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Home > Journals > Journal of Insect Science > Volume 6 > Issue 17 > Article
5 September 2006 Guild structure, diversity and succession of dung beetles associated with Indian elephant dung in South Western Ghats forests
Thomas K. Sabu, K. V. Vinod, P. J. Vineesh
Thomas K. Sabu,1,* K. V. Vinod,1,* P. J. Vineesh1,*
1P.G. and Research Department of Zoology, St. Joseph's College, Devagiri, Calicut, Kerala, India 6730
*Correspondence: sabukthomas1@gmail.com, vinukv@gmail.com, vineeshpj@gmail.com
J. of Insect Science, 6(17):1-12 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1673/2006_06_17.1
The diversity, guild structure and succession of dung beetles associated with Indian elephant dung is described in a deciduous forest site in Western Ghats, a hot spot of diversity in India. Dung beetles were collected using baited pitfall traps and from exposed dung pats in the forest at intervals of 1, 3, 5, 7, 15 and 21 days. Twenty-one dung beetle species belonging to the 3 major functional guilds were recorded. Abundance of dwellers was high compared to rollers deviating from earlier reports on the high abundance of rollers in the afrotropical regions. Dweller Drepanocerus setosus and tunneler Onthophagus bronzeus were the most abundant species. Dung pats aged 3–5 days attracted the highest abundance of dung beetles. Bray Curtis similarity index indicated low community similarity between different stages of succession. Species richness and abundance of tunnelers increased with dung age and decreasing moisture up to a threshold level, followed by a decrease. Rollers and dwellers did not show any significant relationship with dung moisture content. Further research is needed to estimate the dung beetle community associated with the dung pats of other mega herbivores as well as of elephant dung in other forests of the Western Ghats.
The Western Ghats, fringing the Arabian Sea coastline of the Indian peninsula (Fig. 1), contains one of India's last remaining areas of tropical rainforest (WWF 2001) and is a listed hot spot of biodiversity (WCMC 1992;Myers 1988). Elephant (Elephas maximus Linnaeus), gaur (Bos gaurus H. Smith), sambar deer (Cervus unicolor Kerr) and spotted deer (Axis axis (Erxleben)) are the major mammalian herbivores in the moist deciduous and evergreen forests of the Western Ghats (WWF 2001). Two types of dung beetle communities are expected to be found on the floor of these forests: those associated with the larger dung pats of elephant and gaur, and those associated with the smaller droppings of deer and boar. Dung beetles participate in the recycling of matter, nutrients and energy, and contribute to the natural process of regeneration of the ecosystem. Many species occur in large populations, and dung beetles occupy diverse ecological niches due to their dung foraging tactics and life history traits. Since dung beetles depend generally on dung produced mainly by mammals, such resource can be extremely patchy in space and time. Hence, resource partitioning and competition are prime features of dung beetle species assemblages (Hanski 1991a).
(a) Map of India showing the location of the Western Ghats. (b) The Western Ghats. (c) The study site in the Wayanad region of the Western Ghats.
Though many entomological expeditions have visited the region and a systematic list of the dung beetles is available (Balthasar 1963 a, b; Arrow 1931; Biswas and Chatterjee 19861991; Chatterjee and Biswas 1995, 2000;Biswas and Mulay 2001) no studies have addressed the ecology, community structure and succession pattern of the dung beetles associated with the herbivorous mammals of the region. By contrast, the community structure, diversity and abundance, successional trends, diurnal activities and resource partitioning of dung beetle communities associated with the dung pats of large herbivores in afrotropical regions are relatively well documented (Cambefort 1991; Cambefort and Walter 1991; Cambefort and Hanski 1991; Doube 1991).
Dung beetles exploit patchy and ephemeral dung pats as resources and hence strong competition between co-occurring species plays a major role in structuring communities (Feer and Pincebourde 2005). Dung beetles are divided broadly into 3 functional groups based on their nesting strategies viz., rollers (telecoprid nesters), tunnelers (paracoprid nesters) and dwellers (endocoprid nesters) (Cambefort and Hanski 1991). Rollers form balls from a dung pat, which are rolled away, buried and used for feeding and breeding. Tunnelers create underground chambers beneath the dung pat and construct their nests using the dung from the pat whereas the dwellers breed in the dung pat itself (Cambefort and Hanski 1991; Holteret al. 2002). This functional stratification allows dung beetles to minimize the intense competition for limited food and space and also to protect the food from adverse environmental conditions. Numerous reports are available on resource competition between dwellers, tunnelers and rollers as entire droppings can be removed or shredded by beetles within a few minutes (Hanski andCambefort 1991). Based on the order of arrival and rate of resource utilization of dung pats, dung beetles are grouped into type I and type II categories (Hanski 1991b). Type 1 beetles are superior competitors, adapted to use fresh dung as fast as possible while Type II species are adapted to use older dung.
Age, size, water content and texture of the dung matter determine the preference of dung beetles towards a specific dung type (Anderson and Coe 1974; Sowig and Wassmer 1994). In ruminant dung, the surface crust prevents the loss of moisture from the bottom layers and provides the needed moisture for a prolonged stay of some beetle groups (Hanski 1980), however, in elephant dung no such crust formation takes place (Anderson and Coe 1974). Some dung beetles prefer the coarse-textured dung of elephants while others prefer the more fluid and fine-textured dung of ruminants (Holter et al. 2002).
The aim of this work is a preliminary analysis of the diversity, guild structure and successional trends of dung beetles in relation to dung exposure time and moisture in the dung of Indian elephants in the deciduous forests of Wayanad region of South Western Ghats.
The work was carried out in the Thirunelly forests (20.55 km2) located in the northern boundary of South Western Ghats forests in Wayanad in the Nilgiri Biosphere region [5520.4 km2], 100 km North of Calicut, Kerala state (Fig. 1). The Nilgiri Biosphere region harbors a population of 2990 elephants (Sukumar 1989). Vegetation of this region consists of patches of deciduous and evergreen forests. A 2.5 km2 area was selected as the study site. Biogeographically, the Wayanad region of the Western Ghats is a transitional zone between the moist forests of the South Western Ghats and dry forests of the northern region. This habitat harbors restricted, endemic species as well as disjunct populations of species that are found in both regions (Pascal 1988; WWF 2001). The northeast monsoon from October to November supplements the June to September southwest monsoon rainfall. Because of the deeply dissected topography, this area receives 3000–3500 mm of rainfall throughout the year. This is in contrast to nearby areas, which receive 5000–6000 mm of rainfall from the moisture-laden southwest monsoon winds from the Malabar Coast (Mishra and Johnsingh 1998; Forests and Wildlife Department Working Plan 2001). This variation in rainfall and topography has led to local variations in habitat types and the presence of localized centers of endemism (Rodgers and Panwar 1988; Kenderick 1989). Deciduous forests in the region are the preferred foraging area for herds of elephants and gaurs arriving from the comparatively drier Deccan region during the post- rainy seasons as the adjoining open grasslands in the upper ranges together with the abundance of bamboo culms (Bambusa sp.) provide a wide choice of resource materials for grazing and browsing (Joy 1991, Nair 1991).
Two approaches were used for sampling. One estimated the dung beetle guild structure, diversity and abundance, and the other estimated the successional trends of dung beetles in relation to dung age and moisture. To analyze the diversity and guild structure of beetles attracted to elephant dung bait-surface-grid pitfall traps were used (Lobo et al. 1988;Veiga et al. 1989).
