Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disturbance, species loss and compensation: Wildfire and grazing effects on the avian community and its food supply in the Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania

An important question in biodiversity studies is whether disturbances in ecosystems will cause a net loss of species or whether such losses can be compensated by replacement of other species. We use two natural disturbances, fire and grazing, to examine the response of bird and arthropod communities in grasslands of Serengeti, Tanzania. Both burning and grazing by migrant ungulates take place at the end of the rains in June–July. We documented the communities before disturbance, then 1, 4 and 20 weeks after disturbance on three replicate plots and compared them with three undisturbed plots. Birds were recorded by observation, arthropods from pitfall, tray trap and sweepnet samples. We expected that as the grass biomass was reduced by either disturbance, bird communities would change with concomitant change in arthropod food abundance. Alternatively, bird communities would change not with the absolute amount of food but with the greater accessibility of food as the grass structure changed from long to short grass. Results showed first that both bird species richness and abundance increased after both types of disturbance, but burnt sites showed a greater increase than that for grazed sites. Second, there was a change in bird species composition with disturbance. The functionally equivalent athi short-toed lark (Calandrella athensis) was replaced by the red-capped lark (Calandrella cinerea). Third, the abundance of most groups of arthropods was lower on disturbed sites than those on undisturbed sites, and the reduction of arthropod numbers was greatest on burnt sites. These results imply that bird abundance did not occur through an increase in arthropod abundance but rather through a change in the grass structure making food more accessible; and the higher predation could have caused the lower arthropod abundance. In addition, some bird species replaced others thus functionally compensating for their loss.
A worldwide taxonomic and distributional synthesis of the genus Oncopagurus Lemaitre, 1966 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Parapaguridae), with descriptions of nine new species

A worldwide taxonomic and distributional synthesis of the deep-water hermit crab genus Oncopagurus Lemaitre, 1996 is presented. This genus, originally defi ned for 10 species is set apart from other Parapaguridae as well as other Paguroidea, by one synapomorphy: the presence of an upwardly curved epistomial spine. This study is based on a large amount of specimens deposited in major museums and collected during deep-sea sampling across the world oceans since the late 1800s, with the bulk of material coming from French campaigns in the Indo-Pacifi c, central and south Pacifi c during the last 40 years. A total of 24 species are recognised in this investigation, nine of which are new and fully described and illustrated. All previously known species are diagnosed or re-described, including fi gures assembled from recent published accounts or newly illustrated, of the most important morphological features useful for identifi cations. Information for each species includes a synonymy (full or abbreviated if a synonymy has recently been published), material examined (type and non-types), variations when signifi cant, colouration when available, habitat or type of housing used, distribution, and remarks on taxonomy and morphological affi nities. Rare colour photographs are included for fi ve species. Species of Oncopagurus range in depth from the Continental Shelf (50 m) to the Continental Rise (2308 m), although they are most commonly found in 50–500 m. Individuals of the majority of species in this genus are minute in size (< 3 mm in shield length), species differ in subtle morphological characters, and often exhibit the same broad morphological variations related to sex and size that has been documented in species of other genera of Parapaguridae. Oncopagurus mironovi Zhadan, 1997, a taxon reported from the Nazca and Sala-y-Gómez Ridges, is considered a junior synonym of the widely distributed O. indicus (Alcock, 1905). The bathymetric and geographic distributions of Oncopagurus species are summarised and briefl y discussed, complemented with a summary table, graph, and map with generalised distribution patterns. The scant phylogenetic knowledge of this genus is summarised.
Culture of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum with different nitrogen sources: Growth, nutrient conversion and biochemical composition

