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Sample records for specific faunal communities

  1. Faunal Communities Are Invariant to Fragmentation in Experimental Seagrass Landscapes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan S Lefcheck

    Full Text Available Human-driven habitat fragmentation is cited as one of the most pressing threats facing many coastal ecosystems today. Many experiments have explored the consequences of fragmentation on fauna in one foundational habitat, seagrass beds, but have either surveyed along a gradient of existing patchiness, used artificial materials to mimic a natural bed, or sampled over short timescales. Here, we describe faunal responses to constructed fragmented landscapes varying from 4-400 m2 in two transplant garden experiments incorporating live eelgrass (Zostera marina L.. In experiments replicated within two subestuaries of the Chesapeake Bay, USA across multiple seasons and non-consecutive years, we comprehensively censused mesopredators and epifaunal communities using complementary quantitative methods. We found that community properties, including abundance, species richness, Simpson and functional diversity, and composition were generally unaffected by the number of patches and the size of the landscape, or the intensity of sampling. Additionally, an index of competition based on species co-occurrences revealed no trends with increasing patch size, contrary to theoretical predictions. We extend conclusions concerning the invariance of animal communities to habitat fragmentation from small-scale observational surveys and artificial experiments to experiments conducted with actual living plants and at more realistic scales. Our findings are likely a consequence of the rapid life histories and high mobility of the organisms common to eelgrass beds, and have implications for both conservation and restoration, suggesting that even small patches can rapidly promote abundant and diverse faunal communities.

  2. Effects of slurry application methods on soil faunal communities in permanent grassland

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vliet, van P.C.J.; Goede, de R.G.M.

    2006-01-01

    We studied the effects of two slurry manure application methods, broadcasting manure slurry (MB) and manure slit injection (SMI), on soil faunal communities 1 week and 4 or 5 weeks after application in the spring of 2002 and the summer of 2003. No effect on total numbers of Enchytraeidae and

  3. Temporal and Spatial Variations of Bacterial and Faunal Communities Associated with Deep-Sea Wood Falls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bienhold, Christina; Wenzhöfer, Frank; Rossel, Pamela E.; Boetius, Antje

    2017-01-01

    Sinking of large organic food falls i.e. kelp, wood and whale carcasses to the oligotrophic deep-sea floor promotes the establishment of locally highly productive and diverse ecosystems, often with specifically adapted benthic communities. However, the fragmented spatial distribution and small area poses challenges for the dispersal of their microbial and faunal communities. Our study focused on the temporal dynamics and spatial distributions of sunken wood bacterial communities, which were deployed in the vicinity of different cold seeps in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Norwegian deep-seas. By combining fingerprinting of bacterial communities by ARISA and 454 sequencing with in situ and ex situ biogeochemical measurements, we show that sunken wood logs have a locally confined long-term impact (> 3y) on the sediment geochemistry and community structure. We confirm previous hypotheses of different successional stages in wood degradation including a sulphophilic one, attracting chemosynthetic fauna from nearby seep systems. Wood experiments deployed at similar water depths (1100–1700 m), but in hydrographically different oceanic regions harbored different wood-boring bivalves, opportunistic faunal communities, and chemosynthetic species. Similarly, bacterial communities on sunken wood logs were more similar within one geographic region than between different seas. Diverse sulphate-reducing bacteria of the Deltaproteobacteria, the sulphide-oxidizing bacteria Sulfurovum as well as members of the Acidimicrobiia and Bacteroidia dominated the wood falls in the Eastern Mediterranean, while Alphaproteobacteria and Flavobacteriia colonized the Norwegian Sea wood logs. Fauna and bacterial wood-associated communities changed between 1 to 3 years of immersion, with sulphate-reducers and sulphide-oxidizers increasing in proportion, and putative cellulose degraders decreasing with time. Only 6% of all bacterial genera, comprising the core community, were found at any time

  4. Temporal and Spatial Variations of Bacterial and Faunal Communities Associated with Deep-Sea Wood Falls.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petra Pop Ristova

    Full Text Available Sinking of large organic food falls i.e. kelp, wood and whale carcasses to the oligotrophic deep-sea floor promotes the establishment of locally highly productive and diverse ecosystems, often with specifically adapted benthic communities. However, the fragmented spatial distribution and small area poses challenges for the dispersal of their microbial and faunal communities. Our study focused on the temporal dynamics and spatial distributions of sunken wood bacterial communities, which were deployed in the vicinity of different cold seeps in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Norwegian deep-seas. By combining fingerprinting of bacterial communities by ARISA and 454 sequencing with in situ and ex situ biogeochemical measurements, we show that sunken wood logs have a locally confined long-term impact (> 3y on the sediment geochemistry and community structure. We confirm previous hypotheses of different successional stages in wood degradation including a sulphophilic one, attracting chemosynthetic fauna from nearby seep systems. Wood experiments deployed at similar water depths (1100-1700 m, but in hydrographically different oceanic regions harbored different wood-boring bivalves, opportunistic faunal communities, and chemosynthetic species. Similarly, bacterial communities on sunken wood logs were more similar within one geographic region than between different seas. Diverse sulphate-reducing bacteria of the Deltaproteobacteria, the sulphide-oxidizing bacteria Sulfurovum as well as members of the Acidimicrobiia and Bacteroidia dominated the wood falls in the Eastern Mediterranean, while Alphaproteobacteria and Flavobacteriia colonized the Norwegian Sea wood logs. Fauna and bacterial wood-associated communities changed between 1 to 3 years of immersion, with sulphate-reducers and sulphide-oxidizers increasing in proportion, and putative cellulose degraders decreasing with time. Only 6% of all bacterial genera, comprising the core community, were

  5. Soil Microbial and Faunal Community Responses to Bt-Maize and Insecticide in Two Soils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Griffiths, B. S.; Caul, S.; Thompson, J.

    2006-01-01

    The effects of maize (Zea mays L.), genetically modified to express the Cry1Ab protein (Bt), and an insecticide on soil microbial and faunal communities were assessed in a glasshouse experiment. Soil for the experiment was taken from field sites where the same maize cultivars were grown to allow...

  6. Further Interpretation of the Relationship between Faunal Community and Seafloor Geology at Southern Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia Margin: Exploring Machine Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigham, K.; Kelley, D. S.; Marburg, A.; Delaney, J. R.

    2017-12-01

    In 2011, high-resolution, georeferenced photomoasiacs were taken of Einstein's Grotto, an active methane hydrate seep within the field at Southern Hydrate Ridge located 90 km west of Newport, Oregon at a water depth of 800 m. Methods used to analyze the relationships between the seep site, seafloor geology, and the spatial distribution and abundances of microbial and macrofaunal communities at Einstein's Grotto were expanded to three other sites over the 200 by 300 m active seep field. These seeps were documented in the same survey in 2011 conducted by the remotely operated vehicle ROPOS on board the R/V Thompson. Over 10,000 high definition images allowed for the further quantification and characterization of the diversity and structure of the faunal community at this seep field. The new results support the study's initial findings of high variability in the distribution and abundance of seep organisms across the field, with correlation to seafloor geology. The manual classification of organisms was also used to train a series of convolutional neural networks in Nvidia DIGITS and Google Tensorflow environments for automated identification. The developed networks proved highly accurate at background/non-background segmentation ( 96%) and slightly less reliable for fauna identification ( 89%). This study provides a baseline for the faunal community at the Southern Hydrate Ridge methane seeps and a more efficient computer assisted method for processing follow on studies.

  7. Mass extinctions drove increased global faunal cosmopolitanism on the supercontinent Pangaea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Button, David J; Lloyd, Graeme T; Ezcurra, Martín D; Butler, Richard J

    2017-10-10

    Mass extinctions have profoundly impacted the evolution of life through not only reducing taxonomic diversity but also reshaping ecosystems and biogeographic patterns. In particular, they are considered to have driven increased biogeographic cosmopolitanism, but quantitative tests of this hypothesis are rare and have not explicitly incorporated information on evolutionary relationships. Here we quantify faunal cosmopolitanism using a phylogenetic network approach for 891 terrestrial vertebrate species spanning the late Permian through Early Jurassic. This key interval witnessed the Permian-Triassic and Triassic-Jurassic mass extinctions, the onset of fragmentation of the supercontinent Pangaea, and the origins of dinosaurs and many modern vertebrate groups. Our results recover significant increases in global faunal cosmopolitanism following both mass extinctions, driven mainly by new, widespread taxa, leading to homogenous 'disaster faunas'. Cosmopolitanism subsequently declines in post-recovery communities. These shared patterns in both biotic crises suggest that mass extinctions have predictable influences on animal distribution and may shed light on biodiversity loss in extant ecosystems.Mass extinctions are thought to produce 'disaster faunas', communities dominated by a small number of widespread species. Here, Button et al. develop a phylogenetic network approach to test this hypothesis and find that mass extinctions did increase faunal cosmopolitanism across Pangaea during the late Palaeozoic and early Mesozoic.

  8. The Liang Bua faunal remains: a 95k.yr. sequence from Flores, East Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Bergh, G D; Meijer, H J M; Due Awe, Rokhus; Morwood, M J; Szabó, K; van den Hoek Ostende, L W; Sutikna, T; Saptomo, E W; Piper, P J; Dobney, K M

    2009-11-01

    Excavations at Liang Bua, a limestone cave on the island of Flores, East Indonesia, have yielded a well-dated archaeological and faunal sequence spanning the last 95k.yr., major climatic fluctuations, and two human species -H. floresiensis from 95 to 17k.yr.(1), and modern humans from 11k.yr. to the present. The faunal assemblage comprises well-preserved mammal, bird, reptile and mollusc remains, including examples of island gigantism in small mammals and the dwarfing of large taxa. Together with evidence from Early-Middle Pleistocene sites in the Soa Basin, it confirms the long-term isolation, impoverishment, and phylogenetic continuity of the Flores faunal community. The accumulation of Stegodon and Komodo dragon remains at the site in the Pleistocene is attributed to Homo floresiensis, while predatory birds, including an extinct species of owl, were largely responsible for the accumulation of the small vertebrates. The disappearance from the sequence of the two large-bodied, endemic mammals, Stegodon florensis insularis and Homo floresiensis, was associated with a volcanic eruption at 17 ka and precedes the earliest evidence for modern humans, who initiated use of mollusc and shell working, and began to introduce a range of exotic animals to the island. Faunal introductions during the Holocene included the Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis) at about 7ka, followed by the Eurasian pig (Sus scrofa), Long-tailed macaque, Javanese porcupine, and Masked palm civet at about 4ka, and cattle, deer, and horse - possibly by the Portuguese within historic times. The Holocene sequence at the site also documents local faunal extinctions - a result of accelerating human population growth, habitat loss, and over-exploitation.

  9. Holocene Faunal Trends in West Siberia and Their Causes

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    Gashev, S. N.; Aleshina, A. O.; Zuban, I. A.; Lupinos, M. Y.; Mardonova, L. B.; Mitropolskiy, M. G.; Selyukov, A. G.; Sorokina, N. V.; Stolbov, V. A.; Shapovalov, S. I.

    2017-12-01

    Based on an analysis of the transformation of vertebrate and invertebrate fauna of West Siberia in the Holocene, the classification and periodization of the main faunal trends are presented. Against the background of changing environmental conditions, the key regularities of the faunal dynamics, and the ways some species penetrate into the territory of the region and others disappear from the beginning of the Holocene to the present time have been indicated. Three global and four fluctuating trends are identified. The anthropogenic trend is ascertained separately. A conclusion is made about the prevailing causes of these changes, associated primarily with periodic climatic processes of different levels, determined by planetary geological and cosmic cycles. It is emphasized that, in the historical period, anthropogenic factors play a significant role in the regional faunal dynamics.

  10. Marine benthic faunal successional stages and related sedimentary activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rutger Rosenberg

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a brief review of successional stages and activity of benthic soft-bottom communities. Benthic communities was first described by Petersen in the 1910s and further developed by Molander, Thorson and Margalef. Successional stages of benthic communities chance in a predictable way in relation to environmental disturbance and food availability. Food supply to the bottom can occur as a vertical flux, but transport through lateral advection is more important in some areas. While at the bottom, the infauna processes the food in many different ways, and the feeding modes can be categorised into more than 20 functional groups, but fewer are present in brackish water. This categorisation is based on animal mobility and where and how they ingest the food. Animal activity in the sediment, bioturbation, has a significant effect on redox conditions and diagenetic processes. Structures in the sediment due to infaunal presence and activity can be observed in situ by sediment profile imaging, and the biogenic structures and redox conditions can be parameterised and have been shown to correlate to benthic community successional stages. The largest threat to benthic faunal biodiversity is the spread of near-bottom oxygen deficiency in many enclosed are stratified coastal areas.

  11. Faunal communities at sites of gas- and oil-bearing fluids in Lake Baikal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zemskaya, Tamara I.; Sitnikova, Tatiana Y.; Kiyashko, Sergei I.; Kalmychkov, Gennady V.; Pogodaeva, Tatiana V.; Mekhanikova, Irina V.; Naumova, Tatiana V.; Shubenkova, Olga V.; Chernitsina, Svetlana M.; Kotsar, Oleg V.; Chernyaev, Evgeny S.; Khlystov, Oleg M.

    2012-12-01

    Macro- and meiofaunal communities were examined at four geomorphologically distinct sites with different gas- and oil-bearing fluid characteristics in the northern, central and southern basins of Lake Baikal. All sites had elevated concentrations of bicarbonate, nitrate, sulphate and chloride ions in pore fluids, with highest values at the Frolikha vent. Elevated levels of iron ions were found in pore waters of the St. Petersburg methane seep and the Gorevoy Utes oil seep. The chemical composition of pore waters at the Malenky mud volcano was similar to that reported in earlier work. Consistent with published data, the Frolikha vent (northern basin) and the St. Petersburg methane seep (central basin) were characterised by methane of mixed genesis (thermogenic + biogenic), whereas the methane source was mainly thermogenic at the Gorevoy Utes oil seep (central basin) and biogenic at the Malenky mud volcano (southern basin). In contrast to marine seep ecosystems, the macrofauna was dominated only by amphipods, giant planarians and oligochaetes, whereas bivalves were absent; the meiofauna was similar to its marine counterpart, being dominated by nematodes, cyclops, harpacticoids and ostracods. A statistically significant positive relationship was revealed between faunal abundance and the availability of bacterial mats on seep sediments. Moreover, ANOVA tests showed significant increases in both meiozoobenthic and macrozoobenthic densities at "hot spot" vent/seep sites relative to discharge-free reference sites. The isotopic composition of carbon and nitrogen at various trophic levels of these benthic vent/seep communities was found to differ markedly from that reported by earlier studies for the pelagic and other benthic food webs in Lake Baikal. As in marine seeps, the macrofauna had variable isotopic signatures. Light δ13C and δ15N values suggest the utilization of chemosynthetically fixed and/or methane-derived organic matter. By contrast, the heavy δ13C

  12. Individual to Community-Level Faunal Responses to Environmental Change from a Marine Fossil Record of Early Miocene Global Warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belanger, Christina L.

    2012-01-01

    Modern climate change has a strong potential to shift earth systems and biological communities into novel states that have no present-day analog, leaving ecologists with no observational basis to predict the likely biotic effects. Fossil records contain long time-series of past environmental changes outside the range of modern observation, which are vital for predicting future ecological responses, and are capable of (a) providing detailed information on rates of ecological change, (b) illuminating the environmental drivers of those changes, and (c) recording the effects of environmental change on individual physiological rates. Outcrops of Early Miocene Newport Member of the Astoria Formation (Oregon) provide one such time series. This record of benthic foraminiferal and molluscan community change from continental shelf depths spans a past interval environmental change (∼20.3-16.7 mya) during which the region warmed 2.1–4.5°C, surface productivity and benthic organic carbon flux increased, and benthic oxygenation decreased, perhaps driven by intensified upwelling as on the modern Oregon coast. The Newport Member record shows that (a) ecological responses to natural environmental change can be abrupt, (b) productivity can be the primary driver of faunal change during global warming, (c) molluscs had a threshold response to productivity change while foraminifera changed gradually, and (d) changes in bivalve body size and growth rates parallel changes in taxonomic composition at the community level, indicating that, either directly or indirectly through some other biological parameter, the physiological tolerances of species do influence community change. Ecological studies in modern and fossil records that consider multiple ecological levels, environmental parameters, and taxonomic groups can provide critical information for predicting future ecological change and evaluating species vulnerability. PMID:22558424

  13. Late Quaternary faunal change in coastal Arabian sea sediments

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Borole, D.V.; Rao, K.K; Krishnamurthy, R.V.; Somayajulu, B.L.K

    Carbonate content and faunal composition of two gravity cores from the coastal Arabian Sea provide evidence of a major environmental change in surface ocean waters about 13,000 yr B.P. Radiocarbon dating indicates that deposition rates ranged from 1...

  14. Diversification of rhacophorid frogs provides evidence for accelerated faunal exchange between India and Eurasia during the Oligocene.

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    Li, Jia-Tang; Li, Yang; Klaus, Sebastian; Rao, Ding-Qi; Hillis, David M; Zhang, Ya-Ping

    2013-02-26

    The accretion of the Indian subcontinent to Eurasia triggered a massive faunal and floral exchange, with Gondwanan taxa entering into Asia and vice versa. The traditional view on the Indian-Asian collision assumes contact of the continental plates during the Early Eocene. Many biogeographic studies rely on this assumption. However, the exact mode and timing of this geological event is still under debate. Here we address, based on an extensive phylogenetic analysis of rhacophorid tree frogs, if there was already a Paleogene biogeographic link between Southeast Asia and India; in which direction faunal exchange occurred between India and Eurasia within the Rhacophoridae; and if the timing of the faunal exchange correlates with one of the recently suggested geological models. Rhacophorid tree frogs showed an early dispersal from India to Asia between 46 and 57 Ma, as reconstructed from the fossil record. During the Middle Eocene, however, faunal exchange ceased, followed by increase of rhacophorid dispersal events between Asia and the Indian subcontinent during the Oligocene that continued until the Middle Miocene. This corroborates recent geological models that argue for a much later final collision between the continental plates. We predict that the Oligocene faunal exchange between the Indian subcontinent and Asia, as shown here for rhacophorid frogs, also applies for other nonvolant organisms with an Indian-Asian distribution, and suggest that previous studies that deal with this faunal interchange should be carefully reinvestigated.

  15. Meiofaunal abundances and faunal similarity on the continental rise off the coast of California

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    Rohal, Melissa; Thistle, David; Easton, Erin E.

    2014-11-01

    Metazoan meiofauna (e.g., nematodes, benthic copepods) play important roles in deep-sea sediment communities, but information as basic as standing stocks is not known for much of the world ocean. We therefore sampled six stations: one near the 2700-m isobath and one near the 3700-m isobath off northern, central, and southern California. We counted benthic copepods, both Desmoscolecidae and nondesmoscolecid nematodes, kinorhynchs, nauplii, and ostracods from multiple-corer samples. Nematodes from our 2700-m and 3700-m stations, and ostracods and nauplii from our 3700-m stations, were unusually abundant compared to those from other stations from comparable depths in the Pacific. Off California, the abundances of benthic copepods, kinorhynchs, and nondesmoscolecids at the 2700-m stations were significantly greater than those at the 3700-m stations. Abundance of benthic copepods was correlated with the percentage of medium sand in the sediment, so sediment texture could be important to them. That of kinorhynchs was correlated with the concentration of chloroplastic-pigment equivalents and percentage nitrogen, so consumable material from the euphotic zone could be important to them. In contrast to the usual pattern of decreasing abundance with depth, Desmoscolecidae abundance in the central region was greater at the 3700-m than at the 2700-m station. The three regions differed significantly in both kinorhynch and ostracod abundances, independently of depth. In the food-poor deep sea, animals are expected to be more abundant where food is plentiful. Unexpectedly, ostracod abundance was negatively correlated with all food variables. A possible explanation is that the natural enemies of ostracods are abundant where food is abundant. Multivariate faunal similarity at 2700 m differed significantly from that at 3700 m, independently of regions. Benthic copepods were most responsible for the difference. Regions also differed in multivariate faunal similarity independently of

  16. Turbidites and Benthic Faunal Succession in the Deep Sea: An Ecological Paradox

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Young, David

    2001-01-01

    Characteristics of benthic faunal succession following turbidity flows in the deep sea will vary according to the composition of turbidite materials, the spatial scales of deposition, the structure...

  17. Faunal breaks and species composition of Indo-Pacific corals: the role of plate tectonics, environment and habitat distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keith, S. A.; Baird, A. H.; Hughes, T. P.; Madin, J. S.; Connolly, S. R.

    2013-01-01

    Species richness gradients are ubiquitous in nature, but the mechanisms that generate and maintain these patterns at macroecological scales remain unresolved. We use a new approach that focuses on overlapping geographical ranges of species to reveal that Indo-Pacific corals are assembled within 11 distinct faunal provinces. Province limits are characterized by co-occurrence of multiple species range boundaries. Unexpectedly, these faunal breaks are poorly predicted by contemporary environmental conditions and the present-day distribution of habitat. Instead, faunal breaks show striking concordance with geological features (tectonic plates and mantle plume tracks). The depth range over which a species occurs, its larval development rate and genus age are important determinants of the likelihood that species will straddle faunal breaks. Our findings indicate that historical processes, habitat heterogeneity and species colonization ability account for more of the present-day biogeographical patterns of corals than explanations based on the contemporary distribution of reefs or environmental conditions. PMID:23698011

  18. Faunal and vegetation monitoring in response to harbor dredging in the Port of Miami

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniels, Andre; Stevenson, Rachael; Smith, Erin; Robblee, Michael

    2018-04-11

    Seagrasses are highly productive ecosystems. A before-after-control-impact (BACI) design was used to examine effects of dredging on seagrasses and the animals that inhabit them. The control site North Biscayne Bay and the affected site Port of Miami had seagrass densities decrease during both the before, Fish and Invertebrate Assessment Network 2006-2011, and after, Faunal Monitoring in Response to Harbor Dredging 2014-2016, studies. Turbidity levels increased at North Biscayne Bay and Port of Miami basins during the Faunal Monitoring in Response to Harbor Dredging study, especially in 2016. Animal populations decreased significantly in North Biscayne Bay and Port of Miami in the Faunal Monitoring in Response to Harbor Dredging study compared to the Fish and Invertebrate Assessment Network study. Predictive modeling shows that numbers of animal populations will likely continue to decrease if the negative trends in seagrass densities continue unabated. There could be effects on several fisheries vital to the south Florida economy. Additional research could determine if animal populations and seagrass densities have rebounded or continued to decrease.

  19. Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Roger B J; Druckenmiller, Patrick S

    2014-02-01

    Marine and terrestrial animals show a mosaic of lineage extinctions and diversifications during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition. However, despite its potential importance in shaping animal evolution, few palaeontological studies have focussed on this interval and the possible climate and biotic drivers of its faunal turnover. In consequence evolutionary patterns in most groups are poorly understood. We use a new, large morphological dataset to examine patterns of lineage diversity and disparity (variety of form) in the marine tetrapod clade Plesiosauria, and compare these patterns with those of other organisms. Although seven plesiosaurian lineages have been hypothesised as crossing the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, our most parsimonious topology suggests the number was only three. The robust recovery of a novel group including most Cretaceous plesiosauroids (Xenopsaria, new clade) is instrumental in this result. Substantial plesiosaurian turnover occurred during the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary interval, including the loss of substantial pliosaurid, and cryptoclidid diversity and disparity, followed by the radiation of Xenopsaria during the Early Cretaceous. Possible physical drivers of this turnover include climatic fluctuations that influenced oceanic productivity and diversity: Late Jurassic climates were characterised by widespread global monsoonal conditions and increased nutrient flux into the opening Atlantic-Tethys, resulting in eutrophication and a highly productive, but taxonomically depauperate, plankton. Latest Jurassic and Early Cretaceous climates were more arid, resulting in oligotrophic ocean conditions and high taxonomic diversity of radiolarians, calcareous nannoplankton and possibly ammonoids. However, the observation of discordant extinction patterns in other marine tetrapod groups such as ichthyosaurs and marine crocodylomorphs suggests that clade-specific factors may have been more important than overarching extrinsic drivers of faunal

  20. Megabenthic assemblages at the Hudson Canyon head (NW Atlantic margin): Habitat-faunal relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierdomenico, Martina; Gori, Andrea; Guida, Vincent G.; Gili, Josep-Maria

    2017-09-01

    The distribution of megabenthic communities at the head of Hudson Canyon and adjacent continental shelf was studied by means of underwater video transects and still photo imagery collected using a towed camera system. The goal was to explore the relationships between faunal distribution and physical seafloor conditions and to test the hypothesis that increased seafloor heterogeneity in the Hudson Canyon supports a larger diversity of benthic communities, compared with the adjacent continental shelf. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to identify benthic assemblages as defined in imagery. The BIO-ENV procedure and the Canonical Correspondence Analysis were carried out to elucidate species groupings in relation to terrain variables extracted from bathymetric data. Species accumulation curves were generated to evaluate species turn over in and out of Hudson Canyon. The results indicate that seafloor morphology is the main physical factor related to benthic community composition and distribution. Assemblages dominated by sponges, zoanthids and cup corals colonized the canyon margins and flanks, and were associated with coarse-grained sediments, while sea pen assemblages were observed along muddy seafloor within the thalweg. An assemblage dominated by sea stars occurred on the shelf, associated with a sandy seafloor. Some assemblages were exclusively observed in the canyon area, suggesting that the increased variability of seafloor composition, together with the oceanographic processes specific to the canyon area, enhance beta diversity. The colonization by benthic suspension feeders within the canyon, in contrast to shelf assemblages, mainly composed of carnivores and detritus feeders could be favored the intense hydrodynamics at the canyon head that increase the availability of suspended organic matter. From the perspective of management and conservation of marine resources, the results obtained support the relevance of Hudson Canyon as a biodiversity hotspot

  1. Hierarchical faunal filters: An approach to assessing effects of habitat and nonnative species on native fishes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quist, M.C.; Rahel, F.J.; Hubert, W.A.

    2005-01-01

    Understanding factors related to the occurrence of species across multiple spatial and temporal scales is critical to the conservation and management of native fishes, especially for those species at the edge of their natural distribution. We used the concept of hierarchical faunal filters to provide a framework for investigating the influence of habitat characteristics and normative piscivores on the occurrence of 10 native fishes in streams of the North Platte River watershed in Wyoming. Three faunal filters were developed for each species: (i) large-scale biogeographic, (ii) local abiotic, and (iii) biotic. The large-scale biogeographic filter, composed of elevation and stream-size thresholds, was used to determine the boundaries within which each species might be expected to occur. Then, a local abiotic filter (i.e., habitat associations), developed using binary logistic-regression analysis, estimated the probability of occurrence of each species from features such as maximum depth, substrate composition, submergent aquatic vegetation, woody debris, and channel morphology (e.g., amount of pool habitat). Lastly, a biotic faunal filter was developed using binary logistic regression to estimate the probability of occurrence of each species relative to the abundance of nonnative piscivores in a reach. Conceptualising fish assemblages within a framework of hierarchical faunal filters is simple and logical, helps direct conservation and management activities, and provides important information on the ecology of fishes in the western Great Plains of North America. ?? Blackwell Munksgaard, 2004.

  2. The Late Pleistocene-Holocene community development in Central and SE-Europe in direct fossil record: scope of the approach, common patterns and inter-regional differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horacek, Ivan; Lozek, Vojen

    2010-05-01

    The information provided by modern instrumental approaches (molecular phylogeography, ancient DNA analyses, large scale radiocarbon datings etc.) refined the knowledge on Late Quaternary faunal development and range history of particular taxa in essential way. Nevertheless, the direct fossil record remains still an essential substrate in study of that topics, and to reveal all the information, that it may provide, and integrate it with the outputs of the other approaches presents one of the essential aim of the present meeting. Unfortunately, the immediate use of fossil record for the paleoecologic and paleobiogeographic inferences is often limited by its fragmentarity (both in temporal and spatial respects), taphonomic influences and/or locally specific post-sedimentary effects which all may bias it in a considerable degree. Hence, each particular record is to be carefully reexamined in respect to all factor which may bias it - unfortunately, often it is not too easy to respond that task, particularly when the record is retrived from secondary sources. It should also be remembered that the records representing narrow time slices without a robust lithostratigraphic context do not provide any information on the historical and contextual setting of the respective faunal situation. Such information that is essential for reconstructions of paleobiogeography of community development and similar locally-sensitive phenomena can only be retrived from the continuous sedimentary series which establish the sequence of particular faunal events by direct superposition. A sufficiently dense network of such series provides than a possibility of direct inter-regional comparisons and a high resolution information on the paleobiogeography of the Late Pleistocene-Holocene rearrangements of mammalian communities, local variation in history of particular species and its community context. We illustrate productivity of such approach on with aid of the fossil record obtained from

  3. Ferromanganese nodule fauna in the Tropical North Pacific Ocean: Species richness, faunal cover and spatial distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veillette, Julie; Sarrazin, Jozée; Gooday, Andrew J.; Galéron, Joëlle; Caprais, Jean-Claude; Vangriesheim, Annick; Étoubleau, Joël; Christian, James R.; Kim Juniper, S.

    2007-11-01

    The poorly known ferromanganese nodule fauna is a widespread hard substratum community in the deep sea that will be considerably impacted by large-scale nodule mining operations. The objective of this study was to analyze the spatial distribution of the fauna attached to nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone at two scales; a regional scale that includes the east (14°N, 130°W) and the west (9°N, 150°W) zones and a local scale in which different geological facies (A, B, C and west) are recognizable. The fauna associated with 235 nodules was quantitatively described: 104 nodules from the east zone (15 of facies A, 50 of facies B and 39 of facies C) and 131 nodules from the west zone. Percent cover was used to quantify the extent of colonization at the time of sampling, for 42 species out of the 62 live species observed. Fauna covered up to 18% of exposed nodule surface with an average of about 3%. While species richness increased with exposed nodule surface, both at the regional and at the facies scales (except for facies A), total species density decreased (again except for facies A). When all nodules were included in the statistical analysis, there was no relation between faunal cover and exposed nodule surface. Nevertheless, faunal cover did decrease with exposed nodule surface for the east zone in general and for both facies B and C in particular. Species distributions among facies were significantly different but explained only a very small portion of the variance (˜5%). We identified two groups of associated species: a first group of two species and a second group of six species. The other species (34) were independently distributed, suggesting that species interactions play only a minor role in the spatial distribution of nodule fauna. The flux of particulate organic carbon to the bottom is the only major environmental factor considered to vary between the two zones within this study. We conclude that the higher species richness and higher

  4. india's northward drift and collision with asia: evolving faunal response

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    INDIA'S NORTHWARD DRIFT AND COLLISION WITH ASIA: EVOLVING FAUNAL RESPONSE · Slide 2 · Slide 3 · Slide 4 · Slide 5 · Slide 6 · Slide 7 · Slide 8 · Slide 9 · Slide 10 · Slide 11 · Slide 12 · Slide 13 · Slide 14 · Slide 15 · Slide 16 · Slide 17 · Slide 18 · Slide 19 · Slide 20 · Slide 21 · Slide 22 · Slide 23 · Slide 24.

  5. Fish and other faunal remains from a Late Iron Age site on the Letaba River, Kruger National Park

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ina Plug

    1991-09-01

    Full Text Available Fish remains from Late Iron Age sites in the Transvaal are relatively scarce. It seems as if the people did not utilize the riverine resources extensively. Therefore the unique assemblage of large numbers of fish bones on a Late Iron Age site, provides some insight into the fish population of a section of the Letaba River a few hundred years ago. The presence of other faunal remains provides some information on prehistoric utilization of the environment in general. Hunting strategies and aspects of herding can also be deduced from the faunal remains.

  6. Millennial-scale faunal record reveals differential resilience of European large mammals to human impacts across the Holocene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crees, Jennifer J; Carbone, Chris; Sommer, Robert S; Benecke, Norbert; Turvey, Samuel T

    2016-03-30

    The use of short-term indicators for understanding patterns and processes of biodiversity loss can mask longer-term faunal responses to human pressures. We use an extensive database of approximately 18,700 mammalian zooarchaeological records for the last 11,700 years across Europe to reconstruct spatio-temporal dynamics of Holocene range change for 15 large-bodied mammal species. European mammals experienced protracted, non-congruent range losses, with significant declines starting in some species approximately 3000 years ago and continuing to the present, and with the timing, duration and magnitude of declines varying individually between species. Some European mammals became globally extinct during the Holocene, whereas others experienced limited or no significant range change. These findings demonstrate the relatively early onset of prehistoric human impacts on postglacial biodiversity, and mirror species-specific patterns of mammalian extinction during the Late Pleistocene. Herbivores experienced significantly greater declines than carnivores, revealing an important historical extinction filter that informs our understanding of relative resilience and vulnerability to human pressures for different taxa. We highlight the importance of large-scale, long-term datasets for understanding complex protracted extinction processes, although the dynamic pattern of progressive faunal depletion of European mammal assemblages across the Holocene challenges easy identification of 'static' past baselines to inform current-day environmental management and restoration. © 2016 The Author(s).

  7. Faunal responses to fire in chaparral and sage scrub in California, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Mantgem, Elizabeth; Keeley, Jon E.; Witter, Marti

    2015-01-01

    Impact of fire on California shrublands has been well studied but nearly all of this work has focused on plant communities. Impact on and recovery of the chaparral fauna has received only scattered attention; this paper synthesizes what is known in this regard for the diversity of animal taxa associated with California shrublands and outlines the primary differences between plant and animal responses to fire. We evaluated the primary faunal modes of resisting fire effects in three categories: 1) endogenous survival in a diapause or diapause-like stage, 2) sheltering in place within unburned refugia, or 3) fleeing and recolonizing. Utilizing these patterns in chaparral and sagescrub, as well as some studies on animals in other mediterranean-climate ecosystems, we derived generalizations about how plants and animals differ in their responses to fire impacts and their post fire recovery. One consequence of these differences is that variation in fire behavior has a much greater potential to affect animals than plants. For example, plants recover from fire endogenously from soil-stored seeds and resprouts, so fire size plays a limited role in determining recovery patterns. However, animals that depend on recolonization of burned sites from metapopulations may be greatly affected by fire size. Animal recolonization may also be greatly affected by regional land use patterns that affect colonization corridors, whereas such regional factors play a minimal role in plant community recovery. Fire characteristics such as rate of spread and fire intensity do not appear to play an important role in determining patterns of chaparral and sage scrub plant recovery after fire. However, these fire behavior characteristics may have a profound role in determining survivorship of some animal populations as slow-moving, smoldering combustion may limit survivorship of animals in burrows, whereas fast-moving, high intensity fires may affect survivorship of animals in above ground refugia or

  8. Mangrove expansion into salt marshes alters associated faunal communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smee, Delbert L.; Sanchez, James A.; Diskin, Meredith; Trettin, Carl

    2017-03-01

    Climate change is altering the distribution of foundation species, with potential effects on organisms that inhabit these environments and changes to valuable ecosystem functions. In the Gulf of Mexico, black mangroves (Avicennia germinans) are expanding northward into salt marshes dominated by Spartina alterniflora (hereafter Spartina). Salt marshes are essential habitats for many organisms, including ecologically and economically important species such as blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) and Penaeid shrimp (e.g., Penaeus aztecus), which may be affected by vegetation changes. Black mangroves occupied higher tidal elevations than Spartina, and Spartina was present only at its lowest tidal elevations in sites when mangroves were established. We compared nekton and infaunal communities within monoculture stands of Spartina that were bordered by mangroves to nearby areas where mangroves had not yet become established. Nekton and infaunal communities were significantly different in Spartina stands bordered by mangroves, even though salinity and temperature were not different. Overall abundance and biomass of nekton and infauna was significantly higher in marshes without mangroves, although crabs and fish were more abundant in mangrove areas. Black mangrove expansion as well as other ongoing vegetation shifts will continue in a warming climate. Understanding how these changes affect associated species is necessary for management, mitigation, and conservation.

  9. Island life in the Cretaceous - faunal composition, biogeography, evolution, and extinction of land-living vertebrates on the Late Cretaceous European archipelago

    OpenAIRE

    Csiki Sava,Zoltan; Buffetaut,Eric; Ősi,Attila; Pereda-Suberbiola,Xabier; Brusatte,Stephen

    2015-01-01

    Abstract The Late Cretaceous was a time of tremendous global change, as the final stages of the Age of Dinosaurs were shaped by climate and sea level fluctuations and witness to marked paleogeographic and faunal changes, before the end-Cretaceous bolide impact. The terrestrial fossil record of Late Cretaceous Europe is becoming increasingly better understood, based largely on intensive fieldwork over the past two decades, promising new insights into latest Cretaceous faunal evolution. We revi...

  10. Half a century after Ionescu’s work on Romanian Diplura – A faunal contribution based on material collected from karst areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberto Sendra

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The main publication on the Romanian diplurans belongs to M.A. Ionescu who inventoried 22 species mainly from soil and forest litter from 22 collecting points. The further faunal investigation of two caves (Peştera Izvorul Tăuşoarelor and Peştera Movile allowed Condé to describe other four new taxa, three species and one subspecies. This paper represents the first study at a national level, half century after Ionescu’s contribution. The faunal data presented, were obtained from over 60 sites, most of them karst areas (including caves unstudied up to the present. As a result, the faunal list of Diplura known in the Romanian fauna has risen to 28 taxa. A new combination: Litocampa montana Sendra n. comb. is argued. For 16 taxa, the local (based on the UTM grid codes and general distributions and the redescription of some species are given.

  11. On the Geological Age of the Sundyr Faunal Assemblage of Permian Tetrapods from the East European Platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Golubev V.K.

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available A new Sundyr faunal assemblage of Permian tetrapods was discovered in Eastern Europe. It includes dinocephalians Titanosuchia fam. indet., tapinocephalians aff. Ulemosauridae, anomodontians aff. Suminia, therocephalians, gorgonopians Burnetioidea fam. indet., diapsids ? Eosuchia, chroniosuchians Suchonica vladimiri Golubev, enosuchids aff. Enosuchus, seymouriamorphs Microphon exiguus Ivachnenko and Leptoropha aff. talonophora, batrachomorphs Dvinosaurus sp. The Sundyr assemblage is a transitional one from the Isheevo to Sokolki assemblages. It is described as the last stage of evolution undergone by the dinocephalian community of tetrapods in Eastern Europe. Based on the bio- and magnetostratigraphic data, the beds with Sundyr tetrapod fauna pertain to the lower part of the Upper Severodvinian (= Putyatinian regional stage. These strata were distinguished into a new Suchonica vladimiri tetrapod assemblage zone. In the Sukhona River basin, the beds with Sundyr tetrapod fossils were distinguished into a new Ustpoldarsa Member of the Poldarsa Formation.

  12. Disparity, decimation and the Cambrian "explosion": comparison of early Cambrian and Present faunal communities with emphasis on velvet worms (Onychophora

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julián Monge-Nájera

    2000-06-01

    Full Text Available The controversy about a Cambrian "explosion" of morphological disparity (followed by decimation, cladogenesis and fossilization is of central importance for the history of life. This paper revisits the controversy (with emphasis in onychophorans, which include emblematic organisms such as Hallucigenia, presents new data about the Chengjiang (Cambrian of China faunal community and compares it and the Burgess Shale (Cambrian of Canada with an ecologically similar but modern tropical marine site where onychophorans are absent, and with a modern neotropical terrestrial onychophoran community. Biovolume was estimated from material collected in Costa Rica and morphometric measurements were made on enlarged images of fossils. Cambrian tropical mudflats were characterized by the adaptive radiation of two contrasting groups: the vagile arthropods and the sessile poriferans. Arthropods were later replaced as the dominant benthic taxon by polychaetes. Vagility and the exoskeleton may explain the success of arthropods from the Cambrian to the modern marine and terrestrial communities, both in population and biovolume. Food ecological displacement was apparent in the B. Shale, but not in Chengjiang or the terrestrial community. When only hard parts were preserved, marine and terrestrial fossil deposits of tropical origin are even less representative than deposits produced by temperate taxa, Chengjiang being an exception. Nutrient limitations might explain why deposit feeding is less important in terrestrial onychophoran communities, where carnivory, scavenging and omnivory (associated with high motility and life over the substrate became more important. Fossil morphometry supports the interpretation of "lobopod animals" as onychophorans, whose abundance in Chengjiang was equal to their abundance in modern communities. The extinction of marine onychophorans may reflect domination of the infaunal habitat by polychaetes. We conclude that (1 a mature ecological

  13. Faunal diversity of Fagus sylvatica forests: A regional and European perspective based on three indicator groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Walentowski

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available While the postglacial history of European beech (Fagus sylvatica and the plant species composition of beech forests in  Central Europe are fairly well understood, the faunal biodiversity has been less well investigated. We studied three groups of  mostly sedentary organisms in beech forest at regional and European scales by combining field studies with a compilation of existing literature and expert knowledge. Specifically, we examined the relationship between host tree genera and saproxylic  beetles, and the diversity and composition of forest ground-dwelling molluscs and ground beetles in relation to the abundance  of beech. At a west central European scale (Germany, where beech has a “young” ecological and biogeographical history,  we found 48 primeval forest relict species of saproxylic beetles associated with beech, 124 ground beetles and 91 molluscs  inhabiting beech forest, yet none exclusive of west central European beech forests. High levels of faunal similarity between beech and other woodland trees suggested that many of the beech forest dwelling species are euryoecious and likely to  originate from mid-Holocene mixed broadleaf forests. Beech forests of the mountain ranges in southern and east central  Europe, which are ecologically and biogeographically “old”, were found to harbour distinct species assemblages, including  beech forest specialists (such as 10 carabid species in the Carpathians and narrow-range endemics of broadleaf forest. The  observed biodiversity patterns suggest differentiated conservation priorities in “young” and “old” European beech forest  regions.

  14. Soil resource supply influences faunal size?specific distributions in natural food webs

    OpenAIRE

    Mulder, Christian; Den Hollander, Henri A.; Vonk, J. Arie; Rossberg, Axel G.; Jagers op Akkerhuis, Gerard A. J. M.; Yeates, Gregor W.

    2009-01-01

    The large range of body-mass values of soil organisms provides a tool to assess the ecological organization of soil communities. The goal of this paper is to identify graphical and quantitative indicators of soil community composition and ecosystem functioning, and to illustrate their application to real soil food webs. The relationships between log-transformed mass and abundance of soil organisms in 20 Dutch meadows and heathlands were investigated. Using principles of allometry, maximal use...

  15. Riparian Communities along Longitudinal Gradients in Mexico's Northeastern San Juan River

    OpenAIRE

    Guerra, San Juana; Lizárraga-Mendiola, Liliana; Návar, José

    2016-01-01

    Abstract: This research was conducted in three major tributaries of Mexico's northeast San Juan River with the major objectives of: (a) describing the diversity-abundance of riparian trees, benthic insects and fish faunal communities and (b) associating the fish and benthic insect communities to riparian tree communities, flow quality, and discharge parameters along a longitudinal gradient of water stress. Regardless of the high spatial variability, two gradients could be identified using mul...

  16. Investigating the Influence of Climate Changes on Rodent Communities at a Regional-Scale (MIS 1-3, Southwestern France.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aurélien Royer

    Full Text Available Terrestrial ecosystems have continuously evolved throughout the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene, deeply affected by both progressive environmental and climatic modifications, as well as by abrupt and large climatic changes such as the Heinrich or Dansgaard-Oeschger events. Yet, the impacts of these different events on terrestrial mammalian communities are poorly known, as is the role played by potential refugia on geographical species distributions. This study examines community changes in rodents of southwestern France between 50 and 10 ky BP by integrating 94 dated faunal assemblages coming from 37 archaeological sites. This work reveals that faunal distributions were modified in response to abrupt and brief climatic events, such as Heinrich events, without actually modifying the rodent community on a regional scale. However, the succession of events which operated between the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene gradually led to establishing a new rodent community at the regional scale, with intermediate communities occurring between the Bølling and the Allerød.

  17. [Litter decomposition and soil faunal diversity of two understory plant debris in the alpine timberline ecotone of western Sichuan in a snow cover season].

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Run-lian; Chen, Ya-mei; Deng, Chang-chun; Yan, Wan-qin; Zhang, Jian; Liu, Yang

    2015-03-01

    In order to understand the relationship between litter decomposition and soil fauna diversity during snow cover season, litterbags with plant debris of Actinothuidium hookeri, Cystopteris montana, two representative understory plants in the alpine timberline ecotone, and their mixed litter were incubated in the dark coniferous forest, timberline and alpine meadow, respectively. After a snow cover season, the mass loss and soil fauna in litterbags were investigated. After decomposition with a snow cover season, alpine meadow showed the highest mass loss of plant debris in comparison with coniferous forest and timberline, and the mass loss of A. hookeri was more significant. The mixture of two plants debris accelerated the mass loss, especially in the timberline. A total of 968 soil invertebrates, which belonged to 5 classes, 10 orders and 35 families, were captured in litterbags. Acarina and Collembola were the dominant groups in plant debris. The numbers of individuals and groups of soil faunal communities in litter of timberline were higher than those of alpine meadow and dark coniferous forest. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that the groups of soil animals were related closely with the average temperature, and endemic species such as Isoptera and Geophilomorpha were observed only in coniferous forest, while Hemiptera and Psocoptera only in.the alpine meadow. The diversity of soil faunal community was more affected by plant debris varieties in the timberline than in the coniferous forest and alpine meadow. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the average temperature and snow depth explained 30.8% of the variation of litter mass loss rate, soil animals explained 8.3%, and altogether explained 34.1%. Snow was one of the most critical factors impacting the decomposition of A. hookeri and C. montana debris in the alpine timberline ecotone.

  18. Deep-sea faunal communities associated with a lost intermodal shipping container in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, CA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Josi R; DeVogelaere, Andrew P; Burton, Erica J; Frey, Oren; Lundsten, Lonny; Kuhnz, Linda A; Whaling, P J; Lovera, Christopher; Buck, Kurt R; Barry, James P

    2014-06-15

    Carrying assorted cargo and covered with paints of varying toxicity, lost intermodal containers may take centuries to degrade on the deep seafloor. In June 2004, scientists from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) discovered a recently lost container during a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dive on a sediment-covered seabed at 1281 m depth in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). The site was revisited by ROV in March 2011. Analyses of sediment samples and high-definition video indicate that faunal assemblages on the container's exterior and the seabed within 10 m of the container differed significantly from those up to 500 m. The container surface provides hard substratum for colonization by taxa typically found in rocky habitats. However, some key taxa that dominate rocky areas were absent or rare on the container, perhaps related to its potential toxicity or limited time for colonization and growth. Ecological effects appear to be restricted to the container surface and the benthos within ∼10 m. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. Faunal Drivers of Soil Flux Dynamics via Alterations in Crack Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeCarlo, Keita; Caylor, Kelly

    2016-04-01

    Organismal activity, in addition to its role in ecological feedbacks, has the potential to serve as instigators or enhancers of atmospheric and hydrologic processes via alterations in soil structural regimes. We investigated the biomechanical effect of faunal activity on soil carbon dynamics via changes in soil crack structure, focusing on three dryland soil systems: bioturbated, biocompacted and undisturbed soils. Carbon fluxes were characterized using a closed-system respiration chamber, with CO2 concentration differences measured using an infrared gas analyzer (IRGA). Results show that faunal influences play a divergent biomechanics role in bulk soil cracking: bioturbation induced by belowground fauna creates "surficial" (shallow, large, well-connected) networks relative to the "systematic" (deep, moderate, poorly connected) networks created by aboveground fauna. The latter also shows a "memory" of past wetting/drying events in the consolidated soil through a crack layering effect. These morphologies further drive differences in soil carbon flux: under dry conditions, bioturbated and control soils show a persistently high and low mean carbon flux, respectively, while biocompacted soils show a large diurnal trend, with daytime lows and nighttime highs comparable to the control and bioturbated soils, respectively. Overall fluxes under wet conditions are considerably higher, but also more variable, though higher mean fluxes are observed in the biocompacted and bioturbated soils. Our results suggest that the increased surface area in the bioturbated soils create enhanced but constant diffusive processes, whereas the increased thermal gradient in the biocompacted soils create novel convective processes that create high fluxes that are diurnal in nature.

  20. Faunal community consequence of interspecific bark trait dissimilarity in early-stage decomposing logs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zuo, Juan; Berg, Matty P.; Klein, Roy; Nusselder, Jasper; Neurink, Gert; Decker, Orsi; Hefting, Mariet M.; Sass-Klaassen, Ute; van Logtestijn, Richard S P; Goudzwaard, Leo; van Hal, Jurgen; Sterck, Frank J.; Poorter, Lourens; Cornelissen, Johannes H C

    2016-01-01

    Dead tree trunks have significant ecosystem functions related to biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles. When lying on the soil surface, they are colonized by an array of invertebrate fauna, but what determines their community composition is still unclear. We apply community assembly theory to

  1. An ecological survey of the invertebrate community at the epigean/hypogean interface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefano Mammola

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available We studied the ecological continuum between caves and the associated network of fissures – Milieu Souterrain Superficiel (MSS – in an hypogean site in the Graian Alps, Italy. Over one year, we surveyed the faunal assemblages by means of pitfall traps placed in the caves and specific subterranean sampling devices (SSD buried in the MSS. We used generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs and generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs to compare the spatial and temporal dynamics of the subterranean invertebrates inhabiting the two environments. As expected, arthropod communities occurring near the surface were characterized by minor level of subterranean adaptations, and conversely, subterranean species were more abundant and diversified at higher depths, both in the caves and in the MSS. Diversity and abundance of external elements in the superficial layers were found to be highly seasonal dependent, with minor values in winter compared to the other seasons. We provided information about the faunal assemblages dwelling in the two hypogean compartments, and we characterized the microclimatic conditions therein. We discussed the existence of an ecological gradient of specialization extending from the surface to the deep hypogean layers, which can be interpreted in light of the microclimatic changes occurring at increasing depths and the parallel decrease in available organic matter.

  2. Faunal characteristics of the Southern Rocky Mountains of New Mexico: implications for biodiversity analysis and assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosamonde R. Cook; Curtis H. Flather; Kenneth R. Wilson

    2000-01-01

    To define the faunal context within which local and regional resource management decisions are made, conservation of biological diversity requires an understanding of regional species occurrence patterns. Our study focused on the Southern Rocky Mountains of New Mexico and included the San Juan, the Sangre de Cristo, and the Jemez Mountains. Across this region, we...

  3. GAINS IN PERFORMANCE OF DIFFERENT METHODS OF COLLECTING ENTOMOLOGICAL MATERIALS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND FAUNAL STUDIES ON COLEOPTERA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. N. Saypulaeva

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim is to study the effectiveness of methods of collecting entomological materials for further ecological and faunal studies as well as to gain the main evidence in ecological and faunal studies carried out in the field. Collection of the evidence in the field is necessary for the identification of species composition and to study such aspects as the distribution of species, confinement of species to certain habitats, relations with the food objects (trophism, climate, soil and orographic environmental factors.Methodology. We have used the traditional methods of collection (hand picking, pitfall traps, pitfall traps with increased light, light traps, processing and determination of materials. In recent years, the method of collection of soil invertebrates has introduced an innovation. In expeditionary studies in the island of Tyuleny new ways have been tested of using pitfall traps equipped with an incandescent light source. They provide a higher collection efficiency of Entomological materials. List of species composition of the discussed fauna has been composed by modern taxonomy with the use of directories.Results. We have made a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of different methods of collecting entomological materials on Coleoptera (Carabidae, Scarabaeidae, Elateridae, Tenebrionidae for environmental and faunal studies in the area of Irganayskaya arid basin of intramontane Dagestan. Not all species, registered in the studied habitat, have been identified by methods of soil sampling and pitfall traps. The greatest number of species has been identified by manual collection, and the least by soil sampling. The paper shows the effectiveness of different methods of collecting entomofauna against individual families and species of the groups studied.