Field studies were conducted during the post-rainy period of November – December, 2003. 10 bait-surface-grid pitfall traps made from plastic basins (21cm in diameter, 15 cm deep) were set into the ground at randomly selected spots separated by about 500 m which were close to elephant tracks. The top of the basins was even with the level of the surrounding substrate and a water-formalin-liquid soap mixture was added as preservative. A 25 x 25 x 2 cm plastic board supported by 15 cm iron poles was set over each trap to protect it against debris and rain. One kg of bait was used in each trap as larger insects have a preference towards large droppings and larger baits (Peck and Howden 1984). The trap contents were collected three times at weekly intervals, taken to the lab in polythene bags, the beetles were separated, preserved in 70% ethanol and were sorted into species from each sample. Examples of species from each sample were mounted and labeled. Species identification was done by the authors and with the assistance of specialists (see Acknowledgements). Specimens are temporarily curated in the insect collections of St. Joseph's College, Devagiri, Calicut, and will be transferred to the Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghats regional station, Calicut.
A combination of dung pat and pitfall traps was used to analyze the succession of dung beetles in the elephant dung pats in the forest site. Pitfall traps were used in order to trap rollers, which would have otherwise moved away from the dung (unlike dwellers and tunnelers). Thirty-six fresh dung pats were collected in polythene bags from the study area between 6 am to 10 am during the study period on a single day. Pats are well suited for studies of patterns of resource partitioning because all beetles can be extracted completely from a chosen feces pat (Sowig and Wassmer 1994). To limit the bias arising from the influence of patch size on the dung beetle communities, pats of equal weight were used (Holter 1982; Sowig and Wassmer 1994). Fresh dung was differentiated by the wetness, heat and the pungent smell during non-rainy periods. Forest trackers of resident tribal communities helped to spot fresh dung pats. There were no other effective methods to collect fresh dung from these forests that are locally well known for frequent man-elephant confrontations. Spotting elephants from a safe distance is practically impossible due to the uneven terrain and the presence of thick under storey of bamboo culms (Bambusa arundinaceae) and shrubs (Abutilon persicum, Helecteris isora, Lantana camera etc.).
Six sets, each consisting of five dung balls positioned 50 cm from each other, were placed in randomly selected spots in the forest floor 100 m apart. Dung balls were fenced with bamboo twigs to prevent disturbance by birds. Six bait-surface-grid traps baited with fresh dung were placed 50 cm apart around each set of dung balls to trap the rollers. Thus a total of 30 dung balls surrounded by 30 traps were set in 2.5 km2 of area. To avoid the influence of bait size on rollers (Sowig and Wassmer 1994), each bait was prepared by partitioning a dung ball into 6 portions. Dung balls and the associated pitfall traps of each set were collected at intervals of 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 and 21 days. Each dung ball used in the successional study was separated into an upper layer of dung matter and a bottom layer of dung mixed with soil. Beetles from both layers were sorted separately by floatation methods (Moore 1954). This enabled the separation of dwellers in the pats and the tunnelers below the pats. Further, tunnels deep beneath the pats were followed with a spade to collect the tunnelers. Collected beetles were transferred to 70% alcohol, identified and categorized into different nesting guilds based on field observations and the literature (Holter et al. 2002;Cambefort and Hanski 1991). Twenty grams of dung from each dung ball group was collected, sealed in glass tubes, and oven dried at 105° C until reaching a constant weight. Moisture content was expressed as percentage wet weight (Anderson and Coe 1974).
All diversity analyses were based on pit fall trap collection. Species diversity was calculated using Fisher's alpha diversity index (α) (Fisher et al. 1943), Simpson dominance index (D) (Simpson 1949) and Evar evenness index (Smith and Wilson 1996). Bray Curtis similarity index (Bray and Curtis 1957) after 4th root transformation was used to compare the similarity between the assemblages arriving at different times on the dung pats followed by cluster analysis. The 4th root transformation is ideal for samples with abundant and rare species as this leads to the down weighting of abundant species and allows the midrange and rarer species to exert influence on the calculations of similarity (Clarke and Warwick 2001). Species richness was predicted using non-parametric (Chao1, Chao2, ACE, ICE, Jack1, Jack2 and Bootstrap) and parametric (Michaelis-Menten means) species richness estimators (Colwell 2000, Colwell and Coddington 1994). For every estimator, bias was calculated as the mean proportional deviation of the estimate Sest from Strue (Brose and Martinez 2004). Evar was computed with the program Gleason's software (version 2004). Species richness estimators, Fisher's alpha diversity index and Simpson dominance index were calculated with EstimateS software (Colwell 2000). Bray Curtis similarity index was analyzed with Primer 5.
Scatter plots of species richness, abundance of the community and the three nesting guilds against moisture content and dung exposure time were plotted using data from succession studies. Richness and abundance of the community and tunnelers indicated a change in the slope of the function on the third day of dung exposure at a critical moisture level, which was taken as the threshold dung age and moisture level. Abundance of dwellers displayed a linear relationship while species richness of dwellers, and abundance and richness of rollers showed no relationship with dung exposure time and moisture content. Hence, a piecewise linear regression model was employed to analyze the relationship between richness and abundance of the community and tunnelers with dung exposure time and moisture; and simple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between abundance of dwellers with dung exposure time and moisture content (Zar 2003; Gujarati 2003). All statistical analyses were performed using Gretl software (version 1.3.3).
The dung beetle community guild structure, diversity and abundance
A total of 309 individuals representing 21 species, 10 genera, six tribes and three nesting guilds were collected (Table 1). The tunneler guild (15 species) was the most species rich (71.4%) and abundant (57.6 %) of the dung beetle guilds, and rollers were the least abundant guild (9.7%). D. setosus (23.3%), followed by O. bronzeus (18.8%), Onthophagus cervus (18.1%) and Liatongus indicus (9.61%) were the most abundant species in both pitfall traps and the successional set ups.
Diversity, abundance, guild structure and succession of dung beetles associated with Indian elephant dung.
The assemblage is moderately diverse (α= 5.09) and with low evenness (Evar = 0.27) (Table 2). Mean diversity by Fisher's alpha diversity index was highest for tunnelers (α= 3.9), mean evenness by Evar was high for rollers (Evar = 0.68), and mean dominance by Simpson dominance index was highest for dwellers (D = 0.58).
Richness estimators, diversity and dominance indices of the dung beetle species associated with elephant dung.
Except for Bootstrap and MM means all other species richness estimators overestimated the species richness and indicated the occurrence of an additional 5–11 species (Table 2). All estimators recorded bias in the range of 0.09–0.96. Estimator bias was highest for Chao 2 and ICE; and lowest for MM mean and Bootstrap. None of the estimators reached an asymptote with observed species richness (Fig. 2 A, B).
A, B. Randomized species accumulation curves of dung beetles attracted to baited pitfall traps from South Western Ghats deciduous forest at Thirunelly.
Successional trends
179 dung beetles representing 17 species, seven genera and five tribes were present during the succession study (Table 1). Heliocopris dominus, Gymnopleurus melanarius, Catharsius sagax and Onthophagus ensifer,which were present in the pitfall traps were not reported from the collections for succession studies.
