce the risk of DR. Our results may be useful in the field of resource allocation and awareness of DR.

The conservation of biodiversity and rational use of biological resources should be conducted with a view to population genetics. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the genetic diversity of highly distributed red deer groups from Słowiński National Park (NP) and hunting areas (HA) in northern Poland using 10 dinucleotide microsatellites. In 254 animals, 112 alleles were observed with a high allelic number (NA = 7–15). The NP and HA groups showed high mean heterozygosity (Ho = 0.548 ± 0.063–0.613 ± 0.061) compared to other deer populations in Europe, although a slight decrease in heterozygosity and an increase in inbreeding was identified in NP, compared to HA. A high level of intra-group and a low level of inter-group genetic differentiation was found, which was supported by a high level of gene flow between NP and HA. Structure analysis revealed two genetic clusters (NP and HA) within the population. The HA cluster was distinguished by numerous private alleles, although the NP cluster was distinguished by a high frequency of two private alleles. These study results show that unhunted conservation areas may affect red deer density without increasing genetic diversity whereas hunting does not seem to have a negative impact on deer genetic diversity. This study affirms the anthropogenic impact on the red deer groups in both NP and HA. Ongoing monitoring of the red deer population with an effective sampling strategy is recommended.

For a long time, the world thought that the collapse of the USSR in 1991 would lead to a similar outcome in North Korea. Although the Kim regime suffered harsh economic troubles, it was able to distance itself from communism without facing an ideological crisis and losing mass support. The same core political myths are still in use today. However, after the DPRK left the ideas of socialist realism behind, it has become clearer that the ideology of the country is a political religion. Now, its propaganda is using more supernatural elements than ever before. A good example is the movie The Big-Game Hunter (Maengsu sanyangkkun) in which the Japanese are trying to desacralize Paektu Mountain, but instead experience the fury of the holy mountain in the form of thunderbolts. The movie was produced in 2011 by P’yo Kwang, one of the most successful North Korean directors. It was filmed in the same year Kim Chŏng-ŭn came to power. The aim of the paper is to show the evolution of the DPRK political myth in North Korean cinema, in which The Big-Game Hunter seems to be another step in the process of mythologization. It is crucial to understand how the propaganda works, as it is still largely the cinema that shapes the attitudes and imagination of the people of the DPRK.

Paleoindians in North America are often described as specialized big game hunters. Over the years a few sites that show evidence of diversity in subsistence pursuits have been used to argue that Paleoindians were generalized foragers. In this paper, we provide new information on the fish remains reported from the Shawnee-Minisink Clovis site in Pennsylvania, USA. This site has long been touted as an example of generalized foraging by Paleoindians. Through detailed Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analyses and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the previous reported fish bone from the Shawnee-Minisink site is not bone but a modern contaminant. We briefly summarize these findings and other published results to show that this single site can no longer be used as an example of foraging diversity by Paleoindians. Based on these findings we caution traditional approaches to identifying calcined bone and the use of single case studies to characterize Early Paleoindian lifeways.

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a widespread exotic, invasive species that poses ecological, agricultural, and human health risks in invaded areas. Wildlife managers often manage wild pig abundance and expansion to mitigate these risks. The diversity of stakeholders involved in the issue of wild pig management complicates efforts to manage the species, and, to be successful, wildlife professionals should consider the human dimensions associated with wild pig management. The prevalence of privately owned lands in Texas, USA necessitates cooperation to enact effective management policies. In this study, we investigate the factors that affect a hunter’s likelihood to participate in wild pig hunting. Multiple factors affect participation in wild pig hunting activities. We found that participation in other types of big game hunting increased the likelihood of participation in wild pig hunting and that wild pig hunting does not deter individuals from participating in other types of hunting activities. Additionally, hunters’ attitudes toward wild pigs are important in determining the likelihood of participation in wild pig hunting. Finally, our results suggest that hunters are largely uninformed about wild pigs and do not hold the same perceptions, values, or tolerance levels of the species. The diversity of preferences among wild pig hunters necessitates that wildlife managers consider the desires of the public as well as natural resource needs in creating socially acceptable management plans for the species.

