Hornets found to be primary pollinators of two Angelica species

New research overturns the conventional belief that Angelica species do not have a primary pollinator

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

 

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A JAPANESE GIANT HORNET VESPA MANDARINIA VISITING THE INFLORESCENCE OF ANGELICA DECURSIVA TO FEED ON NECTAR

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CREDIT: MOCHIZUKI 2024

Researcher Ko Mochizuki of the University of Tokyo discovered that two species in the genus Angelica are pollinated primarily by hornets. This overturns the conventional belief that Angelica species are “generalists,” meaning that there is not one primary pollinator but a variety of species. As hornets are rarely primary pollinators, the discovery also impacts future ecological research and conservation efforts. The findings were published in the journal Ecology.

White, small, open, secretes nectar and produces pollen: these are the kinds of flowers that many types of insects can reach and are attracted to. Most of the plants in the carrot family, Apiaceae, fit this description perfectly. As such, the species in this family are considered to be generalists. In extreme cases, over 100 different insect species visit their flowers. Not so with Angelica decursiva and Angelica hakonensis, two species in the genus Angelica in the family.

“I observed a fierce visitation by hornets for the first time in 2015 in Nagano Prefecture,” Mochizuki recalls, “and then again in 2018 in the Nikko Botanical Garden where they were feeding on the nectar of the inflorescences of A. decursiva and A. hakonensis. Since it was a dogma that species in the family Apiaceae are generalists, this observation motivated me to investigate if the two Angelica species were pollinated predominantly by hornets.”

Confirming the hunch was a stepwise process. First, Mochizuki returned to the Nikko Botanical Garden to quantify the numbers and types of "visitors" to the flowers. Then, he captured some visitors to check the amount of pollen stuck to their bodies to verify whether it would be enough for pollination. Finally, he conducted an experiment in which he covered some flowers with a mesh that blocked the hornets and some flowers with a mesh that blocked all insects, with a third group of flowers remaining uncovered as the control group. All three of these methods showed that hornets were the most numerous species that visited the flowers.

“Nevertheless, excluding hornets resulted in seed production higher than expected. I think excluding the hornets allowed other visitors to gather on the flowers. Especially considering that I had previously observed hornets hunting and killing other insect visitors when they encountered each other on the inflorescence,” Mochizuki explains.

Science advances by incremental steps. Discovering that hornets are the primary pollinator of certain species is one such incremental step, but the consequences are wide-ranging.

“Hornets are generally considered pests in their native range and problematic invasive species in some areas such as North America. Nevertheless, this study underscores the importance of hornets as pollinators, opening new avenues for research and conservation,” says Mochizuki.

A Japanese yellow hornet Vespa simillima hunting and killing the other visitors when they come upon on the inflorescence of Angelica hakonensis

CREDIT

Mochizuki 2024

A hornet visiting a flower [VIDEO] | 

JOURNAL

Ecology

DOI

10.1002/ecy.4311 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Hunt and pollinate: Hornet pollination of the putative generalist genus Angelica.

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

29-Apr-2024

 

How can forests be reforested in a climate-friendly way?

Only a few tree species are flexible enough to survive a century of rapid climate change

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA

 

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TREE MORTALITY DUE TO BARK BEETLE INFESTATION. 

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CREDIT: RUPERT SEIDL

Europe's forests have already been severely affected by climate change. Thousands of hectares of trees have already died due to drought and bark beetles. Scientists from the University of Vienna and the Technical University of Munich TUM have now investigated which trees can be used for reforestation. Their findings: only a few tree species are fit for the future, such as English oak in the UK. However, mixed forests are important for the survival of forests, otherwise the forest ecosystem as a whole could be weakened. The results of the study were recently published in the renowned journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. 

Although European forests are naturally home to a mix of trees, the number of tree species is lower than in climatically comparable areas of North America or East Asia. In the future, even fewer species will be available to the forestry industry, as scientists led by Johannes Wessely and Stefan Dullinger from the University of Vienna have shown in their new study. Depending on the region, between a third and a half of the tree species found there today will no longer be able to cope with future conditions. "This is an enormous decline," says lead author Johannes Wessely, "especially when you consider that only some of the species are of interest for forestry". 