  4. Community-Specific Strategies of Intergenerational Language ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study concerns minority language maintenance, specifically it explores local practices that make it possible for a community to sustain its traditional language. Two variables were the focus of the research; speakers' attitudes and language use patterns. These were examined to determine their influence in facilitating ...

  5. A review of the geologic sections and the faunal assemblages of Aurelian Mammal Age of Latium (Italy) in the light of a new chronostratigraphic framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marra, F.; Nomade, S.; Pereira, A.; Petronio, C.; Salari, L.; Sottili, G.; Bahain, J.-J.; Boschian, G.; Di Stefano, G.; Falguères, C.; Florindo, F.; Gaeta, M.; Giaccio, B.; Masotta, M.

    2018-02-01

    The Aurelian Mammal Age for peninsular Italy was introduced on the basis of faunal assemblages mainly recovered at sites along the Via Aurelia west of Rome. These sites exposed a set of sedimentary deposits currently attributed to the Aurelia and to the Vitinia Formations correlated with MIS 9 and MIS 7, respectively. In the present paper we reconstruct the geologic-stratigraphic setting in the western sector of Rome within the wider context of glacio-eustatically controlled, geochronologically constrained aggradational successions defined for this region. We present a chronostratigraphic study based on dedicated field surveys, that, combined with five new 40Ar/39Ar ages and eighteen trace-element and EMP glass analyses of volcanic products, allow us to revise age and correlation with the Marine Isotopic Stages for 10 sites out of 12 previously attributed to the Aurelia Formation and the Torre in Pietra Faunal Unit. In particular, we demonstrate a MIS 13/MIS 11 age for several sections along the Via Aurelia between Malagrotta and Castel di Guido. Based on this new geochronological framework, the first occurrences of Canis lupus and Vulpes vulpes in Italy are antedated to MIS 11, within the Fontana Ranuccio Faunal Unit of the Galerian Mammal Age, consistent with the wider European context. This contribution is intended as the groundwork for a revision of the Middle Pleistocene Mammal Ages of the Italian peninsula, according to the improved chronostratigraphy of the geologic sections hosting the faunal assemblages.

  6. Fish faunal provinces of the conterminous United States of America reflect historical geography and familial composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matamoros, Wilfredo A; Hoagstrom, Christopher W; Schaefer, Jacob F; Kreiser, Brian R

    2016-08-01

    Although the conterminous USA has a long history of ichthyological exploration, the description of biogeographical provinces has been ad hoc. In this study we quantitatively determined fish faunal provinces and interpreted them in the context of the geological history of North America. We also evaluated influences of major river basin occupancy and contemporary environmental factors on provincial patterns. Our data set comprised 794 native fishes, which we used to generate a presence and absence matrix for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) four-digit hydrologic units. Three nested data sets were analysed separately: primary freshwater families, continental freshwater families (including primary and secondary families) and all freshwater families (including primary, secondary and peripheral families). We used clustering analysis to delimit faunal breaks and one-way analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) to determine significance among clusters (i.e. provinces). We used an indicator-species analysis to identify species that contributed most to province delineations and a similarity-percentage (SIMPER) analysis to describe the relative influence of representatives from each category (i.e. primary, secondary, peripheral) on provincial boundaries. Lastly, we used a parsimony redundancy analysis to determine the roles of historical (i.e. major river basin) and contemporary environmental factors in shaping provinces. Analysis of the nested data sets revealed lessening provincial structure with inclusion of more families. There were 10 primary freshwater provinces, 9 continental freshwater provinces and 7 all freshwater provinces. Major basin occupancy, but not contemporary environmental factors, explained substantial variance in faunal similarities among provinces. However, provincial boundaries did not conform strictly to modern river basins, but reflected river-drainage connections of the Quaternary. Provinces represent broad-scale patterns of endemism and provide a starting point

  7. Faunal diversity during rainy season in reclaimed sodic land of Uttar Pradesh, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, S K; Srivastava, S P; Tandon, Pankaj; Azad, B S

    2009-07-01

    Faunal diversity is an indicator of soil amelioration. Estimating the population size or density of an animal species in an area is fundamental to understand its status and demography and to plan for its management and conservation. Considering this, faunal diversity in reclamed sodic land was monitored during rainy season 2000-01 at different locations of district viz., Aligarh, Etah, Fatehpur, Mainpuri and Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh. The Shannon-Weiner species diversity index (H) of different fauna complex of each location was compared with zero years (1995-1996) indexes (before reclamation). Insects diversity index, in reclaimed sodic soil, varied from 3.8178 (Fatehpur: Bariyampur) to 4.623 (Fatehpur: Katoghan), which was 3.028 in zero year at Katoghan in Fatehpur 'H' index of other-arthropods ranged widely from 0.9743 (Etah: Bawali) to 2.0674 (Mainpuri: Pundari). The species diversity index of molluscs registered as high as 1.8637 at Ladhauwa site in Aligarh, which exhibited identical with Saripur site of Raebareli. 'H' index of mammal resulted with the highest (2.19) at Pundari in district Mainpuri. The avifauna and amphibian's indices were recovered maximal at Saripur site of Raebareli and Bariyampur site of Fatehpur respectively. Our result revealed that various fauna enriched with soil reclamation, which is good indicator of restoration of land, primarily due to soil-arthropods and earthworms and its eventual improvement along with succeeding rice-wheat cropping system widespread over there. It clearly shows that soil fauna strongly affects the composition of natural vegetation and we suggest that this knowledge might improve the restoration and conservation of biodiversity.

  8. TAX TREATMENT SPECIFIC TO INTRA COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS - ACQUISITION AND INTRA-COMMUNITY SUPPLY OF GOODS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paliu -Popa Lucia

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Romania's accession to the European Union has imposed harmonize national legislation with Community law, registering significant changes in the tax area, particularly on value added tax. In order to determine the person liable to pay value added tax, related to intra-community commercial transactions, must to clarify tax matters for those operations. Given the complexity of intra-community commercial transactions and their taxation, in the following issues we will address the intra-community trade in goods, with reference to specific tax treatment of supplies and intra-community acquisitions of goods. To do this we will consider more specific situations that arise in trade relationship between EU Member States, examples that will allow us to draw some conclusions on tax matters arising in intracommunity commercial relationship

  9. Faunal and oxygen isotopic evidence for surface water salinity changes during sapropel formation in the eastern Mediterranean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, D.F.; Thunell, R.C.

    1979-01-01

    The discovery of the widespread anaerobic deposits (sapropels) in late Cenozoic sediments of the eastern Mediteranean has prompted many workers to propose the periodic occurrence of extremely low surface salinites in the Mediterranean. Oxygen isotopic determinations and total faunal analyses were made at 1000-year intervals across two equivalent sapropels in two piston cores from the Levantine Basin. The sapropel layers were deposited approximately 9000 y.B.P. (Sapropel A) and 80, 000 y. B.P. (Sapropel B). Significant isotopic anomalies were recorded by the foraminiferal species within Sapropels A and B in both cores. The surface dwelling species record a larger 18 O depletion than the mesopelagic species suggesting that surface salinities were reduced by 2-3per 1000 during sapropel formation. The faunal changes associated with the sapropels also indicate that the oceanographic conditions which lead to anoxic conditions in the eastern Mediteranean involve the formation of a low salinity surface layer. The source of the low salinity water might be meltwater produced by disintegration of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet which drained into the Black Sea, into the Aegean Sea and finally into the eastern Mediterranean. (Auth.)

  10. C-14 dates from a profile of Arroyo Tapalque, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Contribution to the chronology of faunal and environmental events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Figini, Anibal; Huarte, Roberto; Carbonari, Jorge; Tonni, Eduardo P.

    1998-01-01

    Eleven radiocarbon dates were obtained from different materials in a stratigraphic section spanning the last 30,000 years. These new dates allow to calibrate different faunal and environmental events occurring in the area. (author)

  11. Late Quaternary paleoceanographic features as deduced from calcium carbonate and faunal changes of planktonic foraminifers in core samples from northeastern Arabian Sea

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Rao, K.K.; Jayalakshmy, K.V.; Singh, A.D.

    carbonate and planktonic foraminifers, with implications on paleoceanography of the Arabian Sea during late Quaternary. Paleoclimatic curve based on per cent variations of carbonate is substantiated by the faunal characteristics. Low value of cold...

  12. PROBLEMS OF QUANTIFICATION AND ACCOUNTING FAUNAL DIVERSITY OF EARTHWORMS IN FOREST COMMUNITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.P. Geraskina

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The problem of quantifying earthworms is that the size of most part of the soil population is calculated per unit volume and the number of earthworms per unit area. This makes incomparable the results both of quantitative indicators of earthworm population in different soils and the number of worms and other soil invertebrates. This article presents a new approach to the faunistic and quantitative account of earthworms in forest communities. The significance of dead wood in the study of earthworm population is shown in the article. The article also presents the technique of quantitative evaluation of Lumbricidae that live in the soil and in the dead wood per unit volume – 1 m3. Examples of the number of earthworms per unit volume – 1 dm3, provided the actual habitat of earthworms is only in the upper 10-cm layer of soil or per unit volume 100 dm3 – in the case of a low number of earthworms, are considered in the article. In the dark coniferous forests of the Pechora-Ilych and Teberdinsky reserves the most favorable habitats of Lumbricidae were identified, communities with their highest species richness and abundance were identified.

  13. Data from: Faunal community consequence of interspecific bark trait dissimilarity in early-stage decomposing logs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zuo, Juan; Berg, M.; Klein, R.; Nusselder, J.; Neurink, G.; Decker, O.; Hefting, M.M.; Sass-Klaassen, U.G.W.; Logtestijn, van R.S.P.; Goudzwaard, L.; Hal, van Jurgen; Sterck, F.J.; Poorter, L.; Cornelissen, J.H.C.

    2016-01-01

    Dead tree trunks have significant ecosystem functions related to biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles. When lying on the soil surface, they are colonized by an array of invertebrate fauna, but what determines their community composition is still unclear. We apply community assembly theory to

  14. Specific issues, exact locations: case study of a community mapping project to improve safety in a disadvantaged community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qummouh, Rana; Rose, Vanessa; Hall, Pat

    2012-12-01

    Safety is a health issue and a significant concern in disadvantaged communities. This paper describes an example of community-initiated action to address perceptions of fear and safety in a suburb in south-west Sydney which led to the development of a local, community-driven research project. As a first step in developing community capacity to take action on issues of safety, a joint resident-agency group implemented a community safety mapping project to identify the extent of safety issues in the community and their exact geographical location. Two aerial maps of the suburb, measuring one metre by two metres, were placed on display at different locations for four months. Residents used coloured stickers to identify specific issues and exact locations where crime and safety were a concern. Residents identified 294 specific safety issues in the suburb, 41.9% (n=123) associated with public infrastructure, such as poor lighting and pathways, and 31.9% (n=94) associated with drug-related issues such as drug activity and discarded syringes. Good health promotion practice reflects community need. In a very practical sense, this project responded to community calls for action by mapping resident knowledge on specific safety issues and exact locations and presenting these maps to local decision makers for further action.

  15. Microbiological and faunal soil attributes of coffee cultivation under different management systems in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. R. Lammel

    Full Text Available Abstract Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the world and different plantation management systems have been applied to improve sustainability and soil quality. Little is known about the environmental effects of these different management systems, therefore, the goal of this study was to use soil biological parameters as indicators of changes. Soils from plantations in Southeastern Brazil with conventional (CC, organic (OC and integrated management systems containing intercropping of Brachiaria decumbens (IB or Arachis pintoi (IA were sampled. Total organic carbon (TOC, microbial biomass carbon (MBC and nitrogen (MBN, microbial activity (C-CO2, metabolic quotient (qCO2, the enzymes dehydrogenase, urease, acid phosphatase and arylsulphatase, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF colonization and number of spores and soil fauna were evaluated. The greatest difference between the management systems was seen in soil organic matter content. The largest quantity of TOC was found in the OC, and the smallest was found in IA. TOC content influenced soil biological parameters. The use of all combined attributes was necessary to distinguish the four systems. Each management presented distinct faunal structure, and the data obtained with the trap method was more reliable than the TSBF (Tropical Soils method. A canonic correlation analysis showed that Isopoda was correlated with TOC and the most abundant order with OC. Isoptera was the most abundant faunal order in IA and correlated with MBC. Overall, OC had higher values for most of the biological measurements and higher populations of Oligochaeta and Isopoda, corroborating with the concept that the OC is a more sustainable system.

  16. Microbiological and faunal soil attributes of coffee cultivation under different management systems in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lammel, D R; Azevedo, L C B; Paula, A M; Armas, R D; Baretta, D; Cardoso, E J B N

    2015-11-01

    Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the world and different plantation management systems have been applied to improve sustainability and soil quality. Little is known about the environmental effects of these different management systems, therefore, the goal of this study was to use soil biological parameters as indicators of changes. Soils from plantations in Southeastern Brazil with conventional (CC), organic (OC) and integrated management systems containing intercropping of Brachiaria decumbens (IB) or Arachis pintoi (IA) were sampled. Total organic carbon (TOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN), microbial activity (C-CO2), metabolic quotient (qCO2), the enzymes dehydrogenase, urease, acid phosphatase and arylsulphatase, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization and number of spores and soil fauna were evaluated. The greatest difference between the management systems was seen in soil organic matter content. The largest quantity of TOC was found in the OC, and the smallest was found in IA. TOC content influenced soil biological parameters. The use of all combined attributes was necessary to distinguish the four systems. Each management presented distinct faunal structure, and the data obtained with the trap method was more reliable than the TSBF (Tropical Soils) method. A canonic correlation analysis showed that Isopoda was correlated with TOC and the most abundant order with OC. Isoptera was the most abundant faunal order in IA and correlated with MBC. Overall, OC had higher values for most of the biological measurements and higher populations of Oligochaeta and Isopoda, corroborating with the concept that the OC is a more sustainable system.

  17. Prostate-specific antigen testing accuracy in community practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adams-Cameron Meg

    2002-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Most data on prostate-specific antigen (PSA testing come from urologic cohorts comprised of volunteers for screening programs. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of PSA testing for detecting prostate cancer in community practice. Methods PSA testing results were compared with a reference standard of prostate biopsy. Subjects were 2,620 men 40 years and older undergoing (PSA testing and biopsy from 1/1/95 through 12/31/98 in the Albuquerque, New Mexico metropolitan area. Diagnostic measures included the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios. Results Cancer was detected in 930 subjects (35%. The area under the ROC curve was 0.67 and the PSA cutpoint of 4 ng/ml had a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 33%. The likelihood ratio for a positive test (LR+ was 1.28 and 0.42 for a negative test (LR-. PSA testing was most sensitive (90% but least specific (27% in older men. Age-specific reference ranges improved specificity in older men (49% but decreased sensitivity (70%, with an LR+ of 1.38. Lowering the PSA cutpoint to 2 ng/ml resulted in a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity of 20%, and an LR+ of 1.19. Conclusions PSA testing had fair discriminating power for detecting prostate cancer in community practice. The PSA cutpoint of 4 ng/ml was sensitive but relatively non-specific and associated likelihood ratios only moderately revised probabilities for cancer. Using age-specific reference ranges and a PSA cutpoint below 4 ng/ml improved test specificity and sensitivity, respectively, but did not improve the overall accuracy of PSA testing.

  18. Faunal isotope records reveal trophic and nutrient dynamics in twentieth century Yellowstone grasslands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox-Dobbs, Kena; Nelson, Abigail A; Koch, Paul L; Leonard, Jennifer A

    2012-10-23

    Population sizes and movement patterns of ungulate grazers and their predators have fluctuated dramatically over the past few centuries, largely owing to overharvesting, land-use change and historic management. We used δ(13)C and δ(15)N values measured from bone collagen of historic and recent gray wolves and their potential primary prey from Yellowstone National Park to gain insight into the trophic dynamics and nutrient conditions of historic and modern grasslands. The diet of reintroduced wolves closely parallels that of the historic population. We suggest that a significant shift in faunal δ(15)N values over the past century reflects impacts of anthropogenic environmental changes on grassland ecosystems, including grazer-mediated shifts in grassland nitrogen cycle processes.

  19. Coastal habitats as surrogates for taxonomic, functional and trophic structures of benthic faunal communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Törnroos, Anna; Nordström, Marie C; Bonsdorff, Erik

    2013-01-01

    Due to human impact, there is extensive degradation and loss of marine habitats, which calls for measures that incorporate taxonomic as well as functional and trophic aspects of biodiversity. Since such data is less easily quantifiable in nature, the use of habitats as surrogates or proxies for biodiversity is on the rise in marine conservation and management. However, there is a critical gap in knowledge of whether pre-defined habitat units adequately represent the functional and trophic structure of communities. We also lack comparisons of different measures of community structure in terms of both between- (β) and within-habitat (α) variability when accounting for species densities. Thus, we evaluated a priori defined coastal habitats as surrogates for traditional taxonomic, functional and trophic zoobenthic community structure. We focused on four habitats (bare sand, canopy-forming algae, seagrass above- and belowground), all easily delineated in nature and defined through classification systems. We analyzed uni- and multivariate data on species and trait diversity as well as stable isotope ratios of benthic macrofauna. A good fit between habitat types and taxonomic and functional structure was found, although habitats were more similar functionally. This was attributed to within-habitat heterogeneity so when habitat divisions matched the taxonomic structure, only bare sand was functionally distinct. The pre-defined habitats did not meet the variability of trophic structure, which also proved to differentiate on a smaller spatial scale. The quantification of trophic structure using species density only identified an epi- and an infaunal unit. To summarize the results we present a conceptual model illustrating the match between pre-defined habitat types and the taxonomic, functional and trophic community structure. Our results show the importance of including functional and trophic aspects more comprehensively in marine management and spatial planning.

  20. Changes in faunal and vegetation communities along a soil calcium gradient in northern hardwood forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beier, Colin M.; Woods, Anne M.; Hotopp, Kenneth P.; Gibbs, James P.; Mitchell, Myron J.; Dovciak, Martin; Leopold, Donald J.; Lawrence, Gregory B.; Page, Blair D.

    2012-01-01

    Depletion of Ca from forest soils due to acidic deposition has had potentially pervasive effects on forest communities, but these impacts remain largely unknown. Because snails, salamanders, and plants play essential roles in the Ca cycle of northern hardwood forests, we hypothesized that their community diversity, abundance, and structure would vary with differences in biotic Ca availability. To test this hypothesis, we sampled 12 upland hardwood forests representing a soil Ca gradient in the Adirondack Mountains, New York (USA), where chronic deposition has resulted in acidified soils but where areas of well-buffered soils remain Ca rich due to parent materials. Along the gradient of increasing soil [Ca2+], we observed increasing trends in snail community richness and abundance, live biomass of redback salamanders (Plethodon cinereus (Green, 1818)), and canopy tree basal area. Salamander communities were dominated by mountain dusky salamanders (Desmognathus ochrophaeus Cope, 1859) at Ca-poor sites and changed continuously along the Ca gradient to become dominated by redback salamanders at the Ca-rich sites. Several known calciphilic species of snails and plants were found only at the highest-Ca sites. Our results indicated that Ca availability, which is shaped by geology and acidic deposition inputs, influences northern hardwood forest ecosystems at multiple trophic levels, although the underlying mechanisms require further study.

  1. Arctic systems in the Quaternary: ecological collision, faunal mosaics and the consequences of a wobbling climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoberg, E P; Cook, J A; Agosta, S J; Boeger, W; Galbreath, K E; Laaksonen, S; Kutz, S J; Brooks, D R

    2017-07-01

    Climate oscillations and episodic processes interact with evolution, ecology and biogeography to determine the structure and complex mosaic that is the biosphere. Parasites and parasite-host assemblages are key components in a general explanatory paradigm for global biodiversity. We explore faunal assembly in the context of Quaternary time frames of the past 2.6 million years, a period dominated by episodic shifts in climate. Climate drivers cross a continuum from geological to contemporary timescales and serve to determine the structure and distribution of complex biotas. Cycles within cycles are apparent, with drivers that are layered, multifactorial and complex. These cycles influence the dynamics and duration of shifts in environmental structure on varying temporal and spatial scales. An understanding of the dynamics of high-latitude systems, the history of the Beringian nexus (the intermittent land connection linking Eurasia and North America) and downstream patterns of diversity depend on teasing apart the complexity of biotic assembly and persistence. Although climate oscillations have dominated the Quaternary, contemporary dynamics are driven by tipping points and shifting balances emerging from anthropogenic forces that are disrupting ecological structure. Climate change driven by anthropogenic forcing has supplanted a history of episodic variation and is eliminating ecological barriers and constraints on development and distribution for pathogen transmission. A framework to explore interactions of episodic processes on faunal structure and assembly is the Stockholm Paradigm, which appropriately shifts the focus from cospeciation to complexity and contingency in explanations of diversity.

  2. Community-Specific BMI Cutoff Points for South Indian Females

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. B. Kishore Mohan

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To analyze multiparameters related to total body composition, with specific emphasis on obesity in South Indian females, in order to derive community-specific BMI cutoff points. Patients and Methods. A total number of 87 females (of age 37.33±13.12 years from South Indian Chennai urban population participated in this clinical study. Body composition analysis and anthropometric measurements were acquired after conducting careful clinical examination. Results. BMI demonstrated high significance when normal group (21.02±1.47 kg/m2 was compared with obese group (29.31±3.95 kg/m2, <0.0001. BFM displayed high significance when normal group (14.92±4.28 kg was compared with obese group (29.94 ± 8.1 kg, <0.0001. Conclusion. Community-specific BMI cutoffs are necessary to assess obesity in different ethnic groups, and relying on WHO-based universal BMI cutoff points would be a wrong strategy.

  3. The exploitation of faunal resources in the Neolithic of the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos: levels 19 and 20 of the Cueva del Mirador

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martín, Patricia

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The archaeozoological and taphonomical analyses of the faunal remains from levels 19 and 20 in the Mirador cave (Sierra of Atapuerca, Burgos are presented. The main aim of this work is threefold: to study how faunal resources were managed, to characterize the occupation of the cave and to understand how the environmental resources were exploited at the end of the sixth millennium and the beginning of the fifth millennium cal. BC. Results show the development of human communities with a complex organization and a great environmental adaptation. Shepherds used the cavity as a sheepfold and as a domestic space during almost all the year. Sheep and goat husbandry comprised the economic basis; these taxa were exploited mainly for their meat and milk. Breeding of cattle and hunting would have been complementary activities.

    En este trabajo se presentan los datos obtenidos a partir del análisis zooarqueológico y tafonómico de los restos faunísticos recuperados en los niveles 19 y 20 de la Cueva del Mirador (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos. El objetivo fundamental ha sido obtener información sobre la gestión de los recursos faunísticos y las características de ocupación de la cavidad y aprovechamiento del entorno durante el final del VI milenio y los inicios del V milenio cal. BC. Los resultados han mostrado el desarrollo de comunidades con una estructuración compleja y una gran adaptación a su entorno. La cavidad fue empleada por un grupo de agricultores y ganaderos, tanto como redil para el ganado como espacio doméstico y durante la práctica totalidad del año. La economía ganadera se basaría en la cría de ganado ovicaprino, explotado tanto para la obtención de carne como de leche. Esta práctica económica estaría complementada por la cría de ganado bovino y las prácticas cinegéticas.

  4. Habitat fragmentation and extinction rates within freshwater fish communities : a faunal relaxation approach

    OpenAIRE

    Hugueny, Bernard; Movellan, A.; Belliard, J.

    2011-01-01

    Aim To estimate population extinction rates within freshwater fish communities since the fragmentation of palaeo-rivers due to sea level rise at the end of the Pleistocene; to combine this information with rates estimated by other approaches (population surveys, fossil records); and to build an empirical extinction-area relationship. Location Temperate rivers from the Northern Hemisphere, with a special focus on rivers discharging into the English Channel, in north-western France. Methods (1)...

  5. Benthic macroinvertebrate community structure and distribution in the Ayeyarwady continental shelf, Andaman Sea

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Ansari Z.A.; Furtado, R.; Badesab, S.; Mehta, P.; Thwin, S.

    water, Myanmar] Introduction Abundance of benthic fauna is one of the biological indices that support the food chain hypothesis of overall productivity in marine ecosystem1. Changes in benthic community may occur on different spatial scale..., biomass and species diversity of macrobenthos was more in the inshore waters than in the offshore areas of Malaysia and Gulf of Thailand. As indicated earlier, a significant amount of the variation in faunal abundances, not unexpectedly, is a function...

  6. The European ruminants during the "Microbunodon Event" (MP28, Latest Oligocene): impact of climate changes and faunal event on the ruminant evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mennecart, Bastien

    2015-01-01

    The Earth already experienced numerous episodes of global warming and cooling. One of the latest impressive events of temperature rising was the Late Oligocene Warming that occurred around 25 Mya. An increase of the marine temperature of 2 to 4°C has been observed in a short time interval. In Europe, this major climatic event can be correlated to the continental faunal turnover "Microbunodon Event". This event is marked by a huge faunal turnover (40% of the ungulate fauna during the first 500k years) and environmental changes. Drier conditions associated to the appearance of the seasonality lead to new environmental conditions dominated by wooded savannahs. This is correlated to a major arrival of Asiatic immigrants. Moreover, from a homogenous fauna during the main part of the Oligocene, local climatic variations between the European Western coast and the more central Europe could have provided faunal regionalism during the latest Oligocene and earliest Miocene. Considering the ruminants, this event is the major ever known for this group in Europe. A total renewal at the family level occurred. Thanks to a precise stratigraphic succession, major evolutionary elements are highlighted. Typical Oligocene species, mainly Tragulina, were adapted to wooded environments and were leaves/fruits eaters. They disappeared at the end of MP27 or the early MP28. This corresponds to the appearance of the Asiatic immigrants. The Tragulina (Lophiomerycidae, Bachitheriidae) and stem Pecora gave way to more derived stem and maybe crown Pecora (e.g. "Amphitragulus", Babameryx, Dremotherium). These newcomers were adapted to more open environments and mixed feeding. The disappearance of the Tragulina is probably linked to environmental and vegetation changes, and competition. They give way to more derived ruminants having a more efficient metabolism in drier conditions and a better assimilation of less energetic food.

  7. Effects of nitrogen addition on soil fauna communities in Larix gmelinii and Fraxinus mandshurica plantations

    OpenAIRE

    Haifeng Zhuang; Yue Sun; Jiacun Gu; Yang Xu; Zhengquan Wang

    2010-01-01

    Soil fauna play a key role in regulating carbon allocation and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. As soil fauna are sensitive to environmental changes, increases in soil nitrogen (N) availability resulting from global changes may profoundly influence the structure and function of soil faunal communities. However, the response of soil fauna in forest ecosystems to increases in soil N availability is still poorly understood. In order to explore the relationship between soil N availabil...

  8. Palaeoenvironmental drivers of vertebrate community composition in the Belly River Group (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada, with implications for dinosaur biogeography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullen, Thomas M; Evans, David C

    2016-11-15

    The Belly River Group of southern Alberta is one of the best-sampled Late Cretaceous terrestrial faunal assemblages in the world. This system provides a high-resolution biostratigraphic record of terrestrial vertebrate diversity and faunal turnover, and it has considerable potential to be a model system for testing hypotheses of dinosaur palaeoecological dynamics, including important aspects of palaeoecommunity structure, trophic interactions, and responses to environmental change. Vertebrate fossil microsites (assemblages of small bones and teeth concentrated together over a relatively short time and thought to be representative of community composition) offer an unparalleled dataset to better test these hypotheses by ameliorating problems of sample size, geography, and chronostratigraphic control that hamper other palaeoecological analyses. Here, we assembled a comprehensive relative abundance dataset of microsites sampled from the entire Belly River Group and performed a series of analyses to test the influence of environmental factors on site and taxon clustering, and assess the stability of faunal assemblages both temporally and spatially. We also test the long-held idea that populations of large dinosaur taxa were particularly sensitive to small-scale environmental gradients, such as the paralic (coastal) to alluvial (inland) regimes present within the time-equivalent depositional basin of the upper Oldman and lower Dinosaur Park Formations. Palaeoenvironment (i.e. reconstructed environmental conditions, related to relative amount of alluvial, fluvial, and coastal influence in associated sedimentary strata) was found to be strongly associated with clustering of sites by relative-abundance faunal assemblages, particularly in relation to changes in faunal assemblage composition and marine-terrestrial environmental transitions. Palaeogeography/palaeolandscape were moderately associated to site relative abundance assemblage clustering, with depositional setting

  9. Identifying context-specific competencies required by community Australian Football sports trainers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donaldson, Alex; Finch, Caroline F

    2012-08-01

    First-aid is a recommended injury prevention and risk management strategy in community sport; however, little is known about the sport-specific competencies required by first-aid providers. To achieve expert consensus on the competencies required by community Australian Football (community-AF) sports trainers. A three-round online Delphi process. Community-AF. 16 Australian sports first-aid and community-AF experts. Rating of competencies as either 'essential', 'expected', 'ideal' or 'not required'. Results After Round 3, 47 of the 77 (61%) competencies were endorsed as 'essential' or 'expected' for a sports trainer to effectively perform the activities required to the standards expected at a community-AF club by ≥75% of experts. These competencies covered: the role of the sports trainer; the responsibilities of the sports trainer; emergency management; injury and illness assessment and immediate management; taping; and injury prevention and risk management. Four competencies (5%) were endorsed as 'ideal' or 'not required' by ≥85% of experts and were excluded from further consideration. The 26 competencies where consensus was not reached were retained as second-tier, optional competencies. Sports trainers are important members of on-field first-aid teams, providing support to both injured players and other sports medicine professionals. The competencies identified in this study provide the basis of a proposed two-tiered community-AF-specific sports trainer education structure that can be implemented by the peak sports body. This includes six mandatory modules, relating to the 'required' competencies, and a further six optional modules covering competencies on which consensus was not reached.

  10. The European Ruminants during the “Microbunodon Event” (MP28, Latest Oligocene): Impact of Climate Changes and Faunal Event on the Ruminant Evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mennecart, Bastien

    2015-01-01

    The Earth already experienced numerous episodes of global warming and cooling. One of the latest impressive events of temperature rising was the Late Oligocene Warming that occurred around 25 Mya. An increase of the marine temperature of 2 to 4°C has been observed in a short time interval. In Europe, this major climatic event can be correlated to the continental faunal turnover “Microbunodon Event”. This event is marked by a huge faunal turnover (40% of the ungulate fauna during the first 500k years) and environmental changes. Drier conditions associated to the appearance of the seasonality lead to new environmental conditions dominated by wooded savannahs. This is correlated to a major arrival of Asiatic immigrants. Moreover, from a homogenous fauna during the main part of the Oligocene, local climatic variations between the European Western coast and the more central Europe could have provided faunal regionalism during the latest Oligocene and earliest Miocene. Considering the ruminants, this event is the major ever known for this group in Europe. A total renewal at the family level occurred. Thanks to a precise stratigraphic succession, major evolutionary elements are highlighted. Typical Oligocene species, mainly Tragulina, were adapted to wooded environments and were leaves/fruits eaters. They disappeared at the end of MP27 or the early MP28. This corresponds to the appearance of the Asiatic immigrants. The Tragulina (Lophiomerycidae, Bachitheriidae) and stem Pecora gave way to more derived stem and maybe crown Pecora (e.g. “Amphitragulus”, Babameryx, Dremotherium). These newcomers were adapted to more open environments and mixed feeding. The disappearance of the Tragulina is probably linked to environmental and vegetation changes, and competition. They give way to more derived ruminants having a more efficient metabolism in drier conditions and a better assimilation of less energetic food. PMID:25692298

  11. [Faunal characteristics and distribution pattern of crustaceans in the vicinity of Pearl River estuary].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Zi-Rong; Sun, Dian-Rong; Chen, Zuo-Zhi; Zhang, Han-Hua; Wang, Xue-Hui; Wang, Yue-Zhong; Fang, Hong-Da; Dong, Yan-Hong

    2009-10-01

    Based on the data of bottom trawl surveys in the vicinity of Pearl River estuary in August (summer), October (autumn), December (winter) 2006, and April (spring) 2007, the faunal characteristics and distribution pattern of crustaceans were analyzed. A total of 54 species belonging to 25 genera, 17 families, and 2 orders were collected, including 22 species of shrimps, 22 species of crabs, and 10 species of squills. Most of the crustaceans were tropical-subtropical warm-water species, a few of them were eurythermal species, and no warm-water and cold-water species occurred. Euryhaline species were most abundant, followed by halophile species, and the low-salinity species were the least. Most of the crustacean species belonged to the fauna of Indian Ocean-western Pacific Ocean. The faunal assemblages were closer to those of the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, Indonesia Sea, and the Japan Sea, and estranger with those of the Yellow Sea, Bohai Sea, and Korea Sea. The dominant species were Metapenaeus joyner, Oratosquilla oratoria, Charybdis miles, Portunus sanguinolentus, Harpiosquilla harpax, Charybdis feriatus, Charybdis japonica, Oratosquilla nepa, Solenocera crassicornis, Portunus trituberculatus, and Calappa philargius. The crustaceans had the largest species number (33) in autumn and the least one (26) in spring, and the highest stock density at the water depth of crabs had the highest stock density (41.81 kg x km(-2)), followed by shrimps (38.91 kg x km(-2)), and squills (18.88 kg x km(-2)). The stock densities of the 3 species groups showed an obvious seasonal variation. Shrimps had the highest stock density (120.32 kg x km(-2)) in summer and the lowest density (0.67 kg x km(-2)) in spring, while crabs and squills had the highest density (62.01 and 29.49 kg x km(-2), respectively) in winter and the lowest density (24.64 and 6.30 kg x km(-2), respectively) in autumn.

  12. Genus-Specific Primers for Study of Fusarium Communities in Field Samples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edel-Hermann, Véronique; Gautheron, Nadine; Durling, Mikael Brandström; Kolseth, Anna-Karin; Steinberg, Christian; Persson, Paula; Friberg, Hanna

    2015-01-01

    Fusarium is a large and diverse genus of fungi of great agricultural and economic importance, containing many plant pathogens and mycotoxin producers. To date, high-throughput sequencing of Fusarium communities has been limited by the lack of genus-specific primers targeting regions with high discriminatory power at the species level. In the present study, we evaluated two Fusarium-specific primer pairs targeting translation elongation factor 1 (TEF1). We also present the new primer pair Fa+7/Ra+6. Mock Fusarium communities reflecting phylogenetic diversity were used to evaluate the accuracy of the primers in reflecting the relative abundance of the species. TEF1 amplicons were subjected to 454 high-throughput sequencing to characterize Fusarium communities. Field samples from soil and wheat kernels were included to test the method on more-complex material. For kernel samples, a single PCR was sufficient, while for soil samples, nested PCR was necessary. The newly developed primer pairs Fa+7/Ra+6 and Fa/Ra accurately reflected Fusarium species composition in mock DNA communities. In field samples, 47 Fusarium operational taxonomic units were identified, with the highest Fusarium diversity in soil. The Fusarium community in soil was dominated by members of the Fusarium incarnatum-Fusarium equiseti species complex, contradicting findings in previous studies. The method was successfully applied to analyze Fusarium communities in soil and plant material and can facilitate further studies of Fusarium ecology. PMID:26519387

  13. Thresholds of motion of shell debris under unidirectional flow: influence of faunal composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieux, A.; Weill, P.; Mouazé, D.; Poirier, C.; Tessier, B.

    2017-12-01

    Quantifying bottom sediment erodibility is necessary to refine understanding of coastal processes and fossil records. Coastal sediments are partly composed of biogenic particles, which shape and density differ from rounded quartz grain and vary between species. Numerous studies have investigated the hydrodynamic behaviour of bioclastic sediments derived from reef-dwelling organisms, but research focusing on "cool-water carbonate" bioclastic particles (i.e. mollusc shell debris, calcareous algae, …) are rare. The present study aims in characterizing the influence of faunal composition on the entrainment threshold of mollusc shell debris from temperate regions. Shells have been sampled on shelly ridges in the southern coast of the Mont-Saint-Michel bay (NW France), before being ground and separated into individual sieve fractions. Eight species, representative of the local faunal composition, have been studied: four wild (cockle, furrow shell, saddle oyster, flat oyster), three reared (japanese oyster, mussel, manila clam) and one introduced (slipper limpet) species. Experiments for defining the threshold of motion of all samples were conducted in a small recirculating flume, under unidirectional current, and using an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter Profiler. Critical bed shear stress values (τcr) were derived from velocity profiles in the boundary layer, by a logarithmic regression of the "law of the wall". Depending on the species, the evolution of τcr with increasing grain diameters follows either an asymptotic or a more linear trend. Differences between species can be discerned: saddle oyster, japanese oyster and flat oyster show the smallest τcr, slipper limpet, furrow shell and mussel have an intermediate τcr and cockle and manila clam the highest τcr. For the 2-3.15 mm fraction, τcr ranges from 0.38 N.m-2 (saddle oyster) to 2.13 N.m-2 (cockle). Oyster shells (japanese and flat oysters) are composed of foliated sheets of calcite, interbedded with soft

  14. The Impact of Global Warming and Anoxia on Marine Benthic Community Dynamics: an Example from the Toarcian (Early Jurassic)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danise, Silvia; Twitchett, Richard J.; Little, Crispin T. S.; Clémence, Marie-Emilie

    2013-01-01

    The Pliensbachian-Toarcian (Early Jurassic) fossil record is an archive of natural data of benthic community response to global warming and marine long-term hypoxia and anoxia. In the early Toarcian mean temperatures increased by the same order of magnitude as that predicted for the near future; laminated, organic-rich, black shales were deposited in many shallow water epicontinental basins; and a biotic crisis occurred in the marine realm, with the extinction of approximately 5% of families and 26% of genera. High-resolution quantitative abundance data of benthic invertebrates were collected from the Cleveland Basin (North Yorkshire, UK), and analysed with multivariate statistical methods to detect how the fauna responded to environmental changes during the early Toarcian. Twelve biofacies were identified. Their changes through time closely resemble the pattern of faunal degradation and recovery observed in modern habitats affected by anoxia. All four successional stages of community structure recorded in modern studies are recognised in the fossil data (i.e. Stage III: climax; II: transitional; I: pioneer; 0: highly disturbed). Two main faunal turnover events occurred: (i) at the onset of anoxia, with the extinction of most benthic species and the survival of a few adapted to thrive in low-oxygen conditions (Stages I to 0) and (ii) in the recovery, when newly evolved species colonized the re-oxygenated soft sediments and the path of recovery did not retrace of pattern of ecological degradation (Stages I to II). The ordination of samples coupled with sedimentological and palaeotemperature proxy data indicate that the onset of anoxia and the extinction horizon coincide with both a rise in temperature and sea level. Our study of how faunal associations co-vary with long and short term sea level and temperature changes has implications for predicting the long-term effects of “dead zones” in modern oceans. PMID:23457537

  15. Role of arthropod communities in bioenergy crop litter decomposition†.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zangerl, Arthur R; Miresmailli, Saber; Nabity, Paul; Lawrance, Allen; Yanahan, Alan; Mitchell, Corey A; Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina J; David, Mark B; Berenbaum, May R; DeLucia, Evan H

    2013-10-01

    The extensive land use conversion expected to occur to meet demands for bioenergy feedstock production will likely have widespread impacts on agroecosystem biodiversity and ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. Although arthropod detritivores are known to contribute to litter decomposition and thus energy flow and nutrient cycling in many plant communities, their importance in bioenergy feedstock communities has not yet been assessed. We undertook an experimental study quantifying rates of litter mass loss and nutrient cycling in the presence and absence of these organisms in three bioenergy feedstock crops-miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and a planted prairie community. Overall arthropod abundance and litter decomposition rates were similar in all three communities. Despite effective reduction of arthropods in experimental plots via insecticide application, litter decomposition rates, inorganic nitrogen leaching, and carbon-nitrogen ratios did not differ significantly between control (with arthropods) and treatment (without arthropods) plots in any of the three community types. Our findings suggest that changes in arthropod faunal composition associated with widespread adoption of bioenergy feedstock crops may not be associated with profoundly altered arthropod-mediated litter decomposition and nutrient release. © 2012 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  16. Food choice effects on herbivory: Intra-specific seagrass palatability and inter-specific macrophyte palatability in seagrass communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez-Ramos, Rocío; Brun, Fernando G.; Egea, Luis G.; Vergara, Juan J.

    2018-05-01

    Interactions between the palatability and abundance of different food sources may influence herbivory patterns in seagrass-dominated communities. In addition, intra-specific differences in nutrient and structural quality of leaves may also alter seagrass palatability and generate different rates of consumption within these communities. We offered two temperate seagrasses species, (Cymodocea nodosa and Zostera noltei) from two different locations to look at intraspecific differences, and two other macrophytes, both of which occur at the same location as seagrasses but represent the extremes of palatability, to a generalist herbivore Paracentrotus lividus (purple sea urchin). Using feeding assays, we compared the consumption rates in individual (single plant species) and combined diets at different food availabilities. Intra-specific differences between seagrass species growing at different locations (inner and outer bay) were indeed found to significantly modify the consumption rate for one species. Structural traits such as carbon content were linked to the low consumption found in Cymodocea nodosa from the inner bay location. In addition, we found that the co-occurrence of different macrophyte species can result in preferential consumption of the more palatable macrophyte with high nutritional content and low structural defence over seagrasses, especially when P. lividus has an abundant food supply. Overall, our findings suggest that intra- and inter-specific differences in seagrass traits and the relative abundance of other macrophytes may explain the variability in patterns of herbivory found within seagrass communities.

  17. Regime shifts in demersal assemblages of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem: a comparative assessment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kirkman, Stephen P.; Yemane, Dawit; Atkinson, Lara J.

    2015-01-01

    Using long‐term survey data, changes in demersal faunal communities in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem were analysed at community and population levels to provide a comparative overview of the occurrence and timing of regime shifts. For South Africa, the timing of a community‐level sh......Using long‐term survey data, changes in demersal faunal communities in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem were analysed at community and population levels to provide a comparative overview of the occurrence and timing of regime shifts. For South Africa, the timing of a community...

  18. Variations in soil chemical properties, microbial biomass, and faunal populations as related to plant functional traits, patch types, and successional stages at Sokolov post-mining site - A case study

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Moradi, J.; Mudrák, Ondřej; Kukla, J.; Vicentini, F.; Šimáčková, H.; Frouz, J.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 83, NOV-DEC (2017), s. 58-64 ISSN 1164-5563 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : chronosequence * plant functional trait * faunal surface activity Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Ecology Impact factor: 2.445, year: 2016

  19. U-Th/ESR combined dating of faunal remains from the Mousterian open site of Beauvais (France)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michel, V.; Masaoudi, H.; Falgueres, Ch.; Yokoyama, Y.; Locht, J.L.; Antoine, P.

    1999-01-01

    Faunal remains from the Beauvais open site 'La Justice' (Oise) are the subject of an U-Th dating (disequilibrium of the uranium chain) and an ESR dating (electronic spin resonance). This study was performed in order to identify the chronological situation of the Middle Paleolithic levels of this site located in the north of France, supposedly aged stage 4 after stratigraphic correlations. U-Th ages of bones and dentine are between 20 and 200 ka and are scattered; however, the combined ESR/U-Th ages of rhinoceros dental enamels are homogeneous and indicate that the archaeological levels were deposited between 60 to 40 ka. This period corresponds to the end of the oxygen isotopic stage 4 to the beginning of stage 3. (authors) stage 3. (authors)

  20. STATE OF FAUNAL STATUS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BENGAL TIGER (Panthera tigris tigris IN SUNDARBAN DELTA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shivaji Bhattacharya

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The mangrove ecology of Sundarban delta is one of the global biodiversity hotspots. The ecology harbours the Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris besides other. The species is highly threatened as per Red Data Book. The ecology has suffered huge degradation over the years by many known and unknown forces of varying magnitude. Though various efforts are being made to conserve the ecology but yet the degradation could not be checked up to expectation. The effect of degradation is clearly reflected through the status of Panthera tigris tigris in its natural habitat. Hence the different aspects of faunal status with special reference to Bengal Tiger in Sundarban ecology during about last two decades has been searched and discussed briefly.

  1. Environmentally associated spatial changes of a macrozoobenthic community in the Saemangeum tidal flat, Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryu, Jongseong; Khim, Jong Seong; Choi, Jin-Woo; Shin, Hyun Chool; An, Soonmo; Park, Jinsoon; Kang, Daeseok; Lee, Chang-Hee; Koh, Chul-Hwan

    2011-05-01

    Estuarine tidal flats are both ecologically and economically important, hence developing methods to reliably measure ecosystem health is essential. Because benthic fauna play a central role in the food web of tidal flats, in this study we set out to quantitatively describe the intertidal zonation of macro-invertebrates and their associations with specific environmental parameters along three transects in the Saemangeum tidal flat, Korea. The abundance and biomass of intertidal fauna with respect to five environmental parameters (i.e., shore level, mud content, coarse sand content, water content, and organic content) were measured, to identify environmental factors that influence macrofaunal distribution in intertidal soft bottom habitats. A total of 75 species were identified, with dominant species showing distinct zones of distribution along all transects. The number of species recorded in each transect was found to be dependent on sediment characteristics and salinity. Cluster analysis classified the entire study area into three faunal assemblages (i.e., location groups), which were delineated by characteristic species, including (A) ' Periserrula-Macrophthalmus', (B) ' Umbonium-Meretrix', and (C) ' Prionospio-Potamocorbula'. Four environmental variables (i.e., shore level, water content, mud content, and organic content) appeared to determine factors that distinguished the three faunal assemblages, based on the discriminant analysis. The faunal assemblage types of the sampled locations were accurately predicted from environmental variables in two discriminant functions, with a prediction accuracy of 98%. It should be noted that the zonation of benthos in the lower section (C) of Sandong had been affected by the construction of a nearby dike, while this parameter had remained essentially unchanged at the other two location groups (A-B). Overall, the zonation of benthos from the Saemangeum tidal flat was explained adequately by the measured environmental variables

  2. A sazonalidade ambiental afeta a composição faunística de Ephemeroptera e Trichoptera em um riacho de Cerrado do Sudeste do Brasil? / Does environmental seasonality affect the faunal composition of Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera in a Cerrado stream from southeastern

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisa Yokoyama

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available ResumoNo presente trabalho, dados sobre Ephemeroptera e Trichoptera (ET de um riacho de cerrado foram analisados, com o objetivo de testar a hipótese de que a alta sazonalidade neste bioma pode alterar a composição de ET entre as estações chuvosas e de seca. A estrutura da comunidade foi avaliada utilizando a Análise de Correspondência Destendenciada e a Análise de Agrupamento (Morisita-Horn, UPGMA. Os fatores ambientais foram submetidos à Análise de Componentes Principais. Para testar a influência das variáveis abióticas sobre a fauna, foram utilizados o Procrustean Randomization Test (Protest e o Teste de Mantel. Os fatores ambientais registrados influenciaram significativamente a fauna de ET do Córrego do Pedregulho. A similaridade faunística foi alta ao longo do ano, indicando que, apesar de a densidade flutuar em resposta à variação da precipitação, a composição faunística apresentou baixa variabilidade temporal. Por outro lado, foi possível constatar que o gênero Lachlania (Ephemeroptera ocorreu, preferencialmente, nos meses chuvosos e que a composição da fauna da estação seca variou menos do que aquela das demais estações. Portanto, a sazonalidade ambiental afetou parcialmente a composição da fauna de ET do Córrego do Pedregulho.AbstractIn this paper, data on the fauna of Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera (ET from a Cerrado stream was analysed in order to test the hypothesis that the high seasonality of this biome can influence the composition of ET between the wet and dry seasons. The community structure was evaluated using Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Cluster Analysis (Morisita Horn-UPGMA. Environmental factors were analyzed using the Principal Components Analysis. In order to test the effect of abiotic variables on the fauna, It was applied the Procrustean Randomization Test (Protest and Mantel Test. The environmental factors recorded for this study had a significant effect on the ET fauna from C

  3. Macrobenthic community response to copper in Shelter Island Yacht Basin, San Diego Bay, California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neira, Carlos; Mendoza, Guillermo; Levin, Lisa A; Zirino, Alberto; Delgadillo-Hinojosa, Francisco; Porrachia, Magali; Deheyn, Dimitri D

    2011-04-01

    We examined Cu contamination effects on macrobenthic communities and Cu concentration in invertebrates within Shelter Island Yacht Basin, San Diego Bay, California. Results indicate that at some sites, Cu in sediment has exceeded a threshold for "self defense" mechanisms and highlight the potential negative impacts on benthic faunal communities where Cu accumulates and persists in sediments. At sites with elevated Cu levels in sediment, macrobenthic communities were not only less diverse but also their total biomass and body size (individual biomass) were reduced compared to sites with lower Cu. Cu concentration in tissue varied between species and within the same species, reflecting differing abilities to "regulate" their body load. The spatial complexity of Cu effects in a small marina such as SIYB emphasizes that sediment-quality criteria based solely on laboratory experiments should be used with caution, as they do not necessarily reflect the condition at the community and ecosystem levels. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Faunal diversity in a semi-evergreen forest of Bornadi-Khalingduar Complex of Assam, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pallabi Chakraborty

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The Bornadi-Khalingduar Complex under the Manas Tiger Reserve, Assam is known to be an important area for wildlife movement to and from India and Bhutan. The contiguous landscape encompassing the two neighbouring countries provides a good habitat for diversity of wildlife and also as an important corridor area.  We carried out an opportunistic camera-trapping exercise to document the faunal diversity in the area. A month-long exercise photo-captured a total of 19 species belonging to 12 families, including the Leopard, Wild Dog, Leopard Cat, Binturong, Elephant, Sambar, Barking Deer and various birds. These findings of the study reveal the importance, threats and potential of the area and recommendations have been made to secure this corridor for continuous animal movement. Anthropogenic disturbance is a major deterrent to undisturbed animal movement in this area with resultant forest fragmentation and degradation. This indicates the need for effective conservation strategies in order to maintain the remnants of this corridor complex.  