Academic libraries produce and perpetuate their fair share of management speak - or, bullshit. We create checklists of core competencies to actualize our value propositions. We revere the Thought Leaders in the Innovative Library of the 21st Century. We create synergistic space to incubate the next big game changers. We create and administer committees and task forces that in turn generate a never ending cycle of emails to nail down agendas and meeting minutes. I will reflect on how this proliferation of empty language affects our collective psyche, and what we might do to shovel our way out and focus on meaningful work that provides resonance through all stages of our careers.

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a widespread exotic, invasive species that pose ecological, agricultural, and human health risks in their invaded range. Wildlife managers must manage wild pig abundance and range expansion to mitigate these risks. The diversity of stakeholders involved in the issue of wild pig management complicates efforts to manage the species, and, to be successful, wildlife professionals must consider the human dimensions associated with wild pig management. The prevalence of privately owned lands in Texas, USA necessitates cooperation to enact effective management policies. In this study, we investigate the impact of hunter motivations on wild pig harvest quantity. Motivations driving wild pig hunting are diverse. While the majority of wild pig hunters in Texas are motivated by trophy value, meat-motivated hunters harvest more wild pigs per day afield. Wildlife managers should develop plans that include various management techniques to control wild pig population growth and damage. Education and outreach will continue to be important for involving private landowners in effective wild pig management.

The question of why males invest more into competition than offspring care is an age-old problem in evolutionary biology. On the one hand, paternal care could increase the fraction of offspring surviving to maturity. On the other hand, competition could increase the likelihood of more paternities and thus the relative number of offspring produced. While drivers of these behaviours are often intertwined with a wide range of other constraints, here we present a simple dynamic model to investigate the benefits of these two alternative fitness-enhancing pathways. Using this framework, we evaluate the sensitivity of equilibrium dynamics to changes in payoffs for male allocation to mating versus parenting. Even with strong effects of care on offspring survivorship, small competitive benefits can outweigh benefits from care. We consider an application of the model that includes men's competition for hunting reputations where big game supplies a benefit to all and find a frequency-dependent parameter region within which, depending on initial population proportions, either strategy may outperform the other. Results demonstrate that allocation to competition gives males greater fitness than offspring care for a range of circumstances that are dependent on life-history parameters and, for the large-game hunting application, frequency dependent. The greater the collective benefit, the more individuals can be selected to supply it.

Sports public relations has long been used to promote the big game and highlight key players. Then, the coronavirus crisis halted sports, and the constant stream of public relations content fell silent. There was no game to hype, no sports moment to celebrate. This essay is about the public relations lessons learned during the pandemic. It discusses how sports public relations prior to COVID-19 often valued relational breadth over depth. As a result, sports public relations operated at a superficial level of momentary engagements sustained by creative content rather than the deeper relational connections that public relations purport. The essay then illustrates how COVID-19 cultivated opportunities for relational breadth and depth to grow between players and fans. Finally, the essay questions if we really want sports public relations to return to normal or if sports public relations professionals should incorporate these lessons into sustainable, postpandemic public relations practice.

In the The Great Delusion, John Mearsheimer takes on the big game and effectively provides two books in one. The first is a study of the relationship between the three isms – liberalism, realism, a...

This analysis aims to quantify the effect that the probability of bagging game will have on the demand for recreational hunting. A two equation structural model has been developed which allows the probability of bagging game to be simultaneously entered into the travel cost model. The basic model is based on a Poisson distribution for the travel cost, and a Negative Binomial distribution is used to deal with the issue of overdispersion. Likelihood ratio tests and non-nested model selection tests have been adopted to choose the model which best fits the data. The results show that a Negative Binomial structural model is the best and the probability of bagging game has a significant effect on the travel cost model. The welfare per hunting day is around $300.

