Assessing breeding success in common woodland birds using a novel method

Capsule Repeated counts of fledged broods can provide a useful estimate of breeding success for most common woodland birds.

Aims To assess the efficacy of comparing fledged-brood survey data with territory mapping using simple mark–recapture analysis techniques to provide an estimate of breeding success for common woodland birds that does not involve finding nests.

Methods Three observers undertook territory mapping surveys of adults, followed by counts of fledged broods four times a week during May–July 2007 in two 15 ha woods each, both in southern England. Using known fledging to maturity periods, these counts were used to calculate daily detection probabilities for broods of ubiquitous species. These enabled fledged brood territory occupancy probabilities (i.e. brood to territory ratios) to be estimated that take account of the possibility that broods were present but missed by surveys.

Results Of the 19 species found in all six woods, mean daily detection probability estimates for fledged broods of 17 species ranged from 0.17 to 0.50 with significant variation between woods for 12 species, but within region/observer for four species. The mean probability of detecting a brood at least once was over 75% using four visits per week and over 50% using two visits. Only for Great Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos major and Garden Warblers Sylvia borin was the fledging period too short and the daily detection probability too low to provide a reasonable estimate of the territory occupancy probability.

Conclusion Daily detection probabilities for fledged broods of most common woodland birds were sufficiently high to enable useable estimates of fledged-brood territory occupancy probabilities to be made based on a survey programme involving two or three visits per week between late May and the end June. The method used may have application as a means of providing a relatively easily derived productivity index for woodland bird monitoring programmes or for research studies.     

Major QTL for Fusarium crown rot resistance in a barley landrace

Fusarium crown rot (FCR) is a serious cereal disease in semi-arid regions worldwide. In assisting the effort of breeding cultivars with enhanced resistance, we identified several barley genotypes with high levels of FCR resistance. One of these genotypes, AWCS079 which is a barley landrace originating from Japan, was investigated by developing and assessing three populations of recombinant inbred lines. Two QTL, one located on the long arm of chromosome 1H (designated as Qcrs.cpi-1H) and the other on 3HL (designated as Qcrs.cpi-3H), were found to be responsible for the FCR resistance of this genotype. Qcrs.cpi-1H is novel as no other FCR loci have been reported on this chromosome arm. Qcrs.cpi-3H co-located with a reduced height (Rht) locus and the effectiveness of the former was significantly affected by the latter. The total phenotypic variance explained by these two QTL was over 60 %. Significant effects were detected for each of the QTL in each of the three populations assessed. The existence of these loci with major effects should not only facilitate breeding and exploitation of FCR-resistant barley cultivars but also their further characterization based on fine mapping and map-based gene cloning.     

Neuraminidase-Inhibiting Antibody Is a Correlate of Cross-Protection against Lethal H5N1 Influenza Virus in Ferrets Immunized with Seasonal Influenza Vaccine

In preparing for the threat of a pandemic of avian H5N1 influenza virus, we need to consider the significant delay (4 to 6 months) necessary to produce a strain-matched vaccine. As some degree of cross-reactivity between seasonal influenza vaccines and H5N1 virus has been reported, this was further explored in the ferret model to determine the targets of protective immunity. Ferrets were vaccinated with two intramuscular inoculations of trivalent inactivated split influenza vaccine or subcomponent vaccines, with and without adjuvant, and later challenged with a lethal dose of A/Vietnam/1203/2004 (H5N1) influenza virus. We confirmed that vaccination with seasonal influenza vaccine afforded partial protection against lethal H5N1 challenge and showed that use of either AlPO₄ or Iscomatrix adjuvant with the vaccine resulted in complete protection against disease and death. The protection was due exclusively to the H1N1 vaccine component, and although the hemagglutinin contributed to protection, the dominant protective response was targeted toward the neuraminidase (NA) and correlated with sialic acid cleavage-inhibiting antibody titers. Purified heterologous NA formulated with Iscomatrix adjuvant was also protective. These results suggest that adjuvanted seasonal trivalent vaccine could be used as an interim measure to decrease morbidity and mortality from H5N1 prior to the availability of a specific vaccine. The data also highlight that an inducer of cross-protective immunity is the NA, a protein whose levels are not normally monitored in vaccines and whose capacity to induce immunity in recipients is not normally assessed.     

