bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
On the relationship between body condition and parasite infection in wildlife: a review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Sánchez Cecilia A. , Becker Daniel J. , Teitelbaum Claire S. , Barriga Paola , Brown Leone M. , Majewska Ania A. , Hall Richard J. , Altizer Sonia 
Published: October 2018

AbstractBody condition metrics are widely used to infer animal health and to assess costs of parasite infection. Since parasites harm their hosts, ecologists might expect negative relationships between infection and condition in wildlife, but this assumption is challenged by studies showing positive or null condition–infection relationships. Here, we outline common condition metrics used by ecologists in studies of parasitism, and consider mechanisms that cause negative, positive, and null condition–infection relationships in wildlife systems. We then perform a meta‐analysis of 553 condition–infection relationships from 187 peer‐reviewed studies of animal hosts, analysing observational and experimental records separately, and noting whether authors measured binary infection status or intensity. Our analysis finds substantial heterogeneity in the strength and direction of condition–infection relationships, a small, negative average effect size that is stronger in experimental studies, and evidence for publication bias towards negative relationships. The strongest predictors of variation in study outcomes are host thermoregulation and the methods used to evaluate body condition. We recommend that studies aiming to assess parasite impacts on body condition should consider host–parasite biology, choose condition measures that can change during the course of infection, and employ longitudinal surveys or manipulate infection status when feasible.
Demographic costs and benefits of natural regeneration during tropical forest restoration
Authors: Trevor Caughlin T. , de la Peña‐Domene Marinés , Martínez‐Garza Cristina 
Published: October 2018

AbstractFor tropical forest restoration to result in long‐term biodiversity gains, native trees must establish self‐sustaining populations in degraded sites. While many have asked how seedling recruitment varies between restoration treatments, the long‐term fate of these recruits remains unknown. We address this research gap by tracking natural recruits of 27 species during the first 7 years of a tropical forest restoration experiment that included both planted and naturally regenerating plots. We used an individual‐based model to estimate the probability that a seedling achieves reproductive maturity after several years of growth and survival. We found an advantage for recruits in naturally regenerating plots, with up to 40% increased probability of reproduction in this treatment, relative to planted plots. The demographic advantage of natural regeneration was highest for mid‐successional species, with relatively minor differences between treatments for early‐successional species. Our research demonstrates the consequences of restoration decision making across the life cycle of tropical tree species.
Effect of phytoplankton size diversity on primary productivity in the North Pacific: trait distributions under environmental variability
Authors: Chen Bingzhang , Smith Sherwood Lan , Wirtz Kai W. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractWhile most biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) studies have found positive effects of species richness on productivity, it remain unclear whether similar patterns hold for marine phytoplankton with high local richness. We use the continuous trait‐based modelling approach, which assumes infinite richness and represents diversity in terms of the variance of the size distribution, to investigate the effects of phytoplankton size diversity on productivity in a three‐dimensional ocean circulation model driven by realistic physics forcing. We find a slightly negative effect of size diversity on primary production, which we attribute to several factors including functional trait‐environment interactions, flexible stoichiometry and the saturation of productivity at low diversity levels. The benefits of trait optimisation, whereby narrow size distributions enhance productivity under relatively stable conditions, tend to dominate over those of adaptive capacity, whereby greater diversity enhances the ability of the community to respond to environmental variability.
Progress report on new antiepileptic drugs: A summary of the Fourteenth Eilat Conference on New Antiepileptic Drugs and Devices (EILAT XIV). II. Drugs in more advanced clinical development
Authors: Bialer Meir , Johannessen Svein I. , Koepp Matthias J. , Levy René H. , Perucca Emilio , Tomson Torbjörn , White H. Steve 
Published: October 2018

SummaryThe Fourteenth Eilat Conference on New Antiepileptic Drugs and Devices (EILAT XIV) took place in Madrid, Spain, on May 13‐16, 2018 and was attended by 168 delegates from 28 countries. The conference provided a forum for professionals involved in basic science, clinical research, regulatory affairs, and clinical care to meet and discuss the latest advances related to discovery and development of drugs and devices aimed at improving the management of people with epilepsy. This progress report provides a summary of findings on investigational compounds for which data from both preclinical studies and studies in patients were presented. The compounds reviewed include anakinra, cannabidiol, cannabidivarin, fenfluramine, ganaxolone, medium‐chain fatty acids, padsevonil, and the valproic derivatives valnoctamide and sec‐butylpropylacetamide. On June 25, 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a standardized formulation of cannabidiol oral solution for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox‐Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome in patients 2 years and older. The report shows that there continues to be a steady flow of potential antiepileptic drugs progressing to clinical development. Many of these compounds show innovative mechanisms of action, and some have already been tested in placebo‐controlled randomized controlled trials, with promising efficacy and safety results.
Progress report on new antiepileptic drugs: A summary of the Fourteenth Eilat Conference on New Antiepileptic Drugs and Devices (EILAT XIV). I. Drugs in preclinical and early clinical development
Authors: Bialer Meir , Johannessen Svein I. , Koepp Matthias J. , Levy René H. , Perucca Emilio , Tomson Torbjörn , White H. Steve 
Published: October 2018

