The scope and severity of white-nose syndrome on hibernating bats in North America

Assessing the scope and severity of threats is necessary for evaluating impacts on populations to inform conservation planning. Quantitative threat assessment often requires monitoring programs that provide reliable data over relevant spatial and temporal scales, yet such programs can be difficult to justify until there is an apparent stressor. Leveraging efforts of wildlife management agencies to record winter counts of hibernating bats, we collated data for 5 species from over 200 sites across 27 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces from 1995 to 2018 to determine the impact of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a deadly disease of hibernating bats. We estimated declines of winter counts of bat colonies at sites where the invasive fungus that causes WNS (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) had been detected to assess the threat impact of WNS. Three species undergoing species status assessment by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Myotis septentrionalis, Myotis lucifugus, and Perimyotis subflavus) declined by more than 90%, which warrants classifying the severity of the WNS threat as extreme based on criteria used by NatureServe. The scope of the WNS threat as defined by NatureServe criteria was large (36% of Myotis lucifugus range) to pervasive (79% of Myotis septentrionalis range) for these species. Declines for 2 other species (Myotis sodalis and Eptesicus fuscus) were less severe but still qualified as moderate to serious based on NatureServe criteria. Data-sharing across jurisdictions provided a comprehensive evaluation of scope and severity of the threat of WNS and indicated regional differences that can inform response efforts at international, national, and state or provincial jurisdictions. We assessed the threat impact of an emerging infectious disease by uniting monitoring efforts across jurisdictional boundaries and demonstrated the importance of coordinated monitoring programs, such as the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), for data-driven conservation assessments and planning.     

Rain forest fragmentation and the proliferation of successional trees

The effects of habitat fragmentation on diverse tropical tree communities are poorly understood. Over a 20-year period we monitored the density of 52 tree species in nine predominantly successional genera (Annona, Bellucia, Cecropia, Croton, Goupia, Jacaranda, Miconia, Pourouma, Vismia) in fragmented and continuous Amazonian forests. We also evaluated the relative importance of soil, topographic, forest dynamic, and landscape variables in explaining the abundance and species composition of successional trees. Data were collected within 66 permanent 1-ha plots within a large (approximately 1000 km2) experimental landscape, with forest fragments ranging from 1 to 100 ha in area. Prior to forest fragmentation, successional trees were uncommon, typically comprising 2-3% of all trees (> or =10 cm diameter at breast height [1.3 m above the ground surface]) in each plot. Following fragmentation, the density and basal area of successional trees increased rapidly. By 13-17 years after fragmentation, successional trees had tripled in abundance in fragment and edge plots and constituted more than a quarter of all trees in some plots. Fragment age had strong, positive effects on the density and basal area of successional trees, with no indication of a plateau in these variables, suggesting that successional species could become even more abundant in fragments over time. Nonetheless, the 52 species differed greatly in their responses to fragmentation and forest edges. Some disturbance-favoring pioneers (e.g., Cecropia sciadophylla, Vismia guianensis, V. amazonica, V. bemerguii, Miconia cf. crassinervia) increased by >1000% in density on edge plots, whereas over a third (19 of 52) of all species remained constant or declined in numbers. Species responses to fragmentation were effectively predicted by their median growth rate in nearby intact forest, suggesting that faster-growing species have a strong advantage in forest fragments. An ordination analysis revealed three main gradients in successional-species composition across our study area. Species gradients were most strongly influenced by the standlevel rate of tree mortality on each plot and by the number of nearby forest edges. Species-composition also varied significantly among different cattle ranches, which differed in their surrounding matrices and disturbance histories. These same variables were also the best predictors of total successional-tree abundance and species richness. Successional-tree assemblages in fragment interior plots (>150 m from edge), which are subjected to fragment area effects but not edge effects, did not differ significantly from those in intact forest, indicating that area effects per se had little influence on successional trees. Soils and topography also had little discernable effect on these species. Collectively, our results indicate that successional-tree species proliferate rapidly in fragmented Amazonian forests, largely as a result of chronically elevated tree mortality near forest edges and possibly an increased seed rain from successional plants growing in nearby degraded habitats. The proliferation of fast-growing successional trees and correlated decline of old-growth trees will have important effects on species composition, forest dynamics, carbon storage, and nutrient cycling in fragmented forests.     

The role of GC-MS and LC-MS in the discovery of drinking water disinfection by-products

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has played a pivotal role in the discovery of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water. DBPs are formed when disinfectants, such as chlorine, ozone, chlorine dioxide or chloramine, react with natural organic matter in the water. The first DBP known--chloroform--was identified by Rook in 1974 using GC-MS. Soon thereafter, chloroform and other trihalomethanes were found to be ubiquitous in chlorinated drinking water. In 1976, the National Cancer Institute published results linking chloroform to cancer in laboratory animals, and an important public health issue was born. Mass spectrometry and, specifically, GC-MS became the key tool used for measuring these DBPs in water and for discovering other DBPs that were formed. Over the last 25 years, hundreds of DBPs have been identified, mostly through the use of GC-MS, which has spawned additional health effects studies and regulations. Early on, GC with low resolution electron ionization (EI)-MS was used, together with confirmation with chemical standards, for identification work. Later, researchers utilized chemical ionization (CI)-MS to provide molecular weight information and high resolution El-MS to aid in the determination of empirical formulae for the molecular ions and fragments. More recently, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) with either electrospray ionization (ESI) or atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) has been used to try to uncover highly polar DBPs that most experts believe have been missed by earlier GC-MS studies. Despite 25 years of research in the identification of new DBPs, new ones are being discovered every year, even for chlorine which has been the most extensively studied.     

Less-invasive autopsy for early pregnancy loss

Autopsy investigations provide valuable information regarding fetal death that can assist in the parental bereavement process, and influence future pregnancies, but conventional autopsy is often declined by parents because of its invasive approach. This has led to the development of less-invasive autopsy investigations based on imaging technology to provide a more accessible and acceptable choice for parents when investigating their loss. Whilst the development and use of more conventional clinical imaging techniques (radiographs, CT, MRI, US) are well described in the literature for fetuses over 20 weeks of gestational age, these investigations have limited diagnostic accuracy in imaging smaller fetuses. Techniques such as ultra-high-field MRI (>3T) and micro-focus computed tomography have been shown to have higher diagnostic accuracy whilst still being acceptable to parents. By further developing and increasing the availability of these more innovative imaging techniques, parents will be provided with a greater choice of acceptable options to investigate their loss, which may in turn increase their uptake. We provide a narrative review focussing on the development of high-resolution, non-invasive imaging techniques to evaluate early gestational pregnancy loss.     

Recycling as a planned behavior: the moderating role of perceived behavioral control

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This study examines the effectiveness of a public service announcement (PSA) video designed based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in motivating...