Prevalence and Diversity of Avian Haemosporidians May Vary with Anthropogenic Disturbance in Tropical Habitats in Myanmar

Avian malaria and related haemosporidians (genera Haemoproteus, Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon) infect most clades of bird. Although these parasites are present in almost all continents, they have been irregularly studied across different geographical regions. Despite the high bird diversity in Asia, the diversity of avian haemosporidians in this region is largely unknown. Moreover, anthropogenic changes to habitats in tropical regions may have a profound impact on the overall composition of haemosporidian communities. Here we analyzed the diversity and host association of bird haemosporidians from areas with different degrees of anthropogenic disturbance in Myanmar, revealing an unexplored diversity of these parasites (27% of newly-discovered haemosporidian lineages, and 64% of new records of host–parasite assemblages) in these tropical environments. This newly discovered diversity will be valuable for detecting host range and transmission areas of haemosporidian parasites. We also found slightly higher haemosporidian prevalence and diversity in birds from paddy fields than in individuals from urban areas and hills, thus implying that human alteration of natural environments may affect the dynamics of vector-borne diseases. These outcomes provide valuable insights for biodiversity conservation management in threatened tropical ecosystems.

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Wayfaring and Creative Practice in Tropical Far North Queensland Landscapes

eTropic electronic journal of studies in the tropics ◽

10.25120/etropic.15.2.2016.3541 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Jacqueline Scotcher

Keyword(s):

Natural Environment ◽

High Speed ◽

Easy Access ◽

Major Influence ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Embodied Experience ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Far North ◽

Tropical Environments ◽

The World

Walking and the tropical Far North Queensland landscape of Australia have had a major influence on the author’s creative research. In this paper, immersive practice, which includes walking, is examined as a means to form connections with the natural environment and stimulate imaginative thought. These attributes have developed the author’s painting processes, which endeavour to enrich understandings of the landscapes of tropical far north Queensland. An immersive approach responds to the complexities of increasingly sedentary lifestyles and the tendency to engage with digital distractions in our high speed media-connected world. In this fast-paced realm, meaningful relationships with the natural environment can be reduced, with meandering and imaginative pursuits often becoming neglected. Living in Far North Queensland provides easy access to unique tropical landscapes to engage with. Walking receptively in such natural environments can provide a physical and mental counterpoint to contemporary fastpaced lifestyles. Furthermore, walking provides opportunities to engage in ‘mindwandering’ and embodied experience that can enrich painting practice. The research presented in this paper celebrates life in tropical Far North Queensland and highlights the artist’s experience in this particular part of the world. Recently, the 29th of June was designated the International Day of the Tropics by the UN General Assembly, a day founded to raise awareness and consideration of both the challenges and opportunities faced by tropical regions of the world. (stateofthetropics.org). This designated day provides space for the author/artist to reflect upon the diverse culture and ecosystems of the region and position her artistic practice within a broader context of ideas relating to tropical environments.

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Diversity and host assemblage of avian haemosporidians in different terrestrial ecoregions of Peru

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/cz/zoab030 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Luz Garcia-Longoria ◽

Jaime Muriel ◽

Sergio Magallanes ◽

Zaira Hellen Villa-Galarce ◽

Leonila Ricopa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amazon Basin ◽

