The Influence of the Interaction between Climate and Competition on the Distributional Limits of European Shrews

It is known that species’ distributions are influenced by several ecological factors. Nonetheless, the geographical scale upon which the influence of these factors is perceived is largely undefined. We assessed the importance of competition in regulating the distributional limits of species at large geographical scales. We focus on species with similar diets, the European Soricidae shrews, and how interspecific competition changes along climatic gradients. We used presence data for the seven most widespread terrestrial species of Soricidae in Europe, gathered from GBIF, European museums, and climate data from WorldClim. We made use of two Joint Species Distribution Models to analyse the correlations between species’ presences, aiming to understand the distinct roles of climate and competition in shaping species’ distributions. Our results support three key conclusions: (i) climate alone does not explain all species’ distributions at large scales; (ii) negative interactions, such as competition, seem to play a strong role in defining species’ range limits, even at large scales; and (iii) the impact of competition on a species’ distribution varies along a climatic gradient, becoming stronger at the climatic extremes. Our conclusions support previous research, highlighting the importance of considering biotic interactions when studying species’ distributions, regardless of geographical scale.

Guidelines for Analysing Coastal Flood Protection Systems after a Submersion

Storm Xynthia, which hit the French Atlantic coast on February 28th, 2010, flooded vast territories despite coastal defences. This disaster highlighted the need to further study the behaviour of the coastal flood protection systems at an adapted geographical scale by considering the kinematics of the events. This objective has been achieved through a combination of conceptual input on the definition of protection systems, significant breakthroughs in the knowledge of the mechanisms governing the flooding, and via the improvement of strategies and methods dedicated to flood analysis and representation. The developed methodology was successfully tested on four sites submerged during Xynthia (Loix, Les Boucholeurs, and Boyardville, located in Charente-Maritime, and Batz-sur-Mer, located in Loire-Atlantique). This work is intended to guide the diagnosis of sites prone to marine flooding from the first investigations until the delivery of study reports. Beyond the usual focus on hydraulic structures, it provides guidelines to better analyse the interactions with the natural environment (sea, soil, dune, wetlands, etc.) and with the built environment (roads and urban networks, ponds used for fish farming, buildings, etc.). This systemic approach, which is applied to a territory considered as a complex adaptive system, is fundamental to understanding the reaction of a territory during a marine submersion event and subsequently developing adaptation or transformation strategies.

The Spatial Heterogeneity of the Black Scorpionfish, Scorpaena porcus (Scorpaenidae): Differences in Length, Dietary and Age Compositions

The present study assessed spatial variations in several biological characteristics of Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758 and estimated length structure, dietary composition and growth parameters for the species. Sampling was carried out in two areas, about 200 km apart, in the coastal Adriatic Sea, which is the northernmost region of the Mediterranean. A total of 388 specimens of S. porcus were caught, 233 from the Split area and 155 from the Pag Island area, and a higher proportion of individuals in the ≤15 cm length classes were found in the Split area. The results of the age, growth and diet analyses demonstrated that the black scorpionfish is a slow-growing and long-lived species that feeds on a wide variety of plant and animal taxa and shows a high selectivity for crustacean decapods. Detailed comparisons and multivariate analyses showed significant fine-scale spatial structuring of the investigated species, as observed length, dietary and age compositions were heterogeneous among the two areas. Fish from the Pag Island area ingested a greater diversity of the prey types, fed to a greater extent on fishes, reached the highest total length and showed a higher growth rate. Such intraspecific variations could reflect adaptations to different environmental conditions and support the geographical scale at which local black scorpionfish populations should be managed.

The Prescription of Drug Ontology 2.0 (PDRO): More Than the Sum of Its Parts

While drugs and related products have profoundly changed the lives of people around the world, ongoing challenges remain, including inappropriate use of a drug product. Inappropriate uses can be explained in part by ambiguous or incomplete information, for example, missing reasons for treatments, ambiguous information on how to take a medication, or lack of information on medication-related events outside the health care system. In order to fully assess the situation, data from multiple systems (electronic medical records, pharmacy and radiology information systems, laboratory management systems, etc.) from multiple organizations (outpatient clinics, hospitals, long-term care facilities, laboratories, pharmacies, registries, governments) on a large geographical scale is needed. Formal knowledge models like ontologies can help address such an information integration challenge. Existing approaches like the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership are discussed and contrasted with the use of ontologies and systems using them for data integration. The PRescription Drug Ontology 2.0 (PDRO 2.0) is then presented and entities that are paramount in addressing this problematic are described. Finally, the benefits of using PDRO are discussed through a series of exemplar situation.

