scholarly journals Anthropogenic Drivers Leading to Population Decline and Genetic Preservation of the Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1038
Author(s):  
Monica Pirastru ◽  
Paolo Mereu ◽  
Laura Manca ◽  
Daniela Bebbere ◽  
Salvatore Naitana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Information ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Gyps Fulvus ◽  
Epochal Change ◽  
Coordination System

Human activities are having increasingly devastating effects on the health of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Studying the adaptive responses of animal species to changes in their habitat can be useful in mitigating this impact. Vultures represent one of the most virtuous examples of adaptation to human-induced environmental changes. Once dependent on wild ungulate populations, these birds have adapted to the epochal change resulting from the birth of agriculture and livestock domestication, maintaining their essential role as ecological scavengers. In this review, we retrace the main splitting events characterising the vultures’ evolution, with particular emphasis on the Eurasian griffon Gyps fulvus. We summarise the main ecological and behavioural traits of this species, highlighting its vulnerability to elements introduced into the habitat by humans. We collected the genetic information available to date, underlining their importance for improving the management of this species, as an essential tool to support restocking practices and to protect the genetic integrity of G. fulvus. Finally, we examine the difficulties in implementing a coordination system that allows genetic information to be effectively transferred into management programs. Until a linking network is established between scientific research and management practices, the risk of losing important wildlife resources remains high.

Road Salt Application in Highland Creek Watershed, Toronto, Ontario - Chloride Mass Balance

2010 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nandana Perera ◽  
Bahram Gharabaghi ◽  
Peter Noehammer ◽  
Bruce Kilgour
Keyword(s):  
Mass Balance ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Chloride Concentration ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Road Salt ◽  
Winter Period ◽  
Chloride Mass Balance ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
Chloride Concentrations

Abstract Occurrence of increasing chloride concentrations in urban streams of cold climates, mainly due to road salt application, has raised concerns on its adverse effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, there is a need for a better understanding of processes associated with road salt application and subsequent discharge into the environment in order to develop management practices to minimize detrimental effects of chlorides. The chloride mass analysis for the Highland Creek watershed based on four years of hourly monitoring data indicates that approximately 60% of the chlorides applied on the watershed enter streams prior to subsequent salting period, 85% of which occurs during the period between November and March. Contribution of private de-icing operations on chloride mass input within Highland Creek watershed was estimated to be approximately 38%, indicating its significance in overall chloride mass balance. Salt application rates, as well as chloride output in the streams, vary spatially based on land use, influencing chloride concentrations in surface waters. The estimated groundwater chloride concentration of 275 mg/L indicates that some aquatic organisms in Highland Creek would potentially be at risk even outside the winter period under dry weather flow conditions.

scholarly journals Demographic history and genomic response to environmental changes in a rapid radiation of wild rats

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deyan Ge ◽  
Anderson Feijó ◽  
Zhixin Wen ◽  
Alexei V Abramov ◽  
Liang Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Rapid Radiation ◽  
Protein Functions ◽  
Wild Rats ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau ◽  
Genomic Response

Abstract For organisms to survive and prosper in a harsh environment, particularly under rapid climate change, poses tremendous challenges. Recent studies have highlighted the continued loss of megafauna in terrestrial ecosystems and the subsequent surge of small mammals, such as rodents, bats, lagomorphs, and insectivores. However, the ecological partitioning of these animals will likely lead to large variation in their responses to environmental change. In the present study, we investigated the evolutionary history and genetic adaptations of white-bellied rats (Niviventer Marshall, 1976), which are widespread in the natural terrestrial ecosystems in Asia but also known as important zoonotic pathogen vectors and transmitters. The southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QHTP) was inferred as the origin center of this genus, with parallel diversification in temperate and tropical niches. Demographic history analyses from mitochondrial and nuclear sequences of Niviventer demonstrated population size increases and range expansion for species in Southeast Asia, and habitat generalists elsewhere. Unexpectedly, population increases were seen in N. eha, which inhabits the highest elevation among Niviventer species. Genome scans of nuclear exons revealed that among the congeneric species, N. eha has the largest number of positively selected genes. Protein functions of these genes are mainly related to olfaction, taste and tumor suppression. Extensive genetic modification presents a major strategy in response to global changes in these alpine species.

scholarly journals A Scoping Review of Organizational Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Schools: A Complex Systems Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Puspa Khanal ◽  
Fabio Bento ◽  
Marco Tagliabue
Keyword(s):  
Scoping Review ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Organizational Adaptation ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Organizational Responses ◽  
Additional Element ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
School Settings

