bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long‐term ecological data for conservation: Range change in the black‐billed capercaillie (Tetrao urogalloides) in northeast China (1970s–2070s)
Authors: Yang Li , Zhang Chao , Chen Minhao , Li Jingxin , Yang Lei , Huo Zhaomin , Ahmad Shahid , Luan Xiaofeng 
Published: March 2018

AbstractLong‐term ecological data can be an effective tool to help ecologists integrate future projections with historical contexts and provide unique insights into the long‐term dynamics of endangered species. However, hampered by data limitations, including incomplete and spatially biased data, relatively few studies have used multidecadal datasets or have examined changes in biogeography from a historical perspective. The black‐billed capercaillie (Tetrao urogalloides) is a large capercaillie (classified as Least Concern [LC] on the IUCN red list) that has undergone a dramatic decline in population during the late 20th century and is considered endangered. Its conservation status is pessimistic, and the species requires immediate protection. Therefore, we supplemented a historical dataset to identify changes in this bird's range and population in northeast China over the long term. The study area spanned Heilongjiang Province, Jilin Province, and the northeast corner of Inner Mongolia in northeast China. We integrated an ecological niche model (BIOMOD2) with long‐term ecological data on this species to estimate the magnitude of change in distribution over time. Our results revealed a 35.25% reduction in the current distribution of this species compared to their potential distribution in the 1970s. This decline is expected to continue under climate change. For example, the future range loss was estimated to be 38.79 ± 0.22% (8.64–90.19%), and the actual state could be worse, because the baseline range of the model was greater than the real range in the 2000s, showing a 12.39% overestimation. To overcome this poor outlook, a conservation strategy should be established in sensitive areas, including the southwestern Greater Khingan Mountains and northern Lesser Khingan Mountains. Actions that should be considered include field investigations, establishing a monitor network, designing ecological corridors, and cooperating with local inhabitants, governments, and conservation biologists to improve the conservation of the black‐billed capercaillie.
Characterizing the contribution of plasticity and genetic differentiation to community‐level trait responses to environmental change
Authors: Lajoie Geneviève , Vellend Mark 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThe match between functional trait variation in communities and environmental gradients is maintained by three processes: phenotypic plasticity and genetic differentiation (intraspecific processes), and species turnover (interspecific). Recently, evidence has emerged suggesting that intraspecific variation might have a potentially large role in driving functional community composition and response to environmental change. However, empirical evidence quantifying the respective importance of phenotypic plasticity and genetic differentiation relative to species turnover is still lacking. We performed a reciprocal transplant experiment using a common herbaceous plant species (Oxalis montana) among low‐, mid‐, and high‐elevation sites to first quantify the contributions of plasticity and genetic differentiation in driving intraspecific variation in three traits: height, specific leaf area, and leaf area. We next compared the contributions of these intraspecific drivers of community trait–environment matching to that of species turnover, which had been previously assessed along the same elevational gradient. Plasticity was the dominant driver of intraspecific trait variation across elevation in all traits, with only a small contribution of genetic differentiation among populations. Local adaptation was not detected to a major extent along the gradient. Fitness components were greatest in O. montana plants with trait values closest to the local community‐weighted means, thus supporting the common assumption that community‐weighted mean trait values represent selective optima. Our results suggest that community‐level trait responses to ongoing climate change should be mostly mediated by species turnover, even at the small spatial scale of our study, with an especially small contribution of evolutionary adaptation within species.
Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on rodent damage in an Inner Mongolian steppe
Authors: Liu Yinzhan , Ma Gaigai , Zan Zhiman , Chen Anqun , Miao Yuan , Wang Dong , Miao Renhui 
Published: March 2018

