scholarly journals Striving for population-level conservation: integrating physiology across the biological hierarchy

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M Ames ◽  
Meaghan R Gade ◽  
Chelsey L Nieman ◽  
James R Wright ◽  
Christopher M Tonra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
Ecosystem Level ◽  
Biological Hierarchy ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The field of conservation physiology strives to achieve conservation goals by revealing physiological mechanisms that drive population declines in the face of human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC) and has informed many successful conservation actions. However, many studies still struggle to explicitly link individual physiological measures to impacts across the biological hierarchy (to population and ecosystem levels) and instead rely on a ‘black box’ of assumptions to scale up results for conservation implications. Here, we highlight some examples of studies that were successful in scaling beyond the individual level, including two case studies of well-researched species, and using other studies we highlight challenges and future opportunities to increase the impact of research by scaling up the biological hierarchy. We first examine studies that use individual physiological measures to scale up to population-level impacts and discuss several emerging fields that have made significant steps toward addressing the gap between individual-based and demographic studies, such as macrophysiology and landscape physiology. Next, we examine how future studies can scale from population or species-level to community- and ecosystem-level impacts and discuss avenues of research that can lead to conservation implications at the ecosystem level, such as abiotic gradients and interspecific interactions. In the process, we review methods that researchers can use to make links across the biological hierarchy, including crossing disciplinary boundaries, collaboration and data sharing, spatial modelling and incorporating multiple markers (e.g. physiological, behavioural or demographic) into their research. We recommend future studies incorporating tools that consider the diversity of ‘landscapes’ experienced by animals at higher levels of the biological hierarchy, will make more effective contributions to conservation and management decisions.

The primary prevention of anxiety disorders

2020 ◽  
pp. 948-960
Author(s):  
Aliza Werner-Seidler ◽  
Jennifer L. Hudson ◽  
Helen Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Primary Prevention ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Implementation Barriers ◽  
Cognitive Behavioural ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Prevention Programmes ◽  
Programme Content ◽  
The Impact

This chapter describes the nature of primary prevention of anxiety and reports on evidence for its effectiveness. The chapter first defines prevention before reporting results of a systematic review of randomized controlled trials designed to prevent anxiety. A review of existing trials and associated effect sizes suggests that prevention programmes can be effective in preventing anxiety disorder incidence and symptoms in multiple settings (schools, workplaces, community) across the lifespan. The median effect size at post-test across all studies was 0.21, and 0.25 specifically for cognitive behavioural prevention programmes. Key elements common to prevention programmes are then discussed, including a consideration of programme content and personnel delivering the intervention. Key implementation barriers are raised, together with suggestions for how these might be overcome in order to scale up and offer prevention at a population level. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the impact these programmes could have on anxiety disorder incidence.

scholarly journals Effects of a Wearable Carriage Aid on Whole-Body Physiological Measures and Balance

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (22) ◽  
pp. 8076
Author(s):  
Saad A. Alabdulkarim ◽  
Abdulsalam M. Farhan ◽  
Mohamed Z. Ramadan
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Oxygen Consumption ◽  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Aid Effectiveness ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Physiological Measures ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Lower Back ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Load Mass

Carriage tasks are common and can lead to shoulder and lower back injuries. Wearable carriage aids have shown mixed effects on local physical demand measures. This study examined the impact of a wearable carriage aid on whole-body physiological measures (normalized oxygen consumption, minute ventilation, respiratory rate, and heart rate) to obtain a more comprehensive assessment regarding aid effectiveness. Additionally, this study investigated the effect of wearing the device on perceived balance. The potential moderating effect of carried load mass was considered. The examination was conducted while walking on a treadmill at a constant speed (2 km/h) for 5 min and was completed by 16 participants. Wearing the device reduced normalized oxygen consumption (~14%), minute ventilation (~7%), and heart rate (~3%), while substantially improving perceived balance (~61%). These effects were consistent across examined carried load levels. Although this study highlighted the potential for the developed aid, future studies are required for more diverse and realistic testing conditions.

scholarly journals Predicting how populations decline to extinction

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1577) ◽  
pp. 2577-2586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Collen ◽  
Louise McRae ◽  
Stefanie Deinet ◽  
Adriana De Palma ◽  
Tharsila Carranza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Trend Data

Global species extinction typically represents the endpoint in a long sequence of population declines and local extinctions. In comparative studies of extinction risk of contemporary mammalian species, there appear to be some universal traits that may predispose taxa to an elevated risk of extinction. In local population-level studies, there are limited insights into the process of population decline and extinction. Moreover, there is still little appreciation of how local processes scale up to global patterns. Advancing the understanding of factors which predispose populations to rapid declines will benefit proactive conservation and may allow us to target at-risk populations as well as at-risk species. Here, we take mammalian population trend data from the largest repository of population abundance trends, and combine it with the PanTHERIA database on mammal traits to answer the question: what factors can be used to predict decline in mammalian abundance? We find in general that environmental variables are better determinants of cross-species population-level decline than intrinsic biological traits. For effective conservation, we must not only describe which species are at risk and why, but also prescribe ways to counteract this.

scholarly journals Revisiting: “A pre-post study of a multi-country scale up of resuscitation training of facility birth attendants: does helping babies breathe training save lives?”