Evolutionary Dynamics ◽

Bird Species ◽

Host Community ◽

Bird Diversity ◽

New Host ◽

Parasite Richness ◽

Haemosporidian Parasites ◽

Avian Haemosporidians ◽

Host Parasite

Abstract Characterizing the diversity and structure of host-parasite communities is crucial to understanding their eco-evolutionary dynamics. Malaria and related haemosporidian parasites are responsible for fitness loss and mortality in bird species worldwide. However, despite exhibiting the greatest ornithological biodiversity, avian haemosporidians from Neotropical regions are quite unexplored. Here, we analyse the genetic diversity of bird haemosporidian parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in 1,336 individuals belonging to 206 bird species to explore for differences in diversity of parasite lineages and bird species across five well-differentiated Peruvian ecoregions. We detected 70 different haemosporidian lineages infecting 74 bird species. We showed that 25 out of the 70 haplotypes had not been previously recorded. Moreover, we also identified 81 new host – parasite interactions representing new host records for these haemosporidian parasites. Our outcomes revealed that the effective diversity (as well as the richness, abundance, and Shannon-Weaver index) for both birds and parasite lineages was higher in Amazon basin ecoregions. Furthermore, we also showed that ecoregions with greater diversity of bird species also had high parasite richness, hence suggesting that host community is crucial in explaining parasite richness. Generalist parasites were found in ecoregions with lower bird diversity, implying that the abundance and richness of hosts may shape the exploitation strategy followed by haemosporidian parasites. These outcomes reveal that Neotropical region is a major reservoir of unidentified haemosporidian lineages. Further studies analysing host distribution and specificity of these parasites in the tropics will provide important knowledge about phylogenetic relationships, phylogeography, and patterns of evolution and distribution of haemosporidian parasites.

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High Diversity in Urban Areas: How Comprehensive Sampling Reveals High Ant Species Richness within One of the Most Urbanized Regions of the World

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13080358 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 358

Author(s):

François Brassard ◽

Chi-Man Leong ◽

Hoi-Hou Chan ◽

Benoit Guénard

Keyword(s):

Exotic Species ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Landscapes ◽

Dual Roles ◽

Ant Communities ◽

Continuous Increase ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

The World ◽

Ant Diversity ◽

The Vertical Distribution

The continuous increase in urbanization has been perceived as a major threat for biodiversity, particularly within tropical regions. Urban areas, however, may still provide opportunities for conservation. In this study focused on Macao (China), one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, we used a comprehensive approach, targeting all the vertical strata inhabited by ants, to document the diversity of both native and exotic species, and to produce an updated checklist. We then compared these results with 112 studies on urban ants to illustrate the dual roles of cities in sustaining ant diversity and supporting the spread of exotic species. Our study provides the first assessment on the vertical distribution of urban ant communities, allowing the detection of 55 new records in Macao, for a total of 155 ant species (11.5% being exotic); one of the highest species counts reported for a city globally. Overall, our results contrast with the dominant paradigm that urban landscapes have limited conservation value but supports the hypothesis that cities act as gateways for exotic species. Ultimately, we argue for a more comprehensive understanding of ants within cities around the world to understand native and exotic patterns of diversity.

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Evaluating human–coyote encounters in an urban landscape using citizen science

Journal of Urban Ecology ◽

10.1093/jue/juaa032 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

David Drake ◽

Shelli Dubay ◽

Maximilian L Allen

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Urban Landscape ◽

Time Of Day ◽

Human Observer ◽

Public Outreach ◽

The Public ◽

Paved Road ◽

Almost All ◽

Human Wildlife Conflict

Abstract Coyotes are ubiquitous in habitats across North America, including in urban areas. Reviews of human–coyote encounters are limited in scope and analysis and predominantly document encounters that tend to be negative, such as human–wildlife conflict, rather than benign experiences. The objective of our study was to use citizen science reports of human–coyote interactions entered into iNaturalist to better understand the range of first person accounts of human–coyote encounters in Madison, WI. We report 398 citizen science accounts of human–coyote encounters in the Madison area between October 2015 and March 2018. Most human–coyote encounters occurred during coyote breeding season and half of all encounters occurred in moderate development land cover. Estimated level of coyote aggressiveness varied significantly, with 90% of citizen scientists scoring estimated coyote aggression as a 0 and 7% scoring estimated aggression as a 1 on a 0–5 scale (with 0 being calm and 5 being aggressive). Our best performing model explaining the estimated distance between the human observer and a coyote (our proxy for a human–coyote encounter) included the variables distance to nearest paved road, biological season of the year relative to coyote life history, and time of day/night. We demonstrate that human–coyote interactions are regularly more benign than negative, with almost all first-hand reported human–coyote encounters being benign. We encourage public outreach focusing on practices that can foster benign encounters when educating the public to facilitate human–coyote coexistence.