Activation of the Endoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Sensor STIM1 and Store-Operated Calcium Entry by Rotavirus Requires NSP4 Viroporin Activity

Rotavirus nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) induces dramatic changes in cellular calcium homeostasis. These include increased endoplasmic reticulum (ER) permeability, resulting in decreased ER calcium stores and activation of plasma membrane (PM) calcium influx channels, ultimately causing a 2- to 4-fold elevation in cytoplasmic calcium. Elevated cytoplasmic calcium is absolutely required for virus replication, but the underlying mechanisms responsible for calcium influx remain poorly understood. NSP4 is an ER-localized viroporin, whose activity depletes ER calcium, which ultimately leads to calcium influx. We hypothesized that NSP4-mediated depletion of ER calcium activates store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) through activation of the ER calcium sensor stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1). We established and used a stable yellow fluorescent protein-expressing STIM1 cell line (YFP-STIM1) as a biosensor to assess STIM1 activation (puncta formation) by rotavirus infection and NSP4 expression. We found that STIM1 is constitutively active in rotavirus-infected cells and that STIM1 puncta colocalize with the PM-localized Orai1 SOCE calcium channel. Expression of wild-type NSP4 activated STIM1, resulting in PM calcium influx, but an NSP4 viroporin mutant failed to induce STIM1 activation and did not activate the PM calcium entry pathway. Finally, knockdown of STIM1 significantly reduced rotavirus yield, indicating STIM1 plays a critical role in virus replication. These data demonstrate that while rotavirus may ultimately activate multiple calcium channels in the PM, calcium influx is predicated on NSP4 viroporin-mediated activation of STIM1 in the ER. This is the first report of viroporin-mediated activation of SOCE, reinforcing NSP4 as a robust model to understand dysregulation of calcium homeostasis during virus infections.     

Hydrographic influences on the summer dive behaviour of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in Atka Bay, Antarctica

In order to gain insights into species-level behavioural responses to the physical environment, it is necessary to obtain information from various populations and at all times of year. We analysed the influences of physical environmental parameters on the mid-summer dive behaviour of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) from a little-known population at Atka Bay, Antarctica. Dive depth distributions followed a typical bimodal pattern also exhibited by seals from other populations and seals targeted both shallow water layers of <50 m and depths near the seafloor. Increased stratification of temperature layers within the water column resulted in increased forage efforts by the seals through relatively high numbers of dives to the seafloor, as well as forage effort associated with shallow dives. We interpret these behavioural responses to be due to increased water temperature stratification resulting in the concentration of prey species in particular depth layers.     

Attenuated PLD1 association and signalling at the H452Y polymorphic form of the 5-HT2A receptor

The 5-HT_2A receptor (5-HT_2AR) is implicated in psychotropic changes within the central nervous system (CNS). A number of polymorphisms have been reported in the 5-HT_2AR gene; one of these results in a non-synonymous change, H452Y, in the carboxy-terminal tail of the receptor protein. The minor allele (9% occurrence) has been statistically associated with CNS dysfunction such as impaired memory processing and resistance to neuroleptic treatment in schizophrenic patients. We investigated the impact of H452Y mutation of the 5-HT_2AR expressed in COS7 cells on distinctly coupled intracellular signalling pathways from the receptor, focusing on the heterotrimeric G protein-independent phospholipase D (PLD) pathway, compared to the conventional Gq/11-linked phospholipase C (PLC) pathway. The H452Y mutation selectively attenuated PLD signalling, which as in the wild-type receptor, was mediated by a molecular complex involving PLD1 docked to the receptor's carboxy-terminal tail domain. Co-immunoprecipitation and GST-fusion protein experiments revealed that the H452Y mutation selectively reduced PLD1 binding to the receptor. Experiments with blocking peptides to mimic short sections of the 5-HT_2AR tail sequence revealed that the peptide spanning residue 452 strongly reduced PLD but not PLC responses of the receptor. Similar observations were made when assessing both PLD responses and PLD-dependent cellular proliferation elicited by activation of 5-HT_2ARs natively expressed in MCF-7 cells. Overall these findings indicate that the H452Y polymorphic variant of the 5-HT_2AR displays selective disruption of its PLD signalling pathway. This may potentially play a role in the CNS dysfunction associated with the H452Y allele of the 5-HT_2AR.     

Business‐to‐Business Information Technology User Practices at End of Life in the United Kingdom,Germany, and France

Business‐to‐business (B2B) electronics account for a significant volume of the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) put on the market. Very little B2B waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is reported as collected in the European Union (EU) in compliance with the WEEE Directive, which uses the policy principle of extended producer responsibility (EPR) to ensure that WEEE is managed correctly. This presents a barrier to parties looking for access to the waste. Company practice dictates the channels into which B2B WEEE flows following primary use. This article presents a study that engaged with company actors directly to get a better understanding of business information technology (IT) EEE asset management. Data were collected to determine the barriers current practice could present to the collection of B2B IT EEE at end of life and the implications of these for the development of policies and strategies for EPR. A questionnaire was developed and data were gathered from organizations in three EU countries—the United Kingdom, Germany, and France—stratified by size. Some notable findings were that there are several routes by which end‐of‐life B2B WEEE can flow. The recycling and refurbishment of B2B IT units at end of use was shown to be commonplace, but it is likely that these units enter streams where they are not reported. The actors disposing of their units did not have information on the management or disposition of these streams. It is concluded that to achieve the goals of EPR for B2B IT WEEE, the networks and the operational practices of these streams need to be better understood when developing strategies and policies.