This study is a scoping review of the literature on organizational adaptation in school settings during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dramatic and unexpected environmental changes raise questions about the capacity of schooling organizations to adapt to in response to the pandemic. Different management practices have implications for the selection of organizational behaviors, electively in school settings. The research literature on school responses is analyzed from a selectionist perspective. The aim of this study is to identify and describe three constituting elements of this perspective: variation, interaction, and selection. An additional element is considered in this analysis and comprises the mechanisms of exploration and exploitation in the context of organizational adaptation. Sixteen studies met the selection criteria of describing emergent processes in schools. The findings highlight the emergence of exploration, as teachers actively experimented with a range of strategies and methods in order to maintain educational activities in the complex and uncertain context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, several questions are raised regarding the effects and maintenance of new practices in the post-pandemic scenario. Management practices that facilitate variation and open communication about learning processes can contribute to the process of organizational adaptation.

scholarly journals Distribution and Demographics of Fuchsia Excorticata, Nelson Lakes National Park

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Edward Rex Lancelot Bartholomew
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Reference Area ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Ecological Changes ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Management Area ◽  
Intensively Managed ◽  
Reference Areas

<p>The small tree Fuchsia excorticata (Onagraceae) is found on disturbed riparian sites throughout New Zealand. Spatial distribution and  demographic changes in populations of F. excorticata were surveyed in the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project (RNRP) area, and an associated non-treatment reference area, Nelson Lakes National Park, over the period 2005 to 2007. The RNRP is an intensively managed "mainland island" project in mixed beech (Nothofagus) forest, pest animal species especially possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), rodents, and mustelids are controlled. The aim of this study was to survey the condition of F. excorticata in the managed and reference areas to determine if any differences could be detected between the populations over time. The only significant (p<0.05) difference between the two areas was in sapling abundance, which was higher in the RNRP management area. This was tentatively attributed to pest management; however the concurrence of complex  environmental influences, and a lack of management replication, prevented a simple interpretation of the data. There was no significant difference in recruitment, growth, mortality, and tree or seedling abundance  between the managed and reference areas. Growth rate, especially of saplings, was significantly greater at lower elevations in the RNRP managed area, however the inverse held for the reference area. Mammalian herbivory was light; the main affect being to restrict seedling growth through hedging. Periodic heavy flooding was responsible for much of the mortality, however many newly disturbed sites were rapidly populated with fuchsia seedlings. The need for rigour in establishing ecologically comparable reference sites for comparative studies was evident. There were inherent difficulties in establishing causal relationships between ecological changes and management practices where management was not replicated geographically.</p>

scholarly journals Premises of Sustainable Development Concept Occurence

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-53
Author(s):  
Elisabeta-Emilia Halmaghi ◽  
Mihai-Marcel Neag
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Pesticide Use ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Toxic Product ◽  
Difficult Issue

Abstract It has long been considered that the environment can withstand all the pressure exerted by human activities on it: extensive agriculture, pesticide use, strong industrialization, noxious gas emissions into the atmosphere, toxic product discharge into lakes, rivers, seas and oceans, massive deforestation to obtain new areas for housing or agriculture. The result was environmental and soil degradation, increased water and/or air pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, the disappearance of plant and/or animal species, the depletion of some natural resources. These environmental changes have begun to be studied by specialists in the field, who have raised a flag to irreversible environmental changes. The concept of “sustainable development” arose at a time when environmental issues were at the heart of political debate: sustainable development is seen as a complex and difficult issue to solve because there is a diversity of interests of different states. International agreements and cooperation from the point of view of globalization and economic harmonization have also had as their object the issues of sustainable development, by launching the attempt to reconcile the economy with the environment.

scholarly journals Sensory regulated Wnt production from neurons helps make organ development robust to environmental changes in C. elegans

Development ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (14) ◽  
pp. dev186080
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Modzelewska ◽  
Louise Brown ◽  
Joseph Culotti ◽  
Nadeem Moghal
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Transmission ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sensory Perception ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Vulval Development ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Signal Production ◽  
Neuronal Functions