Cultures of the marine diatom Phaeodaetylum trieornutum were grown in nitrate, nitrite, ammonia or urea media. Nitrogen transformation efficiencies were close to 100% in cultures with nitrate, nitrite or urea, with productivities in dry biomass between 2.2 g.l-1 (urea) and 2.8 g.t 1 (nitrate). However growth in ammonia cultures ceased due to a drop in pH of the medium. The biochemical profile was more affected by the growth phase than by the N source. Cellular contents of chlorophylls a and e decreased and the chlorophyll ale ratio increased when cultures entered the stationary phase. Protein and RNA were higher during exponential growth (about 30% and 8% ash free dry weight (AFDW), respectively), but carbo­ hydrates increased up to 220% in the stationary phase. Although significant differences were observed in cellular contents, the biochemical composition (as % AFDW) of the nitrate, nitrite and urea-grown cells was very similar. The highest total fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) contents in the stationary phase were obtained in the urea-grown cells, with an eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) content of 26.8 mg.g- 1 of dry biomass.
Assay of Resveratrol and Derivative Stilbenes in Wines by Direct Injection High Performance Liquid Chromatography

The concentrations of trans -and cis -isomers of four stilbenes produced by grapevines — piceid, resveratrol, resveratrol dehydrodimer, and pterostilbene — were determined in wines from Burgundy and Switzerland. Analyses were carried out by direct injection high performance liquid chromatography. All red wines studied contained high levels of piceid and resveratrol, but no pterostilbene. Resveratrol dehydrodimer was also detected. It is the first time that this compound is reported as a constituent of wine.
Using a continuous riverscape survey to examine the effects of the spatial structure of functional habitats on fish distribution

To fill the gap between microhabitat and landscape scale habitat models for freshwater fish, it is becoming increasingly common practice to adopt a continuous view of riverscapes, thus allowing a better understanding of the processes in place at the river management level (segments of 1–100 km). The aim of this study was to test the effects of the spatial structure of habitat on fish distribution at this scale. Inferred habitat relationships were generated using spatial metrics adapted from landscape ecology. These were calculated for two species of multi-habitat cyprinid fish in a 25-km long segment of the Seine River. A spatially continuous survey was then designed to acquire fish sampling data relating to the riverscape. Explanatory models were devised to quantify the extent to which environmental and spatial variables could describe fish distribution patterns. Spatially continuous sampling of feeding habitats at dawn and dusk provided greater understanding of the spatial distribution of common barbel (Barbus barbus, L.) and nase (Chondrostoma nasus, L.). Fish observations were aggregated longitudinally in neighboring feeding habitat patches, with the highest abundance found in patches with the best local conditions. The species were present for large feeding patches, as well as for a higher proximity index for those patches. This result emphasized the importance of the supplementation of feeding habitats. By quantifying spatial habitat relationships using spatial metrics, it was possible to identify the best suited configuration of functional habitats to the needs of shoals. At present, most conservation work focuses on restoring local habitats. There is also growing interest in large-scale fish management, which has been encouraged by the advent of metapopulation theory. This study highlights the need for greater work at a third, intermediate scale that is no less significant: restoring daily and seasonal movements between functional habitats.
Behaviour and ecology of monotremes

