Ebola in great apes – current knowledge,possibilities for vaccination,and implications for conservation and human health

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The “capacity to reason” in conservation biology and policy: the southern elephant seal branding controversy

Modern environmental research is typically governed by a number of protocols designed to embrace the epistemological and ethical values of society. These protocols evolve in response to changing values, and few disciplines in environmental science have received as much attention as biological conservation. This paper describes the events leading to a controversy regarding a particular research technique used to investigate the cause of a long-term population decline of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) at Macquarie Island, south of Australia – hot-iron branding of individuals. We discuss procedures and protocols that were in place at the time the controversy erupted, the subsequent reflection of the researchers and authorities involved, and the steps taken to avoid future occurrences. Our treatment of the issue is framed within a discussion of modern ethical philosophy, and our aim is to identify the true source of the controversy. We offer several suggestions as to how such events can be avoided in the future, and provide a model framework for incorporating changing ethical values into important biological conservation objectives.     

Variability in the water chemistry of shallow ponds in southeast England, with special reference to the seasonality of nutrients and implications for modelling trophic status

The variability in water chemistry of samples taken on a monthly basis (October 1990–December 1991) from 31 shallow, artificial ponds in southeast England was examined. The survey revealed great within-year variation in the concentrations of nutrients. Total phosphorus (TP) concentrations displayed no overall marked seasonal pattern, although many sites experienced summer peaks with a simultaneous increase in soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations, indicating that sediment P release occurred. SRP and nitrate (NO₃–N) concentrations displayed a marked seasonal pattern similar to that observed in deep, stratifying lakes, with 55% and 94% of the sites surveyed, respectively, experiencing a decline in concentrations in the spring, maintaining low levels throughout summer and the highest levels occurring in winter. Dissolved silica (SiO₂–(Si) also displayed a marked seasonal distribution with a spring decline in concentrations associated with diatom growth, followed by an increase in the summer.The study demonstrated that intra-annual variability in nutrient concentrations is high and tends to be greatest in the most enriched waters. Thus, a high sampling frequency is required to provide representative annual mean data. Furthermore, annual means rather than winter–spring means provide more appropriate estimates of TP and SRP in these waters, owing to the importance of internal cycling of nutrients in summer. The findings are especially relevant to sampling strategy design and the averaging of seasonal water chemistry data for use in predictive models of lake trophic status.     

从自然保护区到国家公园体制试点: 三江源国家公园环境覆盖的变化及其对两栖爬行类保护的启示

三江源地区具有丰富的高原生物多样性, 是我国重要的生态安全屏障。作为我国第一个体制试点的国家公园, 三江源国家公园将被建成青藏高原大自然保护展示和生态文化传承区。为更好地服务于三江源国家公园建设, 本研究从海拔、年均温和年降水等方面, 在环境空间上系统比较了国家公园与三江源和可可西里自然保护区的差异; 以4种两栖爬行动物即高原林蛙(Rana kukunoris)、倭蛙(Nanorana pleskei)、西藏齿突蟾(Scutiger boulengeri)和青海沙蜥(Phrynocephalus vlangalii)分布点环境条件在国家公园内外的异同为例, 探讨分布受环境制约大、扩散能力弱的物种保护在国家公园建设中可能面临的机遇和挑战。结果表明, 国家公园与已建自然保护区在地理空间上重叠较大, 但它们在自然环境上的差别很明显; 自然保护区内两栖爬行类所偏好的环境条件较多未包含在国家公园内。鉴于三江源的区位特殊性及对气候变化的敏感性, 区域内两栖爬行动物等对环境依赖性强、扩散能力弱物种的有效保护不仅有助于保持物种遗传多样性和区域生态系统的完整性, 也有利于更好地实现国家公园目标定位并服务于生态文明建设。为此, 在国家公园内, 应开展两栖爬行动物种群动态和群落结构的长期监测, 加强基础生物学研究, 掌握环境变化对两栖爬行动物分布、遗传、行为、形态、种群动态及群落可能产生的影响, 实现区域内两栖爬行动物及其类似物种在环境变化下的永续生存。     

Sex‐dependent habitat selection in a high‐density Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax population in southern France,and the implications for conservation

