bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Retrospective comparisons of competing demographic models give clarity from “messy” management on a Scottish grouse moor
Authors: Powell Larkin A. , Aebischer Nicholas J. , Ludwig Sonja C. , Baines David 
Published: May 2022

AbstractRetrospective comparison of predictive models that describe competing hypotheses regarding system function can shed light on regulatory mechanisms within the framework of adaptive resource management. We applied this approach to a 28‐year study of red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) in Scotland, with the aims of reducing uncertainty regarding important drivers of grouse population dynamics, and of evaluating the efficacy of using seasonal versus annual model assessments. We developed three sets of models that predicted pre‐breeding and post‐breeding grouse density, matching the timing of grouse counts on the ground. We updated conditions and management through time in the spirit of a real‐time, adaptive management program and used a Bayesian model weight updating process to compare model predictions with empirical grouse densities. The first two model sets involved single annual updates from either pre‐breeding or post‐breeding counts; the third set was updated twice a year. Each model set comprised seven models representing increasingly complex hypotheses regarding potentially important drivers of grouse: the baseline model included weather and parasite effects on productivity, shooting losses and density‐dependent overwinter survival; subsequent models incorporated the effect of habitat gain/loss (HAB), control of non‐protected predators (NPP) and predation by protected hen harriers (Circus cyaneus, HH) and buzzards (Buteo buteo, BZ). The weight of evidence was consistent across model sets, settling within 10 years on the harrier (NPP + HH), buzzard (NPP + HH + BZ) and buzzard + habitat (NPP + HH + BZ + HAB) models, and downgrading the baseline + habitat, non‐protected predator, and non‐protected predator + habitat models. By the end of the study only the buzzard and buzzard + habitat models retained substantial weights, emphasizing the dynamical complexity of the system. Habitat inclusion failed to improve model predictions, implying that over the period of this study habitat quantity was unimportant in determining grouse abundance. Comparing annually and biannually assessed model sets, the main difference was in the baseline model, whose weight increased or remained stable when assessed annually, but collapsed when assessed biannually. Our adaptive modeling approach is suitable for many ecological situations in which a complex interplay of factors makes experimental manipulation difficult.
An environmental gradient dominates ecological and genetic differentiation of marine invertebrates between the North and Baltic Sea
Authors: Geburzi Jonas C. , Heuer Nele , Homberger Lena , Kabus Jana , Moesges Zoe , Ovenbeck Kira , Brandis Dirk , Ewers Christine 
Published: May 2022

AbstractEnvironmental gradients have emerged as important barriers to structuring populations and species distributions. We set out to test whether the strong salinity gradient from the marine North Sea to the brackish Baltic Sea in northern Europe represents an ecological and genetic break, and to identify life history traits that correlate with the strength of this break. We accumulated mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 sequence data, and data on the distribution, salinity tolerance, and life history for 28 species belonging to the Cnidaria, Crustacea, Echinodermata, Mollusca, Polychaeta, and Gastrotricha. We included seven non‐native species covering a broad range of times since introduction, in order to gain insight into the pace of adaptation and differentiation. We calculated measures of genetic diversity and differentiation across the environmental gradient, coalescent times, and migration rates between North and Baltic Sea populations, and analyzed correlations between genetic and life history data. The majority of investigated species is either genetically differentiated and/or adapted to the lower salinity conditions of the Baltic Sea. Species exhibiting population structure have a range of patterns of genetic diversity in comparison with the North Sea, from lower in the Baltic Sea to higher in the Baltic Sea, or equally diverse in North and Baltic Sea. Two of the non‐native species showed signs of genetic differentiation, their times since introduction to the Baltic Sea being about 80 and >700 years, respectively. Our results indicate that the transition from North Sea to Baltic Sea represents a genetic and ecological break: The diversity of genetic patterns points toward independent trajectories in the Baltic compared with the North Sea, and ecological differences with regard to salinity tolerance are common. The North Sea–Baltic Sea region provides a unique setting to study evolutionary adaptation during colonization processes at different stages by jointly considering native and non‐native species.
