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Can a wildlife management area support both wildlife and human recreational opportunities, particularly hunting?Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) take to the air over the Delmarva peninsula. (Credit: Alexego01, ... [+] via GoodFon)Alexego01 via a Creative Commons licenseCanada geese are more wily than most people think. For example, a new study by a team of researchers at Pennsylvania State University reports that Canada geese, Branta canadensis, seem to understand when and where hunters will arrive, and yet they still refuse to leave their favourite haunts, despite the risks. This studys findings aligns with a previous study conducted in Chicago (more here).Canada geese many of which are non-migratory in Pennsylvania account for about half of the total harvest of waterfowl within the state of Pennsylvania, said the studys senior author, Frances Buderman, an assistant professor of quantitative wildlife ecology. However, we know very little about how resident geese respond to hunting pressure on Middle Creek and Pymatuning Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and similar areas across the country.Pymatuning WMA comprises 9,661-acres in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania and Middle Creek WMA comprises 6,207-acres in the southeast. Both WMAs are operated and maintained by Pennsylvania Game Commission specifically to increase game species and to create hunting opportunities. These WMAs are comprised of cropland, forest, lake and wetlands that serve to provide refuge for geese that may help alleviate the effects of hunting. The agency additionally maintains stationary waterfowl hunting blinds which are allocated to duck and goose hunters using a lottery system.Because these WMAs are designed to provide two conflicting services to maintain wildlife habitat and to offer recreation, including hunting opportunities that may scare the birds away no one really knows how the resident geese perceive the situation. This is where Professor Buderman and collaborators enter the picture.MORE FOR YOUWe looked at whether hunting pressure on these sites is causing geese to leave the WMAs, Professor Buderman said about the study.To monitor the movements of the geese, Professor Buderman and collaborators trapped a total of 134 female geese and fitted them with GPS collars to track their movements over two hunting seasons. During that time, the researchers collected and analyzed 7.4 million observed locations provided by the 134 geese.The data revealed that resident geese abandoned location where hunters were active for short periods of time to avoid being killed, but overall, they maintained their long-term fidelity to the WMAs themselves. This finding surprised the researchers and ran counter to findings from similar waterfowl studies, according to Professor Buderman.Professor Buderman and collaborators explained in their study (ref) that the geese are probably relying on both a cognitive map of risks a landscape of fear as well as an awareness of when the danger is present a schedule of fear to move around their environment and to make decisions about the trade-offs between refuges, resources and habitats.Further, the studys findings suggest that if geese find sufficient refuge pockets of habitat where they can remain hidden from hunters they are not likely to abandon a WMA at all.Many aspects of wildlife biology are simultaneously centered on two types of objectives: supporting the population of the animal and supporting human activities, such as maximizing recreational opportunities, which can include hunting, Professor Buderman explained. It turns out the WMAs, which are being managed by the Game Commission for hunted species, including Canada geese, really are serving their twofold purpose to provide habitat for the species throughout its life-cycle and to provide opportunities for hunters.Hunter satisfaction is important to agencies like the Game Commission, Professor Buderman pointed out. Satisfied hunters support wildlife and habitat programs, which ultimately support the conservation of hunted and non-hunted species.In terms of waterfowl hunters nationwide, theyre some of the biggest contributors through their required purchase of a federal Duck Stamp, Professor Buderman said.According to the US Fish and Wildlife service, the Federal Duck Stamp program is amongst the most successful conservation tools ever created to protect habitat for birds and other wildlife. Ninety-eight percent of the purchase price of a duck stamp goes directly to acquire and protect wetlands, to help purify water, aid in flood control, reduce soil erosion and sedimentation, and enhance outdoor recreation opportunities. Since 1934, over $1.1 billion dollars have been raised from sales of Federal Duck Stamps to conserve over 6 million acres of land within the National Wildlife Refuge System. In addition to hunters, birdwatchers, conservationists, stamp collectors and others also purchase the Duck Stamp stamp in support of habitat conservation.Source:Karen E. Beatty, Nathaniel R. Huck & Frances E. Buderman (2024). Anthropogenic predation risk alters waterfowl habitat selection, Landscape Ecology 39:201 | doi:10.1007/s10980-024-01995-w Copyright by GrrlScientist | hosted by Forbes | LinkTr.ee