Dung moisture content decreased with progressing dung exposure time in two phases (Fig. 3 A, B); a slow decline during 1–7 days (6.7%) and steep decline from 7–14 days (32.2%). During the 1st phase, richness and abundance of the beetle assemblage and the tunneler nesting guild increased up to the 3rd day followed by a gradual fall, which accelerated during the second phase (Fig. 3 A, B). Dweller abundance declined in relation to moisture and dung exposure time but richness did not show any relationship with either parameter.
Relationship between species richness (A) and abundance (B) of dung beetles and moisture plotted against dung age.
Richness of the dung beetle assemblage significantly increased up to a threshold moisture level of 78.8 % (β1 = –2.339, p < 0.01) on the third day (β1 = 4.309; p < 0.01). Subsequently, richness declined significantly in relation to moisture content and dung exposure time (β1+ β2= 0.278, β1+ β2= −0.746, p < 0.01). Abundance did not show any significant relationship with moisture content (first phase β1 = −4.169, second phase β1+ β2 = 1.247, p = ns) and dung exposure time (first phase β1 = 8.561, second phase β1+ β2 = −3.332, p = ns). Analysis of the relationship between species richness and abundance of nesting guilds with moisture content and dung exposure time showed three contrasting patterns. Species richness and abundance of tunnelers were significantly related to moisture content and dung exposure time: both increased with dung exposure time (β1= 4.161, p < 0.01; β1= 18.261, p < 0.05 for richness and abundance respectively) and moisture levels (β1= −2.287, p < 0.05; β1= −10.167, p < 0.01 for richness and abundance respectively) up to a threshold level and subsequently decreased (β1+ β2 = −0.532, p < 0.01; β1+ β2 = −2.332, p < 0.05 for richness and abundance respectively with exposure time, β1+ β2 = 0.194, p < 0.05; β1+ β2 = 0.879, p < 0.01 for richness and abundance respectively with moisture content). As per linear regression analysis, abundance of dwellers declined steadily in relation to moisture content (β= 0.512, p = ns) and dung exposure time (β= –1.390, p = ns) without any significant relationship. Since rollers were present only in fresh dung and absent after the initial days of succession, no specific relationship could be determined for this group.
Based on the order of arrival, all beetles except Copris repertus were grouped into type I and type II categories (Table 1). Type 1 consisted of all rollers and 2 dwellers and the type II consisted of all tunnelers and one dweller. Copris repertus could not be placed under neither categories as it was present in both old and fresh dung pats. Based on the dominance of nesting guilds, the succession of beetles in dung pats were categorized into 3 phases. Dwellers dominated the initial phase (1–3 days), tunnelers consisting of predominantly of Onthophagus species dominated the second phase (3–5 days) and tunnelers belonging to Copris species dominated the final phase (7–14 days) of succession. Presence of both dwellers and tunnelers lead to the high abundance on the 3rd day of succession. Two species were exceptions with C. repertus being present throughout the 3 phases of succession and Onitis subopacus during the last two phases.
Time until first arrival and the duration of stay varied across species and the three nesting guilds (Fig. 4). Rollers with two species were the least speciose and least abundant among the three guilds and were present for a short period of only 1–3 days. The presence of dwellers was limited to the period of high moisture content in the dung (82–75%) (1–7 days). Their abundance and richness increased in relation to dung age and moisture till 7th day after which they were not recorded. Drepanocerus setosus and L. indicus arrived on first day and Oniticellus cinctus on the 7th day of succession. Tunnelers were present in the pats from 1st day to 14th day. Their abundance and richness increased up to 3rd day followed by a gradual decline in relation to dung age and moisture loss till 7th day, followed by a steep decline. Members of Onthophagus and Copris dominated the tunneler guild. Onthophagus species were present from days 3–7 at a time of high dung moisture (79–75%). Copris species displayed no specific pattern either in the arrival pattern or duration of stay.
Succession pattern of dung beetles associated with elephant dung in the South Western Ghats forest at Thirunelly.
A distinct pattern of dung resource partitioning within the tunneler guild was present. Onthophagus species dominated the fresh dung of 3–5 days of dung exposure; Copris signatus, Copris davisoni and Onitis siva dominated the old dung from the 7th –14th day, and a third group of C. repertus and O. subopacus was present in both fresh and old dung without any dung age preferences during 3–14 days. The beetle assemblages present during 3–7 days of succession was the most similar, and assemblages present during the final and initial days of succession were least similar (Fig. 5).
Dendogram based on hierarchical agglomerative clustering (group-average linking) showing the similarities between the dung beetle assemblages present during different stages of succession.
Analysis of the community structure of dung beetle assemblages associated with elephant dung pats in the study region showed high species richness and abundance of tunnelers and low richness and abundance of rollers and dwellers. These findings are in agreement with the earlier reports (Hanski and Krikken 1991) on the guild composition in larger herbivore dung from South East Asia region and about the rarity of rollers from Bengal in India (Oppenheimer 1977). The abundance of small rollers (Sisyphus) and the low presence of large rollers (Gymnopleurus) in pitfall traps and succession studies indicated the dominance of smaller rollers in elephant dung of the region, contradictory to previously published general trend of the association of large rollers with bigger dung pats (Hanski and Krikken 1991). Similarly, the high abundance of the dweller, D. setosus, in baited pitfall traps and succession studies is differing from the reported low presence of dwellers in the dung beetle assemblages in the tropical region (Hanski and Krikken 1991). Our studies with baited pitfall traps and floatation methods to analyze the dung beetle diversity of the Wayanad forests (as part of a broader project on forest floor insect diversity) showed very low abundance of G. melanarius and high abundance of D. setosus in the region. The low evenness of the assemblage is linked to the dominance of three species, namely D. setosus, O. bronzeus and Onthophagus cervus.
Indirect criteria for a good species richness estimator are that the estimator curve should reach an asymptote with fewer samples than are required for the observed species accumulation curve, and there should be a reasonable visual extrapolation of the asymptote of the observed species accumulation curve with the estimator curves (Toti et al. 2000). The estimator should also be sensitive to the number of rare species and to the patchiness of the samples (Chazdon et al.. 1998; Magurran 2003). Our analysis did not meet either of these criteria, which indicates the inadequacy of our sampling effort. The two exceptions to this are derived from the MM mean (which produces stable estimates with a small number of samples) and the sample size-sensitive Bootstrap estimator (Magurran 2003). The other six estimators predicted the presence of an additional 5 –11 species in the elephant dung.
Abundance of dwellers and a lower abundance of rollers were noticed in the early stages of succession. The lower abundance of rollers in fresh dung is related to the dominance of dwellers in the dung balls as the dweller activity makes it difficult for rollers to form balls (Heinrich and Bartholomew 1979). But whether it is applicable to the situation in the Thirunelly forests demands further analysis. Abundance of D. setosus in fresh dung pats indicate s their ability to locate fresh pats before other guilds and their preference towards fresh dung. We attribute the sudden decline of D. setosus starting on the 3rd day of succession to the inference from the late arriving tunnelers. Though D. setosus are known for their prolonged stay in larger pats for longer periods (Cambefort 1991) their sudden decline from 3rd day of succession, we attribute to the inference from the late arriving tunnelers. Similarly their presence up to the seventh day of succession prompts us to consider that it is competitive exclusion (Sowig and Wassmer 1994) of the early arriving dominant dwellers by the late arriving tunnelers rather than dung age and moisture which is leading to their decline after the third day. Sequential distribution and resource partitioning by the three dweller species along the fresh dung niche axis was distinct; D. setosus dominated the fresh dung, L.indicus dominated on the 7th day and Oniticellus cinctus arrived on the 7th day. Presence of all dwellers during the high moisture regime (1–7 days) indicates their preference towards moist dung.