  5. Discontinuity in the responses of ecosystem processes and multifunctionality to altered soil community composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradford, Mark A; Wood, Stephen A; Bardgett, Richard D; Black, Helaina I J; Bonkowski, Michael; Eggers, Till; Grayston, Susan J; Kandeler, Ellen; Manning, Peter; Setälä, Heikki; Jones, T Hefin

    2014-10-07

    Ecosystem management policies increasingly emphasize provision of multiple, as opposed to single, ecosystem services. Management for such "multifunctionality" has stimulated research into the role that biodiversity plays in providing desired rates of multiple ecosystem processes. Positive effects of biodiversity on indices of multifunctionality are consistently found, primarily because species that are redundant for one ecosystem process under a given set of environmental conditions play a distinct role under different conditions or in the provision of another ecosystem process. Here we show that the positive effects of diversity (specifically community composition) on multifunctionality indices can also arise from a statistical fallacy analogous to Simpson's paradox (where aggregating data obscures causal relationships). We manipulated soil faunal community composition in combination with nitrogen fertilization of model grassland ecosystems and repeatedly measured five ecosystem processes related to plant productivity, carbon storage, and nutrient turnover. We calculated three common multifunctionality indices based on these processes and found that the functional complexity of the soil communities had a consistent positive effect on the indices. However, only two of the five ecosystem processes also responded positively to increasing complexity, whereas the other three responded neutrally or negatively. Furthermore, none of the individual processes responded to both the complexity and the nitrogen manipulations in a manner consistent with the indices. Our data show that multifunctionality indices can obscure relationships that exist between communities and key ecosystem processes, leading us to question their use in advancing theoretical understanding--and in management decisions--about how biodiversity is related to the provision of multiple ecosystem services.

  6. Plants of the fynbos biome harbour host species-specific bacterial communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyambo, Tsakani; Makhalanyane, Thulani P; Cowan, Don A; Valverde, Angel

    2016-08-01

    The fynbos biome in South Africa is globally recognised as a plant biodiversity hotspot. However, very little is known about the bacterial communities associated with fynbos plants, despite interactions between primary producers and bacteria having an impact on the physiology of both partners and shaping ecosystem diversity. This study reports on the structure, phylogenetic composition and potential roles of the endophytic bacterial communities located in the stems of three fynbos plants (Erepsia anceps, Phaenocoma prolifera and Leucadendron laureolum). Using Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA sequencing we found that different subpopulations of Deinococcus-Thermus, Alphaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Firmicutes dominated the endophytic bacterial communities. Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria were prevalent in P. prolifera, whereas Deinococcus-Thermus dominated in L. laureolum, revealing species-specific host-bacteria associations. Although a high degree of variability in the endophytic bacterial communities within hosts was observed, we also detected a core microbiome across the stems of the three plant species, which accounted for 72% of the sequences. Altogether, it seems that both deterministic and stochastic processes shaped microbial communities. Endophytic bacterial communities harboured putative plant growth-promoting bacteria, thus having the potential to influence host health and growth. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Bottom trawling and oxygen minimum zone influences on continental slope benthic community structure off Vancouver Island (NE Pacific)

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Leo, Fabio C.; Gauthier, Maéva; Nephin, Jessica; Mihály, Steven; Juniper, S. Kim

    2017-03-01

    Understanding responses of benthic ecosystems to cumulative impacts of natural stressors, long-term ocean change and increasing resource exploitation is an emerging area of interest for marine ecologists and environmental managers. Few, if any, studies have quantitatively addressed cumulative effects in the deep sea. We report here on a study from the continental slope off Vancouver Island (Canada) in the northeast Pacific Ocean, where the Oxygen Minimum Zone impinges on seabed habitats that are subjected to widespread bottom trawling, primarily by the fishery for thornyhead (Sebastolobus ssp.). We examined how the benthic megafauna in this area was influenced by varying levels of dissolved oxygen and trawling activity, along a depth gradient that was also likely to shape community composition. Continuous video and sonar records from two ROV surveys (50 linear km total; depth range 300-1400 m) respectively provided data on faunal attributes (composition, abundance and diversity) and the frequency of trawl door marks on the seabed. Faunal and trawl data were compiled in a geo-referenced database along with corresponding dissolved oxygen data, and pooled into 500 m segments for statistical analysis. Trawl mark occurrence peaked between 500 and 1100 m, corresponding to areas of slope subjected to hypoxia (PERMANOVA analyses, with characterizing taxa identified for all three factors. Depth, dissolved oxygen and trawl mark density accounted for 21% to 52% of the variability in benthic community structure according to multiple regression (DISTLM) models. Species richness was highest at intermediate depths and in areas subject to intermediate levels of trawling, and higher under hypoxia than under severe hypoxia. These statistically significant trends demonstrate that the structuring influences of bottom trawling on deep-sea benthic communities can be observed even where communities are being shaped by strong environmental gradients.

  8. Sediment core fossils in ancient Lake Ohrid: testing for faunal change since the Last Interglacial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Albrecht

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Ancient Lake Ohrid is probably of early Pleistocene or Pliocene origin and amongst the few lakes in the world harbouring an outstanding degree of endemic biodiversity. Although there is a long history of evolutionary research in Lake Ohrid, particularly on molluscs, a mollusc fossil record has been missing up to date. For the first time, gastropod and bivalve fossils are reported from the basal, calcareous part of a 2.6 m long sediment succession (core Co1200 from the north-eastern part of Lake Ohrid. Electron spin resonance (ESR dating of mollusc shells from the same stratigraphic level yielded an age of 130 ± 28 ka. Lithofacies III sediments, i.e. a stratigraphic subdivision comprising the basal succession of core Co1200 between 181.5–263 cm, appeared solid, greyish-white, and consisted almost entirely of silt-sized endogenic calcite (CaCO3>70% and intact and broken mollusc shells. Here we compare the faunal composition of the thanatocoenosis with recent mollusc associations in Lake Ohrid. A total of 13 mollusc species (9 gastropod and 4 bivalve species could be identified within Lithofacies III sediments. The value of sediment core fossils for reconstructing palaeoenvironmental settings was evaluated and the agreement between sediment and palaeontological proxies was tested.

    The study also aims at investigating major faunal changes since the Last Interglacial and searching for signs of extinction events.

    The combined findings of the ecological study and the sediment characteristics suggest deposition in a shallow water environment during the Last Interglacial. The fossil fauna exclusively included species also found in the present fauna, i.e. no extinction events are evident for this site since the Last Interglacial. The thanatocoenosis showed the highest similarity with recent Intermediate Layer (5–25 m water depth mollusc assemblages. The demonstrated existence of a mollusc fossil record in Lake Ohrid

  9. Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Associated with the Surface Mucus of Caribbean Corals Differ in Their Degree of Host Specificity and Community Turnover Over Reefs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Frade, P.R.; Roll, K.; Bergauer, K.; Herndl, G.

    2016-01-01

    Comparative studies on the distribution of archaeal versus bacterial communities associatedwith the surface mucus layer of corals have rarely taken place. It has thereforeremained enigmatic whether mucus-associated archaeal and bacterial communities exhibita similar specificity towards coral hosts

  10. Stranded Zostera marina L. vs wrack fauna community interactions on a Baltic sandy beach (Hel, Poland: a short-term pilot study. Part I. Driftline effects of fragmented detritivory, leaching and decay rates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcin F. Jêdrzejczak

    2002-06-01

    Full Text Available The effects of the beach community structure of macro- and meiofauna on the process of beach wrack decay were investigated by means of a simple field colonisation experiment in a temperate, fine quartz sediment, sandy beach at the end of the Hel Peninsula in Poland. 1260 replicate litterbags of three mesh sizes (12 mm, 0.5 mm, 48 µm containing fresh wrack were used to assess the role of faunal and non-faunal components in the breakdown of stranded Zostera marina. Wrack breakdown was determined during a three-year field study. This paper presents the first part of the results of this field experiment, which refer to the effects of fragmentation detritivory, leaching and decay rates. Material was lost from the bags at a rapid rate, with only 22-32% of the original dry mass remaining after 27 days in the field. This degradation was not directly related to the faunal succession of the eelgrass tissue, which proceeded in two distinct phases throughout the study period. Exclusion of macrofauna from the wrack by the use of finer-mesh litterbags (< 1 mm had no appreciable effect on the rate of dry matter loss. Microbial decay, and abiotic leaching and fragmentation are probably the major causes of seagrass weight loss from the litterbags.

  11. Guiding health promotion efforts with urban Inuit: a community-specific perspective on health information sources and dissemination strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McShane, Kelly E; Smylie, Janet K; Hastings, Paul D; Martin, Carmel M

    2006-01-01

    To develop a community-specific perspective of health information sources and dissemination strategies of urban Inuit to better guide health promotion efforts. Through a collaborative partnership with the Tungasuvvingat Inuit Family Resource Centre, a series of key informant interviews and focus groups were conducted to gather information on specific sources of health information, strategies of health information dissemination, and overall themes in health information processes. Distinct patterns of health information sources and dissemination strategies emerged from the data. Major themes included: the importance of visual learning, community Elders, and cultural interpreters; community cohesion; and the Inuit and non-Inuit distinction. The core sources of health information are family members and sources from within the Inuit community. The principal dissemination strategy for health information was direct communication, either through one-on-one interactions or in groups. This community-specific perspective of health information sources and dissemination strategies shows substantial differences from current mainstream models of health promotion and knowledge translation. Health promotion efforts need to acknowledge the distinct health information processes of this community, and should strive to integrate existing health information sources and strategies of dissemination with those of the community.

  12. Core Community Specifications for Electron Microprobe Operating Systems: Software, Quality Control, and Data Management Issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fournelle, John; Carpenter, Paul

    2006-01-01

    Modem electron microprobe systems have become increasingly sophisticated. These systems utilize either UNIX or PC computer systems for measurement, automation, and data reduction. These systems have undergone major improvements in processing, storage, display, and communications, due to increased capabilities of hardware and software. Instrument specifications are typically utilized at the time of purchase and concentrate on hardware performance. The microanalysis community includes analysts, researchers, software developers, and manufacturers, who could benefit from exchange of ideas and the ultimate development of core community specifications (CCS) for hardware and software components of microprobe instrumentation and operating systems.

  13. Effects of submarine mine tailings on macrobenthic community structure and ecosystem processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trannum, Hilde C; Gundersen, Hege; Escudero-Oñate, Carlos; Johansen, Joachim T; Schaanning, Morten T

    2018-07-15

    A mesocosm experiment with intact benthic communities was conducted to evaluate the effects of mine tailings on benthic community structure and biogeochemical processes. Two types of tailings were supplied from process plants using flotation and flocculation chemicals, while a third type was absent of added chemicals. All tailings impacted the sediment community at thin layers, and through more mechanisms than merely hypersedimentation. In general, the strongest impact was observed in a very fine-grained tailings containing flotation chemicals. The second strongest occurred in tailings with no process chemicals. The tailings with flocculation chemicals initiated the weakest response. Fluxes of oxygen, nitrate and ammonium provided some indications on biodegradation of organic phases. Release of phosphate and silicate decreased with increasing layer thickness of all three tailings. A threshold level of 2cm was identified both for faunal responses and for fluxes of phosphate and silicate. The particular impact mechanisms should receive more attention in future studies in order to minimize the environmental risk associated with tailings disposal. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. E-Learning Lifecycles:How Communities and Context can affect E-learning Specifications and Tool Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Magee

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available The development of a large body of e-learning specifications, such as IMS and SCORM, has led to the proposal for a new way to facilitate content workflow. This involves the movement of educational digital content and the knowledge of pedagogical communities into an online space. Several projects have looked at the theoretical structure of these specifications. They implemented a series of tools in order to examine and research the issues around the actual usage of these specifications. The CAREO, ALOHA and ALOHA 2 projects were designed to expose both individual users and whole institutions to these ideas. Initial research into the result of those interactions indicates that there is some utility in the adoption of e-learning specifications. The future success of them will depend on their ability to adapt and meet the needs of the educational community as they begin to adopt, use and evolve the way they use the specifications and the tools created around them.

  15. Bacterial Preferences for Specific Soil Particle Size Fractions Revealed by Community Analyses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hemkemeyer, Michael; Dohrmann, Anja B.; Christensen, Bent Tolstrup

    2018-01-01

    Genetic fingerprinting demonstrated in previous studies that differently sized soil particle fractions (PSFs; clay, silt, and sand with particulate organic matter (POM)) harbor microbial communities that differ in structure, functional potentials and sensitivity to environmental conditions....... To elucidate whether specific bacterial or archaeal taxa exhibit preference for specific PSFs, we examined the diversity of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes by high-throughput sequencing using total DNA extracted from three long-term fertilization variants (unfertilized, fertilized with minerals, and fertilized...

  16. Sensitivity, Specificity, and Positivity Predictors of the Pneumococcal Urinary Antigen Test in Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molinos, Luis; Zalacain, Rafael; Menéndez, Rosario; Reyes, Soledad; Capelastegui, Alberto; Cillóniz, Catia; Rajas, Olga; Borderías, Luis; Martín-Villasclaras, Juan J; Bello, Salvador; Alfageme, Inmaculada; Rodríguez de Castro, Felipe; Rello, Jordi; Ruiz-Manzano, Juan; Gabarrús, Albert; Musher, Daniel M; Torres, Antoni

    2015-10-01

    Detection of the C-polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae in urine by an immune-chromatographic test is increasingly used to evaluate patients with community-acquired pneumonia. We assessed the sensitivity and specificity of this test in the largest series of cases to date and used logistic regression models to determine predictors of positivity in patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. We performed a multicenter, prospective, observational study of 4,374 patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. The urinary antigen test was done in 3,874 cases. Pneumococcal infection was diagnosed in 916 cases (21%); 653 (71%) of these cases were diagnosed exclusively by the urinary antigen test. Sensitivity and specificity were 60 and 99.7%, respectively. Predictors of urinary antigen positivity were female sex; heart rate≥125 bpm, systolic blood pressureantibiotic treatment; pleuritic chest pain; chills; pleural effusion; and blood urea nitrogen≥30 mg/dl. With at least six of all these predictors present, the probability of positivity was 52%. With only one factor present, the probability was only 12%. The urinary antigen test is a method with good sensitivity and excellent specificity in diagnosing pneumococcal pneumonia, and its use greatly increased the recognition of community-acquired pneumonia due to S. pneumoniae. With a specificity of 99.7%, this test could be used to direct simplified antibiotic therapy, thereby avoiding excess costs and risk for bacterial resistance that result from broad-spectrum antibiotics. We also identified predictors of positivity that could increase suspicion for pneumococcal infection or avoid the unnecessary use of this test.

  17. Insect-Specific Virus Discovery: Significance for the Arbovirus Community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bethany G. Bolling

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses, especially those transmitted by mosquitoes, are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in humans and animals worldwide. Recent discoveries indicate that mosquitoes are naturally infected with a wide range of other viruses, many within taxa occupied by arboviruses that are considered insect-specific. Over the past ten years there has been a dramatic increase in the literature describing novel insect-specific virus detection in mosquitoes, which has provided new insights about viral diversity and evolution, including that of arboviruses. It has also raised questions about what effects the mosquito virome has on arbovirus transmission. Additionally, the discovery of these new viruses has generated interest in their potential use as biological control agents as well as novel vaccine platforms. The arbovirus community will benefit from the growing database of knowledge concerning these newly described viral endosymbionts, as their impacts will likely be far reaching.

  18. Pyrosequencing reveals highly diverse and species-specific microbial communities in sponges from the Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Lee, Onon

    2010-11-18

    Marine sponges are associated with a remarkable array of microorganisms. Using a tag pyrosequencing technology, this study was the first to investigate in depth the microbial communities associated with three Red Sea sponges, Hyrtios erectus, Stylissa carteri and Xestospongia testudinaria. We revealed highly diverse sponge-associated bacterial communities with up to 1000 microbial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and richness estimates of up to 2000 species. Altogether, 26 bacterial phyla were detected from the Red Sea sponges, 11 of which were absent from the surrounding sea water and 4 were recorded in sponges for the first time. Up to 100 OTUs with richness estimates of up to 300 archaeal species were revealed from a single sponge species. This is by far the highest archaeal diversity ever recorded for sponges. A non-negligible proportion of unclassified reads was observed in sponges. Our results demonstrated that the sponge-associated microbial communities remained highly consistent in the same sponge species from different locations, although they varied at different degrees among different sponge species. A significant proportion of the tag sequences from the sponges could be assigned to one of the sponge-specific clusters previously defined. In addition, the sponge-associated microbial communities were consistently divergent from those present in the surrounding sea water. Our results suggest that the Red Sea sponges possess highly sponge-specific or even sponge-species-specific microbial communities that are resistant to environmental disturbance, and much of their microbial diversity remains to be explored. © 2011 International Society for Microbial Ecology All rights reserved.

  19. Amazonian magnetostratigraphy: Dating the first pulse of the Great American Faunal Interchange

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Kenneth E., Jr.; Prothero, Donald R.; Romero-Pittman, Lidia; Hertel, Fritz; Rivera, Nadia

    2010-04-01

    The chronostratigraphy of the youngest Neogene deposits of the Amazon Basin, which comprise the Madre de Dios Formation in eastern Peru, remains unresolved. Although 40Ar/ 39Ar dates on two volcanic ashes from this formation in Peru provide critical baseline data points, stratigraphic correlations among scattered riverine outcrops in adjacent drainage basins remain problematic. To refine the chronostratigraphy of the Madre de Dios Formation, we report here the magnetostratigraphy of an outcrop on the Madre de Dios River in southeastern Peru. A total of 18 polarity zones was obtained in the ˜65-m-thick Cerro Colorado section, which we correlate to magnetozones Chrons C4Ar to C2An (9.5-3.0 Ma) based on the prior 40Ar/ 39Ar dates. These results confirm the late Miocene age of a gomphothere recovered from the Ipururo Formation, which underlies the late Miocene Ucayali Unconformity at the base of the Cerro Colorado outcrop. The results also support earlier interpretations of a late Miocene age for other fossils of North American mammals recovered from basal conglomeratic deposits of the Madre de Dios Formation immediately above the Ucayali Unconformity. These mammals include other gomphotheres, peccaries, and tapirs, and their presence in South America in the late Miocene is recognized as part of the first pulse of the Great American Faunal Interchange.

  20. Starvation and recovery in the deep-sea methanotroph Methyloprofundus sedimenti

    OpenAIRE

    Tavormina, Patricia L.; Kellermann, Matthias Y.; Antony, Chakkiath Paul; Tocheva, Elitza I.; Dalleska, Nathan F.; Jensen, Ashley J.; Valentine, David L.; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe; Jensen, Grant J.; Dubilier, Nicole; Orphan, Victoria J.

    2017-01-01

    In the deep ocean, the conversion of methane into derived carbon and energy drives the establishment of diverse faunal communities. Yet specific biological mechanisms underlying the introduction of methane-derived carbon into the food web remain poorly described, due to a lack of cultured representative deep-sea methanotrophic prokaryotes. Here, the response of the deep-sea aerobic methanotroph Methyloprofundus sedimenti to methane starvation and recovery was characterized. By combining lipid...

  1. Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Associated with the Surface Mucus of Caribbean Corals Differ in Their Degree of Host Specificity and Community Turnover Over Reefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frade, Pedro R; Roll, Katharina; Bergauer, Kristin; Herndl, Gerhard J

    2016-01-01

    Comparative studies on the distribution of archaeal versus bacterial communities associated with the surface mucus layer of corals have rarely taken place. It has therefore remained enigmatic whether mucus-associated archaeal and bacterial communities exhibit a similar specificity towards coral hosts and whether they vary in the same fashion over spatial gradients and between reef locations. We used microbial community profiling (terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism, T-RFLP) and clone library sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to compare the diversity and community structure of dominant archaeal and bacterial communities associating with the mucus of three common reef-building coral species (Porites astreoides, Siderastrea siderea and Orbicella annularis) over different spatial scales on a Caribbean fringing reef. Sampling locations included three reef sites, three reef patches within each site and two depths. Reference sediment samples and ambient water were also taken for each of the 18 sampling locations resulting in a total of 239 samples. While only 41% of the bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) characterized by T-RFLP were shared between mucus and the ambient water or sediment, for archaeal OTUs this percentage was 2-fold higher (78%). About half of the mucus-associated OTUs (44% and 58% of bacterial and archaeal OTUs, respectively) were shared between the three coral species. Our multivariate statistical analysis (ANOSIM, PERMANOVA and CCA) showed that while the bacterial community composition was determined by habitat (mucus, sediment or seawater), host coral species, location and spatial distance, the archaeal community composition was solely determined by the habitat. This study highlights that mucus-associated archaeal and bacterial communities differ in their degree of community turnover over reefs and in their host-specificity.

  2. Results of investigating the macroinvertebrate community of the Danube River on the sector upstream from the Iron Gate (km 1083-1071

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paunović Momir M.

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The present work cites results of investigating aquatic macroinvertebrates of the Danube River on the sector upstream from the Iron Gate (KM 1083-1071. The investigated part is interesting from the hydrobiological standpoint above all due to differences of faunal composition in relation to higher sections that could be expected in view of differences in overall characteristics of the river. A rich macroinvertebrate community (84 taxa was observed. The diversity of taxa is primarily a result of habitat diversity within the given stretch. Oligochaeta and Mollusca were the principal components.

  3. Bacterial communities of two ubiquitous Great Barrier Reef corals reveals both site- and species-specificity of common bacterial associates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E Charlotte E Kvennefors

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Coral-associated bacteria are increasingly considered to be important in coral health, and altered bacterial community structures have been linked to both coral disease and bleaching. Despite this, assessments of bacterial communities on corals rarely apply sufficient replication to adequately describe the natural variability. Replicated data such as these are crucial in determining potential roles of bacteria on coral. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE of the V3 region of the 16S ribosomal DNA was used in a highly replicated approach to analyse bacterial communities on both healthy and diseased corals. Although site-specific variations in the bacterial communities of healthy corals were present, host species-specific bacterial associates within a distinct cluster of gamma-proteobacteria could be identified, which are potentially linked to coral health. Corals affected by "White Syndrome" (WS underwent pronounced changes in their bacterial communities in comparison to healthy colonies. However, the community structure and bacterial ribotypes identified in diseased corals did not support the previously suggested theory of a bacterial pathogen as the causative agent of the syndrome. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study to employ large numbers of replicated samples to assess the bacterial communities of healthy and diseased corals, and the first culture-independent assessment of bacterial communities on WS affected Acroporid corals on the GBR. Results indicate that a minimum of 6 replicate samples are required in order to draw inferences on species, spatial or health-related changes in community composition, as a set of clearly distinct bacterial community profiles exist in healthy corals. Coral bacterial communities may be both site and species specific. Furthermore, a cluster of gamma-proteobacterial ribotypes may represent a group of specific common coral and marine

  4. Habitat Re-Creation (Ecological Restoration) as a Strategy for Conserving Insect Communities in Highly Fragmented Landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shuey, John A

    2013-12-05

    Because of their vast diversity, measured by both numbers of species as well as life history traits, insects defy comprehensive conservation planning. Thus, almost all insect conservation efforts target individual species. However, serious insect conservation requires goals that are set at the faunal level and conservation success requires strategies that conserve intact communities. This task is complicated in agricultural landscapes by high levels of habitat fragmentation and isolation. In many regions, once widespread insect communities are now functionally trapped on islands of ecosystem remnants and subject to a variety of stressors associated with isolation, small population sizes and artificial population fragmentation. In fragmented landscapes ecological restoration can be an effective strategy for reducing localized insect extinction rates, but insects are seldom included in restoration design criteria. It is possible to incorporate a few simple conservation criteria into restoration designs that enhance impacts to entire insect communities. Restoration can be used as a strategy to address fragmentation threats to isolated insect communities if insect communities are incorporated at the onset of restoration planning. Fully incorporating insect communities into restoration designs may increase the cost of restoration two- to three-fold, but the benefits to biodiversity conservation and the ecological services provided by intact insect communities justify the cost.

  5. Assessment of the ecological potential of mine-water treatment wetlands using a baseline survey of macroinvertebrate communities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batty, L.C.; Atkin, L.; Manning, D.A.C.

    2005-01-01

    A baseline survey of macroinvertebrate populations in two mine-water treatment wetlands, one treating a net acidic spoil heap discharge and one a net alkaline ferruginous pumped mine water, was undertaken to assess the potential of these systems to provide habitats for faunal communities. Both wetlands were found to be impoverished in comparison to natural wetlands but did sustain a macroinvertebrate community that could support higher organisms. Wetland size and water quality in terms of pH, conductivity and metal concentrations were found to be important factors in determining the quality of the populations supported. Direct toxicity to organisms was unlikely to be the main cause of lower diversity, but the smothering of organisms via the precipitation of iron hydroxides particularly in the early parts of the treatment systems affected macroinvertebrate communities. The presence of areas of open water within the planted systems was found to be important for providing habitats for macroinvertebrates and this should be both a future design and maintenance consideration for environmental managers. - Mine-water treatment wetlands can be engineered to provide habitats for ecological communities

  6. High specificity but contrasting biodiversity of Sphagnum-associated bacterial and plant communities in bog ecosystems independent of the geographical region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Opelt, Katja; Berg, Christian; Schönmann, Susan; Eberl, Leo; Berg, Gabriele

    2007-10-01

    Mosses represent ecological niches that harbor a hitherto largely uncharacterized microbial diversity. To investigate which factors affect the biodiversity of bryophyte-associated bacteria, we analyzed the bacterial communities associated with two moss species, which exhibit different ecological behaviors and importance in bog ecosystems, Sphagnum magellanicum and Sphagnum fallax, from six temperate and boreal bogs in Germany and Norway. Furthermore, their surrounding plant communities were studied. Molecular analysis of bacterial communities was determined by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis using eubacterial and genus-specific primers for the dominant genera Burkholderia and Serratia as well as by sequence analysis of a Burkholderia 16S rRNA gene clone library. Plant communities were analyzed by monitoring the abundance and composition of bryophyte and vascular plant species, and by determining ecological indicator values. Interestingly, we found a high degree of host specificity for associated bacterial and plant communities of both Sphagnum species independent of the geographical region. Calculation of diversity indices on the basis of SSCP gels showed that the S. fallax-associated communities displayed a statistically significant higher degree of diversity than those associated with S. magellanicum. In contrast, analyses of plant communities of Sphagnum-specific habitats resulted in a higher diversity of S. magellanicum-specific habitats for all six sites. The higher content of nutrients in the S. fallax-associated ecosystems can explain higher diversity of microorganisms.

  7. Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Associated with the Surface Mucus of Caribbean Corals Differ in Their Degree of Host Specificity and Community Turnover Over Reefs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro R Frade

    Full Text Available Comparative studies on the distribution of archaeal versus bacterial communities associated with the surface mucus layer of corals have rarely taken place. It has therefore remained enigmatic whether mucus-associated archaeal and bacterial communities exhibit a similar specificity towards coral hosts and whether they vary in the same fashion over spatial gradients and between reef locations. We used microbial community profiling (terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism, T-RFLP and clone library sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to compare the diversity and community structure of dominant archaeal and bacterial communities associating with the mucus of three common reef-building coral species (Porites astreoides, Siderastrea siderea and Orbicella annularis over different spatial scales on a Caribbean fringing reef. Sampling locations included three reef sites, three reef patches within each site and two depths. Reference sediment samples and ambient water were also taken for each of the 18 sampling locations resulting in a total of 239 samples. While only 41% of the bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs characterized by T-RFLP were shared between mucus and the ambient water or sediment, for archaeal OTUs this percentage was 2-fold higher (78%. About half of the mucus-associated OTUs (44% and 58% of bacterial and archaeal OTUs, respectively were shared between the three coral species. Our multivariate statistical analysis (ANOSIM, PERMANOVA and CCA showed that while the bacterial community composition was determined by habitat (mucus, sediment or seawater, host coral species, location and spatial distance, the archaeal community composition was solely determined by the habitat. This study highlights that mucus-associated archaeal and bacterial communities differ in their degree of community turnover over reefs and in their host-specificity.

  8. The impact of heavy metal pollution gradients in sediments on benthic macrofauna at population and community levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryu, Jongseong; Khim, Jong Seong; Kang, Seong-Gil; Kang, Daeseok; Lee, Chang-hee; Koh, Chul-hwan

    2011-01-01

    The effect of sediment pollution on benthos was investigated in the vicinity of a large sewage treatment outflow at Incheon North Harbor, Korea. Animal size, vertical distribution and standard community parameters were analyzed along a 3 km transect line (n = 7). Univariate parameters showed a general trend of increasing species diversity with increasing distance from the pollution source. Multi-dimensional scaling analysis led to the clear separation of 3 locational groups, supporting gradient-dependent faunal composition. The innermost location was dominated by small sub-surface dwellers while the outer locations by large mid to deep burrowers. Looking for the size-frequency distribution, most abundance species (Heteromastus filiformis) showed the presence of larger size animals with increasing proximity to the pollution source. Meanwhile, species-specific vertical distributions, regardless of the pollution gradient, indicated that such shifts were due to species replacement resulting from a higher tolerance to pollutants over some species. - Highlights: → Hypotheses on benthic responses to sediment pollution were tested. → Decrease of species diversity with the proximity to the pollution source. → Shift of vertical distribution along the transect line attributes to species replacement. → Larger-size species occurred distant from the pollution source. → Larger individuals of Heteromastus filiformis occurred closer to the pollution source. - Community and population level response to the polluted environment of the harbor reflected an integration effect, together with biological interactions.

  9. LGBQ-Specific Elderly Housing as a "Sparkling Sanctuary": Boundary Work on LGBQ Identity and Community in Relationship to Potential LGBQ-Specific Elderly Housing in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenberg, Lena; Kottorp, Anders; Johansson, Karin

    2017-09-08

    This study explored how boundaries in relationship to community and identity were created and negotiated among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) people within the framework of picturing LGBQ-specific elderly housing as a housing alternative in older age, by applying focus group methodology. "An island as a sparkling sanctuary" was identified as a metaphor for how symbolic resources defining the LGBQ community can be manifested in LGBQ-specific qualities of elderly housing. The boundary work underlying this manifestation included elaborations on the dilemma between exclusiveness and normality. The findings illustrate further how symbolic resources and collective identities were developed through dialectic interplay between internal and external definitions. Further, the findings show how boundary work generated shared feelings of similarity and group membership. The associated symbolic and social resources not only served to deal with difficult situations but also to manifest LGBQ identity and sense of community as a "gold medal."

  10. Functional and phylogenetic structure of island bird communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Si, Xingfeng; Cadotte, Marc W; Zeng, Di; Baselga, Andrés; Zhao, Yuhao; Li, Jiaqi; Wu, Yiru; Wang, Siyu; Ding, Ping

    2017-05-01

    Biodiversity change in anthropogenically transformed habitats is often nonrandom, yet the nature and importance of the different mechanisms shaping community structure are unclear. Here, we extend the classic Theory of Island Biogeography (TIB) to account for nonrandom processes by incorporating species traits and phylogenetic relationships into a study of faunal relaxation following habitat loss and fragmentation. Two possible mechanisms can create nonrandom community patterns on fragment islands. First, small and isolated islands might consist of similar or closely related species because they are environmentally homogeneous or select for certain shared traits, such as dispersal ability. Alternatively, communities on small islands might contain more dissimilar or distantly related species than on large islands because limited space and resource availability result in greater competitive exclusion among species with high niche overlap. Breeding birds were surveyed on 36 islands and two mainland sites annually from 2010 to 2014 in the Thousand Island Lake region, China. We assessed community structure of breeding birds on these subtropical land-bridge islands by integrating species' trait and evolutionary distances. We additionally analysed habitat heterogeneity and variance in size ratios to distinguish biotic and abiotic processes of community assembly. Results showed that functional-phylogenetic diversity increased with island area, and decreased with isolation. Bird communities on the mainland were more diverse and generally less clustered than island bird communities and not different than randomly assembled communities. Bird communities on islands tend to be functionally similar and phylogenetically clustered, especially on small and isolated islands. The nonrandom decline in species diversity and change in bird community structure with island area and isolation, along with the relatively homogeneous habitats on small islands, support the environmental

  11. Characterizing the phylogenetic tree community structure of a protected tropical rain forest area in Cameroon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manel, Stéphanie; Couvreur, Thomas L P; Munoz, François; Couteron, Pierre; Hardy, Olivier J; Sonké, Bonaventure

    2014-01-01

    Tropical rain forests, the richest terrestrial ecosystems in biodiversity on Earth are highly threatened by global changes. This paper aims to infer the mechanisms governing species tree assemblages by characterizing the phylogenetic structure of a tropical rain forest in a protected area of the Congo Basin, the Dja Faunal Reserve (Cameroon). We re-analyzed a dataset of 11538 individuals belonging to 372 taxa found along nine transects spanning five habitat types. We generated a dated phylogenetic tree including all sampled taxa to partition the phylogenetic diversity of the nine transects into alpha and beta components at the level of the transects and of the habitat types. The variation in phylogenetic composition among transects did not deviate from a random pattern at the scale of the Dja Faunal Reserve, probably due to a common history and weak environmental variation across the park. This lack of phylogenetic structure combined with an isolation-by-distance pattern of taxonomic diversity suggests that neutral dispersal limitation is a major driver of community assembly in the Dja. To assess any lack of sensitivity to the variation in habitat types, we restricted the analyses of transects to the terra firme primary forest and found results consistent with those of the whole dataset at the level of the transects. Additionally to previous analyses, we detected a weak but significant phylogenetic turnover among habitat types, suggesting that species sort in varying environments, even though it is not predominating on the overall phylogenetic structure. Finer analyses of clades indicated a signal of clustering for species from the Annonaceae family, while species from the Apocynaceae family indicated overdispersion. These results can contribute to the conservation of the park by improving our understanding of the processes dictating community assembly in these hyperdiverse but threatened regions of the world.

  12. Characterizing the Phylogenetic Tree Community Structure of a Protected Tropical Rain Forest Area in Cameroon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munoz, François; Couteron, Pierre; Hardy, Olivier J.; Sonké, Bonaventure

    2014-01-01

    Tropical rain forests, the richest terrestrial ecosystems in biodiversity on Earth are highly threatened by global changes. This paper aims to infer the mechanisms governing species tree assemblages by characterizing the phylogenetic structure of a tropical rain forest in a protected area of the Congo Basin, the Dja Faunal Reserve (Cameroon). We re-analyzed a dataset of 11538 individuals belonging to 372 taxa found along nine transects spanning five habitat types. We generated a dated phylogenetic tree including all sampled taxa to partition the phylogenetic diversity of the nine transects into alpha and beta components at the level of the transects and of the habitat types. The variation in phylogenetic composition among transects did not deviate from a random pattern at the scale of the Dja Faunal Reserve, probably due to a common history and weak environmental variation across the park. This lack of phylogenetic structure combined with an isolation-by-distance pattern of taxonomic diversity suggests that neutral dispersal limitation is a major driver of community assembly in the Dja. To assess any lack of sensitivity to the variation in habitat types, we restricted the analyses of transects to the terra firme primary forest and found results consistent with those of the whole dataset at the level of the transects. Additionally to previous analyses, we detected a weak but significant phylogenetic turnover among habitat types, suggesting that species sort in varying environments, even though it is not predominating on the overall phylogenetic structure. Finer analyses of clades indicated a signal of clustering for species from the Annonaceae family, while species from the Apocynaceae family indicated overdispersion. These results can contribute to the conservation of the park by improving our understanding of the processes dictating community assembly in these hyperdiverse but threatened regions of the world. PMID:24936786

  13. Phylogenetic diversity, host-specificity and community profiling of sponge-associated bacteria in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erwin, Patrick M; Olson, Julie B; Thacker, Robert W

    2011-01-01

    Marine sponges can associate with abundant and diverse consortia of microbial symbionts. However, associated bacteria remain unexamined for the majority of host sponges and few studies use phylogenetic metrics to quantify symbiont community diversity. DNA fingerprinting techniques, such as terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms (T-RFLP), might provide rapid profiling of these communities, but have not been explicitly compared to traditional methods. We investigated the bacterial communities associated with the marine sponges Hymeniacidon heliophila and Haliclona tubifera, a sympatric tunicate, Didemnum sp., and ambient seawater from the northern Gulf of Mexico by combining replicated clone libraries with T-RFLP analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences. Clone libraries revealed that bacterial communities associated with the two sponges exhibited lower species richness and lower species diversity than seawater and tunicate assemblages, with differences in species composition among all four source groups. T-RFLP profiles clustered microbial communities by source; individual T-RFs were matched to the majority (80.6%) of clone library sequences, indicating that T-RFLP analysis can be used to rapidly profile these communities. Phylogenetic metrics of community diversity indicated that the two sponge-associated bacterial communities include dominant and host-specific bacterial lineages that are distinct from bacteria recovered from seawater, tunicates, and unrelated sponge hosts. In addition, a large proportion of the symbionts associated with H. heliophila were shared with distant, conspecific host populations in the southwestern Atlantic (Brazil). The low diversity and species-specific nature of bacterial communities associated with H. heliophila and H. tubifera represent a distinctly different pattern from other, reportedly universal, sponge-associated bacterial communities. Our replicated sampling strategy, which included samples that reflect the ambient

  14. Communities of terrestrial nematodes after different approaches to heathland restoration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radochova, Petra; Frouz, Jan

    2016-04-01

    Since the 20th century, the distribution of European heathlands rapidly decreased due to agricultural intensification, heavy use of artificial fertilizers or acidification (Aerts & Heil, 1993). Therefore, various attempts of heathland restoration are under way in these days. Analysis of nematode community composition can be one of the tools suitable for succession evaluation (Ferris et al., 2001). In 2011, 2013 and 2014, soil samples were collected from heathland restoration experiment (launched in 2011) where different restoration methods were applied in a 3 × 3 factorial experiment; existing heathlands were also sampled to identify the target community both in dry and wet heathland. A total of 60 samples of extracted nematodes were analysed for absolute abundance, trophic groups, and genera dominance. Various indices were calculated to describe the nematode community. We were able to prove faster development of wet heathlands towards the target community. However, because of large data variability, there was no significant difference between treatments. Development of wet and dry heathlands differed also in increased proportion of omniphagous nematodes in 2013 and predators in 2014 in dry heathlands. After three years of heathland restoration, nematode community has not yet reached parameters of the target community. References Aerts, R., Heil, G. W., 1993. Heathlands: patterns and processes in a changing environment, 1st ed, Geobotany: 20. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht, p. 229. Ferris, H., Bongers, T., De Goede, R. G. M., 2001. A framework for soil food web diagnostics: Extension of the nematode faunal analysis oncept. Appl. Soil Ecol. 18, 13-29.

  15. Reconstructing Asian faunal introductions to eastern Africa from multi-proxy biomolecular and archaeological datasets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prendergast, Mary E; Buckley, Michael; Crowther, Alison; Frantz, Laurent; Eager, Heidi; Lebrasseur, Ophélie; Hutterer, Rainer; Hulme-Beaman, Ardern; Van Neer, Wim; Douka, Katerina; Veall, Margaret-Ashley; Quintana Morales, Eréndira M; Schuenemann, Verena J; Reiter, Ella; Allen, Richard; Dimopoulos, Evangelos A; Helm, Richard M; Shipton, Ceri; Mwebi, Ogeto; Denys, Christiane; Horton, Mark; Wynne-Jones, Stephanie; Fleisher, Jeffrey; Radimilahy, Chantal; Wright, Henry; Searle, Jeremy B; Krause, Johannes; Larson, Greger; Boivin, Nicole L

    2017-01-01

    Human-mediated biological exchange has had global social and ecological impacts. In sub-Saharan Africa, several domestic and commensal animals were introduced from Asia in the pre-modern period; however, the timing and nature of these introductions remain contentious. One model supports introduction to the eastern African coast after the mid-first millennium CE, while another posits introduction dating back to 3000 BCE. These distinct scenarios have implications for understanding the emergence of long-distance maritime connectivity, and the ecological and economic impacts of introduced species. Resolution of this longstanding debate requires new efforts, given the lack of well-dated fauna from high-precision excavations, and ambiguous osteomorphological identifications. We analysed faunal remains from 22 eastern African sites spanning a wide geographic and chronological range, and applied biomolecular techniques to confirm identifications of two Asian taxa: domestic chicken (Gallus gallus) and black rat (Rattus rattus). Our approach included ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis aided by BLAST-based bioinformatics, Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) collagen fingerprinting, and direct AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating. Our results support a late, mid-first millennium CE introduction of these species. We discuss the implications of our findings for models of biological exchange, and emphasize the applicability of our approach to tropical areas with poor bone preservation.

  16. Content-specific network analysis of peer-to-peer communication in an online community for smoking cessation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myneni, Sahiti; Cobb, Nathan K; Cohen, Trevor

    2016-01-01

    Analysis of user interactions in online communities could improve our understanding of health-related behaviors and inform the design of technological solutions that support behavior change. However, to achieve this we would need methods that provide granular perspective, yet are scalable. In this paper, we present a methodology for high-throughput semantic and network analysis of large social media datasets, combining semi-automated text categorization with social network analytics. We apply this method to derive content-specific network visualizations of 16,492 user interactions in an online community for smoking cessation. Performance of the categorization system was reasonable (average F-measure of 0.74, with system-rater reliability approaching rater-rater reliability). The resulting semantically specific network analysis of user interactions reveals content- and behavior-specific network topologies. Implications for socio-behavioral health and wellness platforms are also discussed.

  17. No accession-specific effect of rhizosphere soil communities on the growth and competition of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna G Aguilera

    Full Text Available Soil communities associated with specific plant species affect individual plants' growth and competitive ability. Limited evidence suggests that unique soil communities can also differentially influence growth and competition at the ecotype level. Previous work with Arabidopsis thaliana has shown that accessions produce distinct and reproducible rhizosphere bacterial communities, with significant differences in both species composition and relative abundance. We tested the hypothesis that soil communities uniquely affect the growth and reproduction of the plant accessions with which they are associated. Specifically, we examined the growth of four accessions when exposed to their own soil communities and the communities generated by each of the other three accessions. To do this we planted focal accessions inside a ring of six plants that created a "background" soil community. We grew focal plants in this design in three separate soil treatments: non-sterile soil, sterilized soil, and "preconditioned" soil. We preconditioned soil by growing accessions in non-sterile soil for six weeks before the start of the experiment. The main experiment was harvested after seven weeks of growth and we recorded height, silique number, and dry weight of each focal plant. Plants grown in the preconditioned soil treatment showed less growth relative to the non-sterile and sterile soil treatments. In addition, plants in the sterile soil grew larger than those in non-sterile soil. However, we saw no interaction between soil treatment and background accession. We conclude that the soil communities have a negative net impact on Arabidopsis thaliana growth, and that the unique soil communities associated with each accession do not differentially affect growth and competition of study species.

  18. [Community structure of soil fauna in Eucalyptus grandis plantations at different slope locations].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yu; Zhong, Yu; Zhang, Jian; Yang, Wan-qin

    2010-09-01

    To understand the effects of slope location on the community structure of soil fauna in Eucalyptus grandis plantation, an investigation was made on the soil fauna in 3 E. grandis plantations at different slope locations in the hilly area of Sichuan Province from January to October 2009. A total of 39,2762 individuals were observed, belonging to 146 groups, 7 phyla, 16 classes, and 31 orders. The community composition, trophic group, diversity, and seasonal dynamics of soil fauna in the plantations all varied with slope. The abundance of macro-fauna, xeric meso- and micro-fauna, saprophagous macro-fauna, and omnivorous xeric meso- and micro-fauna increased with the decrease of slope, indicating that soil fauna had sensitive responses to the soil environmental factors affected by slope. Significant differences in the diversity of soil saprophagous macro-fauna and hygrophilous meso- and micro-fauna were observed at different slope locations, suggesting that these two faunal groups could be used as the indicators of the habitat heterogeneity of E. grandis plantations at different slope. Overall, slope location had definite effects on the community structure and distribution of soil fauna in the E. grandis plantations, but the effects were not statistically significant.

  19. Host-Specificity and Dynamics in Bacterial Communities Associated with Bloom-Forming Freshwater Phytoplankton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bagatini, Inessa Lacativa; Eiler, Alexander; Bertilsson, Stefan; Klaveness, Dag; Tessarolli, Letícia Piton; Vieira, Armando Augusto Henriques

    2014-01-01

    Many freshwater phytoplankton species have the potential to form transient nuisance blooms that affect water quality and other aquatic biota. Heterotrophic bacteria can influence such blooms via nutrient regeneration but also via antagonism and other biotic interactions. We studied the composition of bacterial communities associated with three bloom-forming freshwater phytoplankton species, the diatom Aulacoseira granulata and the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa and Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. Experimental cultures incubated with and without lake bacteria were sampled in three different growth phases and bacterial community composition was assessed by 454-Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. Betaproteobacteria were dominant in all cultures inoculated with lake bacteria, but decreased during the experiment. In contrast, Alphaproteobacteria, which made up the second most abundant class of bacteria, increased overall during the course of the experiment. Other bacterial classes responded in contrasting ways to the experimental incubations causing significantly different bacterial communities to develop in response to host phytoplankton species, growth phase and between attached and free-living fractions. Differences in bacterial community composition between cyanobacteria and diatom cultures were greater than between the two cyanobacteria. Despite the significance, major differences between phytoplankton cultures were in the proportion of the OTUs rather than in the absence or presence of specific taxa. Different phytoplankton species favoring different bacterial communities may have important consequences for the fate of organic matter in systems where these bloom forming species occur. The dynamics and development of transient blooms may also be affected as bacterial communities seem to influence phytoplankton species growth in contrasting ways. PMID:24465807

  20. Phylogenetic diversity, host-specificity and community profiling of sponge-associated bacteria in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick M Erwin

    Full Text Available Marine sponges can associate with abundant and diverse consortia of microbial symbionts. However, associated bacteria remain unexamined for the majority of host sponges and few studies use phylogenetic metrics to quantify symbiont community diversity. DNA fingerprinting techniques, such as terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms (T-RFLP, might provide rapid profiling of these communities, but have not been explicitly compared to traditional methods.We investigated the bacterial communities associated with the marine sponges Hymeniacidon heliophila and Haliclona tubifera, a sympatric tunicate, Didemnum sp., and ambient seawater from the northern Gulf of Mexico by combining replicated clone libraries with T-RFLP analyses of 16S rRNA gene sequences. Clone libraries revealed that bacterial communities associated with the two sponges exhibited lower species richness and lower species diversity than seawater and tunicate assemblages, with differences in species composition among all four source groups. T-RFLP profiles clustered microbial communities by source; individual T-RFs were matched to the majority (80.6% of clone library sequences, indicating that T-RFLP analysis can be used to rapidly profile these communities. Phylogenetic metrics of community diversity indicated that the two sponge-associated bacterial communities include dominant and host-specific bacterial lineages that are distinct from bacteria recovered from seawater, tunicates, and unrelated sponge hosts. In addition, a large proportion of the symbionts associated with H. heliophila were shared with distant, conspecific host populations in the southwestern Atlantic (Brazil.The low diversity and species-specific nature of bacterial communities associated with H. heliophila and H. tubifera represent a distinctly different pattern from other, reportedly universal, sponge-associated bacterial communities. Our replicated sampling strategy, which included samples that reflect the

  1. Amphidromy links a newly documented fish community of continental Australian streams, to oceanic islands of the west Pacific.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul A Thuesen

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Indo-Pacific high island streams experience extreme hydrological variation, and are characterised by freshwater fish species with an amphidromous life history. Amphidromy is a likely adaptation for colonisation of island streams following stochastic events that lead to local extirpation. In the Wet Tropics of north-eastern Australia, steep coastal mountain streams share similar physical characteristics to island systems. These streams are poorly surveyed, but may provide suitable habitat for amphidromous species. However, due to their ephemeral nature, common non-diadromous freshwater species of continental Australia are unlikely to persist. Consequently, we hypothesise that coastal Wet Tropics streams are faunally more similar, to distant Pacific island communities, than to nearby faunas of large continental rivers. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Surveys of coastal Wet Tropics streams recorded 26 species, 10 of which are first records for Australia, with three species undescribed. This fish community is unique in an Australian context in that it contains mostly amphidromous species, including sicydiine gobies of the genera Sicyopterus, Sicyopus, Smilosicyopus and Stiphodon. Species presence/absence data of coastal Wet Tropics streams were compared to both Wet Tropics river networks and Pacific island faunas. ANOSIM indicated the fish fauna of north-eastern Australian coastal streams were more similar to distant Pacific islands (R = 0.76, than to nearby continental rivers (R = 0.98. MAIN CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Coastal Wet Tropics streams are faunally more similar to distant Pacific islands (79% of species shared, than to nearby continental fauna due to two factors. First, coastal Wet Tropics streams lack many non-diadromous freshwater fish which are common in nearby large rivers. Second, many amphidromous species found in coastal Wet Tropics streams and Indo-Pacific islands remain absent from large rivers of the Wet Tropics

  2. Pathways of carbon and energy metabolism of the epibiotic community associated with the deep-sea hydrothermal vent shrimp Rimicaris exoculata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hügler, Michael; Petersen, Jillian M; Dubilier, Nicole; Imhoff, Johannes F; Sievert, Stefan M

    2011-01-07

    The shrimp Rimicaris exoculata dominates the faunal biomass at many deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In its enlarged gill chamber it harbors a specialized epibiotic bacterial community for which a nutritional role has been proposed. We analyzed specimens from the Snake Pit hydrothermal vent field on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by complementing a 16S rRNA gene survey with the analysis of genes involved in carbon, sulfur and hydrogen metabolism. In addition to Epsilon- and Gammaproteobacteria, the epibiotic community unexpectedly also consists of Deltaproteobacteria of a single phylotype, closely related to the genus Desulfocapsa. The association of these phylogenetic groups with the shrimp was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Based on functional gene analyses, we hypothesize that the Gamma- and Epsilonproteobacteria are capable of autotrophic growth by oxidizing reduced sulfur compounds, and that the Deltaproteobacteria are also involved in sulfur metabolism. In addition, the detection of proteobacterial hydrogenases indicates the potential for hydrogen oxidation in these communities. Interestingly, the frequency of these phylotypes in 16S rRNA gene clone libraries from the mouthparts differ from that of the inner lining of the gill chamber, indicating potential functional compartmentalization. Our data show the specific association of autotrophic bacteria with Rimicaris exoculata from the Snake Pit hydrothermal vent field, and suggest that autotrophic carbon fixation is contributing to the productivity of the epibiotic community with the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle as one important carbon fixation pathway. This has not been considered in previous studies of carbon fixation and stable carbon isotope composition of the shrimp and its epibionts. Furthermore, the co-occurrence of sulfur-oxidizing and sulfur-reducing epibionts raises the possibility that both may be involved in the syntrophic exchange of sulfur compounds

  3. [Diversity and faunal analysis of crustaceans in Potatso National Park, Shangri-La, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shu, Shu-Sen; Chen, Fei-Zhou; Yang, Jun-Xing; Yang, Xiao-Jun; Chen, Xiao-Yong

    2013-06-01

    Potatso National Park was the first national park in mainland China, preceded by the earlier Bitahai Nature Reserve. Located in the northwest of Yunnan and on the southeast of Qinghai-Tibet plateau, Potatso is a typical low latitude and high elevation wetland nature reserve, with large areas of coniferous forest around alpine lakes and both wetland and water area ecosystems. In August, 2011, we undertook a survey of crustaceans in the park, sampling lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers throughout Potatso. We found a total of 29 species (including varieties) belonging to 24 genera and 11 families. Notable discoveries include Parartemiopsis sp, Arctodiaptomus parvispinus and Simocephalus congener, which are the first examples of these species to be recorded in China. Likewise, Gammarus bitaensis is a unique crustacean found only in Potatso National Park and Thermocyclops dumonti and Gammarus paucispinus are both endemic species to northwestern Yunnan. The overall faunal characteristics of crustaceans in the park also revealed several things about Potatso: (1) Cosmopolitan and Palaearctic elements reach 48.27% and 37.93%, clearly showing the Palaearctic element as the dominant fauna; (2) most of the crustacean, such as Arctodiaptomus parvispinus and Gammarus, are typical alpine types, confirming that Potatso has feature typical of alpine and plateau fauna; and (3) the proportion of endemic and rare crustacean species in Potatso National Park is approximately 10%, suggesting that the Potatso National Park in particular and the northwest of Yunnan in general have a unique geological and evolutionary history.