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil poses for a portrait after his victory ... [+] during the UFC 310 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC)Zuffa LLCUFC men's flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja has seemingly been looking for challenges as he has nearly cleaned out his division.If you ask former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, Pantoja need not consider moving up to bantamweight, at least not while Merab Dvalishvili is holding the title.LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Alexandre Pantoja of Brazil in interviewed by Joe Rogan after his ... [+] win against Kai Asakura of Japan in the UFC flyweight championship bout during the UFC 310 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)Zuffa LLCWhittaker discussed the possibility on a recent episode of his MMArcade podcast. Whittaker was asked by his co-host Jonny Roses who would win if Pantoja moved up in weight to challenge Merab for his bantamweight title.I love Pantoja, but Merab murders him, murders him, Whittaker said. If Pantoja goes up to Merab, Merab murders him...bad. I like Pantoja. Hes won me over a lot. Hes killed the division, but I dont think Merab is where his double belt lies.Dvalishvili would seemingly be a terrible matchup for Pantoja. While cardio isn't an Achilles' heel for Pantoja, there may be no one in the history of the sport with a deeper gas tank than Dvalishvili.MORE FOR YOUINGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia reacts after a decision victory ... [+] against Umar Nurmagomedov of Russia in the UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 311 event at Intuit Dome on January 18, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)Zuffa LLCWhat we saw the Georgian do against Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 was legendary. Dvalishvili's pace, wrestling, and strength could be too much for the Brazilian.Against Pantoja, Dvalishvili would enjoy something that he never gets at bantamweight: a size advantage.Dvalishvili is not only an inch taller at 5-foot-6, but he's also a naturally thicker-built man who would almost certainly be the bigger guy in the Octagon.If Sean O'Malley and Nurmagomedov couldn't get the better of Dvalishvili in the stand-up, it's unlikely Pantoja would find success in that area of the fight.While Pantoja's submission skills are probably superior to Dvalishvili's, the latter's wrestling and power should allow him to hold his own in any grappling situations.Quite honestly, there may not currently be a fighter who matches up well with Dvalishvili at flyweight or bantamweight.Remember, Dvalishvili has already faced and defeated most of the top-ranked guys in his division. As for Pantoja, he is coming off a successful title defense against Kai Asakura in the main event of UFC 310 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in December 2024.He called out retired former flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson during his post-fight interview. Johnson quickly shot down the idea, saying he was happy staying retired and being a content creator on YouTube.Rising contenders like Tatsuro Taira, Asu Almabayev, Tagir Ulabekov, Charles Johnson, and Joshua Van could be next. However, perennial contenders and former champions like Brandon Royval, Brandon Moreno, Manel Kape, Kai Kara-France, and others would like another chance to dethrone Pantoja.What's Next for the UFC?There are no men's flyweight fights scheduled for the next UFC card. However, there are two noteworthy middleweight scraps on tap for the February 1 card in Saudi Arabia.Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov - Middleweight (185 lbs)Sharabutdin Magomedov vs. Michael Page - Middleweight (185 lbs)Sergei Pavlovich vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik - Heavyweight (265 lbs)Said Nurmagomedov vs. Vinicius Oliveira - Bantamweight (135 lbs)Ikram Aliskerov vs. Andr Muniz - Middleweight (185 lbs)Muhammad Naimov vs. Kaan Ofli - Featherweight (145 lbs)Shamil Gaziev vs. Thomas Petersen - Heavyweight (265 lbs)Terrance McKinney vs. Damir Hadovi - Lightweight (155 lbs)Fares Ziam vs. Mike Davis - Lightweight (155 lbs)Jasmine Jasudavicius vs. Mayra Bueno Silva - Flyweight (125 lbs)Bogdan Grad vs. L. Alexander - Featherweight (145 lbs)Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Jamal Pogues - Heavyweight (265 lbs)Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Bolaji Oki - Lightweight (155 lbs)

Highly anticipated: As Bethesda and id Software start the final hype cycle before the launch of Doom: The Dark Ages on May 15, the official PC system requirements reveal that ray tracing, a once-optional feature that dramatically reduces frame rates, is increasingly becoming mandatory in major game releases. Notably, the game also requires an NVMe SSD. Doom: The Dark Ages, the upcoming prequel to id Software's 2016 revival of the classic FPS franchise, is now available for pre-order and is set to launch on May 15 on Steam, the Microsoft Store, Game Pass, Xbox series consoles, and PlayStation 5. Customers who pre-purchase the premium edition can begin playing on May 12.The system requirements confirm that the game requires a GPU capable of hardware-assisted ray tracing, even at the lowest graphics settings. Other examples of this trend include Star Wars Outlaws, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and the upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows.Gameplay at 1080p and 60fps with low settings requires an Nvidia RTX 20 series, AMD Radeon RX 6000 series, or newer graphics card with at least 8 GB of VRAM. For higher graphics settings at 1440p, 32GB of RAM and 10GB of VRAM are recommended, while maxed-out 4K gameplay increases the VRAM requirement to 16GB.After showcasing the game at this week's Xbox Developer Direct, id Software also confirmed that Doom: The Dark Ages supports path tracing. Titles like Indiana Jones, Alan Wake 2, and Cyberpunk 2077 have used path tracing, also known as full ray tracing, to render extremely comprehensive lighting and shadows, albeit with a substantial performance cost. Further details on Doom's implementation of the feature are forthcoming.Click to enlargeAnother new mandate that might concern users with older PCs is 100GB of NVMe storage. High-end games now commonly require SSDs but typically also support SATA drives, and many will still launch on hard disk drives. // Related StoriesIn a roughly 10-minute demonstration (watch below), id showcased new weapons and other features from Doom: The Dark Ages. The chainsaw appears to have been replaced with a mace, flail, electrified gauntlet, and a throwable shield. New guns include a rail spike launcher, skull chipper, and a double-barreled plasma cannon. Additionally, the new entry boasts the largest and most densely populated levels in the franchise's history.Doom: The Dark Ages also gives players more granular control over the difficulty settings than prior titles. The options menu includes sliders for player damage, enemy damage, the parry window, overall game speed, and more.