Evidence for “controlled use of fire” by Homo erectus pekinensis at Zhoukoudian Locality 1 was initially discovered in the early 1930s and was widely accepted as the earliest such record in human evolutionary history for more than half a century. However, since the mid-1980s, this evidence has been questioned. Some of the questions were based on new research results, including geochemical and taphonomic studies conducted in the 1990s. Others are hypothetical and to some extent stem from a theoretical shift in ideas about early hominin subsistence capabilities, including hunting big game and using fire. Limited access to Chinese archaeological collections and literature, limited geological sampling, and postdepositional disturbance might all contribute to the results of these recent investigations. A thorough review of original field notes, excavation reports, and research papers leads to the conclusion that fossils, cultural materials, and traces of fire use in certain horizons at the site are abundant, u...

Expanding human footprints across the globe are affecting animal migrations by altering their use of traditional routes and exposing them to increased costs of travel. Sustaining migratory behavior among populations requires knowledge of animal movement and space use during this critical life stage. We studied the migratory movements in a population of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), an imperiled species endemic to the North American sagebrush steppe, with the longest-known obligate and annual migration for a grouse: a 240-km journey between Saskatchewan, Canada, and north central Montana, USA. Remote tracking revealed that stepping-stone behavior in sage-grouse is analogous to that of migratory big game populations, which frequent stopover sites along varied and individual routes. Within migratory routes, sage-grouse chose pathways with gently rolling grasslands and sagebrush flats. Sage-grouse avoided cropland, making punctuated movements across a 6-km river valley dominated by cropland and trees. During autumn migration (Oct–Nov), individuals typically spent a day at an average of 9 different stopovers while traveling 41–126 km in 14 days. Sage-grouse were faithful to winter ranges and timing of autumn migration but demonstrated adaptive behavior in response to heavy snowfalls with no effect on survival. Birds made a mass exodus north in spring (Mar–Apr) to their respective breeding ranges, traveling up to 160 km in 18 days. Migratory pathways were stitched together by an array of public and private lands, with large and intact landscapes composed of native vegetation forming the common thread. Conservation easements and public lands policy that preclude temperate grasslands from being fragmented will be critical in maintaining the largest migratory event observed among gallinaceous species. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

Big game hunting on private leased forestland is popular in Georgia and other parts of the southern United States. Very often, the leasing arrangement takes the form of a club, wherein a specified number of members pay an annual fee to either a landowner or the club's manager to have a certain bundle of access rights in accordance with other club regulations or attributes. Currently, little is formally known about hunter preferences for club characteristics. The objective of this study was to identify hunter preferences for attributes related to big game hunting clubs and to derive measures of economic value for these attributes. This was accomplished by conducting a choice experiment (CE) via a mail survey in 2012 of licensed big game hunters in Georgia. The CE presented respondents with alternative hunting clubs representing different combinations of attributes including acreage, membership number, harvest regulations, recent forest management activity, and annual club dues. Responses were analyzed with conditional logit and multinomial probit regression models. Consistent with economic theory, hunters preferred more acreage and fewer members. The least preferred harvest regulation was a one buck limit without size restriction while recent clearcutting was the least preferred forest management activity. Results should provide a better understanding of big game hunters' preferences and trade-offs for club attributes and should help landowners and club managers make management decisions that enhance the value of their resources.

This article examines the artefacts of big game hunting in female elephants from East Africa, natural history collections of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A contextual object biography approach is utilized to analyse the life histories of these specimens through the use of archival and isotopic evidence. Emphasis is placed on the example of an elephant shot on Mt Elgon, Kenya, in 1902, parts of which were preserved and shipped to England for curation and display in the Powell-Cotton Museum in Kent. The results of isotopic analyses on some of the remains reveal a life history that has implications for developing conservation strategies for modern elephant populations in the region and contribute baseline data critical for interpreting the isotopic signatures of ancient ivory believed to have been exported from eastern Africa.

