scholarly journals Contrasting selection pressure on body and weapon size in a polygynous megaherbivore

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme Shannon ◽  
Phoebe Sadler ◽  
Joanna Smith ◽  
Eleanor Roylance-Casson ◽  
Line S. Cordes

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a common morphological trait in ungulates, with polygyny considered the leading driver of larger male body mass and weapon size. However, not all polygynous species exhibit SSD, while molecular evidence has revealed a more complex relationship between paternity and mating system than originally predicted. SSD is, therefore, likely to be shaped by a range of social, ecological and physiological factors. We present the first definitive analysis of SSD in the common hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibius ) using a unique morphological dataset collected from 2994 aged individuals. The results confirm that hippos exhibit SSD, but the mean body mass differed by only 5% between the sexes, which is rather limited compared with many other polygynous ungulates. However, jaw and canine mass are significantly greater in males than females (44% and 81% heavier, respectively), highlighting the considerable selection pressure for acquiring larger weapons. A predominantly aquatic lifestyle coupled with the physiological limitations of their foregut fermenting morphology likely restricts body size differences between the sexes. Indeed, hippos appear to be a rare example among ungulates whereby sexual selection favours increased weapon size over body mass, underlining the important role that species-specific ecology and physiology have in shaping SSD.

Author(s):  
S. Lhoest ◽  
J. Linchant ◽  
S. Quevauvillers ◽  
C. Vermeulen ◽  
P. Lejeune

The common hippopotamus (<i>Hippopotamus amphibius</i> L.) is part of the animal species endangered because of multiple human pressures. Monitoring of species for conservation is then essential, and the development of census protocols has to be chased. UAV technology is considering as one of the new perspectives for wildlife survey. Indeed, this technique has many advantages but its main drawback is the generation of a huge amount of data to handle. This study aims at developing an algorithm for automatic count of hippos, by exploiting thermal infrared aerial images acquired from UAV. This attempt is the first known for automatic detection of this species. Images taken at several flight heights can be used as inputs of the algorithm, ranging from 38 to 155 meters above ground level. A Graphical User Interface has been created in order to facilitate the use of the application. Three categories of animals have been defined following their position in water. The mean error of automatic counts compared with manual delineations is +2.3% and shows that the estimation is unbiased. Those results show great perspectives for the use of the algorithm in populations monitoring after some technical improvements and the elaboration of statistically robust inventories protocols.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-229
Author(s):  
Jéssica L. Fogaça ◽  
Michel C. Vettorato ◽  
José Nicolau P. Puoli-Filho ◽  
Marco A.R. Fernandes ◽  
Vânia Maria V. Machado

ABSTRACT: Visual inspection of ultrasound examination for assessment of echogenicity and echotexture of blood vessel tissues is a technique routinely used in medical practice in humans. However, simple visual inspection can lead to poor quality diagnoses and errors. The use of grayscale histogram (GSH) analysis has proved to be an efficient technique to quantify the region of interest, allowing minimization of image interpretation errors. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the echogenicity and echotexture of the walls of the common carotid arteries of healthy female horses and mules using the GSH technique and correlate them with age, body mass, and vessel diameters. B-mode ultrasound examinations were performed in the left and right common carotid arteries in three regions (cranial, middle, and caudal) in 11 horses and 11 healthy mules. The GSH of the animals showed heterogeneous walls, but did not differentiate statistically between female horses and mules. The Mean variable of the middle right, middle left and caudal right sides showed differences, more significant in the mules. On the middle right side, the Min variable was different, higher in the mules. On the middle and caudal left side, the variables Max and Mode showed higher values in the mules. For the mules, the age factor presented negative correlation with the Mean, Mode,, Mode(Count), and Mode(Count)/Count(%) variables, and the body mass factor presented negative correlation with the Mode, Mean and Max variables. For the female horses, the body mass factor showed positive correlation with the Mean and Mode variables. Echogenicity of the carotid artery walls differed between female horses and mules, whereas echotexture was heterogeneous and statistically similar among the animals. The age and body mass factors inversely influenced the echogenicity of the mules, but were not significant in the female horses, in which only the body mass factor positively influenced echogenicity.