Tunnelers avoided the temporal overlap of species and competition between the members of the guild by arriving in the pat at different times. Based on their order of arrival in relation to dung age and duration of stay in the pats, tunnelers were categorized into three groups. The first group consisted of predominantly Onthophagus species and was present on the 3rd and 5th days; their massive appearance lead to the steep rise in the dung beetle population on 3rd day and the competitive exclusion of the earlier settlers. Increased tunneling activity and quick removal of dung materials during the brief stay of tunnelers makes the dung porous and the resulting loss of moisture leads to a steady decline in the abundance and richness of beetles (Anderson and Coe 1974). Hence, the decline in the dung moisture loss and the steep fall in beetle abundance in dung pats since the 7th day of succession was related to the massive arrival of Onthophagus and Copris species in the dung pats. The second group consisting of O. siva, C. signatus, and Oniticellus cinctus were the last arrivals on dung pats on 7th day. Onitis are tunnelers which prefer old dung (Hanski 1980) and we included C. signatus in this category. The third group of C. repertus and O. subopacus was present both in old and fresh dung. Presence of the larger 2nd and 3rd groups in the less crowded old dung pats indicated that both these large tunneler beetle species have the capacity to utilize undigestible larger particles in elephant dung. This contrasts with the smaller tunnelers and dwellers which prefer smaller and more nutritious particles, including dead epithelial cells of elephant gut, in dung pats (Holter et al. 2002). This statement is speculative and further analysis is required on the feeding preference of large tunnelers towards dung of different ages and the impact of the exclusion of Onthophagus on dung pats.
The order of arrival and distribution of the two most speciose genera, Copris and Onthophagus, along a niche axis in the pats showed two contrasting patterns. Copris species arrived at different stages of dung succession and all Onthophagus species arrived on the 3rd day of succession. It appeared that one set was following Gause's principle (Gause 1934) of the non-occurrence of closely related species in a habitat and the other the opposite trend.
Coexistence of closely related Onthophagus species for a shorter period in the pats is attributed to the preference of Onthophagus towards a high moisture regime in dung pats (Sowig and Wassmer 1994), which leads to their coexistence together for a shorter duration in the ephemeral microhabitats. It is another instance of species with ecologically similar demands coexisting in unstable patchy environments (Shorrock 1990; Sowig and Wassmer 1994). Richness and abundance of tunnelers are strongly correlated with dung age and moisture but the influence of these factors on other guilds were insignificant. The relationship between individual species and the above parameters were not analyzed due to the low number of observations. However this study shows that the dung age and moisture are not the only factors controlling the overall abundance and richness of dung beetles associated with elephant dung in the study region.
Four species are endemic to Western Ghats of which two (O. siva and Onthophagus madoqua) are specific to Nilgiri Hills and Onthophagus falsus is a new record from Western Ghats. The low abundance of Heliocopris in the elephant-rich study region compared to its high presence in other regions of Western Ghats (Joseph 1998) needs further study to reach conclusions. Heliocopris dominus, an exclusive feeder on elephant dung (Joseph 1998) is the ecological equivalent of Heliocopris dilloni that feeds on African elephant dung in east African savannahs (Halffter and Mathews 1966). Our enquiries with the resident tribal settlers and the resident forest officials confirmed that H. dominus is a common beetle straying into human dwellings attracted to light, in the wetter South Wayanad but rarely recorded from the study region in North Wayanad. This points towards the probability of regional variation in dung beetle distribution in Wayanad forests and comparative studies across different regions of the Western Ghats forests are necessary to interpret the variation in species composition of dung beetles associated with elephant dung.
The current study showed that the number of species and beetles associated with elephant dung pats is low in the region. The present study is an analysis of the dung pat beetle composition in deciduous forests during the post-rainy season for a limited time period of 21 days involving low sampling and covering a small geographical area. This low sampling effort might be a reason for the low observed species richness associated with elephant dung in this area. However, during this three-year field analysis of forest floor insect diversity of the region, bison dung pats attracted more dung beetles than elephant dung balls (unpublished personal observations). We speculate that this low presence of dung beetles in elephant pats is due to the probable preference of dung beetles (Holter et al. 2002) for the readily available more liquid dung pats of bison in the same region.
Differences in the diel activity pattern of beetle species in succession was not included in this study due to the practical difficulty in sampling during night, daybreak and twilight hours in the study region, which are infamous for frequent elephant-man confrontations. The moisture content of elephant dung depends on the diet of the elephant, the size of the dung heap, physical disturbance as well as the climate of the area (Anderson and Coe 1974). A complete round the year phenological survey considering the differences in diel activity of the beetles in relation to the shifting feeding pattern of elephants (Sukumar 2003) may provide more information on the community ecology of the dung beetles associated with the mega herbivores of this forest region.
Financial assistance provided by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India is gratefully acknowledged. We are grateful to the Kerala Forest and Wild Life Department for providing us the permission and facilities in the study region. We are indebted Thomachan K.T., Devagiri College, Calicut, for statistical analysis. Our special thanks are due to Pamela Y. Scheffler, Peter Holter, T.N.Ananthakrishnan and three anonymous reviewers for critical reading of this paper. We thank Fernando Vaz-de-Mello, V.V. Ramamurthy and Paul Schoolmeesters for their generous help in innumerable ways to establish a unit to deal with the ecology and systematics of dung beetles of the region.
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Thomas K. Sabu, K. V. Vinod, and P. J. Vineesh "Guild structure, diversity and succession of dung beetles associated with Indian elephant dung in South Western Ghats forests," Journal of Insect Science 6(17), 1-12, (5 September 2006). https://doi.org/10.1673/2006_06_17.1
Received: 18 October 2005; Accepted: 1 February 2006; Published: 5 September 2006
Journal of Insect Science
Vol. 6 • No. 17
Catharsius sagax
Copris davisoni
Copris repertus
Copris signatus
Drepanocerus setosus
Gymnopleurus melanarius
Heliocopris dominus
Liatongus indicus
Oniticellus cinctus
Onitis siva
Onitis subopacus
Onthophagus bronzeus
Onthophagus cervus
Onthophagus ensifer
Onthophagus falsus
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Thomas K. Sabu, K. V. Vinod, P. J. Vineesh "Guild structure, diversity and succession of dung beetles associated with Indian elephant dung in South Western Ghats forests," Journal of Insect Science, 6(17), 1-12, (5 September 2006)