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Berkelhamer ◽  
Nalini Singhal
Keyword(s):  
Neonatal Mortality ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Neonatal Resuscitation ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Helping Babies Breathe ◽  
Birth Attendants ◽  
Resuscitation Training ◽  
Facility Birth ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) is a low cost, skills-based neonatal resuscitation education program designed specifically for use in low resource settings. Studies from Tanzania, India and Nepal have demonstrated that HBB training results in decreased rates of fresh still birth and/or neonatal mortality. However, less is known regarding the impact of training on neonatal mortality at a population level. Bellad et al. utilized (BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2016;16 (1):222) utilized population based registries to evaluate outcomes before and after training of facility birth attendants. Their study entitled “A pre-post study of a multi-country scale up of resuscitation training of facility birth attendants: Does Helping Babies Breathe training save lives?” suggested facility based training was not associated with consistent improvements in neonatal mortality on a population level. Discussion Combining outcomes from three diverse settings may have under-estimated the impact of HBB training. We remain concerned that the modest benefits observed in the Kenyan site were lost with compiling of data. Summary The statement that HBB “was not associated with consistent improvements in mortality” may lead to the mistaken conclusion that improvements in neonatal mortality were not seen, when in fact, they were in selected cohorts. With numerous studies demonstrating potential for reduced neonatal mortality as a result of HBB training, we encourage interpretation of these findings in the context of local care.

scholarly journals Effect and feasibility of district level scale up of maternal, newborn and child health interventions in Pakistan: a quasi-experimental study

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. e036293
Author(s):  
Zahid Ali Memon ◽  
Shah Muhammad ◽  
Sajid Soofi ◽  
Nimra Khan ◽  
Nadia Akseer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
High Burden ◽  
Newborn And Child Health ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Child Health

IntroductionPakistan has a high burden of maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality. Several factors including weak scale-up of evidence-based interventions within the existing health system; lack of community awareness regarding health conditions; and poverty contribute to poor outcomes. Deaths and morbidity are largely preventable if a combination of community and facility-based interventions are rolled out at scale.Methods and analysisUmeed-e-Nau (UeN) (New Hope) project aims is to improve maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) in eight high-burden districts of Pakistan by scaling up of evidence-based interventions. The project will assess interventions focused on, first, improving the quality of MNCH care at primary level and secondary level. Second, interventions targeting demand generation such as community mobilisation, creating awareness of healthy practices and expanding coverage of outreach services will be evaluated. Third, we will also evaluate interventions targeting the improvement in quality of routine health information and promotion of use of the data for decision-making. Hypothesis of the project is that roll out of evidence-based interventions at scale will lead to at least 20% reduction in perinatal mortality and 30% decrease in diarrhoea and pneumonia case fatality in the target districts whereas two intervention groups will serve as internal controls. Monitoring and evaluation of the programme will be undertaken through conducting periodical population level surveys and quality of care assessments. Descriptive and multivariate analytical methods will be used for assessing the association between different factors, and difference in difference estimates will be used to assess the impact of the intervention on outcomes.Ethics and disseminationThe ethics approval was obtained from the Aga Khan University Ethics Review Committee. The findings of the project will be shared with relevant stakeholders and disseminated through open access peer-reviewed journal articles.Trial registration numberNCT04184544; Pre-results.

scholarly journals An assessment of seabird–fishery interactions in the Atlantic Ocean

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (8) ◽  
pp. 1628-1637 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. N. Tuck ◽  
R. A. Phillips ◽  
C. Small ◽  
R. B. Thomson ◽  
N. L. Klaer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
At Risk Populations ◽  
Fishery Interactions ◽  
Longline Fisheries ◽  
Bird Distribution ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Tuck, G. N., Phillips, R. A., Small, C., Thomson, R. B., Klaer, N. L., Taylor, F., Wanless, R. M., and Arrizabalaga, H. 2011. An assessment of seabird–fishery interactions in the Atlantic Ocean. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1628–1637. Currently, 17 of 22 albatross species are listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Incidental mortality in fisheries is by far the most widespread cause of the population declines observed for these and other closely related species. In 2006, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) requested an assessment of the threat from their fisheries to all seabirds that breed or forage within their jurisdiction. Methods were developed to assess the potential consequences of fishing for more than 60 populations of seabird. The assessment framework involved the identification of at-risk populations, overlap analyses, estimation of total bycatch, and an evaluation of the impact of the bycatch on key selected populations for which there were sufficient data on bird distribution and demography. These were the wandering and black-browed albatrosses of South Georgia and the Atlantic yellow-nosed and Tristan albatrosses of Gough Island. Summary results from the seabird assessment are presented, revealing that ICCAT longline fisheries catch substantial numbers of seabirds, with potentially significant conservation implications. If this mortality is not reduced, the numbers of breeding birds in some populations will continue to decline, threatening their long-term viability.