The scientists examined the 69 more common of the just over 100 European tree species with regard to the 21st century in Europe. On average, only nine of these 69 species per location are fit for the future in Europe, compared to four in the UK. "Trees that are planted now for reforestation must survive under both current and future conditions. This is difficult because they have to withstand the cold and frost of the next few years as well as a much warmer climate at the end of the 21st century. There is only a very small overlap," says Wessely. In the UK, these climate-fit species include, for example, the English oak. Which tree species will suit which region of Europe in the future varies greatly overall. 

Forest ecosystem at risk due to restriction of species 

However, even with the selected set of future-proof trees, a major problem remains: the average of nine species is not enough for a species-rich mixed forest. "Mixed forests consisting of many tree species are an important measure to make forests more robust against disturbances such as bark beetles. In some places in Europe, however, we could run out of tree species to establish such colorful mixed forests," explains last author Rupert Seidl from the Technical University of Munich TUM.

Not all trees offer important properties 

Trees store carbon, provide a habitat or food source for animals or can be processed into timber – these are all important properties of forests. But not all trees fulfill these functions equally; only an average of three of the nine climate-fit tree species can do this. 

"Our work clearly shows how severely the vitality of forests is affected by climate change. We cannot rely solely on a new mix of tree species; rapid measures to mitigate climate change are essential for the sustainable protection of our forests," says Wessely.

More information on current research at the University of Vienna can be found in the University of Vienna's science magazine Rudolphina in the section Nature, Climate and the Cosmos.

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JOURNAL

Nature Ecology & Evolution

DOI

10.1038/s41559-024-02406-8 

ARTICLE TITLE

A climate-induced tree species bottleneck for forest management in Europe.

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

29-Apr-2024

 

Demands to include women in decisions on the protection of human rights in the climate crisis

In a scientific paper, the researcher from the URV’s Department of Public Law, Susana Borràs, discusses the vulnerability and lack of protection of migrant women and children

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILI

 

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THE UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILI RESEARCHER, SUSANA BORRÀS

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CREDIT: URV

Eighty per cent of climatic migrants are women and children. This figure means that a new international legal framework is required to protect human rights by adding gender-sensitive measures to policies and legislation. This is the claim made by Susana Borràs, a researcher from the URV’s Department of Public Law in an article published in the journal Environmental Policy and Law, in which she discusses the complexities of perpetuating inequalities, vulnerabilities and the lack of protection of migrant women and children.

Climate change is clear evidence that human rights are weakening, especially in areas that are already more exposed to the effects of climate change and less resilient because of the socio-economic context", says Borràs. "Multidimensional inequality and insecurity are present throughout the migration process and are particularly critical in the case of migrant women and girls", she adds.

The United Nations estimates that by 2050, the effects of climate change will have caused the displacement of 150 million people or more due to extreme weather and events such as the rise in sea level and desertification. Likewise, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that, in the coming years, migration would be one of the responses to climate change, with millions of people being displaced by coastal flooding, coastal erosion, desertification processes and losses in agricultural production. "People who leave the lands of their origin do so in highly complex contexts, in search of safety and well-being. They are exercising their human right to migrate with dignity to other safe territories, whether these are inside or outside their countries", she explains.

In the third decade of the 21st century, humanity is still struggling with the vital issues of gender inequality, discrimination and violence faced by women and girls, that’s to say, almost half of the 8 billion inhabitants of the world. Despite the goals of international human rights and other regulatory instruments to bring about change, on the ground mental attitudes and harsh global realities still work against women and girls.

According to Susana Borràs, "the impacts of climate change mean that women, and especially those from poorer communities, face a great psychological burden. Power structures lead to greater vulnerability to extreme weather events and climate change-related disasters. This structural vulnerability increases when women and girls become climate migrants.

In recent years, changes have been made to some sectors of international regulation to recognise climate change as a cause of migration, including from a gender-sensitive perspective. "Although positive, these changes have demonstrated the lack of an overall vision spanning the international legal regime of migration and refuge, climate change and human rights", she adds.

