Authorship and the Use of Biological Information in Endangered Species Recovery Plans

Abstract: We examined the relationship between authorship and the use of biological information in recovery plans under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Approximately one-third of recovery plans were written solely by federal government employees, and one-third of plans included authors with university affiliations. The number of plans written strictly by federal staff increased significantly over time, whereas the percentage of plans that included authors with university affiliation remained unchanged. We tested three hypotheses posed by Clark et al. (1994) regarding authorship and endangered species recovery and found that (1) groups of authors from diverse affiliations are likely to strengthen the recovery planning process, (2) recovery plans lacking nonfederal participation suffer from inadequate attention to species biology, and (3) academic affiliation is strongly associated with the use of focal-species biology in recovery plans. Our results suggest that modifying the choice of participants in the recovery planning process may increase the use of biological information in recovery measures recommended in recovery plans and thus influence the eventual success of recovery efforts.     

Function of pretribosphenic and tribosphenic mammalian molars inferred from 3D animation

Appearance of the tribosphenic molar in the Late Jurassic (160 Ma) is a crucial innovation for food processing in mammalian evolution. This molar type is characterized by a protocone, a talonid basin and a two-phased chewing cycle, all of which are apomorphic. In this functional study on the teeth of Late Jurassic Dryolestes leiriensis and the living marsupial Monodelphis domestica, we demonstrate that pretribosphenic and tribosphenic molars show fundamental differences of food reduction strategies, representing a shift in dental function during the transition of tribosphenic mammals. By using the Occlusal Fingerprint Analyser (OFA), we simulated the chewing motions of the pretribosphenic Dryolestes that represents an evolutionary precursor condition to such tribosphenic mammals as Monodelphis. Animation of chewing path and detection of collisional contacts between virtual models of teeth suggests that Dryolestes differs from the classical two-phased chewing movement of tribosphenidans, due to the narrowing of the interdental space in cervical (crown–root transition) direction, the inclination angle of the hypoflexid groove, and the unicuspid talonid. The pretribosphenic chewing cycle is equivalent to phase I of the tribosphenic chewing cycle, but the former lacks phase II of the tribosphenic chewing. The new approach can analyze the chewing cycle of the jaw by using polygonal 3D models of tooth surfaces, in a way that is complementary to the electromyography and strain gauge studies of muscle function of living animals. The technique allows alignment and scaling of isolated fossil teeth and utilizes the wear facet orientation and striation of the teeth to reconstruct the chewing path of extinct mammals.     

UVC Inactivation of dsDNA and ssRNA Viruses in Water: UV Fluences and a qPCR-Based Approach to Evaluate Decay on Viral Infectivity

Disinfection by low-pressure monochromatic ultraviolet (UVC) radiation (253.7 nm) became an important technique to sanitize drinking water and also wastewater in tertiary treatments. In order to prevent the transmission of waterborne viral diseases, the analysis of the disinfection kinetics and the quantification of infectious viral pathogens and indicators are highly relevant and need to be addressed. The families Adenoviridae and Polyomaviridae comprise human and animal pathogenic viruses that have been also proposed as indicators of fecal contamination in water and as Microbial Source Tracking tools. While it has been previously suggested that dsDNA viruses may be highly resistant to UVC radiation compared to other viruses or bacteria, no information is available on the stability of polyomavirus toward UV irradiation. Here, the inactivation of dsDNA (HAdV2 and JCPyV) and ssRNA (MS2 bacteriophage) viruses was analyzed at increasing UVC fluences. A minor decay of 2-logs was achieved for both infectious JC polyomaviruses (JCPyV) and human adenoviruses 2 (HAdV2) exposed to a UVC fluence of 1,400 J/m², while a decay of 4-log was observed for MS2 bacteriophages (ssRNA). The present study reveals the high UVC resistance of dsDNA viruses, and the UV fluences needed to efficiently inactivate JCPyV and HAdV2 are predicted. Furthermore, we show that in conjunction with appropriate mathematical models, qPCR data may be used to accurately estimate virus infectivity.     

Environmental Effectors on the Inactivation of Human Adenoviruses in Water

Environmental factors are highly relevant to the global dissemination of viral pathogens. However, the specific contribution of major effectors such as temperature and sunlight on the inactivation of waterborne viruses is not well characterized. In this study, the effect of temperature (7, 20, and 37 °C), UVB and UVA radiation on viral inactivation was evaluated in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), mineral water, wastewater, 1,000-fold diluted wastewater and seawater. The stability of human adenoviruses infectivity, known as human pathogens and indicators of fecal contamination, was monitored during 24 h, both in the dark and exposed to UV radiation by immunofluorescence assays. In the dark, no Human adenovirus (HAdV) inactivation was observed in PBS and mineral water at any of the temperatures studied, whereas at 37 °C in reactors with higher microbial concentration (wastewater, diluted wastewater, and seawater), decays between 2.5 and 5 log were recorded. UVB radiation showed a dramatic effect on HAdV inactivation and 6-log were achieved in all reactors by the end of the experiments. The effect of UVA showed to be dependent on the water matrix analyzed. At 20 °C, HAdV showed a 2-log decay in all reactors radiation while at 37 °C, results in wastewater, diluted wastewater, and seawater reactors were equivalent to those observed in the dark. These results suggest UVB radiation as the major environmental factor challenging viral inactivation, followed by biotic activity indirectly associated to higher temperatures and finally, by UVA radiation.     

