Michael Leitner

The aim of this study is to verify the hypothesis that the rapid metropolization process that has been taking place in large Polish cities since the beginning of the second phase of post-communist transition in 2000 leads to their socioeconomic diversity, which is manifested, among others, in the differentiation of the level and structure of crime. Introduced into the discourse of this paper are subsequent stages of metropolization, which are called potential, initiating, advanced, and mature and which the examined cities have achieved so far. These stages have led to various economic and social effects, which resulted in changes in the level and structure of crime. Eighteen core cities of functional urban areas (FUAs) according to the classification ESPON 2007, were adopted as case study objects. Averaged crime data for the period 2013-2017 were analyzed in total and for seven types of crimes. The obtained results confirmed the adopted hypothesis.

Human activities in marine coastal areas may coincide with protected areas for birds. Some of these anthropogenic activities may pose threats, such as gillnet fisheries, which can significantly affect populations of diving birds, especially gregarious species that gather in huge flocks in small areas such as Greater Scaup (Aythya marila). The Odra Estuary (Baltic Sea, Poland) is known for its importance as a wintering site for scaup; it is also used by fishermen using gillnets. Precise tools to determine the distribution and abundance of birds allow evaluation of risks faced by large aggregations. We used kernel density interpolation to estimate the spatial density of scaup in the Odra Estuary in spring 2011. At that time, an extraordinarily high number of scaup (95,400) was recorded, ~73% (63.0-94.5%) of the entire northwest European flyway population. Three variables are particularly important for conserving highly mobile long-distance migrating species: spatial distribution, abundance, and time (season of the year). This event concentrated most of the scaup flyway population in a small space, making the population vulnerable to mass mortality. We also show aggregated data of the spatial distribution of scaup during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 seasons to highlight differences in the spatial use of the area between seasons. Vast areas occupied by scaup in 2011 were not used during 2 other studied seasons; this spatial variation may be crucial in conservation planning of this species. Our results are a first step in documenting the spatial distribution of scaup in the Odra Estuary and identifying the potential area of overlap with fishing activity. Niespotykanie wysoka liczebność ogorzałki Aythya marila w polskiej części estuarium Odry i jej konsekwencje dla ochrony gatunku ABSTRAKT Działalność człowieka prowadzona na wybrzeżach morskich może stanowić zagrożenie dla wielu gatunków zwierząt. Niektóre z tych zagrożeń mogą znacząco wpływać na populacje ptaków nurkujących, przykładem jest przyłów w sieci rybackie. Ma to szczególne znaczenie dla ptaków gromadzących się w dużych stadach na małej przestrzeni na miejscach przystankowych podczas migracji lub zimowiskach takich jak ogorzałka Aythya marila. Estuarium Odry (Morze Bałtyckie, Polska) znane jest jako ważne miejsce zimowania ogorzałki, jest jednocześnie wykorzystywane przez rybaków używających sieci skrzelowych, co może stanowić istotne zagrożenie dla ptaków. W ochronie gatunków odbywających dalekodystansowe wędrówki takich jak ogorzałka, ważne jest poznanie rozmieszczenia przestrzennego, oraz zagęszczeń ptaków w powiązaniu z sezonem feneologicznym w odniesieniu do zagrożeń. Ocena ryzyka związanego z dużymi zagęszczeniami ptaków wodnych wymaga precyzyjnego narzędzia statystycznego. W naszej pracy użyliśmy jądrowej interpolacji zagęszczeń do oszacowania rozmieszczenia przestrzennego i zagęszczenia ogorzałki wiosną 2011 roku. W tym czasie zarejestrowaliśmy niespotykanie wysoką liczebność tego gatunku (95 400) co stanowiło wówczas ~73% (63,0%-94,5%) całej północno zachodnioeuropejskiej populacji. Koncentracja tak znaczącego odsetka całej populacji w jednym miejscu wykorzystywanym rybacko sprawia, że jest ona szczególnie narażona na przypadki masowej śmiertelności. W pracy pokazujemy także dane rozmieszczenia przestrzennego ogorzałki z dwóch innych sezonów: 2015/2016 i 2016/2017 po to by zobrazować różnice między dwoma okresami badań. Duże obszary zajęte przez ogorzałkę w 2011 roku nie były wykorzystywane w dwóch innych badanych sezonach; takie różnice przestrzenne pomiędzy sezonami stanowią istotną trudność w planowaniu ochrony gatunku. Nasze wyniki są pierwszym krokiem w dokumentacji rozmieszczenia przestrzennego ogorzałki w estuarium Odry oraz w identyfikacji obszarów potencjalnego ich nakładania się z działalnością rybacką. Słowa kluczowe: blaszkodziobe, gatunki wędrowne, kaczki, miejsca przystankowe, morskie obszary chronione, Morze Bałtyckie, plan ochrony, przyłów, zalewy przymorskie, zimowisko ptaków wodnych