Ego network analysis of the trophic structure of an island land bird through 300 years of climate change and invaders
Authors: Olesen Jens M. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractEgo net analysis is a well‐known practice in social sciences, where an ego net (EN) consists of a focal node, the ego, and its links to other nodes, called alters, and alter–alter links may also be included. An EN describes how a focal node is embedded in its interaction context. Here, I introduce EN analysis to ecology in a study of the trophic network of a sub‐Antarctic land bird, Lesser Sheathbill (Chionis minor). Data originate from the sheathbill population on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean. The bird is ego and its enemies and food are alters. The EN is organized along three dimensions: habitat, interaction type, and time (from before human arrival in 1803 and until a future year 2100). Ten EN descriptors are defined, estimated, and used to track the 300 years of change in sheathbill EN structure. Since 1803, the EN has passed two major, but reversible shifts—seal exploitation in the 19th century and presence of cats from 1949 to 1991. These shifts can be read as structural changes in the sheathbill EN. In the future, a third, perhaps irreversible change is predicted, driven by climate change and a surprising, recent shift to seabird predation by House Mouse, the most detrimental of all extant invaders on Marion. In a warmer and drier future, the mouse will proliferate, and if this forces seabirds to abandon the island, their accumulation of detritus runs dry, starving a rich invertebrate detritivore fauna, which also is a key food source to sheathbills. These detritivores together with plants have also constituted the main food sources of mice. The EN descriptors quantify that story. In the future, these events may lead to a collapse of the island ecosystem, including extinction of the sheathbill—unless plans for mouse eradication are implemented.
Small mammal responses to fire severity mediated by vegetation characteristics and species traits
Authors: Culhane Kathryn , Sollmann Rahel , White Angela M. , Tarbill Gina L. , Cooper Scott D. , Young Hillary S. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe frequency of large, high‐severity “mega‐fires” has increased in recent decades, with numerous consequences for forest ecosystems. In particular, small mammal communities are vulnerable to post‐fire shifts in resource availability and play critical roles in forest ecosystems. Inconsistencies in previous observations of small mammal community responses to fire severity underscore the importance of examining mechanisms regulating the effects of fire severity on post‐fire recovery of small mammal communities. We compared small mammal abundance, diversity, and community structure among habitats that burned at different severities, and used vegetation characteristics and small mammal functional traits to predict community responses to fire severity three years after one mega‐fire in the Sierra Nevada, California. Using a model‐based fourth‐corner analysis, we examined how interactions between vegetation variables and small mammal traits associated with their resource use were associated with post‐fire small mammal community structure among fire severity categories. Small mammal abundance was similar across fire severity categories, but diversity decreased and community structure shifted as fire severity increased. Differences in small mammal communities were large only between unburned and high‐severity sites. Three highly correlated fire‐dependent vegetation variables affected by fire and the volume of soft coarse woody debris were associated with small mammal community structures. Furthermore, we found that interactions between vegetation variables and three small mammal traits (feeding guild, primary foraging mode, and primary nesting habit) predicted community structure across fire severity categories. We concluded that resource use was important in regulating small mammal recovery after the fire because vegetation provided required resources to small mammals as determined by their functional traits. Given the mechanistic nature of our analyses, these results may be applicable to other fire‐prone forest systems, although it will be important to conduct studies across large biogeographic regions and over long post‐fire time periods to assess generality.
