The rapid spread and diversification of outdoor recreation can impact on wildlife in various ways, often leading to the avoidance of disturbed habitats. To mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, spatial zonation schemes can be implemented to separate human activities from key wildlife habitats, e.g., by designating undisturbed wildlife refuges or areas with some level of restriction to human recreation and land use. However, mitigation practice rarely considers temporal differences in human-wildlife interactions. We used GPS telemetry data from 15 red deer to study the seasonal (winter vs. summer) and diurnal (day vs. night) variation in recreation effects on habitat use in a study region in south-western Germany where a spatial zonation scheme has been established. Our study aimed to determine if recreation infrastructure and spatial zonation affected red deer habitat use and whether these effects varied daily or seasonally. Recreation infrastructure did not affect home range selection in the study area, but strongly determined habitat use within the home range. The spatial zonation scheme was reflected in both of these two levels of habitat selection, with refuges and core areas being more frequently used than the border zones. Habitat use differed significantly between day and night in both seasons. Both summer and winter recreation trails, and nearby foraging habitats, were avoided during day, whereas a positive association was found during night. We conclude that human recreation has an effect on red deer habitat use, and when designing mitigation measures daily and seasonal variation in human-wildlife interactions should be taken into account. We advocate using spatial zonation in conjunction with temporal restrictions (i.e., banning nocturnal recreation activities) and the creation of suitable foraging habitats away from recreation trails.

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The throw and its modifications are integral components of many sports. This study correlates case histories of acute injuries in throwing with a biomechanical analysis of the throwing mechanism. Comparisons are made with a similar analysis of the kick analyzed by the same film technique and computer program. Just prior to ball release, the pitching arm extends through an arc of about 73 degress in 40 msec, beginning with the elbow flexed at 80 degrees. This produces an axial load on the humerus and coincides with a pulse of external torque at the shoulder. This acts as stress protection to the humerus which is developing an internal torque of 14,000 inch-lb prior to ball release. The change in angular velocity, or the angular acceleration, during the throw is acquired in a much shorter time than in the kick. Torque is directly proportional to angular acceleration. This necessitates the development of substantially higher torques in the humerus during the throw than about the knee during a kick. The kinetic energy in the arm is 27,000 inch-lb during the throw. This is much higher than the kinetic energy in the kicking leg because the kinetic energy varies proportionally with the square of the angular velocity of the extremity. The angular velocity of the arm is about twice that of the leg. Thus, the pitching arm contains about four times as much kinetic energy as the kicking leg. These severe overloading conditions predispose the upper extremity to injury in the throwing mechanism.

Every year, there are millions of documented vehicle collisions involving cervids across Europe and North America. While temporal patterns in collision occurrence are relatively well described, few studies have targeted deer behaviour as a critical component of collision prevention. In this study, we investigated weekly and daily patterns in road crossing behaviour in roe deer. Using road crossing events and movement data obtained from GPS telemetry, we employed mixed-effect models to explain frequency and timing of crossings at five road segments by a number of predictors including traffic volume, deer movement activity and the presence of wildlife warning reflectors. We analysed 13,689 road crossing events by 32 study animals. Individual variation in crossing frequency was high but daily patterns in crossing events were highly consistent among animals. Variation in the intensity of movement activity on a daily and seasonal scale was the main driver of road crossing behaviour. The seasonal variation in crossing frequency reflected differences in movement activity throughout the reproductive cycle, while daily variation in the probability to cross exhibited a clear nocturnal emphasis and reflected crepuscular activity peaks. The frequency of road crossings increased as a function of road density in the home-range, while traffic volume only exerted marginal effects. Movement activity of roe deer in our study coincided with commuter traffic mainly in the early morning and late afternoon during winter and during periods of high spatial activity such as the rut. Both timing and frequency of crossing events remained unchanged in the presence of reflectors. Our results emphasise the importance of behavioural studies for understanding roe deer vehicle-collision patterns and thus provide important information for collision prevention. We suggest that mitigation of collision risk should focus on strategic seasonal measures and animal warning systems targeting drivers.

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Nowadays, citizens collaborate increasingly with scientists in citizen science (CS) projects on environmental issues. CS projects often have educational goals and aim to increase citizens' knowledge with the ultimate goal of fostering positive attitudes toward science. To date, little is known about the extent to which CS projects strengthen the positive interrelationship between knowledge and attitudes. Based on previous research, it has been suggested that the knowledge–attitude relationship could be further examined by focusing on different aspects: (1) different attitudinal domains, (2) topic‐specific knowledge, and (3) its direction. Our study contributes to the clarification of the interrelation between scientific knowledge and attitudes toward science within the specific domain of urban wildlife ecology using cross‐lagged panel analyses. We collected survey data on five attitudinal domains, topic‐specific knowledge, scientific reasoning abilities, and epistemological beliefs from N = 303 participants before and after they participated in a CS project on urban wildlife ecology. Participants collected and analyzed data on terrestrial mammals in a German metropolitan city. Our results provide evidence for the relationship between knowledge and attitudes due to the topic‐specificity of knowledge in CS projects (e.g., wildlife ecology). Our method provided a rigorous assessment of the direction of the knowledge–attitude relationship and showed that topic‐specific knowledge was a predictor of more positive attitudes toward science.

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An athlete was filmed at high speed to anatomically plot the position of the vertebrae during several pole vaults. A computer analysis adapted from a previously described program (Gainor, BJ, et al: The kick: Biomechanics and collision injury. Am J Sports Med 6: 185-193, 1978) was used to quantify the kinematic data. The thoracic and lumbar vertebrae of the polevaulter began in a neutral position but rapidly hyperextended 40 degrees during pole plant. The spine subsequently flexed 130 degrees in 0.65 seconds as the pole uncoiled and the athlete was propelled towards the bar. Angular velocities of the spine reached a maximum of 6 radians/sec during both extension and flexion. More significantly, angular accelerations of 150 radians/sec2 occurred in hyperextension, and 180 radians/sec2 in hyperflexion. Torque about the spine was estimated to be 1,500 inch-pounds during extension and 1,800 inch-pounds during flexion. The maximum kinetic energy in the athlete's body was calculated to be 36,000 inch-pounds. We believe the magnitude of these torques and accelerations predispose the back to injury. These results were correlated with several cases of spondylolysis in competing polevaulters.