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Detection of Beta-Lactam-Resistant Escherichia coli and Toxigenic Clostridioides difficile Strains in Wild Boars Foraging in an Anthropization Gradient

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11061585 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1585

Author(s):

Laila Darwich ◽

Chiara Seminati ◽

Jorge R. López-Olvera ◽

Anna Vidal ◽

Laia Aguirre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Escherichia Coli ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Carbapenem Resistance ◽

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Health Concern ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Beta Lactam ◽

Wild Boars ◽

Clostridioides Difficile

Disease transmission among wild boars, domestic animals and humans is a public health concern, especially in areas with high wild boar densities. In this study, fecal samples of wild boars (n = 200) from different locations of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona were analyzed by PCR to explore the frequency of β-lactamases and extended cephalosporin and carbapenem resistance genes (ESBLs) in Escherichia coli strains and the presence of toxigenic Clostridioides difficile. The prevalence of genes conferring resistance to β-lactam antimicrobials was 8.0% (16/200): blaCMY-2 (3.0%), blaTEM-1b (2.5%), blaCTX-M-14 (1.0%), blaSHV-28 (1.0%), blaCTX-M-15 (0.5%) and blaCMY-1 (0.5%). Clostridioides difficile TcdA+ was detected in two wild boars (1.0%), which is the first report of this pathogen in wild boars in Spain. Moreover, the wild boars foraging in urban and peri-urban locations were more exposed to AMRB sources than the wild boars dwelling in natural environments. In conclusion, the detection of E. coli carrying ESBL/AmpC genes and toxigenic C. difficile in wild boars foraging in urban areas reinforces the value of this game species as a sentinel of environmental AMRB sources. In addition, these wild boars can be a public and environmental health concern by disseminating AMRB and other zoonotic agents. Although this study provides the first hints of the potential anthropogenic sources of AMR, further efforts should be conducted to identify and control them.

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High Intraspecific Genetic Diversity ofNocardia brasiliensis, a Pathogen Responsible for Cutaneous Nocardiosis Found in France: Phylogenetic Relationships by Usingsodandhsp65Genes

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2018/7314054 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

D. Kosova-Maali ◽

E. Bergeron ◽

Y. Maali ◽

T. Durand ◽

J. Gonzalez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Relationships ◽

Genetic Characterization ◽

Haplotype Diversity ◽

Species Level ◽

Genotype 1 ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

High Bootstrap ◽

Almost All ◽

A New Species ◽

Immunocompetent Patients

This study aims at genetic characterization and phylogenetic relationships ofNocardia brasiliensisfocusing by using housekeepingrrs,hsp65,andsodAgenes.N. brasiliensisis the species responsible for 80% of cases of actinomycetoma, one form of cutaneous nocardiosis which occurs mainly in tropical regions reaching immunocompetent patients in which the disease can lead to amputation. We analyze 36 indigenous cases ofN. brasiliensisthat happened in France. Phylogenetic analysis targetingrrsgene showed no robustness at phylogenetic nodes level. However, the use of a concatenation ofhsp65andsodAgenes showed that the tested strains surprisingly ranked in 3 well-defined genotypes. Genotypes 2 and 3 were phylogenetically closer to each other and both diverged from genotype 1 sustained by a high bootstrap of 81%. This last genotype hosts all the cases of pulmonary forms (3), the sole cerebral form, and almost all the cases of immunocompromised patients (3 out of 4). Moreover, excepting one of them, all the strains belonging to this group present a susceptibility to imipenem which is not the case in the other genotypes that rarely count among them strains being susceptible to this drug. The haplotype diversity (Hd) ofhsp65(0.927) andsodA(0.885) genes was higher than that ofrrs(0.824). For this gene, we obtained 16 polymorphic sites whereas, forhsp65andsodAgenes, up to 27 and 29 were identified, respectively. This study reveals that these two genes have an important genetic discriminatory power for the evaluation of the intraspecies genetic variability ofN. brasiliensisand they may be useful for identification purposes at species level. This study also reveals the possible existence of a new species harbored by genotype 1.