Measuring the effect of distance on the network topology of the Global Container Shipping Network

This paper examines how spatial distance affects network topology on empirical data concerning the Global Container Shipping Network (GCSN). The GCSN decomposes into 32 multiplex layers, defined at several spatial levels, by successively removing connections of smaller distances. This multilayer decomposition approach allows studying the topological properties of each layer as a function of distance. The analysis provides insights into the hierarchical structure and (importing and exporting) trade functionality of the GCSN, hub connectivity, several topological aspects, and the distinct role of China in the network’s structure. It also shows that bidirectional links decrease with distance, highlighting the importance of asymmetric functionality in carriers’ operations. It further configures six novel clusters of ports concerning their spatial coverage. Finally, it reveals three levels of geographical scale in the structure of GCSN (where the network topology significantly changes): the neighborhood (local connectivity); the scale of international connectivity (mesoscale or middle connectivity); and the intercontinental market (large scale connectivity). The overall approach provides a methodological framework for analyzing network topology as a function of distance, highlights the spatial dimension in complex and multilayer networks, and provides insights into the spatial structure of the GCSN, which is the most important market of the global maritime economy.

Improving the DNA Barcode Library of Mosquito Species With New Identifications and Discoveries in North-Central Argentina

The family Culicidae is represented by 244 species in Argentina, many of them with epidemiological importance. DNA barcodes are effective tools for identifying mosquito species, for knowing genetic variability, and for establishing phylogenetic relationships. This work aims to explore mosquito diversity employing different species delimitation approaches and to establish formally a DNA barcode library for the Argentinian mosquito fauna. Barcode fragments of 80 specimens of Argentinian mosquitoes of 28 species of the genera Aedeomyia Theobald (Diptera: Culicidae), Anopheles Meigen (Diptera: Culicidae), Coquillettidia Dyar (Diptera: Culicidae), Culex L. (Diptera: Culicidae), Haemagogus Williston (Diptera: Culicidae), Mansonia Blanchard (Diptera: Culicidae), Nyssorhynchus Blanchard (Diptera: Culicidae), Ochlerotatus Lynch-Arribálzaga (Diptera: Culicidae), Psorophora Robinneau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Culicidae) and Uranotaenia Lynch-Arribálzaga (Diptera: Culicidae) were sequenced. Another 82 sequences were obtained from public databases to establish the phylogenetic relationships using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference, and the species boundaries based on three approaches (ABGD, GMYC, and mPTP). Sixteen of the 28 species sequenced were recovered as monophyletic, of which 12 were also recognized as molecular operational taxonomic units according to the three methodologies. The disparity between morphology and barcode-based identifications could be explained by synonymy, species complexes occurrence, hybridization, incomplete lineage sorting, or the effect of the geographical scale of sampling. Twenty of the 28 sequenced species are new barcodes for Argentina and 11 are the first for science. This increases from 31 to 52 (12.7 to 21.31%) and from six to 10 (28.57 to 47.62%) the number of species and genera, respectively, with barcode sequences in Argentina. New species records are provided.

A completely resolved phylogenetic tree of British spiders (Arachnida: Araneae)

The recent accumulation of increasingly densely sampled phylogenetic analyses of spiders has greatly advanced our understanding of evolutionary relationships within this group. Here, this diverse literature is reviewed and combined with earlier morphological analyses in an attempt to reconstruct the first fully resolved phylogeny for the spider fauna of the British Isles. The resulting tree highlights parts of the group where data are still too limited for a confident assessment of relationships, proposes a number of deviations from previously suggested phylogenetic hypotheses, and can serve as a framework for evolutionary and ecological interpretations of the biology of British spiders, as well as a starting point for future studies on a larger geographical scale.

A Direct Observation Video Method for Describing COVID-19 Transmission Factors on a Micro-Geographical Scale: Viral Transmission (VT)-Scan

The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected many aspects of human life. While most health agencies agree mask wearing and physical distancing reduce viral transmission, efforts to improve the assessment of these behaviors are lacking. This study aimed to develop a direct observation video method [Viral Transmission (VT)-Scan] for assessing COVID-19 transmission behaviors and related factors (e.g., environmental setting). A wearable video device (WVD) was used to obtain videos of outdoor, public areas. The videos were examined to extract relevant information. All outcomes displayed good to excellent intra- and inter-reliability with intra-class correlation coefficients ranging from 0.836 to 0.997. The majority of people had a mask (60.8%) but 22.1% of them wore it improperly, 45.4% were not physical distancing, and 27.6% were simultaneously mask and physical distancing non-compliant. Transmission behaviors varied by demographics with white, obese males least likely to be mask-compliant and white, obese females least likely to physical distance. Certain environments (e.g., crosswalks) were identified as “hot spots” where higher rates of adverse transmission behaviors occurred. This study introduces a reliable method for obtaining objective data on COVID-19 transmission behaviors and related factors which may be useful for agent-based modeling and policy formation.