The genus Nomuraea Maublanc

The history of Spicaria rileyi (Farlow) Charles and Spicaria prasina (Maub.) Sawada is discussed. The genus Nomuraea is resurrected and Spicaria rileyi is transferred to that genus. Spicaria prasina is placed in synonomy with Nomuraea rileyi (Farlow) Samson.     

Melanoma literacy among the general population of three western US states

Melanoma is a significant cause of cancer death, despite being detectable without specialized or invasive technologies. Understanding barriers to preventive behaviors such as skin self-examination (SSE) could help to define interventions for increasing the frequency of early detection. To determine melanoma knowledge and beliefs across three high-incidence US states, 15,000 surveys were sent to a population-representative sample. We aimed to assess (1) melanoma literacy (i.e., knowledge about melanoma risks, attitudes, and preventive behaviors) and (2) self-reported SSE and its association with melanoma literacy, self-efficacy, and belief in the benefits of SSE. Of 2326 respondents, only 21.2% provided responses indicating high knowledge of melanoma, and 62.8% reported performing an SSE at any time in their lives. Only 38.3% and 7.3% reported being “fairly” or “very” confident about doing SSE, respectively. SSE performance among respondents was most strongly associated with higher melanoma knowledge, higher self-efficacy, and personal history of melanoma. Melanoma literacy among survey respondents was modest, with greater literacy associated with a higher likelihood of reported preventive behavior. This assessment establishes a baseline and provides guidance for public health campaigns designed to increase prevention and early detection of this lethal cancer.     

Isotopic (δ2Hf) evidence of “loop migration” and use of the Gulf of Maine Flyway by both western and eastern breeding populations of Blackpoll Warblers

Declining numbers of Blackpoll Warblers (Setophaga striata) have been documented at long‐term migration monitoring sites as well as in breeding areas. However, the “loop migration” of Blackpoll Warblers makes it difficult to ascribe population change at migration monitoring sites to specific breeding populations. Individuals from all populations across the breeding range of Blackpoll Warblers concentrate in fall along the Atlantic coastline of eastern North America prior to initiating a transoceanic flight to wintering areas. In spring, Blackpoll Warblers return along a different route, moving north into the southeastern United States where birds from eastern and western breeding populations then diverge during migration to reach their respective breeding areas. To monitor breeding populations outside of breeding areas and identify factors potentially affecting those populations, we must be able to identify where birds captured during migration breed and map seasonal variation in population‐specific flyways. To “map” population‐specific migration movements of Blackpoll Warblers, we used feather deuterium (δ²H_f) values and a spatially explicit model to assign molt origins of 289 Blackpoll Warblers moving through sites in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) region and at three locations further west and south (northern Great Lakes area, Pennsylvania, and Florida). The assignment method was validated with feather samples from 35 birds captured during the breeding season at Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. As predicted, the spatial pattern of movement within and between seasons reflected “loop migration.” Blackpoll Warblers captured during fall migration in the GOM region included birds from across their breeding range, whereas birds captured during the spring were exclusively from northeastern populations. During fall migration, Blackpoll Warblers captured at two sites west of the GOM were from breeding areas further northwest than those from western Canada that were captured in the GOM. Blackpoll Warblers captured in eastern Florida during spring migration were assigned exclusively to breeding areas in the northeast, suggesting that eastern and western populations diverge soon after entering the United States. Finally, most Blackpoll Warblers sampled at Manomet Bird Observatory originated from breeding populations in Alaska and western Canada that have shown a similar (70–90%) decline over the same period. Our results, therefore, not only document the “loop migration” pattern of Blackpoll Warblers, but, by mapping patterns of connectivity between breeding and non‐breeding areas, may help target conservation efforts for breeding populations of Blackpoll Warblers where most needed.     

How do invasive species affect native species? Experimental evidence from a carrion blowfly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) system

1. The necrobiome is a unique microcosm in which various organisms interact and compete for access to an ephemeral resource, such as carrion, that ultimately determines the structure and composition of these assemblages. 2. Blowfly species exhibit different competitive abilities which, when associated with other types of behaviour, such as predation or cannibalism, influence coexistence. Knowledge of the effects of competition between native and invasive species on development and survival is essential to understanding the dynamics of insect communities and to assess biological invasions. 3. Laboratory experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of interspecific competition on the bionomics and survival of a native (Cochliomyia macellaria) and an invasive (Chrysomya rufifacies) blowfly species at different population densities. 4. The deleterious effect of competition on the larval parameters of C. macellaria increased proportionally with increases in the larval density of C. rufifacies. When exposed to increased densities of C. rufifacies, larvae of C. macellaria accelerated their development and, as a trade‐off for this strategy, surviving adults were smaller and had reduced wing size, which were likely to reduce dispersal and reproductive capacity. 5. Larval competition – both as species‐dependent and density‐dependent phenomena – influences morphological and biological traits of surviving individuals. The impact of the invasive species has consequences at the population level, such as displacement or local population depletion of native species, a phenomenon likely to occur in other systems involving insects and ephemeral resources.     