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Diversity of Listeria Species in Urban and Natural Environments

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00282-12 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 78 (12) ◽

pp. 4420-4433 ◽

Cited By ~ 95

Author(s):

Brian D. Sauders ◽

Jon Overdevest ◽

Esther Fortes ◽

Katy Windham ◽

Ynte Schukken ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Environmental Samples ◽

Nearest Neighbor ◽

Allelic Diversity ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Source Tracking ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Content Type ◽

Molecular Source ◽

Listeria Seeligeri

ABSTRACTA total of 442Listeriaisolates, including 234Listeria seeligeri, 80L. monocytogenes, 74L. welshimeri, 50L. innocua, and 4L. marthiiisolates, were obtained from 1,805 soil, water, and other environmental samples collected over 2 years from four urban areas and four areas representing natural environments.Listeriaspp. showed similar prevalences in samples from natural (23.4%) and urban (22.3%) environments. WhileL. seeligeriandL. welshimeriwere significantly associated with natural environments (P≤ 0.0001),L. innocuaandL. monocytogeneswere significantly associated with urban environments (P≤ 0.0001). Sequencing ofsigBfor all isolates revealed 67 allelic types with a higher level of allelic diversity among isolates from urban environments. SomeListeriaspp. andsigBallelic types showed significant associations with specific urban and natural areas. Nearest-neighbor analyses also showed that certainListeriaspp. andsigBallelic types were spatially clustered within both natural and urban environments, and there was evidence that these species and allelic types persisted over time in specific areas. Our data show that members of the genusListerianot only are common in urban and natural environments but also show species- and subtype-specific associations with different environments and areas. This indicates thatListeriaspecies and subtypes within these species may show distinct ecological preferences, which suggests (i) that molecular source-tracking approaches can be developed forListeriaand (ii) that detection of someListeriaspecies may not be a good indicator forL. monocytogenes.

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Abstract 197: What Limits the Use of AEDs by Bystanders?

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.138.suppl_2.197 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 138 (Suppl_2) ◽

Author(s):

Hiroshi Kaneko ◽

Tetsuo Hatanaka ◽

Aki Nagase ◽

Seishiro Marukawa ◽

Tetsuya Sakamoto

Keyword(s):

Cardiac Arrest ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Limiting Factors ◽

Survey Period ◽

Automated External Defibrillators ◽

Public Areas ◽

Patient Side ◽

Almost All ◽

Key Steps ◽

The City

Introduction: In Japan, the number of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) placed in public areas has climbed up to the estimated 530,000. We reported previously that a half of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occurred within 100 m from a public AED in urban areas. However, shocks for defibrillation were given to less than 15% of those patients. The objectives of this study was to identify the limiting factors against the use of AEDs by bystanders. Methods: A prospective survey on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was conducted in the city of Osaka (Dec 2016 through Mar 2017) and the city of Nagoya (Dec 2016 through Nov 2017) searching for patient demographics and AED settings including; absence/presence of a public AED on the scene, attachment of AED pads, delivery of shocks before the time of EMS arrival. Results: Of 558 cases of cardiac arrest registered during the survey period, an AED had already been delivered at the patient side by the time of EMS arrival in 92 case (16.5%). Of those, pads had been attached in 89 cased (96.7%). Shocks had been advised in 35 cases (39.3%) and to all but one of those cases at least 1 shock had been given by the bystanders. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups of cases with and without AEDs at the patient side regarding the patient age (65 years [IQR: 48-74] vs 63 years [IQR49-75], p=0.84), gender (p=0.68) and the time from call to EMS arrival (7 min [IQR: 6-9] vs 7 min [IQR: 6-9], p=0.74). Cases occurring indoors had more chances of AEDs being delivered on the patient side than cases occurring outdoors (24.0% vs 7.8%, p<0.001). Conclusions: Our study indicates that once an AED is delivered at the patient side, pads are successfully attached and shocks are given if indicated in almost all cases. This suggests that finding and delivering an AED onto the patient side are the limiting factors against the use of AEDs by bystanders. In order to popularize the use of AEDs by bystanders, informing people with AED placement and clear direction to the AED location seem to be the key steps.