This study was based on a temporal analysis of trophy quality trends and hunting effort in Chewore South Safari Area (CSSA), Zimbabwe, for the period 2009–2012. We selected four of the big five species, namely; buffalo (Syncerus caffer), elephant (Loxodonta africana), the leopard (Panthera pardus) and lion (Panthera leo) for analysis. Existing database of 188 trophies from 2009 to 2011 was reviewed and recorded using the Safari Club International (SCI) scoring system. Further, 50 trophies for 2012 were measured and recorded based on the SCI scoring system. Local ecological knowledge on trophy quality and hunting effort in CSSA was obtained through semi-structured questionnaires from 22 conveniently selected professional hunters in 2012. The results indicated no significant change in trophy quality trends of buffalo, leopard and lion (p > 0.05) over the study period. In contrast, there was a significant decline in elephant trophy quality trend over the same period (p 0.05). Furthermore, seventy-two percent (72%, n = 13) of the professional hunters confirmed that elephant population was declining in CSSA and this was likely due to poaching. Professional hunters perceived trophy hunting as a source of financial capital generation for wildlife conservation (61%, n = 11), as well as positively contributing to the local economy (56%, n = 10). It was concluded that hunting has limited negative impact on species trophy quality trends when a sustainable hunting system is consistently followed in CSSA. CSSA management need to continuously monitor trophy hunting, animal populations and employ adaptive management approach to quota setting and species conservation.

Plasmalogen deficiency is associated with increased risks for diabetes mellitus, cancer, cardiac and respiratory diseases, and more recently Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Diet remains one of the most important sources of plasmalogen for humans. There is increasing interest in finding unique natural sources of plasmalogen to be used in the development of functional foods, as well as to improve plasmalogen intake during normal food consumption. Big game cervids meat is gaining popularity as a superior source of protein with enhanced levels of functional lipids. Herein, we show that moose (Alces alces) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) contain high levels of plasmalogens in their polar lipid composition, e.g., 50–59 % of plasmalogen phosphatidylcholine (pPC) and 56–61 % plasmalogen phosphatidylethanolamine (pPE). Caribou was found to be rich in plasmalogen pPC content (59 %), while moose was dominant in plasmalogen pPE content (61 %). Moose meat is characterized by having ten-folds higher concentration of lyso-plasmalogen pLPE at 417 ± 55 μg/g as compared to 42 ± 4 μg/g and 36 ± 7 μg/g in caribou meat and moose antler, respectively. The phospholipid composition with high plasmalogen content reported in caribou and moose meat/antler suggests that they may serve as natural dietary sources of plasmalogens during normal food consumption.

Infrastructure associated with energy development influences hunter access and introduces disturbance activities to landscapes that can influence habitat selection and behavior of ungulates. Consequently, habitat loss and hunter access concerns must be addressed by wildlife managers as they consider management of populations of western big game species including mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana). We evaluated whether increased energy development, as quantified through change in well pad density, has affected hunter success of mule deer and pronghorn. Ungulates tend to avoid energy development; therefore, we also evaluated whether hunting statistics can be used to identify potential effects of energy development on mule deer and pronghorn. We included data from 22 of 39 mule deer and 34 of 46 pronghorn Herd Units across Wyoming, USA, from 1980 to 2012. On average, well pad densities across mule deer Herd Units increased from 0.01 km2 in 1980 to 0.06 km2 in 2012, and well pads in pronghorn Herd Units increased from 0.01 km2 to 0.12 km2 during the same period. Our results indicated that hunter success for mule deer in Wyoming was positively associated with hunter effort, whereas pronghorn hunter success was negatively associated with hunter effort. Hunter success for both species was unaffected by well pad density. We identified a change in mule deer and pronghorn harvest success associated with hunter numbers and effort; however, harvest statistics were not informative in identifying impacts from energy development on mule deer or pronghorn populations. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

Hunting lease revenue can be a reliable supplemental income for forest landowners. Although studies have examined factors influencing per acre lease rates, little is known about how various characteristics are capitalized in hunting club dues. The objective of this study was to conduct a hedonic analysis of big game hunting club dues in Georgia, USA using a variety of club-, site-, and location-specific characteristics. To accomplish this objective, multivariate regression analysis was applied to explain variation in hunters’ self-reported big game hunting club dues in 2012. Implicit price was then calculated for each significant covariate. Club size, presence of food plots, and game quality had positive effects on club dues, whereas membership number had a negative effect. These results should be useful for landowners and club lease managers interested in enhancing the marketability of their hunting sites and understanding the effect of management actions.