SummaryThe Fourteenth Eilat Conference on New Antiepileptic Drugs and Devices (EILAT XIV) took place in Madrid, Spain, on May 13‐16, 2018 and was attended by 168 delegates from 28 countries. The conference provided a forum for professionals involved in basic science, clinical research, regulatory affairs, and clinical care to meet and discuss the latest advances related to discovery and development of drugs and devices aimed at improving the management of people with epilepsy. This progress report provides a summary of findings on investigational compounds for which data from preclinical or early (phase I) clinical studies were presented. The compounds reviewed include adenosine and adenosine kinase inhibitors, BIS‐001 (huperzine A), 2‐deoxy‐d‐glucose, FV‐082, FV‐137, JNJ‐40411813, JNJ‐55511118 and analogs, ketone‐enhanced antiepileptic drugs, oxynytones, OV329, TAK‐935 (OV935), XEN901, and XEN1101. Many innovative approaches to drug development were presented. For example, some compounds are being combined with traditional antiepileptic drugs based on evidence of synergism in seizure models, some act as inhibitors of enzymes involved in modulation of neuronal activity, and some interact in novel ways with excitatory receptors or ion channels. Some of the compounds in development target the etiology of specific epilepsy syndromes (including orphan conditions) through precision medicine, and some offer hope of producing disease‐modifying effects rather than symptomatic seizure suppression. Overall, the results summarized in the report indicate that important advances are being made in the effort to develop compounds with potentially improved efficacy and safety profiles compared with existing agents.
Testosterone pulses at the nest site modify ultrasonic vocalization types in a monogamous and territorial mouse
Authors: Timonin Mary E. , Kalcounis‐Rueppell Matina C. , Marler Catherine A. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractModulation of baseline testosterone (T) via long‐lasting T implants alters territorial, sexual, and social behavior of animals in the field. Transient T increases occur in numerous species after social interactions, but these transient increases in T have not been manipulated in the field. In the laboratory, these T increases can influence future behavior for days, causing changes in social behavior and inducing preferences for specific locations. We manipulated transient increases in T in the field at the nests of the monogamous and territorial California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) to examine long‐term (>24 hr) changes in ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). Males of bonded male–female dyads (=pair) were administered a T injection (vs. saline) three times over seven days and USVs of the male–female dyad were measured for three days after the last injection. At T nests, the male–female dyad produced significantly more 1SV (one call SV: an SV is a sustained vocalization that is long in duration and low in modulation) and 4SV (four call SV) type USVs than controls, but no significant changes in aggressive barks. Overall, male–female dyad mice at T nests produced a greater diversity in call types such that 1SV, 4SV, 5SV, and a complex sweep were produced at T nests but not control nests. There were significantly more USVs produced at T nests on night 2 after the final injection. There were no differences in spectral characteristics of SV calls or aggressive barks between T and control nests. The function of the changes that occurred is unknown, but is consistent with increased long‐term changes in behavioral interactions with nest mates and may reflect T‐induced conditioned place preferences to the nest site. Significantly, transient increases in T influence future acoustic communication under field conditions with competing biotic and abiotic stimuli.
Evolutionary transitions to cooperative societies in fishes revisited
Authors: Tanaka Hirokazu , Frommen Joachim G. , Koblmüller Stephan , Sefc Kristina M. , McGee Matthew , Kohda Masanori , Awata Satoshi , Hori Michio , Taborsky Michael 
Published: October 2018