Comparative transcriptomic analysis of genes in the triterpene saponin biosynthesis pathway in leaves and roots of Ardisia kteniophylla A. DC., a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine
Authors: Lei Yuyang , Harris AJ , Wang Aihua , Zhao Liyun , Luo Ming , Li Ji , Chen Hongfeng 
Published: May 2022

AbstractArdisia kteniophylla (Primulaceae) is highly valued in traditional medicine due to its production of the pharmacologically active secondary metabolites, especially triterpenoid saponins in its roots. Although A. kteniophylla is very important in traditional medicine, the genetic basis for its production of triterpenoid saponins remains largely unknown. Therefore, we sequenced transcriptomes of A. kteniophylla to identify putative genes involved in production of triterpenoid saponins in both leaves and roots, and we used the transcriptomes to compare expression levels of these genes between the two organ systems. The production of triterpenoid saponins in plants is usually induced through hormonal signaling on account of the presence of pests. Thus, we treated plants with the hormones salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and used quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR) to investigate expression levels of genes involved in triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis. In total, we obtained transcriptomes for leaf and root tissues representing 52,454 unigenes. Compared with the leaf transcriptome, we found that 6092 unigenes were upregulated in the root, especially enzymes involved in the direct synthesis of triterpenoid saponins, while 6001 genes appeared downregulated, including those involved in precursory steps in the triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis pathway. Our results from qRT‐PCR indicate that genes within the upstream parts of the triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis pathway may be upregulated under exposure to the applied hormones, but downstream genes are downregulated. This suggests possible conflicting effects of SA and MeJA in promoting the production of secondary metabolites on the one hand, and, on the other, limiting plant growth processes to devote energy to combating pests. We also performed an analysis of transcription factors (TFs) and found 997 unique transcripts belonging to 16 TF families. Our data may help to facilitate future work on triterpene saponins biosynthesis in A. kteniophylla with potential pharmacological and molecular breeding applications.
DNA metabarcoding reveals a broad dietary range for Tasmanian devils introduced to a naive ecosystem
Authors: McLennan Elspeth A. , Wise Phil , Lee Andrew V. , Grueber Catherine E. , Belov Katherine , Hogg Carolyn J. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractTop carnivores are essential for maintaining ecosystem stability and biodiversity. Yet, carnivores are declining globally and current in situ threat mitigations cannot halt population declines. As such, translocations of carnivores to historic sites or those outside the species’ native range are becoming increasingly common. As carnivores are likely to impact herbivore and small predator populations, understanding how carnivores interact within an ecosystem following translocation is necessary to inform potential remedial management and future translocations. Dietary analyses provide a preliminary assessment of the direct influence of translocated carnivores on a recipient ecosystem. We used a metabarcoding approach to quantify the diet of Tasmanian devils introduced to Maria Island, Tasmania, a site outside the species’ native range. We extracted DNA from 96 scats and used a universal primer set targeting the vertebrate 12S rRNA gene to identify diet items. Tasmanian devils on Maria Island had an eclectic diet, with 63 consumed taxa identified. Cat DNA was detected in 14% of scats, providing the first instance of cats appearing as part of Tasmanian devil diets either via predation or scavenging. Short‐tail shearwaters and little penguins were commonly consumed, corresponding with previous surveys showing sharp population declines in these species since the introduction of Tasmanian devils. Our results indicate that the introduction of carnivores to novel ecosystems can be very successful for the focal species, but that commonly consumed species should be closely monitored to identify any vulnerable species in need of remedial management.