ABSTRACTLong-term survival of an animal species depends on development being robust to environmental variations and climate changes. We used C. elegans to study how mechanisms that sense environmental changes trigger adaptive responses that ensure animals develop properly. In water, the nervous system induces an adaptive response that reinforces vulval development through an unknown backup signal for vulval induction. This response involves the heterotrimeric G-protein EGL-30//Gαq acting in motor neurons. It also requires body-wall muscle, which is excited by EGL-30-stimulated synaptic transmission, suggesting a behavioral function of neurons induces backup signal production from muscle. We now report that increased acetylcholine during liquid growth activates an EGL-30-Rho pathway, distinct from the synaptic transmission pathway, that increases Wnt production from motor neurons. We also provide evidence that this neuronal Wnt contributes to EGL-30-stimulated vulval development, with muscle producing a parallel developmental signal. As diverse sensory modalities stimulate motor neurons via acetylcholine, this mechanism enables broad sensory perception to enhance Wnt-dependent development. Thus, sensory perception improves animal fitness by activating distinct neuronal functions that trigger adaptive changes in both behavior and developmental processes.

scholarly journals Extinction and dawn of the modern world in the Carnian (Late Triassic)

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (38) ◽  
pp. eaba0099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacopo Dal Corso ◽  
Massimo Bernardi ◽  
Yadong Sun ◽  
Haijun Song ◽  
Leyla J. Seyfullah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Calcareous Nannofossils ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Fossil Data ◽  
Global Environmental Changes

The Carnian Pluvial Episode (Late Triassic) was a time of global environmental changes and possibly substantial coeval volcanism. The extent of the biological turnover in marine and terrestrial ecosystems is not well understood. Here, we present a meta-analysis of fossil data that suggests a substantial reduction in generic and species richness and the disappearance of 33% of marine genera. This crisis triggered major radiations. In the sea, the rise of the first scleractinian reefs and rock-forming calcareous nannofossils points to substantial changes in ocean chemistry. On land, there were major diversifications and originations of conifers, insects, dinosaurs, crocodiles, lizards, turtles, and mammals. Although there is uncertainty on the precise age of some of the recorded biological changes, these observations indicate that the Carnian Pluvial Episode was linked to a major extinction event and might have been the trigger of the spectacular radiation of many key groups that dominate modern ecosystems.

OPTIMAL CONTROL APPLIED IN AN ANTHRAX EPIZOOTIC MODEL

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (04) ◽  
pp. 495-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
BUDDHI PANTHA ◽  
JUDY DAY ◽  
SUZANNE LENHART
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Control ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Control Measure ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Carcass Disposal ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Wildlife Reserve ◽  
Proper Disposal

Anthrax is a rapidly fatal, infectious disease which occurs in many animal species, particularly herbivore mammals, and is one of the main causes of population decline in several national parks worldwide. As the infected animals face inevitable death and each infected carcass contributes spores to the surrounding environment, infected carcasses and the infected animals are the main sources of new infections. Thus any control measure should focus on vaccinating susceptible animals and the proper disposal of infected carcasses. In this paper, a system of ordinary differential equations modeling an anthrax epizootic in a wildlife reserve is formulated. Two controls representing vaccination of the susceptible animals and disposal of the infected carcasses are investigated in order to minimize the number of infected animals, the number of infected carcasses and the cost of vaccination and carcass disposal. Model parameters are estimated by using outbreak data from Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve, Zimbabwe, and some numerical results for the optimal control problem are presented.

scholarly journals Metabolic Functions of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptorβ/δin Skeletal Muscle

PPAR Research ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Gaudel ◽  
Paul A. Grimaldi
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Dietary Lipids ◽  
Peroxisome Proliferator ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Insulin Sensitizer ◽  
Metabolic Functions ◽  
Pharmacological Targets ◽  
Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptors

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are transcription factors that act as lipid sensors and adapt the metabolic rates of various tissues to the concentration of dietary lipids. PPARs are pharmacological targets for the treatment of metabolic disorders. PPARαand PPARγare activated by hypolipidemic and insulin-sensitizer compounds, such as fibrates and thiazolidinediones. The roles of PPARβ/δin metabolic regulations remained unclear until recently. Treatment of obese monkeys and rodents by specific PPARβ/δagonists promoted normalization of metabolic parameters and reduction of adiposity. Recent evidences strongly suggested that some of these beneficial actions are related to activation of fatty acid catabolism in skeletal muscle and also that PPARβ/δis involved in the adaptive responses of skeletal muscle to environmental changes, such as long-term fasting or physical exercise, by controlling the number of oxidative myofibers. These observations indicated that PPARβ/δagonists might have therapeutic usefulness in metabolic syndrome by increasing fatty acid consumption in skeletal muscle and reducing obesity.

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