In conclusion, she points out that the existing legal frameworks need to be rethought to respond to the reality of climate migration from a gender-sensitive perspective that effectively protects human rights. The heteropatriarchal power dynamics – which exclude women from decision-making processes – have prevented the gender perspective from becoming a part of policies and legal standards for environmental protection. "It is essential to reverse the typical role of victim assigned to women and recognise that they can be leaders and agents of climate change and migratory contexts". In this regard, she calls for political responses to adapt the existing legal frameworks governing refugees and migration to the humanitarian challenges generated by climate change.

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JOURNAL

Environmental Policy and Law

DOI

10.3233/EPL-239019 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

International Environmental Law (IEL): Perspectives of Women Scholars

 

More plants on the menu of ancient hunter-gatherers

Isotopic evidence reveals surprising dietary practices of pre-agricultural human groups in Morocco

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY

 

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HUMAN TOOTH FROM THE TAFORALT CAVE IN MOROCCO, SHOWING SEVERE WEAR AND CARIES.

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CREDIT: © HEIKO TEMMING

Conducted by an international team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig, Germany), Géoscience et Environnement Toulouse (Toulouse, France), and the Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine (Rabat, Morocco), the study examines the diet of individuals associated with the Iberomaurusian culture discovered in the cave of Taforalt, Morocco. Using a comprehensive multi-isotopic approach, including zinc and strontium isotope analysis in dental enamel, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur analysis in collagen, as well as amino acid analysis of human and faunal remains, the researchers uncovered surprising insights into ancient dietary practices.

The study's major conclusions clearly show that the diet of these hunter-gatherers included a significant proportion of plants belonging to Mediterranean species, predating the advent of agriculture in the region by several millennia. Archaeobotanical remains found at the site, such as acorns, pine nuts, and wild pulses, further support this notion. Moreover, the study suggests that plant foods were also introduced into infant diets and may have served as weaning products for this human population. This finding has significant implications, as it suggests the potential for earlier weaning practices in pre-agricultural communities compared to previously thought norms for hunter-gatherer societies.

Complex dietary practices of pre-agricultural societies

This challenges the prevailing notion of a diet heavily based on animal protein among pre-agricultural human groups and raises questions about the lack of agricultural development in North Africa at the beginning of the Holocene. Zineb Moubtahij, first author of the study, explains: “Our findings not only provide insights into the dietary practices of pre-agricultural human groups but also highlight the complexity of human subsistence strategies in different regions. Understanding these patterns is crucial to unraveling the broader story of human evolution."   

Furthermore, this study is the first to use zinc isotopes preserved in enamel to determine the diet of ancient populations in Africa. North Africa is a key region for the study of human evolution and modern human dispersal. Having a tool that allows us to further explore human diet deep in time in this region will provide valuable insights into human dietary patterns and adaptability in different environments.

Moving forward, the research team hopes to explore additional Paleolithic sites in North Africa and use innovative techniques to gain a deeper understanding of ancient dietary practices and their implications for human evolution.

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JOURNAL

Nature Ecology & Evolution

DOI

10.1038/s41559-024-02382-z 

ARTICLE TITLE

Isotopic evidence of high reliance on plant food among Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers at Taforalt, Morocco

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

29-Apr-2024

 

Nature's nudge: Study shows green views lead to healthier food choices

INSEAD ASIA CAMPUS

 

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PROFESSOR PIERRE CHANDON - STUDY SHOWS GREEN VIEWS LEAD TO HEALTHIER FOOD CHOICES

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CREDIT: INSEAD

Natural scenery typically conjures up positive emotions and a sense of wellbeing for most individuals. A new study by INSEAD shows that verdant views can also nudge people to pick healthier food.

Published in Communications Psychology, a new journal by Nature, the study suggests that spending time in a natural setting, such as walking in a park (vs. on city streets), or simply viewing greenery outside the window (vs. an urban view), leads people to make healthier food choices afterward.

“Our studies suggest that it was not the urban view that led to unhealthy food choices but rather that nature influenced people to eat healthier,” says Pierre Chandon, one of the study’s co-authors and the L’Oréal Chaired professor of marketing at INSEAD. 

Your window view matters

In one study, participants were randomly assigned to take a 20-minute walk either through a park or busy streets in Paris. Afterward, all participants were offered a buffet with a mix of healthy and less healthy snacks. 