The article is intended to reveal important similarities between fiction and sport. I build on Jonathan Gottschall’s discussion in The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by celebrating the significance of stories and their ‘witchy power’ and by examining factors that demonstrate similarities between fiction and sport. I suggest that an unmistakable semantic, structural, and cultural kinship exists between the two. This argument requires a discussion of play theory, play resources and constitutive rules, the semantic power of problems and the uncertainty they produce, and the role of ‘frames’ in bringing problems to life. I conclude by noting the unique frame capabilities of ‘the big game’ and zero-sum dichotomous sporting motifs.

Coaching should go beyond drills and preparing for the big game. One question many coaches have asked themselves is, “How do I get better?” One way to ensure that future coaches (current students) in sport coaching education are thinking of ways to improve for the future is to teach them to think about the past. This is where reflection comes into play. “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is a presentation of reflective practices used during a sport pedagogy course to evaluate coaching demonstration.

Game ratings have been one of the most important factors in the online game purchase. The game ratings are numerical scores and its two types are professional score and user score. This paper presents the experiments focusing on the relationship between professional score and user score across 2,069 games distributed by the Steam platform. We also investigated a various game genres for the analysis of the relationship between two rating scores. A better understanding of the relationships of the two scores would be of great value when game users want to choose their favorite games. Our experiments found that indie game and casual game has no differences between two scores. Notably, most major games which are developed by some big game companies have differences between professional scores and user scores. Another more factors can affect the game ratings for the big major games, such as advertising and promotion.

Exploration and analyses of early archaeological sites and their faunal assemblages have grown increasingly sophisticated since the sites were first proposed to be home bases where ancestral hunters brought meat to share with their mates and offspring. Debates about that proposition motivated quantitative attention to hunting, scavenging, butchery and transport of big game among modern Hadza and the faunal assemblage characteristics and archaeological sites they create. Findings prompted a hypothesis about competitive scavenging that might explain the character and ecological context of the early sites, a hypothesis since strengthened by consensus among archaeologists working at Olduvai that the sites are not home bases. Hadza carcass procurement rates calibrate estimates for ancestral populations without similar technology, underscoring the likelihood that other food resources were especially important in human evolution.

This article considers the practice of taxidermy and its relationship to the ‘golden age’ of big game hunting, the science of natural history and the dramaturgical codes of empire by looking at the collecting exploits of one man, Major Percy Powell-Cotton (1866–1940), and his attempts to preserve the spoils of the hunt in the ‘great indoors’. As various scholars have pointed out, taxidermy offers up a vivid and striking ‘afterlife’ of the animal with a unique (and some might say unsavoury) ability to elucidate our environmental and cultural relations with other species. As such, the reanimated animals of empire, posed on the walls of the country estate or arrested in museum cases, represent valuable historical artefacts ripe for unstitching. Drawing on the work of Garry Marvin, Sam Alberti and Merle Patchett, this article stalks Powell-Cotton's taxidermic project across various sites of capture, production and display (what I call necrogeographies) to illuminate the sinuous contours of imperial natural history and the stories of pursuit, production and performance lurking beneath the skin of the reanimated animal.

