scholarly journals Fallen Pillars: The Past, Present, and Future Population Dynamics of a Rare, Specialist Coral–Algal Symbiosis

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea N. Chan ◽  
Cynthia L. Lewis ◽  
Karen L. Neely ◽  
Iliana B. Baums
Author(s):  
Lisa J. Faust ◽  
Claudine André ◽  
Raphaël Belais ◽  
Fanny Minesi ◽  
Zjef Pereboom ◽  
...  

Wildlife sanctuaries rescue, rehabilitate, reintroduce and provide life-long care for orphaned and injured animals. Understanding a sanctuary’s population dynamics—patterns in arrival, mortality and projected changes in population size—allows careful planning for future needs. Building on previous work on the population dynamics of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in sanctuaries of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA; Faust et al. 2011), this chapter extends analyses to the only PASA bonobo sanctuary. Its authors analysed historic demographic patterns and projected future population dynamics using an individual-based demographic model. The population has been growing at 6.7 per cent per year, driven by arrivals of new individuals (mean = 5.5 arrivals per year). Several model scenarios projecting varying arrival rates, releases and breeding scenarios clarify potential future growth trajectories for the sanctuary. This research illustrates how data on historic dynamics can be modelled to inform future sanctuary capacity and management needs. Les sanctuaires de faune secourent, réhabilitent, réintroduisent, et fournissent des soins pour toute la vie aux animaux orphelins et blessés. Comprendre les dynamiques de la population d’un sanctuaire—les motifs d’arrivée, mortalité, et de changements projetés de la taille de la population—permet une planification prudente pour les nécessités du futur. En se basant sur le travail déjà fait sur les dynamiques de la population chimpanzé (Pan troglodytes) dans les sanctuaires du Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA; Faust et al. 2011), nous étendons notre analyse au seul sanctuaire bonobo par PASA. Nous avons analysé les motifs démographiques historiques et avons projeté les futures dynamiques de la population en utilisant un modèle démographique basé sur l’individu. La population augmente de 6.7 per cent par an, poussée par l’arrivée de nouveaux individus (moyenne = 5.5 arrivées par an). Plusieurs scénarios modèles montrent une trajectoire de potentielle croissance pour le sanctuaire. Cette recherche illustre comment modeler les données sur les dynamiques historiques pour informer la capacité future du sanctuaire et les besoins gestionnaires.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Fisher ◽  
Jessica A. Haines ◽  
Stan Boutin ◽  
Ben Dantzer ◽  
Jeffrey E. Lane ◽  
...  

AbstractInteractions between organisms are ubiquitous and have important consequences for phenotypes and fitness. Individuals can even influence those they never meet, if they have extended phenotypes which mean the environments others experience are altered. North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) guard food hoards, an extended phenotype that typically outlives the individual and is almost always inherited by non relatives. Hoarding by previous owners can therefore influence subsequent owners. We found that red squirrels bred earlier and had higher lifetime fitness if the previous owner was a male. This was driven by hoarding behaviour, as males and mid-aged squirrels had the largest hoards, and these effects persisted across owners, such that if the previous owner was male or died in mid-age subsequent occupants had larger hoards. Individuals can, therefore, influence each other’s resource dependent traits and fitness without meeting via extended phenotypes, and so the past can influence contemporary population dynamics.


2013 ◽  
Vol 142 (4) ◽  
pp. 672-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. JACKSON ◽  
PEJMAN ROHANI

SUMMARYRecent much-publicized increases in pertussis case reports in some countries with high vaccine coverage have raised concerns about its current and future control. The ubiquity of this trend, however, remains unexamined. In an attempt to paint a global picture, we used case counts to determine which countries experienced statistically significant trends in incidence over the past two decades and to map changes in incidence during this period. These data reveal that pertussis resurgence is not a universal phenomenon. The heterogeneity in incidence trends, even in countries with superficially similar demography, socioeconomic conditions and vaccination programmes, is striking and requires explanation. In this opinion piece, we review and assess the multifaceted proposed explanations incorporating evolution, population dynamics, and the details of immunization programmes. While we do not solve the riddle that is pertussis epidemiology, we highlight critical aspects that are likely to hold the key to understanding its worldwide epidemiology.


1990 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 807-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Lavely ◽  
James Lee ◽  
Wang Feng

As recently as one decade ago, there was no “field” of Chinese demography. There were virtually no demographers of China and little available data. It is fair to say that China was at once the largest and the least known of any human population.The change has been sudden. New sources of data now place China among the better-documented national populations. Publications on Chinese population have boomed. In consequence, we can now speak of a field of Chinese demography, although it is hardly in a steady “state.” We can only outline the explosion of demographic research that is continually expanding and refining our understanding of Chinese population today and in the past. This outpouring of data and knowledge provides unprecedented opportunities for the study of Chinese society and offers unusual challenges to our understanding of comparative population dynamics.


