scholarly journals The role of anthropogenic disturbance and invasion of yellow crazy ant in a recent decline of land crab population

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Chen Lee ◽  
Ming-Chung Chiu ◽  
Chun-Han Shih ◽  
Chin-Cheng Scotty Yang ◽  
Hung-Chang Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Additive Model ◽  
Land Crab ◽  
Land Crabs ◽  
Breeding Migration ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Natural Spring ◽  
Study Sites

AbstractThe yellow crazy ant, Anoplolepis gracilipes was first reported in Kenting National Park, Taiwan, in the 2000s, raising the concern of this invasive ant’s potential effects on the native land crab populations. We investigated the distribution and abundance of A. gracilipes and its adverse effect on the land crab populations at four land crab hotspots within the park. Our survey results indicated that A. gracilipes was widespread and abundant at three of the study sites (Hsiangchiaowan, Shadao, and Natural Spring), while the distribution was much more confined at the fourth site (Houwan). Land crab populations experienced a notable decline at all the study sites except Houwan, indicating an inverse relationship between the population of land crabs and distribution/abundance of A. gracilipes. Combining the results of visual observations, the decline of land crab populations can be attributed, at least partially, to direct attacks by A. gracilipes on land crabs in their natural habitat and during the breeding migration season. Generalized additive model showed that worker abundance of this ant is associated with human disturbance levels, suggesting that anthropogenic disturbance may have contributed to the decline in land crab populations via promoting the abundance of A. gracilipes.

scholarly journals Influence of roadkill during breeding migration on the sex ratio of land crab (Sesarma haematoche)

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mi Ryu ◽  
Jae Geun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
High Tide ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Road Mortality ◽  
Artificial Structures ◽  
Land Crab ◽  
Land Crabs ◽  
Breeding Migration ◽  
Island Habitats

Abstract Adult land crabs generally live on land while their larvae live in the sea. In the case of Sesarma haematoche, female crabs migrate from land to sea to release the larvae at the high tide of syzygy night. Artificial structures along coastal areas are being obstacles for the migration of land crabs and causing synchronized roadkills on coastal roads during breeding migration. In this research, we compared the sex ratios of crab populations in coastal areas with coastal roads and uninhabited island areas with no road. The proportion of females in inland habitats with coastal roads was significantly smaller than island habitats. In particular, females are exposed to the risk of annually repeated roadkills, and the proportion of females decreases rapidly with their growth. If this tendency is general for land crab populations in the coastal areas with roads, significant road mortality of female land crabs during breeding migration can lead to severe population decline in coastal areas. Therefore, it is necessary to take an action to save land crabs crossing coastal roads.

scholarly journals Integrating Sustainability and Lean: SLIM Method and Enterprise Game Proposed

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilie Tăucean ◽  
Matei Tămășilă ◽  
Larisa Ivascu ◽  
Șerban Miclea ◽  
Mircea Negruț
Keyword(s):  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Effective Solution ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Education Activity ◽  
Industry And Education ◽  
The Unemployed

Sustainability and leanness are organizational approach concepts for more efficient activities and increased competitiveness. This paper presents a study and an application of the concepts of sustainability and lean, with the purpose to capitalize on the benefits of the two concepts’ tools when used together in an industry and education activity. A literature review was carried out to evaluate qualitatively and empirically the concepts of sustainability, lean, and enterprise games, and the possibility to integrate the first two concepts into a new tool applied into an enterprise game. An online survey was done to identify which tools are used within companies in the region, how and what training methods they used, and what the reported benefits are. The survey results were used to design a new tool integrated in a new enterprise game (SLIM) developed by the authors. The game was tested and validated in educational laboratory with students and actual employees from companies. The game follows the frame of an enterprise game, considering the simulation of enterprise classical functions. The game’s purpose is to improve the activity in successive rounds. A scorecard is used to fill in and compute the key performance indicators (KPIs), and a new indicator is proposed (SLIMx). Applications of the instrument/game include: students’ training in an educational laboratory; lifelong learning; professional training in companies; and professional perfection/reconversion of potential employees and the unemployed. The SLIM game was simulated in a team of 15 players over three rounds, with teachers playing the role of the supervisor. A number of possible improvements have been identified. The next step is testing it in enterprises with various fields of activity. SLIM has proven to be an effective solution to improve organizational efficiency and motivate players to gain new knowledge.

scholarly journals Group size and aquatic vegetation modulates male preferences for female shoals in wild zebrafish, Danio rerio

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditya Ghoshal ◽  
Anuradha Bhat
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Aquatic Vegetation ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Female Group ◽  
Aquatic Flora ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Individual