Uncertainty in parameterizing a flux‐based model of vegetation carbon phenology using ecosystem respiration
Authors: Gong Yuan , Staudhammer Christina L. , Wiesner Susanne , Zhang Yinlong , Cannon Jeffery B. , Starr Gregory 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe seasonal dynamics of plant communities are important indicators for assessment of long‐term vegetation patterns and provide valuable information to predict ecosystem responses to climate change. However, increased frequency of extreme weather events can force ecosystems into unstable states, which leads to greater uncertainty in determining phenological metrics (e.g., growing season length). To better understand these uncertainties, we utilized 9 years of eddy covariance and remote sensing data to parameterize models of seasonal ecosystem respiration (Re) for two subtropical longleaf pine forests (mesic and xeric), with similar vegetation but different water holding capacity. We compared two commonly used algorithms to extract phenology metrics, the growth rate (GR) and third derivative (TD) methods, which are usually used without justification. We determined the impact of algorithm selection on estimating key biological dates related to plant community carbon dynamics (e.g., start, end, and length of physiologically active season, specifically Re), characterized the model's response to extreme weather events, and compared estimates to those derived via remotely sensed greenness from the enhanced vegetation index (EVI). We observed that periods of winter warming increased duration of physiological activity in terms of Re, and summer water limitation caused multi‐peaked, asymmetric behavior, creating significant uncertainties. We found that choice of phenology metric extraction algorithm significantly impacted biological event dates; the GR method estimated longer phenophases than the TD in both sites, as well as earlier starting and later ending dates for phenophases. Because the TD method was unable to give estimates during the buffer period of phenophase transition under certain weather conditions, the GR method may be more suitable for studies in subtropical forests. Dates derived from EVI greenness rarely matched those of plant community seasonal dynamics models, especially in spring and summer. The estimated length of Re from the model was significantly longer than that derived from EVI, indicating that the use of EVI could result in shorter growing season estimates and greater uncertainty. Our results provide direction for optimization of future approaches to extract phenological metrics and better scientific understanding of forest land surface phenology, as weather anomalies become more common with climate change.
Slope topographic effects on the nonlinear seismic behavior of groups of similar buildings
Authors: Shamsi Mohammad , Shabani Mohammad Javad , Zakerinejad Mohammad , Vakili Amir Hossein 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe occurrence of vibrational energy exchange between neighboring buildings via soil is a well‐known issue today as structure‐soil‐structure interaction (SSSI) problems. Furthermore, the seismic performance of buildings near the slopes considering seismic topography‐soil‐structure interaction (TSSI) is entirely different from their performance on the flat grounds considering seismic soil‐structure interaction (SSI). Therefore, this study evaluates the seismic response of three moments resistant frame steel buildings with 15, 10, and 5 stories using three dimensional numerical analysis as a new topography‐structure‐soil‐structure interaction (TSSSI) problem. This issue has not been investigated in previous studies to the best of the authors' knowledge. In each case of TSSSI, two, three, and four buildings with similar dynamic properties were simulated simultaneously. The effects of foundation's rocking, numbers of buildings, and the 2D and 3D arrangements of buildings were investigated, and the results of TSSSI cases were compared with the corresponding SSSI cases. The inelastic behavior for both building components and soil was considered in the simulations. Analyzes are performed based on seven earthquake records from which the average value was taken as final results. Results show that it is essential to consider the TSSSI effect, and it can completely change the seismic performance of buildings near the slopes. Although the effects of TSSI and SSSI on the seismic responses of the low‐rise similar structures are negligible relative to the SSI cases, the results show that the nonlinear TSSSI effects of adjacent buildings should be fully considered even for 5‐story low‐rise structures.
Evaluating the predictive power of intraday technical trading in China's crude oil market
Authors: Jin Xiaoye 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThis paper evaluates the predictive power of intraday technical trading in China's crude oil market. Even considering different subsample periods, data frequencies and frequencies of rebalancing portfolio of trading rules, an investor is unlikely to select trading rules with persistent out‐of‐sample performance in advance while taking into account data snooping bias and transaction costs. This indicates that the predictive power of intraday technical trading in China's crude oil market is illusory. Overall, our results seriously call into question the predictive power of technical trading in crude oil markets has been gradually shifting from daily data to intraday data.
