Experimental assessment of the effects of gastrointestinal parasites on offspring quality in chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica)

Parasitology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 139 (6) ◽  
pp. 819-824 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. PALACIOS ◽  
F. VALERA ◽  
A. BARBOSA
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Chinstrap Penguin ◽  
Gastrointestinal Parasites ◽  
Helminth Parasites ◽  
Offspring Quality ◽  
Host Fitness ◽  
Pygoscelis Antarctica ◽  
Negative Effect

SUMMARYParasites reduce host fitness and consequently impose strong selection pressures on their hosts. It has been hypothesized that parasites are scarcer and their overall effect on hosts is weaker at higher latitudes. Although Antarctic birds have relatively low numbers of parasites, their effect on host fitness has rarely been investigated. The effect of helminth parasitism on growth rate was experimentally studied in chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) nestlings. In a total of 22 two-nestling broods, 1 nestling was treated with anthelminthics (for cestodes and nematodes) while its sibling was left as a control. Increased growth rate was predicted in de-wormed nestlings compared to their siblings. As expected, 15 days after treatment, the experimental nestlings had increased body mass more than their siblings. These results show a non-negligible negative effect of helminth parasites on nestling body condition that would presumably affect future survival and thus fitness, and it has been suggested there is a strong relationship between body mass and mortality in chinstrap penguins.

scholarly journals Spatial distribution of the Barbary Partridge (Alectoris barbara) in Sardinia explained by land use and climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianpasquale Chiatante ◽  
Marta Giordano ◽  
Anna Vidus Rosin ◽  
Oreste Sacchi ◽  
Alberto Meriggi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Distance Sampling ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
European Population ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Brood Rearing ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Study Sites

AbstractMore than half of the European population of the Barbary Partridge is in Sardinia; nonetheless, the researches concerning this species are very scarce, and its conservation status is not defined because of a deficiency of data. This research aimed to analyse the habitat selection and the factors affecting the abundance and the density of the Barbary Partridge in Sardinia. We used the data collected over 8 years (between 2004 and 2013) by spring call counts in 67 study sites spread on the whole island. We used GLMM to define the relationships between the environment (topography, land use, climate) both the occurrence and the abundance of the species. Moreover, we estimated population densities by distance sampling. The Barbary Partridge occurred in areas at low altitude with garrigue and pastures, avoiding woodlands and sparsely vegetated areas. We found a strong relationship between the occurrence probability and the climate, in particular, a positive relation with temperature and a negative effect of precipitation, especially in April–May, during brood rearing. Furthermore, dry crops positively affected the abundance of the species. We estimated a density of 14.1 partridges per km2, similar to other known estimates. Our findings are important both because they increase the knowledge concerning this species, which is considered data deficient in Italy, and because they are useful to plan management actions aimed to maintain viable populations if necessary.

Allometry of diving capacity in air-breathing vertebrates

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason F. Schreer ◽  
Kit M. Kovacs
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Allometric Relationship ◽  
Air Breathing ◽  
Diving Depth ◽  
Maximum Duration ◽  
Phocid Seals ◽  
Bird Group ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

Maximum diving depths and durations were examined in relation to body mass for birds, marine mammals, and marine turtles. There were strong allometric relationships between these parameters (log10 transformed) among air-breathing vertebrates (r = 0.71, n = 111 for depth; r = 0.84, n = 121 for duration), although there was considerable scatter around the regression lines. Many of the smaller taxonomic groups also had a strong allometric relationship between diving capacity (maximum depth and duration) and body mass. Notable exceptions were mysticete cetaceans and diving/flying birds, which displayed no relationship between maximum diving depth and body mass, and otariid seals, which showed no relationship between maximum diving depth or duration and body mass. Within the diving/flying bird group, only alcids showed a significant relationship (r = 0.81, n = 9 for depth). The diving capacities of penguins had the highest correlations with body mass (r = 0.81, n = 11 for depth; r = 0.93, n = 9 for duration), followed by those of odontocete cetaceans (r = 0.75, n = 21 for depth; r = 0.84, n = 22 for duration) and phocid seals (r = 0.70, n = 15 for depth; r = 0.59, n = 16 for duration). Mysticete cetaceans showed a strong relationship between maximum duration and body mass (r = 0.84, n = 9). Comparisons across the various groups indicated that alcids, penguins, and phocids are all exceptional divers relative to their masses and that mysticete cetaceans dive to shallower depths and for shorter periods than would be predicted from their size. Differences among groups, as well as the lack of relationships within some groups, could often be explained by factors such as the various ecological feeding niches these groups exploit, or by variations in the methods used to record their behavior.