AbstractShoaling decisions in the wild are determined by a combination of innate preferences of the individual along with the interplay of multiple ecological factors. In their natural habitat as well as in the laboratory, zebrafish is a shoaling fish. Here, we investigate the role of group size and associated vegetation in shaping shoaling preferences of wild male zebrafish. We studied the association preference of males to groups of female shoals in a multi-choice test design. We found that males made greater proportion of visits to an 8-female group compared to 2 and 4-female groups. However, males spent similar proportions of time across the three female-containing groups. When artificial vegetation was incorporated along with female number as an additional factor, we found that males prefer high and moderately vegetated patches compared to low or no-vegetation groups, irrespective of the number of females in these patches. Based on experiments using a novel multi-choice design, our results show that preference for group size can change due to interaction of two separate factors. This work is a first attempt to understand the role of aquatic flora in determining shoaling preferences in zebrafish, using an experimental paradigm consisting of a gradation in female and vegetation densities.

scholarly journals Insects in the City: Does Remnant Native Habitat Influence Insect Order Distributions?

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Mani Shrestha ◽  
Jair E. Garcia ◽  
Freya Thomas ◽  
Scarlett R. Howard ◽  
Justin H. J. Chua ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Ecological Value ◽  
Native Habitat ◽  
Insect Order ◽  
Insect Pollinator ◽  
Pollinating Insects ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

There is increasing interest in developing urban design principles that incorporate good ecological management. Research on understanding the distribution and role of beneficial pollinating insects, in particular, is changing our view of the ecological value of cities. With the rapid expansion of the built environment comes a need to understand how insects may be affected in extensive urban areas. We therefore investigated insect pollinator capture rates in a rapidly growing and densely urbanized city (Melbourne, Australia). We identified a remnant native habitat contained within the expansive urban boundary, and established study sites at two nearby populated urban areas. We employed standard pan trap sampling techniques to passively sample insect orders in the different environments. Our results show that, even though the types of taxonomic groups of insects captured are comparable between locations, important pollinators like bees and hoverflies were more frequently captured in the remnant native habitat. By contrast, beetles (Coleoptera) and butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera) were more frequently observed in the urban residential regions. Our results suggest that the maintenance of native habitat zones within cities is likely to be valuable for the conservation of bees and the ecosystem services they provide.

scholarly journals NLRP1 influences the systemic sclerosis phenotype: a new clue for the contribution of innate immunity in systemic sclerosis-related fibrosing alveolitis pathogenesis

2010 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 668-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Dieudé ◽  
M Guedj ◽  
J Wipff ◽  
B Ruiz ◽  
G Riemekasten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Innate Immunity ◽  
Systemic Sclerosis ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Additive Model ◽  
Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽  
Fibrosing Alveolitis ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Risk Alleles ◽  
Caucasian Origin

BackgroundRecent evidence has highlighted a potential role of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) in systemic sclerosis (SSc). NLRP1 provides a scaffold for the assembly of the inflammasome that promotes the processing and maturation of pro-IL-1β. In addition, NLRP1 variants were found to confer susceptibility to autoimmune disorders.ObjectiveTo study a possible association of the NLRP1 rs6502867, rs2670660 and rs8182352, rs12150220 and rs4790797 with SSc in the European Caucasian population.MethodsNLRP1 single nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped in 3227 individuals comprising a discovery set (870 SSc patients and 962 controls) and a replication set including individuals from Germany (532 SSc patients and 324 controls) and Italy (527 SSc patients and 301 controls), all individuals being of European Caucasian origin.ResultsConditional analyses revealed a significant association for the NLRP1 rs8182352 variant with both anti-topoisomerase-positive and SSc-related fibrosing alveolitis (FA) subsets under an additive model: p=0.0042, OR 1.23 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.41) and p=0.0065 OR 1.19 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.36), respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed an additive effect of IRF5 rs2004640, STAT4 rs7574865 and NLRP1 rs8182352 risk alleles on SSc-related FA.ConclusionsOur results establish NLRP1 as a new genetic susceptibility factor for SSc-related pulmonary fibrosis and anti-topoisomerase-positive SSc phenotypes. This provides new insights into the pathogenesis of SSc, underlining the potential role of innate immunity in particular in the FA-positive SSc subphenotype, which represents a severe subset of the disease.