While participants across both groups ate about equal amounts, those who had walked in the park displayed a clear preference for healthier choices: 70% of their selections were healthier snacks, compared to just 39% for the city walkers.

In a further, more controlled experiment, participants were placed in simulated "hotel rooms" with different window views: a green pasture, a city street, or a control condition, a blank wall with closed curtains. They were asked to choose a lunch from an in-room service menu featuring healthy and unhealthy main courses, beverages, and desserts. The results mirrored the previous experiment. Those with a view of nature opted for healthier options, while those with urban or obscured views showed less healthy preferences.

Green may be the key

The idea for this research came from co-author Maria Langlois,who noticed how she and her teammates taking part in a 7200-km charity bike ride gravitated towards healthier, unprocessed foods while biking through natural environments. Langlois, who is now an assistant professor of marketing at SMU’s Cox School of Business, turned this observation into a series of rigorous field and online studies when she enrolled in INSEAD’s PhD program. 

Interestingly, the research suggests that not all natural environments have the same effect. The vividness and level of greenery in the setting could play a part. For instance, when snow covers the natural or urban views, the scenery does not influence food choices. 

The researchers conducted another experiment to find out whether nature exposure increases preferences for truly healthy and natural food, or for any processed food that claims to be healthy. They offered participants three types of snacks: diet and light, healthy and natural, or tasty and indulgent. Exposure to natural scenes decreased preference for both diet snacks while significantly shifting preferences from indulgent choices towards the healthier, natural options.

Implications for an increasingly urban world

These findings hold promise for promoting healthier eating habits. Schools, companies and other organisations could utilise nature imagery in cafeterias to nudge students and employees towards healthier options. Food marketers could use natural visual cues to promote healthy or natural products. 

More importantly, the research reminds us of the crucial role of urban planning. By 2050, two-thirds of the world population are expected to live in cities. Incorporating green spaces into future urban landscapes will become even more essential.

 

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JOURNAL

Communications Psychology

DOI

10.1038/s44271-024-00072-x 

ARTICLE TITLE

Experiencing nature leads to healthier food choices

 

Tibetan plateau had broader social dimensions than previously thought

CARL R. WOESE INSTITUTE FOR GENOMIC BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

 

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USING EXCAVATED ARTIFACTS, AMBROSE (PICTURED) AND HIS TEAM DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS A LONG-DISTANCE CULTURAL EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE TIBETAN PLATEAU AND NORTHERN CHINA.

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CREDIT: L. BRIAN STAUFFER, U. OF I. NEWS BUREAU

The Tibetan plateau—the world’s highest and largest plateau—poses a challenge to the people who live there because of its extreme climate. In a new study, researchers have discovered stone artifacts that suggest that there were more cultural exchanges between those who lived on the plateau and those living on its perimeter.

“The Tibetan plateau has an average elevation of more than 4500 meters, which makes Colorado seem like it is at sea level. It’s amazing that people have been able to occupy this area on and off for at least the last 40,000 years,” said Stanley Ambrose (MME), a professor of anthropology. “Unfortunately, very little research has been done in this big area.”

The plateau covers roughly four times the size of Texas and the researchers were focused on the Holocene period, which began about 11,700 years ago. “Although the world was warmer and wetter, this high-altitude location was arid and largely grassy, making it a challenging place to live in.”

The researchers focused on a region of the plateau that supported a small human population due to its cold, dry climate and reduced oxygen levels. However, this area was prime grazing territory for yaks and gazelles. Previously it was believed that the residents developed unique strategies to survive, including making specialized stone tools and having unique genetic adaptations that helped them adapt to low oxygen conditions.

“These tools were ideal because they could be reconfigured easily for different purposes. They were flexible and versatile, allowing the owners to carry a bag of bladelets that could be then shaped within seconds,” Ambrose said. “Before that, everybody was running around with big knives and spears, which were durable and strong, but weren’t diverse.”

In the present study, the researchers excavated over 700 artifacts by digging through the surface and collecting them from different sedimentary layers. They then dated these tools using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry 14C to confirm their age and composition.

The researchers confirmed that the blades were from the middle-to-late Holocene. Intriguingly, they also discovered that the blades themselves were similar to the ones that had been developed in northern China, suggesting that there was a long-distance cultural exchange between the Tibetan plateau and northern China through the communities that lived on the plateau’s perimeter.