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text:
Obama Adviser on Solyndra: 'Ugh'
Posted on | August 2, 2012 | 4 Comments
Congressional investigators got hold of some e-mails between Obama administration officials about the Solyndra deal, and White House adviser Stephanie Cutter's one-word summary — "Ugh" — gets the headline treatment from Zeke Miller at Buzzfeed.
Y'know what I'm noticing about that e-mail, though? It was CC'd to President Obama's campaign strategist David Plouffe. Kinda interesting.
Anyway, whereas most of the mainstream media publish "news articles" that are actually more like Obama campaign press releases, I thought I'd try something different: Re-print a Romney campaign press release and actually tell readers that it's a press release! Enjoy!
* ROMNEY CAMPAIGN PRESS RELEASE *
"From the President's senior adviser to his deputy campaign manager, it seems like every member of the Obama inner circle knew President Obama would pay a political price for his decision to sink half a billion taxpayer dollars into Solyndra. But that didn't stop the Obama Administration – and American taxpayers and the 1,800 unemployed workers are the ones still paying the price." – Ryan Williams, Romney Campaign Spokesman
Internal White House Emails Reveal "Concern, Frustration" From President Obama's Inner Circle On The Solyndra Loan:
Emails Between President Obama's Senior Advisers "Reveal Concern, Frustration" As Solyndra Headed Toward Bankruptcy. "Emails between White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer and then-Deputy Senior Advisor Stephanie Cutter reveal concern, frustration as former poster-child for clean energy investment failed. The House Energy and Commerce Committee peels back the curtain on Solyndra in a new report." (Zeke Miller, "White House On Solyndra Failure: 'Ugh,'" BuzzFeed, 8/2/12)
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer, On Solyndra's Impending Bankruptcy: "This Is Going To Be A Real Pain…" PFEIFFER: "This is going to be a real pain, solyndra is about to go under apparently." (Zeke Miller, "White House On Solyndra Failure: 'Ugh,'" BuzzFeed, 8/2/12)
Pfeiffer: "And There Is An Additional Complication I Will Explain Tomorrow." (Zeke Miller, "White House On Solyndra Failure: 'Ugh,'" BuzzFeed, 8/2/12)
Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter: "Ugh." (Zeke Miller, "White House On Solyndra Failure: 'Ugh,'" BuzzFeed, 8/2/12)
But Pfeiffer And Cutter Aren't The Only Obama Insiders Involved – Jacob Lew Ignored Solyndra Warnings And Ultimately Cost Taxpayers Millions:
"White House Chief Of Staff Jack Lew May Have Disregarded Warnings From Lower-Level Budget Employees That The Administration's Efforts To Prop Up Solyndra Were Unwise And Possibly Illegal…" "White House chief of staff Jack Lew may have disregarded warnings from lower-level budget employees that the administration's efforts to prop up Solyndra were unwise and possibly illegal, The Washington Post is reporting based on an upcoming House Energy and Commerce Committee report. The Post's story says the report 'suggests' that Lew — in his previous role as director of the Office of Management and Budget — 'let the refinancing move forward without intervening, even though some OMB analysts thought a refinancing plan that favored private investors might violate the law.'" (Bob King, "Solyndra Report May Implicate Lew, Washington Post Writes," Politico, 8/2/12)
Lew Let The "Refinancing Move Forward Without Intervening," Despite Warning From OMB Analysts That The Solyndra Restructuring Plan "Might Violate The Law." "The House energy committee is expected to release the results of its 18-month investigation into Solyndra this week. Its report, parts of which were obtained by The Washington Post, suggests that then-OMB Director Jack Lew let the refinancing move forward without intervening, even though some OMB analysts thought a refinancing plan that favored private investors might violate the law. Lew is now White House chief of staff." (Joe Stephens and Carol D. Leonnig, "White House Analyst Warned Saving Solyndra Could Cost More Than Letting It Fail," The Washington Post, 8/1/12)
Why Were President Obama's Closest Advisers So Worried? Solyndra's Bankruptcy Cost Taxpayers Over Half A Billion Dollars And Nearly 2,000 Workers Lost Their Jobs:
"Last Week, Solyndra's Final Liquidation Plan Estimated That The Government Will Recover Just $24 Million Of The $527 Million That Taxpayers Lent To The Company." "Even so, senior officials in the White House's Office of Management and Budget did not discourage the Energy Department from proceeding with its plan to restructure a federal loan to Solyndra — a move that put private investors ahead of taxpayers for repayment if the company closed, the investigation by Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee found. The restructuring went forward, but within months Solyndra failed anyway, leaving federal taxpayers on the hook for much of the half-billion-dollar federal loan. Now, a year after the company's collapse, debate continues over whether the refinancing plan was legal or a wise investment. Last week, Solyndra's final liquidation plan estimated that the government will recover just $24 million of the $527 million that taxpayers lent to the company." (Joe Stephens and Carol Leonnig, "White House Analyst Warned Saving Solyndra Could Cost More Than Letting It Fail," The Washington Post, 8/1/12)
Solyndra's Bankruptcy Cost 1,861 Workers Their Jobs. "On the day it closed, Solyndra said it was laying off 1,100 full-time and temporary employees. But 1,861 workers lost their jobs as the solar panel manufacturer shut its doors, according to U.S. Labor Department documents provided to The Bay Citizen under the Freedom of Information Act." (Aaron Glantz, "Solyndra Layoffs Larger Than Previously Reported," The Bay Citizen, 6/13/12)
This Neutral Objective Journalism has been brought to you by the Citizens' Committee for Vanuatu-American Friendship. IYKWIMAITYD.
Category: Barack Obama, Economics, Election 2012, Mitt Romney
4 Responses to "Obama Adviser on Solyndra: 'Ugh'"
August 2nd, 2012 @ 6:30 pm
This is just the tip of the iceberg. They probably won't even though they should, broaden and expand congressional investigations into all of this regime's "investments" after the election.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant but not all people are thrilled with it…
Mike G.
Still pining for that Ambassadorship I see. Well, good luck to ya.
The record also includes some interesting communications between the Solyndra investors concerning lobbying the White House. The whole deal was about crony capitalism, rewarding a major donor and bundler at taxpayer expense.
If there were true justice, Lew and Obama would be sharing a cell for the next 20 years.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The sphincter of Oddi is the muscular valve surrounding the exit of the bile duct and pancreatic duct into the duodenum. The sphincter is normally closed, opening only in response to a meal so that digestive juices can enter the duodenum and mix with food for digestion.
The mechanism of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction is not completely known but, in theory, when an individual has SOD, his/her sphincter goes into "spasm", causing temporary back-up of biliary and pancreatic juices, resulting in attacks of abdominal pain.
Two conditions that can affect the sphincter of Oddi are papillary stenosis and biliary dyskinesia.
Papillary stenosis is a condition that occurs when this sphincter (opening) mechanism is disturbed. When the hole is too tight, there is a backup of bile and pancreatic juices which can result in abdominal pain and/or jaundice. Also, blockage to the pancreatic orifice can cause pancreatic pain or attacks of pancreatitis.
Biliary dyskinesia is a gallbladder dysfunction where the biliary ducts fail to contract properly and/or a reduction in the speed of emptying of the biliary tree occurs. Often a symptom rather than a disease itself, biliary dyskinesia might signal the existence of other digestive disorders such as acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, chronic inflammation, or gallstones.
A brief animation explaining sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.
Pain symptoms resulting from either gallstones or bile duct stones are quite similar to those caused by sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. In fact, patients who have previously undergone a cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder) are more likely to become afflicted by SOD than those whom have not.
SOD may be one manifestation of other muscular spasm problems in different areas of the body such as the esophagus or colon. However, in some patients, it is the prevailing complaint, and requires immediate attention.
Sphincter dysfunction is usually only considered in patients with severe attacks of pain persisting or recurring after gall bladder surgery (cholecystectomy), and in whom standard tests show no evidence for structural causes, such as a small tumor, or perhaps a stone.
Blood is drawn to check on liver and pancreas tests (particularly alkaline phosphatase, transaminases and amylase/lipase).
Standard ultrasound and CT scans are used to look for structural causes, but are not completely accurate.
When these are unrevealing, most experts recommend other imaging procedures, such as MRCP and EUS. One of these should be used before considering more invasive and risky procedures like ERCP.
Another test (HIDA scanning) is sometimes used to detect poor emptying of the bile duct due to sphincter activity, and botox injection into the sphincter has been explored as a test for over-activity.
The suspicion that the sphincter may be overactive and causing pain is greater if the scans and/or blood tests show some evidence of obstruction to the bile duct. Indeed, SOD is divided into two types.
Type I consists of patients with troublesome biliary-type pain, a bile duct greater than 9mm in diameter, and elevated liver tests. Type II patients have a dilated duct or liver test abnormalities, but not both. There used to be a Type III —patients with pain but none of those findings— but a recent study (EPISOD) showed that such patients do not respond to cutting the sphincter.
Type I and II patients are usually advised to undergo ERCP, with or without measurement of the sphincter pressures, by sphincter of Oddi Manometry (SOM), and are often treated by cutting the sphincter (sphincterotomy).
The prior type III patients (with "pain only") should not be offered ERCP, except perhaps in a research study with fully informed consent.
For ERCP (and while the patient is under sedation or anesthesia), a doctor passes a special flexible endoscope down the throat and into the duodenum. The purpose of this procedure is to examine the drainage hole of the bile duct at the papilla of Vater. Locating the sphincter of Oddi is often difficult, as it may be tightly closed, and sits in the folds of the duodenum. Once it is located, dye may be injected into the bile duct and pancreatic duct to double-check for stones and other forms of obstruction.
The possibility of sphincter spasm (dysfunction) is tested during the ERCP by measuring the "squeeze pressure" in the sphincter. Like all types of ERCP examination, there are risks; particularly the chance of suffering an attack of pancreatitis. For this reason, ERCP in this context is usually done only after other simpler tests have been exhausted.
Mild forms of SOD can be managed by anti-spasm medicines.
When attacks of pain cause considerable disturbance with life activities, a decision has to be made whether to cut the sphincter (sphincterotomy) during ERCP to either remove stones in the ducts or to improve drainage.
ERCP is rarely indicated if gallbladder is not removed.
When sphincter of Oddi manometry has confirmed that the pressures are high, sphincterotomy gives good relief in more than half of patients.
The performance of sphincterotomy carries a risk of complications, such as bleeding and perforation, in addition to pancreatitis; the risk of pancreatitis is as high as 20%.
There is also the possibility of recurrent symptoms after months or years due to scarring of the sphincterotomy.
Further cutting (repeat sphincterotomy) is sometimes possible, but there are limits; surgical treatment with a transduodenal sphincteroplasty —an open surgery performed under general anesthesia where an incision is made through the first part of the small intestine and the pancreas— may be necessary.
Transduodenal sphincteroplasty may also be recommended in lieu of ERCP in patients who have undergone previous gastric surgery.
Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction is a difficult condition which should be approached and managed with considerable care. Patients may warrant referral to specialist centers whom often have special research protocols.