Tick-induced blood loss leads to regenerative anaemia in the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

Parasitology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. PFÄFFLE ◽  
T. PETNEY ◽  
M. ELGAS ◽  
J. SKUBALLA ◽  
H. TARASCHEWSKI
Keyword(s):  
Blood Loss ◽  
Tick Infestation ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Blood Parameters ◽  
Experimental Population ◽  
Erinaceus Europaeus ◽  
European Hedgehog ◽  
Blood Characteristics

SUMMARYAlthough there is an increasing understanding of the role of parasites in their host dynamics, accurate, quantitative estimates of parasite caused morbidity in wild animals are rare. Here, we examine the possible impact of 2 tick species (Ixodes ricinus, I. hexagonus) on the condition of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). For this, we tested for correlations between blood parameters of 36 adult hedgehogs from an experimental population enclosed in a natural habitat and their tick infestation over a period of 8 months (March–October 2007). We found correlations between the tick infestation and the concentration of red blood cells, haemoglobin, haematocrit, MCH, MCHC, thrombocytes, lymphocytes and neutrophils. These results indicate that ticks can induce anaemia in the hedgehog. The peripheral blood characteristics and the erythrocyte indices characterize this anaemia as haemorrhagic and regenerative. During the course of our study the hedgehogs of our population showed below normal mortality but morbidity was found to be high resulting from the blood loss caused by the feeding activity of the ticks.

The role of forest deadwood in rockfall protection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Ringenbach ◽  
Peter Bebi ◽  
Perry Bartelt ◽  
Andrin Caviezel
Keyword(s):  
Basal Area ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Runout Distance ◽  
In Situ Sensors ◽  
Efficient Protection ◽  
Cost Efficient ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Rockfall Protection

<p>Forests with a high density and basal area of living trees are known for their function as natural and cost-efficient protection against rockfall. The role of deadwood, however, is less understood. We address this knowledge gap in this contribution as we present the results of repeated real-scale experiments in a) a montane beech-spruce forest with and without deadwood and b) in a subalpine scrub mountain pine-spruce forest with deadwood. We used artificial rocks with either an equant or platy shape, masses between 45 kg and 800 kg (≈ 0.3 m3), and equipped with in-situ sensors to gain insights into rotational velocities and impact-accelerations. Clusters of deadwood and erected root plates reduced the mean runout distance at both study sites. For site a), we found that more rocks were stopped behind lying than living trees and that the stopping effect of deadwood was greater for equant compared to platy rock shapes. Site b) revealed a braking effect of scrub mountain pines for relatively small (45 kg), but also a visible reduction in rotational velocities for the 800 kg rocks sensor stream. We conclude that deadwood must be taken into account in rockfall modeling and the management of rockfall protection forests.</p>

scholarly journals Embracing the flipped classroom: the planning and execution of a faculty workshop

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 648-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaya Gopalan ◽  
Georgia Bracey ◽  
Megan Klann ◽  
Cynthia Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Teaching Approach ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Faculty Workshop

A great deal of interest has emerged recently in the flipped classroom (FC), a student-centered teaching approach. After attending a presentation by the first author on the FC, a faculty member of a medical school in Mexico arranged for a 3-day workshop for 13 faculty members. The goal of the workshop was to train faculty to use the FC strategy in their classrooms to increase student engagement in learning. The workshop was in the FC style, where the participants would assume the role of students. Pre- and posttraining surveys were administered to examine participants’ current teaching practices and to evaluate their perceptions of the FC. The participants overwhelmingly reported the need to change their lecture-based teaching, as it was not engaging students. Their large class size, lack of technology, training, and uncertainty of the effectiveness of new teaching methods had hindered participants from changing their teaching technique. The on-site training not only allowed the entire department to work closely and discuss the new teaching approach, but also reinforced the idea of changing their teaching strategy and embracing FC teaching method. After the workshop, participants reported being determined to use the FC strategy in their classrooms and felt more prepared to do so. The post-survey results indicated that participants valued the FC training in the flipped style and wanted more of the hands-on activities. In conclusion, the 3-day faculty workshop on the FC was successful, since every participant was motivated to use this teaching method.

Touch insensitive foraging of Caenorhabditis elegans in a constrained structure

Nematology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-554
Author(s):  
Jinu Eo ◽  
Kazunori Otobe
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
The Body ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Agar Gel ◽  
Touch Sensor ◽  
Foraging Pattern

Abstract The objective of this study was to clarify the role of touch sensors in the foraging of Caenorhabditis elegans in a constrained structure. The strains tested included an array of mechanosensory mutants insensitive to touch in the body, tail or nose. The mutants and wild type nematodes repeated forward and backward movement in a micro-moulded substrate as on the surface of agar gel. Differences in the foraging pattern were not obvious among mutant groups having different touch sensor deficit in the substrate, and all strains of nematode successfully moved out of the T-shaped structure after searching the configuration of their environment. The results suggest that the touch sensor is a weak contributor to the performance of the worms when foraging, and the behaviour is governed by intrinsic spontaneous patterns in the absence of any stimuli in natural habitat.

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