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Interannual variability in space use and how that variation is influenced by density-dependent and density-independent factors are important processes in population ecology. Nevertheless, interannual variability has been neglected by the majority of space use studies. We assessed that variation for wolves living in 15 different packs within Yellowstone National Park during a 13-year period (1996–2008). We estimated utilization distributions to quantify the intensity of space use within each pack's territory each year in summer and winter. Then, we used the volume of intersection index (VI) to quantify the extent to which space use varied from year to year. This index accounts for both the area of overlap and differences in the intensity of use throughout a territory and ranges between 0 and 1. The mean VI index was 0.49, and varied considerably, with ~20% of observations (n = 230) being <0.3 or >0.7. In summer, 42% of the variation was attributable to differences between packs. These differences can be attributable to learned behaviors and had never been thought to have such an influence on space use. In winter, 34% of the variation in overlap between years was attributable to interannual differences in precipitation and pack size. This result reveals the strong influence of climate on predator space use and underlies the importance of understanding how climatic factors are going to affect predator populations in the occurrence of climate change. We did not find any significant association between overlap and variables representing density-dependent processes (elk and wolf densities) or intraspecific competition (ratio of wolves to elk). This last result poses a challenge to the classic view of predator–prey systems. On a small spatial scale, predator space use may be driven by factors other than prey distribution.

Interannual variability in space use and how that variation is influenced by density-dependent and density-independent factors are important processes in population ecology. Nevertheless, interannual variability has been neglected by the majority of space use studies. We assessed that variation for wolves living in 15 different packs within Yellowstone National Park during a 13-year period (1996-2008). We estimated utilization distributions to quantify the intensity of space use within each pack's territory each year in summer and winter. Then, we used the volume of intersection index (VI) to quantify the extent to which space use varied from year to year. This index accounts for both the area of overlap and differences in the intensity of use throughout a territory and ranges between 0 and 1. The mean VI index was 0.49, and varied considerably, with ~20% of observations ( n = 230) being <0.3 or >0.7. In summer, 42% of the variation was attributable to differences between packs. These differences can be attributable to learned behaviors and had never been thought to have such an influence on space use. In winter, 34% of the variation in overlap between years was attributable to interannual differences in precipitation and pack size. This result reveals the strong influence of climate on predator space use and underlies the importance of understanding how climatic factors are going to affect predator populations in the occurrence of climate change. We did not find any significant association between overlap and variables representing density-dependent processes (elk and wolf densities) or intraspecific competition (ratio of wolves to elk). This last result poses a challenge to the classic view of predator-prey systems. On a small spatial scale, predator space use may be driven by factors other than prey distribution.

Four examples are investigated for the optimal and sustainable extraction of groundwater from a coastal aquifer under the threat of seawater intrusion. The objectives and constraints of these management scenarios include maximizing the total volume of water pumped, maximizing the profit of selling water, minimizing the operational and water treatment costs, minimizing the salt concentration of the pumped water, and controlling the drawdown limits. The physical model is based on the density-dependent advective-dispersive solute transport model. Genetic algorithm is used as the optimization tool. The models are tested on a hypothetical confined aquifer with four pumping wells located at various depths. These solutions establish the feasibility of simulating various management scenarios under complex three-dimensional flow and transport processes in coastal aquifers for the optimal and sustainable use of groundwater. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Like plants, sessile invertebrates are often morphologically modified at high densities. At high densities acorn barnacles commonly form hummocks of tall, densely packed individuals. We examined hummock development and its consequences on filter feeding and growth in the northern acorn barnacle, Semibalanus balanoides. Hummocking occurs in response to high recruitment densities and growth rates, which intensify competition for primary substrate space. In the field, hummocks are more common at low than at high tidal heights, paralleling within-site variation in recruitment and growth rates. Hummocks also are most pronounced at high-flow sites with high barnacle recruitment and growth rates. In laboratory flume studies, particle capture rates were higher for individuals near the peak of hummocks than for solitary individuals, and were lower for individuals in the troughs between hummocks than for solitary individuals. Hummocked individuals are elevated above the surface and are thus likely exposed to higher particle fluxes than either individuals between hummocks or solitary individuals. These patterns in particle capture closely match patterns of barnacle shell growth in the field. The shells of hummocked individuals were larger than those of solitary individuals, which were larger than the shells of individuals in troughs between hummocks. The tissue growth of solitary individuals, however, is lower than that of crowded individuals, apparently since, without neighbors, solitary barnacles must allocate more resources to structural support than do crowded individuals. Thus, crowding may benefit individual barnacles by reducing their skeletal support costs. Most studies of crowding in sessile, space-limited invertebrates have focused on negative, competitive effects. Our results, along with previous work showing that crowding may benefit northern acorn barnacles by buffering them from heat and desiccation stress and increasing reproductive output, illustrate that crowding also can positively affect sessile organisms. We suggest that interactions among most sessile, space-limited invertebrates are best viewed as a balance between negative and positive effects.