text:
Q: Material-UI, React Grid Component responsive layout problem I got a problem with Grid component from Material-UI.
Even if my Grid items components has the same props, they acting in different way on small resolution.
One of the Grid items is not stretching to the full width for some reason.
Here is how it looks like:
Three different resolutions
Here is my components code:
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { TextField, Button, Grid, Typography, Container, MenuItem } from '@material-ui/core';
import { ButtonWrapper } from '../styledComponents/styledComponents';

import useStyles from './addCoinForm.styles';

const AddTransactionForm = () => {

  const classes = useStyles();

  // ...
  // not related code deleted
  // ...

  return (
    <>
      <Container component="div">
        <form className={classes.transactionForm} autoComplete="off" noValidate onSubmit={handleSubmit}>

          <Typography variant="h6">
            Add transaction
          </Typography>

          <Grid container justify="space-around">

            <Grid item lg={2} sm={10}>
              <TextField name="ticker" variant="standard" label="Coin ticker" fullWidth value={coinData.ticker} onChange={handleChange} />
            </Grid>

            <Grid item lg={2} sm={10}>
              <TextField select name="type" variant="standard" label="buy / sell" fullWidth value={coinData.type}   onChange={handleChange}>
                <MenuItem value="buy">buy</MenuItem>
                <MenuItem value="sell">sell</MenuItem>
              </TextField>
            </Grid>

            <Grid item lg={2} sm={10}>
              <TextField name="quantity" variant="standard" label="Quantity" fullWidth value={coinData.quantity} onChange={handleChange} />
            </Grid>

            <Grid item lg={2} sm={10}>
              <TextField name="price" variant="standard" label="Price" fullWidth value={coinData.price} onChange={handleChange} />
            </Grid>

          </Grid>

          <ButtonWrapper>
            <Button variant="contained" className={classes.primaryButton} size="large" type="submit"> Add </Button>
            <Button variant="outlined" className={classes.secondaryButton} size="large" onClick={clear}> Clear </Button>
          </ButtonWrapper>

        </form>
      </Container>
    </>
   );
}

export default AddTransactionForm;

And here is my form styles code:
import { makeStyles } from '@material-ui/core';

const useStyles = makeStyles(() => ({
  transactionForm: {
    display: "flex",
    alignItems: "center",
    flexDirection: "column",
    margin: "30px 0"
  }
}));

export default useStyles;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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120 Sticker lables on a sheet. 1 Sheet of 120 Sticker Labels. Individually cut and ready to be placed on the switch.
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Measurements: diameter 2cm (0.8in). Sold in pairs. For pierced ears only.
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Quotes \ Authors \ American Authors \ Douglas Feith
Facts about Douglas Feith
Douglas Feith is a famous Public Servant from USA, he/she is still alive and was born July 16, 1953.
He/she is born under the zodiac cancer, who is known for Emotion, Diplomatic, Intensity, Impulsive, Selective. Our collection contains 24 quotes who is written / told by Douglas.
Here is some other popular authors who lived in the same timeframe: Øystein Stray Spetalen, Didier Drogba, Billy Zane, Maria Cantwell, Rachel Corrie, Amy Lee, John C. Reilly, Slash, Amanda Peet, Shannon Hoon, Joe Murray, Kevin Mitnick, Chris Brown, Michael Hutchence, Daniel Day-Lewis, Matt Drudge, Vanessa Hudgens, Jennifer Lopez, Jodie Foster, Joan Jett
Famous quotes by Douglas Feith (24)
"We know that there are various activities important to the insurgents in Iraq that are occurring in Syria"
"Though public pronouncements of Israeli officials emphasize peace and mutuality, unilateralism actually drives Israeli actions"
"They have involved co-operation between the Iraqi intelligence and al-Qaeda operatives on training and combined operations regarding bomb making and chemical and biological weapons"
"There have been linkages between the Iraqi government and al-Qaeda going back more or less a decade"
"There are a lot of things that need to be done to improve communications"
"Peace, of course, is different from divorce; indeed, in essential respects, divorce is the opposite of peace"
"I'm concerned about getting Iraq on its feet"
"We have a substantial number of countries that have pledged and provided all kinds of support for the United States in the event that war becomes necessary in Iraq"
"It was known in the mid 90s already that Saddam Hussein was a dangerous tyrant that he had already launched aggressions against Iran, he had invaded Kuwait"
"The United States has some people in Europe with whom we disagree on this matter and a large number of people in Europe, including governments in Europe, with whom we agree"
"If you live in Israel and you see the way life is there and then you go abroad and see the way Israel is reported on, the way that Israel gets reported on night after night is simply pictures of bombings or military actions"
"We are a country that has many friends, many allies, when we operate in the world, we operate with friends and allies that's been true for decades and if we wind up going to war in Iraq it will be true in Iraq"
"The key to making the inspections work is the Iraqi government making the crucial decision that because of the international pressure Iraq has to disarm itself"
"Our concept is not that America should operate alone or by itself in world affairs or in military affairs"
"If all goes well, the Iraqis are going to have a country that's going to have a representative government and will be at peace with its neighbors and in the region"
"Well we are hoping that the power of the community of free nations is such that our sovereignty our rights are not going to be challenged by anybody who's going try to undermine the freedom, the openness of our societies and our security"
"No, the United States does not target civilians"
"I think the disarmament of Iraq is inevitable"
"I had done a lot of reading, relative for a kid, about World War Two, and I thought about Chamberlain a lot"
"What the UN inspectors can do is demonstrate to the world, help the Iraqi government demonstrate to the world that the Iraqis are cooperatively disarming if that is in fact what the Iraqi government decides to do"
"Europe is a collection of free countries"
"The purpose of the UN mechanism, this inspection mechanism, is not to engage in a cat and mouse game with Saddam Hussein and try to find weapons that the Iraqi government is working on concealing"
"I'm not concerned about weapons of mass destruction"
"I don't think that anybody should be ruling in or ruling out anything while we are conducting diplomacy"


It's Friday and time to check out all the new releases for Friday December 23 2016 on this edition of Three Minute Weekend!
Our new theme music is great, isn't it? Thanks to my pal at Cavebabble, Eric Lyon, for his awesome work!!!


Bisset sat across the Louis XIV table from Pook and Clackprattle and smiled. The room was dark apart from two candles on the table and a few on the walls, some distance away.
"Who do you work for?" said Clackprattle. Bisset winced a little and then his smile recovered.
"I am confidante and assistant to the most noble Confrère des Ombres," he said.
"But not an actual member," said Clackprattle.
"I do not possess that honour, no," said Bisset. Clackprattle leaned forward.
"So can we talk to the organ grinder and not the monkey?" he said and leaned back, looking around with a bored air.
"I can assure you that I have the full confidence and can act with the full authority of the order," said Bisset, smiling very wide. Clackprattle snorted.
"So why don't they speak to us," he said.
Clackprattle snorted but sat down. He waved his hand at Bisset.
"Continue," he said to the Frenchman.
Clackprattle looked bored but did not object.
"You are both in league with Draco Viridis, am I correct?" asked Bisset.
"They acquiesced?" said Bisset, sounding surprised.
"Let's just say I used my powers of persuasion," said Clackprattle, looking at his hand.
"Oh, so you are…" said Bisset, looking at Pook.
"And your hand?" said Bisset, turning back to Clackprattle.
"I believe it's my turn for a question," said Clackprattle.
Clackprattle snatched the map from Pook and waved it at Bisset.
"How does this wretched thing work?" he said.
"And what does the map point to, precisely," said Pook.
"Including the power to kill?" said Bisset.
Bisset looked a little shocked and his eyes darted across to Pook who smiled wryly.
"Now we are talking," he said.


If you're interested in improving your home but aren't sure how to, then look no further. This article has the information you need to be successful at home improvement. You should keep reading if you are interested in adding value to your home and making it more comfortable.
If you refinish your existing cabinets, rather than buying new ones, you can save a lot on your kitchen remodel. Paint all of the bases and replace the doors and hardware to get a new look. It will bring your kitchen into a much more modern look without the high ticket price.
Air filters are something you have to remember to change. Not only do you create a better environment to breathe in, but it can also make your air conditioner run better. A lot of service repair calls are due to people not changing their air filters.
Consider the character of your neighborhood when you plan your home improvements. If your home is the only Victorian in an neighborhood of saltbox cottages, it will look out of place. A remodel that will blend to the houses in the neighborhood will have a better chance to sell when it is time to move on.
Update the look of any bathroom with new metal fixtures. Attractive curtain rods, toilet paper holders, towel racks and cabinet knobs are available in various matching finishes and shapes. It is common for home improvement outlets to carry such items in groups in order to facilitate simple installation.
Now that you've finished reading this article, odds are you have more ideas about what you can do that will improve your property. Take the time to digest what you've learned and incorporate it into a comprehensive plan for your next home improvement project. If you can do so, you will have great satisfaction in the end.