AbstractRodent damage is a serious threat to sustainable management of grassland. The effects of nitrogen (N) deposition and grassland management on rodent damage have been scarcely studied. Here, we reported the effects of 2 years of N addition and mowing on burrow density and damage area of Citellus dauricus in a semiarid steppe in Inner Mongolia. N addition significantly aggravated, while mowing alleviated rodent damage in the grassland under study. Burrow density and damage area increased 2.8‐fold and 4.7‐fold, in N addition plots compared to the ambient N addition treatment, respectively. Conversely, mowing decreased burrow density and damage area by 75.9% and 14.5%, respectively, compared to no mowing plots. Observed changes in rodent damage were mainly due to variations in plant community cover, height, and aboveground net primary productivity. Our findings demonstrate that N addition and mowing can affect the rodent density and activity in grassland, suggesting that the effects of a changing atmospheric composition and land use on rodent damage must be considered in order to achieve better grassland management.
Size‐assortative choice and mate availability influences hybridization between red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans)
Authors: Hinton Joseph W. , Gittleman John L. , van Manen Frank T. , Chamberlain Michael J. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractAnthropogenic hybridization of historically isolated taxa has become a primary conservation challenge for many imperiled species. Indeed, hybridization between red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) poses a significant challenge to red wolf recovery. We considered seven hypotheses to assess factors influencing hybridization between red wolves and coyotes via pair‐bonding between the two species. Because long‐term monogamy and defense of all‐purpose territories are core characteristics of both species, mate choice has long‐term consequences. Therefore, red wolves may choose similar‐sized mates to acquire partners that behave similarly to themselves in the use of space and diet. We observed multiple factors influencing breeding pair formation by red wolves and found that most wolves paired with similar‐sized conspecifics and wolves that formed congeneric pairs with nonwolves (coyotes and hybrids) were mostly female wolves, the smaller of the two sexes. Additionally, we observed that lower red wolf abundance relative to nonwolves and the absence of helpers increased the probability that wolves consorted with nonwolves. However, successful pairings between red wolves and nonwolves were associated with wolves that maintained small home ranges. Behaviors associated with territoriality are energetically demanding and behaviors (e.g., aggressive interactions, foraging, and space use) involved in maintaining territories are influenced by body size. Consequently, we propose the hypothesis that size disparities between consorting red wolves and coyotes influence positive assortative mating and may represent a reproductive barrier between the two species. We offer that it may be possible to maintain wild populations of red wolves in the presence of coyotes if management strategies increase red wolf abundance on the landscape by mitigating key threats, such as human‐caused mortality and hybridization with coyotes. Increasing red wolf abundance would likely restore selection pressures that increase mean body and home‐range sizes of red wolves and decrease hybridization rates via reduced occurrence of congeneric pairs.
IncreasedDNAtyping success for feces and feathers of capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and black grouse (Tetrao tetrix)
Authors: Vallant Stephanie , Niederstätter Harald , Berger Burkhard , Lentner Reinhard , Parson Walther 
Published: March 2018