1992 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.L. Millest ◽  
R.A. Cheke ◽  
M.A. Howe ◽  
M.J. Lehane ◽  
R. Garms

AbstractA significant relationship between pteridine content of the head, fly age and fly size, which was independent of temperature, was found for adult females of Simulium sirbanum Vajime & Dunbar using flies maintained at different constant temperatures after eclosion. Similar relationships for flies maintained at varying temperatures within the species' natural ranges were obtained in experiments with the Beffa form of S. soubrense Vajime & Dunbar (sensu Post, 1986), S. sanctipauli Vajime & Dunbar (= S. soubrense sensu Post, 1986), S. squamosum (Enderlein), S. yahense Vajime & Dunbar and S. damnosum sensu stricto. Common slopes for the effects of age and size could be fitted to all these species. Relations between pteridine concentration in the head, fly size and age, with the common slopes but with species-specific intercepts, were used to estimate the age structure of wild-caught populations of the Beffa form of S. soubrense, S. squamosum and S. yahense. A dry season sample of S. squamosum was estimated to be older than a wet season sample. The mean age of the S. soubrense population, sampled one week after its presumptive breeding sites were treated with larvicides, was estimated to be 13.5 days. The maximum was 30.9 days and a frequency distribution of the estimates had distinct peaks, at three day intervals between 8 and 21 days. The significance of the results is discussed in relation to fly longevity and gonotrophic cycle lengths.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Bernstein

Vickers Hot Springs is located near the rural Southern California town of Ojai, and local residents have long enjoyed soaking in the sulfuric pools. But as knowledge of the springs spread, the area saw increases in fights, traffic, burglaries, and drug use. In response, two residents purchased the land and committed to restore the property while allowing limited public access, subsequently generating a great deal of controversy within the community. Privatizing Vickers Hot Springs follows the archetypical lesson of Garrett Hardin's 1968 essay, “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Hardin stated that the problem for common-pool resources was that a finite amount of services are demanded by a potentially infinite number of users, who have little to gain by sacrificing for the common good. But Hardin's theory does not always apply. Many communities have come together to manage resources, often without government oversight. Thus, the question is not whether or not Hardin's theory is accurate, but rather “under what conditions it is correct and when it makes the wrong predictions.” Case studies provide nuance to the broad brushstrokes of a theory, and whether Hardin's parable is applicable depends on the particularities of the common property resource conflict. Employing the frameworks established by Hardin, Dietz et al., and Ostrom, this paper examines the management of Vickers Hot Springs within its broader social, ecological, and political context, asking whether the particular circumstances of this resource use conflict made privatization the most predictable outcome.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-145
Author(s):  
Krishna Chandra Devkota ◽  
S Hamal ◽  
PP Panta

Pleural effusion is present when there is >15ml of fluid is accumulated in the pleural space. It can be divided into two types; exudative and transudative pleural effusion. Tuberculosis and parapneumonic effusion are the common cause of exudative pleural effusion whereas heart failure accounts for most of the cases of transudative pleural effusion. This study was a hospital based cross sectional study performed at Nepal Medical College during the period of January 2016-December 2016. A total of 50 patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Pleural effusion was confirmed by clinical examination and radiology. After confirmation of pleural effusion, pleural fluid was aspirated and was analysed for protein, LDH, cholesterol. The Heffner criteria was compared with Light criteria to classify exudative or transudative pleural effusion. Among 50 patients, 30 were male and 20 were female. The mean age of patient was 45.4±21.85 years. The sensitivity and specificity of using Light criteria to detect the two type of pleural effusion was 100% and 90.9%, whereas using Heffner criteria was 94.87%, 100% respectively(P<0.01). There are variety of causes for development of pleural effusion and no one criteria is definite to differentiate between exudative or transudative effusion. In this study Light criteria was more sensitive whereas Heffner criteria was more specific to classify exudative pleural effusion. Hence a combination of criteria might be useful in case where there is difficulty to identify the cause of pleural effusion.


Author(s):  
Neil Rhodes

This chapter examines how the development of English poetry in the second half of the sixteenth century is characterized by the search for an appropriate style. In this context, ‘reformed versifying’ may be understood as a reconciliation of high and low in which the common is reconfigured as a stylistic ideal of the mean. That development can be traced in debates about prosody where an alternative sense of ‘reformed versifying’ as adapting classical metres to English verse is rejected in favour of native form. At the same time Sidney recuperates poetry by reforming it as an agent of virtue. Reformation and Renaissance finally come together in Spenser, who realizes Erasmus’ aim of harmonizing the values of classical literature with Christian doctrine, and reconciles the foreign and the ‘homewrought’. The Faerie Queene of 1590 represents the triumph of the mean in both style and, through its celebration of marriage, in substance.