The extant monotremes share a number of general features that must reflect their common ancestor and constrain their ecology and behaviour. All of the extant monotremes have diets which consist principally of invertebrates: platypuses feed mainly on benthic macroinvertebrates, long-beaked echidnas feed on invertebrates in the soil, leaf litter and decaying logs, while short-beaked echidnas, although principally feeding on ants and termites, also eat a range of other soil invertebrates. Platypuses and long-beaked echidnas are predominantly nocturnal, and although the shortbeaked echidnas are often seen during the day, the majority of their activity also occurs during the night. The long-beaked echidnas, apart from a possible recent population in the Kimberley region in north-west Australia, are restricted to New Guinea, and platypuses occur in freshwater environments in eastern Australia, but short-beaked echidnas occur throughout Australia, and in New Guinea. Monotremes are solitary and females have well established home ranges, while males have larger home ranges and compete for matings. All of the monotremes have very large testes, indicating strong competition between males, and adult males have a crural or femoral gland connected by a duct to a spur on the ankle. The glands increase in size during the breeding season and are clearly important in breeding behavior. The platypus and short-beaked echidnas are seasonal breeders but the data for longbeaked echidnas are equivocal. Gestation is very short compared with lactation, and late in the gestation period a pregnant female echidna will enter a nursery burrow to lay her single egg, while the female platypus lays two eggs in her nest or burrow. The eggs are incubated in the female’s pouch and hatch after 10 – 11 days. The lactation period for platypuses is about 19 weeks, but for echidnas there are large differences between populations from different parts of Australia: in eastern Australian echidnas the lactation period may be as little as 20 weeks, and in Western Australian and Kangaroo Island as much as 30 weeks. There are also differences in other aspects of maternal care between these echidna populations. All the monotremes have low metabolic rates, but echidna metabolic rates are extremely low, and short-beaked echidnas in cooler areas show long periods of hibernation. This low energy way of life makes the possession of a large, energetically expensive brain hard to explain, and it is possible that their behaviour, particularly their social behaviour, is more complex than previously thought.
Colonization of the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus in a large number of Canadian corn plants.

Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus is a nitrogen-fixing bacterium originally found in sugarcane. In this report, we studied colonization of this bacterium in corn (Zea mays) using 17 inbred grain corn lines and 10 sweet corn varieties. Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus was inoculated to roots of different corn plants. Thirty days after inoculation, the presence of the bacterium in plant tissues was evaluated via polymerase chain reaction using specific primers. The research showed that it was possible to introduce G. diazotrophicus into a large number of corn genotypes. The bacterium was detected in 11 grain corn lines and 9 sweet corn varieties and the overall colonization in corn was 74.1%. The bacterium was detected in stems and leaves from the primary site of inoculation, indicating the bacterium could move to other organs and the bacterium showed a positive adaptation to the new host plant. The bacterium population size in colonized plants ranged from 200 to 3000 per fresh gram of tissues. Some grain an.
Frequency of Care Fragmentation and Its Impact on Outcomes in Acute and Chronic Pancreatitis in a Nationally Representative Sample

Patients hospitalized with acute and chronic pancreatitis have high hospital readmission rates. Care fragmentation occurs when patients are readmitted to a different hospital. There are limited data on the frequency of care fragmentation in these disorders and its impact on outcomes. This study evaluated the rate and predictors of care fragmentation in patients hospitalized with acute and chronic pancreatitis and the impact of care fragmentation on mortality, healthcare costs, and future readmissions. Objectives Hospitalized patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis (AP and CP) are prone to frequent readmissions to different hospitals. The rate of care fragmentation and its impact on important outcomes are unknown. The aims of this study were to evaluate the rate and predictors of care fragmentation in patients hospitalized with AP and CP using a nationally representative sample, and to analyze the impact of care fragmentation on mortality, cost, and hospital readmissions. Methods We identified all adult hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of AP or CP in the 2010–2014 National Readmissions Database, which captures statewide readmissions. We calculated 30- and 90-day readmission and care fragmentation rates. Readmission to a nonindex hospital was considered care fragmentation. Logistic regression was used to determine hospital and patient factors independently associated with 30-day care fragmentation. Patients readmitted within 30 days were followed for 60 days postdischarge from the first readmission. Mortality during the first readmission, hospitalization costs, and rates of 60-day readmission were compared between those with and without care fragmentation. Results There were 479,427 admissions with AP and 25,513 with CP. The rates of 30- and 90-day readmissions were 13.5% and 22.9% for AP and 26.9% and 44.7%% for CP. The rates of 30- and 90-day care fragmentation were 28% and 32% for AP and 33% and 38% for CP. Younger age (younger than 45 y), male patients, length of stay <5 days, ≥4 Elixhauser comorbidities, and self-pay or Medicaid insurance were associated with increased risk of 30-day care fragmentation. Large hospital size, routine discharge, and metropolitan location were associated with lower risk. Patients who had the first readmission to a nonindex hospital had a higher mortality (2% vs 1.6%, P = 0.005), length of stay (6.5 vs 5.6 days, P < 0.0001), mean hospitalization cost ($16,731 vs $13,368, P < 0.0001), and 60-day readmission (48.4% vs 42.9%) compared with those readmitted to the index hospital. Conclusions In patients with AP and CP, one-third of 90-day readmissions occur at a nonindex hospital. Care fragmentation is associated with increased mortality, readmissions, and cost of care.
Exploiting pathogens and their impact on fitness costs to manage the evolution of resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis

1. Sustainable insect control requires effective management of the evolution of resistance to pesticides. Resistance management may ultimately depend on a range of diverse strategies. We explored how combining the use of a pathogen with an integrated pest management (IPM)-compatible pesticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), could affect the evolution of resistance. 2. We used fitness and laboratory selection experiments to explore whether the use of a nucleopolyhedrovirus could alter the rate of evolution of resistance to a Bt toxin. These results were incorporated into simulation modelling to investigate how pathogens could best be exploited in resistance management. 3. Simultaneous exposure to virus and Bt toxin (mixed sprays) reduced the fitness of Bt-resistant insects compared with treatments with toxin alone. Moreover, Bt resistance incurred additional fitness costs, in terms of egg fertility, in the presence of virus. 4. In a selection experiment with caged insects, spraying toxin-free refugia with virus slowed the evolution of resistance relative to unsprayed refugia, confirming the results of two fitness experiments that indicated that virus would increase the fitness costs of resistance. The impact of virus-mediated costs was explored further in simulation models. 5. Simulations showed that large virus-mediated fitness costs (a reduction in fecundity of 35%) with partially dominant inheritance could lead to effective resistance management with a Bt/virus rotation. Modest fitness costs could, however, markedly improve a rotation strategy with a pathogen that could replicate post-application. 6. Synthesis and applications. Mixed sprays of virus and resistance-prone pesticides such as Bt have the potential to slow the evolution of resistance within an integrated pest management context. However, the efficacy of mixed-spray strategies depends upon precise dosages and/or the presence of a spray-free refuge. In contrast, rotations of pesticides with pathogens that could replicate after application slow the evolution of resistance over a wider range of conditions and control insects cost-effectively. This efficacy is dependent on the co-occurrence of persistent pathogen and pesticide reducing the relative fitness of resistant individuals.
Evolutionary history of the burnet moth genus Zygaena Fabricius, 1775 (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data: phylogeny, host–plant association, wing pattern evolution and historical biogeography

Burnet moths of the genus Zygaena are a striking group of primarily diurnal Lepidoptera displaying an exceptional phenotypic plasticity. Previous attempts to elucidate the phylogenetic history of the group had been confounded by a perplexing pattern of characters or insufficient taxon sampling. In the present study, we infer a phylogeny of the genus Zygaena by analysing 5.4 kb of their nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Eighty-four of the 98 currently recognized species in this genus are considered, including representatives of all described species groups. RNA coding sequences are aligned with reference to zygaenoid moth specific secondary structure models of corresponding molecules. We conduct phylogenetic analyses within a Bayesian framework applying partition specific substitution parameters; covariation of paired sites in RNA gene sequences is accommodated by using doublet substitution models. The molecular data reveal that a considerable number of currently recognized species groups in Zygaena are not monophyletic. The traditional subgeneric classification proves to be artificial as well; Agrumenia and Zygaena (sensu stricto) are polyphyletic. Only the subgenus Mesembrynus can be confirmed as a monophyletic species cluster. Optimization of larval host–plant associations and forewing patterns on sampled trees of the Bayesian analyses suggest convergent evolution of similar wing pattern types in distantly related species clusters and a shift from cyanogenic to acyanogenic host-plants. The phylogenetic results challenge the classic assumption that early species diversification in Zygaena took place in the Irano–Turkestanian region. Rather, the molecular data point to the western Mediterranean area as the geographical origin of the group and imply a subsequent colonization of the Middle East and Central Asia. We discuss the apparently convergent evolution of similar wing patterns in context with the chemical defence system of burnet moths and suggest a species group concept for the genus Zygaena that accounts for the recent findings. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 92, 501–520.
DEFINITION AND DIAGNOSIS OF A NEW TRIBE OF SIGMODONTINE RODENTS (CRICETIDAE: SIGMODONTINAE), AND A REVISED CLASSIFICATION OF THE SUBFAMILY