AbstractUnravelling the evolution of complex social organization in animals is an important aim, not least because it helps to understand the evolutionary roots of human sociality. Recent advances in comparative methods allow to approach this question in a phylogenetic context. The validity of such comparative approaches depends strongly on the quality of information regarding the behaviour, sociality, and reproduction of animals in natural systems, and on the quality of the phylogenetic reconstruction. Applying a novel comparative approach, a recent study of Dey et al. (, Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1, 137) concluded that evolutionary transitions to cooperative breeding in cichlid fishes were not associated with the social mating pattern. Here we argue that this result was adversely affected by equivocal classifications of mating patterns, and inadequate phylogenetic data. In order to illustrate the impact of the mating system misclassifications, we scored mating patterns as reported in the original literature and re‐analysed the dataset based on Dey et al.’s tree topology. The result suggests that the mating system does in fact significantly explain the evolutionary transition to cooperative breeding in lamprologine cichlids, but we submit that a reliable conclusion cannot be reached before improving the behavioural information and the underlying phylogenetic reconstruction. The problems identified in this case study are not unique and we urge caution in the interpretation of results from comparative phylogenetic studies in general. We do agree with Dey et al. () though that the lamprologine cichlids of Lake Tanganyika may constitute a fundamental test case for the theory of social evolution, but better information on their behaviour and phylogenetic relationships is needed to allow meaningful analyses.
Personality and its variation between sexes in the black‐bellied bunchgrass lizard Sceloporus aeneus during the breeding season
Authors: Rangel‐Patiño Carlos , García‐Morales Carla , Mastachi‐Loza Carlos , Carmen‐Cristóbal Juan M. , Ruiz‐Gómez María de Lourdes 
Published: October 2018

AbstractPersonality defined as individual differences in behavioural traits, which are consistent through time and across situations, has been observed among individuals of the same population in several animal groups. However, it is well known that as selective pressures may act upon behaviour, they can potentially drive differences in personality; in this sense, the breeding season may function as a promotor of differences between males and females that allow them to maximize their fitness. Nevertheless, results from studies comparing differences in personality between males and females are still non‐conclusive. Therefore, we aimed to test the presence of differences in personality between males and females during the breeding season by evaluating the consistency over time and across situations of three behavioural traits in the black‐bellied bunch grass lizard Sceloporus aeneus. We found that males were more risk‐prone and active than females, whereas aggression was similar between sexes. Personality traits were observed in both sexes throughout the breeding season; however, they were more consistent in females than in males. Specifically, personality in males is characterized by higher levels of activity, boldness and aggressiveness; whereas females behave more cautiously, although aggressively when confronted with other females. Our results suggest that the personality differences between males and females observed in Sceloporus aeneus may be expressed to secure individual current reproductive value, and to enhance their fitness success.
Influence of the operational sex ratio on mutual mate choice in the Jamaican field cricket (Gryllus assimilis): Testing the predictions of the switch point theorem
Authors: Villarreal Amy E. , Godin Jean‐Guy J. , Bertram Susan M. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThe switch point theorem posits that both sexes should exhibit behavioural flexibility, switching between discriminant and indiscriminate mating, as their perceived demographic conditions change. The theorem also predicts that an individual’s mate choice should be more dependent on its own intrinsic characteristics and ecological conditions than on the exaggerated sexually selected traits possessed by potential mates. To test these predictions, we manipulated the operational sex ratio (OSR), a demographic factor, of adult Jamaican field crickets (Gryllus assimilis) under controlled laboratory conditions and evaluated whether the mate choices of females and males were influenced by their social environment, their own body size and the difference in the body size of available potential mates. Body size is under sexual selection in this species, with females preferring larger males and larger males exhibiting repeatable mate choice. We predicted that changes in the OSR should influence the mating behaviour of both sexes, as the OSR determines the probability that an individual will encounter a potential mate. We observed that the OSR affected the flexibility of male, but not female, mate choice. Additionally, the OSR influenced male behaviour, with larger males from the female‐biased OSR taking longer to make a choice than larger males in the male‐biased and even ratio OSR treatments. Mate choice in females was influenced by their intrinsic body size (only large females were choosy) and by the exaggerated traits expressed by potential mates (large females were only choosy when potential mates differed considerably in body size). Collectively, these findings provide partial support for the predictions of the switch point theorem as both sexes exhibited flexible mating decisions, switching from discriminant to indiscriminate mating under varying demographic conditions.
Embryonic heart rate predicts prenatal development rate, but is not related to post‐natal growth rate or activity level in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata)
Authors: Sheldon Elizabeth L. , Griffith Simon C. 
Published: October 2018