  4. The aquatic Coleoptera of Prince Edward Island, Canada: new records and faunal composition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher Majka

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available The aquatic Coleoptera (Gyrinidae, Haliplidae, Dytiscidae, Hydrophilidae, Elmidae, Dryopidae, Heteroceridae of Prince Edward Island, Canada is surveyed. Seventy-two species are now known to occur on Prince Edward Island, 26 of which are added to the island's faunal list. Three species, Gyrinus aquiris LeConte, Oulimnius latiusculus (LeConte, and Helichus striatus LeConte, are removed since there are no voucher specimens or published records to substantiate their presence. The name Dineutus horni is designated as an incorrect subsequent spelling of Dineutus hornii Roberts, 1895. The composition of the fauna is briefly discussed, both from regional and zoogeographic perspectives. There is only one introduced species, Helophorus grandis Illiger. Only one third of the aquatic fauna recorded on the neighbouring mainland has been found on Prince Edward Island, perhaps reflecting an island-associated diminution, the paucity of collecting, an area effect, or a combination of all these factors. The island faunas of Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island, and insular Newfoundland are compared. Prince Edward Island's is 36% smaller than the others, in contrast with the island's carabid fauna which is almost identical in magnitude with that of Cape Breton. This might reflect dispersal obstacles, the relative paucity of aquatic habitats on the island, or an insufficient collecting effort. Further research would be desirable, both to better discern the composition of the province's fauna, as well as to monitor the health of aquatic ecosystems in relation to anthropogenic activities.

  5. Biodiversity patterns, environmental drivers and indicator species on a high-temperature hydrothermal edifice, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

    OpenAIRE

    Sarrazin, Jozée; Legendre, Pierre; de Busserolles, Fanny; Fabri, Marie-Claire; Guilini, Katja; Ivanenko, Viatcheslav N.; Morineaux, Marie; Vanreusel, Ann; Sarradin, Pierre-Marie

    2015-01-01

    Knowledge on quantitative faunal distribution patterns of hydrothermal communities in slow-spreading vent fields is particularly scarce, despite the importance of these ridges in the global mid-ocean system. This study assessed the composition, abundance and diversity of 12 benthic faunal assemblages from various locations on the Eiffel Tower edifice (Lucky Strike vent field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and investigated the role of key environmental conditions (temperature, total dissolved iron (TdFe...

  6. Reconstructing Asian faunal introductions to eastern Africa from multi-proxy biomolecular and archaeological datasets.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary E Prendergast

    Full Text Available Human-mediated biological exchange has had global social and ecological impacts. In sub-Saharan Africa, several domestic and commensal animals were introduced from Asia in the pre-modern period; however, the timing and nature of these introductions remain contentious. One model supports introduction to the eastern African coast after the mid-first millennium CE, while another posits introduction dating back to 3000 BCE. These distinct scenarios have implications for understanding the emergence of long-distance maritime connectivity, and the ecological and economic impacts of introduced species. Resolution of this longstanding debate requires new efforts, given the lack of well-dated fauna from high-precision excavations, and ambiguous osteomorphological identifications. We analysed faunal remains from 22 eastern African sites spanning a wide geographic and chronological range, and applied biomolecular techniques to confirm identifications of two Asian taxa: domestic chicken (Gallus gallus and black rat (Rattus rattus. Our approach included ancient DNA (aDNA analysis aided by BLAST-based bioinformatics, Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS collagen fingerprinting, and direct AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating. Our results support a late, mid-first millennium CE introduction of these species. We discuss the implications of our findings for models of biological exchange, and emphasize the applicability of our approach to tropical areas with poor bone preservation.

  7. Modelling Vulnerability and Range Shifts in Ant Communities Responding to Future Global Warming in Temperate Forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Tae-Sung; Li, Fengqing; Kim, Sung-Soo; Chun, Jung Hwa; Park, Young-Seuk

    2016-01-01

    Global warming is likely leading to species' distributional shifts, resulting in changes in local community compositions and diversity patterns. In this study, we applied species distribution models to evaluate the potential impacts of temperature increase on ant communities in Korean temperate forests, by testing hypotheses that 1) the risk of extinction of forest ant species would increase over time, and 2) the changes in species distribution ranges could drive upward movements of ant communities and further alter patterns of species richness. We sampled ant communities at 335 evenly distributed sites across South Korea and modelled the future distribution range for each species using generalized additive models. To account for spatial autocorrelation, autocovariate regressions were conducted prior to generalized additive models. Among 29 common ant species, 12 species were estimated to shrink their suitable geographic areas, whereas five species would benefit from future global warming. Species richness was highest at low altitudes in the current period, and it was projected to be highest at the mid-altitudes in the 2080s, resulting in an upward movement of 4.9 m yr-1. This altered the altitudinal pattern of species richness from a monotonic-decrease curve (common in temperate regions) to a bell-shaped curve (common in tropical regions). Overall, ant communities in temperate forests are vulnerable to the on-going global warming and their altitudinal movements are similar to other faunal communities.

  8. Albumin levels and cause-specific mortality in community-dwelling older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Chen-Yi; Hu, Hsiao-Yun; Huang, Nicole; Chou, Yi-Chang; Li, Chung-Pin; Chou, Yiing-Jenq

    2018-04-09

    To investigate the association between serum albumin levels and cause-specific mortality among community-dwelling older adults. This cohort study was based on data obtained from the government-sponsored Annual Geriatric Health Examination Program for the older adults in Taipei City between 2006 and 2010. The study sample consisted of 77,531 community-dwelling Taipei citizens (≥65 years old). Mortality was determined by matching the participants' medical records with national death files. Serum albumin levels were categorized into dwelling older adults had a mean albumin level of 4.3 g/dL, which significantly reduced by age. Compared to albumin levels ≥4.4 g/dL, mildly low albumin levels (4.2-4.3 g/dL) were associated with an increased mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05-1.28 for all-cause mortality), and albumin levels dwelling older adults, and mortality risk increased as the albumin level decreased. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  9. Protocols for 16S rDNA Array Analyses of Microbial Communities by Sequence-Specific Labeling of DNA Probes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knut Rudi

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Analyses of complex microbial communities are becoming increasingly important. Bottlenecks in these analyses, however, are the tools to actually describe the biodiversity. Novel protocols for DNA array-based analyses of microbial communities are presented. In these protocols, the specificity obtained by sequence-specific labeling of DNA probes is combined with the possibility of detecting several different probes simultaneously by DNA array hybridization. The gene encoding 16S ribosomal RNA was chosen as the target in these analyses. This gene contains both universally conserved regions and regions with relatively high variability. The universally conserved regions are used for PCR amplification primers, while the variable regions are used for the specific probes. Protocols are presented for DNA purification, probe construction, probe labeling, and DNA array hybridizations.

  10. Herbivory of an invasive slug is affected by earthworms and the composition of plant communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaller, Johann G; Parth, Myriam; Szunyogh, Ilona; Semmelrock, Ines; Sochurek, Susanne; Pinheiro, Marcia; Frank, Thomas; Drapela, Thomas

    2013-05-13

    Biodiversity loss and species invasions are among the most important human-induced global changes. Moreover, these two processes are interlinked as ecosystem invasibility is considered to increase with decreasing biodiversity. In temperate grasslands, earthworms serve as important ecosystem engineers making up the majority of soil faunal biomass. Herbivore behaviour has been shown to be affected by earthworms, however it is unclear whether these effects differ with the composition of plant communities. To test this we conducted a mesocosm experiment where we added earthworms (Annelida: Lumbricidae) to planted grassland communities with different plant species composition (3 vs. 12 plant spp.). Plant communities had equal plant densities and ratios of the functional groups grasses, non-leguminous forbs and legumes. Later, Arion vulgaris slugs (formerly known as A. lusitanicus; Gastropoda: Arionidae) were added and allowed to freely choose among the available plant species. This slug species is listed among the 100 worst alien species in Europe. We hypothesized that (i) the food choice of slugs would be altered by earthworms' specific effects on the growth and nutrient content of plant species, (ii) slug herbivory will be less affected by earthworms in plant communities containing more plant species than in those with fewer plant species because of a more readily utilization of plant resources making the impacts of earthworms less pronounced. Slug herbivory was significantly affected by both earthworms and plant species composition. Slugs damaged 60% less leaves when earthworms were present, regardless of the species composition of the plant communities. Percent leaf area consumed by slugs was 40% lower in communities containing 12 plant species; in communities containing only three species earthworms increased slug leaf area consumption. Grasses were generally avoided by slugs. Leaf length and number of tillers was increased in mesocosms containing more plant

  11. Precipitation alters interactions in a grassland ecological community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deguines, Nicolas; Brashares, Justin S; Prugh, Laura R

    2017-03-01

    Climate change is transforming precipitation regimes world-wide. Changes in precipitation regimes are known to have powerful effects on plant productivity, but the consequences of these shifts for the dynamics of ecological communities are poorly understood. This knowledge gap hinders our ability to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. Precipitation may affect fauna through direct effects on physiology, behaviour or demography, through plant-mediated indirect effects, or by modifying interactions among species. In this paper, we examined the response of a semi-arid ecological community to a fivefold change in precipitation over 7 years. We examined the effects of precipitation on the dynamics of a grassland ecosystem in central California from 2007 to 2013. We conducted vegetation surveys, pitfall trapping of invertebrates, visual surveys of lizards and capture-mark-recapture surveys of rodents on 30 plots each year. We used structural equation modelling to evaluate the direct, indirect and modifying effects of precipitation on plants, ants, beetles, orthopterans, kangaroo rats, ground squirrels and lizards. We found pervasive effects of precipitation on the ecological community. Although precipitation increased plant biomass, direct effects on fauna were often stronger than plant-mediated effects. In addition, precipitation altered the sign or strength of consumer-resource and facilitative interactions among the faunal community such that negative or neutral interactions became positive or vice versa with increasing precipitation. These findings indicate that precipitation influences ecological communities in multiple ways beyond its recognized effects on primary productivity. Stochastic variation in precipitation may weaken the average strength of biotic interactions over time, thereby increasing ecosystem stability and resilience to climate change. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2016 British Ecological

  12. Dynamics of bacterial communities in two unpolluted soils after spiking with phenanthrene: soil type specific and common responders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guo-Chun eDing

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Considering their key role for ecosystem processes, it is important to understand the response of microbial communities in unpolluted soils to pollution with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH. Phenanthrene, a model compound for PAH, was spiked to a Cambisol and a Luvisol soil. Total community DNA from phenanthrene-spiked and control soils collected on days 0, 21 and 63 were analyzed based on PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genefragments. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE fingerprints of bacterial communities increasingly deviated with time between spiked and control soils. In taxon specific DGGE, significant responses of Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria became only detectable after 63 days, while significant effects on Betaproteobacteria were detectable in both soils after 21 days. Comparison of the taxonomic distribution of bacteria in spiked and control soils on day 63 as revealed by pyrosequencing indicated soil type specific negative effects of phenanthrene on several taxa, many of them belonging to the Gamma-, Beta- or Deltaproteobacteria. Bacterial richness and evenness decreased in spiked soils. Despite the significant differences in the bacterial community structure between both soils on day 0, similar genera increased in relative abundance after PAH spiking, especially Sphingomonas and Polaromonas. However, this did not result in an increased overall similarity of the bacterial communities in both soils.

  13. Evacuation zone changes in Belarussian wildlife populations following the Chernobyl nuclear accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plenin, A.E.

    1995-01-01

    Nine years of wildlife monitoring in the 30-km Chernobyl evacuation zone documented effects on faunal biodiversity at various levels of ecosystem integration, helping to focus future investigations needed to distinguish radioecological impacts from those caused by reduced human activity within this zone. Following the direct, aucte radiation effects on the fauna, some long-term stabilization appears in the radionuclide content of animal tissues. The recovery of faunal populations seems to depend more on the secondary effects of human evacuation than on direct radioecological impacts. Natural ecological succession may have accelerated due to the post-evacuation removal of human pressure on contaminated habitats. Cessation of human activity has most benefited the commercially hunted bird and mammal populations. Wild boar, elk, and roe deer populations also have increased to new levels of post-accident equilibrium whereas the recovery of other animal populations is less pronounced. While the number of some rare wildlife species increased in the affected communities, many of those wildlife populations normally associated with human activity have disappeared. In abandoned settlements, the succession of plant communities dominated by trees and shrubs now promotes recolonization by those wildlife communities that are more typical of woodland habitats undisturbed by human activity. These dynamic processes of transformation of wildlife communities offer a unique opportunity to study the development and conservation of wild animal biodiversity within the context of specific land use and landscape ecological changes

  14. Beyond Romanization: The creolization of food. A framework for the study of faunal remains from Roman sites.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gillian Hawkes

    1999-11-01

    Full Text Available The effects of the Roman conquest of Britain and the ensuing processes of Romanization have been studied for many years. The historical background to the development of the theory of Romanization has been widely discussed elsewhere (see Hingley 1996. Haverfield’s (1906 treatment of the topic was a major landmark in this development. He considered that the Roman conquest was a ‘good’ thing as it brought civilisation to the ‘natives’ who, recognising the superiority of Roman culture, willingly embraced `Roman-ness`. The theory of Romanization was further refined by Millett (1990 in The Romanization of Britain. The assumption that underlies Millett’s model is that cultural artefacts which to archaeologists look ‘Roman’ were perceived in the same way in the past. But need this be so? This paper will concern itself with looking at new approaches to culture change, especially relating to food, following the Roman conquest in Britain. It will aim to suggest methods of applying these new approaches to faunal remains, which will enable us to evolve a more subtle understanding of food in the Roman period.

  15. Benthic communities in chemical munitions dumping site areas within the Baltic deeps with special focus on nematodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotwicki, Lech; Grzelak, Katarzyna; Bełdowski, Jacek

    2016-06-01

    Assessment of biological effects of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) dumped in the Baltic Sea has been one of the tasks of the Chemical Munitions Search & Assessment (CHEMSEA) project. Three sites have been selected for investigation: Bornholm Deep, Gotland Deep and Gdansk Deep. Fauna collected from these locations were compared with the reference area located between the studied regions at similar depths below 70 m. In total, four scientific cruises occurred in different seasons between 2011 and 2013. The total lack of any representatives of macrozoobenthos in all of the investigated dumping sites was noted. As a practical matter, the Baltic deeps were inhabited by nematodes as the only meiofauna representatives. Therefore, nematodes were used as a key group to explore the faunal communities inhabiting chemical dumping sites in the Baltic deeps. In total, 42 nematode genera belonging to 18 families were identified, and the dominant genus was Sabatieria (Comesomatidae), which constituted 37.6% of the overall nematode community. There were significant differences in nematode community structure (abundance and taxa composition) between the dumping areas and the reference site (Kruskal-Wallis H=30.96, pnematode assemblages could mirror the environmental conditions.

  16. The macrofaunal communities in the shallow subtidal areas for the first 3 years after the Hebei Spirit oil spill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Jin-Young; Kim, Moonkoo; Lim, Hyun-Sig; Choi, Jin-Woo

    2014-05-15

    In order to detect the early impact of the Hebei Spirit oil spill on the shallow subtidal macrozoobenthic communities, macrobenthic fauna were collected seasonally for 3 years. The alkylated PAHs concentrations within sediments near Mallipo beach remained as high as 129 ng g(-)(1) DW one month after the oil spill, but the concentration decreased below the background level thereafter. The number of species and density decreased in 4 months compared to those before the oil spill. An opportunistic polychaete, Prionospio paradisea, occurred as a dominant species at subtidal area near Mallipo beach in 10 months after the oil spill. Any mass mortality of amphipods and any clear dominance of opportunistic species were not detected except for the stations near Mallipo and Hagampo beaches. The macrobenthic communities at the shallow subtidal stations seemed to have a relatively stable faunal composition, even not fully recovered, in 3 years after the Hebei Spirit oil spill. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Species effects on ecosystem processes are modified by faunal responses to habitat composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulling, Mark T; Solan, Martin; Dyson, Kirstie E; Hernandez-Milian, Gema; Luque, Patricia; Pierce, Graham J; Raffaelli, Dave; Paterson, David M; White, Piran C L

    2008-12-01

    Heterogeneity is a well-recognized feature of natural environments, and the spatial distribution and movement of individual species is primarily driven by resource requirements. In laboratory experiments designed to explore how different species drive ecosystem processes, such as nutrient release, habitat heterogeneity is often seen as something which must be rigorously controlled for. Most small experimental systems are therefore spatially homogeneous, and the link between environmental heterogeneity and its effects on the redistribution of individuals and species, and on ecosystem processes, has not been fully explored. In this paper, we used a mesocosm system to investigate the relationship between habitat composition, species movement and sediment nutrient release for each of four functionally contrasting species of marine benthic invertebrate macrofauna. For each species, various habitat configurations were generated by selectively enriching patches of sediment with macroalgae, a natural source of spatial variability in intertidal mudflats. We found that the direction and extent of faunal movement between patches differs with species identity, density and habitat composition. Combinations of these factors lead to concomitant changes in nutrient release, such that habitat composition effects are modified by species identity (in the case of NH4-N) and by species density (in the case of PO4-P). It is clear that failure to accommodate natural patterns of spatial heterogeneity in such studies may result in an incomplete understanding of system behaviour. This will be particularly important for future experiments designed to explore the effects of species richness on ecosystem processes, where the complex interactions reported here for single species may be compounded when species are brought together in multi-species combinations.

  18. Seasonality of community structure and carbon flow in Narragansett Bay sediments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rudnick, D.T.

    1984-01-01

    Seasonal patterns of benthic community dynamics and the pathways of detrital decomposition in Narragansett Bay were examined. Benthic meiofauna and macrofauna exhibited a pronounced seasonality, with peak abundances in the late spring and minima in the late summer. This pattern was most pronounced for surface dwelling fauna, particularly harpacticoid copepods. These results were attributed to the seasonality of detrital inputs to the sediment and the fate of these inputs. A six month study in which 14 C-sodium bicarbonate was added to a large (13 m 3 ) microcosm enabled the author to observe pathways of carbon flow. Half of the labeled organic carbon that was deposited on the sediment during the winter and spring was found in the sediment in July. At least 20 gC/m 2 had accumulated since December. Within the sediment, the existence of two discrete food webs was distinguished by measurement of faunal specific activity. Surface fauna, dominated by the meiofauna, exclusively assimilate fresh (labeled) organics, while subsurface fauna (meiofauna and macrofauna) predominantly assimilated older, non-labeled organics for the duration of the study. Only the subsurface food web had access to the storage of buried detritus. While there was a surplus of detritus for both food webs during the winter and spring, the authors expect that benthic respiration rates exceed organic deposition rates during the summer. Detrital storage may be critical for the survival of the fauna through the summer

  19. Conversion of sagebrush shrublands to exotic annual grasslands negatively impacts small mammal communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostoja, S.M.; Schupp, E.W.

    2009-01-01

    Aim The exotic annual cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is fast replacing sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) communities throughout the Great Basin Desert and nearby regions in the Western United States, impacting native plant communities and altering fire regimes, which contributes to the long-term persistence of this weedy species. The effect of this conversion on native faunal communities remains largely unexamined. We assess the impact of conversion from native perennial to exotic annual plant communities on desert rodent communities. Location Wyoming big sagebrush shrublands and nearby sites previously converted to cheatgrass-dominated annual grasslands in the Great Basin Desert, Utah, USA. Methods At two sites in Tooele County, Utah, USA, we investigated with Sherman live trapping whether intact sagebrush vegetation and nearby converted Bromus tectorum-dominated vegetation differed in rodent abundance, diversity and community composition. Results Rodent abundance and species richness were considerably greater in sagebrush plots than in cheatgrass-dominated plots. Nine species were captured in sagebrush plots; five of these were also trapped in cheatgrass plots, all at lower abundances than in the sagebrush. In contrast, cheatgrass-dominated plots had no species that were not found in sagebrush. In addition, the site that had been converted to cheatgrass longer had lower abundances of rodents than the site more recently converted to cheatgrass-dominated plots. Despite large differences in abundances and species richness, Simpson's D diversity and Shannon-Wiener diversity and Brillouin evenness indices did not differ between sagebrush and cheatgrass-dominated plots. Main conclusions This survey of rodent communities in native sagebrush and in converted cheatgrass-dominated vegetation suggests that the abundances and community composition of rodents may be shifting, potentially at the larger spatial scale of the entire Great Basin, where cheatgrass continues to invade

  20. Translating knowledge into practice: An exploratory study of dementia-specific training for community-based service providers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Sullivan, Grace; Hocking, Clare; McPherson, Kathryn

    2017-08-01

    Objective To develop, deliver, and evaluate dementia-specific training designed to inform service delivery by enhancing the knowledge of community-based service providers. Methods This exploratory qualitative study used an interdisciplinary, interuniversity team approach to develop and deliver dementia-specific training. Participants included management, care staff, and clients from three organizations funded to provide services in the community. Data on the acceptability, applicability, and perceived outcomes of the training were gathered through focus group discussions and individual interviews. Transcripts were analyzed to generate open codes which were clustered into themes and sub-themes addressing the content, delivery, and value of the training. Findings Staff valued up-to-date knowledge and "real stories" grounded in practice. Clients welcomed the strengths-based approach. Contractual obligations impact on the application of knowledge in practice. Implications The capacity to implement new knowledge may be limited by the legislative policies which frame service provision, to the detriment of service users.

  1. Faunal diversity of the benthic amphipods (Crustacea of the Magellan region as compared to the Antarctic (preliminary results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claude de Broyer

    1999-12-01

    Full Text Available To investigate the marine benthic ecosystems of the Magellan region and to compare them with the better known Antarctic systems, three campaigns were recently carried out in this area: the Joint Magellan Victor Hensen Campaign 1994, the Polarstern ANT XIII/4 cruise 1996, and the Vidal Gormaz CIMAR FIORDO II cruise 1996. Numerous and diverse zoobenthos samples were collected mostly with an Agassiz trawl and with a small dredge, an epibenthic sledge, with baited traps or by diving. All gears together gathered more than 132,000 specimens of gammaridean and caprellidean amphipods. 137 species of gammaridean amphipods have been identified from the material to date. About 20% of these species appear to be new for science. This taxonomic work takes place in the framework of a general revision of the Southern Ocean amphipod fauna undertaken by theAntarctic Amphipodologists Network. A complete list of the benthic species of gammaridean and caprellidean amphipods is presented, including the zoogeographical distribution and the new records. The new abundant material collected, still under study, will allow a comparison of faunal diversity, zoogeographical and ecological traits of the Magellan benthic amphipod taxocoenoses with those of the West and East Antarctic benthos.

  2. First report on Copepoda and Ostracoda (Crustacea from northern Apenninic springs (N. Italy: a faunal and biogeographical account

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giampaolo ROSSETTI

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available The microcrustacean fauna of rheocrene and rheo-limnocrene springs in a protected area of the northern Apennines (Italy was investigated for the first time. All springs are located in the catchments of the rivers Parma and Enza at altitudes between 800 and 1609 m a.s.l. Several of these springs are still in pristine condition while others are artificially modified or impacted to some degree. Surveys were carried out from April to June 2007. The sampling methods used for invertebrate fauna were: moss washing, artificial traps, and inserting drift tubes at the discharge point. A total of 14 harpacticoid, five cyclopoid, and 13 ostracod taxa were identified. Ostracods were mainly represented by crenophilic taxa; of particular interest was the collection of a specimen belonging to Pseudolimnocythere, a stygobiont genus with only two living species and a reduced distribution. Faunal affinities between northern Apenninic springs and those in other Italian mountain systems are discussed. The investigated ecosystems support a high microcrustacean diversity that must be adequately preserved due to the increasing direct and indirect impacts on mountain springs and groundwater resources.

  3. US DoE's Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board 15 Years of Community Involvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nielson, M.; Brennan, C.A.

    2009-01-01

    This paper provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy's Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB) from its roots in the early 1990's at the Keystone Center to its current activities. The EM SSAB has a unique mandate to provide input regarding the cleanup of nuclear legacy sites in the United States. Chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the EM SSAB today comprises eight local boards. The Office of Environmental Management has made public participation a fundamental component of its cleanup mission and has found that the EM SSAB has contributed greatly to bringing community values and priorities to the cleanup decision-making processes. Public participation that involves ongoing community engagement has inherent challenges; the EM SSAB has additional challenges that reflect the political and technical nature of the Agency's work. (authors)

  4. Endemicity, biogeograhy, composition, and community structure on a northeast pacific seamount.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig R McClain

    Full Text Available The deep ocean greater than 1 km covers the majority of the earth's surface. Interspersed on the abyssal plains and continental slope are an estimated 14000 seamounts, topographic features extending 1000 m off the seafloor. A variety of hypotheses are posited that suggest the ecological, evolutionary, and oceanographic processes on seamounts differ from those governing the surrounding deep sea. The most prominent and oldest of these hypotheses, the seamount endemicity hypothesis (SMEH, states that seamounts possess a set of isolating mechanisms that produce highly endemic faunas. Here, we constructed a faunal inventory for Davidson Seamount, the first bathymetric feature to be characterized as a 'seamount', residing 120 km off the central California coast in approximately 3600 m of water (Fig 1. We find little support for the SMEH among megafauna of a Northeast Pacific seamount; instead, finding an assemblage of species that also occurs on adjacent continental margins. A large percentage of these species are also cosmopolitan with ranges extending over much of the Pacific Ocean Basin. Despite the similarity in composition between the seamount and non-seamount communities, we provide preliminary evidence that seamount communities may be structured differently and potentially serve as source of larvae for suboptimal, non-seamount habitats.

  5. Species Richness, Community Organization, and Spatiotemporal Distribution of Earthworms in the Pineapple Agroecosystems of Tripura, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Animesh Dey

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The impact that plant communities may have on underground faunal diversity is unclear. Therefore, understanding the links between plants and organisms is of major interest. Earthworm population dynamics were studied in the pineapple agroecosystems of Tripura to evaluate the impact of monoculture plantation on earthworm communities. A total of thirteen earthworm species belonging to four families and five genera were collected from different sampling sites. Application of sample-based rarefaction curve and nonparametric richness estimators reveal 90–95% completeness of sampling. Earthworm community of pineapple agroecosystems was dominated by endogeic earthworms and Drawida assamensis was the dominant species with respect to its density, biomass, and relative abundance. Vertical distribution of earthworms was greatly influenced by seasonal variations. Population density and biomass of earthworms peaked during monsoon and postmonsoon period, respectively. Overall density and biomass of earthworms were in increasing trend with an increase in plantation age and were highest in the 30–35-year-old plantation. Significant decrease in the Shannon diversity and evenness index and increase in Simpson’s dominance and spatial aggregation index with an increase in the age of pineapple plantation were recorded. Soil temperature and soil moisture were identified as the most potent regulators of earthworm distribution in the pineapple plantation.

  6. Fish community of the river Tiber basin (Umbria-Italy: temporal changes and possible threats to native biodiversity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carosi A.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The introduction of exotic fish species in the river Tiber basin has probably caused a serious alteration of original faunal composition. The purpose of this research was to assess the changes occurred over time in the state of the fish communities with particular reference to the reduction of local communities of endemic species. The study area comprised 68 watercourses of the Umbrian portion of the River Tiber basin; the analyses were carried out using the data of the Regional Fish Map of 1st and 2nd level and the 1st update, respectively collected during the periods between the 1990–1996, 2000–2006 and 2007–2014, in 125 sampling stations. The results show a progressive alteration of the fish communities’ structure, as confirmed by the appearance in recent times of new alien species. A total of 40 species was found, only 14 native. The qualitative change of the fish communities appear to be closely related to the longitudinal gradient of the river. The results shows that particularly in the downstream reaches, the combined action of pollution and introduction of exotic species resulted in a gradual decrease in the indigenous component of fish communities. The information collected are the indispensable premise for taking the necessary strategies for conservation of endangered species.

  7. Minearl associated microbial communities from The Cedars, associate with specific geological features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowe, A. R.; Wanger, G. P.; Bhartia, R.

    2017-12-01

    The Cedars, an area of active serpentinization located in the Russian River area of Northern California, represents one of the few terrestrial areas on Earth undergoing active serpentinization. One of the products of the serpentinization reaction is the formation of hydroxyl radicals making the springs of the Cedars some of the most alkaline natural waters on Earth. These waters, with very high pH (pH>11), low EH and, low concentrations of electron acceptors are extremely inhospitible; however microbial life has found a way to thrive and a distinct microbial community is observed in the spring waters. Previous work with environmental samples and pure culture isolates [3] derived from The Cedars has suggested the importance of minearal association to these characteristic microbes. Here we show the results combined spectroscopic and molecular studies on aseries of mineral colonization experiemnts performed with a pure culture Cedar's isolate (Serpentenamonas str. A1) and in situ at CS spring. Centimeter scale, polished coupons of a variety of mminerals were prepared in the lab, spectroscopically characterized (Green Raman, DUV Raman, and DUV Fluorescence maps) and deployed into the springs for three months. The coupons were recovered and the distribution of the microbes on the minerals was mapped using a deep-UV native fluorescent mapping sustem that allows for non-destructive mapping of organics and microbes on surfaces. Subsequently the DNA from the minerals was extracted for community structure analysis. The MOSAIC (i.e. deep UV Fluorescence) showed extensicve colonization of the minerals and in some cases we were able to correlate microbial assemblages with specific geological features. In one example, organisms tended to associate strongly with carbonate features on Chromite mineral surfaces (Figure 1). The 16s rDNA revealed the microbial assemblages from each slide was dominated by active Cedars community memebers (i.e., Serpentinamonas and Silanimonas species

  8. Host community heterogeneity and the expression of host specificity in avian haemosporidia in the Western Cape, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Sharon M; Cumming, Graeme S; Peters, Jeffrey L

    2018-05-16

    Similar patterns of parasite prevalence in animal communities may be driven by a range of different mechanisms. The influences of host heterogeneity and host-parasite interactions in host community assemblages are poorly understood. We sampled birds at 27 wetlands in South Africa to compare four hypotheses explaining how host community heterogeneity influences host specificity in avian haemosporidia communities: the host-neutral hypothesis, the super-spreader hypothesis, the host specialist hypothesis and the heterogeneity hypothesis. A total of 289 birds (29%) were infected with Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and/or Leucocytozoon lineages. Leucocytozoon was the most diverse and generalist parasite genus, and Plasmodium the most conservative. The host-neutral and host specialist hypotheses received the most support in explaining prevalence by lineage (Leucocytozoon) and genus (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus), respectively. We observed that haemosporidian prevalence was potentially amplified or reduced with variation in host and/or parasitic taxonomic levels of analysis. Our results show that Leucocytozoon host abundance and diversity was influential to parasite prevalence at varying taxonomic levels, particularly within heterogeneous host communities. Furthermore, we note that prevalent mechanisms of infection can potentially act as distinct roots for shaping communities of avian haemosporidia.

  9. Transplant experiments uncover Baltic Sea basin-specific responses in bacterioplankton community composition and metabolic activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindh, Markus V; Figueroa, Daniela; Sjöstedt, Johanna; Baltar, Federico; Lundin, Daniel; Andersson, Agneta; Legrand, Catherine; Pinhassi, Jarone

    2015-01-01

    Anthropogenically induced changes in precipitation are projected to generate increased river runoff to semi-enclosed seas, increasing loads of terrestrial dissolved organic matter and decreasing salinity. To determine how bacterial community structure and functioning adjust to such changes, we designed microcosm transplant experiments with Baltic Proper (salinity 7.2) and Bothnian Sea (salinity 3.6) water. Baltic Proper bacteria generally reached higher abundances than Bothnian Sea bacteria in both Baltic Proper and Bothnian Sea water, indicating higher adaptability. Moreover, Baltic Proper bacteria growing in Bothnian Sea water consistently showed highest bacterial production and beta-glucosidase activity. These metabolic responses were accompanied by basin-specific changes in bacterial community structure. For example, Baltic Proper Pseudomonas and Limnobacter populations increased markedly in relative abundance in Bothnian Sea water, indicating a replacement effect. In contrast, Roseobacter and Rheinheimera populations were stable or increased in abundance when challenged by either of the waters, indicating an adjustment effect. Transplants to Bothnian Sea water triggered the initial emergence of particular Burkholderiaceae populations, and transplants to Baltic Proper water triggered Alteromonadaceae populations. Notably, in the subsequent re-transplant experiment, a priming effect resulted in further increases to dominance of these populations. Correlated changes in community composition and metabolic activity were observed only in the transplant experiment and only at relatively high phylogenetic resolution. This suggested an importance of successional progression for interpreting relationships between bacterial community composition and functioning. We infer that priming effects on bacterial community structure by natural episodic events or climate change induced forcing could translate into long-term changes in bacterial ecosystem process rates.

  10. Community-specific biogeochemical responses to atmospheric nitrogen deposition in subalpine meadow ecosystems of the Cascade Range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poinsatte, J. P.; Rochefort, R.; Evans, R. D.

    2014-12-01

    season. Thus, biogeochemical modeling efforts to simulate ecosystem responses to Ndep should be parameterized at a community-specific level to fully capture this variability. Ultimately, this study will provide insight to land managers on the fate of N emissions and how Ndep affects ecosystem services in high-elevation ecosystems.

  11. Exposure to dairy manure leads to greater antibiotic resistance and increased mass-specific respiration in soil microbial communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avera, Bethany; Badgley, Brian; Barrett, John E.; Franklin, Josh; Knowlton, Katharine F.; Ray, Partha P.; Smitherman, Crystal

    2017-01-01

    Intensifying livestock production to meet the demands of a growing global population coincides with increases in both the administration of veterinary antibiotics and manure inputs to soils. These trends have the potential to increase antibiotic resistance in soil microbial communities. The effect of maintaining increased antibiotic resistance on soil microbial communities and the ecosystem processes they regulate is unknown. We compare soil microbial communities from paired reference and dairy manure-exposed sites across the USA. Given that manure exposure has been shown to elicit increased antibiotic resistance in soil microbial communities, we expect that manure-exposed sites will exhibit (i) compositionally different soil microbial communities, with shifts toward taxa known to exhibit resistance; (ii) greater abundance of antibiotic resistance genes; and (iii) corresponding maintenance of antibiotic resistance would lead to decreased microbial efficiency. We found that bacterial and fungal communities differed between reference and manure-exposed sites. Additionally, the β-lactam resistance gene ampC was 5.2-fold greater under manure exposure, potentially due to the use of cephalosporin antibiotics in dairy herds. Finally, ampC abundance was positively correlated with indicators of microbial stress, and microbial mass-specific respiration, which increased 2.1-fold under manure exposure. These findings demonstrate that the maintenance of antibiotic resistance associated with manure inputs alters soil microbial communities and ecosystem function. PMID:28356447

  12. Exposure to dairy manure leads to greater antibiotic resistance and increased mass-specific respiration in soil microbial communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wepking, Carl; Avera, Bethany; Badgley, Brian; Barrett, John E; Franklin, Josh; Knowlton, Katharine F; Ray, Partha P; Smitherman, Crystal; Strickland, Michael S

    2017-03-29

    Intensifying livestock production to meet the demands of a growing global population coincides with increases in both the administration of veterinary antibiotics and manure inputs to soils. These trends have the potential to increase antibiotic resistance in soil microbial communities. The effect of maintaining increased antibiotic resistance on soil microbial communities and the ecosystem processes they regulate is unknown. We compare soil microbial communities from paired reference and dairy manure-exposed sites across the USA. Given that manure exposure has been shown to elicit increased antibiotic resistance in soil microbial communities, we expect that manure-exposed sites will exhibit (i) compositionally different soil microbial communities, with shifts toward taxa known to exhibit resistance; (ii) greater abundance of antibiotic resistance genes; and (iii) corresponding maintenance of antibiotic resistance would lead to decreased microbial efficiency. We found that bacterial and fungal communities differed between reference and manure-exposed sites. Additionally, the β-lactam resistance gene ampC was 5.2-fold greater under manure exposure, potentially due to the use of cephalosporin antibiotics in dairy herds. Finally, ampC abundance was positively correlated with indicators of microbial stress, and microbial mass-specific respiration, which increased 2.1-fold under manure exposure. These findings demonstrate that the maintenance of antibiotic resistance associated with manure inputs alters soil microbial communities and ecosystem function. © 2017 The Author(s).

  13. Sensitive and substrate-specific detection of metabolically active microorganisms in natural microbial consortia using community isotope arrays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tourlousse, Dieter M; Kurisu, Futoshi; Tobino, Tomohiro; Furumai, Hiroaki

    2013-05-01

    The goal of this study was to develop and validate a novel fosmid-clone-based metagenome isotope array approach - termed the community isotope array (CIArray) - for sensitive detection and identification of microorganisms assimilating a radiolabeled substrate within complex microbial communities. More specifically, a sample-specific CIArray was used to identify anoxic phenol-degrading microorganisms in activated sludge treating synthetic coke-oven wastewater in a single-sludge predenitrification-nitrification process. Hybridization of the CIArray with DNA from the (14) C-phenol-amended sample indicated that bacteria assimilating (14) C-atoms, presumably directly from phenol, under nitrate-reducing conditions were abundant in the reactor, and taxonomic assignment of the fosmid clone end sequences suggested that they belonged to the Gammaproteobacteria. The specificity of the CIArray was validated by quantification of fosmid-clone-specific DNA in density-resolved DNA fractions from samples incubated with (13) C-phenol, which verified that all CIArray-positive probes stemmed from microorganisms that assimilated isotopically labeled carbon. This also demonstrated that the CIArray was more sensitive than DNA-SIP, as the former enabled positive detection at a phenol concentration that failed to yield a 'heavy' DNA fraction. Finally, two operational taxonomic units distantly related to marine Gammaproteobacteria were identified to account for more than half of 16S rRNA gene clones in the 'heavy' DNA library, corroborating the CIArray-based identification. © 2013 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Transplant experiments uncover Baltic Sea basin-specific responses in bacterioplankton community composition and metabolic activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markus V Lindh

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Anthropogenically induced changes in precipitation are projected to generate increased river runoff to semi-enclosed seas, intensifying loads of terrestrial dissolved organic matter and decreasing salinity. To determine how bacterial community structure and functioning adjust to such changes, we designed microcosm transplant experiments with Baltic Proper (salinity 7.2 and Bothnian Sea (salinity 3.6 water. Baltic Proper bacteria generally reached higher abundance than Bothnian Sea bacteria in both Baltic Proper and Bothnian Sea water, indicating a higher adaptability. Moreover, Baltic Proper bacteria growing in Bothnian Sea water consistently showed highest bacterial production and beta-glucosidase activity. These metabolic responses were accompanied by basin-specific changes in bacterial community structure. For example, Baltic Proper Pseudomonas and Limnobacter populations increased markedly in relative abundance in Bothnian Sea water, indicating replacement. In contrast, Roseobacter and Rheinheimera populations were stable or increased in abundance when challenged by either of the waters, indicating adjustment. Transplants to Bothnian Sea water triggered the initial emergence of particular Burkholderiaceae populations, and transplants to Baltic Proper water triggered Alteromonadaceae populations. Notably, in the subsequent re-transplant experiment, the original triggering, or priming effect, resulted in further increases to dominance of these populations. Correlated changes in community composition and metabolic activity were observed only in the transplant experiment, and only at relatively high phylogenetic resolution. This suggested an importance of successional progression for interpreting relationships between bacterial community composition and functioning. We infer that priming effects on bacterial community structure by natural episodic events or climate change induced forcing could translate into long-term changes in bacterial

  15. Cancer survivors' experiences of a community-based cancer-specific exercise programme: results of an exploratory survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catt, Susan; Sheward, J; Sheward, E; Harder, H

    2018-04-05

    Exercise levels often decline following cancer diagnosis despite growing evidence of its benefits. Treatment side effects, older age, lack of confidence and opportunity to exercise with others in similar circumstances influence this. Our study explored the experiences of people attending a cancer-specific community-based exercise programme (CU Fitter™). A survey distributed to those attending the programme gathered demographic/clinical information, self-reported exercise levels, information provision and barriers to/benefits of exercise. Sixty surveys were evaluable from 65/100 returned (62% female, 68% > 60 years, 66% breast/prostate cancer). Most (68%) were receiving treatment. Sixty-eight percent attended classes once or twice weekly. Fifty-five percent received exercise advice after diagnosis, usually from their hospital doctor/nurse. More (73%) had read about exercising, but less used the Internet to source information (32%). Self-reported exercise levels were higher currently than before diagnosis (p = 0.05). Forty-eight percent said their primary barrier to exercising was the physical impact of cancer/treatment. Improving fitness/health (40%) and social support (16%) were the most important gains from the programme. Many (67%) had made other lifestyle changes and intented to keep (50%) or increase (30%) exercising. This community-based cancer-specific exercise approach engaged people with cancer and showed physical, psychological, and social benefits. Community-grown exercise initiatives bring cancer survivors together creating their own supportive environment. Combining this with instructors familiar with the population and providing an open-ended service may prove particularly motivating and beneficial. Further work is required to provide evidence for this.

  16. Environmental management frameworks for offshore mining: the New Zealand approach

    KAUST Repository

    Ellis, Joanne; Clark, M.R.; Rouse, H.L.; Lamarche, G.

    2017-01-01

    The New Zealand region contains untapped natural mineral, oil, and gas resources while also supporting globally unique and diverse faunal communities that need to be managed sustainably. In this paper key information from the international

  17. Metatranscriptomic analysis of diverse microbial communities reveals core metabolic pathways and microbiome-specific functionality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yue; Xiong, Xuejian; Danska, Jayne; Parkinson, John

    2016-01-12

    Metatranscriptomics is emerging as a powerful technology for the functional characterization of complex microbial communities (microbiomes). Use of unbiased RNA-sequencing can reveal both the taxonomic composition and active biochemical functions of a complex microbial community. However, the lack of established reference genomes, computational tools and pipelines make analysis and interpretation of these datasets challenging. Systematic studies that compare data across microbiomes are needed to demonstrate the ability of such pipelines to deliver biologically meaningful insights on microbiome function. Here, we apply a standardized analytical pipeline to perform a comparative analysis of metatranscriptomic data from diverse microbial communities derived from mouse large intestine, cow rumen, kimchi culture, deep-sea thermal vent and permafrost. Sequence similarity searches allowed annotation of 19 to 76% of putative messenger RNA (mRNA) reads, with the highest frequency in the kimchi dataset due to its relatively low complexity and availability of closely related reference genomes. Metatranscriptomic datasets exhibited distinct taxonomic and functional signatures. From a metabolic perspective, we identified a common core of enzymes involved in amino acid, energy and nucleotide metabolism and also identified microbiome-specific pathways such as phosphonate metabolism (deep sea) and glycan degradation pathways (cow rumen). Integrating taxonomic and functional annotations within a novel visualization framework revealed the contribution of different taxa to metabolic pathways, allowing the identification of taxa that contribute unique functions. The application of a single, standard pipeline confirms that the rich taxonomic and functional diversity observed across microbiomes is not simply an artefact of different analysis pipelines but instead reflects distinct environmental influences. At the same time, our findings show how microbiome complexity and availability of

  18. Accounting for both local aquatic community composition and bioavailability in setting site-specific quality standards for zinc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Adam; Simpson, Peter; Moccia, Alessandra

    2014-01-01

    Recent years have seen considerable improvement in water quality standards (QS) for metals by taking account of the effect of local water chemistry conditions on their bioavailability. We describe preliminary efforts to further refine water quality standards, by taking account of the composition of the local ecological community (the ultimate protection objective) in addition to bioavailability. Relevance of QS to the local ecological community is critical as it is important to minimise instances where quality classification using QS does not reconcile with a quality classification based on an assessment of the composition of the local ecology (e.g. using benthic macroinvertebrate quality assessment metrics such as River InVertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS)), particularly where ecology is assessed to be at good or better status, whilst chemical quality is determined to be failing relevant standards. The alternative approach outlined here describes a method to derive a site-specific species sensitivity distribution (SSD) based on the ecological community which is expected to be present at the site in the absence of anthropogenic pressures (reference conditions). The method combines a conventional laboratory ecotoxicity dataset normalised for bioavailability with field measurements of the response of benthic macroinvertebrate abundance to chemical exposure. Site-specific QSref are then derived from the 5%ile of this SSD. Using this method, site QSref have been derived for zinc in an area impacted by historic mining activities. Application of QSref can result in greater agreement between chemical and ecological metrics of environmental quality compared with the use of either conventional (QScon) or bioavailability-based QS (QSbio). In addition to zinc, the approach is likely to be applicable to other metals and possibly other types of chemical stressors (e.g. pesticides). However, the methodology for deriving site-specific targets requires

  19. The role of the sedimentary regime in shaping the distribution of subtidal sandbank environments and the associated meiofaunal nematode communities: an example from the southern North Sea.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michaela Schratzberger

    Full Text Available We combined sediment and faunal data to explore the role of the sedimentary regime in shaping the distribution of subtidal sandbank environments and the associated meiofaunal nematode communities at Broken Bank and Swarte Bank, in the southern North Sea. A variety of sediment transport processes occur in the area, differing in the frequency and magnitude of sediment mobility, and the continuum between erosion, translation and sediment accumulation. The seabed contained a variety of bedforms, including longitudinal furrows, and small to very large sandwaves. The bed sediments were dominated by fine and medium sands, with admixtures of silt and gravel. Based on sedimentary bedforms and grain size analysis, a total of 11 sedimentary facies were delineated, of which 8 were analysed in detail for their relationships with the meiofauna. The sedimentary facies fell clearly into groups of facies, respectively representing high, high-moderate and moderate, and episodic sediment mobility. For those sedimentary facies where daily movement of sediments and bedforms occurred ('high' sediment mobility, the resulting spatially homogeneous environments were dominated by an impoverished nematode community comprising small deposit feeders and large predators. Resistance to sediment movement and the ability to exploit alternative food sources were prominent functional features of the successful colonisers. Those facies characterised by relatively infrequent sediment mobility ('episodic' and 'high-moderate and moderate' sediment mobility comprised a heterogeneous suite of benthic habitats, containing taxonomically and functionally diverse assemblages of nematodes of various sizes, feeding types and reproductive potential. Faunal distribution patterns here indicated trade-offs between the resistance to sediment movement, environmental tolerance and competitive abilities. Our focus on diverse assemblages of organisms with high turnover times, inhabiting highly

  20. The Role of the Sedimentary Regime in Shaping the Distribution of Subtidal Sandbank Environments and the Associated Meiofaunal Nematode Communities: An Example from the Southern North Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schratzberger, Michaela; Larcombe, Piers

    2014-01-01

    We combined sediment and faunal data to explore the role of the sedimentary regime in shaping the distribution of subtidal sandbank environments and the associated meiofaunal nematode communities at Broken Bank and Swarte Bank, in the southern North Sea. A variety of sediment transport processes occur in the area, differing in the frequency and magnitude of sediment mobility, and the continuum between erosion, translation and sediment accumulation. The seabed contained a variety of bedforms, including longitudinal furrows, and small to very large sandwaves. The bed sediments were dominated by fine and medium sands, with admixtures of silt and gravel. Based on sedimentary bedforms and grain size analysis, a total of 11 sedimentary facies were delineated, of which 8 were analysed in detail for their relationships with the meiofauna. The sedimentary facies fell clearly into groups of facies, respectively representing high, high-moderate and moderate, and episodic sediment mobility. For those sedimentary facies where daily movement of sediments and bedforms occurred (‘high’ sediment mobility), the resulting spatially homogeneous environments were dominated by an impoverished nematode community comprising small deposit feeders and large predators. Resistance to sediment movement and the ability to exploit alternative food sources were prominent functional features of the successful colonisers. Those facies characterised by relatively infrequent sediment mobility (‘episodic’ and ‘high-moderate and moderate’ sediment mobility) comprised a heterogeneous suite of benthic habitats, containing taxonomically and functionally diverse assemblages of nematodes of various sizes, feeding types and reproductive potential. Faunal distribution patterns here indicated trade-offs between the resistance to sediment movement, environmental tolerance and competitive abilities. Our focus on diverse assemblages of organisms with high turnover times, inhabiting highly dynamic

  1. Middle Pleistocene Transition (MPT) in the Eastern Indian Ocean: a 2000 kyr planktic faunal and isotope record from DSDP site 214

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, Anil K.; Dhingra, Hitesh

    2004-01-01

    Planktic foraminiferal faunal and isotope data from Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 214 reveal a major change in surface water properties in the eastern Indian Ocean, coinciding with the mid-Pleistocene climate transition (MPT). A comparative study of Globigerinoides sacculifer (a surface dwelling, warm water, mixed layer tropical planktic foraminifera), Globorotalia menardii Complex (a deep dwelling, tropical species group), and Orbulina universa (an intermediate depth warm-water subtropical foraminifera) with the stable isotope record of Globigerinoides ruber suggests a warm, thick mixed layer in the eastern Indian Ocean during,∼ 2000 Kyr to ∼ 900 Kyr. Since,∼ 900 Kyr the surface water mass stratification weakened, and the mixed layer as well as thermocline were shallow. A decrease in the population abundance of Gs. sacculifer, together with a decrease in δ 13 C and increase in δ 18 O values suggest a continuous cool climate and increased surface productivity over the last ∼ 900 Kyr. This coincides with an increased variance in the 400 ∼Kyr component of Earth's eccentricity cycle. (author)

  2. Grid connected integrated community energy system. Phase II: final stage 2 report. Outline specifications of cogeneration plant; continued

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1978-03-22

    Specifications are presented for the electrical equipment, site preparation, building construction and mechanical systems for a dual-purpose power plant to be located on the University of Minnesota campus. This power plant will supply steam and electrical power to a grid-connected Integrated Community Energy System. (LCL)

  3. Biotic and environmental dynamics through the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous transition: evidence for protracted faunal and ecological turnover.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tennant, Jonathan P; Mannion, Philip D; Upchurch, Paul; Sutton, Mark D; Price, Gregory D

    2017-05-01

    The Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous interval represents a time of environmental upheaval and cataclysmic events, combined with disruptions to terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Historically, the Jurassic/Cretaceous (J/K) boundary was classified as one of eight mass extinctions. However, more recent research has largely overturned this view, revealing a much more complex pattern of biotic and abiotic dynamics than has previously been appreciated. Here, we present a synthesis of our current knowledge of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous events, focusing particularly on events closest to the J/K boundary. We find evidence for a combination of short-term catastrophic events, large-scale tectonic processes and environmental perturbations, and major clade interactions that led to a seemingly dramatic faunal and ecological turnover in both the marine and terrestrial realms. This is coupled with a great reduction in global biodiversity which might in part be explained by poor sampling. Very few groups appear to have been entirely resilient to this J/K boundary 'event', which hints at a 'cascade model' of ecosystem changes driving faunal dynamics. Within terrestrial ecosystems, larger, more-specialised organisms, such as saurischian dinosaurs, appear to have suffered the most. Medium-sized tetanuran theropods declined, and were replaced by larger-bodied groups, and basal eusauropods were replaced by neosauropod faunas. The ascent of paravian theropods is emphasised by escalated competition with contemporary pterosaur groups, culminating in the explosive radiation of birds, although the timing of this is obfuscated by biases in sampling. Smaller, more ecologically diverse terrestrial non-archosaurs, such as lissamphibians and mammaliaforms, were comparatively resilient to extinctions, instead documenting the origination of many extant groups around the J/K boundary. In the marine realm, extinctions were focused on low-latitude, shallow marine shelf-dwelling faunas

  4. Long-Term Prescribed Burning Regime Has Little Effect on Springtails in Pine Stands of Southern Arkansas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michele L. Renschin; Lynne C. Thompson; Michael G. Shelton

    2004-01-01

    Concerns regarding the impacts of prescribed fires on faunal communities in pine stands have led to numerous studies. One soil/litter insect that may be influenced by fire is springtails, an important member of the forest floor community. A study was conducted in burned and unburned loblolly/shortleaf pine stands in southeastern Arkansas to examine whether springtail...

