The effects of urbanization on flying vertebrates historically have been underestimated, with roads in particular impacting bat populations through vehicle collisions, habitat fragmentation and unwillingness to disperse across roads. Although vegetated fauna overpasses have not traditionally been considered as beneficial for microbats, these structures have recently been identified as a potenti...

The physical and chemical characteristics and ecological consequences of road dust in arctic regions are reviewed with emphasis on recent information gathered along the Dalton Highway and the Prudhoe Bay Spine Road in northern Alaska. The primary observed ecological effects of dust are (1) early snowmelt in roadside areas due to lower albedos, resulting in a snow-free band of vegetation within ...

Industrial activities and high traffic density are the most important heavy metal pollution sources in urban areas. Roadside dust created by atmospheric deposition can be one of the best indicators for heavy metal contamination levels. The present study reports the spatial distribution patterns and degree of heavy metal pollution (Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, and As) in 50 roadside dust samples from urb...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether drivers contacted at the roadside can be screened for alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Secondarily, to produce preliminary estimates of AUDs among drivers and estimate the relationship between AUD status and BAC measured at the roadside. METHODS A two-phase survey program was undertaken. In phase 1, 206 motorists were interviewed at the roadside using a 15-item AUD...

Background: Roadsides have been acknowledged as potential substitutes for semi-natural grasslands and other open habitats with high biodiversity, many of which are now declining. Current recommendations for roadside management to promote conservation of biodiversity are largely based on studies of plants in meadows or pastures, although such areas often differ from roadsides in terms of environ...

Increased use of motor vehicles has produced various risks to human health due to air pollution by noxious gases, heavy metals and roadside dust. Since the late 1970s, the wide spread use of studded tires for cars has caused pavement wear, resulting in not only economic losses, but also roadside air pollution in cold and snowy regions in Japan. The most serious environmental problem in Sapporo,...

The presence and continued existence of tidal morphologies, and in particular of salt marshes, is intimately connected with biological activity, especially with the presence of halophytic vegetation. Here, we review recent contributions to tidal biogeomorphology and identify the presence of multiple competing stable states arising from a two-way feedback between biomass productivity and topogra...

We continue investigation of the effect of position in announcements of newly received articles, a single day artifact, with citations received over the course of ensuing years. Earlier work [1, 2] focused on the " visibility " effect for positions near the beginnings of announcements, and on the " self-promotion " effect associated to authors intentionally aiming for these positions, with both...