Weed Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Tao Li ◽  
Jiequn Fan ◽  
Zhenguan Qian ◽  
Guohui Yuan ◽  
Dandan Meng ◽  
...  

Abstract The use of a corn-earthworm coculture (CE) system is an eco-agricultural technology that has been gradually extended due to its high economic output and diverse ecological benefits for urban agriculture in China. However, the effect of CE on weed occurrence has received little attention. A five-year successive experiment (2015 to 2019) was conducted to compare weed occurrence in CE and a corn (Zea mays L.) monoculture (CM). The results show that CE significantly decreased weed diversity, the dominance index, total weed density and biomass, but increased the weed evenness index. The five-year mean number of weed species per plot was 8.4 in CE and 10.7 in CM. Compared to those in CM, the five-year mean density and biomass of total weeds in CE decreased by 59.2% and 66.6%, respectively. The effect of CE on weed occurrence was species specific. The mean density of large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.], green foxtail [Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.], goosegrass [Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.], and common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) in CE decreased by 94.5, 78.1, 75.0, and 45.8%, whereas the mean biomass decreased by 96.2, 80.8, 76.9, and 41.4%, respectively. Our study suggests that the use of CE could suppress weed occurrence and reduce herbicide inputs in agriculture.


2021 ◽  
pp. 232020682110065
Author(s):  
Deniz Erdil ◽  
Nilsun Bagis ◽  
Hakan Eren ◽  
Melike Camgoz ◽  
Kaan Orhan

Aim: Bruxism is defined as the involuntary recurrent masticatory muscle activity characterized by gnashing, grinding, clenching of teeth, and/or pushing the mandible. Factors creating its etiology are peripheral (morphological) or central (physiopathological and physiological), and exogenous. Recently, among physiological factors, depression and bruxism were considered to be related. A definitive treatment method does not exist for bruxism; however, botulinum toxin-A (BT-A) application is an up-to-date and effective way of treatment. The present study is aimed to evaluate the levels of depression in bruxism patients treated with BT-A application. Materials and Methods: A total of 25 individuals (23 females and 2 males) who were diagnosed as bruxism patients were included in the study. 25 U of BT-A for each masseter muscle was injected into the patients. Patients were prospectively observed for a possible change in depression levels by using Beck’s Depression Inventory. The inventory was implemented before and six months after the BT-A application. Depression levels before and six months after the injection were compared. A paired t-test was used to compare “before” and “after” treatment values. One-way analysis of variance and post-hoc Tukey tests were used to evaluate the change in Beck’s Depression Inventory scores according to age groups. Results: The mean total score was 7.80 ± 8.10 before the treatment and 7.16 ± 6.52 six months after the treatment. The decrease in the mean score was not statistically significant ( P > .05). Conclusion: In conclusion, despite the decrease in the mean Beck’s Depression Inventory scores, a statistically significant decrease in the depression levels of patients was not observed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000313482199198
Author(s):  
Imad El Moussaoui ◽  
Etienne Van Vyve ◽  
Hubert Johanet ◽  
André Dabrowski ◽  
Arnaud Piquard ◽  
...  

Background Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is the most frequently performed bariatric procedure in the world. Our purpose was to evaluate the percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL), resolution of obesity-related comorbidities after SG, and identify predictive factors of weight loss failure. Methods A prospective cohort study of adults who underwent SG during 2014 in 7 Belgian-French centers. Their demographic, preoperative, and postoperative data were prospectively collected and analyzed statistically. Results Overall, 529 patients underwent SG, with a mean preoperative weight and body mass index (BMI) of 118.9 ± 19.9 kg and 42.9 ± 5.5 kg/m2, respectively. Body mass index significantly decreased to 32.2 kg/m2 at 5 years ( P < .001). The mean %EWL was 63.6% at 5 years. A significant reduction in dyslipidemia (28.0%-18.2%), obstructive sleep apnea (OSAS) (34.6%-25.1%), and arterial hypertension (HTN) (30.4%-21.5%) was observed after 5 years, but not for diabetes and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). At multivariate analysis, age >50 years old, BMI >50 kg/m2, and previous laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) remained independent predictors of weight loss failure. Conclusions Five years after SG, weight loss was satisfactory; the reduction of comorbidities was significant for dyslipidemia, OSAS, and HTN, but not diabetes and GERD. Age >50 years old, BMI >50 kg/m2, and previous LAGB were independent predictors of weight loss failure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7_suppl4) ◽  
pp. 2325967121S0024
Author(s):  
Michael Kucharik ◽  
Paul Abraham ◽  
Mark Nazal ◽  
Nathan Varady ◽  
Wendy Meek ◽  
...  