  5. Design and Evaluation of Illumina MiSeq-Compatible, 18S rRNA Gene-Specific Primers for Improved Characterization of Mixed Phototrophic Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradley, Ian M; Pinto, Ameet J; Guest, Jeremy S

    2016-10-01

    The use of high-throughput sequencing technologies with the 16S rRNA gene for characterization of bacterial and archaeal communities has become routine. However, the adoption of sequencing methods for eukaryotes has been slow, despite their significance to natural and engineered systems. There are large variations among the target genes used for amplicon sequencing, and for the 18S rRNA gene, there is no consensus on which hypervariable region provides the most suitable representation of diversity. Additionally, it is unclear how much PCR/sequencing bias affects the depiction of community structure using current primers. The present study amplified the V4 and V8-V9 regions from seven microalgal mock communities as well as eukaryotic communities from freshwater, coastal, and wastewater samples to examine the effect of PCR/sequencing bias on community structure and membership. We found that degeneracies on the 3' end of the current V4-specific primers impact read length and mean relative abundance. Furthermore, the PCR/sequencing error is markedly higher for GC-rich members than for communities with balanced GC content. Importantly, the V4 region failed to reliably capture 2 of the 12 mock community members, and the V8-V9 hypervariable region more accurately represents mean relative abundance and alpha and beta diversity. Overall, the V4 and V8-V9 regions show similar community representations over freshwater, coastal, and wastewater environments, but specific samples show markedly different communities. These results indicate that multiple primer sets may be advantageous for gaining a more complete understanding of community structure and highlight the importance of including mock communities composed of species of interest. The quantification of error associated with community representation by amplicon sequencing is a critical challenge that is often ignored. When target genes are amplified using currently available primers, differential amplification efficiencies

  6. Endemic plants harbour specific Trichoderma communities with an exceptional potential for biocontrol of phytopathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zachow, Christin; Berg, Christian; Müller, Henry; Monk, Jana; Berg, Gabriele

    2016-10-10

    Trichoderma strains exhibit enormous potential for applications in biotechnology, in particular as biocontrol agents against pathogens. However, little is known about the diversity of plant-associated Trichoderma communities at a global scale and their antagonistic spectrum. In order to gather information about structure and function, we compared Trichoderma biomes of endemic (Aeonium, Diospyros, Hebe, Rhododendron) and cosmopolitan plants (Zea mays) in a global study encompassing the area Northwest Africa to New Zealand via the European Alps and Madagascar. At the quantitative level we found no differences between cosmopolitan and endemic plants. Statistically significant differences were detected at the qualitative level: Trichoderma populations of endemic plants were highly specific and diverse with hot spots appearing in Madagascar and New Zealand. By contrast, maize plants from all sites shared the majority of Trichoderma species (65.5%). Interestingly, the high above ground biodiversity in ecosystems containing endemic plants was confirmed by a high below ground Trichoderma diversity. Despite the differences, we found a global Trichoderma core community shared by all analysed plants, which was dominated by T. koningii and T. koningiopsis. Amplicon-based network analyses revealed a high similarity between maize Trichoderma grown world-wide and distinct populations of endemic plants. Furthermore, Trichoderma strains from endemic plants showed a higher antagonistic activity against fungal pathogens compared to maize-associated strains. Our results showed that endemic plants are associated with a specific Trichoderma microbiome which possesses a high antagonistic activity indicating that it has potential to be used for biocontrol purposes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Potential impact of sand mining on macrobenthic community at Kalbadevi Beach, Ratnagiri, West coast of India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Sivadas, S.; Sautye, S.; Nanajkar, M.; Ingole, B.S.

    removal of sediment. However, the macro faunal parameters returned to the pre-disturbances values within a period of two months after disturbances, suggesting short-term impact of physical disturbances....

  8. Host specificity of the ruminal bacterial community in the dairy cow followng near-total exchange of ruminal contents

    Science.gov (United States)

    The purpose of this study was to examine the stability and host specificity of a cow’s ruminal bacterial community following massive challenge with the ruminal microflora from another cow. In each of two experiments, one pair of cows was selected on the basis of differences in ruminal bacterial comm...

  9. Involving the Community

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Step 3: Identifying the different community groups and other stakeholders concerned .... How can two-way communication enhance community participation in ...... for maintenance and the rights of specific community groups to drinkable water.

  10. Host specificity and the structure of helminth parasite communities of fishes in a Neotropical river in Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salgado-Maldonado, Guillermo; Novelo-Turcotte, María Teresa; Caspeta-Mandujano, Juan Manuel; Vazquez-Hurtado, Gabriela; Quiroz-Martínez, Benjamin; Mercado-Silva, Norman; Favila, Mario

    2016-01-01

    In a tropical locality of Río La Antigua, Veracruz, Mexico, 11 fish species, represented by 244 individual fish from six freshwater fish families living sympatrically and synchronically, were examined for helminth parasites. A total of 36 taxa of helminths were recorded, 24 autogenic and 12 allogenic forms, including 6 monogeneans, 14 trematodes, 1 cestode, and 15 nematodes. Most helminth taxa were recovered for 10/11 of the component communities we analyzed. The results contribute empirical evidence that host specificity is an important force in the development of helminth communities of freshwater fishes. Each fish family has their own set of parasites, host species belonging to the same taxon share parasite species. High component community similarity among related host species was recorded, demonstrated by high prevalence and abundance, as well as dominance, of autogenic specialist species in each component community. Most autogenic helminth species are numerically and reproductively successful in relatively few host species. Autogenic helminths common in one host species are not common in others. Our findings give empirical support to the idea that low levels of sharing of parasites favor animal coexistence and high species richness, because large phylogenetic differences allow potentially competing animals to consume the same resources without being sensitive of another’s parasites. PMID:28004635

  11. Biodiversity, zoogeography and affinity of Orissa sponges

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Thomas, P.A.; Sree, A.; Bapuji, M.; Rao, K.M.; Murthy, K.S.R.

    . Along with coral reefs, the ridge reefs gained importance for the study of different coral populations. With the advent of SCUBA and submersibles scientists have been able to initiate careful studies of subtidal / benthic faunal communities. With the use...

  12. Using the INEL site-specific plan as a community relations tool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hart, Michael; Macdonald, Don; Couch, Brad; Reuel Smith, M.

    1992-01-01

    Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) activities have affected, or have the potential to affect the environment. For this reason) the issues surrounding INEL activities are of interest to a broad range of people. The preparation of the INEL Site-Specific Plan (SSP) reflects the U.S. Department of Energy Idaho Field Office's (DOE-ID'S) initiative for open and clear communications with the public. The INEL SSP describes for the public DOE-ID'S plan to clean up inactive facilities and locations that were contaminated due to past waste management practices. It also discusses waste management strategies for avoiding future contamination by active operations. The SSP is an over-arching document and supplies 'the big picture' of environmental restoration and waste management activities to the public, including budget information and long-range plans. DOE-ID has been using the INEL Site-Specific Plan and its associated public comment period as a primary tool for public involvement and as way to get meaningful citizen input into DOE-ID planning. Public involvement in the INBL Site-Specific Plan has four main objectives: To inform public officials, Indian Tribes, interest groups, businesses, and individuals about current plans for environmental restoration and waste management activities at INEL; To ensure that public concerns and interests relating to environmental restoration and waste management are reflected in the SSP and DOE-ID planning; To provide flexibility so modifications can be made to DOE-ID plans and the SSP in response to changing concerns within the community, and; To ensure that DOE-ID and INEL contractors are given feedback regarding public interest in, and concerns about, the DOE-ID'S plans. To carry out these objectives, DOE-ID has implemented an aggressive public outreach effort that provides multiple opportunities for public participation in cleanup and waste management decisions. (author)

  13. Bacterial community dynamics in a cooling tower with emphasis on pathogenic bacteria and Legionella species using universal and genus-specific deep sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira, Rui P A; Peplies, Jörg; Höfle, Manfred G; Brettar, Ingrid

    2017-10-01

    Cooling towers are the major source of outbreaks of legionellosis in Europe and worldwide. These outbreaks are mostly associated with Legionella species, primarily L. pneumophila, and its surveillance in cooling tower environments is of high relevance to public health. In this study, a combined NGS-based approach was used to study the whole bacterial community, specific waterborne and water-based bacterial pathogens, especially Legionella species, targeting the 16S rRNA gene. This approach was applied to water from a cooling tower obtained by monthly sampling during two years. The studied cooling tower was an open circuit cooling tower with lamellar cooling situated in Braunschweig, Germany. A highly diverse bacterial community was observed with 808 genera including 25 potentially pathogenic taxa using universal 16S rRNA primers. Sphingomonas and Legionella were the most abundant pathogenic genera. By applying genus-specific primers for Legionella, a diverse community with 85 phylotypes, and a representative core community with substantial temporal heterogeneity was observed. A high percentage of sequences (65%) could not be affiliated to an acknowledged species. L. pneumophila was part of the core community and the most abundant Legionella species reinforcing the importance of cooling towers as its environmental reservoir. Major temperature shifts (>10 °C) were the key environmental factor triggering the reduction or dominance of the Legionella species in the Legionella community dynamics. In addition, interventions by chlorine dioxide had a strong impact on the Legionella community composition but not on the whole bacterial community. Overall, the presented results demonstrated the value of a combined NGS approach for the molecular monitoring and surveillance of health related pathogens in man-made freshwater systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Specificity of peer difficulties to social anxiety in early adolescence: categorical and dimensional analyses with clinical and community samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Early, Martha C; Biggs, Bridget K; Makanui, Kalani P; Legerski, John Paul; Van Allen, Jason; Elledge, Allison R; Whiteside, Stephen P

    2017-11-01

    We investigated the specificity of social difficulties to social anxiety by testing associations of social anxiety and other anxiety presentations with peer acceptance and victimization in community and treatment-seeking samples of adolescents aged 12-14 years. Cross-sectional, quantitative survey. Adolescents from the community (n = 116) and a clinical setting (n = 154) completed ratings of anxiety symptoms, perceived social acceptance, and peer victimization. Their parents also completed ratings of the adolescents' anxiety and social acceptance. Social acceptance was lowest among adolescents with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and lower among adolescents with other anxiety disorders than in the community sample. Anxiety symptoms were negatively correlated with social acceptance, but these associations were not unique to social anxiety symptoms. Girls in the community sample reported more overt victimization than girls with SAD and with other anxiety diagnoses. Relational victimization was associated with social and nonsocial anxiety symptoms only in the community sample. Our findings supplement recent laboratory-based observational studies on social functioning among adolescents with SAD and other anxiety disorders. Although social anxiety may be associated with unique social skill deficits and impairment, concerns about peer relations should also be considered among adolescents with other anxiety symptoms.

  15. Biological geography of the European seas: results from the MacroBen database

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arvanitidis, C.; Somerfield, P.J.; Rumohr, H.; Faulwetter, S.; Valavanis, V.; Vasileiadou, A.; Chatzigeorgiou, G.; Vanden Berghe, E.; Vanaverbeke, J.; Labrune, C.; Grémare, A.; Zettler, M.L.; Kedra, M.; Wlodarska-Kowalczuk, M.; Aleffi, I.F.; Amouroux, J.M.; Anisimova, N.; Bachelet, G.; Büntzow, M.; Cochrane, S.J.; Costello, M.J.; Craeymeersch, J.A.; Dahle, S.; Degraer, S.; Denisenko, S.; Dounas, C.; Duineveld, G.; Emblow, C.; Escavarage, V.; Fabri, M.C.; Fleischer, D.; Gray, J.S.; Heip, C.H.R.; Herrmann, M.; Hummel, H.; Janas, U.; Karakassis, I.; Kendall, M.A.; Kingston, P.; Kotwicki, L.; Laudien, J.; Mackie, A.S.Y.; Nevrova, E.L.; Occhipinti-Ambrogi, A.; Oliver, P.G.; Olsgard, F.; Palerud, R.; Petrov, A.; Rachor, E.; Revkov, N.K.; Rose, A.; Sardá, R.; Sistermans, W.C.H.; Speybroeck, J.; Van Hoey, G.; Vincx, M.; Whomersley, P.; Willems, W.; Zenetos, A.

    2009-01-01

    This study examines whether or not biogeographical and/or managerial divisions across the European seas can be validated using soft-bottom macrobenthic community data. The faunal groups used were: all macrobenthos groups, polychaetes, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, sipunculans and the last 5

  16. Decapod crustacean assemblages off the West coast of central Italy (western Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emanuela Fanelli

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Community structure and faunal composition of decapod crustaceans off the west coast of central Italy (western Mediterranean were investigated. Samples were collected during five trawl surveys carried out from June 1996 to June 2000 from 16 to 750 m depth. Multivariate analysis revealed the occurrence of five faunistic assemblages: 1 a strictly coastal community over sandy bottoms at depths

  17. Do Changes in Current Flow as a Result of Arrays of Tidal Turbines Have an Effect on Benthic Communities?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kregting, Louise; Elsaesser, Bjoern; Kennedy, Robert; Smyth, David; O'Carroll, Jack; Savidge, Graham

    2016-01-01

    Arrays of tidal energy converters have the potential to provide clean renewable energy for future generations. Benthic communities may, however, be affected by changes in current speeds resulting from arrays of tidal converters located in areas characterised by strong currents. Current speed, together with bottom type and depth, strongly influence benthic community distributions; however the interaction of these factors in controlling benthic dynamics in high energy environments is poorly understood. The Strangford Lough Narrows, the location of SeaGen, the world's first single full-scale, grid-compliant tidal energy extractor, is characterised by spatially heterogenous high current flows. A hydrodynamic model was used to select a range of benthic community study sites that had median flow velocities between 1.5-2.4 m/s in a depth range of 25-30 m. 25 sites were sampled for macrobenthic community structure using drop down video survey to test the sensitivity of the distribution of benthic communities to changes in the flow field. A diverse range of species were recorded which were consistent with those for high current flow environments and corresponding to very tide-swept faunal communities in the EUNIS classification. However, over the velocity range investigated, no changes in benthic communities were observed. This suggested that the high physical disturbance associated with the high current flows in the Strangford Narrows reflected the opportunistic nature of the benthic species present with individuals being continuously and randomly affected by turbulent forces and physical damage. It is concluded that during operation, the removal of energy by marine tidal energy arrays in the far-field is unlikely to have a significant effect on benthic communities in high flow environments. The results are of major significance to developers and regulators in the tidal energy industry when considering the environmental impacts for site licences.

  18. Consequences of increasing hypoxic disturbance on benthic communities and ecosystem functioning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Villnäs

    Full Text Available Disturbance-mediated species loss has prompted research considering how ecosystem functions are changed when biota is impaired. However, there is still limited empirical evidence from natural environments evaluating the direct and indirect (i.e. via biota effects of disturbance on ecosystem functioning. Oxygen deficiency is a widespread threat to coastal and estuarine communities. While the negative impacts of hypoxia on benthic communities are well known, few studies have assessed in situ how benthic communities subjected to different degrees of hypoxic stress alter their contribution to ecosystem functioning. We studied changes in sediment ecosystem function (i.e. oxygen and nutrient fluxes across the sediment water-interface by artificially inducing hypoxia of different durations (0, 3, 7 and 48 days in a subtidal sandy habitat. Benthic chamber incubations were used for measuring responses in sediment oxygen and nutrient fluxes. Changes in benthic species richness, structure and traits were quantified, while stress-induced behavioral changes were documented by observing bivalve reburial rates. The initial change in faunal behavior was followed by non-linear degradation in benthic parameters (abundance, biomass, bioturbation potential, gradually impairing the structural and functional composition of the benthic community. In terms of ecosystem function, the increasing duration of hypoxia altered sediment oxygen consumption and enhanced sediment effluxes of NH(4(+ and dissolved Si. Although effluxes of PO(4(3- were not altered significantly, changes were observed in sediment PO(4(3- sorption capability. The duration of hypoxia (i.e. number of days of stress explained a minor part of the changes in ecosystem function. Instead, the benthic community and disturbance-driven changes within the benthos explained a larger proportion of the variability in sediment oxygen- and nutrient fluxes. Our results emphasize that the level of stress to the

  19. Establishing a community-wide DNA barcode library as a new tool for arctic research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wirta, H; Várkonyi, G; Rasmussen, C; Kaartinen, R; Schmidt, N M; Hebert, P D N; Barták, M; Blagoev, G; Disney, H; Ertl, S; Gjelstrup, P; Gwiazdowicz, D J; Huldén, L; Ilmonen, J; Jakovlev, J; Jaschhof, M; Kahanpää, J; Kankaanpää, T; Krogh, P H; Labbee, R; Lettner, C; Michelsen, V; Nielsen, S A; Nielsen, T R; Paasivirta, L; Pedersen, S; Pohjoismäki, J; Salmela, J; Vilkamaa, P; Väre, H; von Tschirnhaus, M; Roslin, T

    2016-05-01

    DNA sequences offer powerful tools for describing the members and interactions of natural communities. In this study, we establish the to-date most comprehensive library of DNA barcodes for a terrestrial site, including all known macroscopic animals and vascular plants of an intensively studied area of the High Arctic, the Zackenberg Valley in Northeast Greenland. To demonstrate its utility, we apply the library to identify nearly 20 000 arthropod individuals from two Malaise traps, each operated for two summers. Drawing on this material, we estimate the coverage of previous morphology-based species inventories, derive a snapshot of faunal turnover in space and time and describe the abundance and phenology of species in the rapidly changing arctic environment. Overall, 403 terrestrial animal and 160 vascular plant species were recorded by morphology-based techniques. DNA barcodes (CO1) offered high resolution in discriminating among the local animal taxa, with 92% of morphologically distinguishable taxa assigned to unique Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) and 93% to monophyletic clusters. For vascular plants, resolution was lower, with 54% of species forming monophyletic clusters based on barcode regions rbcLa and ITS2. Malaise catches revealed 122 BINs not detected by previous sampling and DNA barcoding. The insect community was dominated by a few highly abundant taxa. Even closely related taxa differed in phenology, emphasizing the need for species-level resolution when describing ongoing shifts in arctic communities and ecosystems. The DNA barcode library now established for Zackenberg offers new scope for such explorations, and for the detailed dissection of interspecific interactions throughout the community. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Early-Middle Pleistocene benthic turnover and oxygen isotope stratigraphy from the Central Mediterranean (Valle di Manche, Crotone Basin, Italy): Data and trends

    OpenAIRE

    Michele Azzarone; Patrizia Ferretti; Veronica Rossi; Daniele Scarponi; Luca Capraro; Patrizia Macrì; John W. Huntley; Costanza Faranda

    2018-01-01

    Ostracod faunal turnover and oxygen isotope data (foraminifera) along the Valle di Manche (VdM) section are herein compiled. Specifically, the material reported in this work includes quantitative palaeoecological data and patterns of ostracod fauna framed within a high-resolution oxygen isotope stratigraphy (δ18O) from Uvigerina peregrina. In addition, the multivariate ostracod faunal stratigraphic trend (nMDS axis-1 sample score) is calibrated using bathymetric distributions of extant mollus...

  1. Biodiversity patterns, environmental drivers and indicator species on a High-temperature Hydrothermal edifice, mid-Atlantic ridge

    KAUST Repository

    Sarrazin, Jozée

    2015-04-25

    Knowledge on quantitative faunal distribution patterns of hydrothermal communities in slow-spreading vent fields is particularly scarce, despite the importance of these ridges in the global mid-ocean system. This study assessed the composition, abundance and diversity of 12 benthic faunal assemblages from various locations on the Eiffel Tower edifice (Lucky Strike vent field, Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and investigated the role of key environmental conditions (temperature, total dissolved iron (TdFe), sulfide (TdS), copper (TdCu) and pH) on the distribution of macro- and meiofaunal species at small spatial scales (< 1 m). There were differences in macro- and meiofaunal community structure between the different sampling locations, separating the hydrothermal community of the Eiffel Tower edifice into three types of microhabitats: (1) cold microhabitats characterized by low temperatures (<6 °C), high TdCu (up to 2.4±1.37 µmol l−1), high pH (up to 7.34±0.13) but low TdS concentrations (<6.98±5.01 µmol l−1); (2) warm microhabitats characterized by warmer temperatures (>6 °C), low pH (<6.5) and high TdS/TdFe concentrations (>12.8 µmol l−1/>1.1 µmol l−1 respectively); and (3) a third microhabitat characterized by intermediate abiotic conditions. Environmental conditions showed more variation in the warm microhabitats than in the cold microhabitats. In terms of fauna, the warm microhabitats had lower macro- and meiofaunal densities, and lower richness and Shannon diversity than the cold microhabitats. Six macrofaunal species (Branchipolynoe seepensis, Amathys lutzi, Bathymodiolus azoricus, Lepetodrilus fucensis, Protolira valvatoides and Chorocaris chacei) and three meiofaunal taxa (Paracanthonchus, Cephalochaetosoma and Microlaimus) were identified as being significant indicator species/taxa of particular microhabitats. Our results also highlight very specific niche separation for copepod juveniles among the different hydrothermal microhabitats. Some sampling

  2. Community-specific hydraulic conductance potential of soil water decomposed for two Alpine grasslands by small-scale lysimetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frenck, Georg; Leitinger, Georg; Obojes, Nikolaus; Hofmann, Magdalena; Newesely, Christian; Deutschmann, Mario; Tappeiner, Ulrike; Tasser, Erich

    2018-02-01

    For central Europe in addition to rising temperatures an increasing variability in precipitation is predicted. This will increase the probability of drought periods in the Alps, where water supply has been sufficient in most areas so far. For Alpine grasslands, community-specific imprints on drought responses are poorly analyzed so far due to the sufficient natural water supply. In a replicated mesocosm experiment we compared evapotranspiration (ET) and biomass productivity of two differently drought-adapted Alpine grassland communities during two artificial drought periods divided by extreme precipitation events using high-precision small lysimeters. The drought-adapted vegetation type showed a high potential to utilize even scarce water resources. This is combined with a low potential to translate atmospheric deficits into higher water conductance and a lower biomass production as those measured for the non-drought-adapted type. The non-drought-adapted type, in contrast, showed high water conductance potential and a strong increase in ET rates when environmental conditions became less constraining. With high rates even at dry conditions, this community appears not to be optimized to save water and might experience drought effects earlier and probably more strongly. As a result, the water use efficiency of the drought-adapted plant community is with 2.6 gDW kg-1 of water much higher than that of the non-drought-adapted plant community (0.16 gDW kg-1). In summary, the vegetation's reaction to two covarying gradients of potential evapotranspiration and soil water content revealed a clear difference in vegetation development and between water-saving and water-spending strategies regarding evapotranspiration.

  3. Gender-specific hip fracture risk in community-dwelling and institutionalized seniors age 65 years and older.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finsterwald, M; Sidelnikov, E; Orav, E J; Dawson-Hughes, B; Theiler, R; Egli, A; Platz, A; Simmen, H P; Meier, C; Grob, D; Beck, S; Stähelin, H B; Bischoff-Ferrari, H A

    2014-01-01

    In this study of acute hip fracture patients, we show that hip fracture rates differ by gender between community-dwelling seniors and seniors residing in nursing homes. While women have a significantly higher rate of hip fracture among the community-dwelling seniors, men have a significantly higher rate among nursing home residents. Differences in gender-specific hip fracture risk between community-dwelling and institutionalized seniors have not been well established, and seasonality of hip fracture risk has been controversial. We analyzed detailed data from 1,084 hip fracture patients age 65 years and older admitted to one large hospital center in Zurich, Switzerland. In a sensitivity analysis, we extend to de-personalized data from 1,265 hip fracture patients from the other two large hospital centers in Zurich within the same time frame (total n = 2,349). The denominators were person-times accumulated by the Zurich population in the corresponding age/gender/type of dwelling stratum in each calendar season for the period of the study. In the primary analysis of 1,084 hip fracture patients (mean age 85.1 years; 78% women): Among community-dwelling seniors, the risk of hip fracture was twofold higher among women compared with men (RR = 2.16; 95% CI, 1.74-2.69) independent of age, season, number of comorbidities, and cognitive function; among institutionalized seniors, the risk of hip fracture was 26% lower among women compared with men (RR = 0.77; 95% CI: 0.63-0.95) adjusting for the same confounders. In the sensitivity analysis of 2,349 hip fracture patients (mean age 85.0 years, 76% women), this pattern remained largely unchanged. There is no seasonal swing in hip fracture incidence. We confirm for seniors living in the community that women have a higher risk of hip fracture than men. However, among institutionalized seniors, men are at higher risk for hip fracture.

  4. Description of the terrestrial ecology of the Oak Ridge Environmental Research Park

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kitchings, T.; Mann, L.K.

    1976-10-01

    The Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has begun to develop research and administrative foundations necessary to establish and operate an Environmental Research Park (ERP) on the Energy Research and Development Administration Reservation at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Important in developing a functional research area is a description and inventory of the species and ecosystems which comprise the Research Park. This report describes some of the floral and faunal components of the Oak Ridge Reservation. Emphasis is placed on the relationship of faunal communities to the vegetation type in which they occur. Unique vegetational areas and rare and endangered species are also discussed.

  5. Description of the terrestrial ecology of the Oak Ridge Environmental Research Park

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitchings, T.; Mann, L.K.

    1976-10-01

    The Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has begun to develop research and administrative foundations necessary to establish and operate an Environmental Research Park (ERP) on the Energy Research and Development Administration Reservation at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Important in developing a functional research area is a description and inventory of the species and ecosystems which comprise the Research Park. This report describes some of the floral and faunal components of the Oak Ridge Reservation. Emphasis is placed on the relationship of faunal communities to the vegetation type in which they occur. Unique vegetational areas and rare and endangered species are also discussed

  6. Faunal Biogeography Community Structure and Genetic Connectivity of North Atlantic Seamounts

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-09-01

    but also salps and tunicates (Table 2). The fish were predominantly found in the water column, although some were observed on the sea floor, such...4 4 salp (various unidentified) 4 4 synamphobranchid eel (various unidentified) 11 11 tunicate (various unidentified) 8 21 29 56 Table 2. cont

  7. Toxicological evaluation of a lake ecosystem contaminated with crude oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Twigg, D.; Ramey, B.

    1995-01-01

    Winona Lake on the Daniel Boone National Forest in Powell County, Kentucky, was used from the mid 1950's to 1987 as a water source for water-injection oil drilling and as a brine disposal site. The lake was contaminated with excessive amounts of crude oil. A multi phase investigation was conducted, including chemical analysis of water and sediment, water toxicity tests using a cladoceran, Ceriodaphnia dubia, sediment toxicity tests using an amphipod, Hyalella azteca, and a faunal survey of the communities of the lake and stream both above and below the lake. The sediment was laden with petroleum hydrocarbons (4.1 parts per thousand), while the water showed no contamination. The C dubia test results showed no significant water toxicity. The contaminated sediment adjacent to the dam produced 75% mortality in H. azteca. The faunal survey indicated little or no impact on the upstream and downstream communities but the lake community was highly impacted, especially the benthos. Pollution tolerant Chaoborus sp. were the only organisms collected from sediment samples dredged from the lake. Contamination was limited to the sediment within the lake but the impact on the entire lake community was severe

  8. Lineage-specific responses of microbial communities to environmental change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youngblut, Nicholas D; Shade, Ashley; Read, Jordan S; McMahon, Katherine D; Whitaker, Rachel J

    2013-01-01

    A great challenge facing microbial ecology is how to define ecologically relevant taxonomic units. To address this challenge, we investigated how changing the definition of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) influences the perception of ecological patterns in microbial communities as they respond to a dramatic environmental change. We used pyrosequenced tags of the bacterial V2 16S rRNA region, as well as clone libraries constructed from the cytochrome oxidase C gene ccoN, to provide additional taxonomic resolution for the common freshwater genus Polynucleobacter. At the most highly resolved taxonomic scale, we show that distinct genotypes associated with the abundant Polynucleobacter lineages exhibit divergent spatial patterns and dramatic changes over time, while the also abundant Actinobacteria OTUs are highly coherent. This clearly demonstrates that different bacterial lineages demand different taxonomic definitions to capture ecological patterns. Based on the temporal distribution of highly resolved taxa in the hypolimnion, we demonstrate that change in the population structure of a single genotype can provide additional insight into the mechanisms of community-level responses. These results highlight the importance and feasibility of examining ecological change in microbial communities across taxonomic scales while also providing valuable insight into the ecological characteristics of ecologically coherent groups in this system.

  9. THE SPECIFICITY OF INTRACOMMUNITY TRANSACTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PALIU-POPA LUCIA

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Considered from the perspective of Romania's accession to the European Union, we can say that starting with 1 January 2007, foreign trade transactions were delimited in relation to the customs borders in intra-Community transactions and international transactions. In this context, the way of conducting these operations is influenced by both the economic and financial features specific to both categories of transactions, that relate to the economic character of the activity, the diversity and specificity of the foreign trade activity, transport of goods, the complexity and regulation of intra-Community and international commercial transactions, and by the specific features of each category of transaction. Starting from the consideration that the economic and financial characteristics of foreign trade activity, specific to intra-Community commercial transactions, have a significant influence in the organization and management of accounting of the entities involved in such transactions, determining in a greater or lesser extent, the way of capitalization of the financial and accounting information in the processes of analysis, decision and control, in this paper we proposed to address the features of intra-Community trade.

  10. Changes in carbonate sedimentation and faunal assemblages in the Tunisian carbonate platform around the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Touir, Jamel; Mechi, Chefia; Haj Ali, Hajer

    2017-05-01

    In Tunisia the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary coincides with the transition between two carbonate deposits: the Late Cenomanian Bahloul Formation at the bottom and the Early Turonian Gattar Member at the top. According to field study and microscope examination of the studied Formations throughout Tunisia, the Bahloul Formation consists of a deep-water condensed carbonate platform largely extended throughout Tunisia. Detailed analysis shows a particular richness in planktonic microfauna and ammonites. Thin bedded limestones within the Upper part exhibits a high TOC ratio and commonly called the black shales, whereas the Gattar Member displayed a rudist-bearing carbonate ramp which pinches northward while being progressively relayed by hemipelagic marls forming the so-called Annaba Member. The Cenomanian-Turonian transition was marked by relevant changes the main features of which are well recorded in the Tunisian carbonate platform. The changes consist of consecutive (i) shutdown and recovery of the carbonate factory and (ii) extinction, development and diversification of many faunal species. As matter of fact, during Late Cenomanian many planktonic foraminifers (Rotaliporidae) and rudists (Caprinidae) were extinct, and simultaneously the carbonate production rate fallen into 0.003-0.017 m k y -1. During Early Turonian the carbonate platform recovered contemporaneously with the development and diversification of many planktonic foraminifera and rudists (Hippuritidae); the carbonate productivity rose to 0.125 m k y -1 in average. The whole previous changes are to be linked with the significant sea-level fluctuation and the contemporaneous oceanic anoxic event (OAE2) having occurred at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary.

  11. Quantification of environment-driven changes in epiphytic macroinvertebrate communities associated to Phragmites australis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel CAÑEDO-ARGÜELLES

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available The epiphytic macroinvertebrate communities associated with the Common Reed, Phragmites australis (Cav. Trin. ex Steudel, were examined seasonally from summer 2004 to spring 2005 in eleven coastal lagoons of the Llobregat Delta (NE Spain following the method proposed by Kornijów & Kairesalo (1994. The aims of the study were to: 1 characterise and quantify changes in epiphytic macroinvertebrate communities along environmental gradients; 2 assess the contribution of elements of the epiphytic compartment to structuring the community; 3 define the optima and tolerances of selected epiphytic macroinvertebrate taxa for the most relevant ecological factors responsible for assemblage composition; and 4 identify possible epiphytic species assemblages that would allow a lagoon’s typology to be established, as well as their representative indicator species. Communities showed statistically significant seasonal variation, with two faunal peaks: one in summer, with high chironomid densities, and the other in winter, with high naidid densities. These peaks showed a clear response to the influence of environmental factors. Salinity explained the highest percentage of total variance (36%, while trophic variables (nutrients, phytoplanktonic chlorophyll-a, and total organic carbon and epiphyton biomass (19.2 and 4% of total variance explained, respectively were secondary. Three different epiphytic macroinvertebrate species assemblages could be defined. These assemblages were directly linked to conductivity conditions, which determined the rate of survival of certain taxa, and to the existence of a direct connection with the sea, which permitted the establishment of "brackish-water" species. In spite of the existence of these species assemblages, the species composition and biomass of epiphytic macroinvertebrates and epiphyton differed substantially between lagoons; both elements were subject to changes in the environment, which finally determined the site

  12. A ribosomal RNA gene intergenic spacer based PCR and DGGE fingerprinting method for the analysis of specific rhizobial communities in soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Oliveira, Valéria Maia; Manfio, Gilson Paulo; da Costa Coutinho, Heitor Luiz; Keijzer-Wolters, Anneke Christina; van Elsas, Jan Dirk

    2006-03-01

    A direct molecular method for assessing the diversity of specific populations of rhizobia in soil, based on nested PCR amplification of 16S-23S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) intergenic spacer (IGS) sequences, was developed. Initial generic amplification of bacterial rDNA IGS sequences from soil DNA was followed by specific amplification of (1) sequences affiliated with Rhizobium leguminosarum "sensu lato" and (2) R. tropici. Using analysis of the amplified sequences in clone libraries obtained on the basis of soil DNA, this two-sided method was shown to be very specific for rhizobial subpopulations in soil. It was then further validated as a direct fingerprinting tool of the target rhizobia based on denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The PCR-DGGE approach was applied to soils from fields in Brazil cultivated with common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) under conventional or no-tillage practices. The community fingerprints obtained allowed the direct analysis of the respective rhizobial community structures in soil samples from the two contrasting agricultural practices. Data obtained with both primer sets revealed clustering of the community structures of the target rhizobial types along treatment. Moreover, the DGGE profiles obtained with the R. tropici primer set indicated that the abundance and diversity of these organisms were favoured under NT practices. These results suggest that the R. leguminosarum-as well as R. tropici-targeted IGS-based nested PCR and DGGE are useful tools for monitoring the effect of agricultural practices on these and related rhizobial subpopulations in soils.

  13. Specific impacts of beech and Norway spruce on the structure and diversity of the rhizosphere and soil microbial communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uroz, S; Oger, P; Tisserand, E; Cébron, A; Turpault, M-P; Buée, M; De Boer, W; Leveau, J H J; Frey-Klett, P

    2016-06-15

    The impacts of plant species on the microbial communities and physico-chemical characteristics of soil are well documented for many herbs, grasses and legumes but much less so for tree species. Here, we investigate by rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing the diversity of microorganisms from the three domains of life (Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryota:Fungi) in soil samples taken from the forest experimental site of Breuil-Chenue (France). We discovered significant differences in the abundance, composition and structure of the microbial communities associated with two phylogenetically distant tree species of the same age, deciduous European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and coniferous Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst), planted in the same soil. Our results suggest a significant effect of tree species on soil microbiota though in different ways for each of the three microbial groups. Fungal and archaeal community structures and compositions are mainly determined according to tree species, whereas bacterial communities differ to a great degree between rhizosphere and bulk soils, regardless of the tree species. These results were confirmed by quantitative PCR, which revealed significant enrichment of specific bacterial genera, such as Burkholderia and Collimonas, known for their ability to weather minerals within the tree root vicinity.

  14. Microbial community development in a dynamic gut model is reproducible, colon region specific, and selective for Bacteroidetes and Clostridium cluster IX

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Abbeele, van den P.; Grootaert, C.; Marzorati, M.; Possemiers, S.; Verstraete, W.; Gérard, P.; Rabot, S.; Bruneau, A.; Aidy, El S.F.; Derrien, M.M.N.; Zoetendal, E.G.; Kleerebezem, M.; Smidt, H.; Wiele, van der T.

    2010-01-01

    Dynamic, multicompartment in vitro gastrointestinal simulators are often used to monitor gut microbial dynamics and activity. These reactors need to harbor a microbial community that is stable upon inoculation, colon region specific, and relevant to in vivo conditions. Together with the

  15. Faunal and stable isotopic analyses of benthic foraminifera from the Southeast Seep on Kimki Ridge offshore southern California, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGann, Mary; Conrad, James E.

    2018-01-01

    We investigated the benthic foraminiferal faunal and stable carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of a 15-cm push core (NA075-092b) obtained on a Telepresence-Enabled cruise to the Southeast Seep on Kimki Ridge offshore southern California. The seep core was taken at a depth of 973 m in the vicinity of a Beggiatoa bacterial mat and vesicomyid clams (Calyptogena) and compared to previously published data of living assemblages from ~ 714 m, four reference cores obtained at ~ 1030 m, and another one at 739 m. All of the reference sites are also from the Inner Continental Borderland but with no evidence of methane seepage.No endemic species were found at the seep site and most of the taxa recovered there have been reported previously from other seep or low oxygen environments. Q- and R-mode cluster analyses clearly illustrated differences in the faunal assemblages of the seep and non-seep sites. The living assemblage at Southeast Seep was characterized by abundant Takayanagia delicata, Cassidulina translucens, and Spiroplectammina biformis, whereas the non-seep San Pedro Basin reference assemblage was comprised primarily of Chilostomella oolina and Globobulimina pacifica. Density and species richness were lower at the seep site compared to the non-seep site, reflecting the harsher living conditions there. The dead assemblage at the seep site was dominated by Gyroidina turgida compared to Cassidulina translucens at the ~ 1030 m non-seep site and Cassidulina translucens, Pseudoparrella pacifica, and Takayanagia delicata at the 739 m non-seep site. Density was three times lower at Southeast Seep than at the non-seep sites of comparable water depth but species richness was ~ 30% higher. Stable carbon isotopic values were considerably depleted in the seep samples compared to the non-seep samples, with a progression from lightest to heaviest average δ13C values evident at the seep site reflecting microhabitat preference and vital effect: the

  16. Meta-scale mountain grassland observatories uncover commonalities as well as specific interactions among plant and non-rhizosphere soil bacterial communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yashiro, Erika; Pinto-Figueroa, Eric; Buri, Aline; Spangenberg, Jorge E; Adatte, Thierry; Niculita-Hirzel, Helene; Guisan, Antoine; van der Meer, Jan Roelof

    2018-04-10

    Interactions between plants and bacteria in the non-rhizosphere soil are rarely assessed, because they are less direct and easily masked by confounding environmental factors. By studying plant vegetation alliances and soil bacterial community co-patterning in grassland soils in 100 sites across a heterogeneous mountain landscape in the western Swiss Alps, we obtained sufficient statistical power to disentangle common co-occurrences and weaker specific interactions. Plant alliances and soil bacterial communities tended to be synchronized in community turnover across the landscape, largely driven by common underlying environmental factors, such as soil pH or elevation. Certain alliances occurring in distinct, local, environmental conditions were characterized by co-occurring specialist plant and bacterial species, such as the Nardus stricta and Thermogemmatisporaceae. In contrast, some generalist taxa, like Anthoxanthum odoratum and 19 Acidobacteria species, spanned across multiple vegetation alliances. Meta-scale analyses of soil bacterial community composition and vegetation surveys, complemented with local edaphic measurements, can thus prove useful to identify the various types of plant-bacteria interactions and the environments in which they occur.

  17. Evidence of Ash Tree (Fraxinus spp. Specific Associations with Soil Bacterial Community Structure and Functional Capacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael P. Ricketts

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The spread of the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB across North America has had enormous impacts on temperate forest ecosystems. The selective removal of ash trees (Fraxinus spp. has resulted in abnormally large inputs of coarse woody debris and altered forest tree community composition, ultimately affecting a variety of ecosystem processes. The goal of this study was to determine if the presence of ash trees influences soil bacterial communities and/or functions to better understand the impacts of EAB on forest successional dynamics and biogeochemical cycling. Using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of soil DNA collected from ash and non-ash plots in central Ohio during the early stages of EAB infestation, we found that bacterial communities in plots with ash differed from those without ash. These differences were largely driven by Acidobacteria, which had a greater relative abundance in non-ash plots. Functional genes required for sulfur cycling, phosphorus cycling, and carbohydrate metabolism (specifically those which breakdown complex sugars to glucose were estimated to be more abundant in non-ash plots, while nitrogen cycling gene abundance did not differ. This ash-soil microbiome association implies that EAB-induced ash decline may promote belowground successional shifts, altering carbon and nutrient cycling and changing soil properties beyond the effects of litter additions caused by ash mortality.

  18. Diversity, distribution and nature of faunal associations with deep-sea pennatulacean corals in the Northwest Atlantic.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandrine Baillon

    Full Text Available Anthoptilum grandiflorum and Halipteris finmarchica are two deep-sea corals (Octocorallia: Pennatulacea common on soft bottoms in the North Atlantic where they are believed to act as biogenic habitat. The former also has a worldwide distribution. To assist conservation efforts, this study examines spatial and temporal patterns in the abundance, diversity, and nature of their faunal associates. A total of 14 species were found on A. grandiflorum and 6 species on H. finmarchica during a multi-year and multi-site sampling campaign in eastern Canada. Among those, 7 and 5 species, respectively, were attached to the sea pens and categorized as close associates or symbionts. Rarefaction analyses suggest that the most common associates of both sea pens have been sampled. Biodiversity associated with each sea pen is analyzed according to season, depth and region using either close associates or the broader collection of species. Associated biodiversity generally increases from northern to southern locations and does not vary with depth (∼ 100-1400 m. Seasonal patterns in A. grandiflorum show higher biodiversity during spring/summer due to the transient presence of early life stages of fishes and shrimps whereas it peaks in fall for H. finmarchica. Two distinct endoparasitic species of highly modified copepods (families Lamippidae and Corallovexiidae commonly occur in the polyps of A. grandiflorum and H. finmarchica, and a commensal sea anemone frequently associates with H. finmarchica. Stable isotope analyses (δ(13C and δ(15N reveal potential trophic interactions between the parasites and their hosts. Overall, the diversity of obligate/permanent associates of sea pens is moderate; however the presence of mobile/transient associates highlights an ecological role that has yet to be fully elucidated and supports their key contribution to the enhancement of biodiversity in the Northwest Atlantic.

  19. Biogeographical patterns in the fauna associated with southern ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Macrofauna communities colonizing intertidal mussel beds were sampled at seven sites between Swakopmund (Namibia) and Salt Rock (KwaZulu-Natal). Mean mussel cover, length, biomass and bed depth were all low in the southeast (former Transkei). Faunal abundance and biomass were minimal along the south coast ...

  20. THE BIOLOGICAL VALUES AND CONSERVATION STATUS OF SACRED GROVES IN THE BALASORE WILDLIFE DIVISION, ODISHA: A CASE STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raj Kishore MOHANTA

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available On a global scale, the existing Sacred Groves (SGs are based on ancestral worship and focus on the conservation of forest patches. Sacred groves are distributed over a wide ecosystem and help in the conservation of rare and endemic species. Well preserved sites are store houses of biological, ecological, medicinal, ethno-cultural and religious values. We documented the state of 13 Sacred Groves in Balasore, Odisha during March 2011. For a detailed investigation, sample areas were set, for the assessment of floral and faunal diversity, ethno-cultural values and management status. A total of 58 floral species and 13 faunal species were recorded. In Balasore, Sacred Groves are small in size and can act as starting points for any long term conservation plan of biodiversity. The communities have kept their faith and traditions linked to these mini nuclei of rich biodiversity in the landscape. Therefore, any conservation program can begin from local communities, by taking them into consideration as trustworthy awareness building factors.

  1. Rapid change with depth in megabenthic structure-forming communities of the Makapu'u deep-sea coral bed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, Dustin J.; Baco, Amy R.

    2014-01-01

    Seamounts are largely unexplored undersea mountains rising abruptly from the ocean floor, which can support an increased abundance and diversity of organisms. Deep-sea corals are important benthic structure-formers on current-swept hard substrates in these habitats. While depth is emerging as a factor structuring the fauna of seamounts on a large spatial scale, most work addressing deep-sea coral and seamount community structure has not considered the role of small-scale variation in species distributions. Video from six ROV dives over a depth range of ~320-530 m were analyzed to assess the diversity and density of benthic megafaunal invertebrates across the Makapu'u deep-sea coral bed, offshore of Oahu, Hawaii. At the same time, the physical environment along the dive track was surveyed to relate biotic patterns with abiotic variables including depth, aspect, rugosity, substrate, slope and relief to test the factors structuring community assemblages. Despite the narrow range examined, depth was found to be the strongest structuring gradient, and six unique macrobenthic communities were found, with a 93% faunal dissimilarity over the depth surveyed. Relief, rugosity and slope were also factors in the final model. Alcyonacean octocorals were the dominant macrofaunal invertebrates at all but the deepest depth zone. The commercially harvested precious coral C. secundum was the dominant species at depths 370-470 m, with a distribution that is on average deeper than similar areas. This may be artificial due to the past harvesting of this species on the shallower portion of its range. Primnoid octocorals were the most abundant octocoral family overall. This work yields new insight on the spatial ecology of seamounts, pointing out that community changes can occur over narrow depth ranges and that communities can be structured by small-scale physiography.

  2. Geologic drivers of late ordovician faunal change in laurentia: investigating links between tectonics, speciation, and biotic invasions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David F Wright

    Full Text Available Geologic process, including tectonics and global climate change, profoundly impact the evolution of life because they have the propensity to facilitate episodes of biogeographic differentiation and influence patterns of speciation. We investigate causal links between a dramatic faunal turnover and two dominant geologic processes operating within Laurentia during the Late Ordovician: the Taconian Orogeny and GICE related global cooling. We utilize a novel approach for elucidating the relationship between biotic and geologic changes using a time-stratigraphic, species-level evolutionary framework for articulated brachiopods from North America. Phylogenetic biogeographic analyses indicate a fundamental shift in speciation mode-from a vicariance to dispersal dominated macroevolutionary regime-across the boundary between the Sandbian to Katian Stages. This boundary also corresponds to the onset of renewed intensification of tectonic activity and mountain building, the development of an upwelling zone that introduced cool, nutrient-rich waters into the epieric seas of eastern Laurentia, and the GICE isotopic excursion. The synchronicity of these dramatic geologic, oceanographic, and macroevolutionary changes supports the influence of geologic events on biological evolution. Together, the renewed tectonic activity and oceanographic changes facilitated fundamental changes in habitat structure in eastern North America that reduced opportunities for isolation and vicariance. They also facilitated regional biotic dispersal of taxa that led to the subsequent establishment of extrabasinal (=invasive species and may have led to a suppression of speciation within Laurentian faunas. Phylogenetic biogeographic analysis further indicates that the Richmondian Invasion was a multidirectional regional invasion event that involved taxa immigrating into the Cincinnati region from basins located near the continental margins and within the continental interior.

  3. The chronostratigraphic framework of the South-Pyrenean Maastrichtian succession reappraised: Implications for basin development and end-Cretaceous dinosaur faunal turnover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fondevilla, Víctor; Dinarès-Turell, Jaume; Oms, Oriol

    2016-05-01

    The evolution of the end-Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystems and faunas outside of North America is largely restricted to the European Archipelago. The information scattered in this last area can only be integrated in a chronostratigraphic framework on the basis of robust age constraints and stratigraphy. Therefore, we have revisited the puzzling age calibration of the sedimentary infilling from the Isona sector in the Tremp syncline (South-Central Pyrenees), an area renowned for its rich Maastrichtian dinosaur fossil record. Aiming to shed light to existing controversial age determinations, we carried out a new magnetostratigraphic study along the ~ 420 m long Orcau and Nerets sections of that area. Our results reveal that most of the succession correlates to the early Maastrichtian (mostly chron C31r) in accordance to ages proposed by recent planktonic foraminifera biostratigraphy. The resulting chronostratigraphic framework of the entire Maastrichtian basin recorded in the Tremp syncline shows that a significant sedimentary hiatus of about 3 My characterizes most of the late Maastrichtian in the study area. This hiatus, related to an abrupt migration of the basin depocenter, is temporally close to similar hiatuses, decreases in sedimentary rates and facies shifts recorded in other southwestern European areas. The present chronologic framework sets the basis for a thorough assessment of end-Cretaceous terrestrial faunal turnover and extinction patterns, and the establishment of a more rigorous Pyrenean basin evolution analysis.

  4. IT-based Psychosocial Distress Screening in Patients with Sarcoma and Parental Caregivers via Disease-specific Online Social Media Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pohlig, Florian; Lenze, Ulrich; Muhlhofer, Heinrich M L; Lenze, Florian W; Schauwecker, Johannes; Knebel, Carolin; Zimmermann, Tanja; Herschbach, Peter

    2017-01-01

    Psychosocial distress can be frequently observed in patients with sarcoma, depicting a relevant clinical problem. However, prospective data collection on psychosocial distress in patients with rare tumors is often time-consuming. In this context, social media such as Facebook can serve as a potential platform to expand research. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of psychosocial distress screening in patients with osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma via social media. For this study an online questionnaire including general information and self-assessment distress measurement tools for patients and parents was created. The link to the questionnaire was then posted on the main page of the two largest disease-specific Facebook communities on osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma. Within 2 months, 28 patients and 58 parents of patients were enrolled. All patients with osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma, as well as the majority of parental caregivers of such patients, showed relevant psychosocial distress levels. Crowdsourcing via disease-specific patient communities on Facebook is feasible and provides great potential for acquisition of medical data of rare diseases. Copyright© 2017, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.

  5. Methane Metabolizing Microbial Communities in the Cold Seep Areas in the Northern Continental Shelf of South China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, F.; Liang, Q.

    2016-12-01

    Marine sediment contains large amount of methane, estimated approximately 500-2500 gigatonnes of dissolved and hydrated methane carbon stored therein, mainly in continental margins. In localized specific areas named cold seeps, hydrocarbon (mainly methane) containing fluids rise to the seafloor, and support oases of ecosystem composed of various microorganisms and faunal assemblages. South China Sea (SCS) is surrounded by passive continental margins in the west and north and convergent margins in the south and east. Thick organic-rich sediments have accumulated in the SCS since the late Mesozoic, which are continuing sources to form gas hydrates in the sediments of SCS. Here, Microbial ecosystems, particularly those involved in methane transformations were investigated in the cold seep areas (Qiongdongnan, Shenhu, and Dongsha) in the northern continental shelf of SCS. Multiple interdisciplinary analytic tools such as stable isotope probing, geochemical analysis, and molecular ecology, were applied for a comprehensive understanding of the microbe mediated methane transformation in this project. A variety of sediments cores have been collected, the geochemical profiles and the associated microbial distribution along the sediment cores were recorded. The major microbial groups involved in the methane transformation in these sediment cores were revealed, known methane producing and oxidizing archaea including Methanosarcinales, anaerobic methane oxidizing groups ANME-1, ANME-2 and their niche preference in the SCS sediments were found. In-depth comparative analysis revealed the presence of SCS-specific archaeal subtypes which probably reflected the evolution and adaptation of these methane metabolizing microbes to the SCS environmental conditions. Our work represents the first comprehensive analysis of the methane metabolizing microbial communities in the cold seep areas along the northern continental shelf of South China Sea, would provide new insight into the

  6. The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Biodiversity Conservation in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper is based on part of a broad study to investigate indigenous knowledge applied by the Lesotho Highlands communities to conserve biodiversity. A questionnaire was administered in 12 villages, to a population of 139 interviewees. It guided interviews on conservation of selected faunal and floral species with ...