AbstractNoninvasive sampling, for example, of droppings or feathers, is a promising approach for molecular genetic studies on endangered and elusive animal species. Yet, such specimens are known for containing only minute amounts ofDNA, resulting in lower typing success rates relative to analyses on fresh tissues such as muscle or blood. Furthermore, artefactual signals as well as contamination are more likely to occur whenDNAis limited. To increase the reliability ofDNAtyping from noninvasive samples, optimizedDNAextraction and polymerase chain reaction protocols were developed, taking advantage of developments in the forensic field aiming at successful molecular genetic analysis ofDNAtemplates being low in quality and quantity. In the framework of an extensive monitoring project on population dynamics of capercaillie and black grouse in the Tyrolean Alps, feces samples and molted feathers from both species were collected. On a subset comprising about 200 specimens of either species, eight polymorphic short tandem repeat (STR) markers were analyzed to test these improved protocols. Besides optimizingDNAyields, both lowered sample consumption and reduced hands‐on time were achieved, and the rates of informative profiles amounted to 90.7% for capercaillie and 92.4% for black grouse. Similarly, high success rates had not been achieved in earlier studies and demonstrate the benefit of the improved methodology, which should be easily adaptable for use on animal species other than those studied here. TheSTRgenotypes were not only powerful enough to discriminate among unrelated birds but also appeared fit for telling apart closely related animals, as indicated by Pi and Pisibvalues. The software package allelematch aided analysis of genotypes featuring possible dropout and drop‐in effects. Finally, a comparison between molecular genetic and morphology‐based species‐of‐origin determination revealed a high degree of concordance.
Reduction and recovery of keystone predation pressure after disease‐related mass mortality
Authors: Moritsch Monica M. , Raimondi Peter T. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractDisturbances such as disease can reshape communities through interruption of ecological interactions. Changes to population demographics alter how effectively a species performs its ecological role. While a population may recover in density, this may not translate to recovery of ecological function. In 2013, a sea star wasting syndrome outbreak caused mass mortality of the keystone predatorPisaster ochraceuson the North American Pacific coast. We analyzed sea star counts, biomass, size distributions, and recruitment from long‐term intertidal monitoring sites from San Diego to Alaska to assess regional trends in sea star recovery following the outbreak. Recruitment, an indicator of population recovery, has been spatially patchy and varied within and among regions of the coast. Despite sea star counts approaching predisease numbers, sea star biomass, a measure of predation potential on the musselMytilus californianus, has remained low. This indicates that post‐outbreak populations have not regained their full predation pressure. The regional variability in percent of recovering sites suggested differences in factors promoting sea star recovery between regions but did not show consistent patterns in postoutbreak recruitment on a coast‐wide scale. These results shape predictions of where changes in community composition are likely to occur in years following the disease outbreak and provide insight into how populations of keystone species resume their ecological roles following mortality‐inducing disturbances.
The approach–avoidance dilemma at the heart of group‐based support: Evidence that group identification increases willingness to seek support at the same time that identity‐based support threat reduces it
Authors: Butler Tamara L. , McKimmie Blake M. , Haslam S. Alexander 
Published: March 2018

AbstractDespite the benefits of shared group membership, group members often experience an approach–avoidance dilemma when seeking support. At the same time that group members’ willingness to seek support is increased by the positive implications of group identification (the approach hypothesis), it is reduced by negative implications, including the capacity for support to threaten their standing in the group (the avoidance hypothesis). As this dilemma predicts, we find evidence that as participants’ group identification increases, their willingness to seek support increases, but that this willingness is simultaneously reduced by increased identity‐based support threat (Study 1, N = 125; Study 2, N = 161). Furthermore, manipulated support threat decreases willingness to seek support. In a team‐based game (Study 3, N = 117), support threat is reduced when group norms encourage support‐seeking, leading to increases in support‐seeking behavior through increases in willingness to seek support, as predicted by the avoidance‐reduction hypothesis. Implications for strategies to promote effective social support in intragroup contexts are discussed.
Geomorphic influences on the distribution and accumulation of pyrogenic carbon (PyC) following a low severity wildfire in northern New Mexico
Authors: Galanter Amy , Cadol Daniel , Lohse Kathleen 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThe distribution, transport, and accumulation of wildfire‐generated pyrogenic carbon (PyC) has important consequences for contaminant transport and carbon cycling, but a conceptual model for PyC accumulation and loss that includes geomorphic processes is lacking. In this study we quantified PyC concentration in soil samples collected from the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico before and after the 2013 Thompson Ridge (TR) fire, and developed a conceptual model describing PyC redistribution. Pre‐fire samples were fortuitously collected 4 years before the TR burn and post‐fire samples were collected at the same locations 15 months following the TR fire. Samples were collected from the O and A horizon, with sites representing a range of slope angle, aspect, burn severity, and geomorphic setting. PyC was determined by a modified chemo‐thermal oxidation method to compare PyC to total organic carbon (TOC). The mean PyC/TOC ratio was significantly higher post‐fire than pre‐fire (0.14 vs 0.12), indicating increased PyC sequestration. O horizon PyC concentrations were more variable and more responsive to fire than the A horizon. Soil horizon, watershed, and geomorphic setting proved to be the most influential factors in predicting PyC concentration changes. PyC concentrations increased most on hillslopes and in low‐severity burn areas, suggesting higher rates of PyC production or post‐fire accumulation. Burn patchiness appears to facilitate PyC accumulation, with lower severity patches trapping PyC mobilized from high severity patches. While PyC content had greater point scale variance following the fire, the fire also homogenized pre‐fire PyC differences between soil horizons and among watersheds within the burn perimeter, differences that appear to develop over time between fires. The O horizon is a larger sink for PyC in the short term following fire, but based on pre‐fire concentrations the A horizon appears to be a more stable sink for PyC. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis of aluminum ethylphenylphosphinate flame retardant and its application in epoxy resin
Authors: Yang Jian‐Wei , Wang Zheng‐Zhou 
Published: March 2018