Conservation measures often rely on habitat management, so knowledge about a species’ habitat use is a prerequisite for effective conservation planning. The Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax, a medium‐sized bird native to the Palaearctic steppes and today found in extensively farmed habitats, is a threatened species. Its population experienced a 94% decline in farmland habitats in France between 1982 and 1996, and populations all over Europe have suffered equally sharp declines. Due to this steep negative trend, this species has been the subject of a number of habitat selection studies in order to develop relevant conservation measures based on its habitat requirements. In this study, we investigated the habitat selection of a range of habitat types by both sexes and at two nested spatial scales: plot scale and landscape scale. In addition, we analysed intra‐specific social interactions by incorporating conspecific density in the statistical models of habitat use. The study was conducted on a very high‐density population, perhaps the highest ever recorded for this species at around 50 Bustards per 100 ha of suitable habitat. Our methodology combined two field approaches (point counts and quadrat counts). The findings showed rather limited sexual dimorphism in terms of habitat selection at a local scale, with only vegetation height differing between sexes at a micro‐habitat scale, no selection at landscape scale, and a prevailing role of social factors at both scales. The implications for future conservation strategies in relation to population density and landscape composition are discussed.     

The use of cattle Bos taurus for restoring and maintaining holarctic landscapes: Conclusions from a long‐term study (1946–2017) in northern England

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Multivariate analyses of the biometric features from Philippine sardines – implications for the phylogenetic relationships of the freshwater Sardinella tawilis (Teleostei,Clupeomorpha)*

Philippine sardines are members of the commercially important Sardinella genus (Family Clupeidae). Sardines are mostly marine species with a very few exception like the Philippine freshwater sardine, Sardinella tawilis, of Lake Taal. This species is believed to have immigrated from Balayan Bay some 250 years ago. To determine the relationship of freshwater S. tawilis to the marine forms, 35 biometric features were investigated. The variables were subjected to univariate (mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variance) and multivariate analyses [Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis]. Results from univariate tests revealed that the number of ventral fin ray can discriminate Sardinella lemuru from the rest of the sardines. Multivariate PCA, on the other hand, showed discrete separation of the marine sardines. Sardinella tawilis, however, cannot be clearly separated from the marine species, Sardinella albella. The same clustering was recovered in HCA, thus providing evidence that S. albella is the closest marine relative of the freshwater S. tawilis.     

A plea for ‘genealogical thinking’ in comparative biology – a rebuttal to the reply of Szucsich,Wirkner, and Pass to my article ‘Deconstructing Morphology’

Scholtz G. in press. A plea for ‘genealogical thinking’ in comparative biology – a rebuttal to the reply of Szucsich, Wirkner, and Pass to my article ‘Deconstructing Morphology’. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 00 : 1–4. Szucsich et al. (in press) claim that – in contrast to my statement – morphological thinking has to be ‘cladistic.’ Based on this premise, they stress the difference between the relationships among states of characters versus those among structures assigned to the same character state as implemented in numerical cladistic reasoning. SEA claim that my approach to the homology concept only deals with the problem of the integration of various character states into the same character, whereas the necessary relationships among structures assigned to the same state are not covered. Based on this distinction, SEA also criticise the application of similarity in my definition of homology. Furthermore, they address the issue of evolutionarily independent units.     

Rapid Increase of Pneumococcal Resistance to β-Lactam and Other Antibiotics in Isolates from the Respiratory Tract (Nagasaki,Japan: 1975–1994)

The susceptibility of 101 pneumococcal isolates from the respiratory tract during 1991–1994 was examined and compared with the susceptibility of isolates over the period of 1975–1990. A rapid increase of resistance was seen not only to penicillin but also other antimicrobial agents. During 1991–1994, 38% of all the isolates were resistant to penicillin. The rates of resistance during this period were 16–23% for three newer cephalosporins, 18% for imipenem, 69% for tetracycline, 31% for erythromycin, 20% for chloramphenicol and 9% for clindamycin. The use of antibiotics within one month prior to pneumococcal isolation was correlated with penicillin resistance (P < 0.05). Serotyping of the isolates by antiserum revealed differences in predominant types between penicillin-resistant (19F, 23F, 4) and -susceptible isolates (15, 4, 11A). Our data suggests that anti-pneumococcal antibiotics should be carefully chosen on the basis of susceptibility tests.     

Tree rings as a surrogate for economic stress – an example from the Puna of Jujuy, Argentina in the 19th century

This paper illustrates the use of tree-ring indices as an indicator of economic stress. In the 19th century the rural economy in the Puna of Jujuy, Northwestern Argentina was based on livestock (llamas and sheep), and was heavily dependant on the availability of pasture and water in this arid landscape. In the absence of traditional indicators of socioeconomic stress, we used tree-ring indices from moisture sensitive trees (Juglans australis Griseb. and Polylepis tarapacana Phil.) as a proxy for droughts and their related economic stresses. Examining the relationship between population mortality and ring-width indices allows inferences to be drawn about the relative importance of environmental and sociopolitical factors in determining mortality patterns that contributed to the depopulation of this area in the late 19th century.     