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Research Gateway
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Rural Health Research Gateway > Researchers
John A. Gale, MS
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Email: john.gale@maine.edu
Current Projects - (2)
Completed Projects - (17)
Publications - (40)
Psychiatric Bed Closures in Rural Hospitals: An Assessment of Trends, Impact, and Policy Strategies
This study will examine trends in the closure of psychiatric beds by rural hospitals using the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Treatment Services Locator; the American Hospital Association Annual Survey of Hospitals (2010-2017); and the Area Health Resources File.
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Mental and behavioral health
Rural Health Clinics Chartbook
This project will produce a comprehensive, descriptive chartbook detailing the characteristics and status of rural health clinics (RHCs) nationally. It will also assess the use of secondary data to construct a national set of indicators for RHCs and identify gaps in our knowledge that cannot be addressed using secondary data.
Topic: Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
Adolescent Alcohol Use in Rural Areas: What Are the Issues?
This study will use the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to examine the effect of developmental, individual, and environmental factors on adolescent alcohol use across the urban-rural continuum.
Topic: Substance use and treatment
Analysis of 2004-2005 State Flex Grant Plans
This project will analyze state Flex grant applications and related budget and work plan revisions focusing on state activities in the core Flex program areas of networks, quality improvement, and EMS.
Research centers: Maine Rural Health Research Center, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Emergency medical services and trauma, Networking and collaboration, Quality, Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
Availability, Characteristics, and Role of Detoxification Services in Rural Areas
This project will produce a comprehensive description of the distribution and characteristics of detoxification (detox) services across rural areas including a discussion of access issues, the role of detox services within local systems of care, barriers to the delivery of detox services by rural providers, and policy and regulatory incentives needed to encourage the development of rural detox services. Products will include a working paper and related journal articles addressing these topics.
Catastrophic Consequences: The Rise of Opioid Abuse in Rural Communities
This project will analyze national data on the prevalence of opioids in rural and urban settings as well as describe state and local efforts to promote prevention and access to treatment.
Developing a Sentinel Cohort of Rural Health Clinics for Use in Developing Relevant Quality Measures and Monitoring Program Performance
This two year project will assemble a cohort of Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) from ten to thirteen states to participate in a sentinel quality measurement process. During the first year of the project, the cohort of RHCs will participate in the identification, development, and refinement of a discrete set RHC quality measures in conjunction with the project team and an expert panel of RHC and quality measurement experts. During the second year, the cohort will be asked to implement, report, and evaluate the measures.
Topics: Quality, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
Development of State Flex Program Logic Models and Related Toolkit
Topic: Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
Issues Related to Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Participation in CMS's Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)
This qualitative project focused on understanding the reporting requirements for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) related to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) as well as the challenges in doing so and options to support RHC reporting.
Measuring the Community Benefits and Impact of Critical Access Hospitals
This project will develop, test, and implement a set of community benefits and impact indicators for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). These indicators will assist CAHs, policymakers, and rural stakeholders to understand the impact of CAHs on their communities and local health care delivery systems.
Topic: Critical Access Hospitals
National Study of Rural Health Clinics
Topics: Health services, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
National Study of Substance Abuse Prevalence and Treatment Services in Rural Areas
This project will research the prevalence of the abuse of legal and illegal substances across rural populations and geographic areas, including the extent to which rural individuals are receiving treatment for their substance abuse and barriers to the receipt of treatment.
Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Rural statistics and demographics, Substance use and treatment
Provision of Specialty Mental Health Services by Rural Health Clinics
This project will document the extent to which Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) are employing mental health staff nationally, understand why more RHCs are not employing specialty mental health staff, and analyze the barriers to and opportunities for the delivery of mental health services by RHCs. The results will identify opportunities and interventions to encourage RHCs to offer this important service.
Topics: Health services, Mental and behavioral health, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Substance use and treatment
Rural E-Mental Health: Models That Enhance Access, Service Delivery, and Integration of Care
E-mental health programs have been developed in rural areas as a promising approach to address the chronic challenges of low availability of mental health clinicians, long travel distances, and stigma surrounding mental health care. The literature has established the technical feasibility of these programs and interest remains strong in developing and implementing them more broadly. However, we lack a clear understanding of the viability of current rural e-mental health programs - both the business case for starting and sustaining them and the clinical case for what services and functions may be provided _ and what impact they have had. The current rural health environment is changing significantly and it is important to understand where and how e-mental health programs have been established and sustained, what impact they have had, and what value they may add to other initiatives. To address this gap we will conduct interviews with between 24-30 current rural e-mental health programs.
Topics: Mental and behavioral health, Telehealth
Rural Health Clinic Financial Performance and Productivity
This study used Medicare cost reports for independent and provider-based clinics to provide a detailed national picture of the financial and operational performance of RHCs and describe variations in performance related to revenue, costs, staffing, payer mix, productivity levels, and hours of operation across independent and provider-based clinics. The project also developed measures that can be used to benchmark RHC performance over time.
Topics: Medicare, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
Safety Net Activities of Independent Rural Health Clinics
This national study will investigate and describe the safety net role of independent Rural Health Clinics (RHC). It will further examine the market effect of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) on the safety net role of independent RHCs at the county level.
Topics: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
Special Study of EMS Issues
This study will focus on state, community, and hospital level initiatives designed to build the infrastructure to support EMS service capacity and encourage the integration of these services into the rural healthcare infrastructure in the areas of quality improvement, financing, staffing, medical control, and networking and integration.
Research centers: Maine Rural Health Research Center, North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals, Emergency medical services and trauma, Networking and collaboration
Transformation of Rural Health Clinics: Are They Ready to Serve as Patient-Centered Medical Homes?
Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) face pressure to transform their practices by becoming patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). This study will document the readiness of RHCs to serve as PCMHs and provide information to assist policymakers in developing technical assistance and other policy resources to support RHCs in doing so.
Topics: Care management, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
Using Program Logic Models to Monitor the Performance of State Flex Programs
This project will use a program logic model approach to track state program activities and develop tools that allow states to systematically monitor and manage their accomplishments in the context of Flex Program goals.
Adolescent Alcohol Use: Do Risk and Protective Factors Explain Rural-Urban Differences? (Policy Brief)
This policy brief finds that after controlling for a broad range of key risk and protective factors, it is clear that an unexplained rural effect persists with rural adolescents still exhibiting higher alcohol use than their urban counterparts.
Adolescent Alcohol Use: Do Risk and Protective Factors Explain Rural-Urban Differences? (Working Paper)
This study examines alcohol use among rural and urban adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17.
Adoption and Use of Electronic Health Records by Rural Health Clinics: Results of a National Survey
This study reports the extent of electronic health record implementation and use in a randomly selected sample of 1,497 rural health clinics surveyed in 2013.
Are Rural Health Clinics Part of the Rural Safety Net?
This policy brief examines whether rural health clinics are part of the rural safety net.
Few detox providers (n=235) serve rural America; 82% of rural residents live in a county without a detox provider. More than half of all rural detox providers serve patients across a 100-mile radius, making travel distances a barrier to outpatient care. Referral options to substance abuse treatment are limited, especially in isolated rural areas.
The Characteristics and Roles of Rural Health Clinics in the United States: A Chartbook
This chartbook reports on a rural health clinics (RHCs) survey. Information was collected on many topics, including their characteristics/operations; their location relative to the underservice problems/rural access needs; their safety net functions; staffing, recruitment, and financial issues; and involvement in training healthcare professionals.
The Community Impact of Critical Access Hospitals
Maine Rural Health Research Center, North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
This policy brief discusses the findings of a project to understand the community involvement and impact of critical access hospitals and the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program).
Comparative Performance Data for Critical Access Hospitals