AbstractInter‐individual variation in behaviour has been the focus of much recent work, yet the underlying mechanisms that cause and maintain this variation are unclear. It has been proposed that consistent individual differences in metabolism could be related to inter‐individual variation in behaviour and development throughout life. Here, we tested this idea in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), by investigating whether embryonic heart rate (a proxy for metabolic rate) is associated with prenatal developmental rates, post‐natal activity levels and post‐natal growth rates. Embryonic heart rate and post‐natal activity level were significantly repeatable throughout an individual's development, such that consistent individual differences in these traits could be distinguished. We detected a significant, negative relationship between embryonic heart rate and incubation duration. However, we did not detect any relationship between embryonic heart rate, post‐natal activity levels or post‐natal growth rates. Our findings are significant because they identify consistent individual differences in embryonic metabolic phenotype and post‐natal traits. However, we were unable to identify any correlation between the pre‐ and post‐natal phenotypes suggesting that either intrinsic metabolic differences do not persist across the developmental boundary of hatching or such differences become obscured by parental or environmental effects after hatching. Our findings raise a number of questions about possible selection on metabolic phenotypes, both before and after hatching, and why developmental trajectories before and after hatching are apparently unlinked.
Latina/o Children Living With an Immigrant Mother With Depression: Developmental and Cultural Nuances in Recognition and Coping
Authors: Valdez Carmen R. , Raines Christopher R. , Davies Kevin D. , D'Costa Stephanie 
Published: October 2018

The psychological experience of maternal depression and its impact on immigrant Latina/o families often goes unrecognized and unaddressed. Children may feel especially helpless and confused about the changes they observe in their mothers’ mood and behavior, and about the deterioration of family relationships. Given the interdependence of family structures of immigrant Latina/o households, maternal depression can be detrimental to Latina/o youth attributions and coping strategies, and to their relationship with their mothers. The quantitative focus of most research on maternal depression in Latina/o samples limits our understanding of family processes in maternal depression. The current qualitative study explores the perceived impact of maternal depression on Latina/o youths’ attributions and coping strategies. This inquiry involved focus groups with 12 participants aged 9–16 years to explore their perspectives on maternal depression. All youth had participated in a 12‐week multifamily group intervention focused on building family and cultural strengths to address maternal depression on immigrant Latina/o families. Findings of the focus groups illuminated the essential experience of youth living with maternal depression, and indicated that there are developmental considerations for how youth recognize and make meaning of maternal depression, and cope with disrupted family life. Additionally, youth reported engaging in these culture‐specific ways of coping: using close sibling relationships and family structure as support, having fathers and extended family members engage in additional and restorative parenting practices, and participating in religious practices to seek refuge from family stress. We propose considerations for intervention and further areas of research.
Microbial communities associated with phosphogenic sediments and phosphoclast‐associated DNA of the Benguela upwelling system
Authors: Zoss Roman , Medina Ferrer Fernando , Flood Beverly E. , Jones Daniel S. , Louw Deon.C. , Bailey Jake 
Published: October 2018

AbstractThe processes that lead to the precipitation of authigenic calcium phosphate minerals in certain marine pore waters remain poorly understood. Phosphogenesis occurs in sediments beneath some oceanic upwelling zones that harbor polyphosphate‐accumulating bacteria. These bacteria are believed to concentrate phosphate in sediment pore waters, creating supersaturated conditions with respect to apatite precursors. However, the relationship between microbes and phosphorite formation is not fully resolved. To further study this association, we examined microbial community data generated from two sources: sediment cores recovered from the shelf of the Benguela upwelling region where phosphorites are currently forming, and DNA preserved within phosphoclasts recovered from a phosphorite deposit along the Benguela shelf. iTag and clone library sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed that many of our sediment‐hosted communities shared large numbers of phylotypes with one another, and that the same metabolic guilds were represented at localities across the shelf. Sulfate‐reducing bacteria and sulfur‐oxidizing bacteria were particularly abundant in our datasets, as were phylotypes that are known to carry out nitrification and the anaerobic oxidation of ammonium. The DNA extracted from phosphoclasts contained the signature of a distinct microbial community from those observed in the modern sediments. While some aspects of the modern and phosphoclast communities were similar, we observed both an enrichment of certain common microbial classes found in the modern phosphogenic sediments and a relative depletion of others. The phosphoclast‐associated DNA could represent a relict signature of one or more microbial assemblages that were present when the apatite or its precursors precipitated. While these taxa may or may not have contributed to the precipitation of the apatite that now hosts their genetic remains, several groups represented in the phosphoclast extract dataset have the genetic potential to metabolize polyphosphate, and perhaps modulate phosphate concentrations in pore waters where carbonate fluorapatite (or its precursors) are known to be precipitating.