1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hubert Morin ◽  
Danielle Laprise

The chronology of spruce budworm (Choristoneurafumiferana (Clem.)) oubreaks for the past 200 years has been reconstructed by dendrochronological analysis of balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.) and white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) samples from virgin forests, unaffected by insecticide spraying programs and recently protected against fires in the north and northwest of Lac Saint-Jean. Outbreaks began around 1974, 1944, 1909, and possibly, 1832. They are closely linked with those described in the Laurentide wildlife reserve. The frequency, duration and severity of growth rings suppression associated with outbreaks are similar to those registered during outbreaks in the southern forests, except for the 1974 outbreak, which was shorter and less severe. Other outbreaks registered in southern regions, where the proportion of balsam fir is higher, have reached this region where balsam fir populations are marginal. These results underline the importance of these ecological disturbances in the population dynamics of the host trees of the region.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingguang Li ◽  
Haizhou Liu ◽  
Brittany Rife Magalis ◽  
Sergei L. Kosakovsky Pond ◽  
Erik M. Volz

BackgroundThe human norovirus GII.2 outbreak during the 2016–2017 winter season was of unprecedented scale and geographic distribution.MethodsWe analyzed 519 complete VP1 gene sequences of the human norovirus GII.2 genotype sampled during the 2016–2017 winter season, as well as prior (dating back to 1976) from 7 countries. Phylodynamic analyses of these sequences were performed using maximum likelihood and Bayesian statistical frameworks in order to estimate viral evolutionary and population dynamics associated with the outbreak.ResultsOur results revealed an increase in the genetic diversity of human norovirus GII.2 during the recent Asian outbreak and diversification was characterized by at least eight distinct clusters. Bayesian estimation of viral population dynamics revealed a highly fluctuating effective population size, increasing in frequency during the past 15 years.ConclusionDespite an increasing viral diversity, we found no evidence of an elevated evolutionary rate or significant selection pressure in human norovirus GII.2, indicating viral evolutionary adaptation was not responsible for the volatility of or spread of the virus during this time.


2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (17) ◽  
pp. 8503-8509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chung-Chau Hon ◽  
Tsan-Yuk Lam ◽  
Alexei Drummond ◽  
Andrew Rambaut ◽  
Yiu-Fai Lee ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is a birnavirus causing immunosuppressive disease in chickens. Emergence of the very virulent form of IBDV (vvIBDV) in the late 1980s dramatically changed the epidemiology of the disease. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic origins of its genome segments and estimated the time of emergence of their most recent common ancestors. Moreover, with recently developed coalescence techniques, we reconstructed the past population dynamics of vvIBDV and timed the onset of its expansion to the late 1980s. Our analysis suggests that genome segment A of vvIBDV emerged at least 20 years before its expansion, which argues against the hypothesis that mutation of genome segment A is the major contributing factor in the emergence and expansion of vvIBDV. Alternatively, the phylogeny of genome segment B suggests a possible reassortment event estimated to have taken place around the mid-1980s, which seems to coincide with its expansion within approximately 5 years. We therefore hypothesize that the reassortment of genome segment B initiated vvIBDV expansion in the late 1980s, possibly by enhancing the virulence of the virus synergistically with its existing genome segment A. This report reveals the possible mechanisms leading to the emergence and expansion of vvIBDV, which would certainly provide insights into the scope of surveillance and prevention efforts regarding the disease.


2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
pp. 1235-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Gregory-Eaves ◽  
Bruce P Finney ◽  
Marianne SV Douglas ◽  
John P Smol

Historical and paleolimnological studies have demonstrated that environmental changes in the North Pacific can strongly affect sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) abundances. Whether these marine shifts would be influential on sockeye salmon from all lake types, however, has not yet been studied. This study represents the first paleolimnological analysis of past sockeye salmon population dynamics in a stained nursery lake (Packers Lake, Alaska). We adopted a multiproxy approach to determine whether salmon-derived nutrients (inferred from δ15N) would be available for algal uptake (inferred from the diatom species responses) in this stained lake, as high concentrations of humics and iron are known to sequester phosphorus. The strong degree of coherency between δ15N and diatoms, however, suggests that salmon-derived nutrients were bioavailable and enhanced productivity. Overall, our indicators responded to changes in sockeye salmon abundances and volcanic ashfalls over the past ∼500 years. In a section of the core unaffected by tephras (AD ∼1770–1882), our record suggests that the number of sockeye salmon spawners fluctuated widely. Comparison of temporal shifts in inferred sockeye salmon abundances from Packers Lake with other clearwater nursery lakes reveals a broadly consistent pattern, likely influenced by past climatic changes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (13) ◽  
pp. 6671-6681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radoslav Kozma ◽  
Mette Lillie ◽  
Blas M. Benito ◽  
Jens-Christian Svenning ◽  
Jacob Höglund

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