Summary1. Nest predation negatively affects most avian populations. Studies of nest predation usually group all nest failures when attempting to determine temporal and parental activities, habitat or landscape predictors of success. Often these studies find few significant predictors and interpret patterns as essentially random. 2. Relatively little is known about the importance of individual predator species or groups on observed patterns of nest success, and how the ecology of these predators may influence patterns of success and failure. 3. In 2006 and 2007, time-lapse, infrared video systems were deployed at nests of Swainson's warblers (Limnothlypis swainsonii Audubon) in east-central Arkansas to identify dominant nest predators and determine whether factors predicting predation differed among these predators. 4. Analysis of pooled data yielded few predictors of predation risk, whereas separate analyses for the three major predator groups revealed clear, but often conflicting, patterns. 5. Predation by ratsnakes (Elaphe obsoleta) and raptors was more common during the nestling period, whereas predation by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) occurred more during incubation. Additionally, the risk of predation by raptors and cowbirds decreased throughout the breeding season, whereas ratsnake predation risk increased. 6. Contrary to expectations, predation by ratsnakes and cowbirds was more common far from edges, whereas raptor predation was more common close to agricultural edges. 7. Collectively, our results suggest that associating specific predators with the nests they prey on is necessary to understand underlying mechanisms.

We expect improved trainee learning as a result of providing these automatic skill ratings during inanimate task practice on a surgical robot.

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BackgroundHaptic display technologies are well suited to relay proprioceptive, force, and contact cues from a prosthetic terminal device back to the residual limb and thereby reduce reliance on visual feedback. The ease with which an amputee interprets these haptic cues, however, likely depends on whether their dynamic signal behavior corresponds to expected behaviors—behaviors consonant with a natural limb coupled to the environment. A highly geared motor in a terminal device along with the associated high back-drive impedance influences dynamic interactions with the environment, creating effects not encountered with a natural limb. Here we explore grasp and lift performance with a backdrivable (low backdrive impedance) terminal device placed under proportional myoelectric position control that features referred haptic feedback.MethodsWe fabricated a back-drivable terminal device that could be used by amputees and non-amputees alike and drove aperture (or grip force, when a stiff object was in its grasp) in proportion to a myoelectric signal drawn from a single muscle site in the forearm. In randomly ordered trials, we assessed the performance of N=10 participants (7 non-amputee, 3 amputee) attempting to grasp and lift an object using the terminal device under three feedback conditions (no feedback, vibrotactile feedback, and joint torque feedback), and two object weights that were indiscernible by vision.ResultsBoth non-amputee and amputee participants scaled their grip force according to the object weight. Our results showed only minor differences in grip force, grip/load force coordination, and slip as a function of sensory feedback condition, though the grip force at the point of lift-off for the heavier object was significantly greater for amputee participants in the presence of joint torque feedback. An examination of grip/load force phase plots revealed that our amputee participants used larger safety margins and demonstrated less coordination than our non-amputee participants.ConclusionsOur results suggest that a backdrivable terminal device may hold advantages over non-backdrivable devices by allowing grip/load force coordination consistent with behaviors observed in the natural limb. Likewise, the inconclusive effect of referred haptic feedback on grasp and lift performance suggests the need for additional testing that includes adequate training for participants.

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We tested a recent Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) model proposed for the Swainson's warbler (Limnothlypus swainsonii; a species of conservation concern in the southeastern United States) using data on habitat, bird occupancy, and abundance collected at White River National Wildlife Refuge, Saint Francis National Forest, and Big Island in Arkansas between 2005 and 2010. The Swainson's warbler HSI includes a combination of 6 variables: landform, landcover, successional age class, forest patch size, proportion forest in a 1-km radius, and small-stem density (<2.5 cm diam breast ht; these variables are combined to produce scores ranging 0-1, representing unsuitable to optimal habitat. Mean HSI scores were significantly lower (x ¼ 0.65, n ¼ 99) for sites occupied by Swainson's warblers compared with unoccupied locations (x ¼ 0.78, n ¼ 177) at White River National Wildlife Refuge and Big Island, contrary to our expectation for a useful model. We also found that Swainson's warbler abundances were not correlated with HSI scores both at Saint Francis National Forest and at White River National Wildlife Refuge. Our tests of the current Swainson's warbler HSI model demonstrate that it was not an effective predictor of Swainson's warbler occupancy and was not a reliable indicator of warbler habitat at the scale of our study areas. We propose a new suitability function called proportion elevation that takes relative elevation into account at potential sample locations that may improve the model. Specifically, this function should index the likelihood a site is infrequently flooded and should support the development of a thick understory, a habitat feature that has been demonstrated to be important to Swainson's warblers. Ó