Maine Rural Health Research Center, North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Discusses the potential use of comparative performance data for critical access hospitals (CPD-CAH) to facilitate performance and quality improvement. Covers potential benefits and drawbacks of CPD-CH and identifies issues in the development and implementation of CPD-CAH.
Creating Program Logic Models: A Toolkit for State Flex Programs
This is a tool for planning, managing, reporting on, and assessing Flex Program goals, activities, and accomplishments; assistance in identifying/defining measurable outcomes; information linking state-level Flex Program strategies to measurable outcomes; and a consistent program-reporting framework to share results internally and externally.
Distribution of Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities Across the Rural - Urban Continuum
This study examines the distribution of substance abuse treatment services across the continuum of rural and urban counties, identifying the type and intensity of services provided.
Distribution of Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities Across the Rural - Urban Continuum (Research & Policy Brief)
This research and policy brief highlights findings from a recent study examining the distribution of substance abuse treatment facilities in rural and urban counties and identifying the type and intensity of services provided.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Activities Funded by the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
This paper describes the emergency medical services-related activities that the 45 states receiving funding from the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Program proposed to conduct in fiscal year 2004-05.
Encouraging Rural Health Clinics to Provide Mental Health Services
This study examined changes in the delivery of mental health services by rural health clinics (RHCs), their operational characteristics, barriers to the development of services, and policy options to encourage more RHCs to deliver mental health services.
Exploring the Community Impact of Critical Access Hospitals
This paper reports on a series of site visits to six diverse rural communities and critical access hospitals to assess the experiences and impact of these hospitals in responding to their community's health infrastructure needs.
Few and Far Away: Detoxification Services in Rural Areas (Research & Policy Brief)
This policy brief finds that few rural detox providers exist; 82% of rural residents live in a county without a detox provider. More than half of all rural detox providers serve a 100-mile radius. Travel distances are a barrier to outpatient detox models. Referral options to substance abuse treatment are limited, especially in isolated rural areas.
Health Information Exchange: A Strategy for Improving Access for Rural Veterans in the Maine Flex Rural Veterans Health Access Program
This paper reports on the design and implementation of a first-in-the-nation project to expand rural veterans' access to healthcare by establishing a bi-directional connection between Maine's statewide health information exchange (HIE) and Veterans Administration facilities and centers.
Meaningful Use of the Electronic Health Records by Rural Health Clinics
This paper identifies the rates of electronic health record adoption among a random national sample of rural health clinics (RHCs) and the extent to which RHCs that have adopted an EHR are likely to achieve Stage 1 meaningful use.
Medicaid Managed Behavioral Health in Rural Areas
This study of which states have implemented Medicaid managed behavioral health (MMBH) programs in rural areas describes these programs in terms of Medicaid populations served, program design, and implementation model. It also describes the experience of programs regarding access to and coordination of services.
Medicaid Managed Behavioral Health Programs in Rural Areas
This research and policy brief studies which states have implemented Medicaid-managed behavioral health programs in rural areas. It describes the programs in terms of Medicaid populations served, program design, and implementation model and the experience of programs regarding access to/coordination of services.
Mental Health Care in Rural Communities: the Once and Future Role of Primary Care
Discusses issues related to the delivery of mental health services in the United States. Addresses how these issues complicate the delivery of services in rural areas. Offers an argument for integrating primary care and mental health in rural areas.
Mental Health Encounters in Critical Access Hospital Emergency Rooms: A National Survey
This survey investigates the extent and types of cases that present with mental health problems in critical access hospital emergency rooms (ERs), as well as the resources available to ER staff for addressing such problems and what actually happens to these patients.
Monitoring the Community Benefits of CAHs: A Review of the Data (Briefing Paper)
There is a growing national interest in the benefits provided by nonprofit and public hospitals to their communities in exchange for the tax benefits or public funding that they receive.
Monitoring the Community Benefits of Critical Access Hospitals: A Review of the Data
This brief examines the community benefit activities of critical access hospitals (CAHs) using data from the Flex Monitoring Team's (FMT) pilot test of a set of community benefit data collection tools and performance indicators, the Internal Review Service's (IRS) 2006 Hospital Compliance Study, and the 2007 FMT CAH survey.
Pilot Testing a Rural Health Clinic Quality Measurement Reporting System
More than 4,000 Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) serve the primary care needs of rural communities. Unfortunately, the Rural Health Clinic Program is plagued by a lack of data participating clinics. This reports on the results with a focus on assessing the feasibility and utility of the reporting system and quality measures for the participating RHCs.
The Provision of Mental Health Services by Rural Health Clinics
Quality and Performance Improvement Grant Activities Under the Flex Program
This paper describes quality and performance improvement activities proposed by states during the 2005 grant year under the Medicare Rural Health Flexibility Program.
A Review of State Flex Program Plans, 2004-2005
Maine Rural Health Research Center, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
This paper examines the objectives and project activities proposed by states in their Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program) grant applications for Fiscal Year 2004 to strengthen the rural healthcare infrastructure in their states. It highlights recent trends in state Flex Program planning, development, and implementation.
Rural and Frontier Mental and Behavioral Health Care: Barriers, Effective Policy Strategies, Best Practices
This report discusses barriers to mental and behavioral health service delivery in rural America. It includes model programs and model policy strategies for rural mental and behavioral healthcare delivery and discusses the roles that telehealth and that the State Offices of Rural Health should play in service delivery.
Rural Health Clinic Costs and Medicare Reimbursement
We used cost report data to examine Rural Health Clinic (RHC) services costs. The findings support the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Service's conclusion that the cost-based methodology used to determine Medicare reimbursement for RHCs is outdated and RHCs subject to the reimbursement cap are paid less than their costs.
Rural Health Clinic Participation in the Merit-Based Incentive System and Other Quality Reporting Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities
This brief discusses the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) within the context of past and current Rural Health Clinic (RHC) quality reporting initiatives and assesses options for encouraging RHCs to voluntarily participate in MIPS.
Rural Health Clinic Readiness for Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition: Preparing for the Evolving Healthcare Marketplace
This policy brief reports findings from a survey of rural health clinics (RHC) that examined their capacity to meet the National Council for Quality Assurance patient-centered medical home requirements and discusses the implications of the findings for efforts to support RHC capacity development.
Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention and Treatment Strategies: The Experience in Four States
Little is known about what states with large rural populations are doing to combat opioid use disorders (OUD) in rural communities. This qualitative study identified rural challenges to the provision of OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery services and explored promising strategies to tackle the opioid crisis in rural communities.
Rural Opioid Abuse: Prevalence and User Characteristics
Opioid abuse is the fastest growing substance abuse problem in the nation and the primary cause of unintentional drug overdose deaths. This study examined the rural-urban prevalence of non-medical use of pain relievers and heroin in the past year and the socio-economic characteristics associated with their use and other risky behavior.
Rural Vets: Their Barriers, Problems, Needs
Evolving population trends--the aging of rural veterans, the growing number of female veterans and rates of homelessness among veterans--place significant demands on VA and rural delivery systems. Coordination among healthcare providers is essential to increasing the availability of services and expanding veteran outreach programs.
Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) provide primary care services to rural residents of 45 states. Since RHCs are in underserved rural areas and serve vulnerable populations, many consider them safety net providers. In this paper, we explore whether, and to what extent, independent RHCs are serving a safety net role or have the capacity to do so.
The State Flex Program at 10 Years: Strengthening Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Communities
To understand the priorities/accomplishments of state Flex Grant Programs, the Flex Monitoring Team asked Flex coordinators to identify and discuss their states' three most successful initiatives in the last two years. Interviews were conducted with Flex coordinators and State Office of Rural Health staff in 45 states.
State Initiatives Funded by the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant Program
This report explores activities funded by the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program) to strengthen the rural healthcare infrastructure and discusses which activities were considered most successful by state Flex coordinators.
Telemental Health in Today's Rural Health System
This policy brief describes the organizational setting, services provided, and staff used in 53 telemental rural health programs. It also outlines the opportunities and challenges for telemental health in the rural health system.
Understanding the Business Case for Telemental Health in Rural Communities
This article describes the current landscape and characteristics of rural telemental health programs and then examines their business case.
Use of Critical Access Hospital Emergency Rooms by Patients With Mental Health Symptoms
Describes the results of a study investigating the use of critical access hospital (CAH) emergency rooms by patients with mental health problems to understand the role these facilities play in rural mental health needs and the challenges they face.
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