Search results for "Education"

Abundance–variance and abundance–occupancy relationships in a marine host–parasite system: The importance of taxonomy and ecology of transmission

2011

Abundance-occupancy and abundance-variance relationships are two of the most general macroecological patterns capturing essential fundamentals of the structuring of species distributions and are widely documented for free-living animal and plant species populations at different spatial scales. However, empirical data for parasites have been gathered using appropriate sampling designs only recently. We performed analyses across species of the variation in infection parameters and patterns of aggregation of the most widespread parasites in the marine sparid fish Boops boops across seven localities of two marine biogeographical regions, the North East Atlantic and the Mediterranean. We used a …

Spatial dynamics of an invasive bird species assessed using robust design occupancy analysis: the case of the Eurasian collared dove ( Streptopelia d…

2007

Aim  The study of the spatial dynamics of invasive species is a key issue in invasion ecology. While mathematical models are useful for predicting the extent of population expansions, they are not suitable for measuring and characterizing spatial patterns of invasion unless the probability of detection is homogeneous across the distribution range. Here, we apply recently developed statistical approaches incorporating detection uncertainty to characterize the spatial dynamics of an invasive bird species, the Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto). Location  France. Methods  Data on presence/absence of doves were recorded from 1996 to 2004 over 1045 grid cells (28 × 20 km) covering th…

Habitat fragmentation and anthropogenic factors affect wildcat Felis silvestris silvestris occupancy and detectability on Mt Etna

2019

International audience; Knowledge of patterns of occupancy is crucial for planning sound biological management and for identifying areas which require paramount conservation attention. The European wildcat Felis silvestris is an elusive carnivore and is classified as ‘least concern' on the IUCN red list, but with a decreasing population trend in some areas. Sicily hosts a peculiar wildcat population, which deserves conservation and management actions, due to its isolation from the mainland. Patterns of occupancy for wildcats are unknown in Italy, and especially in Sicily. We aimed to identify which ecological drivers determined wildcat occurrence on Mt Etna and to provide conservation actio…

Temperature-associated habitat selection in a cold-water marine fish.

2015

1. Habitat selection is a complex process, which involves behavioural decisions guided by the multiple needs and constraints faced by individuals. Climate-induced changes in environmental conditions may alter those trade-offs and resulting habitat use patterns. 2. In this study, we investigated the effect of sea temperature on habitat selection and habitat use of acoustically tagged Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) at the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. 3. Significant relationships between ocean temperature and habitat selection and use were found. Under favourable sea temperature thresholds (<16 °C), cod selected vegetated habitats, such as eelgrass and macroalgae beds, available in shallow areas. S…

Antifungal and antimycotoxigenic activity of allyl isothiocyanate on barley under different storage conditions

2019

Abstract The present study evaluated the efficacy of allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) in avoiding the growth of Penicillium verrucosum and consequent ochratoxin A (OTA) production in barley during storage for 90 d. Environmental humidity was controlled using saturated salt solutions and moisture content (MC) of the grain was analyzed. Moreover, the residual concentration of AITC on stored barley was also examined. Samples with 20.6% of MC presented the highest absorption of AITC with levels ranging from 75 to 4 mg/kg at day 1 and 90, respectively. The population of P. verrucosum was significantly reduced after 24 h of AITC exposure. After 90 d, the non-treated control group reached a fungal popu…

Cyclic hantavirus epidemics in humans--predicted by rodent host dynamics.

2009

Wildlife-originated zoonotic diseases are a major contributor to emerging infectious diseases. Hantaviruses cause thousands of human disease cases annually worldwide, and understanding and predicting human hantavirus epidemics still poses unsolved challenges. Here we studied the three-level relationships between the human disease nephropathia epidemica (NE), its etiological agent Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) and the rodent host of the virus, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). A large and long-term data set (14 years, 2583 human NE cases and 4751 trapped bank voles) indicates that the number of human infections shows both seasonal and multi-annual fluctuations, is influenced by the phase of vole…

Ecdysone and ecdysterone in physogastric termite queens and eggs of Macrotermes bellicosus and Macrotermes subhyalinus

1978

Abstract Physogastric queens and freshly laid eggs of two species of termites ( Macrotermes bellicosus and Macrotermes subhyalinus ) are found to contain high levels of ecdysteroids (molting hormones) as indicated by radioimmunoassay and Musca bioassay. Ecdysteroids are accumulated in the ovaries of the queen and then stored in the eggs since newly laid eggs contain ecdysteroid concentrations similar to those found in the ovaries. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry demonstrates that ecdysone (α-ecdysone) as well as ecdysterone (β-ecdysone) are present in queen ovaries and in eggs and that ecdysone is quantitatively the more important ecdysteroid in both ovary and eggs.

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) predation on a coastal perch (Perca fluviatilis) population: estimated effects based on PIT tag mark-recapture experi…

2020

Abstract The number of cormorants has rapidly increased in the northernmost Baltic Sea. In 2018, 50 km × 50 km ICES catch rectangle 55H1 had 3140 breeding pairs. To estimate the predation effect of cormorants on perch populations, we Passive Integrated Tags tagged 1977 perch and 9.9% of tags were found. The median instantaneous cormorant-induced mortality during the breeding time, with consumption by non-breeding individuals, was estimated at 0.23 and at 0.35 during the whole residing period. We estimated with a yeild-per-recruit model that the long-term maximum loss of perch yield of tagged sub-population would be at 80% probability interval 32–67%, and when extended to the entire 55H1, 10…

2019

The growing grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) population in the Baltic Sea has created conflicts with local fisheries, comparable to similar emerging problems worldwide. Adequate information on the foraging habits is a requirement for responsible management of the seal population. We investigated the applicability of available dietary assessment methods by comparing morphological analysis and DNA metabarcoding of gut contents (short-term diet; n = 129/125 seals, respectively), and tissue chemical markers i.e. fatty acid (FA) profiles of blubber and stable isotopes (SIs) of liver and muscle (mid- or long-term diet; n = 108 seals for the FA and SI markers). The methods provided complementary inf…

How Long Is Too Long in Contemporary Peer Review? Perspectives from Authors Publishing in Conservation Biology Journals

2015

Delays in peer reviewed publication may have consequences for both assessment of scientific prowess in academics as well as communication of important information to the knowledge receptor community. We present an analysis on the perspectives of authors publishing in conservation biology journals regarding their opinions on the importance of speed in peer-review as well as how to improve review times. Authors were invited to take part in an online questionnaire, of which the data was subjected to both qualitative (open coding, categorizing) and quantitative analyses (generalized linear models). We received 637 responses to a total of 6,547 e-mail invitations sent. Peer-review speed was gene…