Objectives: Acetabular labral tears distort the architecture of the hip and result in accelerated osteoarthritis and increases in femoroacetabular stress. Uncomplicated tears with preserved, native fibers can be fixed to acetabular bone using labral repair techniques, which have shown improved outcomes when compared to the previous gold standard, labral debridement and resection. If the tear is complex or the labrum is hypoplastic, labral reconstruction techniques can be utilized to add grafted tissue to existing, structurally intact tissue or completely replace a deficient labrum. The ultimate goal is to reconstruct the labrum to restore the labral seal and hip biomechanics. Clinical outcomes using autografts and allografts from multiple sources for segmental and whole labral reconstruction have been reported as successful. However, reconstruction using autografts has been associated with substantial donor-site morbidity. More recently, all-arthroscopic capsular autograft labral reconstruction has been proposed as a way to repair complex or irreparable tears without the downside of donor-site morbidity. Since all-arthroscopic capsular autograft labral reconstruction is a novel technique, there is limited data in the literature on patient outcomes. The purpose of this study is to report outcomes in patients who have undergone this procedure at a minimum 2-year follow-up. Methods: This is a retrospective case series of prospectively collected data on patients who underwent arthroscopic acetabular labral repair by a senior surgeon between December 2013 and May 2017. Patients who failed at least 3 months of conservative therapy and had a symptomatic labral tear on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) were designated for hip arthroscopy. The inclusion criteria for this study were adult patients age 18 or older who underwent arthroscopic labral repair with capsular autograft labral reconstruction and completion of a minimum 2-year follow-up. Intraoperatively, these patients were found to have a labrum with hypoplastic tissue (width < 5 mm), complex tearing, or frank degeneration of native tissue. Patients with lateral center edge angle (LCEA) ≤ 20° were excluded from analysis. Using the patients’ clinical visit notes with detailed history and physical exam findings, demographic and descriptive data were collected, including age, sex, laterality, body mass index (BMI), and Tönnis grade to evaluate osteoarthritis. Patients completed patient-reported outcome measures and postoperatively at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, and annually thereafter. Results: A total of 72 hips (69 patients) met inclusion criteria. No patients were excluded. The cohort consisted of 37 (51.4%) male and 35 (48.6%) female patients. The minimum follow-up was 24 months, with an average follow-up of 30.3 ± 13.2 months (range, 24-60). The mean patient age was 44.0 ± 10.4 years (range 21-64), with mean body mass index of 26.3 ± 4.3. The cohort consisted of 6 (8.3%) Tönnis grade 0, 48 (66.7%) Tönnis grade 1, and 18 (25.0%) Tönnis grade 2. Two (2.8%) progressed to total hip arthroplasty. Intraoperatively, 5 (6.9%) patients were classified as Outerbridge I, 14 (19.4%) Outerbridge II, 45 (62.5%) Outerbridge III, and 8 (11.1%) Outerbridge IV. Seventy-two (100.0%) patients had a confirmed labral tear, 34 (47.2%) isolated pincer lesion, 4 (5.6%) isolated CAM lesion, and 27 (37.5%) had both a pincer and CAM lesion. The mean of differences between preoperative and 24-month postoperative follow-up PROMs was 22.5 for mHHS, 17.4 for HOS-ADL, 32.7 for HOS-Sport, 22.9 for NAHS, 33.9 for iHOT-33. (Figure 1) The mean of differences between preoperative and final post-operative follow-up PROMs was 22.1 for mHHS, 17.6 for HOS-ADL, 33.2 for HOS-Sport, 23.3 for NAHS, and 34.2 for iHOT-33. (Table 1) Patient age and presence of femoroacetabular impingement were independently predictive of higher postoperative PROM improvements at final follow-up, whereas Tönnis grade was not. (Table 2) The proportion of patients to achieve the minimally clinically important difference (MCID), substantial clinical benefit (SCB), and patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) thresholds were also calculated. (Table 3) Conclusions: In this study of 72 hips undergoing arthroscopic labral repair with capsular autograft labral reconstruction, we found excellent outcomes that exceeded the MCID thresholds in the majority of patients at an average 30.3 months follow-up. When compared to capsular reconstruction from autografts and allografts, this technique offers the potential advantages of minimized donor-site morbidity and fewer complications, respectively. [Table: see text][Table: see text][Table: see text]


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