“These artifacts were created from geological materials that were located hundreds of kilometers away, suggesting that there were large social networks that were much bigger than the largest human hunter-gatherer ranges,” Ambrose said. “It also implies that these networks had long-distance interaction and communication.”

The researchers are now interested in expanding the size of the excavations to prove their hypothesis. “Although this is a very small excavation, there is enough to show that there were long-distance interactions. Now we need to look at larger areas and get more samples to see if we can go further back in time,” Ambrose said.

The study “The earliest microblade site 6800 years ago reveals broader social dimension than previous thought at the central high altitude Tibetan plateau” was published in Quaternary Science Reviews and can be found at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108551. It was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Fund of Shandong Province, and the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research program.

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JOURNAL

Quaternary Science Reviews

DOI

10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108551 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

ARTICLE TITLE

The earliest microblade site 6800 years ago reveals broader social dimension than previous thought at the central high altitude Tibetan plateau

 

NYS solar work: Good for climate, but are they good jobs?

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

ITHACA, N.Y. -- New York state solar construction workers – whose numbers are expected to grow rapidly to meet climate goals – are transient, may not receive benefits and are subject to racial disparities in pay, finds a new report from the Climate Jobs Institute (CJI) at Cornell University.

“Exploring the Conditions of the New York Solar Workforce” was funded by the New York State Department of Labor and surveyed more than 260 solar installation and maintenance workers. The exploratory study is the first to focus on workers’ experiences, seeking to bridge gaps in government and industry data that relies on surveys of solar employers.

The authors identified significant issues that they said warrant further study as the state accelerates its buildout of solar infrastructure. They also found a prevalence of paying workers per panel installed, a practice that could incentivize unsafe conditions in the pursuit of productivity; and that more than half of respondents considered stimulant use a problem on New York solar work sites.

“It is essential to make sure that these jobs are not the kind of low-wage, low-quality employment that can exacerbate inequality,” said Avalon Hoek Spaans, assistant director of research at CJI. “Workers’ perspectives are integral to the creation of public policy and programs that protect and uplift the working class of both New York state and the country and will help ensure that the climate transition is just and equitable.”

Solar installations in New York increased by more than 2,000% over the past decade, but at the end of 2023 the state’s capacity (less than 6 gigawatts) was one-tenth of its projected need by 2050, according to the report.

Estimates of the number of New York solar construction workers ranged from 11,500 in 2022 to more than 14,500 in 2023, according to industry and government reports. But accurate counts are difficult, according to CJI, because those reports may include multiple types of employees – also including sales and services, for example – and may double-count people who worked for more than one employer.

Among the workers CJI surveyed – almost exclusively nonunion, full-time workers directly employed by solar companies between December 2021 and September 2023 – more than 40% had at least two solar employers, and nearly a quarter worked for three or four. About two-thirds relocated to New York for solar jobs, mostly with large national companies, and more than 70 said they lived in one of 23 other states, including 53 from as far as California.

Among the report’s other key findings:

• Nearly 60% of the workers surveyed reported that they did not receive benefits. Black and Hispanic workers were more likely than white workers to report not receiving benefits.
• More than 30% of respondents said they were paid per panel installed, rather than as hourly or annual employees.
• Installation workers for utility-scale solar projects were the least likely to be paid an annual salary and less likely to report longer tenures with their main employer.
• White workers paid an annual salary made nearly twice the median rate of their Black and Hispanic counterparts. Black workers were more likely to report receiving payment in cash compared to other workers.
• Black workers were most likely to indicate that they had experienced wage theft while working on a New York state solar project, but workers of color were least likely to formally report wage theft.

For additional information, read this Cornell Chronicle story.

Cornell University has dedicated television and audio studios available for media interviews.

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Uptick in NYC transit assault rate during COVID pandemic; has not returned to pre-pandemic levels despite subway safety plan

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

April 29, 2024-- Has the New York City subway become less safe? This is the question Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health researchers sought to answer in their newest paper investigating rates of complaints to and arrests by the New York City Police Department Transit Bureau. The findings showed that anxieties related to crime on New York City transit rose following NYC’s COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency declaration in 2020, leading to declines in subway ridership.  The results are published in the journal Injury Epidemiology.

