This study explores the significance of the Taiwanese aboriginal territories that Japanese political and military leaders founded in the early 1870s. In April 1874, Meiji Japan dispatched expeditionary forces to the aboriginal territories on the basis of two cases of atrocities that the aboriginal people had committed against their “subjects” several years earlier and their claim that part of the island of Taiwan was terra nullius. By focusing on the discourse between the leaders during the years just before the expedition’s launch, this article argues that the first overseas military campaign was not motivated by a single issue on the part of the new imperial regime, but by a combination of several domestic and external concerns. These issues, which drove them into the expedition against the Taiwanese aborigines, were all linked by a single thread; namely, their concern with regard to national security. In this sense, from the Japanese perspective, the Japanese viewed the aboriginal territories as the stage upon which national survival could be secured in the late 19th century’s international environment, one in which the West enjoyed predominance.
Habitat degradation is a major threat to the survival of chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii). Detailed knowledge for habitat conservation in this steppe-dwelling ungulate is needed if effective conservation and management strategies are to be developed. The distribution of potential habitat and the relative value of habitat to chiru on a regional scale remains unknown, hindering landscape conservation planning. Our aim was to identify and rank chiru habitat across the Chang Tang region of the Tibetan Plateau. We assessed overall habitat suitability using geographical data, field surveys, and information contained within previous studies. We identified 10194 km2 of optimal habitat (1.71 % of the region), 256816 km2 of suitable habitat (43.17 % of the region), and 213799 km2 of marginal habitat (35.94 % of the region). Our habitat model shows that suitable habitat is located primarily in the central (Nyingma county and Shuanghu county) and western (Geze county) regions of the study area. When we looked specifically at a chiru reserve (Chang Tang Nature Reserve) located within the study area, we found that over half of the reserve could be classified as suitable habitat. This highlights the regional importance of this reserve to chiru conservation. Our findings further indicate that the protection of suitable habitat and improvement of habitat linkages will be important features of any regional chiru conservation plan.
We are discussing changepoint detection in tropospheric parameter time series that occurs in a numerical weather reanalysis model. Our approach applies a statistical method that is based on the maximum value of two sample t-statistics. We use critical values calculated by applying an asymptotic distribution. We also apply an asymptotic distribution to finding approximate critical values for the changepoint position. Experiments on “test” and “real” data illustrate the assumed accuracy and efficiency of our method. The method is assessed by its application to our series after adding synthetic shifts. A total of more than 3,000 original profiles are then analysed within the time-span of the years 1990-2015. The analysis shows that at least one changepoint is present in more than 9% of the studied original time series. The uncertainty of estimated times achieved tens of days for shifts larger than 9 mm, but it was increased up to hundreds of days in the case of smaller synthetic shifts. Discussed statistical method has potential for suspected change point detection in time series with higher time resolution.
Alongside climate change, the introduction of non-native species (NNS) is widely recognized as one of the main threats to aquatic biodiversity and human wellbeing. Non-native species and biodiversity are generally low priority issues on the political agendas of many countries, particularly in European countries outside the European Union (EU). The objectives and tasks of this study were to address the policy regulation, education level, education practices, and socioeconomic perceptions of NNS in the Balkans. A questionnairebased survey was conducted in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Turkey (Balkan EU candidate and potential candidate members), in Croatia and Greece (Balkan EU Member States) and Italy (non-Balkan EU Member State). The EU Alien Regulation (1143/2014) concerning NNS is implemented in EU Member States and Montenegro, whereas Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Turkey have not reported specific policy regulations for NNS. Permanent monitoring programmes specifically designed for NNS have not yet been established in the EU Member States. Most countries tackle the issue of NNS through educational activities as part of specific projects. Education level is indicative of the implementation of NNS policy regulation, and efforts are needed for the proper development of relative study programmes. Public awareness and educational preparedness concerning NNS in the Balkans were identified as poor. Strong programmes for management and education should be developed to increase public awareness to prevent further biodiversity losses in the Balkan region.