Comments on “Impacts of CO2-Induced Warming on Simulated Hurricane Intensity and Precipitation: Sensitivity to the Choice of Climate Model and Convective Scheme”

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 5179-5182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Michaels ◽  
Paul C. Knappenberger ◽  
Christopher Landsea
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Real World ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Hurricane Intensity ◽  
Convective Scheme

Abstract In a simulation of enhanced tropical cyclones in a warmer world, Knutson and Tuleya make several assumptions that are not borne out in the real world. They include an unrealistically large carbon dioxide growth rate, an overly strong relationship between sea surface temperature and hurricane intensity, and the use of a mesoscale model that has shown little to no useful skill in predicting current-day hurricane intensity. After accounting for these inaccuracies, a detectable increase in Atlantic hurricane intensity in response to growing atmospheric greenhouse gas levels during this century becomes unlikely.

Explaining variability in parasite aggregation levels among host samples

Parasitology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT POULIN
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Host Susceptibility ◽  
Helminth Parasites ◽  
Susceptibility To Infection ◽  
Host Body ◽  
Parasite Aggregation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Host Body Size

SUMMARYAggregated distributions among individual hosts are a defining feature of metazoan parasite populations. Heterogeneity among host individuals in exposure to parasites or in susceptibility to infection is thought to be the main factor generating aggregation, with properties of parasites themselves explaining some of the variability in aggregation levels observed among species. Here, using data from 410 samples of helminth parasites on fish hosts, I tested the contribution of (i) within-sample variation in host body size, taken as a proxy for variability in host susceptibility, and (ii) parasite taxon and developmental stage, to the aggregated distribution of parasites. Log-transformed variance in numbers of parasites per host was regressed against log mean number across all samples; the strong relationship (r2 = 0·88) indicated that aggregation levels are tightly constrained by mean infection levels, and that only a small proportion of the observed variability in parasite aggregation levels remains to be accounted for by other factors. Using the residuals of this regression as measures of ‘unexplained’ aggregation, a mixed effects model revealed no significant effect of within-sample variation in host body size or of parasite taxon or stage (i.e. juvenile versus adult) on parasite aggregation level within a sample. However, much of the remaining variability in parasite aggregation levels among samples was accounted for by the number of individual hosts examined per sample, and species-specific and study-specific effects reflecting idiosyncrasies of particular systems. This suggests that with most differences in aggregation among samples already explained, there may be little point in seeking universal causes for the remaining variation.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Status, Institutional Power, and Body Mass Index among Chinese Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 10620
Author(s):  
Weidong Li ◽  
Shuzhuo Li ◽  
Marcus W. Feldman
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Chinese Adults ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Force Dynamics ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Positive Effect

Despite the vast literature on the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient of obesity among adult people, no study has investigated the relationship between institutional power and body mass index. Using national survey data from the “China Labor-force Dynamics Survey 2016” (CLDS 2016), multistage cluster-stratified probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling was employed to select cases from 29 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions in China. This study adopts an institutional approach to explore the influences of SES and institutional power on the state of being overweight or severely overweight (obese) among Chinese adults. It is shown that SES has a non-linear influence on being overweight or obese, higher education has a negative effect on being overweight or obese, income has an inverted U-shaped effect on being overweight or obese, and having a managerial or administrative job has a positive effect on being overweight but less so on obesity. These findings reveal that disparities in health outcome and risks are due to inequality in SES. The work unit is a stronger predictor of adults being overweight or obese than occupation. Working in the public sector has a positive effect on being overweight relative to working in the private sector, and only state institutions and government departments have a positive association with obesity. Our results indicate that institutional structure still has effects on individuals’ life chances in the era of China’s market transition.