Archaeology The ethnographic record of modern hunter-gatherers indicates that men were the primary, almost exclusive, hunters of big game. However, to what extent this pattern existed in prehistory has been challenged on both empirical and theoretical grounds. To examine this question, Haas et al. studied the artifacts recovered from a burial of a young woman at a site on the Andean Altiplano dated to more than 8000 years ago. Found with her was a tool kit used in animal processing and numerous projectile points, strongly indicating that she hunted. Additional examples of female hunters at late Pleistocene and early Holocene sites in the Americas were also identified, findings that support a model of relatively undifferentiated subsistence labor among early populations in the Americas. Sci. Adv. 10.1126/sciadv.abd0310 (2020).

International audience; This work aims at modeling the economics of the sylvo-cynegetic equilibrium in commercial forests, as defined by forestry authorities, with respect to uncertain damages to plantation stands caused by the overabundance of ungulate species. After presenting the stochastic optimal control framework, in which the dynamics of forest resources and the population dynamics of big game species are both considered, we apply the stochastic control to an updated version of the well-known Gordon-Schaefer bioeconomic model. Our results show that the equilibrium can be achieved through the use of a joint control divided between regeneration works and hunting regimes. Furthermore, we find that, in equilibrium, the investment in forestry works ought to be equal to the willingness to undertake the resource stock stabilization in uncertainty. The investment should amount no more than 20% of total costs engaged in a forestry management plan.Ce travail vise à modéliser l'économie de l'équilibre sylvo-cynégétique dans les forêts commerciales, tel que défini par les autorités forestières, par rapport aux dommages incertains causés aux peuplements de plantation par la surabondance d'espèces d'ongulés. Après avoir présenté le cadre de contrôle optimal stochastique, dans lequel la dynamique des ressources forestières et la dynamique de la population des espèces de grand gibier sont toutes deux considérées, nous appliquons le contrôle stochastique à une version actualisée du modèle bioéconomique bien connu de Gordon-Schaefer. Nos résultats montrent que l'équilibre peut être atteint par l'utilisation d'un contrôle conjoint réparti entre les travaux de régénération et les régimes de chasse. De plus, nous trouvons que l'investissement dans les travaux forestiers devrait être égal à la volonté d'entreprendre dans l'incertitude la stabilisation du stock de ressources. L'investissement ne devrait pas dépasser 20% des coûts totaux engagés dans un plan de gestion forestière.

The launch of BBC2 in 1964 led to profound changes in wildlife television. The new channel was designed to increase the broadcasting of knowledge-based content. This brief gave free rein to David Attenborough, as controller of the new channel, to establish new programme formats and content. Under Attenborough’s aegis, the Life series fronted by Desmond Morris brought wildlife television and ethology close together in a new, ‘professional’ approach to natural history. The series The World About Us instated the fifty-minute, film-only format as the default for wildlife television. By the end of the 1960s, wildlife broadcasters at the BBC had succeeded in establishing a professional culture of wildlife television making, distinct from both amateur natural history and big game hunting—one informed by science.

The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is the most economically important big game mammal in North America and Florida. This 12-page fact sheet written by Raoul K. Boughton, Bethany Wight, Samantha Wisely, Karen Hood, and Martin B. Main and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation provides an overview of the various subspecies of white-tailed deer with populations in Florida and describes their history, biology, and management.https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw121

Doing so, he is in line with the traditions of a specific genre of medical history that organises epidemics as a historical big-game hunting, focusing on conditions with high prevalence and high death toll that appear in violent epidemics. Interestingly, this problem is less virulent in the chapters covering the late 20th century and the treatment of emerging infectious diseases, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or Ebola, where Snowden allows for a sense of openness and instability of scientific knowledge. [...]there is the question of geographical perspective.