SummaryA novel flame retardant additive, aluminum ethylphenylphosphinate (AEPP), was synthesized from diethyl phenylphosphonite and aluminum chloride hexahydrate, and characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, and 31P NMR. AEPP was added into diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin (EP) cured by bisphenol A‐formaldehyde novolac resin. The flame retardancy of the cured EP was investigated by limited oxygen index, UL 94 test, and cone calorimeter test. The results revealed that the EP composite containing 15% AEPP had a limited oxygen index value of 28.2% with a UL 94 V‐0 rating. The incorporation of AEPP effectively decreased the peak heat release rate and the total heat release in cone calorimeter test analysis. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that the introduction of AEPP benefited to the formation of a smooth and continuous char layer during combustion of the flame retarded EP. The thermogravimetric analysis results indicated that the incorporation of AEPP promoted the initial decomposition of EP matrix, but AEPP/EP composites had a higher char yield at high temperatures. Moreover, the flexural properties of the flame retarded EP composites were studied.
Techniques for the recovery of volatile aroma compounds from biochemical broth: A review
Authors: Lukin Ilya , Merz Juliane , Schembecker Gerhard 
Published: March 2018

AbstractFlavours, fragrances, or aromas are valuable chemicals, with a broad range of industrial applications. The consumer's preference for ‘naturally’ manufactured aromas drives the development of biochemical production, which requires suitable product recovery. In this study, different industrially established recovery techniques, their advantages and limitations, and their possible application for aroma recovery from crude fermentation broth are reviewed. Among several techniques discussed, absorption, adsorption, and pervaporation appear to be particularly suitable for the recovery of aromas from highly diluted biochemical mixtures.
The antibacterial effect of whey protein–alginate coating incorporated with the lactoperoxidase system on chicken thigh meat
Authors: Molayi Roghayeh , Ehsani Ali , Yousefi Mohammad 
Published: March 2018

AbstractNowadays, the environmental problems due to the use of synthetic films and packages have caused the production of natural edible coatings or films. The aim of this study was to produce an edible whey protein–alginate coating with different concentrations of lactoperoxidase system to control the microbial load and increase the shelf life of chicken thigh meat stored in refrigerated condition (4 ± 1°C). So, after the provision of the alginate–whey protein coating incorporated with the lactoperoxidase system (at concentrations of 2%, 4%, and 6% in alginate–whey protein solution), microbial experiments were conducted for the period of 8 days. Three batches of organisms, including total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in samples, were tested by culturing in appropriate conditions. Results indicated that the coating had a substantial inhibitory effect on all lots. Also, the antimicrobial activity of coating increased with increase in lactoperoxidase system concentration in alginate–whey protein coating.
Ductile shearing and LA‐ICP MS zircon U–Pb dating of Sa'erqiaoke ductile shear belt in the Bogda orogen: Constraints on the process of mountain building of eastern Tianshan
Authors: Lei Wanshan , Guo Junfeng , Chen Danli , Chu Jianpeng , Li Yong 
Published: March 2018