scholarly journals Estado nutricional e desfechos clínicos em pacientes críticos internados em hospital universitário

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-366
Author(s):  
Edcleide Oliveira dos Santos Olinto ◽  
Gina Araújo Martins Feitosa ◽  
Izaura Odir Lima Gomes da Costa ◽  
Janine Maciel Barbosa ◽  
Ericka Vilar Bôtto Targino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
The Body ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Nutritional Risk ◽  
World Health ◽  
P Value ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Length Of Hospitalization

Introduction: There is a strong relationship between malnutrition and increased length of hospitalization and morbidity and mortality. Studies have shown that malnourished patients can have up to twenty times more complications than eutrophic ones. In critically ill patients, there is a tendency to catabolism, resulting in the loss of lean body mass, which when it reaches 40% is usually lethal. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive study was conducted on adults from both genders, admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital, from March to December 2018. The following variables were collected from the evaluation and nutritional records: length of hospitalization in the ICU, date of discharge or death, nutritional risk through specific screening, height, weight and arm circumference (AC). For the screening, the Nutric score was used. For the nutritional evaluation, the body mass index (BMI) and AC indicators and the classifications recommended by the World Health Organization (2004) and Blackburn and Thornton (1979) were used. After collecting the data, they were analyzed in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 13.0 and for the association of the variables the Chi-square test was used, considering statistical difference when the p value <0.05. Results: The sample consisted of 116 patients, mostly female (53.4%) whose median age was 46 years (interquartile range IQR 31-53). Regarding the frequency of nutritional risk, most patients (61.5%) had a low score. There was an important frequency of malnutrition, according to the AC indicator (73%), although BMI (43.5%) showed eutrophy. Even though most patients had low nutritional risk, those with high nutritional risk (38.5%) had a higher tendency to mortality, however, not statistically confirmed (p> 0.05). There was also a tendency of association between death and malnutrition, although no statistical significance was shown(p> 0.05). Conclusion: Patients at nutritional risk and/or malnutrition appear to be vulnerable to worse clinical outcomes.

scholarly journals Power Outages in Ghana: Did They Have an Effect on the Financial Performance of Listed Firms?

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1434-1439
Author(s):  
Dinah Koranteng Anaman ◽  
Bawuah Bernard
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Power Outages ◽  
Power Outage ◽  
Average Growth ◽  
Revenue Generation ◽  
Listed Firms ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Operational Expenditure

The paper seeks to find out whether the recent power outages in Ghana had a negative effect on listed firms.. Out of 35 listed firms in Ghana, 25 were purposively chosen as the sample size for the study. The research design was explanatory and employed quantitative methods that enabled comparison of six years trend analysis of firms’ performance – ‘before’ and ‘during’ power outage periods. Key performance indicators measured were Revenue, Profitability and Growth Rate. Findings were that power outages did not have effect on revenue generation of listed firms and that contrary, they recorded higher maximum revenues for power outage periods. Again, an average growth rate of 122.26% for periods of power outages as against 79.0% mean growth rate for periods of consistent power established that power outages did not have an effect on the growth rate of listed firms. However, power outages had an effect on listed firms’ profitability and more so, accounted for increases in operational expenditure. Our findings on revenue generation and growth rate are unique in literature but that on revenue generation confirms earlier studies. We conclude that the effect of power outages on financial performance of listed firms in Ghana is mixed. To investors, we still recommend Ghana as an investment destination since power outages that beset the country were well managed and did not, to a large extent, have a negative effect on firms’ performances.