After attending this presentation attendees will be aware of how sites with repetitive carrion placement, such as an outdoor forensic facility, affect animal scavenging rates and behavior. Attendees will also become aware of the applicability of temporal scavenging data collected at the Texas State Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF) to forensic contexts that lack the continuous carrion presence found at FARF.
This presentation will impact the forensic community by addressing the possibility of learned behavior and accelerated arrival times in avian scavengers at FARF as a result of repetitive decomposition studies occurring at this site.
In recent years, forensic anthropology research facilities have gained much attention because they offer a means of conducting decomposition research that aims to benefit law enforcement. These outdoor decomposition facilities provide invaluable skeletal data with associated demographics, but no researchers have investigated the impact these facilities may be having on vertebrate scavenging behavior. This study focuses on vulture scavenging behavior and addresses the possible variability in vulture scavenging rates at FARF as a consequence of repetitive decomposition studies occurring at this site.
To address the possibility of learned behavior in vultures scavenging at FARF, a series of 14 decomposition trials were conducted at three site types over a two-year period to test the hypothesis that type of scavenging site affects the amount of time between carrion exposure and the initiation of a vulture scavenging event. Each trial involved placing a single juvenile pig at each of the three site types, which included the following: (1) FARF – repetitive carrion placement in a single location; (2) Rotate Sites – repetitive carrion placement at different locations; and, (3) Stationary Site – repetitive carrion placement in a single location. The FARF and Stationary sites were over 1km apart and the Rotate Sites were distributed across an area of 6,000 km2 spanning from Austin to San Antonio. The three pigs used in each trial were placed in uncaged locations on a single day. All sites were equipped with a motion activated infrared wild life camera and a weather station programmed to record climatic variables using one-minute sampling intervals. The cameras and the weather stations were in operation 24-hours a day throughout the duration of the study.
Temporal data were calculated for minutes between researcher departure from the site until the time of vulture arrival at the carrion. Departure time was chosen based on the assumption that vultures would not arrive while a human was at the site. In addition, accumulated degree minutes (ADM) were calculated for the time between pig placement and vulture arrival to account for the assumption that vulture arrival at carrion is based on their detection of temperature dependent volatiles being omitted during different stages of decomposition. To account for some of the pigs being placed in the evening after vultures had returned to their roosts, a second ADM value was calculated for temperatures only recorded during the day. Solar radiation values of 0.6 W/m2 (i.e., nighttime) were used to distinguish daytime and nighttime temperature values.
One-way ANOVAs testing for differences between the type of scavenging site and time of vulture arrival were performed on the three temporal values described above and reveal an absence of statistical differences between site type and vulture arrival times. Results also indicate that scavenging rates obtained through FARF research are applicable to scavenging rates occurring outside of FARF within the 6,000 km2 geographical range used in this study so long as the carrion size, type, and stage of decomposition are the same between FARF and the location in question. Furthermore, the similarity between scavenging rates at FARF and other sites were based on carrion placement occurring two weeks apart, which suggests this may be a best practices temporal benchmark for future scavenging studies. Lastly, this study reveals that although variation exists in vulture scavenging rates, the repetition of carrion using two-week intervals at a particular site does not accelerate or cause differences in vultures’ arrival time at recently exposed carrion.

Avian and terrestrial scavengers play a critical role in both forensic anthropology and archaeological investigations by (1) accelerating decomposition through rapid tissue removal, (2) causing pseudo perimortem trauma on the bones, and (3) dispersing the remains from the original deposition site. Previous studies have noted that vultures accelerate decay and much attention has been given to the impacts terrestrial scavengers have on physical anthropology investigations. However, few studies have assessed differentiating and quantifying avian and terrestrial scavenging evidence occurring on the same set of skeletal remains. To address the challenges in distinguishing avian from terrestrial skeletal trauma, we placed 43 deceased pigs in the fresh stage of decay across 6,000 km 2 in south central Texas during 2011 and 2012. The pigs were not protected from either avian or terrestrial scavengers and each scavenging sequence was monitored via remote infrared photography. Results revealed that turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) and black vultures (Coragyps atratus) were the most frequent scavenger (N=38) at the 43 pig trials and the gray fox (N=8) (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) was the most frequent terrestrial scavenger. However, the crested caracara (Caracara cheriway) had the greatest impact on the presence or absence of skeletal remains because this bird did not consume the remains but instead would grab a bone and then fly away. Knowledge of the caracara's tendency to steal bones from a site both during and after scavenging episodes of vultures and other terrestrial scavengers can offer knew insight as to why expected skeletal data is absent from deposition sites.