The researchers were motivated by news reports indicating heightened concerns for safety when using public transit in New York City following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They aimed to quantify the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on rates of crime within the subway system and to assess whether any changes were then influenced by the Subway Safety Plan, a program implemented by Mayor Eric Adams in February 2022 with stated aims of addressing concerns about safety as well as supporting those experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness. 

Using publicly available data from the City and State of New York for the years 2018 to 2023, the researchers estimated changes in the rates of complaints to and arrests by the NYPD Transit Bureau per 1,000,000 subway riders per month. They also examined changes by the most common complaint and arrest types (assault, harassment, grand larceny, criminal mischief, and theft of services), as well changes in the proportion of arrests by demographic and geographic groups.

“Public transportation has so many public health benefits, including reductions in traffic crashes and air pollution, and improvements in physical health,” said Leah Roberts, data analyst in the Department of Epidemiology, at Columbia Mailman School, and first author. “Not feeling safe when riding the subway is a major threat to equity in transit access. We hoped to understand how safety might have changed with the COVID-19 pandemic and the Subway Safety Plan.”

The results showed that following the COVID-19 pandemic declaration, there was an 84 percent increase in the rate of complaints to the NYPD Transit Bureau per rider, including a 99 percent increase in the rate of complaints for assault and a 125 percent increase in the rate of complaints for harassment, aligning with news media reports of an uptick in subway-related crime. Following the Subway Safety Plan’s enactment, the authors did not find evidence of decreases in complaint rates, though there was a small increase in the rate of arrests for harassment. This finding might suggest that the Subway Safety Plan’s increased police presence has led to stronger enforcement of transit policies, though it’s unclear why this effect was specific to harassment arrests. 

“It’s important to note that the subway remains a relatively low-crime area. Throughout our study period, over 100,000 subway rides occurred on average for every one complaint reported to the NYPD Transit Bureau,” noted Christopher Morrison, PhD, assistant professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman, and senior author. “But there have been significant increases in rates of complaints to police by subway riders, that haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.”

Another notable feature of the authors’ findings was a decrease in the proportion of arrests for individuals racialized as White and the proportion of arrests in the borough of Manhattan following the Subway Safety Plan’s enactment. Because there was not an absolute decrease in arrest rates during this period, this shift may suggest changes in the geographic distribution of transit policing throughout the city, rather than reductions in policing within Manhattan.

“We’d like to better understand the changes we’re seeing in the demographic and geographic composition of individuals arrested. We know that recent statements by the MTA and law enforcement have indicated that they’re pursuing an approach of strong fare enforcement, which they hope will lower rates of more serious crime in the subway system,” stated Morrison, who is also affiliated with the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, Australia. “Though it may take more time for this strategy to have the intended effect, our analysis didn’t find measurable decreases in rates of any complaint or arrest type. We also need to consider potential unintended consequences of this strategy, since we know a larger police presence and stronger enforcement doesn’t make all subway riders feel safer. Other approaches to improving safety on transit, such as wait time reductions and improvements to station cleanliness could have better impacts for public health and public safety.”

Co-authors are Christina Mehranbod, Brady Bushover, Ariana Gobaud, Evan Eschliman, Carolyn Fish, Siddhesh Zadey, and Xiang Gao, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.

This work was supported by the CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (grant R49CE003094) and the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant T32DA031099).

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Founded in 1922, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting New Yorkers, the nation and the world. The Columbia Mailman School is the fourth largest recipient of NIH grants among schools of public health. Its nearly 300 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as preventing infectious and chronic diseases, environmental health, maternal and child health, health policy, climate change and health, and public health preparedness. It is a leader in public health education with more than 1,300 graduate students from 55 nations pursuing a variety of master’s and doctoral degree programs. The Columbia Mailman School is also home to numerous world-renowned research centers, including ICAP and the Center for Infection and Immunity. For more information, please visit www.mailman.columbia.edu.

 

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JOURNAL

Injury Epidemiology

DOI

10.1186/s40621-024-00501-9 

ARTICLE TITLE

Trends in police complaints and arrests on New York City subways, 2018 to 2023: an interrupted time-series analysis

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Apr-2024