scholarly journals School bags and associated back pain

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-19
Author(s):  
Amra Mačak Hadžiomerović ◽  
Amila Jaganjac ◽  
Dijana Avdic ◽  
Emira švraka ◽  
Arzija Pašalić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Back Pain ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
The Body ◽  
Fifth Grade ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Type Of School

Introduction: The most common health problem associated with the negative effect of heavy school bags is back pain, and non-specific back pain is frequently observed in childhood. The prevalence of back pain in schoolchildren varies from 12% to 92%, depending on the age and affected region of the back. To prevent the occurrence of back pain in schoolchildren, the weight of school bag should not exceed 10% of the child’s body mass.Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted in April 2017. We included 79 students of the fifth and sixth grade from the elementary school in Sarajevo. Information on the weight and type of school bag, method of carrying a school bag, and feelings of pain and tiredness due to school bag were obtained by questionnaire.Results: In the total sample, the majority of the students (64.6%) reported occasional back pain while carrying the bag, 20.3% of students reported no back pain, and 11.4% of students experienced frequent back pain. The mean school bag weight in the fifth grade was 4.01 ± 0.57 kg, and it was significantly higher (4.61 ± 0.86 kg) in the sixth grade. About 48.5% of the students in the fifth and 50% in the sixth grade carried school bags weighing more than 10% of the body mass. A higher mean weight of school bag was significantly more frequent in students who reported always feeling tired (11.03 ± 2.74%) compared to those who did not feel tired while carrying the school bag (8.41 ± 2%).Conclusions: Overall, more frequent occurrence of back pain and tiredness in schoolchildren was associated with heavier school bags (>10% of the body mass), and the occurrence of back pain due to school bag was related to gender (i.e., back pain was more common in girls compared to boys).

The relationship between body mass and rate of rewarming from hibernation and daily torpor in mammals

1990 ◽  
Vol 151 (1) ◽  
pp. 349-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Geiser ◽  
R. V. Baudinette
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Rate ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Basal Metabolic Rate ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
The Other ◽  
Daily Torpor ◽  
Pronounced Increase ◽  
The Relationship

1. Rewarming rate from torpor and body mass were inversely related in 86 mammals ranging in body mass between 2 and 8500 g. 2. Most of the mammalian taxa investigated showed a similar change of rewarming rate with body mass. Only the insectivores showed a more pronounced increase in rewarming with a decrease in body mass than did the other taxa. The rates of rewarming of marsupials were similar to those of placentals. 3. At low air temperature (Ta), the rate of rewarming of marsupials was not related to body mass, although a strong relationship between the two variables was observed in the same species at high Ta. 4. The slopes relating rewarming rates and body mass of the mammalian groups and taxa analysed here were similar to those obtained earlier for mass-specific basal metabolic rate (BMR) and body mass in mammals, suggesting that the rate of rewarming and BMR are physiologically linked.

AGEWEAN – The effect of weaning age on sow performance over four parities

2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 ◽  
pp. 85-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.L. Edge ◽  
K. Breuer ◽  
K. Hillman ◽  
C.A. Morgan ◽  
A. Stewart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Growth Promoter ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Weaning Age ◽  
Weaning Pigs ◽  
Piglet Growth

Weaning pigs from the sow at an older age, when their digestive systems are more mature, has been suggested as an approach to reduce the potentially negative effect of the in-feed antibiotic growth promoter (AGP) ban on the national pig herd. Whilst this approach has been shown to improve feed intake and piglet growth rate during the early postweaning period (Edge et al. 2006) it is also important to consider how changes in weaning age may influence sow productivity and longevity in the herd. The AGEWEAN programme of research followed 570 gilts whose piglets were weaned at either 4, 6 or 8 weeks of age through four successive parities; reproductive performance, litter data and the timing and reasons for any sow being culled from the herd were recorded.

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