Lifetime body mass index and grip strength at age 46 years: the 1970 British Cohort Study
Authors: Cooper Rachel , Tomlinson David , Hamer Mark , Pinto Pereira Snehal M. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractBackgroundOngoing rises in obesity prevalence have prompted growing concerns about potential increases in the burden of age‐related musculoskeletal conditions including sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity. This is of particular concern for future generations of older adults who have lived more of their lives in an obesogenic environment than current generations of older adults. We aimed to study longitudinal associations between body mass index (BMI) and grip strength in midlife using data from a large population‐based sample, the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70).MethodsBCS70 participants with valid measures of maximum grip strength at age 46 years were included in analyses [3671 males (49%) and 3876 females (51%)]. Using sex‐specific linear regression models, we examined associations of (i) BMI at ages 10, 16, 30, and 46 years; (ii) body fat percentage (BF%) and waist–hip ratio at age 46 years; (iii) BMI gains between 10–16, 16–30, and 30–46; and (iv) age at onset of obesity, with grip strength.ResultsAt age 46 years, mean (standard deviation) grip strength was 48.10 kg (8.98) in males and 29.61 kg (5.81) in females. Higher BMI at all ages was associated with stronger grip, and the scale of associations was greater in males than females from age 16 onwards (Psex interactions < 0.01). For example, in fully adjusted models, a 1 standard deviation increase in BMI at age 16 was associated with mean differences in grip strength at age 46 years of 1.41 kg (95% confidence interval: 1.07, 1.75) in males and 0.72 kg (0.53, 0.91) in females. Higher BF% at age 46 was also associated with stronger grip in both sexes. Greater gains in BMI between ages 10 and 16 were associated with stronger grip in both sexes, but subsequent gains in BMI were only associated with stronger grip in males. Associations of greater length of exposure to obesity and stronger grip were also more consistent among males than females. For example, in fully adjusted models, mean grip strength at age 46 years of males and females who had been obese since age 10 or 16 years was 4.39 kg (1.85, 6.93) and 1.25 kg (−0.18, 2.69) higher than males and females who had never been obese, respectively.ConclusionsHigher BMI from childhood onwards is associated with stronger grip at age 46 years. This suggests that, at this age, anabolic effects of fat on muscle are outweighing the catabolic effects thought to lead to the manifestation of sarcopenic obesity later in life, especially among men. Midlife may be an optimal time to intervene to prevent sarcopenic obesity.
Resveratrol inhibits the activity of acid‐sensing ion channels in male rat dorsal root ganglion neurons
Authors: Wei Shuang , Liu Ting‐Ting , Hu Wang‐Ping , Qiu Chun‐Yu 
Published: May 2022

AbstractResveratrol can relieve pain under various pain conditions. One of the mechanisms of resveratrol analgesia is the regulation of ion channels. Acid‐sensing ion channels (ASICs) are expressed predominantly in nociceptive sensory neurons to detect changes in extracellular pH. ASICs are important players in pain associated with tissue acidification. However, it is still unclear whether ASICs are resveratrol targets. Electrophysiological recordings showed that resveratrol decreased acid‐induced and ASIC‐mediated currents in male rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in a concentration‐dependent manner. Resveratrol downwardly shifted the concentration–response curve for protons, suggesting that it inhibited ASICs not by changing the pH0.5, but by suppressing the proton‐induced maximum response. It also suppressed acid‐triggered action potentials in the rat DRG neurons. Finally, intraplantar pretreatment with resveratrol relieved acid‐induced nociceptive responses in male rats in a dose‐dependent manner. These results indicated that resveratrol inhibited ASIC‐mediated electrophysiological activity and nociception, suggesting a novel peripheral mechanism underlying its analgesic effect.
School counseling for college and career readiness using Existential Theory model: A humanistic approach to counseling students of color in urban school settings
Authors: Challenger Clewiston D. , Duquette Kevin , Mason Ikone T. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractUrban school counselors face unique challenges, and traditional approaches have proven inadequate. Grounded in existential theory and Super's Career theory, the School Counseling for College and Career Readiness Using Existential Theory (S3CRET) model fosters identity development and existentialist understanding within postsecondary decision‐making. Implications and suggestions for implementation are discussed.