scholarly journals The future of a partially effective HIV vaccine: assessing limitations at the population level

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Selinger ◽  
Dobromir T. Dimitrov ◽  
Philip Welkhoff ◽  
Anna Bershteyn
Keyword(s):  
Scale Up ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Hiv Vaccine ◽  
Generation Vaccine ◽  
Vaccine Impact ◽  
The One ◽  
Time Required ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Roll Out

AbstractObjectivesMathematical models have unanimously predicted that a first-generation HIV vaccine would be useful and cost-effective to roll out, but that its overall impact would be insufficient to reverse the epidemic. Here, we explore what factors contribute most to limiting the impact of such a vaccine.MethodsRanging from a theoretical ideal to a more realistic regimen, mirroring the one used in the currently ongoing trial in South Africa (HVTN 702), we model a nested hierarchy of vaccine attributes such as speed of roll-out, efficacy, and retention of booster doses.ResultsThe predominant reasons leading to a substantial loss of vaccine impact on the HIV epidemic are the time required to scale up mass vaccination, limited durability and waning of efficacy.ConclusionsA partially effective HIV vaccine will be a critical milestone for the development of a highly effective, durable, and scalable next-generation vaccine. Accelerated development, expedited vaccine availability, and improved immunogenicity are the main attributes of a vaccine that could dramatically reverse the course of the epidemic in highly endemic countries.

scholarly journals Low functional redundancy among mammalian browsers in regulating an encroaching shrub ( Solanum campylacanthum ) in African savannah

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1785) ◽  
pp. 20140390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Pringle ◽  
Jacob R. Goheen ◽  
Todd M. Palmer ◽  
Grace K. Charles ◽  
Elyse DeFranco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Level ◽  
Functional Redundancy ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Large Herbivore ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Viable Seeds ◽  
The Impact

Large herbivorous mammals play an important role in structuring African savannahs and are undergoing widespread population declines and local extinctions, with the largest species being the most vulnerable. The impact of these declines on key ecological processes hinges on the degree of functional redundancy within large-herbivore assemblages, a subject that has received little study. We experimentally quantified the effects of three browser species (elephant, impala and dik-dik) on individual- and population-level attributes of Solanum campylacanthum ( Solanum incanum sensu lato ), an encroaching woody shrub, using semi-permeable exclosures that selectively removed different-sized herbivores. After nearly 5 years, shrub abundance was lowest where all browser species were present and increased with each successive species deletion. Different browsers ate the same plant species in different ways, thereby exerting distinct suites of direct and indirect effects on plant performance and density. Not all of these effects were negative: elephants and impala also dispersed viable seeds and indirectly reduced seed predation by rodents and insects. We integrated these diffuse positive effects with the direct negative effects of folivory using a simple population model, which reinforced the conclusion that different browsers have complementary net effects on plant populations, and further suggested that under some conditions, these net effects may even differ in direction.

scholarly journals Linking light-dependent life history traits with population dynamics for Prochlorococcus and cyanophage

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Demory ◽  
Riyue Liu ◽  
Yue Chen ◽  
Fangxin Zhao ◽  
Ashley Coenen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Life History ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Cellular Growth ◽  
Diurnal Rhythms ◽  
Cell Infection ◽  
Infection Dynamics ◽  
The Impact

Prochlorococcus grow in diurnal rhythms driven by diel cycles. Their ecology depends on light, nutrients, and top-down mortality processes including lysis by viruses. Cyanophage, viruses that infect cyanobacteria, are also impacted by light. For example, extracellular viability and intra-cell infection kinetics of some cyanophage vary between light and dark conditions. Nonetheless, it remains unclear if light-dependent viral life history traits scale-up to influence population-level dynamics. Here we examined the impact of diel-forcing on both cellular- and population-scale dynamics in multiple Prochlorococcus-phage systems. To do so, we developed a light-driven population model including both cellular growth and viral infection dynamics. We then tested the model against measurements of experimental infection dynamics with diel forcing to examine the extent to which population level changes in both viral and host abundances could be explained by light-dependent life history traits. Model-data integration reveals that light-dependent adsorption can improve fits to population dynamics for some virus-host pairs. However, light-dependent variation alone does not fully explain realized host and virus population dynamics. Instead, we show evidence of a previously unrecognized lysis saturation at relatively high virus to cell ratios. Altogether, our study represents a quantitative approach to integrate mechanistic models to reconcile Prochlorococcus-virus dynamics spanning cellular to population scales.

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