Development of synthetic criteria for the ecological evaluation of woodlots and woodlot units

Different criteria have been proposed for the rapid ecological evaluation of wooded areas. It is difficult, however, to determine the criteria most likely to yield results similar to those that would be obtained through detailed surveys and exhaustive evaluation. In order to identify such synthetic criteria, data from a detailed evaluation of Montreal Urban Community woodlots were studied with the help of multivariate analysis. This detailed evaluation was undertaken at two levels—woodlot unit and the woodlots themselves—using 16 different criteria.At the woodlot unit level, area and abundance indices of shade intolerant species in the tree layer could be used as synthetic criteria, while at the woodlot level the ecological value of the constituent units stand out as the first synthetic criterion. These results are compared with criteria proposed in the literature, and the use of multivariate analysis in ecological evaluation is briefly discussed.     

Invasion costs,impacts, and human agency: response to Sagoff 2020

Article impact statement: In an era of profound biodiversity crisis, invasion costs, invader impacts, and human agency should not be dismissed.     

Nonparametric spatial regression of survival probability: visualization of population sinks in Eurasian woodcock

Both evolutionary ecologists and wildlife managers make inference based on how fitness and demography vary in space. Spatial variation in survival can be difficult to assess in the wild because (1) multisite study designs are not well suited to populations that are continuously distributed across a large area and (2) available statistical models accounting for detectability less than 1.0 do not easily cope with geographical coordinates. Here we use penalized splines within a Bayesian state-space modeling framework to estimate and visualize survival probability in two dimensions. The approach is flexible in that no parametric form for the relationship between survival and coordinates need be specified a priori. To illustrate our method, we study a game species, the Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola, based on band recovery data (5000 individuals) collected over a > 50 000-km2 area in west-central France with contrasted habitats and hunting pressures. We find that spatial variation in survival probability matches an index of hunting pressure and creates a mosaic of population sources and sinks. Such analyses could provide guidance concerning the spatial management of hunting intensity or could be used to identify pathways of spatial variation in fitness, for example, to study adaptation to changing landscape and climate.     

Escape migration decisions in Eurasian Woodcocks: insights from survival analyses using large-scale recovery data

During unpredictable adverse conditions, endotherms can engage in emergency behaviors (movement, torpor, hyperphagia) to maintain energy balance and reduce mortality hazards. Bird “escape migration” is one of the most visible of these behaviors. In this study, we focus on a Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola population. Seasonal migrations bring this population from its breeding grounds in Eastern and Northern Europe to its wintering grounds in France. A varying number of these birds are also regularly reported from Spain, supposedly during additional escape movements that occur in winter. Using models that account for the imperfect detection rate of individuals and a large (>44,000 individuals) dataset combining information from the wintering and breeding ranges, we show that severe winters significantly reduced survival probability, but that migration to Spain increased only during the most intense cold spell that occurred over the 20-year study period. This suggests that the decision to resume migration during the winter is submitted to a threshold mechanism, which we discuss in the light of current models of migratory behavior.     

Study of trace metal leaching from coals into seawater

The behaviour of three South African coals in water and, particularly in seawater, was examined. A sequential speciation procedure used to evaluate trace metal partitioning in coal has shown that trace metals will not be easily released from these coals into environmental ecosystems. Only a few trace elements are slightly leached from these coals into water or seawater at pH around 8. On the other hand, Mn is highly leached from these coals into water or seawater. It has been clearly shown that Mn concentrations are highly correlated to sulfate and calcium concentrations indicating that Mn is mainly solubilized into water simultaneously to gypsum; the leaching efficiency being severely reduced for coal having a high calcite content. The leaching percentage of Mn into seawater is enhanced by the presence of seawater salts that increases gypsum solubility. The leaching process of Mn from coal into water or seawater is governed by gypsum solubilization and is relatively rapid during the first thirty minutes, then very slow. In this study, it has been also shown that, depending on their physico-chemical properties, trace metals may be removed from seawater solutions in the presence of coal having a high calcite content. In this work, it has been also shown that some elements, particularly Fe, are greatly solubilized into seawater in the presence of a strong chelating agent like EDTA. Like for Mn, the leaching rate of metals from coal in the presence of EDTA is relatively rapid during the first 30 min then much slower, suggesting a solubilization process simultaneously to gypsum or/and calcite solubilization.     

Prenatal diagnosis of neurofibromatosis type 1: sonographic and MRI findings

Prenatal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a large oropharyngeal tumor, and cardiac and cranial abnormalities consistent with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) in a third-trimester fetus, which were confirmed on postmortem examination. Sonographic features of NF1 are generally nonspecific; MR examination provided significant additional information, facilitating prenatal diagnosis. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Campomelic acampomelic dysplasia presenting with increased nuchal translucency in the first trimester

This is the first report of a fetus affected with campomelic acampomelic dysplasia presenting with increased nuchal translucency. Ultrasonography at 13 weeks of amenorrhea showed a nuchal translucency 5.6 mm thick. The karyotype performed on amniotic fluid cells was normal (46,XY). Ultrasonography at 22 weeks revealed a normal femoral length and female genitalia. A second amniocentesis was performed to confirm the karyotype and for dosage of steroid hormones. Testosterone dosage was low, corresponding to a female fetus. Ultrasonography at 32 weeks showed growth retardation of the long bones (<3rd centile) that were not curved. A severe malformation syndrome was suspected and the pregnancy was terminated at 33 weeks. The fetus displayed macrocephaly, facial dysmorphism and female external genitalia. X ray showed straight and thickened long bones, hypoplastic scapulae and moderate platyspondyly. In view of the association of sex reversal, hypoplasia of the scapulae, and the presence of straight long bones, campomelic acampomelic dysplasia was suspected and confirmed by the finding of a SOX9 mutation. This case shows the importance of a careful echographic survey in a fetus with a nuchal translucency > 4 mm, especially if there is discordance between phenotypic and genotypic sex, since growth retardation may occur later during the pregnancy. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Low-cost Posidonia oceanica bio-adsorbent for efficient removal of antibiotic oxytetracycline from water

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The presence of antibiotics as micro-contaminants in the water and aqueous environments is a health concern to humans and the ecosystem. Therefore,...