  7. Stratigraphy, age and environments of the late Miocene Mpesida Beds, Tugen Hills, Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kingston, John D; Fine Jacobs, Bonnie; Hill, Andrew; Deino, Alan

    2002-01-01

    Interpretations of faunal assemblages from the late Miocene Mpesida Beds in the Tugen Hills of the Central Kenyan Rift Valley have figured prominently in discussions of faunal turnover and establishment of the modern East African communities. These faunal changes have important implications for the divergence of the human lineage from the African apes ca. 8-5 Ma. While fossil material recovered from the Mpesida Beds has traditionally been analyzed collectively, accumulating evidence indicates that Mpesida facies span the 7-6 Ma interval and are scattered more than 25 km along the eastern flanks of the Tugen Hills. Stratigraphic distinctions between Mpesida facies and younger sediments in the sequence, such as the Lukeino Formation, are not yet fully resolved, further complicating temporal assessments and stratigraphic context of Mpesida facies. These issues are discussed with specific reference to exposures of Mpesida facies at Rurmoch, where large fossil tree fragments were swept up in an ancient ash flow. Preserved anatomical features of the fossil wood as well as estimated tree heights suggest a wet, lowland rainforest in this portion of the rift valley. Stable isotopic analyses of fossil enamel and paleosol components indicate the presence of more open habitats locally. Overlying air-fall tuffs and epiclastic debris, possibly associated with the ash flow, have yielded an assemblage of vertebrate fossils including two teeth belonging to one of the earliest colombines of typical body size known from Africa, after the rather small Microcolobus. Single-crystal, laser-fusion,(40)Ar/(39)Ar dates from a capping trachyte flow as well as tuffs just below the lava contact indicate an age of greater than 6.37 Ma for the fossil material. Copyright 2002 Academic Press.

  8. Linking social and spatial networks to viral community phylogenetics reveals subtype-specific transmission dynamics in African lions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fountain-Jones, Nicholas M; Packer, Craig; Troyer, Jennifer L; VanderWaal, Kimberly; Robinson, Stacie; Jacquot, Maude; Craft, Meggan E

    2017-10-01

    Heterogeneity within pathogen species can have important consequences for how pathogens transmit across landscapes; however, discerning different transmission routes is challenging. Here, we apply both phylodynamic and phylogenetic community ecology techniques to examine the consequences of pathogen heterogeneity on transmission by assessing subtype-specific transmission pathways in a social carnivore. We use comprehensive social and spatial network data to examine transmission pathways for three subtypes of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV Ple ) in African lions (Panthera leo) at multiple scales in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. We used FIV Ple molecular data to examine the role of social organization and lion density in shaping transmission pathways and tested to what extent vertical (i.e., father- and/or mother-offspring relationships) or horizontal (between unrelated individuals) transmission underpinned these patterns for each subtype. Using the same data, we constructed subtype-specific FIV Ple co-occurrence networks and assessed what combination of social networks, spatial networks or co-infection best structured the FIV Ple network. While social organization (i.e., pride) was an important component of FIV Ple transmission pathways at all scales, we find that FIV Ple subtypes exhibited different transmission pathways at within- and between-pride scales. A combination of social and spatial networks, coupled with consideration of subtype co-infection, was likely to be important for FIV Ple transmission for the two major subtypes, but the relative contribution of each factor was strongly subtype-specific. Our study provides evidence that pathogen heterogeneity is important in understanding pathogen transmission, which could have consequences for how endemic pathogens are managed. Furthermore, we demonstrate that community phylogenetic ecology coupled with phylodynamic techniques can reveal insights into the differential evolutionary pressures acting

  9. The Bacteriome of Bat Flies (Nycteribiidae) from the Malagasy Region: a Community Shaped by Host Ecology, Bacterial Transmission Mode, and Host-Vector Specificity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkinson, David A; Duron, Olivier; Cordonin, Colette; Gomard, Yann; Ramasindrazana, Beza; Mavingui, Patrick; Goodman, Steven M; Tortosa, Pablo

    2016-01-08

    The Nycteribiidae are obligate blood-sucking Diptera (Hippoboscoidea) flies that parasitize bats. Depending on species, these wingless flies exhibit either high specialism or generalism toward their hosts, which may in turn have important consequences in terms of their associated microbial community structure. Bats have been hypothesized to be reservoirs of numerous infectious agents, some of which have recently emerged in human populations. Thus, bat flies may be important in the epidemiology and transmission of some of these bat-borne infectious diseases, acting either directly as arthropod vectors or indirectly by shaping pathogen communities among bat populations. In addition, bat flies commonly have associations with heritable bacterial endosymbionts that inhabit insect cells and depend on maternal transmission through egg cytoplasm to ensure their transmission. Some of these heritable bacteria are likely obligate mutualists required to support bat fly development, but others are facultative symbionts with unknown effects. Here, we present bacterial community profiles that were obtained from seven bat fly species, representing five genera, parasitizing bats from the Malagasy region. The observed bacterial diversity includes Rickettsia, Wolbachia, and several Arsenophonus-like organisms, as well as other members of the Enterobacteriales and a widespread association of Bartonella bacteria from bat flies of all five genera. Using the well-described host specificity of these flies and data on community structure from selected bacterial taxa with either vertical or horizontal transmission, we show that host/vector specificity and transmission mode are important drivers of bacterial community structure. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  10. Psychometric Properties of Persian Translated Version of Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC in Arak Community-dwelling Older Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daryoush Khajavi

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background: Balance deficiency, falls and fear of fall are important problems that can resulted in reversed health outcomes including decreased quality of life. The purpose of this study was surveying factor structure, validation, and reliability determination of Persian translated version of Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale in community-dwelling older adults of Arak city. Materials and Methods: Research method was descriptive in form of psychometry. The statistic population was older adults of Arak in year 2012 and 308 subjects with mean age 69.38 years were selected availably. Data were collected by Persian translated version of Activities-specific Balance Confidence that is a 16-item scale and evaluates balance confidence in activities of daily living. Data were analyzed by Exploratory Factor Analysis. Test-retest and internal reliability were calculated by Pearson correlation coefficient and Chronbach’s Alpha. Data were analyzed with SPSS-16. Results: The findings resulted in extraction of one factor with eigenvalue over one that explained 82.89% of total variance. Test-retest reliability between 1 to 4 weeks and internal reliability (Chronbach’s alpha were 0.82 and 0.98, respectively. Gutmann split-half correlation coefficient and intra-class correlation coefficient were calculated 95% and 85%, respectively. Conclusion: Persian translated version of Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC-F is a valid and reliable tool for Iranian community-dwelling older adults that can be used in clinical and research purpose.

  11. A controlled community-based trial to promote smoke-free policy in rural communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hahn, Ellen J; Rayens, Mary Kay; Adkins, Sarah; Begley, Kathy; York, Nancy

    2015-01-01

    Rural, tobacco-growing areas are disproportionately affected by tobacco use, secondhand smoke, and weak tobacco control policies. The purpose was to test the effects of a stage-specific, tailored policy-focused intervention on readiness for smoke-free policy, and policy outcomes in rural underserved communities. A controlled community-based trial including 37 rural counties. Data were collected annually with community advocates (n = 330) and elected officials (n = 158) in 19 intervention counties and 18 comparison counties over 5 years (average response rate = 68%). Intervention communities received policy development strategies from community advisors tailored to their stage of readiness and designed to build capacity, build demand, and translate and disseminate science. Policy outcomes were tracked over 5 years. Communities receiving the stage-specific, tailored intervention had higher overall community readiness scores and better policy outcomes than the comparison counties, controlling for county-level smoking rate, population size, and education. Nearly one-third of the intervention counties adopted smoke-free laws covering restaurants, bars, and all workplaces compared to none of the comparison counties. The stage-specific, tailored policy-focused intervention acted as a value-added resource to local smoke-free campaigns by promoting readiness for policy, as well as actual policy change in rural communities. Although actual policy change and percent covered by the policies were modest, these areas need additional resources and efforts to build capacity, build demand, and translate and disseminate science in order to accelerate smoke-free policy change and reduce the enormous toll from tobacco in these high-risk communities. © 2014 National Rural Health Association.

  12. Application of a stratum-specific likelihood ratio analysis in a screen for depression among a community-dwelling population in Japan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sugawara N

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Norio Sugawara,1,2 Ayako Kaneda,2 Ippei Takahashi,3 Shigeyuki Nakaji,3 Norio Yasui-Furukori2 1Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Translational Medical Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, 2Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, 3Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan Background: Efficient screening for depression is important in community mental health. In this study, we applied a stratum-specific likelihood ratio (SSLR analysis, which is independent of the prevalence of the target disease, to screen for depression among community-dwelling individuals.Method: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI were administered to 789 individuals (19–87 years of age who participated in the Iwaki Health Promotion Project 2011. Major depressive disorder (MDD was assessed using the MINI.Results: For MDD, the SSLRs were 0.13 (95% CI 0.04–0.40, 3.68 (95% CI 1.37–9.89, and 24.77 (95% CI 14.97–40.98 for CES–D scores of 0–16, 17–20, and above 21, respectively.Conclusion: The validity of the CES-D is confirmed, and SSLR analysis is recommended for its practical value for the detection of individuals with the risk of MDD in the Japanese community. Keywords: screening, depression, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, stratum-specific likelihood ratio

  13. Benthic Macrofaunal Communities at Newly Explored Caribbean Seamounts in the Greater/Lesser Antilles Transition Zone and a Comparison to Nearby Habitats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demopoulos, A. W.; Bourque, J. R.; Cordes, E. E.; Chaytor, J. D.; Quattrini, A.

    2016-02-01

    Seamounts are topographically and oceanographically complex features with environmental characteristics, including substrate types, carbon flux, and current patterns, that vary greatly within and among seamounts. While seamounts are reputed to be oases and biodiversity hotspots, comparisons across multiple spatial scales of a seamount chain have yet to be explored. Along the margins of the Caribbean Sea basin, numerous seamounts punctuate the seafloor. In 2013 and 2014, we investigated the deep-sea benthic community ecology at Noroît, Dog, and Conrad Seamounts and nearby ridge, bank, and rift environments at depths ranging from 630 to 2930 m. Sediment push cores were collected to quantify macrofaunal (> 300 μm) density, diversity, community composition, grain size, and organic content. In addition, environmental data collected from CTDs and extracted from high resolution multibeam mapping efforts (e.g. slope, rugosity, roughness, slope orientation), allowed us to evaluate the role of microhabitats in structuring these communities. Preliminary results indicate that macrofaunal density across all sites decreased with depth in both seamount and non-seamount sediments, with the highest densities occurring in non-seamount environments. However, macrofaunal density patterns varied on individual seamounts. Macrofaunal densities on shallow seamounts (Conrad and Dog) increased with depth, whereas densities decreased with depth on the deeper Noroît seamount. The relationship between environmental parameters and macrofaunal community structure and biodiversity varied among seamounts and non-seamount environments. This study represents the first investigation of seamount infauna in the region and places this baseline information on seamount faunal biodiversity, spatial distribution of taxa, and overall ecology into a broader biogeographic context.

  14. Pemaknaan Filsafati Kearifan Lokal untuk Adaptasi Masyarakat terhadap Ancaman Bencana Marin dan Fluvial di Lingkungan Kepesisiran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S Sunarto

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to study the philosophical meaning of local wisdom that developed in the communities in the coastal environment, particularly in the eastern coast of Central Java. The method used for this philosophical meaning using the approach of geomorphological hermeneutics and disaster semiotics. The results of this research indicate that identified local wisdom in the form of cultural semiotics and faunal semiotics to anticipate the hazards of climate change as marine hazard and fluvial hazard. Cultural semiotics found in the form of advice that still need to be interpreted with a geomorphological hermeneutics approach order to use it to adapt to the coastal environment against marine hazard. The cultural semiotics has a geomorphological philosophical meaning as natural cycle that leads to dynamic equilibrium, not the philosophical meaning that leads to the view of anthropocentrism. In addition, also found cultural semiotics of “Dina Rèntèng” based on the philosophical views of ecocentrism. The cultural semiotics is used in society to adapt to the fluvial hazard. Faunal semiotics found in the form of anomalous crab behavior as a form of adaptation due to its response to environmental condition. The faunal semiotics has been used as a guide for the community to adapt to the fluvial hazard. Because of the local wisdom is loaded with philosophical meaning, it can be metatourism assets, so it can convert harm into benefit.

  15. The role of formal specifications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McHugh, J.

    1994-01-01

    The role of formal requirements specification is discussed under the premise that the primary purpose of such specifications is to facilitate clear and unambiguous communications among the communities of interest for a given project. An example is presented in which the failure to reach such an understanding resulted in an accident at a chemical plant. Following the example, specification languages based on logical formalisms and notations are considered. These are rejected as failing to serve the communications needs of diverse communities. The notion of a specification as a surrogate for a program is also considered and rejected. The paper ends with a discussion of the type of formal notation that will serve the communications role and several encouraging developments are noted

  16. BIOLOGICAL WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE WHITECLAWED CRAYFISH HABITAT BASED ON MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES: USEFULNESS FOR ITS CONSERVATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GRANDJEAN F.

    2003-04-01

    Full Text Available A survey of the macroinvertebrates of three brooks harbouring the white-clawed crayfish was conducted in Haute-Vienne department (France. Its aim was to increase our understanding of these ecosystems to help the conservation of A. pallipes. These brooks run through pastoral areas with well-developed riparian vegetation, which offers an important shade. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, pH, and conductivity fell within the ranges found for this species. A total of 34, 31, 29 taxa and 1 502, 1 364, 2 707 individuals of macrobenthos were collected in Holme, Besque and Bellecombe streams, respectively. Results showed good to very good water quality with IBGN scores ranging from 15 (Bellecombe to 17 (Holme and Besque, reflecting a limited impact of the anthropogenic disturbances. Taxa diversity were high for Holme and Besque with Shannon index around 3.2, translating a great heterogeneity of habitat and an equilibrated faunal community. Bellecombe showed a limited diversity with Shannon index of 1.42, resulting from the presence of numberous Chironomidae. This brook suffers probably weak organic pollution which could be related to the low water flow observed during the sampling. The similarity test according to Jaccard index showed high percentage of common taxa among ETP (Ephemeroptera-Trichoptera-Plecoptera between all sites. The high similarity of benthic macroinvertebrate communities could be an useful criteria to identify brooks for restocking purpose.

  17. Flow regime in a restored wetland determines trophic links and species composition in the aquatic macroinvertebrate community

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    González-Ortegón, E.; Walton, M.E.M.; Moghaddam, B.; Vilas, C.; Prieto, A.; Kennedy, H.A.; Pedro Cañavate, J.; Le Vay, L.

    2015-01-01

    community. • Trophic niche of P.varians seems not to be shrunk by the presence of P.macrodactylus. • The shrimp P. varians has a key role in the stability of the aquatic faunal community

  18. Symbiotic specificity, association patterns, and function determine community responses to global changes: defining critical research areas for coral-Symbiodinium symbioses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabina, Nicholas S; Putnam, Hollie M; Franklin, Erik C; Stat, Michael; Gates, Ruth D

    2013-11-01

    Climate change-driven stressors threaten the persistence of coral reefs worldwide. Symbiotic relationships between scleractinian corals and photosynthetic endosymbionts (genus Symbiodinium) are the foundation of reef ecosystems, and these associations are differentially impacted by stress. Here, we couple empirical data from the coral reefs of Moorea, French Polynesia, and a network theoretic modeling approach to evaluate how patterns in coral-Symbiodinium associations influence community stability under climate change. To introduce the effect of climate perturbations, we simulate local 'extinctions' that represent either the loss of coral species or the ability to engage in symbiotic interactions. Community stability is measured by determining the duration and number of species that persist through the simulated extinctions. Our results suggest that four factors greatly increase coral-Symbiodinium community stability in response to global changes: (i) the survival of generalist hosts and symbionts maximizes potential symbiotic unions; (ii) elevated symbiont diversity provides redundant or complementary symbiotic functions; (iii) compatible symbiotic assemblages create the potential for local recolonization; and (iv) the persistence of certain traits associate with symbiotic diversity and redundancy. Symbiodinium may facilitate coral persistence through novel environmental regimes, but this capacity is mediated by symbiotic specificity, association patterns, and the functional performance of the symbionts. Our model-based approach identifies general trends and testable hypotheses in coral-Symbiodinium community responses. Future studies should consider similar methods when community size and/or environmental complexity preclude experimental approaches. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Community College Student Alcohol Use: Developing Context-Specific Evidence and Prevention Approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, Andrew F.; BaileyShea, Chelsea; McIntosh, Scott

    2012-01-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of heavy alcohol use, related harm, and implications for prevention among community college students. We used data from 7,965 students at 19 community colleges who responded to the Core Alcohol and Other Drug Survey. This secondary analysis of the survey data found heavy consumption among…

  20. Effects of global warming on ancient mammalian communities and their environments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Larisa R G DeSantis

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Current global warming affects the composition and dynamics of mammalian communities and can increase extinction risk; however, long-term effects of warming on mammals are less understood. Dietary reconstructions inferred from stable isotopes of fossil herbivorous mammalian tooth enamel document environmental and climatic changes in ancient ecosystems, including C(3/C(4 transitions and relative seasonality.Here, we use stable carbon and oxygen isotopes preserved in fossil teeth to document the magnitude of mammalian dietary shifts and ancient floral change during geologically documented glacial and interglacial periods during the Pliocene (approximately 1.9 million years ago and Pleistocene (approximately 1.3 million years ago in Florida. Stable isotope data demonstrate increased aridity, increased C(4 grass consumption, inter-faunal dietary partitioning, increased isotopic niche breadth of mixed feeders, niche partitioning of phylogenetically similar taxa, and differences in relative seasonality with warming.Our data show that global warming resulted in dramatic vegetation and dietary changes even at lower latitudes (approximately 28 degrees N. Our results also question the use of models that predict the long term decline and extinction of species based on the assumption that niches are conserved over time. These findings have immediate relevance to clarifying possible biotic responses to current global warming in modern ecosystems.

  1. Earthworms, arthropods and plant litter decomposition in aspen (Populus tremuloides) and lodgepole pine(Pinus contorta) forests in Colorado, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grizelle Gonzalez; Timothy R. Seastedt; Zugeily Donato

    2003-01-01

    We compared the abundance and community composition of earthworms, soil macroarthropods, and litter microarthropods to test faunal effects on plant litter decomposition rates in two forests in the subalpine in Colorado, USA. Litterbags containing recently senesced litter of Populus tremuloides (aspen) and Pinus contorta (lodgepole pine) were placed in aspen and pine...

  2. Plant community resistance to invasion by Bromus species: The roles of community attributes, Bromus interactions with plant communities, and Bromus traits [Chapter 10

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeanne C. Chambers; Matthew J. Germino; Jayne Belnap; Cynthia S. Brown; Eugene W. Schupp; Samuel B. St. Clair

    2016-01-01

    The factors that determine plant community resistance to exotic annual Bromus species (Bromus hereafter) are diverse and context specific. They are influenced by the environmental characteristics and attributes of the community, the traits of Bromus species, and the direct and indirect interactions of Bromus with the plant community. Environmental factors, in...

  3. The specific role of fungal community structure on soil aggregation and carbon sequestration: results from long-term field study in a paddy soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murugan, Rajasekaran; Kumar, Sanjay

    2015-04-01

    Soil aggregate stability is a crucial soil property that affects soil biota, biogeochemical processes and C sequestration. The relationship between soil aggregate stability and soil C cycling is well known but the influence of specific fungal community structure on this relationship is largely unknown in paddy soils. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term fertilisation (mineral fertiliser-MIN; farmyard manure-FYM; groundnut oil cake-GOC) effects on soil fungal community shifts associated with soil aggregates under rice-monoculture (RRR) and rice-legume-rice (RLR) systems. Fungal and bacterial communities were characterized using phospholipid fatty acids, and glucosamine and muramic acid were used as biomarkers for fungal and bacterial residues, respectively. Microbial biomass C and N, fungal biomass and residues were significantly higher in the organic fertiliser treatments than in the MIN treatment, for all aggregate sizes under both crop rotation systems. In general, fungal/bacterial biomass ratio and fungal residue C/bacterial residue C ratio were significantly higher in macroaggregate fractions (> 2000 and 250-2000 μm) than in microaggregate fractions (53-250 and crop rotation systems, the long-term application of FYM and GOC led to increased accumulation of saprotrophic fungi (SF) in aggregate fractions > 2000 μm. In contrast, we found that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was surprisingly higher in aggregate fractions > 2000 μm than in aggregate fraction 250-2000 μm under MIN treatment. The RLR system showed significantly higher AMF biomass and fungal residue C/ bacterial residue C ratio in both macroaggregate fractions compared to the RRR system. The strong relationships between SF, AMF and water stable aggregates shows the specific contribution of fungi community on soil aggregate stability. Our results highlight the fact that changes within fungal community structure play an important role in shaping the soil aggregate stability

  4. Macrofaunal community structure in Bahía Concepción (Chile) before and after the 8.8 Mw Maule mega-earthquake and tsunami.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cárcamo, Paula J; Hernández-Miranda, Eduardo; Veas, Rodrigo; Quiñones, Renato A

    2017-09-01

    Faunal assemblages of subtidal sedimentary environments are key components of coastal ecosystems. Benthic communities inhabiting the coastal zone near urban centers in Concepción Bay (Chile) have been described as highly disturbed (i.e. impoverished in diversity and species richness). This is due to the frequent presence of hypoxic conditions at the bottom due to the intrusion of low oxygen Equatorial Subsurface Water, high natural productivity and the high load of organic matter generated by several anthropogenic activities. A mega-earthquake (8.8 Mw) and subsequent tsunami occurred on the coast of south-central Chile on February 27, 2010 (27F), heavily impacting Concepción Bay, which is located 30 km south of the epicenter. The objectives of the present study are: (i) to evaluate the effect produced by the mega-earthquake and tsunami on the benthic community, and (ii) to assess dissimilarity in macrofauna composition and abundance in Concepción Bay at an inter-decadal time scale based on a comparison between our sampling conducted between 2010 and 2013 and information published since 1969. Our results show that the benthic macrofauna of Concepción Bay was disturbed by the 27F (i.e. high community dissimilarity in 2010). Changes in community structure were observed at an inter-annual scale (i.e. diminished community dissimilarity in 2013), suggesting a recovery post-27F. At an inter-decadal scale, community structure post-27F was dissimilar to the structure described for the 1980's and 1990's but more similar to that reported for 1969. The reducing conditions of the sediments due to the high input of organic matter that took place in the 1980's and 1990's may explain this dissimilarity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Health-Specific Information and Communication Technology Use and Its Relationship to Obesity in High-Poverty, Urban Communities: Analysis of a Population-Based Biosocial Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gopalan, Anjali; Makelarski, Jennifer A; Garibay, Lori B; Escamilla, Veronica; Merchant, Raina M; Wolfe, Marcus B; Holbrook, Rebecca; Lindau, Stacy Tessler

    2016-06-28

    More than 35% of American adults are obese. For African American and Hispanic adults, as well as individuals residing in poorer or more racially segregated urban neighborhoods, the likelihood of obesity is even higher. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) may substitute for or complement community-based resources for weight management. However, little is currently known about health-specific ICT use among urban-dwelling people with obesity. We describe health-specific ICT use and its relationship to measured obesity among adults in high-poverty urban communities. Using data collected between November 2012 and July 2013 from a population-based probability sample of urban-dwelling African American and Hispanic adults residing on the South Side of Chicago, we described patterns of ICT use in relation to measured obesity defined by a body mass index (BMI) of ≥30 kg/m(2). Among those with BMI≥30 kg/m(2), we also assessed the association between health-specific ICT use and diagnosed versus undiagnosed obesity as well as differences in health-specific ICT use by self-reported comorbidities, including diabetes and hypertension. The survey response rate was 44.6% (267 completed surveys/598.4 eligible or likely eligible individuals); 53.2% were African American and 34.6% were Hispanic. More than 35% of the population reported an annual income of less than US $25,000. The population prevalence of measured obesity was 50.2%. People with measured obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m(2)) were more likely to report both general (81.5% vs 67.0%, P=.04) and health-specific (61.1% vs 41.2%, P=.01) ICT use. In contrast, among those with measured obesity, being told of this diagnosis by a physician was not associated with increased health-specific ICT use. People with measured obesity alone had higher rates of health-specific use than those with comorbid hypertension and/or diabetes diagnoses (77.1% vs 60.7% vs 47.4%, P=.04). In conclusion, ICT-based health resources may be

  6. Health-Specific Information and Communication Technology Use and Its Relationship to Obesity in High-Poverty, Urban Communities: Analysis of a Population-Based Biosocial Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makelarski, Jennifer A; Garibay, Lori B; Escamilla, Veronica; Merchant, Raina M; Wolfe Sr, Marcus B; Holbrook, Rebecca; Lindau, Stacy Tessler

    2016-01-01

    Background More than 35% of American adults are obese. For African American and Hispanic adults, as well as individuals residing in poorer or more racially segregated urban neighborhoods, the likelihood of obesity is even higher. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) may substitute for or complement community-based resources for weight management. However, little is currently known about health-specific ICT use among urban-dwelling people with obesity. Objective We describe health-specific ICT use and its relationship to measured obesity among adults in high-poverty urban communities. Methods Using data collected between November 2012 and July 2013 from a population-based probability sample of urban-dwelling African American and Hispanic adults residing on the South Side of Chicago, we described patterns of ICT use in relation to measured obesity defined by a body mass index (BMI) of ≥30 kg/m2. Among those with BMI≥30 kg/m2, we also assessed the association between health-specific ICT use and diagnosed versus undiagnosed obesity as well as differences in health-specific ICT use by self-reported comorbidities, including diabetes and hypertension. Results The survey response rate was 44.6% (267 completed surveys/598.4 eligible or likely eligible individuals); 53.2% were African American and 34.6% were Hispanic. More than 35% of the population reported an annual income of less than US $25,000. The population prevalence of measured obesity was 50.2%. People with measured obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m2) were more likely to report both general (81.5% vs 67.0%, P=.04) and health-specific (61.1% vs 41.2%, P=.01) ICT use. In contrast, among those with measured obesity, being told of this diagnosis by a physician was not associated with increased health-specific ICT use. People with measured obesity alone had higher rates of health-specific use than those with comorbid hypertension and/or diabetes diagnoses (77.1% vs 60.7% vs 47.4%, P=.04). Conclusions In conclusion

  7. Responses of Terrestrial Herpetofauna to Persistent, Novel Ecosystems Resulting from Mountaintop Removal Mining

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennifer M. Williams; Donald J. Brown; Petra B. Wood

    2017-01-01

    Mountaintop removal mining is a large-scale surface mining technique that removes entire floral and faunal communities, along with soil horizons located above coal seams. In West Virginia, the majority of this mining occurs on forested mountaintops. However, after mining ceases the land is typically reclaimed to grasslands and shrublands, resulting in novel ecosystems...

  8. Initial response of small ground-dwelling mammals to forest alternative buffers along headwater streams in the Washington Coast Range, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randall J. Wilk; Martin G. Raphael; Christopher S. Nations; Jeffrey D. Ricklefs

    2010-01-01

    We assessed the short-term effects of alternative designs of forested buffer treatments along headwater streams on small ground-dwelling mammals in managed forests in western Washington, USA. Over three summers (one pretreatment and two posttreatment), we trapped 19 mammalian species along 23 streams in the northern Coast Range. We compared faunal communities in...

  9. Technical specifications for monitoring Community trends in zoonotic agents in foodstuffs and animal populations on request from EFSA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borck Høg, Birgitte; Chriél, Mariann; Korsgaard, Helle

    of criteria for the selection of the zoonotic agent/animal or food category combinations where trend analyses would be justified. Based on data available from 2004 to 2007, the following combinations are suggested for trend analyses: Salmonella in fresh broiler and pig meat, flocks of laying hens and broilers......Technical specifications are proposed for the monitoring of temporal trends in zoonotic agents in animal and food populations at Community or Member State group level in the framework of Directive 2003/99/EC. Two types of trend monitoring are identified: trend watching, which covers general...

  10. Bone-eating Osedax worms (Annelida: Siboglinidae) regulate biodiversity of deep-sea whale-fall communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alfaro-Lucas, Joan M.; Shimabukuro, Maurício; Ferreira, Giulia D.; Kitazato, Hiroshi; Fujiwara, Yoshihiro; Sumida, Paulo Y. G.

    2017-12-01

    Although it is well recognized the capital role of "bone-eating" Osedax worms in the degradation of vertebrate skeletons in the deep sea, very little is known about their effects on bone faunal assemblages. Here we aim to shed light on the bone colonization process and determine 1) whether Osedax degradation induces different bone epi/infaunal assemblages and 2) how biodiversity is affected by Osedax colonization. We describe and compare the epi/infaunal assemblage structures of caudal vertebrae colonized and not colonized by Osedax of an abyssal juvenile whale carcass serendipitously found at 4204 m depth in the SW Atlantic Ocean by HOV Shinkai 6500. Our results show that whale skeletons are very heterogeneous habitats that harbor specific and very rich assemblages and that contrasting epi/infaunal community patterns are found depending on the presence of Osedax. Vertebrae not colonized by Osedax were both well preserved and in a highly sulfophilic stage with chemosynthetic bacterial mats and numerous epifaunal organisms that fed on them. On the contrary, vertebrae colonized by Osedax were heavily degraded and did not exhibit evidence of a sulfophilic stage, harboring a distinct epifaunal assemblage. In general, bone infaunal assemblages were dominated by nematodes, especially in vertebrae without Osedax (ca. 77%) where organisms were only found in bone outer layers, showing a colonization pattern similar to that described for bacteria. Infauna in Osedax-colonized bones were present throughout the inner-matrices and were on average three times more abundant (ca. 1800 ind. 100 cm-3) and twice as rich in number of species (16 species). Here, bones had a relatively higher proportion of the polychaete Capitella iatapiuna (ca. 39%) in comparison with nematodes (ca. 52%). Besides, a higher number of rare species were present in bones with Osedax. We suggest that Osedax degradation increases water diffusion through matrices probably modifying reduced-compound fluxes and

  11. Spatio-temporal biodiversity of soft bottom macrofaunal assemblages in shallow coastal waters exposed to episodic hypoxic events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veas, Rodrigo; Hernández-Miranda, Eduardo; Quiñones, Renato A; Carrasco, Franklin D

    2012-07-01

    The Humboldt Current System (HCS) has one of the three most important oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) of the global ocean. Several studies have looked at the macrofaunal benthic assemblages inhabiting the continental shelf and shallow bays off central-southern Chile associated with low oxygen areas, but little is known about open coast macrofaunal communities within this zone, which are frequently subjected to the low oxygen conditions of Equatorial Subsurface Waters (ESSW). In order to assess local and mesoscale coastal macrofauna dynamics, the sampling area (ca. 40 linear km) was divided into seven local zones (Cobquecura, southern Cobquecura, northern Itata, Itata River mouth, external, southern Itata, and Coliumo). Eight oceanographic cruises were carried out between May 2006 and February 2008 covering 16 coastal sampling sites, between 36°07'S and 36°30'S. The macrofaunal assemblage was dominated by polychaetes, crustaceans, and mollusks. Our results suggest a high degree of temporal faunal stability on the mesoscale in soft bottom communities along the open coast, given the persistence of a faunal assemblage dominated by organisms tolerant of low oxygen conditions. While there is some local variability in community attributes, the main structuring factor for soft bottom communities in the shallow coastal area off central-southern Chile is the seasonal intrusion of low oxygen ESSW. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. EMI New User Communities

    CERN Document Server

    Riedel, M

    2013-01-01

    This document provides pieces of information about new user communities that directly or indirectly take advantage of EMI Products. Each user community is described via one specific EMI product use case to understand and communicate the current usage of EMI Products in practice.

  13. Microbial community development in a dynamic gut model is reproducible, colon region specific, and selective for Bacteroidetes and Clostridium cluster IX.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van den Abbeele, Pieter; Grootaert, Charlotte; Marzorati, Massimo; Possemiers, Sam; Verstraete, Willy; Gérard, Philippe; Rabot, Sylvie; Bruneau, Aurélia; El Aidy, Sahar; Derrien, Muriel; Zoetendal, Erwin; Kleerebezem, Michiel; Smidt, Hauke; Van de Wiele, Tom

    2010-08-01

    Dynamic, multicompartment in vitro gastrointestinal simulators are often used to monitor gut microbial dynamics and activity. These reactors need to harbor a microbial community that is stable upon inoculation, colon region specific, and relevant to in vivo conditions. Together with the reproducibility of the colonization process, these criteria are often overlooked when the modulatory properties from different treatments are compared. We therefore investigated the microbial colonization process in two identical simulators of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem (SHIME), simultaneously inoculated with the same human fecal microbiota with a high-resolution phylogenetic microarray: the human intestinal tract chip (HITChip). Following inoculation of the in vitro colon compartments, microbial community composition reached steady state after 2 weeks, whereas 3 weeks were required to reach functional stability. This dynamic colonization process was reproducible in both SHIME units and resulted in highly diverse microbial communities which were colon region specific, with the proximal regions harboring saccharolytic microbes (e.g., Bacteroides spp. and Eubacterium spp.) and the distal regions harboring mucin-degrading microbes (e.g., Akkermansia spp.). Importantly, the shift from an in vivo to an in vitro environment resulted in an increased Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio, whereas Clostridium cluster IX (propionate producers) was enriched compared to clusters IV and XIVa (butyrate producers). This was supported by proportionally higher in vitro propionate concentrations. In conclusion, high-resolution analysis of in vitro-cultured gut microbiota offers new insight on the microbial colonization process and indicates the importance of digestive parameters that may be crucial in the development of new in vitro models.

  14. Intervention for children exposed to interparental violence : A randomized controlled trial of effectiveness of specific factors, moderators and mediators in community-based intervention

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Overbeek, M.M.

    2014-01-01

    The main aim of this thesis was to evaluate the added benefit of applying specific factors in community-based intervention for child witnesses of interparental violence (IPV) and their parents, by means of a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The results of this RCT showed no additional benefits of

  15. Forest resources and conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    William H. McWilliams; Linda S. Heath; Gordon C. Reese; Thomas L. Schmidt

    2000-01-01

    The forests of the northern United States support a rich mix of floral and faunal communities that provide inestimable benefits to society. Today's forests face a range of biotic and abiotic stressors, not the least of which may be environmental change. This chapter reviews the compositional traits of presettlement forests and traces the major land use patterns...

  16. High-Specificity Targeted Functional Profiling in Microbial Communities with ShortBRED.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Kaminski

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Profiling microbial community function from metagenomic sequencing data remains a computationally challenging problem. Mapping millions of DNA reads from such samples to reference protein databases requires long run-times, and short read lengths can result in spurious hits to unrelated proteins (loss of specificity. We developed ShortBRED (Short, Better Representative Extract Dataset to address these challenges, facilitating fast, accurate functional profiling of metagenomic samples. ShortBRED consists of two components: (i a method that reduces reference proteins of interest to short, highly representative amino acid sequences ("markers" and (ii a search step that maps reads to these markers to quantify the relative abundance of their associated proteins. After evaluating ShortBRED on synthetic data, we applied it to profile antibiotic resistance protein families in the gut microbiomes of individuals from the United States, China, Malawi, and Venezuela. Our results support antibiotic resistance as a core function in the human gut microbiome, with tetracycline-resistant ribosomal protection proteins and Class A beta-lactamases being the most widely distributed resistance mechanisms worldwide. ShortBRED markers are applicable to other homology-based search tasks, which we demonstrate here by identifying phylogenetic signatures of antibiotic resistance across more than 3,000 microbial isolate genomes. ShortBRED can be applied to profile a wide variety of protein families of interest; the software, source code, and documentation are available for download at http://huttenhower.sph.harvard.edu/shortbred.

  17. Trait-specific responses of wild bee communities to landscape composition, configuration and local factors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Hopfenmüller

    Full Text Available Land-use intensification and loss of semi-natural habitats have induced a severe decline of bee diversity in agricultural landscapes. Semi-natural habitats like calcareous grasslands are among the most important bee habitats in central Europe, but they are threatened by decreasing habitat area and quality, and by homogenization of the surrounding landscape affecting both landscape composition and configuration. In this study we tested the importance of habitat area, quality and connectivity as well as landscape composition and configuration on wild bees in calcareous grasslands. We made detailed trait-specific analyses as bees with different traits might differ in their response to the tested factors. Species richness and abundance of wild bees were surveyed on 23 calcareous grassland patches in Southern Germany with independent gradients in local and landscape factors. Total wild bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration, large habitat area and high habitat quality (i.e. steep slopes. Cuckoo bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration and large habitat area whereas habitat specialists were only affected by the local factors habitat area and habitat quality. Small social generalists were positively influenced by habitat area whereas large social generalists (bumblebees were positively affected by landscape composition (high percentage of semi-natural habitats. Our results emphasize a strong dependence of habitat specialists on local habitat characteristics, whereas cuckoo bees and bumblebees are more likely affected by the surrounding landscape. We conclude that a combination of large high-quality patches and heterogeneous landscapes maintains high bee species richness and communities with diverse trait composition. Such diverse communities might stabilize pollination services provided to crops and wild plants on local and landscape scales.

  18. Trait-specific responses of wild bee communities to landscape composition, configuration and local factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopfenmüller, Sebastian; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Holzschuh, Andrea

    2014-01-01

    Land-use intensification and loss of semi-natural habitats have induced a severe decline of bee diversity in agricultural landscapes. Semi-natural habitats like calcareous grasslands are among the most important bee habitats in central Europe, but they are threatened by decreasing habitat area and quality, and by homogenization of the surrounding landscape affecting both landscape composition and configuration. In this study we tested the importance of habitat area, quality and connectivity as well as landscape composition and configuration on wild bees in calcareous grasslands. We made detailed trait-specific analyses as bees with different traits might differ in their response to the tested factors. Species richness and abundance of wild bees were surveyed on 23 calcareous grassland patches in Southern Germany with independent gradients in local and landscape factors. Total wild bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration, large habitat area and high habitat quality (i.e. steep slopes). Cuckoo bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration and large habitat area whereas habitat specialists were only affected by the local factors habitat area and habitat quality. Small social generalists were positively influenced by habitat area whereas large social generalists (bumblebees) were positively affected by landscape composition (high percentage of semi-natural habitats). Our results emphasize a strong dependence of habitat specialists on local habitat characteristics, whereas cuckoo bees and bumblebees are more likely affected by the surrounding landscape. We conclude that a combination of large high-quality patches and heterogeneous landscapes maintains high bee species richness and communities with diverse trait composition. Such diverse communities might stabilize pollination services provided to crops and wild plants on local and landscape scales.

  19. Community-Based Suicide Prevention Research in Remote On-Reserve First Nations Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isaak, Corinne A.; Campeau, Mike; Katz, Laurence Y.; Enns, Murray W.; Elias, Brenda; Sareen, Jitender

    2010-01-01

    Suicide is a complex problem linked to genetic, environmental, psychological and community factors. For the Aboriginal population more specifically, loss of culture, history of traumatic events, individual, family and community factors may also play a role in suicidal behaviour. Of particular concern is the high rate of suicide among Canadian…

  20. The effect of native and introduced biofuel crops on the composition of soil biota communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frouz, Jan; Hedenec, Petr

    2016-04-01

    Biofuel crops are an accepted alternative to fossil fuels, but little is known about the ecological impact of their production. The aim of this contribution is to study the effect of native (Salix viminalis and Phalaris arundinacea) and introduced (Helianthus tuberosus, Reynoutria sachalinensis and Silphium perfoliatum) biofuel crop plantations on the soil biota in comparison with cultural meadow vegetation used as control. The study was performed as part of a split plot field experiment of the Crop Research Institute in the city of Chomutov (Czech Republic). The composition of the soil meso- and macrofauna community, composition of the cultivable fraction of the soil fungal community, cellulose decomposition (using litter bags), microbial biomass, basal soil respiration and PLFA composition (incl. F/B ratio) were studied in each site. The C:N ratio and content of polyphenols differed among plant species, but these results could not be considered significant between introduced and native plant species. Abundance of the soil meso- and macrofauna was higher in field sites planted with S. viminalis and P. arundinacea than those planted with S. perfoliatum, H. tuberosus and R. sachalinensis. RDA and Monte Carlo Permutation Test showed that the composition of the faunal community differed significantly between various native and introduced plants. Significantly different basal soil respiration was found in sites planted with various energy crops; however, this difference was not significant between native and introduced species. Microbial biomass carbon and cellulose decomposition did not exhibit any statistical differences among the biofuel crops. The largest statistically significant difference we found was in the content of actinobacterial and bacterial (bacteria, G+ bacteria and G- bacteria) PLFA in sites overgrown by P. arundinacea compared to introduced as well as native biofuel crops. In conclusion, certain parameters significantly differ between various native

  1. Repression of fungal plant pathogens and fungal-related contaminants: Selected ecosystem services by soil fauna communities in agroecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer-Wolfarth, Friederike; Schrader, Stefan; Oldenburg, Elisabeth; Brunotte, Joachim; Weinert, Joachim

    2017-04-01

    In agroecosystems soil-borne fungal plant diseases are major yield-limiting factors which are difficult to control. Fungal plant pathogens, like Fusarium species, survive as a saprophyte in infected tissue like crop residues and endanger the health of the following crop by increasing the infection risk for specific plant diseases. In infected plant organs, these pathogens are able to produce mycotoxins. Mycotoxins like deoxynivalenol (DON) persist during storage, are heat resistant and of major concern for human and animal health after consumption of contaminated food and feed, respectively. Among fungivorous soil organisms, there are representatives of the soil fauna which are obviously antagonistic to a Fusarium infection and the contamination with mycotoxins. Specific members of the soil macro-, meso-, and microfauna provide a wide range of ecosystem services including the stimulation of decomposition processes which may result in the regulation of plant pathogens and the degradation of environmental contaminants. Investigations under laboratory conditions and in field were conducted to assess the functional linkage between soil faunal communities and plant pathogenic fungi (Fusarium culmorum). The aim was to examine if Fusarium biomass and the content of its mycotoxin DON decrease substantially in the presence of soil fauna (earthworms: Lumbricus terrestris, collembolans: Folsomia candida and nematodes: Aphelenchoides saprophilus) in a commercial cropping system managed with conservation tillage located in Northern Germany. The results of our investigations pointed out that the degradation performance of the introduced soil fauna must be considered as an important contribution to the biodegradation of fungal plant diseases and fungal-related contaminants. Different size classes within functional groups and the traits of keystone species appear to be significant for soil function and the provision of ecosystem services as in particular L. terrestris revealed to

  2. Temporal variability of live (stained benthic foraminiferal faunas in a river-dominated shelf – Faunal response to rapid changes of the river influence (Rhône prodelta, NW Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Legrand

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available In the context of the French research project CHACCRA (Climate and Human-induced Alterations in Carbon Cycling at the River-seA connection, living (rose Bengal-stained benthic foraminifera were investigated at two stations (24 and 67 m depth in the Rhône prodelta (NW Mediterranean, Gulf of Lions. The aim of this study was to precise the response of benthic foraminiferal faunas to temporal changes of the Rhône River inputs (e.g. organic and terrigeneous material. Each site was sampled in April 2007, September 2007, May 2008 and December 2008, permitting to observe foraminiferal faunas of the 63–150 and >150 μm size fractions under a wide range of environmental conditions. Obvious variations in foraminiferal faunal composition were observed during the four investigated periods at the shallowest Station A located in the close vicinity of the Rhône River mouth. After major Rhône River flood events, different colonisation stages were observed with foraminiferal faunas responding with an opportunistic strategy few days to weeks after the creation of a peculiar sedimentary environment (Leptohalysis scottii, May 2008 or high organic matter supplies (Ammonia tepida, December 2008. Under more stable conditions, relatively diverse and equilibrated faunas grew in the sediments. Species benefited from noticeable input of riverine phytodetritus to the sediment during spring bloom conditions (April 2007; e.g. Bolivina dilatata, Nonionella stella, Stainforthia fusiformis, or high amounts of still bio-available organic matter under more oligotrophic conditions (September 2007; e.g. Ammonia tepida, Psammosphaera fusca. The reduced influence of the Rhône River input at the farther Station N led to less contrasted environmental conditions during the four sampling periods, and so to less obvious variations in foraminiferal faunal composition. During reduced riverine influence (i.e. low Rhône discharge, species able to feed on fresh phytodetritus (e

  3. Determine small and medium enterprise social media activities: A community engagement project in the Tshwane community

    OpenAIRE

    Louise van Scheers; Jacques van Scheers

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to determine small and medium enterprise (SME) social media activities and promote CE scholarship engagement. It is a community engagement project conducted in the Tshwane community. Community engagement (CE) as a planned process with the specific purpose of working with identified groups of people in the community to address issues affecting their well-being. The CE project SME skills transfer workshops are aimed at expanding involvement with the community. The benef...

  4. Conducting research with communities of color

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leo McAvoy; Patricia L. Winter; Corliss W. Outley; Dan McDonald; Deborah J. Chavez

    2000-01-01

    This article presents the major challenges facing those who want to address the issues of race and ethnicity through research with communities of color; general methodological recommendations appropriate to many communities of color; and, specific research method recommendations for African American, American Indian, and Hispanic American communities.

  5. Community Crowd-Funded Solar Finance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jagerson, Gordon " Ty" [Village Power Finance, Palo Alto, CA (United States)

    2016-07-08

    The award supported the demonstration and development of the Village Power Platform, which enables community organizations to more readily develop, finance and operate solar installations on local community organizations. The platform enables partial or complete local ownership of the solar installation. The award specifically supported key features including financial modeling tools, community communications tools, crowdfunding mechanisms, a mobile app, and other critical features.

  6. Starvation and recovery in the deep-sea methanotroph Methyloprofundus sedimenti.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tavormina, Patricia L; Kellermann, Matthias Y; Antony, Chakkiath Paul; Tocheva, Elitza I; Dalleska, Nathan F; Jensen, Ashley J; Valentine, David L; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe; Jensen, Grant J; Dubilier, Nicole; Orphan, Victoria J

    2017-01-01

    In the deep ocean, the conversion of methane into derived carbon and energy drives the establishment of diverse faunal communities. Yet specific biological mechanisms underlying the introduction of methane-derived carbon into the food web remain poorly described, due to a lack of cultured representative deep-sea methanotrophic prokaryotes. Here, the response of the deep-sea aerobic methanotroph Methyloprofundus sedimenti to methane starvation and recovery was characterized. By combining lipid analysis, RNA analysis, and electron cryotomography, it was shown that M. sedimenti undergoes discrete cellular shifts in response to methane starvation, including changes in headgroup-specific fatty acid saturation levels, and reductions in cytoplasmic storage granules. Methane starvation is associated with a significant increase in the abundance of gene transcripts pertinent to methane oxidation. Methane reintroduction to starved cells stimulates a rapid, transient extracellular accumulation of methanol, revealing a way in which methane-derived carbon may be routed to community members. This study provides new understanding of methanotrophic responses to methane starvation and recovery, and lays the initial groundwork to develop Methyloprofundus as a model chemosynthesizing bacterium from the deep sea. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Further contributions to the Hydradephaga (Coleoptera, Haliplidae, Gyrinidae and Dytiscidae) fauna of Prince Edward Island, Canada: new records, distributions and faunal composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alarie, Yves

    2016-01-01

    The Haliplidae, Gyrinidae and Dytiscidae (Coleoptera) of Prince Edward Island, Canada were surveyed during the years 2004-2005. A total of 2450 individuals from 79 species were collected from 98 different localities, among which 30 species are newly recorded from that region. Among these, Acilius sylvanus Hilsenhoff, Rhantus consimilis Motschulsky and Neoporus sulcipennis (Fall) stand out as representing the easternmost reports of these species in Canada. Once removed, Gyrinus aquiris LeConte (Gyrinidae) is reinstated in the faunal list of Prince Edward Island. According to this study and literature 84 species of Hydradephaga are currently known from Prince Edward Island. The Nearctic component of the fauna is made up of 68 species (80.9%) and the Holarctic component of 16 species (19.1%). Most species are characteristic of the Boreal and Atlantic Maritime Ecozones and have a transcontinental distribution. In an examination of the Hydradephaga of insular portions of Atlantic Canada, we found that despite significantly different land areas and different distances to the neighbouring continental mainland the island faunas of Prince Edward Island and insular Newfoundland are very similar in the number of species (84 and 94 species respectively) despite differences in composition. With a land area significantly larger than that of Prince Edward Island, however, the fauna of Cape Breton Island was 39% smaller consisting of 53 species. This difference could be due to the comparative lack of collecting efforts on Cape Breton Island.

  8. Flow regime in a restored wetland determines trophic links and species composition in the aquatic macroinvertebrate community

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    González-Ortegón, E., E-mail: quique.gonzalezortegon@andaluciajunta.es [School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge LL59 5AB (United Kingdom); IFAPA Centro El Toruño, Camino Tiro de Pichón s/n, 11500 El Puerto de Santa María (Spain); Walton, M.E.M.; Moghaddam, B. [School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge LL59 5AB (United Kingdom); Vilas, C.; Prieto, A. [IFAPA Centro El Toruño, Camino Tiro de Pichón s/n, 11500 El Puerto de Santa María (Spain); Kennedy, H.A. [School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge LL59 5AB (United Kingdom); Pedro Cañavate, J. [IFAPA Centro El Toruño, Camino Tiro de Pichón s/n, 11500 El Puerto de Santa María (Spain); Le Vay, L. [School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge LL59 5AB (United Kingdom)

    2015-01-15

    wetland community. • Trophic niche of P.varians seems not to be shrunk by the presence of P.macrodactylus. • The shrimp P. varians has a key role in the stability of the aquatic faunal community.

  9. The changing pattern of antimicrobial resistance within 42,033 Escherichia coli isolates from nosocomial, community and urology patient-specific urinary tract infections, Dublin, 1999-2009.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Cullen, Ivor M

    2012-04-01

    To investigate the changing pattern of antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli urinary tract infection over an eleven year period, and to determine whether E. coli antibiotic resistance rates vary depending on whether the UTI represents a nosocomial, community acquired or urology patient specific infection.

  10. Oligocene mammals from Ethiopia and faunal exchange between Afro-Arabia and Eurasia

    Science.gov (United States)

    John Kappelman; D. Tab Rasmussen; William J. Sanders; Mulugeta Feseha; Thomas Down; Peter Copeland; Jeff Crabaugh; John Fleagle; Michelle Glantz; Adam Gordon; Bonnie Jacobs; Murat Maga; Kathleen Muldoon; Aaron Pan; Lydia Pyne; Brian Richmond; Timothy Ryan; Erik R. Seiffert; Sevket San; Lawrence Todd; Michael C. Wiemann; Alisa Winkler

    2003-01-01

    Afro-Arabian mammalian communities underwent a marked transition near the Oligocene/Miocene boundary at approximately 24 million years (Myr) ago. Although it is well documented that the endemic paenungulate taxa were replaced by migrants from the Northern Hemisphere, the timing and evolutionary dynamics of this transition have long been a mystery because faunas from...