Searching for the glacial refugia of Erebia euryale (Lepidoptera,Nymphalidae) – insights from mtDNA‐ and nDNA‐based phylogeography in the Western Carpathians

The refugial history and postglacial re‐colonization routes of Western Carpathian insects are insufficiently understood. Therefore, we investigated the spatio‐genetic structure (phylogeography) of Western Carpathian populations of Erebia euryale (Esper, 1805) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) and inferred their colonization routes over the postglacial period. Our results provide new insights into the phylogeography and origin of Erebia euryale in the rarely studied region of the Western Carpathian Mountains. Their phylogeography, including glacial refugia and Pleistocene expansion routes, was reconstructed based on two mitochondrial (COI and CR) and three nuclear markers (CAD, MDH and IDH). Statistical parsimony networks showed the following geographic coherences: (1) populations from Romania and the Bukovské Mountains (Kremenec) grouped together; (2) a ?ergov group containing populations only from the ?ergov Mountains; (3) a Volovské Mountains group with populations from Koj?ovská ho?a and Slovak Paradise grouped together, most likely due to the lack of geographic isolation between the areas; (4) haplotypes characterized from the Volovské Mountains populations were widespread. Comparisons of Western Carpathian E. euryale COI‐haplotypes with haplotypes from the Southern Carpathians and Balkans suggest that the refugial areas were located in south‐eastern Europe in the Balkan region and Southern Carpathians. We also hypothesize possible central European contact zones in Slovakia for E. euryale in the Western Carpathians. Our results indicate that the Western Carpathians could have served as one of the contact zones between Eastern and Western populations, and additionally as an extra refugium in the southern part of the Volovské Mountains for populations also occurring in Czech mountain regions.     

Responses of ant communities to dry sulfur deposition from mining emissions in semi‐arid tropical Australia,with implications for the use of functional groups

Abstract The impact of dry deposition of SO₂ emissions on ant abundance, diversity and composition was investigated at Mount Isa in the semiarid tropics of northern Australia. Forty plots were sampled, stratified at two levels: sulfur deposition zones (high, medium, low, and two control zones) and habitat (Ridge and Plain). The two habitats supported distinctly different ant communities. Ants had clear responses to SO₂ emissions. Ant abundance was lowest in the high and medium sulfur zones in both habitats. Species richness in high SO² plots (up to 5 km from the source) was approximately half that of control plots in Ridge habitat, and was substantially less than controls in the Plain habitat. Ant community composition in the high sulfur zone was clearly separated from those of other zones in ordinations. Vector fitting showed soil SO₄ concentration as a primary correlative factor in this separation. Ant abundance and richness were both negatively correlated with soil SO₄ concentration, and positively correlated with plant species richness and distance away from the smelters. The abundance of 10 of the 21 most common species showed significant responses to emissions. Five species showed positive responses, and all belong to species‐groups known to be abundant at disturbed sites throughout northern Australia. Relative abundance and richness of Eyrean (arid adapted) taxa collectively responded positively to sulfur, and Torresian (tropical) and Widespread species responded negatively. Despite large changes in species composition and abundances, there was relatively little change in the abundance of functional groups that have been widely used in studies of Australian ant communities. Ants are sensitive to SO₂ emissions and appear to be good candidates as an indicator group in this context. However, an alternative functional group framework is required for the identification of recurrent responses of arid zone ant communities to disturbance.     

Structural deviations in the prothoracic tracheal apparatuses of the armoured ground crickets,Acanthoplus speiseri Brancsik., and Enyaliopsis cf. matebelensis Per. (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae,Hetrodinae) from the ‘typical’ Hetrodinae condition of Zeuner (1936a) and their importance to tettigoniid classification

Prothoracic tracheal apparatuses of Acanthoplus speiseri Brancsik and Enyaliopsis cf. matebelensis Per., are described. The vesicula femoralis for the apparatus of each species differs from the condition considered by Zeuner (1936a) to be typical for the subfamily Hetrodinae to which the two species belong. Acanthoplus speiseri possesses a horn-shaped apparatus, while E. cf. matebelensis bears a trumpet-shaped structure. The horn-shaped prothoracic tracheal apparatus was previously reported to be a specialized structure in the ‘Bradyporoid group’ of Zeuner (1936a). The trumpet-shaped apparatus is reported for the first time in the subfamily. The problems of using the prothoracic tracheal apparatus as a taxonomic character in classifying the tettigoniid subfamilies and the implications of the presence of the atypical prothoracic tracheal apparatuses in the Hetrodinae to the classification of the Tettigoniidae are discussed.