Individual and social determinants of SARS-CoV-2 testing and positivity in Ontario,Canada: a population-wide study

BACKGROUND:Optimizing the public health response to reduce the burden of COVID-19 necessitates characterizing population-level heterogeneity of risks for the disease. However, heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 testing may introduce biased estimates depending on analytic design. We aimed to explore the potential for collider bias in a large study of disease determinants, and evaluate individual, environmental and social determinants associated with SARS-CoV-2 testing and diagnosis among residents of Ontario, Canada.METHODS:We explored the potential for collider bias and characterized individual, environmental and social determinants of being tested and testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection using cross-sectional analyses among 14.7 million community-dwelling people in Ontario, Canada. Among those with a diagnosis, we used separate analytic designs to compare predictors of people testing positive versus negative; symptomatic people testing positive versus testing negative; and people testing positive versus people not testing positive (i.e., testing negative or not being tested). Our analyses included tests conducted between Mar. 1 and June 20, 2020.RESULTS:Of 14 695 579 people, we found that 758 691 were tested for SARS-CoV-2, of whom 25 030 (3.3%) had a positive test result. The further the odds of testing from the null, the more variability we generally observed in the odds of diagnosis across analytic design, particularly among individual factors. We found that there was less variability in testing by social determinants across analytic designs. Residing in areas with the highest household density (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.75–1.98), highest proportion of essential workers (adjusted OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.48–1.69), lowest educational attainment (adjusted OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.26–1.41) and highest proportion of recent immigrants (adjusted OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.05–1.15) were consistently related to increased odds of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis regardless of analytic design.INTERPRETATION:Where testing is limited, our results suggest that risk factors may be better estimated using population comparators rather than test-negative comparators. Optimizing COVID-19 responses necessitates investment in and sufficient coverage of structural interventions tailored to heterogeneity in social determinants of risk, including household crowding, occupation and structural racism.

The spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, has resulted in a pandemic with heterogeneity in exposure and risk of transmission.^1–4Heterogeneity in social determinants of COVID-19 may exist at the individual and community (e.g., by housing density^5–7) levels. In addition, social determinants of health, including barriers to health care, occupation, structural racism and xenophobia, have been implicated in COVID-19 risk.^8,9 Environmental determinants such as ambient air pollution may also play a role, as evidence indicates that higher ambient air pollution increases risk for infection with other respiratory viruses^10,11 and the development of severe COVID-19.^12,13 Environmental factors are linked with structural racism (e.g., in the context of low-quality housing).^12,14Using observational data to identify risk factors for COVID-19 relies on SARS-CoV-2 testing, a service that is not equally distributed.¹⁵ Differential testing introduces the potential for selection biases,^16,17 including collider bias.¹⁷ Collider bias may be introduced into epidemiologic studies of COVID-19 risk factors if the factors under investigation are related both to developing an infection and to the likelihood of being tested.^17–19 For example, data suggest that people with diabetes are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 if infected with SARS-CoV-2.^20,21 Thus, if infected, people with diabetes may be more likely to be tested, and consequently, diabetes may appear to be associated with a diagnosis of COVID-19 in studies of those tested for SARS-CoV-2, even if diabetes is not a risk factor for infection.¹⁷ The opposite may occur with underlying respiratory diseases (e.g., asthma) that have symptoms similar to those caused by SARS-CoV-2, leading to the appearance of potentially “protective” associations with COVID-19.²²Our objectives were to explore the potential for collider bias in a large study of COVID-19 determinants and examine individual, environmental and social determinants associated with testing and diagnosis among 14.7 million people in Ontario, Canada.¹⁷     

Potential for biofilms as biological indicators in Australian riverine systems

Summary Biological indicators have been widely used in Australian riverine systems to assess the effectiveness of past and current management. The short generation time, sessile nature, responsiveness to environmental conditions and the availability of sound, quantitative methodologies make biofilms suitable as a monitoring tool in these systems. This paper describes biofilm structure, function and development through the processes of succession and disturbance. Biofilms are assemblages of algae, fungi and microorganisms which cover rocks, wood and sediments in aquatic systems. A review of biofilm collection and processing techniques using relevant Australian and international studies reveals a large literature on many structural and functional biofilm attributes. Studies using structural attributes such as biomass and diversity to examine water quality impacts and invertebrate grazers dominate the Australian literature. More recently, studies have used functional biofilm attributes such as metabolism and foodweb interactions. Monitoring programs that combine structural and functional biofilm attributes will allow the best assessment of impacts in riverine systems. Biofilm functional parameters provide an integrated, long-term measure of ecosystem function, with structural attributes such as biomass and diversity allowing historical comparisons with previously recorded datasets. Monitoring programs such as these with a well-founded scientific base and defined management outcomes will expand our knowledge of river function and contribute to the restoration of Australian river systems.