  11. Measurement of Community Empowerment in Three Community Programs in Rapla (Estonia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasmel, Anu; Andersen, Pernille Tanggaard

    2011-01-01

    Community empowerment approaches have been proven to be powerful tools for solving local health problems. However, the methods for measuring empowerment in the community remain unclear and open to dispute. This study aims to describe how a context-specific community empowerment measurement tool was developed and changes made to three health promotion programs in Rapla, Estonia. An empowerment expansion model was compiled and applied to three existing programs: Safe Community, Drug/HIV Prevention and Elderly Quality of Life. The consensus workshop method was used to create the measurement tool and collect data on the Organizational Domains of Community Empowerment (ODCE). The study demonstrated considerable increases in the ODCE among the community workgroup, which was initiated by community members and the municipality’s decision-makers. The increase was within the workgroup, which had strong political and financial support on a national level but was not the community’s priority. The program was initiated and implemented by the local community members, and continuous development still occurred, though at a reduced pace. The use of the empowerment expansion model has proven to be an applicable, relevant, simple and inexpensive tool for the evaluation of community empowerment. PMID:21556179

  12. Measurement of Community Empowerment in Three Community Programs in Rapla (Estonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pernille Tanggaard Andersen

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Community empowerment approaches have been proven to be powerful tools for solving local health problems. However, the methods for measuring empowerment in the community remain unclear and open to dispute. This study aims to describe how a context-specific community empowerment measurement tool was developed and changes made to three health promotion programs in Rapla, Estonia. An empowerment expansion model was compiled and applied to three existing programs: Safe Community, Drug/HIV Prevention and Elderly Quality of Life. The consensus workshop method was used to create the measurement tool and collect data on the Organizational Domains of Community Empowerment (ODCE. The study demonstrated considerable increases in the ODCE among the community workgroup, which was initiated by community members and the municipality’s decision-makers. The increase was within the workgroup, which had strong political and financial support on a national level but was not the community’s priority. The program was initiated and implemented by the local community members, and continuous development still occurred, though at a reduced pace. The use of the empowerment expansion model has proven to be an applicable, relevant, simple and inexpensive tool for the evaluation of community empowerment.

  13. On the ecological relevance of landscape mapping and its application in the spatial planning of very large marine protected areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogg, Oliver T; Huvenne, Veerle A I; Griffiths, Huw J; Linse, Katrin

    2018-06-01

    In recent years very large marine protected areas (VLMPAs) have become the dominant form of spatial protection in the marine environment. Whilst seen as a holistic and geopolitically achievable approach to conservation, there is currently a mismatch between the size of VLMPAs, and the data available to underpin their establishment and inform on their management. Habitat mapping has increasingly been adopted as a means of addressing paucity in biological data, through use of environmental proxies to estimate species and community distribution. Small-scale studies have demonstrated environmental-biological links in marine systems. Such links, however, are rarely demonstrated across larger spatial scales in the benthic environment. As such, the utility of habitat mapping as an effective approach to the ecosystem-based management of VLMPAs remains, thus far, largely undetermined. The aim of this study was to assess the ecological relevance of broadscale landscape mapping. Specifically we test the relationship between broad-scale marine landscapes and the structure of their benthic faunal communities. We focussed our work at the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, site of one of the largest MPAs in the world. We demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between environmentally derived landscape mapping clusters, and the composition of presence-only species data from the region. To demonstrate this relationship required specific re-sampling of historical species occurrence data to balance biological rarity, biological cosmopolitism, range-restricted sampling and fine-scale heterogeneity between sampling stations. The relationship reveals a distinct biological signature in the faunal composition of individual landscapes, attributing ecological relevance to South Georgia's environmentally derived marine landscape map. We argue therefore, that landscape mapping represents an effective framework for ensuring representative protection of habitats in management

  14. The attached algae community near Pickering GS: III

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKinley, S.R.

    1982-01-01

    The relationship between attached algae and macro-invertebrates in the nearshore zone of Lake Ontario was investigated in the vicinity of the Pickering 'A' NGS. Measures of faunal density, richness, evenness, and biomass were generally higher from areas which supported attached algae. Gammarus fasciatus, Cricotopus bicinctus, Dicrotendipes spp., Orthocladius obumbratus, Cladotanytarsus spp., Orthocladius spp., and Parakiefferiella spp., were significantly correlated with algal standing crop. All of the above dominant invertebrates ingested epiphytes associated with Cladophora glomerata. Attempts to explain the distribution of the zoobenthic assemblages using the physical/biological characteristics of the study area indicated algal cover, substrate size, wind velocity and water temperature were most important

  15. Biocontrol of the toxigenic plant pathogen Fusarium culmorum by soil fauna in an agroecosystem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer-Wolfarth, Friederike; Schrader, Stefan; Oldenburg, Elisabeth; Weinert, Joachim; Brunotte, Joachim

    2017-08-01

    In 2011 and 2013, a field experiment was conducted in a winter wheat field at Adenstedt (northern Germany) to investigate biocontrol and interaction effects of important members of the soil food web (Lumbricus terrestris, Annelida; Folsomia candida, Collembola and Aphelenchoides saprophilus, Nematoda) on the phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium culmorum in wheat straw. Therefore, soil fauna was introduced in mesocosms in defined numbers and combinations and exposed to either Fusarium-infected or non-infected wheat straw. L. terrestris was introduced in all faunal treatments and combined either with F. candida or A. saprophilus or both. Mesocosms filled with a Luvisol soil, a cover of different types of wheat straw and respective combinations of faunal species were established outdoors in the topsoil of a winter wheat field after harvest of the crop. After a time span of 4 and 8 weeks, the degree of wheat straw coverage of mesocosms was quantified to assess its attractiveness for the soil fauna. The content of Fusarium biomass in residual wheat straw and soil was determined using a double-antibody sandwich (DAS)-ELISA method. In both experimental years, the infected wheat straw was incorporated more efficiently into the soil than the non-infected control straw due to the presence of L. terrestris in all faunal treatments than the non-infected control straw. In addition, Fusarium biomass was reduced significantly in all treatments after 4 weeks (2011: 95-99%; 2013:15-54%), whereupon the decline of fungal biomass was higher in faunal treatments than in non-faunal treatments and differed significantly from them. In 2011, Fusarium biomass of the faunal treatments was below the quantification limit after 8 weeks. In 2013, a decline of Fusarium biomass was observed, but the highest content of Fusarium biomass was still found in the non-faunal treatments after 8 weeks. In the soil of all treatments, Fusarium biomass was below the quantification limit. The earthworm species

  16. Underrepresented communities: including the Portuguese ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This research article emanates from a doctoral study which investigated the potential inclusion of the records generated by South African Portuguese community-based organisations into a workable archival collecting initiative of the community. The specific purpose of this article is to report on the current status of ...

  17. Community Vitality: The Role of Community-Level Resilience Adaptation and Innovation in Sustainable Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lenore Newman

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Community level action towards sustainable development has emerged as a key scale of intervention in the effort to address our many serious environmental issues. This is hindered by the large-scale destruction of both urban neighbourhoods and rural villages in the second half of the twentieth century. Communities, whether they are small or large, hubs of experimentation or loci of traditional techniques and methods, can be said to have a level of community vitality that acts as a site of resilience, adaptation and innovation in the face of environmental challenges. This paper outlines how community vitality acts as a cornerstone of sustainable development and suggests some courses for future research. A meta-case analysis of thirty-five Canadian communities reveals the characteristics of community vitality emerging from sustainable development experiments and its relationship to resilience, applied specifically to community development.

  18. Environmental factors structuring Arctic megabenthos - a case study from a shelf and two fjords

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirstin eMeyer

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available From photographic samples, we describe the benthic megafaunal communities in two north Svalbard fjords and on the adjacent continental shelf. We analyze the fauna in relation to abiotic factors of depth, bottom water temperature, percent cover of hard substratum, heterogeneity of stone size, and bottom-water turbidity to explore how these factors might affect the fauna and how they are related to the functional traits (size, morphology, mobility, colonial/solitary, and feeding type of the megabenthos. Depth and bottom water temperature were consistently the strongest correlates with faunal composition and functional traits of the constituent species. A greater proportion of the variability in the functional traits of the megabenthos could be explained by abiotic factors rather than faunal composition, indicating that the abiotic factors of depth and temperature were strongly related to the functional traits of the megabenthos. On a local scale, stone size heterogeneity explained most variation in the functional traits of the megabenthos in one fjord. The results of this case study show a significant relationship between bottom water temperature and the functioning of north Svalbard megabenthic communities. Warming temperatures in the Arctic will likely decrease the variety of functional traits represented in Svalbard megabentos, resulting in scavenger-dominated communities. A reduction in megabenthic biomass may also result, reducing energy availability to higher trophic levels.

  19. CO2 leakage alters biogeochemical and ecological functions of submarine sands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molari, Massimiliano; Guilini, Katja; Lott, Christian; Weber, Miriam; de Beer, Dirk; Meyer, Stefanie; Ramette, Alban; Wegener, Gunter; Wenzhöfer, Frank; Martin, Daniel; Cibic, Tamara; De Vittor, Cinzia; Vanreusel, Ann; Boetius, Antje

    2018-01-01

    Subseabed CO2 storage is considered a future climate change mitigation technology. We investigated the ecological consequences of CO2 leakage for a marine benthic ecosystem. For the first time with a multidisciplinary integrated study, we tested hypotheses derived from a meta-analysis of previous experimental and in situ high-CO2 impact studies. For this, we compared ecological functions of naturally CO2-vented seafloor off the Mediterranean island Panarea (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) to those of nonvented sands, with a focus on biogeochemical processes and microbial and faunal community composition. High CO2 fluxes (up to 4 to 7 mol CO2 m−2 hour−1) dissolved all sedimentary carbonate, and comigration of silicate and iron led to local increases of microphytobenthos productivity (+450%) and standing stocks (+300%). Despite the higher food availability, faunal biomass (−80%) and trophic diversity were substantially lower compared to those at the reference site. Bacterial communities were also structurally and functionally affected, most notably in the composition of heterotrophs and microbial sulfate reduction rates (−90%). The observed ecological effects of CO2 leakage on submarine sands were reproduced with medium-term transplant experiments. This study assesses indicators of environmental impact by CO2 leakage and finds that community compositions and important ecological functions are permanently altered under high CO2. PMID:29441359

  20. Social Media and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN)--Focus on Twitter and the Development of a Disease-specific Community: #MPNSM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pemmaraju, Naveen; Gupta, Vikas; Mesa, Ruben; Thompson, Michael A

    2015-12-01

    The advent of social media has led to the ability for individuals all over the world to communicate with each other, in real time, about mutual topics of interest in an unprecedented manner. Recently, the use of social media has increased among people interested in healthcare and medical research, particularly in the field of hematology and oncology, a field which frequently experiences rapid shifts of information and novel, practice-changing discoveries. Among the many social media platforms available to cancer patients and providers, one platform in particular, Twitter, has become the focus for the creation of disease-specific communities, especially for those interested in, affected by, or those who perform research in the fields of rare cancers, which historically have had a dearth of reliable information available. This article will focus on the initiation and progress of one such Twitter hematology/oncology community, #mpnsm, which was originally created for the purpose of serving as a venue for improving the interaction among patients, providers, researchers, and organizations with interest in the myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and to further the availability of reliable up-to-date analysis; relevant expert commentary; and readily usable information for patients, providers, and other groups interested in this field.

  1. Distance Learning for Community Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Anthony A.

    2010-01-01

    This article takes a look at the influence of technology on curriculum and teaching. It specifically examines the new wave of available technology and the opportunity for schools to make inroads into community outreach by engaging new, technological learning methods. The relationship among community education, public school relations, and distance…

  2. Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Identify Environmental Justice Issues in an Inner-City Community and Inform Urban Planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansyur, Carol Leler; Jeng, Hueiwang Anna; Holloman, Erica; DeBrew, Linwood

    2016-01-01

    The Southeast CARE Coalition has been using community-based participatory research to examine environmental degradation in the Southeast Community, Newport News, Virginia. A survey was developed to collect assessment data. Up to 66% of respondents were concerned about environmental problems in their community. Those with health conditions were significantly more likely to identify specific environmental problems. The top 5 environmental concerns included coal dust, air quality, crime, water quality, and trash. The community-based participatory research process is building community capacity and participation, providing community input into strategic planning, and empowering community members to take control of environmental justice issues in their community.

  3. Suprabenthic assemblages from the Capbreton area (SE Bay of Biscay). Faunal recovery after a canyon turbidity disturbance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frutos, Inmaculada; Sorbe, Jean Claude

    2017-12-01

    In the Capbreton area, suprabenthic assemblages were sampled with a sledge towed over the bottom, at different sites located within the upper part of a 'gouf-type' canyon (8 hauls between 642 m and 797 m, on the axis of the thalweg or on flat perched flank terraces such as site K), on the northern adjacent open slope (2 hauls between 500 and 567 m) and on the northern adjacent shelf margin (2 hauls between 151 m and 158 m). A multivariate analysis carried on the faunal data discriminated different assemblages in this area: a near-canyon shelf assemblage (55 species, mainly amphipods and decapods; 3496 ind./100 m2, 40% mysids; dominant species: Nyctiphanes couchii, Leptomysis gracilis, Weswoodilla rectirostris, Anchialina agilis, Scopelocheirus hopei and Philocheras bispinosus); an open slope assemblage (111 species, mainly amphipods and isopods; 249 ind./100 m2, 36% amphipods; dominant species: Disconectes phalangium, Munnopsurus atlanticus and Boreomysis arctica); a canyon E assemblage (129 species, mainly amphipods, mysids and cumaceans; 1172 ind./100 m2, 58% amphipods; dominant species: Melphidippa sp. B, Chelator insignis); a canyon E' assemblage (107 species, mainly amphipods and mysids; 507 ind./100 m2, 73% amphipods; dominant species: Cleonardopsis carinata, Bonnierella abyssorum, Rhachotropis caeca and Arcturopsis giardi); and a temporary canyon assemblage at site K (34 species, mainly amphipods and mysids; 899 ind./100 m2, 85% amphipods; dominant species: Tmetomyx similis, Caeconyx caeculus, Nebalia sp. A and Cleonardopsis carinata). Site K was sampled only four months after a turbidity event, detected on sediment cores (18 cm thick Bouma sequence) taken during the same cruise and triggered by the violent storm ('ouragan Martin', wind up to 200 km/h) which affected the French Atlantic coast on 27 December 1999. The corresponding suprabenthic assemblage showed evidence of deep structural changes after this catastrophic event, characterized by relative low

  4. Exploring community resilience in workforce communities of first responders serving Katrina survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wyche, Karen Fraser; Pfefferbaum, Rose L; Pfefferbaum, Betty; Norris, Fran H; Wisnieski, Deborah; Younger, Hayden

    2011-01-01

    Community resilience activities were assessed in workplace teams that became first responders for Hurricane Katrina survivors. Community resilience was assessed by a survey, focus groups, and key informant interviews. On the survey, 90 first responders ranked their team's disaster response performance as high on community resilience activities. The same participants, interviewed in 11 focus groups and 3 key informant interviews, discussed how their teams engaged in community resilience activities to strengthen their ability to deliver services. Specifically, their resilient behaviors were characterized by: shared organizational identity, purpose, and values; mutual support and trust; role flexibility; active problem solving; self-reflection; shared leadership; and skill building. The implications for research, policy, practice, and education of professionals are discussed. © 2011 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

  5. Stable isotopes and mercury in a model estuarine fish: Multibasin comparisons with water quality, community structure, and available prey base

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adams, Douglas H., E-mail: Doug.Adams@MyFWC.com; Paperno, Richard

    2012-01-01

    Stable-isotope ratios ({delta}{sup 13}C and {delta}{sup 15}N) and mercury in a model predator, and associated prey community assessments were used to make inferences regarding food web relationships and how these relationships are influenced by habitat variability and anthropogenic factors. Although interconnected, the three major basins of the Indian River Lagoon system on the Atlantic coast of Florida comprise noticeably different available habitat types with spatially distinct faunal communities and available prey for spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, a model predatory fish species. Water quality, degree of urbanization, human population density, and levels of nitrogen enrichment clearly differ between these representative estuarine basins. The differences can influence feeding ecology and therefore result in different mercury concentrations and different stable-isotope signatures of spotted seatrout between basins. Mercury concentrations in spotted seatrout were greatest in Mosquito Lagoon (ML) and least in the Indian River Lagoon proper (IRL), although concentrations were low for all basins. Spotted seatrout from IRL were carbon-depleted and nitrogen-enriched compared with those from the other basins; this suggests either that the fish's primary source of carbon in IRL is an algae- or phytoplankton-based food web or that the pathway through the food web is shorter there. The {delta}{sup 15}N values of IRL spotted seatrout were greater than those in the Banana River Lagoon or ML, suggesting slightly different trophic positioning of fish in these basins. The greater {delta}{sup 15}N values in IRL spotted seatrout may also reflect the greater human population density and resultant anthropogenic inputs (e.g., observed higher total nitrogen levels) in IRL compared with the other more pristine basins examined. Understanding species' responses to broad-scale habitat heterogeneity in estuaries and knowing basin-specific differences in stable isotopes

  6. Methane emission in a specific riparian-zone sediment decreased with bioelectrochemical manipulation and corresponded to the microbial community dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elliot S. Friedman

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria are widespread in terrestrial ecosystems, especially in anaerobic soils and sediments. Thermodynamically, dissimilatory metal reduction is more favorable than sulfate reduction and methanogenesis but less favorable than denitrification and aerobic respiration. It is critical to understand the complex relationships, including the absence or presence of terminal electron acceptors, that govern microbial competition and coexistence in anaerobic soils and sediments, because subsurface microbial processes can effect greenhouse gas emissions from soils, possibly resulting in impacts at the global scale. Here, we elucidated the effect of an inexhaustible, ferrous-iron and humic-substance mimicking terminal electron acceptor by deploying potentiostatically poised electrodes in the sediment of a very specific stream riparian zone in Upstate New York state. At two sites within the same stream riparian zone during the course of six weeks in the spring of 2013, we measured CH4 and N2/N2O emissions from soil chambers containing either poised or unpoised electrodes, and we harvested biofilms from the electrodes to quantify microbial community dynamics. At the upstream site, which had a lower vegetation cover and highest soil temperatures, the poised electrodes inhibited CH4 emissions by ~45% (when normalized to remove temporal effects. CH4 emissions were not significantly impacted at the downstream site. N2/N2O emissions were generally low at both sites and were not impacted by poised electrodes. We did not find a direct link between bioelectrochemical treatment and microbial community membership; however, we did find a correspondence between environment/function and microbial community dynamics.

  7. Restricted access Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, increases faunal diversity through physical engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Robert J.; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Lamy, Thomas; Kui, Li; Rassweiler, Andrew; Reed, Daniel C.

    2018-01-01

    Foundation species define the ecosystems they live in, but ecologists have often characterized dominant plants as foundational without supporting evidence. Giant kelp has long been considered a marine foundation species due to its complex structure and high productivity; however, there is little quantitative evidence to evaluate this. Here, we apply structural equation modelling to a 15-year time series of reef community data to evaluate how giant kelp affects the reef community. Although species richness was positively associated with giant kelp biomass, most direct paths did not involve giant kelp. Instead, the foundational qualities of giant kelp were driven mostly by indirect effects attributed to its dominant physical structure and associated engineering influence on the ecosystem, rather than by its use as food by invertebrates and fishes. Giant kelp structure has indirect effects because it shades out understorey algae that compete with sessile invertebrates. When released from competition, sessile species in turn increase the diversity of mobile predators. Sea urchin grazing effects could have been misinterpreted as kelp effects, because sea urchins can overgraze giant kelp, understorey algae and sessile invertebrates alike. Our results confirm the high diversity and biomass associated with kelp forests, but highlight how species interactions and habitat attributes can be misconstrued as direct consequences of a foundation species like giant kelp.

  8. Rhythms and community dynamics of a hydrothermal tubeworm assemblage at main endeavour field - a multidisciplinary deep-sea observatory approach.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daphne Cuvelier

    Full Text Available The NEPTUNE cabled observatory network hosts an ecological module called TEMPO-mini that focuses on hydrothermal vent ecology and time series, granting us real-time access to data originating from the deep sea. In 2011-2012, during TEMPO-mini's first deployment on the NEPTUNE network, the module recorded high-resolution imagery, temperature, iron (Fe and oxygen on a hydrothermal assemblage at 2186 m depth at Main Endeavour Field (North East Pacific. 23 days of continuous imagery were analysed with an hourly frequency. Community dynamics were analysed in detail for Ridgeia piscesae tubeworms, Polynoidae, Pycnogonida and Buccinidae, documenting faunal variations, natural change and biotic interactions in the filmed tubeworm assemblage as well as links with the local environment. Semi-diurnal and diurnal periods were identified both in fauna and environment, revealing the influence of tidal cycles. Species interactions were described and distribution patterns were indicative of possible microhabitat preference. The importance of high-resolution frequencies (<1 h to fully comprehend rhythms in fauna and environment was emphasised, as well as the need for the development of automated or semi-automated imagery analysis tools.

  9. Nahal Ein Gev II, a Late Natufian Community at the Sea of Galilee.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leore Grosman

    Full Text Available The Natufian culture is of great importance as a starting point to investigate the dynamics of the transition to agriculture. Given its chronological position at the threshold of the Neolithic (ca. 12,000 years ago and its geographic setting in the productive Jordan Valley, the site of Nahal Ein Gev II (NEG II reveals aspects of the Late Natufian adaptations and its implications for the transition to agriculture. The size of the site, the thick archaeological deposits, invested architecture and multiple occupation sub-phases reveal a large, sedentary community at least on par with Early Natufian camps in the Mediterranean zone. Although the NEG II lithic tool kit completely lacks attributes typical of succeeding Pre Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA assemblages, the artistic style is more closely related to the early PPNA world, despite clear roots in Early Natufian tradition. The site does not conform to current perceptions of the Late Natufians as a largely mobile population coping with reduced resource productivity caused by the Younger Dryas. Instead, the faunal and architectural data suggest that the sedentary populations of the Early Natufian did not revert back to a nomadic way of life in the Late Natufian in the Jordan Valley. NEG II encapsulates cultural characteristics typical of both Natufian and PPNA traditions and thus bridges the crossroads between Late Paleolithic foragers and Neolithic farmers.

  10. Resolving community conflict in the nuclear power issue

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burt, R.S.

    1978-05-01

    This is the second of a two-part discussion the purpose of which is to demonstrate that a frankly structural, or network, approach to the analysis of community decision-making allows an observer to anticipate and manage community response to specific policies. Using the siting of nuclear facilities as an illustrative policy, Part One (Burt, 1978) derived hypotheses predicting what types of communities could be expected to become embroiled in conflict over a proposed facility and the process that conflict escalation would follow. The purpose here is to extend the argument to include conflict resolution. Available research is analyzed in order to outline a structural approach to the resolution of community conflict over specific policies. The conflict-resolution techniques proposed are intended to reverse the social parameters of conflict escalation and compensate for deficiencies in a community structure so as to transform a community high in potential for conflict into a community with low conflict potential. The discussion concludes with general principles for the resolution of community conflict in the nuclear power issue.

  11. Resolving community conflict in the nuclear power issue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burt, R.S.

    1978-05-01

    This is the second of a two-part discussion the purpose of which is to demonstrate that a frankly structural, or network, approach to the analysis of community decision-making allows an observer to anticipate and manage community response to specific policies. Using the siting of nuclear facilities as an illustrative policy, Part One (Burt, 1978) derived hypotheses predicting what types of communities could be expected to become embroiled in conflict over a proposed facility and the process that conflict escalation would follow. The purpose here is to extend the argument to include conflict resolution. Available research is analyzed in order to outline a structural approach to the resolution of community conflict over specific policies. The conflict-resolution techniques proposed are intended to reverse the social parameters of conflict escalation and compensate for deficiencies in a community structure so as to transform a community high in potential for conflict into a community with low conflict potential. The discussion concludes with general principles for the resolution of community conflict in the nuclear power issue

  12. Chapter 11. Community analysis-based methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cao, Y.; Wu, C.H.; Andersen, G.L.; Holden, P.A.

    2010-05-01

    Microbial communities are each a composite of populations whose presence and relative abundance in water or other environmental samples are a direct manifestation of environmental conditions, including the introduction of microbe-rich fecal material and factors promoting persistence of the microbes therein. As shown by culture-independent methods, different animal-host fecal microbial communities appear distinctive, suggesting that their community profiles can be used to differentiate fecal samples and to potentially reveal the presence of host fecal material in environmental waters. Cross-comparisons of microbial communities from different hosts also reveal relative abundances of genetic groups that can be used to distinguish sources. In increasing order of their information richness, several community analysis methods hold promise for MST applications: phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), cloning/sequencing, and PhyloChip. Specific case studies involving TRFLP and PhyloChip approaches demonstrate the ability of community-based analyses of contaminated waters to confirm a diagnosis of water quality based on host-specific marker(s). The success of community-based MST for comprehensively confirming fecal sources relies extensively upon using appropriate multivariate statistical approaches. While community-based MST is still under evaluation and development as a primary diagnostic tool, results presented herein demonstrate its promise. Coupled with its inherently comprehensive ability to capture an unprecedented amount of microbiological data that is relevant to water quality, the tools for microbial community analysis are increasingly accessible, and community-based approaches have unparalleled potential for translation into rapid, perhaps real-time, monitoring platforms.

  13. The Latino Migrant Worker HIV Prevention Program: Building a Community Partnership Through a Community Health Worker Training Program

    OpenAIRE

    Sánchez, Jesús; Silva-Suarez, Georgina; Serna, Claudia A.; De La Rosa, Mario

    2012-01-01

    There is limited information on the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on Latino migrant workers (LMWs), although available data indicate that this community is being disproportionally affected. The need for prevention programs that address the specific needs of LMWs is becoming well recognized. HIV prevention interventions that train and employ community health workers are a culturally appropriate way to address the issues of community trust and capacity building in this community. This article...

  14. Aggregated filter-feeding consumers alter nutrient limitation: consequences for ecosystem and community dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, Carla L; Vaughn, Caryn C; Forshay, Kenneth J; Cooper, Joshua T

    2013-06-01

    importance of consumers and this imperiled faunal group on nutrient cycling and community dynamics in aquatic ecosystems.

  15. Community conflict in the nuclear power issue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burt, R.S.

    1978-05-01

    This is the first of a two part discussion the purpose of which is to demonstrate that a frankly structural, or network, approach to the analysis of community decision-making allows an observer to anticipate and manage community response to specific policies. Here I am concerned with anticipating community response. In part two (Burt, 1978), I am concerned with conflict resolution strategies. The specific policy used as illustration is siting nuclear power facilities. Published accounts of siting nuclear facilities are used to identify basic social parameters of the nuclear power issue as a community conflict. Changes in the form and content of relations in the network among opponents and proponents of a facility are described. Subsequently, the description is used to specify a causal model of the manner in which conflict escalation is promoted or inhibited by the characteristics and leadership structure of a community in which a nuclear facility is proposed. Hypotheses are derived predicting what types of communities can be expected to become embroiled in conflict and the process that conflict escalation will follow

  16. Community conflict in the nuclear power issue

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burt, R.S.

    1978-05-01

    This is the first of a two part discussion the purpose of which is to demonstrate that a frankly structural, or network, approach to the analysis of community decision-making allows an observer to anticipate and manage community response to specific policies. Here I am concerned with anticipating community response. In part two (Burt, 1978), I am concerned with conflict resolution strategies. The specific policy used as illustration is siting nuclear power facilities. Published accounts of siting nuclear facilities are used to identify basic social parameters of the nuclear power issue as a community conflict. Changes in the form and content of relations in the network among opponents and proponents of a facility are described. Subsequently, the description is used to specify a causal model of the manner in which conflict escalation is promoted or inhibited by the characteristics and leadership structure of a community in which a nuclear facility is proposed. Hypotheses are derived predicting what types of communities can be expected to become embroiled in conflict and the process that conflict escalation will follow.

  17. Food-web complexity across hydrothermal vents on the Azores triple junction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portail, Marie; Brandily, Christophe; Cathalot, Cécile; Colaço, Ana; Gélinas, Yves; Husson, Bérengère; Sarradin, Pierre-Marie; Sarrazin, Jozée

    2018-01-01

    The assessment and comparison of food webs across various hydrothermal vent sites can enhance our understanding of ecological processes involved in the structure and function of biodiversity. The Menez Gwen, Lucky Strike and Rainbow vent fields are located on the Azores triple junction of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. These fields have distinct depths (from 850 to 2320 m) and geological contexts (basaltic and ultramafic), but share similar faunal assemblages defined by the presence of foundation species that include Bathymodiolus azoricus, alvinocarid shrimp and gastropods. We compared the food webs of 13 faunal assemblages at these three sites using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses (SIA). Results showed that photosynthesis-derived organic matter is a negligible basal source for vent food webs, at all depths. The contribution of methanotrophy versus autotrophy based on Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) or reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycles varied between and within vent fields according to the concentrations of reduced compounds (e.g. CH4, H2S). Species that were common to vent fields showed high trophic flexibility, suggesting weak trophic links to the metabolism of chemosynthetic primary producers. At the community level, a comparison of SIA-derived metrics between mussel assemblages from two vent fields (Menez Gwen & Lucky Strike) showed that the functional structure of food webs was highly similar in terms of basal niche diversification, functional specialization and redundancy. Coupling SIA to functional trait approaches included more variability within the analyses, but the functional structures were still highly comparable. These results suggest that despite variable environmental conditions (physico-chemical factors and basal sources) and faunal community structure, functional complexity remained relatively constant among mussel assemblages. This functional similarity may be favoured by the propensity of species to adapt to fluid variations and

  18. Climate, Environment and Early Human Innovation: Stable Isotope and Faunal Proxy Evidence from Archaeological Sites (98-59ka in the Southern Cape, South Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Roberts

    Full Text Available The Middle Stone Age (MSA of southern Africa, and in particular its Still Bay and Howiesons Poort lithic traditions, represents a period of dramatic subsistence, cultural, and technological innovation by our species, Homo sapiens. Climate change has frequently been postulated as a primary driver of the appearance of these innovative behaviours, with researchers invoking either climate instability as a reason for the development of buffering mechanisms, or environmentally stable refugia as providing a stable setting for experimentation. Testing these alternative models has proved intractable, however, as existing regional palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental records remain spatially, stratigraphically, and chronologically disconnected from the archaeological record. Here we report high-resolution records of environmental shifts based on stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in ostrich eggshell (OES fragments, faunal remains, and shellfish assemblages excavated from two key MSA archaeological sequences, Blombos Cave and Klipdrift Shelter. We compare these records with archaeological material remains in the same strata. The results from both sites, spanning the periods 98-73 ka and 72-59 ka, respectively, show significant changes in vegetation, aridity, rainfall seasonality, and sea temperature in the vicinity of the sites during periods of human occupation. While these changes clearly influenced human subsistence strategies, we find that the remarkable cultural and technological innovations seen in the sites cannot be linked directly to climate shifts. Our results demonstrate the need for scale-appropriate, on-site testing of behavioural-environmental links, rather than broader, regional comparisons.

  19. Climate, Environment and Early Human Innovation: Stable Isotope and Faunal Proxy Evidence from Archaeological Sites (98-59ka) in the Southern Cape, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Patrick; Henshilwood, Christopher S; van Niekerk, Karen L; Keene, Petro; Gledhill, Andrew; Reynard, Jerome; Badenhorst, Shaw; Lee-Thorp, Julia

    2016-01-01

    The Middle Stone Age (MSA) of southern Africa, and in particular its Still Bay and Howiesons Poort lithic traditions, represents a period of dramatic subsistence, cultural, and technological innovation by our species, Homo sapiens. Climate change has frequently been postulated as a primary driver of the appearance of these innovative behaviours, with researchers invoking either climate instability as a reason for the development of buffering mechanisms, or environmentally stable refugia as providing a stable setting for experimentation. Testing these alternative models has proved intractable, however, as existing regional palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental records remain spatially, stratigraphically, and chronologically disconnected from the archaeological record. Here we report high-resolution records of environmental shifts based on stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in ostrich eggshell (OES) fragments, faunal remains, and shellfish assemblages excavated from two key MSA archaeological sequences, Blombos Cave and Klipdrift Shelter. We compare these records with archaeological material remains in the same strata. The results from both sites, spanning the periods 98-73 ka and 72-59 ka, respectively, show significant changes in vegetation, aridity, rainfall seasonality, and sea temperature in the vicinity of the sites during periods of human occupation. While these changes clearly influenced human subsistence strategies, we find that the remarkable cultural and technological innovations seen in the sites cannot be linked directly to climate shifts. Our results demonstrate the need for scale-appropriate, on-site testing of behavioural-environmental links, rather than broader, regional comparisons.

  20. Examining the incremental contribution of metacognitive beliefs beyond content-specific beliefs in relation to posttraumatic stress in a community sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fergus, Thomas A; Bardeen, Joseph R

    2017-11-01

    Cognitive-behavioral models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) propose that the content of one's thoughts, including negative beliefs about the self, others, and world, play a fundamental role in our understanding and treatment of PTSD. Metacognitive theory suggests that metacognitive beliefs (i.e., beliefs about thinking), rather than content-specific beliefs, underlie PTSD. The present study provided the first known examination of the incremental contribution of metacognitive beliefs and trauma-related cognitions in relation to posttraumatic stress. Community adults recruited through an online crowdsourcing website who reported experiencing a criterion A traumatic event (N = 299) completed self-report measures of the study variables. Results from multiple linear regression analyses indicated that metacognitive beliefs of the uncontrollability and danger of thinking shared associations with each posttraumatic stress symptom cluster after accounting for the effects of content-specific beliefs and other covariates. The individual content-specific beliefs did not consistently share associations with posttraumatic stress symptoms in the regression analyses. The contribution of the individual content-specific beliefs to posttraumatic stress symptoms was consistently attenuated or rendered nonsignificant after accounting for metacognitive beliefs. These results are consistent with metacognitive theory in suggesting that metacognitive beliefs may be more important than trauma-related thought content in relation to posttraumatic stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Partitioning of functional and taxonomic diversity in surface-associated microbial communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roth-Schulze, Alexandra J; Zozaya-Valdés, Enrique; Steinberg, Peter D; Thomas, Torsten

    2016-12-01

    Surfaces, including those submerged in the marine environment, are subjected to constant interactions and colonisation by surrounding microorganisms. The principles that determine the assembly of those epibiotic communities are however poorly understood. In this study, we employed a hierarchical design to assess the functionality and diversity of microbial communities on different types of host surfaces (e.g. macroalgae, seagrasses). We found that taxonomic diversity was unique to each type of host, but that the majority of functions (> 95%) could be found in any given surface community, suggesting a high degree of functional redundancy. However, some community functions were enriched on certain surfaces and were related to host-specific properties (e.g. the degradation of specific polysaccharides). Together these observations support a model, whereby communities on surfaces are assembled from guilds of microorganisms with a functionality that is partitioned into general properties for a surface-associated life-style, but also specific features that mediate host-specificity. © 2016 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. The community comes to campus: the Patient and Community Fair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Towle, Angela; Godolphin, William; Kline, Cathy

    2015-08-01

    Community-based learning connects students with local communities so that they learn about the broad context in which health and social care is provided; however, students usually interact with only one or a few organisations that serve a particular population. One example of a community-based learning activity is the health fair in which students provide health promotion and screening for local communities. We adapted the health fair concept to develop a multi-professional educational event at which, instead of providing service, students learn from and about the expertise and resources of not-for-profit organisations. The fair is an annual 1-day event that students can attend between, or in place of, classes. Each community organisation has a booth to display information. One-hour 'patient panels' are held on a variety of topics throughout the day. Evaluation methods include questionnaires, exit interviews and visitor tracking sheets. Over 5 years (2009-2013), the fair increased in size with respect to estimated attendance, number of participating organisations, number of patient panels and number of students for whom the fair is a required curriculum component. Students learn about a range of patient experiences and community resources, and information about specific diseases or conditions. The fair is an efficient way for students to learn about a range of community organisations. It fosters university-community engagement through continuing connections between students, faculty members and community organisations. Lessons learned include the need for community organisations to have techniques to engage students, and ways to overcome challenges of evaluating an informal 'drop-in' event. The fair is an efficient way for students to learn about a range of community organisations. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Functional diversity of soil invertebrates: a potential tool to explain N2O emission?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubbers, Ingrid; De Deyn, Gerlinde; Drake, Harold; Hunger, Sindy; Oppermann, Timo; van Groenigen, Jan Willem

    2017-04-01

    Soil biota play a crucial role in the mineralization of nutrients from organic material. However, they can thereby increase emissions of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Our current lack of understanding of the factors controlling N2O production and emission is impeding the development of effective mitigation strategies. It is the challenge to control N2O emissions from production systems without reducing crop yield, and diversity of soil fauna may play a key role. A high functional diversity of soil invertebrates is known to stimulate nitrogen mineralization and thereby plant growth, however, it is unknown whether a high functional diversity of soil invertebrates can concurrently diminish N2O emissions. We hypothesized that increased functional diversity of soil invertebrates reduces faunal-induced N2O emissions by facilitating more complete denitrification through (i) stimulating the activity of denitrifying microbes, and (ii) affecting the distribution of micro and macro pores, creating more anaerobic reaction sites. Using state-of-the-art X-ray tomography and next-generation sequencing, we studied effects of functional diversity on soil structural properties and the diversity of the microbial community (16S rRNA genes and 16S rRNA), and linked these to soil N2O emissions. In a 120-day study we found that the functional composition of the soil invertebrate community determined N2O emissions: earthworm activity was key to faunal-induced N2O emissions (a 32-fold increase after 120 days, Pstructural properties (mean pore size, pore size distribution) were found to be radically altered by earthworm activity. We conclude that the presence of a few functional groups (ecosystem engineers) is more important than overall increased functional diversity in explaining faunal-affected N2O emissions.

  4. Employment of Near Full-Length Ribosome Gene TA-Cloning and Primer-Blast to Detect Multiple Species in a Natural Complex Microbial Community Using Species-Specific Primers Designed with Their Genome Sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Huimin; He, Hongkui; Yu, Xiujuan; Xu, Zhaohui; Zhang, Zhizhou

    2016-11-01

    It remains an unsolved problem to quantify a natural microbial community by rapidly and conveniently measuring multiple species with functional significance. Most widely used high throughput next-generation sequencing methods can only generate information mainly for genus-level taxonomic identification and quantification, and detection of multiple species in a complex microbial community is still heavily dependent on approaches based on near full-length ribosome RNA gene or genome sequence information. In this study, we used near full-length rRNA gene library sequencing plus Primer-Blast to design species-specific primers based on whole microbial genome sequences. The primers were intended to be specific at the species level within relevant microbial communities, i.e., a defined genomics background. The primers were tested with samples collected from the Daqu (also called fermentation starters) and pit mud of a traditional Chinese liquor production plant. Sixteen pairs of primers were found to be suitable for identification of individual species. Among them, seven pairs were chosen to measure the abundance of microbial species through quantitative PCR. The combination of near full-length ribosome RNA gene library sequencing and Primer-Blast may represent a broadly useful protocol to quantify multiple species in complex microbial population samples with species-specific primers.

  5. Cleanups in My Community

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Cleanups in My Community (CIMC) is a public web application that enables integrated access through maps, lists and search filtering to site-specific information EPA...

  6. Assessment of macrofauna around Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS), Maharashtra, India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubal, Priti; Ambekar, Ajit; Prakash, Chandra; Sawant, Paramita B.; Pal, Asim K.; Lakra, W.S.; Baburajan, A.

    2015-01-01

    A study was carried out to observe the macrofaunal habitation in the coastal area of India's first commercial atomic power station at Tarapur, Maharashtra. Mostly macrobenthos are sedentary as well as sessile in nature; therefore, they are used as indicator organism to monitor health of marine ecosystem. The faunal record observed consisted of 25 groups with 16 different polychaete families dominated by nereidae, capitellidae and spionidae. Shannon wiener index (H') was highest at Varor for faunal groups (2.07) and polychaete families (2.89) and lowest at anthropogenically stressed Uchheli (faunal group -0.77 and polychaete family 1.94). These findings were further supported by dendrogram. Margalef's species richness was highest at Varor (fauna -1.93 and polychaete family -1.61) and lowest at Nandgoan (fauna-1.00 and polychaete family - 0.74) due to dominance of environmental bioindicators, polychaete (nereidae). Along with these observations, hydro-sedimentological parameters revealed comprehensive picture of community structure of macrobenthos and polychaetes families. The elevated water temperature was noticed at TAPS 3 and 4 (30.1 °C) which is under permissible limit (26-28°C ±7) accompanied by pH (7.0). Dissolved oxygen was lowest at Uchheli (4.1mgl -1 ) and maximum was observed at TAPS 1 and 2 area (7.5mgl -1 ). (author)

  7. The Latino Migrant Worker HIV Prevention Program: building a community partnership through a community health worker training program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez, Jesús; Silva-Suarez, Georgina; Serna, Claudia A; De La Rosa, Mario

    2012-01-01

    There is limited information on the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on Latino migrant workers (LMWs), although available data indicate that this community is being disproportionally affected. The need for prevention programs that address the specific needs of LMWs is becoming well recognized. HIV prevention interventions that train and employ community health workers are a culturally appropriate way to address the issues of community trust and capacity building in this community. This article describes the Latino Migrant Worker HIV Prevention Program and its efforts to train and engage community health workers in the prevention of HIV among LMWs in South Florida.

  8. Positioning Community Colleges via Economic Development. ERIC Digest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeiss, Anthony

    Community colleges, because of their late arrival in the development of American education, have suffered from an image and identity problem since their inception. To deal with this problem, community colleges should position themselves as unique community-based service-oriented colleges and market a specific focus to the general public. The first…

  9. Significance of Mangrove Biodiversity Conservation in Fishery Production and Living Conditions of Coastal Communities in Sri Lanka

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chaya Sarathchandra

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Sri Lanka is an island nation where ~59% of the population live in coastal regions. The main income source in these areas is fishing, which contributes to ~44% of the national GDP. Fishery resources depend on mangroves, especially in estuaries and lagoons, as mangroves provide the best nursery grounds for both brackish and marine species that are significant for the island’s fishing industry. However, growing pressures from an increasing population and development are causing substantial damage to mangroves resulting in loss of mangrove diversity. We analyzed whether variation in mangrove diversity within a lagoon system affects fishery production and livelihoods. Along the lagoon we selected three sites, which were 5 km apart from each other, for the survey. We used three 50 m long transects at each site for faunal and floral diversity assessments. The fishery catch was recorded from three crafts in each side. The socio-economic survey was conducted in 30 households per site using a standard questionnaire. In the site with the highest floral and faunal diversity, we also recorded the highest fish catch, but not the highest crab or shrimp catches. Our results confirm that higher mangrove diversity—and not just area—supports higher income generation. Thus, future development should prioritize biodiversity conservation in coastal regions.

  10. Continental Island Formation and the Archaeology of Defaunation on Zanzibar, Eastern Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary E Prendergast

    Full Text Available With rising sea levels at the end of the Pleistocene, land-bridge or continental islands were formed around the world. Many of these islands have been extensively studied from a biogeographical perspective, particularly in terms of impacts of island creation on terrestrial vertebrates. However, a majority of studies rely on contemporary faunal distributions rather than fossil data. Here, we present archaeological findings from the island of Zanzibar (also known as Unguja off the eastern African coast, to provide a temporal perspective on island biogeography. The site of Kuumbi Cave, excavated by multiple teams since 2005, has revealed the longest cultural and faunal record for any eastern African island. This record extends to the Late Pleistocene, when Zanzibar was part of the mainland, and attests to the extirpation of large mainland mammals in the millennia after the island became separated. We draw on modeling and sedimentary data to examine the process by which Zanzibar was most recently separated from the mainland, providing the first systematic insights into the nature and chronology of this process. We subsequently investigate the cultural and faunal record from Kuumbi Cave, which provides at least five key temporal windows into human activities and faunal presence: two at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, one during the period of post-LGM rapid sea level rise and island formation, and two in the late Holocene (Middle Iron Age and Late Iron Age. This record demonstrates the presence of large mammals during the period of island formation, and their severe reduction or disappearance in the Kuumbi Cave sequence by the late Holocene. While various limitations, including discontinuity in the sequence, problematize attempts to clearly attribute defaunation to anthropogenic or island biogeographic processes, Kuumbi Cave offers an unprecedented opportunity to examine post-Pleistocene island formation and its long-term consequences for

  11. Continental Island Formation and the Archaeology of Defaunation on Zanzibar, Eastern Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prendergast, Mary E.; Rouby, Hélène; Punnwong, Paramita; Marchant, Robert; Crowther, Alison; Kourampas, Nikos; Shipton, Ceri; Walsh, Martin; Lambeck, Kurt; Boivin, Nicole L.

    2016-01-01

    With rising sea levels at the end of the Pleistocene, land-bridge or continental islands were formed around the world. Many of these islands have been extensively studied from a biogeographical perspective, particularly in terms of impacts of island creation on terrestrial vertebrates. However, a majority of studies rely on contemporary faunal distributions rather than fossil data. Here, we present archaeological findings from the island of Zanzibar (also known as Unguja) off the eastern African coast, to provide a temporal perspective on island biogeography. The site of Kuumbi Cave, excavated by multiple teams since 2005, has revealed the longest cultural and faunal record for any eastern African island. This record extends to the Late Pleistocene, when Zanzibar was part of the mainland, and attests to the extirpation of large mainland mammals in the millennia after the island became separated. We draw on modeling and sedimentary data to examine the process by which Zanzibar was most recently separated from the mainland, providing the first systematic insights into the nature and chronology of this process. We subsequently investigate the cultural and faunal record from Kuumbi Cave, which provides at least five key temporal windows into human activities and faunal presence: two at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), one during the period of post-LGM rapid sea level rise and island formation, and two in the late Holocene (Middle Iron Age and Late Iron Age). This record demonstrates the presence of large mammals during the period of island formation, and their severe reduction or disappearance in the Kuumbi Cave sequence by the late Holocene. While various limitations, including discontinuity in the sequence, problematize attempts to clearly attribute defaunation to anthropogenic or island biogeographic processes, Kuumbi Cave offers an unprecedented opportunity to examine post-Pleistocene island formation and its long-term consequences for human and animal

  12. Continental Island Formation and the Archaeology of Defaunation on Zanzibar, Eastern Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prendergast, Mary E; Rouby, Hélène; Punnwong, Paramita; Marchant, Robert; Crowther, Alison; Kourampas, Nikos; Shipton, Ceri; Walsh, Martin; Lambeck, Kurt; Boivin, Nicole L

    2016-01-01

    With rising sea levels at the end of the Pleistocene, land-bridge or continental islands were formed around the world. Many of these islands have been extensively studied from a biogeographical perspective, particularly in terms of impacts of island creation on terrestrial vertebrates. However, a majority of studies rely on contemporary faunal distributions rather than fossil data. Here, we present archaeological findings from the island of Zanzibar (also known as Unguja) off the eastern African coast, to provide a temporal perspective on island biogeography. The site of Kuumbi Cave, excavated by multiple teams since 2005, has revealed the longest cultural and faunal record for any eastern African island. This record extends to the Late Pleistocene, when Zanzibar was part of the mainland, and attests to the extirpation of large mainland mammals in the millennia after the island became separated. We draw on modeling and sedimentary data to examine the process by which Zanzibar was most recently separated from the mainland, providing the first systematic insights into the nature and chronology of this process. We subsequently investigate the cultural and faunal record from Kuumbi Cave, which provides at least five key temporal windows into human activities and faunal presence: two at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), one during the period of post-LGM rapid sea level rise and island formation, and two in the late Holocene (Middle Iron Age and Late Iron Age). This record demonstrates the presence of large mammals during the period of island formation, and their severe reduction or disappearance in the Kuumbi Cave sequence by the late Holocene. While various limitations, including discontinuity in the sequence, problematize attempts to clearly attribute defaunation to anthropogenic or island biogeographic processes, Kuumbi Cave offers an unprecedented opportunity to examine post-Pleistocene island formation and its long-term consequences for human and animal

  13. Delimiting communities in the Pacific Northwest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellen M. Donoghue

    2003-01-01

    The paper presents an approach for delimiting communities in the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) region of the Pacific Northwest that responds to the need to assess impacts and issues associated with broad-scale ecosystem management. Census block groups are aggregated to provide an alternative to more commonly used geographic delimitations of communities, specifically...

  14. Fertilizer regime impacts on abundance and diversity of soil fauna across a poplar plantation chronosequence in coastal Eastern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shaojun; Chen, Han Y H; Tan, Yan; Fan, Huan; Ruan, Honghua

    2016-02-09

    Soil fauna are critical for ecosystem function and sensitive to the changes of soil fertility. The effects of fertilization on soil fauna communities, however, remain poorly understood. We examined the effects of fertilization form and quantity on the abundance, diversity and composition of soil fauna across an age-sequence of poplar plantations (i.e., 4-, 9- and 20-yr-old) in the coastal region of eastern China. We found that the effects of fertilization on faunal abundance, diversity, and composition differed among stand ages. Organic fertilizers increased the total abundance of soil fauna, whereas low level inorganic fertilizers imparted increases only in the 4- and 9-yr-old stands. The number of faunal groups did not change with fertilization, but Shannon's and Margalef diversity indices increased under low level organic fertilization, and decreased under inorganic fertilization in the 9- and 20-yr-old stands. Community composition of soil fauna differed strongly with fertilization and stand age. The changes in soil fauna were strongly associated with the changes in microbial biomass carbon, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, and available phosphorus and potassium. Our findings suggest that the responses of soil fauna to fertilization may be mediated through the fertilization effects on soil nutrient availability.

  15. Case study in designing a research fundamentals curriculum for community health workers: a university-community clinic collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumbauld, Jill; Kalichman, Michael; Bell, Yvonne; Dagnino, Cynthia; Taras, Howard L

    2014-01-01

    Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly incorporated into research teams. Training them in research methodology and ethics, while relating these themes to a community's characteristics, may help to better integrate these health promotion personnel into research teams. An interactive training course on research fundamentals for CHWs was designed and implemented jointly by a community agency serving a primarily Latino, rural population and an academic health center. A focus group of community members and input from community leaders comprised a community-based participatory research model to create three 3-hour interactive training sessions. The resulting curriculum was interactive and successfully stimulated dialogue between trainees and academic researchers. By choosing course activities that elicited community-specific responses into each session's discussion, researchers learned about the community as much as the training course educated CHWs about research. The approach is readily adaptable, making it useful to other communities where CHWs are part of the health system.

