Linking behavioral states to landscape features for improved conservation management

1. A central theme for conservation is understanding how animals differentially use, and are affected by change in, the landscapes they inhabit. However, it has been challenging to develop conservation schemes for habitat‐specific behaviors.
2. Here we use behavioral change point analysis to identify behavioral states of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts of the southwestern United States, and we identify, for each behavioral state, conservation‐relevant habitat associations.
3. We modeled behavior using 186,859 GPS points from 48 eagles and identified 2,851 distinct segments comprising four behavioral states. Altitude above ground level (AGL) best differentiated behavioral states, with two clusters of short‐distance movement behaviors characterized by low AGL (state 1 AGL = 14 m (median); state 2 AGL = 11 m) and two associated with longer‐distance movement behaviors and characterized by higher AGL (state 3 AGL = 108 m; state 4 AGL = 450 m).
4. Behaviors such as perching and low‐altitude hunting were associated with short‐distance movements in updraft‐poor environments, at higher elevations, and over steeper and more north‐facing terrain. In contrast, medium‐distance movements such as hunting and transiting were over gentle and south‐facing slopes. Long‐distance transiting occurred over the desert habitats that generate the best updraft.
5. This information can guide management of this species, and our approach provides a template for behavior‐specific habitat associations for other species of management concern.

     

Turnover and trends in butterfly communities on two British tidal islands: stochastic influences and deterministic factors

Aim Community trends were investigated for two small islands and two local mainland butterfly communities within the UK over a period of 20–30 years. Location Hilbre Island off the Wirral Peninsula at 53.33° N, 3.10° W; Lindisfarne, an island off the Northumberland coast at 56.41° N, 1.48° W; Leighton Moss at 54.08° N, 2.26° W; Wyre Forest at 52.23° N, 2.14° W, UK. Methods Butterfly species data were collected on Hilbre and two mainland sites (Leighton Moss and Wyre Forest) from 1983 to 2006, and on Lindisfarne from 1977 to 2006, as part of the National Habitat Survey, the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and ‘Butterflies for the New Millennium Atlas’ recording. Matrices of associations (Sokal and Michener’s matching coefficient S_SM; resemblance coefficient) were computed between years and subject to non‐metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and Mantel tests. The pattern of extinctions and colonizations at sites were examined, their heterogeneity tested by applying a Friedman test to fractional incidences for the same years. Regression analysis (multiple regression and logit regression) was used to relate butterfly numbers and incidences to climate variables, time and previous records. Results Significant community trends based on population counts and species’ incidences were found for all four sites. There was a significant climatic signal for Hilbre; although this was not apparent for the remaining sites, significant associations occurred between records for a number of species and climatic variables at all sites. Substantial turnover of species on the islands was inversely related to numbers of records for species but not to their conspicuousness to recorders. Main conclusions We argue that time trends are widespread in butterfly communities, even for relatively short periods; they are largely generated by stochastic influences rather than by more substantive factors such as climate change. Potential biases in surveying and recording history are shown to be unlikely. A clear climate signal was found only for the small Hilbre Island, for which there was also evidence for the significant influence of colonization capability of individual source species. We conclude that for many species, small islands will be sinks or pseudosinks and their ‘populations’ vulnerable to small changes in source–sink dynamics.     

Analysis of chemometric models applied to Raman spectroscopy for monitoring key metabolites of cell culture

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiative of Process Analytical Technology (PAT) encourages the monitoring of biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes by innovative solutions. Raman spectroscopy and the chemometric modeling tool partial least squares (PLS) have been applied to this aim for monitoring cell culture process variables. This study compares the chemometric modeling methods of Support Vector Machine radial (SVMr), Random Forests (RF), and Cubist to the commonly used linear PLS model for predicting cell culture components—glucose, lactate, and ammonia. This research is performed to assess whether the use of PLS as standard practice is justified for chemometric modeling of Raman spectroscopy and cell culture data. Model development data from five small-scale bioreactors (2 × 1 L and 3 × 5 L) using two Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines were used to predict against a manufacturing scale bioreactor (2,000 L). Analysis demonstrated that Cubist predictive models were better for average performance over PLS, SVMr, and RF for glucose, lactate, and ammonia. The root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of Cubist modeling was acceptable for the process concentration ranges of glucose (1.437 mM), lactate (2.0 mM), and ammonia (0.819 mM). Interpretation of variable importance (VI) results theorizes the potential advantages of Cubist modeling in avoiding interference of Raman spectral peaks. Predictors/Raman wavenumbers (cm⁻¹) of interest for individual variables are X1139–X1141 for glucose, X846–X849 for lactate, and X2941–X2943 for ammonia. These results demonstrate that other beneficial chemometric models are available for use in monitoring cell culture with Raman spectroscopy.     

Molecular identification and morphological variations of Dermacentor albipictus collected from two deer species in northern Mexico

Experimental and Applied Acarology - In total, 57 ticks were collected from six white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and three mule deer (O. hemionus) in northern Mexico during the 2017, 2018...     

Optimization of the enzymatic synthesis of structured triacylglycerols rich in docosahexaenoic acid at sn-2 position by acidolysis of Aurantiochytrium limacinum SR21 oil and caprylic acid using response surface methodology

Journal of Applied Phycology - The thraustochytrid Aurantiochytrium limacinum SR21 is a promising source of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for human consumption as dietary supplement, replacing...     

Using life cycle assessment to achieve a circular economy

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - The current global interest in circular economy (CE) opens an opportunity to make society’s consumption and production patterns more...     

Liquid–liquid phase separation of Tau by self and complex coacervation

The liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of Tau has been postulated to play a role in modulating the aggregation property of Tau, a process known to be critically associated with the pathology of a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer''s Disease. Tau can undergo LLPS by homotypic interaction through self‐coacervation (SC) or by heterotypic association through complex‐coacervation (CC) between Tau and binding partners such as RNA. What is unclear is in what way the formation mechanisms for self and complex coacervation of Tau are similar or different, and the addition of a binding partner to Tau alters the properties of LLPS and Tau. A combination of in vitro experimental and computational study reveals that the primary driving force for both Tau CC and SC is electrostatic interactions between Tau‐RNA or Tau‐Tau macromolecules. The liquid condensates formed by the complex coacervation of Tau and RNA have distinctly higher micro‐viscosity and greater thermal stability than that formed by the SC of Tau. Our study shows that subtle changes in solution conditions, including molecular crowding and the presence of binding partners, can lead to the formation of different types of Tau condensates with distinct micro‐viscosity that can coexist as persistent and immiscible entities in solution. We speculate that the formation, rheological properties and stability of Tau droplets can be readily tuned by cellular factors, and that liquid condensation of Tau can alter the conformational equilibrium of Tau.