The relationship between collision orogeny and post‐orogeny tectonism remains to be a weakness of the present orogenic belt research. An E—W‐trending ductile shear zone exposed along the Bogda Mountain of the Eastern Tianshan Orogenic Belt (ETOB) has spatiotemporal correlation with the Kelameili ophiolite belt and offers important evidence for research on the evolution of the ETOB. These ductile shear belts exposed in the eastern Sa'erqiaoke display that the low greenschist facies metamorphism was followed by north‐eastward thrusting and sinistral strike‐slip shearing. LA‐ICP MS zircon U–Pb ages of the mylonitic quartz schist in Sa'erqiaoke structure section range from 226 to 1458 Ma, four old zircons with ages of 832.2, 1029.2, 1240.5, and 1458.2 Ma possess round‐shaped grains and core–mantle texture, which suggest that its protolith has a detritic and metamorphic origin. The major age peak ranges from 443.3 to 466.8 Ma, with weighted age of 452.9 ± 5.4 (MSWD = 0.62, N = 13), corresponding to the early Palaeozoic Harlic island arc magmatism. Two young metamorphic zircons with ages of 247.2 and 226 Ma could represent the time of ductile shearing, which are consistent with the final termination of the ETOB. Two weighted ages of 303.8 ± 3.4 (MSWD = 0.12, N = 16) and 305.2 ± 2.4 (MSWD = 0.46, N = 32) from Nawakuduke mylonitic belts are coeval with post‐collision A‐type granite of the Kelameili suture, which suggest that the ductile shearing should be later than the closure of the Kelameili Ocean. Based on the synthesis of voluminous evidences, we propose that the Kelameili Ocean, as part of the paleo‐Tianshan Ocean, obliquely subducted beneath the Junggar plate, bringing about the Bogda subduction‐torn‐type rift during the Carboniferous period. Although the final closure of the Kelameili Ocean has ended at late Carboniferous, the subsequent continental collision and large‐scale ductile shearing lasted until late Triassic.
Time for global scale‐up, not randomized trials, of uterine balloon tamponade for postpartum hemorrhage
Authors: Burke Thomas F. , Thapa Kusum , Shivkumar Poonam , Tarimo Vincent , Oguttu Monica , Garg Lorraine , Pande Saroja , Fidvi Juzar , Bangal Vidyadhar , Ochoa José , Amatya Archana , Eckardt Melody , Horo Apollinaire , Rogo Khama , Kedar Kshama , Manasyan Albert , Khalatkar Pragati , Ku Susana , Seim Anders , Suarez Sebastian , Guha Moytrayee , Abdalla Khadija , Fuchtner Carlos , Escobar Maria F. , Arulkumaran Sabaratnam 
Published: March 2018

Global scale‐up of uterine balloon tamponade should be accelerated to end the scourge of unnecessary death and disability from postpartum hemorrhage.
MRI brain segmentation in combination of clustering methods with Markov random field
Authors: Saladi Saritha , Amutha Prabha N. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractMedical image segmentation is a preliminary stage of inclusion in identification tools. The correct segmentation of brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images is crucial for an accurate detection of the disease diagnosis. Due to in‐homogeneity, low distinction and noise the segmentation of the brain MRI images is treated as the most challenging task. In this article, we proposed hybrid segmentation, by combining the clustering methods with Hidden Markov Random Field (HMRF) technique. This aims to decrease the computational load and improves the runtime of segmentation method, as MRF methodology is used in post‐processing the images. Its evaluation has performed on real imaging data, resulting in the classification of brain tissues with dice similarity metric. These results indicate the improvement in performance of the proposed method with various noise levels, compared with existing algorithms. In implementation, selection of clustering method provides better results in the segmentation of MRI brain images.