Fortnite has continuously enthralled its massive player base with an ever-changing arsenal of futuristic weapons. Over the seasons, players have seen the introduction of new and powerful weapons such as the Pulse Rifle, a high-tech assault rifle that has become a staple in the games arsenal, and the Kymera Ray Gun, an SMG with a sci-fi twist. Rifles, too, have improved, with the Plasma Cannon providing a new perspective on long-range combat, giving players explosive power.Among these, the Rail Gun has always been a fan favorite because of its accuracy and tremendous damage output, making it a popular pick for those wishing to dominate from a distance. Its ability to charge shots for greater damage while piercing through structures made it a game-changer upon its release in Chapter 2 Season 7. Now the weapon has triumphantly returned in Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 1 to shake up the meta once more.Recommended VideosRail Gun is available in two rarities in Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 1: Epic and Legendary. You can find both variants in loot chests, supply drops, and even rare chests across the Fortnite island. Given that the long-range rifle is quite a lethal weapon, its quite rare to come across one in the game.Epic GamesHowever, if you head over to popular POIs like Seaport City, Demons Dojo, Shoguns Solitude, and more, youll easily find a Rail Gun in one of the chests there. But theres also a faster method to get a guaranteed Rail Gun in each Fortnite match.RelatedFor that, youll need to wait for the new Monarch Supply Drop containers to drop on the island. Once they drop, head quickly for the supply drop and open it to claim a guaranteed Rail Gun and even more weapons like the Burst Quad Launcher and a Recon Scanner.Grab that Rail Gun and fight Godzilla Boss by damaging his weak spots with charged shots from your rifle. The weapon is the only marksman rifle in Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 1 so far and it certainly is one of the best hitscan guns out there. However, if youre looking for more weapons to deal damage to Godzilla and your enemies, check out our full weapons tier list.Editors Recommendations

The Chinese autonomous-driving company is aiming to make more inroads overseas this year, betting that robotaxis and related services will be in high demand in coming years.

Tom Hanks (Richard) and Robin Wright (Margaret) are young again thanks to de-ageing technologyLandmark Media/AlamyHereRobert ZemeckisOn release in UK and US cinemasArtificial intelligence was on the minds of film-makers years before it arrived in daily life, with movies like Blade Runner and A. I. Artificial Intelligence warning of its potential. The use of machine learning, however, is less common in the making of films. Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Ang Lee, Colin Cairnes and others have taken early steps with a variety of technologies, but often met a backlash around copyright and job losses.So what

LifePhotographer Luisa Maria Stagno is on a mission to document the most unusual pigeons out there, from a Danish Suabian to a Gimpel 22 January 2025 Franconian TrumpeterLuisa Maria StagnoThe bizarre, beautiful and, at times, almost comical diversity of fancy pigeons is captured here by photographer Luisa Maria Stagno.Danish SuabianLuisa Maria StagnoThe much maligned pigeons we all know, which are ubiquitous in cities around the world, are actually descended from escaped or released domesticated pigeons, which were in turn bred from the wild rock dove (Columba livia).AdvertisementJacobinLuisa Maria StagnoToday, pigeons have been selectively bred by humans to display a bewildering variety of shapes and colours, numbering as many as 1100 breeds. Even Charles Darwin was known to have bred the birds, and his On the Origin of Species makes numerous references to them.A Gimpel or Archangel pigeonLuisa Maria StagnoNow, Stagno is on a mission to document the most unusual of their kind, entirely without favouritism. I dont have any favourite pigeon, because I find them all very beautiful, she says. I think each pigeon is unique.Old Dutch CapuchineLuisa Maria StagnoThe names given to these breeds are often as fanciful as their appearance. Starting from the main image, from top, are a Franconian Trumpeter, with its wing-like sideburns, a Danish Suabian, a Jacobin, a Gimpel or Archangel and an Old Dutch Capuchine.Topics:

This article first appeared in The Checkup,MIT Technology Reviewsweekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first,sign up here. On January 20, his first day in office, US president Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization. Ooh, thats a big one, he said as he was handed the document. The US is the biggest donor to the WHO, and the loss of this income is likely to have a significant impact on the organization, which develops international health guidelines, investigates disease outbreaks, and acts as an information-sharing hub for member states. But the US will also lose out. Its a very tragic and sad event that could only hurt the United States in the long run, says William Moss, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. Trump appears to take issue with the amount the US donates to the WHO. He points out that it makes a much bigger contribution than China, a country with a population four times that of the US. It seems a little unfair to me, he said as he prepared to sign the executive order. It is true that the US is far and away the biggest financial supporter of the WHO. The US contributed $1.28 billion over the two-year period covering 2022 and 2023. By comparison, the second-largest donor, Germany, contributed $856 million in the same period. The US currently contributes 14.5% of the WHOs total budget. But its not as though the WHO sends a billion-dollar bill to the US. All member states are required to pay membership dues, which are calculated as a percentage of a countrys gross domestic product. For the US, this figure comes to $130 million. China pays $87.6 million. But the vast majority of the USs contributions to the WHO are made on a voluntary basisin recent years, the donations have been part of multibillion-dollar spending on global health by the US government. (Separately, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation contributed $830 million over 2022 and 2023.) Theres a possibility that other member nations will increase their donations to help cover the shortfall left by the USs withdrawal. But it is not clear who will step upor what implications it will have to change the structure of donations. Martin McKee, a professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, thinks it is unlikely that European members will increase their contributions by much. China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and the Gulf states, on the other hand, may be more likely to pay more. But again, it isnt clear how this will pan out, or whether any of these countries will expect greater influence over global health policy decisions as a result of increasing their donations. WHO funds are spent on a range of global health projectsprograms to eradicate polio, rapidly respond to health emergencies, improve access to vaccines and medicines, develop pandemic prevention strategies, and more. The loss of US funding is likely to have a significant impact on at least some of these programs. Diseases dont stick to national boundaries, hence this decision is not only concerning for the US, but in fact for every country in the world, says Pauline Scheelbeek at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.With the US no longer reporting to the WHO nor funding part of this process, the evidence on which public health interventions and solutions should be based is incomplete. Its going to hurt global health, adds Moss. Its going to come back to bite us. Theres more on how the withdrawal could affect health programs, vaccine coverage, and pandemic preparedness in this weeks coverage. Now read the rest of The Checkup Read more from MIT Technology Review's archive This isnt the first time Donald Trump has signaled his desire for the US to leave the WHO. He proposed a withdrawal during his last term, in 2020. While the WHO is not perfect, it needs more power and funding, not less, Charles Kenny, director of technology and development at the Center for Global Development, argued at the time. The move drew condemnation from those working in public health then, too. The editor in chief of the medical journal The Lancet called it a crime against humanity, as Charlotte Jee reported. In 1974, the WHO launched an ambitious program to get lifesaving vaccines to all children around the world. Fifty years on, vaccines are thought to have averted 154 million deathsincluding 146 million in children under the age of five. The WHO has also seen huge success in its efforts to eradicate polio. Today, wild forms of the virus have been eradicated in all but two countries. But vaccine-derived forms of the virus can still crop up around the world. At the end of a round of discussions in September among WHO member states working on a pandemic agreement, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked, The next pandemic will not wait for us, whether from a flu virus like H5N1, another coronavirus, or another family of viruses we dont yet know about. The H5N1 virus has been circulating on US dairy farms for months now, and the US is preparing for potential human outbreaks. From around the web People with cancer paid $45,000 for an experimental blood-filtering treatment, delivered at a clinic in Antigua, after being misled about its effectiveness. Six of them have died since their treatments. (The New York Times) The Trump administration has instructed federal health agencies to pause all external communications, such as health advisories, weekly scientific reports, updates to websites, and social media posts. (The Washington Post) A new virtual retina, modeled on human retinas, has been developed to study the impact of retinal implants. The three-dimensional model simulates over 10,000 neurons. (Brain Stimulation) Trump has signed an executive order stating that it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. The document defies decades of research into how human bodies grow and develop, STAT reports, and represents a dramatic failure to understand biology, according to a neuroscientist who studies the development of sex. (STAT) Attention, summer holiday planners: Biting sandflies in the Mediterranean region are transmitting Toscana virus at an increasing rate. The virus is a major cause of central nervous system disorders in the region. Italy saw a 2.6-fold increase in the number of reported infections between the 201621 period and 202223. (Eurosurveillance)