Semi-jacketed lead-cored or copper-based homogenous rifle bullets are commonly used for hunting big game. Ever since their introduction in the 1990’s, copper-based bullets have not been widely accepted by hunters due to limited supply, higher expense, and the perception that they exhibit inferior killing efficiency and correspondingly higher wounding rates. Here, we present data showing that animal flight distances for roe deer, red deer, brown bear, and moose dispatched with lead- or copper-based hunting bullets did not significantly differ from an animal welfare standardized animal flight distance based on body mass. Lead-cored bullets typical fragment on impact, whereas copper-based bullets retain more mass and expand more than their leaden counterparts. Our data demonstrate that the relative killing efficiency of lead and copper bullets is similar in terms of animal flight distance after fatal shots. Hunters that traditionally use lead bullets should consider switching to copper bullets to enhance human and environmental health. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-019-01171-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Sixty thousand years ago, southwestern France was in the midst of an ice age. The climate was much cooler than it is today, and the region had different animals. These included many large, cold-adapted animals such as woolly mammoths, Irish elk, and cave bears. There were also people living in the region. Artifacts from this time are abundant, and include spear points and scrapers of the kind that would be used in killing and butchering big game. Human remains reveal people with a short, stocky build, and distinctive facial features including a prominent nose and swept back cheeks. These people were Neanderthals, and by this time they had been occupying Europe for many millennia (Figure 9.1). Since that time, Europe came to be occupied by other humans, modern humans like ourselves. A key issue in human evolution is the connection between later humans and Neanderthals. Are modern humans descendants of Neanderthals? Or did they come from elsewhere and replace them? Computational approaches have made key contributions toward answering this fascinating question.

Evolutionary game theory has been successful in describing phenomena from bacterial population dynamics to the evolution of social behavior. Interactions between individuals are usually captured by a single game. In reality, however, individuals take part in many interactions. Here, we include multiple games and analyze their individual and combined evolutionary dynamics. A typical assumption is that the evolutionary dynamics of individual behavior can be understood by constructing one big comprehensive interactions structure, a single big game. But if any one of the multiple games has more than two strategies, then the combined dynamics cannot be understood by looking only at individual games. Devising a method to study multiple games – where each game could have an arbitrary number of players and strategies – we provide a concise replicator equation, and analyze its resulting dynamics. Moreover, in the case of finite populations, we formulate and calculate a basic and useful property of stochasticity, fixation probability. Our results reveal that even when interactions become incredibly complex, their properties can be captured by relatively simple concepts of evolutionary game(s) theory.

The peculiarities of political and economic situation in the historical region of Balochistan that is divided between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran are analyzed in this article. Due to specifics of its geographical position, poor soils and water scarcity, lands of Baloch people remain the least populated and the poorest in all aforementioned countries. This leads to insufficient attention of all three respective governments to the development of local communities that creates a basis for radicalism and separatism supported by ethnic and confessional differences. On the other hand, the area of Balochistan still holds a promise of development due to its strategic location between borders of different countries, long stretches of coastline in Pakistan and Iran, considerable mineral resources of coal, natural gas, iron ore and marble. It is argued that three states should provide Baloch minorities with a just share of profits after sale of their commodities, limit migration of empoverished people from other regions and respect human rights. It is proved in the article that the implementation of those recommendations will put to rest the issue of separatism.

White-tailed deer are widely distributed in North America and for at least 10,000 years have been important to human beings for food, clothing, and tools. Market hunting and habitat changes in the 1800s caused a precipitous decline in the number of white-tailed deer in North America. Hunters acted to restore deer populations. By promoting and helping to enforce hunting regulations, transplanting deer, and funding conservation and management programs, hunters were the primary reason deer populations grew during the 1900s from 500,000 to nearly 30 million. Today white-tailed deer are the most popular big game animal in North America and hunters continue to fund deer management and research. Hunters help wildlife agencies to manage white-tailed deer populations within ecological and cultural carrying capacity by harvesting deer. Thus, hunters, with their interest in viable deer populations, are integral to the conservation and management of white-tailed deer in North America.

Ethnohistorical and ethnographic observations from around the world indicate that projectiles were often made differently for warfare and hunting. Using experiential archaeology and analysis of a thousand years� worth of data from the middle Gila River in Arizona, the authors argue that side notched arrow points were produced for hunting large animals and were designed to be retrieved and reused, while unnotched points were intended for single use and for another purpose: to kill people. The data suggests furthermore that the region witnessed a steady increase in levels of violence during the period under study.