UV–Vis LED-assisted photo-Fenton process for mineralization of losartan and hydrochlorothiazide: optimization using desirability function

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study presents the results obtained for the optimization of the mineralization of losartan (LOS) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) using the...     

Detection and enumeration of Cryptosporidium sp. oocysts in sewage sludge samples from the city of Florianópolis (Brazil) by using immunomagnetic separation combined with indirect immunofluorescence assay.

In the last few decades, agricultural reclamation of sewage sludge has increased in many countries. However, this practice must be adopted under recommended conditions to limit the risks associated with the presence of potential pathogens, including protozoan parasites such as Cryptosporidium. In the present work, we evaluated immunomagnetic separation (IMS) combined with an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) in order to detect Cryptosporidium oocysts in sewage sludge samples obtained from the Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (MWTP) operating in the city of Florianópolis, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Integrated application of spontaneous sludge sedimentation and centrifugation of the supernatant, purification and concentration of oocysts through immunomagnetic separation as well as detection and quantification by means of indirect immunofluorescence using highly specific monoclonal antibodies, proved to be an effective multiple-analysis tool for monitoring the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts in urban sewage sludge samples. Among 27 samples collected from MWTP, 20 (74.07%) were positive for Cryptosporidium sp. The efficiency of recovery by using the internal control ColorSeed (Biotechnology Frontiers Inc., Sydney, NSW, Australia) was medially 39.96 +/- 11.20%. Actually, oocysts were recovered from 100% of the positive samples tested and the number of Cryptosporidium oocysts found in the samples ranged from one to four. These results demonstrated a high recovery rate of Cryptosporidium oocysts in sewage sludge samples by using IMS-IFA analysis. In conclusion, such an approach can be applied to monitor the presence of the parasite and to determine the potential contamination of sludge destined for soil application.     

Similar is not the same: Social calls of conspecifics are more effective in attracting wild bats to day roosts than those of other bat species

Many bat species regularly need to find new day roosts as they require numerous shelters each breeding season. It has been shown that bats exchange information about roosts among colony members, and use echolocation and social calls of conspecifics in order to find roosts. However, it is unclear if wild bats discriminate between social calls of conspecifics and other bat species while searching for roosts. Furthermore, the extent that bats are attracted to potential roosts by each of these two call types is unknown. We present a field experiment showing that social calls of conspecifics and other bat species both attract bats to roosts. During two summers, we played back social calls of Bechstein’s bats (Myotis bechsteinii) and Natterer’s bats (Myotis nattereri) from different bat boxes that can serve as roosts for these species. All experimental bat boxes were monitored with infrared video to identify the approaching bat species. Three species (M. bechsteinii, M. nattereri, and Plecotus auritus) approached the boxes significantly more often during nights when bat calls were played compared to nights without playbacks. Bechstein’s bats and Natterer’s bats were both more attracted to social calls of conspecifics than of the other species, whereas P. auritus did not discriminate between calls of either Myotis species. Only Bechstein’s bats entered experimental boxes and only at times when calls from conspecifics were played. Our findings show that wild bats discriminate between social calls of conspecifics and other bat species although they respond to both call types when searching for new roosts.     

Modeling carcass removal time for avian mortality assessment in wind farms using survival analysis

In monitoring studies at wind farms, the estimation of bird and bat mortality caused by collision must take into account carcass removal by scavengers or decomposition. In this paper we propose the use of survival analysis techniques to model the time of carcass removal. The proposed method is applied to data collected in ten Portuguese wind farms. We present and compare results obtained from semiparametric and parametric models assuming four main competing lifetime distributions (exponential, Weibull, log-logistic and log-normal). Both homogeneous parametric models and accelerated failure time models were used. The fitted models enabled the estimation of the carcass persistence rates and the calculation of a scavenging correction factor for avian mortality estimation. Additionally, we discuss the impact that the distributional assumption can have on parameter estimation. The proposed methodology integrates the survival probability estimation problem with the analysis of covariate effects. Estimation is based on the most suitable model while simultaneously accounting for censored observations, diminishing scavenging rate estimation bias. Additionally, the method establishes a standardized statistical procedure for the analysis of carcass removal time in subsequent studies.