A new tribe of sigmodontine rodents is formally defined and diagnosed. The tribe contains the extant genera Abrothrix (including Chroeomys), Chelemys, Geoxus, Pearsonomys, and Notiomys, a group of taxa distributed in the central and southern Andes and lowlands both east and west of the cordillera. The new tribe presents a unique combination of characters including nasals and premaxilla usually projected anterior to the incisors, moderately trumpeted; zygomatic plate with upper free border reduced or obsolete; and third upper molar reduced and sub-cylindrical in out-line with an internal ring-like enamel fossette. Molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that Abrothrix is sister to a clade containing the remaining genera of the new tribe.
Anguillicoloides crassus infection of European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.), in inland waters of Estonia: history of introduction, prevalence and intensity.

Summary Eel fishery in Estonian inland waters depends entirely on the stocking of glass eels or pre-grown (farmed) eels. Via importation of live eels of 20–30 cm length the non-indigenous swimbladder nematode Anguillicoloides crassus was probably introduced via Germany into Lake Vortsjarv in 1988, and has since spread to many inland waters of Estonia. In 1992, the parasite was found in eel caught from Lake Vortsjarv. Between 1992 and 2002 and additionally in 2008, we examined in total 870 eels from Lake Vortsjarv (270 km2) and in 2008, 63 eels from three small lakes for adult A. crassus. The aim of the study was to obtain information on the variation of A. crassus infection in eels in Estonian lakes, to determine the temporal dynamics of prevalence and intensity of infection, and to establish a relationship between the length of host and intensity of infection in the eels in Lake Vortsjarv. There appeared to be a pronounced variation in prevalences of infected eels (from 3.7% to 100%) between the four investigated lakes. However, in Lake Vortsjarv, the prevalence of adult A. crassus infection remained stable (mean about 65%) for many years. The average number of nematode per infected eel (mean intensity) ranged from 12.6 ± 2.5 in 1993 to 4.0 ± 0.6 in 1999 in Lake Vortsjarv, while it was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) in the period 1992–1998 compared to 1999–2002 and 2008. The mean number of parasites per swimbladder was not related to eel length and no statistical difference was found in the condition factor of infected and non-infected eels. Although under normal environmental conditions A. crassus has not caused serious disease problems to eels in the study area, high intensity of parasite infection may contribute to eel kills due to oxygen deficiency in winter under the ice in Lake Vortsjarv.
Mercury in Sharp-Tailed Sparrows Breeding in Coastal Wetlands

Current levels of anthropogenic mercury (Hg) in the environment can cause harm to humans and wildlife. Well-documented negative effects on birds are described, but there is presently limited information for passerine exposure to mercury. Some investigations have used insect-eating birds as potential bioindicators of mercury exposure. However, our understanding of methlymercury (MeHg) availability to birds in coastal wetlands, tidal systems that may be especially conducive to Hg methylation, remains poor. Two species of sharp-tailed sparrow breed in coastal wetlands in eastern North America and are suitable candidate indicators for contaminants in these habitats. We measured blood Hg from breeding Saltmarsh (Ammodramus caudacutus) and Nelson’s (Ammodramus nelsoni) sharp-tailed sparrows in five Maine salt marshes to determine if these species could be used to assess the extent of MeHg availability in salt marshes. Blood Hg for both species differed among the five marshes with concordance between species and.