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Monitoring of small rock pools reveals differential effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on birds and mammals in the Calakmul region, southern Mexico

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467421000547 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Carlos M. Delgado-Martínez ◽

Fredy Alvarado ◽

Melanie Kolb ◽

Eduardo Mendoza

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Biosphere Reserve ◽

Bird Diversity ◽

Small Scale ◽

Rock Pools ◽

Southern Mexico ◽

Wildlife Species ◽

The Impact

Abstract Great attention has been drawn to the impacts of habitat deforestation and fragmentation on wildlife species richness. In contrast, much less attention has been paid to assessing the impacts of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on wildlife species composition and behaviour. We focused on natural small rock pools (sartenejas), which concentrate vertebrate activity due to habitat’s water limitation, to assess the impact of chronic anthropogenic disturbance on the species richness, diversity, composition, and behaviour of medium and large-sized birds and mammals in the highly biodiverse forests of Calakmul, southern Mexico. Camera trapping records of fauna using sartenejas within and outside the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (CBR) showed that there were no effects on species richness, but contrasts emerged when comparing species diversity, composition, and behaviour. These effects differed between birds and mammals and between species: (1) bird diversity was greater outside the CBR, but mammal diversity was greater within and (2) the daily activity patterns of birds differed slightly within and outside the CBR but strongly contrasted in mammals. Our study highlights that even in areas supporting extensive forest cover, small-scale chronic anthropogenic disturbances can have pervasive negative effects on wildlife and that these effects contrast between animal groups.

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Regional and local variations in atmospheric aerosols using ground-based sun photometry during Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON) in 2012

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-14795-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (22) ◽

pp. 14795-14803 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Itaru Sano ◽

Sonoyo Mukai ◽

Makiko Nakata ◽

Brent N. Holben

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Aerosols ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Reanalysis Data ◽

Aerosol Dynamics ◽

Aerosol Mass ◽

Combined Use ◽

Environmental Prediction ◽

Almost All ◽

Observation Networks

Abstract. Aerosol mass concentrations are affected by local emissions as well as long-range transboundary (LRT) aerosols. This work investigates regional and local variations of aerosols based on Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON). We constructed DRAGON-Japan and DRAGON-Osaka in spring of 2012. The former network covers almost all of Japan in order to obtain aerosol information in regional scale over Japanese islands. It was determined from the DRAGON-Japan campaign that the values of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) decrease from west to east during an aerosol episode. In fact, the highest AOT was recorded at Fukue Island at the western end of the network, and the value was much higher than that of urban areas. The latter network (DRAGON-Osaka) was set as a dense instrument network in the megalopolis of Osaka, with a population of 12 million, to better understand local aerosol dynamics in urban areas. AOT was further measured with a mobile sun photometer attached to a car. This transect information showed that aerosol concentrations rapidly changed in time and space together when most of the Osaka area was covered with moderate LRT aerosols. The combined use of the dense instrument network (DRAGON-Osaka) and high-frequency measurements provides the motion of aerosol advection, which coincides with the wind vector around the layer between 700 and 850 hPa as provided by the reanalysis data of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

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