  16. Interactions between the invasive Burmese python, Python bivittatus Kuhl, and the local mosquito community in Florida, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeves, Lawrence E; Krysko, Kenneth L; Avery, Michael L; Gillett-Kaufman, Jennifer L; Kawahara, Akito Y; Connelly, C Roxanne; Kaufman, Phillip E

    2018-01-01

    The Burmese python, Python bivittatus Kuhl, is a well-established invasive species in the greater Everglades ecosystem of southern Florida, USA. Most research on its ecological impacts focuses on its role as a predator and its trophic interactions with native vertebrate species, particularly mammals. Beyond predation, there is little known about the ecological interactions between P. bivittatus and native faunal communities. It is likely that established populations of P. bivittatus in southern Florida serve as hosts for native mosquito communities. To test this concept, we used mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I DNA barcoding to determine the hosts of blood fed mosquitoes collected at a research facility in northern Florida where captive P. bivittatus and Argentine black and white tegu, Salvator merianae (Duméril and Bibron), are maintained in outdoor enclosures, accessible to local mosquitoes. We recovered python DNA from the blood meals of three species of Culex mosquitoes: Culex erraticus (Dyar and Knab), Culex quinquefasciatus Say, and Culex pilosus (Dyar and Knab). Culex erraticus conclusively (P = 0.001; Fisher's Exact Test) took more blood meals from P. bivittatus than from any other available host. While the majority of mosquito blood meals in our sample were derived from P. bivittatus, only one was derived from S. merianae. These results demonstrate that local mosquitoes will feed on invasive P. bivittatus, a recently introduced host. If these interactions also occur in southern Florida, P. bivittatus may be involved in the transmission networks of mosquito-vectored pathogens. Our results also illustrate the potential of detecting the presence of P. bivittatus in the field through screening mosquito blood meals for their DNA.

  17. Interactions between the invasive Burmese python, Python bivittatus Kuhl, and the local mosquito community in Florida, USA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lawrence E Reeves

    Full Text Available The Burmese python, Python bivittatus Kuhl, is a well-established invasive species in the greater Everglades ecosystem of southern Florida, USA. Most research on its ecological impacts focuses on its role as a predator and its trophic interactions with native vertebrate species, particularly mammals. Beyond predation, there is little known about the ecological interactions between P. bivittatus and native faunal communities. It is likely that established populations of P. bivittatus in southern Florida serve as hosts for native mosquito communities. To test this concept, we used mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I DNA barcoding to determine the hosts of blood fed mosquitoes collected at a research facility in northern Florida where captive P. bivittatus and Argentine black and white tegu, Salvator merianae (Duméril and Bibron, are maintained in outdoor enclosures, accessible to local mosquitoes. We recovered python DNA from the blood meals of three species of Culex mosquitoes: Culex erraticus (Dyar and Knab, Culex quinquefasciatus Say, and Culex pilosus (Dyar and Knab. Culex erraticus conclusively (P = 0.001; Fisher's Exact Test took more blood meals from P. bivittatus than from any other available host. While the majority of mosquito blood meals in our sample were derived from P. bivittatus, only one was derived from S. merianae. These results demonstrate that local mosquitoes will feed on invasive P. bivittatus, a recently introduced host. If these interactions also occur in southern Florida, P. bivittatus may be involved in the transmission networks of mosquito-vectored pathogens. Our results also illustrate the potential of detecting the presence of P. bivittatus in the field through screening mosquito blood meals for their DNA.

  18. FISCAL FEATURES SPECIFIC TO INTRA-COMMUNITY TRANSACTIONS OF NEW MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION AND EXCISABLE PRODUCTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PALIU - POPA LUCIA

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available With a view to our country's accession to the Community space, the Romanian legislation has undergone many changes, and we should point out among others those in the tax system, that primarily aims to ensure the functioning of the national economy in the globalization of the economic and social activities worldwide. Although at first sight the new procedures have a positive impact on the development of intra-Community commercial businesses, due to the elimination of customs formalities and hence of the fees paid to customs officials, however there are costs generated by the application of EU law, which should not be neglected. Considering the many situations that arise in carrying out intra-Community commercial transactions, that are aimed at the differentiated tax procedures from the value added tax perspective, we considered appropriate, to address below the tax features related to intra-Community acquisitions and supplies of new means of transport and excisable products, because these are two important categories of goods that generate differential tax treatments, so that after the tax analysis we should be able to draw some relevant conclusions.

  19. The challenges of reshaping disease specific and care oriented community based services towards comprehensive goals: a situation appraisal in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Helen; Schaay, Nikki; Dudley, Lilian; Goliath, Charlyn; Qukula, Tobeka

    2015-09-30

    Similar to other countries in the region, South Africa is currently reorienting a loosely structured and highly diverse community care system that evolved around HIV and TB, into a formalized, comprehensive and integrated primary health care outreach programme, based on community health workers (CHWs). While the difficulties of establishing national CHW programmes are well described, the reshaping of disease specific and care oriented community services, based outside the formal health system, poses particular challenges. This paper is an in-depth case study of the challenges of implementing reforms to community based services (CBS) in one province of South Africa. A multi-method situation appraisal of CBS in the Western Cape Province was conducted over eight months in close collaboration with provincial stakeholders. The appraisal mapped the roles and service delivery, human resource, financing and governance arrangements of an extensive non-governmental organisation (NGO) contracted and CHW based service delivery infrastructure that emerged over 15-20 years in this province. It also gathered the perspectives of a wide range of actors - including communities, users, NGOs, PHC providers and managers - on the current state and future visions of CBS. While there was wide support for new approaches to CBS, there are a number of challenges to achieving this. Although largely government funded, the community based delivery platform remains marginal to the formal public primary health care (PHC) and district health systems. CHW roles evolved from a system of home based care and are limited in scope. There is a high turnover of cadres, and support systems (supervision, monitoring, financing, training), coordination between CHWs, NGOs and PHC facilities, and sub-district capacity for planning and management of CBS are all poorly developed. Reorienting community based services that have their origins in care responses to HIV and TB presents an inter-related set of resource

  20. Do we need community geriatrics?

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    O'Hanlon, S

    2012-01-30

    Community geriatrics has evolved as a specific aspect of geriatric medicine in the UK. In Ireland there is uncertainty as to how it should be planned. This is the first national survey of consultants, specialist registrars and general practitioners to seek their opinions. Most consultants and GPs reported already having a community aspect to their current practice, e.g. nursing home visits or community hospital visits, whereas most SpRs did not. Forty three of 62 respondents (69%) agreed that there is a need for community geriatricians and that there should be integration with hospital medicine. Fifty seven of 62 respondents (92%) felt that there would be a beneficial effect on GP services, though some expressed concern about work overlap. Thirteen of the 25 SpRs (52%) in training hoped to begin practice in community geriatrics in the future.

  1. Discovering determinants influencing faith community nursing practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziebarth, Deborah Jean

    2014-01-01

    Faith community nursing (FCN) is an important healthcare delivery system for individuals, families, and communities. Determinants are factors that might influence FCN care. A literature review isolated eight determinants that influence practice; however, there are no clear causal relationships linking specific determinants to specific practice changes. Research is needed to assess how determinants influence practice and outcomes, and provide evidence-based solutions to isolate and manage determinants. A Conceptual Model of FCN, Theoretical Definitions and a Diagram of Determinants of FCN Practice are provided.

  2. Temporal variability in discharge and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in a tropical glacier-fed stream

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Dean; Andino, Patricio; Calvez, Roger

    2014-01-01

    discharge parameters 3, 6, 9, 21, and 45 d before sampling. The effect of flow (slopes of regressions of faunal metrics vs flow) did not differ among sites, but the amount of variation explained by flow was significant only at the 2 downstream sites. Little synchrony was found in variability among sites......-fed stream, a prerequisite for subsequent predictions of consequences of tropical glacier melting on diversity, composition, and stability of stream communities....

  3. Impact of Grassland Reseeding, Herbicide spraying and Ploughing on Diversity and Abundance of Soil Arthropods.

    OpenAIRE

    Wei Liu; Wei Liu; Wei Liu; Junling Zhang; Stuart L Norris; Phil Murray

    2016-01-01

    In order to determine the interactive effect of reseeding, herbicide spraying and ploughing on soil fauna communities, we conducted a grassland reseeding experiment combined with pre-reseed management to examine how with the whole reseeding process affects soil faunal composition. Sampling occasions and exact treatments were as follows: 1) before chemical herbicide spray; 2) after spray but before ploughing; 3) after ploughing but before reseeding; and 4) after one year of recovery. Our resul...

  4. Community Decision-Making for Education Associations. PR Bookshelf No. 10.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Education Association, Washington, DC.

    This booklet seeks to acquaint education association leaders with the concept of the community power structure, specifically with how to identify powerful individuals in the community and their role in decision making. The following topics are covered: the nature of community decision making, bases for community influence, characteristics of power…

  5. No specific time window distinguishes between community-, healthcare-, and hospital-acquired bacteremia, but they are prognostically robust

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gradel, Kim Oren; Nielsen, Stig Lønberg; Pedersen, Court

    2014-01-01

    ), and hospital acquisition influenced the results of prognostic models. Design. Population-based cohort study. Setting. Hospitals in 3 areas of Denmark (2.3 million inhabitants) during 2000-2011. Methods. We computed graphs depicting proportions of males, absence of comorbidity, microorganisms, and 30-day......], 1.23-1.37) to 1.99 (95% CI, 1.48-2.67) for HCA and from 1.36 (95% CI, 1.24-1.50) to 2.53 (95% CI, 2.01-3.20) for hospital acquisition compared with community acquisition. Area under the ROC curve changed marginally from 0.684 (95% CI, 0.679-0.689) to 0.700 (95% CI, 0.695-0.705). Conclusions. No time......) curve for 30-day mortality, adjusting for sex, age, comorbidity, and microorganisms. Results. For 56,606 bacteremic episodes, no sharp transitions were detected on a specific day after admission. Among the 8 combined time windows, ORs for 30-day mortality varied from 1.30 (95% confidence interval [CI...

  6. Exploring Culturally Specific Drug Resistance Strategies of Hawaiian Youth in Rural Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okamoto, Scott K.; Po'a-Kekuawela, Ka'ohinani; Chin, Coralee I. H.; Nebre, La Risa H.; Helm, Susana

    2010-01-01

    This qualitative study examined the drug resistance strategies of Hawaiian youth residing in rural communities in Hawai'i. Forty seven youth participated in 14 focus groups which focused on the social and environmental context of drug use for these youth. The findings indicated that there were 47 references to resistance strategies used in drug…

  7. BEYOND ZERO HARM: Promoting effective community participation ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Mining-affected communities globally, and specifically in West Africa, experience both the potential of important socio-economic development opportunities and the ... It does so through the co-production of consistent and meaningful local data on community well-being, the promotion of more transparent and inclusive local ...

  8. Self-Esteem and Feelings of Community Connectedness of At-Risk Adolescents Attending Community-Based Afterschool Programs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tina Loughlin

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available This research investigated the relationship between adolescent afterschool program attendance, self-esteem and feelings of community connectedness. Thirty-nine of the 61 at-risk adolescents enrolled in two federally funded, community based afterschool programs participated in the study. Participants completed a 10-item self-esteem questionnaire and a 5-item section of the Youth Involved in Community Issues Survey (YICI to measure perceptions of community connectedness. Attendance records were also collected from the sites. Data were analyzed using Pearson Correlations. Results indicated that there was not a significant relationship between the total variables. The individual item analysis, however, did find a significant relationship between adolescent community connectedness and self esteem items. Findings suggest that there is a relationship to be explored and strengthened through means of community outreach for adolescents. Conclusions from this study have important implications for youth practice. Specifically, program leaders need to help adolescents get involved in the community as contributing members.

  9. Teaching community diagnosis to medical students: evaluation of a case study approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bair, C W

    1980-01-01

    A unique case study approach to training medical students in community diagnosis techniques was initiated at the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo. This paper describes the five elements of this teaching method: preliminary specification of target community and data base; group problem-solving requirement; specification of desired output; defined performance objectives; and regularly scheduled time for analysis. Experience with the case study method over two years was evaluated to identify specific strengths and weaknesses. The identified strengths include use of limited educational time to introduce community health problems, development of experience in a collegial team work setting, and specific awareness of the types of data useful to the analysis of community health service problems. Negative evaluations suggested that the method was not conducive to the development of skills in three areas: ability to establish the relative importance of health problems in communities; ability to identify an appropriate health system response to a community health problem from feasible alternatives; and ability to anticipate the community impact of health program modifications or improvements. Potential explanations for these deficiencies include: need for increased didactic support in the classroom for particular skill areas; need to establish a direct field experience in community diagnosis; inappropriateness of the data base used for evaluation of particular skills; and the probability that quantitative analysis, as used in this evaluation, may not be sufficient in and of itself to measure the outcome of a community diagnosis experience.

  10. Community Partner Perspectives on Benefits, Challenges, Facilitating Factors, and Lessons Learned from Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships in Detroit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caldwell, Wilma Brakefield; Reyes, Angela G; Rowe, Zachary; Weinert, Julia; Israel, Barbara A

    2015-01-01

    There is an extensive body of literature on community-based participatory research (CBPR) and the role of community-academic partnerships, much of which has involved community partners in the conceptualization and preparation of publications. However, there has been a relative dearth of solely community voices addressing these topics, given the other roles and responsibilities which community members and leaders of community-based organizations (CBOs) have. The purpose of this article is to share the perspectives of three long-time (>20 years) community partners involved in the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center and its affiliated partnerships. In this article, we community partners provide our assessment of the benefits and challenges in using a CBPR approach at the personal, organizational, and community levels; the factors that facilitate effective partnerships; and our lessons learned through engagement in CBPR. We also present specific recommendations from a community perspective to researchers and institutions interested in conducting CBPR.

  11. Social phobia, anxiety, oppositional behavior, social skills, and self-concept in children with specific selective mutism, generalized selective mutism, and community controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Charles E; McHolm, Angela E; Boyle, Michael H

    2006-08-01

    We compared social phobia, anxiety, oppositional behavior, social skills, and self-concept in three groups: (1) 28 children with specific mutism (who did not speak to teachers but were more likely to speak to parents and peers at home and school); (2) 30 children with generalized mutism (whose speaking was restricted primarily to their homes); and (3) 52 community controls. Children with generalized mutism evidenced higher anxiety at school, and more separation anxiety, OCD, and depressive symptoms at home. Parents and teachers reported that the social phobia and anxiety scores of children in both the specific and generalized mutism subgroups were higher than controls. Children in both the specific and generalized mutism groups evidenced greater deficits in verbal and nonverbal social skills at home and school than controls. Teachers and parents did not report differences in nonverbal measures of social cooperation and conflict resolution and we found no evidence that selective mutism was linked to an increase in externalizing problems such as oppositional behavior or ADHD. Although children with specific mutism speak in a wider range of situations and appear less anxious to their teachers than children with generalized mutism, significant socially phobic behavior and social skills deficits are present in both groups.

  12. Online Communities: The Case of Immigrants in Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panaretou, Ioannis; Karousos, Nikos; Kostopoulos, Ioannis; Foteinou, Georgia-Barbara; Pavlidis, Giorgos

    Immigrants in Greece are an increasing population, very often threatened by poverty and social exclusion. At the same time Greek government has no formal policy concerning their assimilation in Greek society and this situation generates multiple problems in both immigrants and native population. In this work we suggest that new technology can alleviate these effects and we present specific tools and methodologies adopted by ANCE, in order to support online communities and specifically immigrant communities in Greece. This approach has the potential to support immigrant communities' in terms of the organization of personal data, communication, and provision of a working space for dedicated use. The Information System's operational features are also presented, along with other characteristics and state-of-the-art features in order to propose a general direction to the design of online communities' mechanisms.

  13. Analysis of metagenomic data reveals common features of halophilic viral communities across continents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roux, Simon; Enault, Francois; Ravet, Viviane; Colombet, Jonathan; Bettarel, Yvan; Auguet, Jean-Christophe; Bouvier, Thierry; Lucas-Staat, Soizick; Vellet, Agnès; Prangishvili, David; Forterre, Patrick; Debroas, Didier; Sime-Ngando, Telesphore

    2016-03-01

    Microbial communities from hypersaline ponds, dominated by halophilic archaea, are considered specific of such extreme conditions. The associated viral communities have accordingly been shown to display specific features, such as similar morphologies among different sites. However, little is known about the genetic diversity of these halophilic viral communities across the Earth. Here, we studied viral communities in hypersaline ponds sampled on the coast of Senegal (8-36% of salinity) using metagenomics approach, and compared them with hypersaline viromes from Australia and Spain. The specificity of hyperhalophilic viruses could first be demonstrated at a community scale, salinity being a strong discriminating factor between communities. For the major viral group detected in all samples (Caudovirales), only a limited number of halophilic Caudovirales clades were highlighted. These clades gather viruses from different continents and display consistent genetic composition, indicating that they represent related lineages with a worldwide distribution. Non-tailed hyperhalophilic viruses display a greater rate of gene transfer and recombination, with uncharacterized genes conserved across different kind of viruses and plasmids. Thus, hypersaline viral communities around the world appear to form a genetically consistent community that are likely to harbour new genes coding for enzymes specifically adapted to these environments. © 2015 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. A specific PFT and sub-canopy structure for simulating oil palm in the Community Land Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Y.; Knohl, A.; Roupsard, O.; Bernoux, M.; LE Maire, G.; Panferov, O.; Kotowska, M.; Meijide, A.

    2015-12-01

    Towards an effort to quantify the effects of rainforests to oil palm conversion on land-atmosphere carbon, water and energy fluxes, a specific plant functional type (PFT) and sub-canopy structure are developed for simulating oil palm within the Community Land Model (CLM4.5). Current global land surface models only simulate annual crops beside natural vegetation. In this study, a multilayer oil palm subroutine is developed in CLM4.5 for simulating oil palm's phenology and carbon and nitrogen allocation. The oil palm has monopodial morphology and sequential phenology of around 40 stacked phytomers, each carrying a large leaf and a fruit bunch, forming a natural multilayer canopy. A sub-canopy phenological and physiological parameterization is thus introduced, so that multiple phytomer components develop simultaneously but according to their different phenological steps (growth, yield and senescence) at different canopy layers. This specific multilayer structure was proved useful for simulating canopy development in terms of leaf area index (LAI) and fruit yield in terms of carbon and nitrogen outputs in Jambi, Sumatra (Fan et al. 2015). The study supports that species-specific traits, such as palm's monopodial morphology and sequential phenology, are necessary representations in terrestrial biosphere models in order to accurately simulate vegetation dynamics and feedbacks to climate. Further, oil palm's multilayer structure allows adding all canopy-level calculations of radiation, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and respiration, beside phenology, also to the sub-canopy level, so as to eliminate scale mismatch problem among different processes. A series of adaptations are made to the CLM model. Initial results show that the adapted multilayer radiative transfer scheme and the explicit represention of oil palm's canopy structure improve on simulating photosynthesis-light response curve. The explicit photosynthesis and dynamic leaf nitrogen calculations per canopy

  15. Different substrates and starter inocula govern microbial community structures in biogas reactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satpathy, Preseela; Steinigeweg, Sven; Cypionka, Heribert; Engelen, Bert

    2016-01-01

    The influence of different starter inocula on the microbial communities in biogas batch reactors fed with fresh maize and maize silage as substrates was investigated. Molecular biological analysis by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA gene fragments showed that each inoculum bore specific microbial communities with varying predominant phylotypes. Both, bacterial and archaeal DGGE profiles displayed three distinct communities that developed depending on the type of inoculum. Although maize and silage are similar substrates, different communities dominated the lactate-rich silage compared to lactate-free fresh maize. Cluster analysis of DGGE gels showed the communities of the same substrates to be stable with their respective inoculum. Bacteria-specific DGGE analysis revealed a rich diversity with Firmicutes being predominant. The other abundant phylotypes were Bacteroidetes and Synergistetes. Archaea-specific DGGE analysis displayed less diverse community structures, identifying members of the Methanosarcinales as the dominant methanogens present in all the three biogas digesters. In general, the source of inoculum played a significant role in shaping microbial communities. Adaptability of the inoculum to the substrates fed also influenced community compositions which further impacted the rates of biogas production.

  16. Identification of overlapping communities and their hierarchy by locally calculating community-changing resolution levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Havemann, Frank; Heinz, Michael; Struck, Alexander; Gläser, Jochen

    2011-01-01

    We propose a new local, deterministic and parameter-free algorithm that detects fuzzy and crisp overlapping communities in a weighted network and simultaneously reveals their hierarchy. Using a local fitness function, the algorithm greedily expands natural communities of seeds until the whole graph is covered. The hierarchy of communities is obtained analytically by calculating resolution levels at which communities grow rather than numerically by testing different resolution levels. This analytic procedure is not only more exact than its numerical alternatives such as LFM and GCE but also much faster. Critical resolution levels can be identified by searching for intervals in which large changes of the resolution do not lead to growth of communities. We tested our algorithm on benchmark graphs and on a network of 492 papers in information science. Combined with a specific post-processing, the algorithm gives much more precise results on LFR benchmarks with high overlap compared to other algorithms and performs very similarly to GCE

  17. Identification of overlapping communities and their hierarchy by locally calculating community-changing resolution levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Havemann, Frank; Heinz, Michael; Struck, Alexander; Gläser, Jochen

    2011-01-01

    We propose a new local, deterministic and parameter-free algorithm that detects fuzzy and crisp overlapping communities in a weighted network and simultaneously reveals their hierarchy. Using a local fitness function, the algorithm greedily expands natural communities of seeds until the whole graph is covered. The hierarchy of communities is obtained analytically by calculating resolution levels at which communities grow rather than numerically by testing different resolution levels. This analytic procedure is not only more exact than its numerical alternatives such as LFM and GCE but also much faster. Critical resolution levels can be identified by searching for intervals in which large changes of the resolution do not lead to growth of communities. We tested our algorithm on benchmark graphs and on a network of 492 papers in information science. Combined with a specific post-processing, the algorithm gives much more precise results on LFR benchmarks with high overlap compared to other algorithms and performs very similarly to GCE.

  18. Soil ecosystem functioning under climate change: plant species and community effects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kardol, Paul [ORNL; Cregger, Melissa [ORNL; Campany, Courtney E [ORNL; Classen, Aimee T [ORNL

    2010-01-01

    Feedbacks of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change depend on soil ecosystem dynamics. Soil ecosystems can directly and indirectly respond to climate change. For example, warming directly alters microbial communities by increasing their activity. Climate change may also alter plant community composition, thus indirectly altering the microbial communities that feed on their inputs. To better understand how climate change may directly and indirectly alter soil ecosystem functioning, we investigated old-field plant community and soil ecosystem responses to single and combined effects of elevated [CO2], warming, and water availability. Specifically, we collected soils at the plot level (plant community soils), and beneath dominant plant species (plant-specific soils). We used microbial enzyme activities and soil nematodes as indicators for soil ecosystem functioning. Our study resulted in two main findings: 1) Overall, while there were some interactions, water, relative to increases in [CO2] and warming, had the largest impact on plant community composition, soil enzyme activities, and soil nematodes. Multiple climate change factors can interact to shape ecosystems, but in this case, those interactions were largely driven by changes in water availability. 2) Indirect effects of climate change, via changes in plant communities, had a significant impact on soil ecosystem functioning and this impact was not obvious when looking at plant community soils. Climate change effects on enzyme activities and soil nematode abundance and community structure strongly differed between plant community soils and plant-specific soils, but also within plant-specific soils. In sum, these results indicate that accurate assessments of climate change impacts on soil ecosystem functioning require incorporating the concurrent changes in plant function and plant community composition. Climate change-induced shifts in plant community composition will likely modify or counteract the direct

  19. 77 FR 68705 - Community Connect Broadband Grant Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-16

    ... Administrator will take into consideration: (a) Service provided to communities in persistent poverty counties... ``community-oriented connectivity'' concept will stimulate practical, everyday uses and applications of... specifically address each of the following criteria to differentiate their applications: (i) Persistent poverty...

  20. Measuring disaster-resilient communities: a case study of coastal communities in Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kafle, Shesh Kanta

    2012-01-01

    should be present in all the countries or locations. As this study shows, community resiliency can be measured but any such measurement must be both location- and hazard-specific.

  1. Submerged macrophyte communities in the Forsmark area. Building of a GIS application as a tool for biomass estimations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fredriksson, Ronny

    2005-12-01

    The aim of this study was to compile the information from previous studies to produce a GIS application that both illustrates the distribution of different vegetation communities and also makes it possible to estimate the total biomass of the different vegetation communities and its associated fauna. The GIS application was created by means of the software Arc View 3.3 by Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. Distribution readings and quantitative data of submerged macrophyte communities and its associated fauna was obtained from studies by Kautsky et al. and by Borgiel. Information about the macrophyte distribution in Laangoersviken, located in the northern parts of Kallrigafjaerden, was obtained from a report by Upplandsstiftelsen. Information about water depth and bottom substrate was available as USGS DEM file, produced by Geological Survey of Sweden. Complementary data of the covering degree of submerged vegetation was obtained from a study using an under water video camera by Tobiasson. Quantitative data on macrophyte and faunal biomass were either obtained from the primary SKB data base SICADA or directly from reports. Samples were compiled and analysed according to dominating vegetation. The work was carried out as follows: Where information about the bottom substrate was available polygons were created by means of the substrate shape file and depth grid from Geological Survey of Sweden. The vegetation community and the covering degree on a certain depth and substrate combination were determined by compiled information from studies by Kautsky and by Borgiel. All observations from a certain bottom substrate were analysed to find the dominating vegetation within different depth ranges. After determining the dominating vegetation, the covering degrees of different macrophyte classes within each depth range were calculated as a mean of all readings. Areas without information about the bottom substrate, but still adjacent to areas included in the

  2. Submerged macrophyte communities in the Forsmark area. Building of a GIS application as a tool for biomass estimations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fredriksson, Ronny [Univ. of Kalmar (Sweden)

    2005-12-15

    The aim of this study was to compile the information from previous studies to produce a GIS application that both illustrates the distribution of different vegetation communities and also makes it possible to estimate the total biomass of the different vegetation communities and its associated fauna. The GIS application was created by means of the software Arc View 3.3 by Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. Distribution readings and quantitative data of submerged macrophyte communities and its associated fauna was obtained from studies by Kautsky et al. and by Borgiel. Information about the macrophyte distribution in Laangoersviken, located in the northern parts of Kallrigafjaerden, was obtained from a report by Upplandsstiftelsen. Information about water depth and bottom substrate was available as USGS DEM file, produced by Geological Survey of Sweden. Complementary data of the covering degree of submerged vegetation was obtained from a study using an under water video camera by Tobiasson. Quantitative data on macrophyte and faunal biomass were either obtained from the primary SKB data base SICADA or directly from reports. Samples were compiled and analysed according to dominating vegetation. The work was carried out as follows: Where information about the bottom substrate was available polygons were created by means of the substrate shape file and depth grid from Geological Survey of Sweden. The vegetation community and the covering degree on a certain depth and substrate combination were determined by compiled information from studies by Kautsky and by Borgiel. All observations from a certain bottom substrate were analysed to find the dominating vegetation within different depth ranges. After determining the dominating vegetation, the covering degrees of different macrophyte classes within each depth range were calculated as a mean of all readings. Areas without information about the bottom substrate, but still adjacent to areas included in the

  3. Towards BioDBcore: a community-defined information specification for biological databases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaudet, Pascale; Bairoch, Amos; Field, Dawn; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta; Taylor, Chris; Attwood, Teresa K.; Bateman, Alex; Blake, Judith A.; Bult, Carol J.; Cherry, J. Michael; Chisholm, Rex L.; Cochrane, Guy; Cook, Charles E.; Eppig, Janan T.; Galperin, Michael Y.; Gentleman, Robert; Goble, Carole A.; Gojobori, Takashi; Hancock, John M.; Howe, Douglas G.; Imanishi, Tadashi; Kelso, Janet; Landsman, David; Lewis, Suzanna E.; Mizrachi, Ilene Karsch; Orchard, Sandra; Ouellette, B. F. Francis; Ranganathan, Shoba; Richardson, Lorna; Rocca-Serra, Philippe; Schofield, Paul N.; Smedley, Damian; Southan, Christopher; Tan, Tin Wee; Tatusova, Tatiana; Whetzel, Patricia L.; White, Owen; Yamasaki, Chisato

    2011-01-01

    The present article proposes the adoption of a community-defined, uniform, generic description of the core attributes of biological databases, BioDBCore. The goals of these attributes are to provide a general overview of the database landscape, to encourage consistency and interoperability between resources and to promote the use of semantic and syntactic standards. BioDBCore will make it easier for users to evaluate the scope and relevance of available resources. This new resource will increase the collective impact of the information present in biological databases. PMID:21097465

  4. Community characterization of heterogeneous complex systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tumminello, Michele; Miccichè, Salvatore; Lillo, Fabrizio; Mantegna, Rosario N; Varho, Jan; Piilo, Jyrki

    2011-01-01

    We introduce an analytical statistical method for characterizing the communities detected in heterogeneous complex systems. By proposing a suitable null hypothesis, our method makes use of the hypergeometric distribution to assess the probability that a given property is over-expressed in the elements of a community with respect to all the elements of the investigated set. We apply our method to two specific complex networks, namely a network of world movies and a network of physics preprints. The characterization of the elements and of the communities is done in terms of languages and countries for the movie network and of journals and subject categories for papers. We find that our method is able to characterize clearly the communities identified. Moreover our method works well both for large and for small communities

  5. Engaging Institutional Review Boards in Developing a Brief, Community-Responsive Human Subjects Training for Community Partners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calzo, Jerel P; Bogart, Laura M; Francis, Evelyn; Kornetsky, Susan Z; Winkler, Sabune J; Kaberry, Julie

    2016-01-01

    Engaging community partners as co-investigators in community-based participatory research (CBPR) requires certification in the rules, ethics, and principles governing research. Despite developments in making human research protection trainings more convenient and standardized (eg, self-paced Internet modules), time constraints and the structure of the content (which may favor academic audiences) may hinder the training of community partners. This paper is motivated by a case example in which academic and community partners, and stakeholders of a community-based organization actively engaged the leadership of a pediatric hospital-based institutional review board (IRB) in implementing a brief, community-responsive human subjects training session. A 2-hour, discussion-based human subjects training was developed via collaborations between the IRB and the community and academic partners. Interviews with trainees and facilitators after the training were used to evaluate its acceptability and possible future applications. Local IRBs have the potential to assist community partners in building sufficient knowledge of human subjects research protections to engage in specific projects, thereby expediting the progress of vital research to address community needs. We propose the need for developing truncated human subjects education materials to train and certify community partners, and creating formally organized entities within academic and medical institutions that specialize in community-based research to guide the development and implementation of alternative human subjects training certification opportunities for community partners.

  6. Toward Understanding the Dynamics of Microbial Communities in an Estuarine System

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Weipeng; Bougouffa, Salim; Wang, Yong; Lee, On On; Yang, Jiangke; Chan, Colin; Song, Xingyu; Qian, Pei-Yuan

    2014-01-01

    Community assembly theories such as species sorting theory provide a framework for understanding the structures and dynamics of local communities. The effect of theoretical mechanisms can vary with the scales of observation and effects of specific environmental factors. Based on 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing, different structures and temporal succession patterns were discovered between the surface sediments and bottom water microbial communities in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE). The microbial communities in the surface sediment samples were more diverse than those in the bottom water samples, and several genera were specific for the water or sediment communities. Moreover, water temperature was identified as the main variable driving community dynamics and the microbial communities in the sediment showed a greater temporal change. We speculate that nutrient-based species sorting and bacterial plasticity to the temperature contribute to the variations observed between sediment and water communities in the PRE. This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the microbial community structures in a highly dynamic estuarine system and sheds light on the applicability of ecological theoretical mechanisms.

  7. Toward understanding the dynamics of microbial communities in an estuarine system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weipeng Zhang

    Full Text Available Community assembly theories such as species sorting theory provide a framework for understanding the structures and dynamics of local communities. The effect of theoretical mechanisms can vary with the scales of observation and effects of specific environmental factors. Based on 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing, different structures and temporal succession patterns were discovered between the surface sediments and bottom water microbial communities in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE. The microbial communities in the surface sediment samples were more diverse than those in the bottom water samples, and several genera were specific for the water or sediment communities. Moreover, water temperature was identified as the main variable driving community dynamics and the microbial communities in the sediment showed a greater temporal change. We speculate that nutrient-based species sorting and bacterial plasticity to the temperature contribute to the variations observed between sediment and water communities in the PRE. This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the microbial community structures in a highly dynamic estuarine system and sheds light on the applicability of ecological theoretical mechanisms.

  8. Toward Understanding the Dynamics of Microbial Communities in an Estuarine System

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Weipeng

    2014-04-14

    Community assembly theories such as species sorting theory provide a framework for understanding the structures and dynamics of local communities. The effect of theoretical mechanisms can vary with the scales of observation and effects of specific environmental factors. Based on 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing, different structures and temporal succession patterns were discovered between the surface sediments and bottom water microbial communities in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE). The microbial communities in the surface sediment samples were more diverse than those in the bottom water samples, and several genera were specific for the water or sediment communities. Moreover, water temperature was identified as the main variable driving community dynamics and the microbial communities in the sediment showed a greater temporal change. We speculate that nutrient-based species sorting and bacterial plasticity to the temperature contribute to the variations observed between sediment and water communities in the PRE. This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the microbial community structures in a highly dynamic estuarine system and sheds light on the applicability of ecological theoretical mechanisms.

  9. Effect of leaf litter quantity and type on forest soil fauna and biological quality

    OpenAIRE

    Zhizhong Yuan; Yang Cui; Shaokui Yan

    2013-01-01

    It is important to assess forest litter management. Here we examined the effects of leaf litter addition on the soil faunal community in Huitong subtropical forest region in Hunan Province, China. The microcosm experiment involving leaf-litter manipulation using a block and nested experimental design, respectively, was established in May, 2011. In the block design, the effects of litter quantity and its control were examined, while in the nested design a comparison was made of litter quality ...

  10. Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera, Hesperioidea from Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil: 70 years of records with special reference to faunal composition of Vila Velha State Park

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olaf H. H. Mielke

    2012-03-01

    from Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil: 70 years of records with special reference to faunal composition of Vila Velha State Park. The municipality of Ponta Grossa has a peculiar ecosystem, originally composed of Mixed Ombrophilous Forest and natural isolated fragments of Araucaria forest interconnected by large areas of the steppe phytophysionomy known as the Brazilian "campos" (grasslands. However, both ecosystems have been continually reduced by human occupation, with remnants still found in the Vila Velha State Park, whose floristic composition has been recently related to the Cerrado biome. Few studies have been dedicated to recognize the characteristic fauna of these grasslands and its relationship with other Brazilian vegetation types, which has motivated this study. After gathering information from more than 70 years of collecting in the region, a list of 225 species of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera, Hesperioidea recorded within the municipality is provided, of which 162 are indicator species of forest environments and 53 of open areas. The Vila Velha State Park contributes to the conservation of 65% of the species and its skipper community shows a closer affinity to the Pampas and Cerrado instead of forested habitats. This relation may be attributed to its precise localization between both ecosystems, since geographical distances affect similarities on Hesperiidae assemblages. The flora of Vila Velha can also influence the observed pattern, since a considerably number of species found in the region are also found in Cerrado. Further studies are still required among Brazilian grassland habitats, especially in the Cerrado enclaves within the states of Paraná and São Paulo in attempt to better understand the mechanisms that drive the community dynamics in those areas.

  11. Community-based tourism in practice: evidence from three coastal communities in Bohuslän, Sweden

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lindström Kristina N.

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Local involvement in tourism development is defined as a key issue for sustainable tourism, however it is often questioned and less seldom implemented in reality. Reasons behind this condition are lack of knowledge and practical experience on community-based tourism as a bottom-up approach. In this paper it is argued that local involvement in tourism development is both a democratic right and a strategic destination management tool. The paper scrutinizes a process of collaboration and local participation in a tourism development project within three coastal communities on the Swedish West Coast. A mixed-methods approach was employed in the project with the specific aim of investigating attitudes to the community and tourism development and of involving community stakeholders in exploring alternative avenues of tourism development. The article describes four phases of the process of local involvement in a tourism development project: step 1, formation of a representative project group and negotiation of community-based approach; step 2, consulting local stakeholders and employing a mixed-methods approach; step 3, elaborating results with local stakeholders; step 4, increased community collaboration.

  12. Assessment of the potential for sustainable community tourism ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Nandoni Dam was constructed amidst much fanfare regarding the social and economic benefits that would accrue to the local communities. Although not specifically stated, tourism was implied, which could lead to employment and the general upliftment of these communities. The potential for tourism enterprises, such ...

  13. Ranking Institutional Settings Based on Publications in Community Psychology Journals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jason, Leonard A.; Pokorny, Steven B.; Patka, Mazna; Adams, Monica; Morello, Taylor

    2007-01-01

    Two primary outlets for community psychology research, the "American Journal of Community Psychology" and the "Journal of Community Psychology", were assessed to rank institutions based on publication frequency and scientific influence of publications over a 32-year period. Three specific periods were assessed (1973-1983, 1984-1994, 1995-2004).…

  14. The ghost of fouling communities past: the effect of original community on subsequent recruitment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ralston, Emily A; Swain, Geoffrey W

    2014-01-01

    Biofouling on ships has been linked to the spread of invasive species, which has been identified as one of the current primary threats to the environment. Previous research on antifouling coatings suggested that the quantity of fouling, as well as community composition, on biocidal coatings was modified by prior fouling settlement. The experiment reported in this paper was designed to determine how preconditioning affected the rate and composition of subsequent fouling on transplanted silicone coatings. A series of 10 × 20 cm panels coated with Intersleek 700 or DC3140 were placed at three locations in Florida (Ponce Inlet, Sebastian Inlet, and Port of Miami), which were characterized by distinct fouling communities. Panels were immersed for four months, cleaned, and reciprocally transplanted among the three sites. Fouling community composition and coverage were characterized at bimonthly intervals both before and after transplantation. The original fouling community affected the subsequent fouling composition and recolonization by tunicates, sea anemones, barnacles, sponges, hydroids, and arborescent bryozoans. The community-level effects were short-term, lasting 2-4 months, but specific responses lasted up to 14 months post-transplant.

  15. Engaging Institutional Review Boards in Developing a Brief, Community-Responsive Human Subjects Training for Community Partners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calzo, Jerel P.; Bogart, Laura M.; Francis, Evelyn; Kornetsky, Susan Z.; Winkler, Sabune J.; Kaberry, Julie M.

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND Engaging community partners as co-investigators in community-based participatory research (CBPR) requires certification in the rules, ethics, and principles governing research. Despite developments in making human research protection trainings more convenient and standardized (e.g., self-paced Internet modules), time constraints and the structure of the content (which may favor academic audiences) may hinder the training of community partners. OBJECTIVES This paper is motivated by a case example in which academic and community partners, and stakeholders of a community-based organization actively engaged the leadership of a pediatric hospital-based Institutional Review Board (IRB) in implementing a brief, community-responsive human subjects training session. METHODS A two hour, discussion-based human subjects training was developed via collaborations between the IRB and the community and academic partners. Interviews with trainees and facilitators after the training were used to evaluate its acceptability and possible future applications. CONCLUSIONS Local Institutional Review Boards have the potential to assist community partners in building sufficient knowledge of human subjects research protections to engage in specific projects, thereby expediting the progress of vital research to address community needs. We propose the need for developing truncated human subjects education materials to train and certify community partners, and creating formally organized entities within academic and medical institutions that specialize in community-based research to guide the development and implementation of alternative human subjects training certification opportunities for community partners. PMID:28230554

  16. Information exchange in virtual communities: a typology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gary Burnett

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available While there is wide agreement that virtual communities - and other phenomena utilizing CMC technologies - have the capability to provide both interpersonal and informational interactions, the degree to which they can be seen as specifically information-oriented social spaces has been open to some question. Drawing upon theoretical and empirical work that emphasizes an environmental model of human information behaviour, a foundation is developed for a model of information exchange in virtual communities, and a typology of the varieties of information behaviour to be found in virtual communities is proposed. This typology will provide a mechanism for assessing the characteristics of virtual communities in terms of their support for information exchange, and has the potential to enhance our understanding of virtual communities as information environments.

  17. Building climate change adaptation on community experiences: Lessons from community-based natural resource management in southern Africa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chishakwe, Nyasha; Murray, Laurel; Chambwera, Muyeye

    2012-05-15

    This publication, produced in collaboration with WWF Southern Africa, looks at how community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) can inform and contribute to climate change adaptation at the community level, specifically to community-based adaptation (CBA) to climate change. It provides a framework for analysing the two approaches at conceptual and practical levels. Using case studies from southern Africa, the publication demonstrates the synergies between CBA and CBNRM, most important of which are the adaptation co-benefits between the two. While local incentives have driven community action in CBNRM, it is the evolution of an enabling environment in the region, in the form of institutions, policies, capacity and collaboration which characterises the scaling up of CBNRM to national and regional levels.

  18. A Bibliometric Study of Community Pharmacy-Based Research ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2003-01-01

    Purpose: To analyze community pharmacy based research in Arab countries. Methods: Comprehensive review of the literature indexed by Scopus was conducted. Data from Jan 01, 2003 till December 31, 2013 was searched for documents with specific words pertaining to “community pharmacy” in any one of the 13 Middle ...

  19. Community-Wide Zero Energy Ready Home Standard

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herk, A. [IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Beggs, T. [IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

    2016-02-05

    This report outlines the steps a developer can take when creating and implementing high performance standards such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) standards on a community-wide scale. The report also describes the specific examples of how this process is underway in the Stapleton community in Denver, Colorado, by the developer Forest City.

  20. Creative participation: collective sentiment in online co-creation communities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lee, H.H.M.; van Dolen, W.

    2015-01-01

    Co-creation communities allow companies to utilize consumers’ creative thinking in the innovation process. This paper seeks to understand the role of sentiment in user co-creation. The results suggest that management style can affect the success of co-creation communities. Specific employees’

  1. Teacher community in elementary charter schools.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marisa Cannata

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available The organizational context of charter schools may facilitate the formation of a strong teacher community. In particular, a focused school mission and increased control over teacher hiring may lead to stronger teacher professional communities. This paper uses the 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey to compare the level of teacher community in charter public and traditional public schools. It also estimates the effect of various charter policy variables and domains of school autonomy on teacher community. Charter school teachers report higher levels of teacher community than traditional public school teachers do, although this effect is less than one-tenth of a standard deviation and is dwarfed by the effect of a supportive principal, teacher decision-making influence, and school size. Charter public schools authorized by universities showed lower levels of teacher community than those authorized by local school districts. Teachers in charter schools that have flexibility over tenure requirements and the school budget report higher levels of teacher community. This study reveals that charter schools do facilitate the formation of strong teacher communities, although the effect is small. The analysis also suggests that the institutional origin of the charter school and specific areas of policy flexibility may influence teacher community.

  2. Observation of online communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nørskov, Sladjana V.; Rask, Morten

    2011-01-01

    This paper addresses the application of observation to online settings with a special focus on observer roles. It draws on a study of online observation of a virtual community, i.e. an open source software (OSS) community. The paper examines general and specific advantages and disadvantages...... of the observer roles in online settings by relating these roles to the same roles assumed in offline settings. The study suggests that under the right circumstances online and offline observation may benefit from being combined as they complement each other well. Quality issues and factors important to elicit...... trustworthy observational data from online study settings, such as OSS communities, are discussed. A proposition is made concerning how threats to credibility and transferability in relation to online observation (i.e. lack of richness and detail, risk of misunderstandings) can be diminished, while...

  3. Plant community resistance to invasion by Bromus species – the roles of community attributes, Bromus Interactions with plant communities, and Bromus traits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambers, Jeanne; Germino, Matthew; Belnap, Jayne; Brown, Cynthia; Schupp, Eugene W.; St. Clair, Samuel B

    2016-01-01

    The factors that determine plant community resistance to exotic annual Bromus species (Bromushereafter) are diverse and context specific. They are influenced by the environmental characteristics and attributes of the community, the traits of Bromus species, and the direct and indirect interactions of Bromus with the plant community. Environmental factors, in particular ambient and soil temperatures, have significant effects on the ability of Bromus to establish and spread. Seasonality of precipitation relative to temperature influences plant community resistance toBromus through effects on soil water storage, timing of water and nutrient availability, and dominant plant life forms. Differences among plant communities in how well soil resource use by the plant community matches resource supply rates can influence the magnitude of resource fluctuations due to either climate or disturbance and thus the opportunities for invasion. The spatial and temporal patterns of resource availability and acquisition of growth resources by Bromus versus native species strongly influence resistance to invasion. Traits of Bromus that confer a “priority advantage” for resource use in many communities include early-season germination and high growth and reproductive rates. Resistance to Bromus can be overwhelmed by high propagule supply, low innate seed dormancy, and large, if short-lived, seed banks. Biological crusts can inhibit germination and establishment of invasive annual plants, including several annual Bromus species, but are effective only in the absence of disturbance. Herbivores can have negative direct effects on Bromus, but positive indirect effects through decreases in competitors. Management strategies can be improved through increased understanding of community resistance to exotic annual Bromus species.

  4. Modelling asymmetric growth in crowded plant communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damgaard, Christian

    2010-01-01

    A class of models that may be used to quantify the effect of size-asymmetric competition in crowded plant communities by estimating a community specific degree of size-asymmetric growth for each species in the community is suggested. The model consists of two parts: an individual size......-asymmetric growth part, where growth is assumed to be proportional to a power function of the size of the individual, and a term that reduces the relative growth rate as a decreasing function of the individual plant size and the competitive interactions from other plants in the neighbourhood....

  5. Climate extremes drive changes in functional community structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boucek, Ross E; Rehage, Jennifer S

    2014-06-01

    The response of communities to climate extremes can be quite variable. Much of this variation has been attributed to differences in community-specific functional trait diversity, as well as community composition. Yet, few if any studies have explicitly tested the response of the functional trait structure of communities following climate extremes (CEs). Recently in South Florida, two independent, but sequential potential CEs took place, a 2010 cold front, followed by a 2011 drought, both of which had profound impacts on a subtropical estuarine fish community. These CEs provided an opportunity to test whether the structure of South Florida fish communities following each extreme was a result of species-specific differences in functional traits. From historical temperature (1927-2012) and freshwater inflows records into the estuary (1955-2012), we determined that the cold front was a statistically extreme disturbance, while the drought was not, but rather a decadal rare disturbance. The two disturbances predictably affected different parts of functional community structure and thus different component species. The cold front virtually eliminated tropical species, including large-bodied snook, mojarra species, nonnative cichlids, and striped mullet, while having little affect on temperate fishes. Likewise, the drought severely impacted freshwater fishes including Florida gar, bowfin, and two centrarchids, with little effect on euryhaline species. Our findings illustrate the ability of this approach to predict and detect both the filtering effects of different types of disturbances and the implications of the resulting changes in community structure. Further, we highlight the value of this approach to developing predictive frameworks for better understanding community responses to global change. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. COMPETITIVE METAGENOMIC DNA HYBRIDIZATION IDENTIFIES HOST-SPECIFIC GENETIC MARKERS IN HUMAN FECAL MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Although recent technological advances in DNA sequencing and computational biology now allow scientists to compare entire microbial genomes, the use of these approaches to discern key genomic differences between natural microbial communities remains prohibitively expensive for mo...

  7. A comparative analysis of the costs of onshore wind energy: Is there a case for community-specific policy support?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berka, Anna L.; Harnmeijer, Jelte; Roberts, Deborah; Phimister, Euan; Msika, Joshua

    2017-01-01

    There is growing policy interest in increasing the share of community-owned renewable energy generation. This study explores why and how the costs of community-owned projects differ from commercially-owned projects by examining the case of onshore wind in the UK. Based on cross-sectoral literature on the challenges of community ownership, cost differences are attributed to six facets of an organisation or project: internal processes, internal knowledge and skills, perceived local legitimacy of the project, perceived external legitimacy of the organisation, investor motivation and expectations, and finally, project scale. These facets impact not only development costs but also project development times and the probability that projects pass certain critical stages in the development process. Using survey-based and secondary cost data on community and commercial projects in the UK, a model is developed to show the overall impact of cost, time and risk differences on the value of a hypothetical 500 kW onshore wind project. The results show that the main factors accounting for differences are higher pre-planning costs and additional risks born by community projects, and suggest that policy interventions may be required to place community- owned projects on a level playing field with commercial projects. - Highlights: • Policy support for community energy projects should be targeted at reducing early costs and risk factors. • Hurdle rates are critical in determining the financial viability of projects. • Shared ownership arrangements may help remove some of key challenges to community-only projects.

  8. Fertilizer regime impacts on abundance and diversity of soil fauna across a poplar plantation chronosequence in coastal Eastern China

    OpenAIRE

    Shaojun Wang; Han Y. H. Chen; Yan Tan; Huan Fan; Honghua Ruan

    2016-01-01

    Soil fauna are critical for ecosystem function and sensitive to the changes of soil fertility. The effects of fertilization on soil fauna communities, however, remain poorly understood. We examined the effects of fertilization form and quantity on the abundance, diversity and composition of soil fauna across an age-sequence of poplar plantations (i.e., 4-, 9- and 20-yr-old) in the coastal region of eastern China. We found that the effects of fertilization on faunal abundance, diversity, and c...

  9. Community-based first aid: a program report on the intersection of community-based participatory research and first aid education in a remote Canadian Aboriginal community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanderBurgh, D; Jamieson, R; Beardy, J; Ritchie, S D; Orkin, A

    2014-01-01

    Community-based first aid training is the collaborative development of locally relevant emergency response training. The Sachigo Lake Wilderness Emergency Response Education Initiative was developed, delivered, and evaluated through two intensive 5-day first aid courses. Sachigo Lake First Nation is a remote Aboriginal community of 450 people in northern Ontario, Canada, with no local paramedical services. These courses were developed in collaboration with the community, with a goal of building community capacity to respond to medical emergencies. Most first aid training programs rely on standardized curriculum developed for urban and rural contexts with established emergency response systems. Delivering effective community-based first aid training in a remote Aboriginal community required specific adaptations to conventional first aid educational content and pedagogy. Three key lessons emerged during this program that used collaborative principles to adapt conventional first aid concepts and curriculum: (1) standardized approaches may not be relevant nor appropriate; (2) relationships between course participants and the people they help are relevant and important; (3) curriculum must be attentive to existing informal and formal emergency response systems. These lessons may be instructive for the development of other programs in similar settings.

  10. (Automated) software modularization using community detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Klaus Marius; Manikas, Konstantinos

    2015-01-01

    The modularity of a software system is known to have an effect on, among other, development effort, change impact, and technical debt. Modularizing a specific system and evaluating this modularization is, however, challenging. In this paper, we apply community detection methods to the graph...... of class dependencies in software systems to find optimal modularizations through communities. We evaluate this approach through a study of 111 Java systems contained in the Qualitas Corpus. We found that using the modularity function of Newman with an Erdős-Rényi null-model and using the community...... detection algorithm of Reichardt and Bornholdt improved community quality for all systems, that coupling decreased for 99 of the systems, and that coherence increased for 102 of the systems. Furthermore, the modularity function correlates with existing metrics for coupling and coherence....

  11. A methodology for evaluating organizational change in community-based chronic disease interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanni, Krista D; Mendoza, Elsa; Snider, John; Winkleby, Marilyn A

    2007-10-01

    In 2003, the Monterey County Health Department, serving Salinas, California, was awarded one of 12 grants from the Steps to a HealthierUS Program to implement a 5-year, multiple-intervention community approach to reduce diabetes, asthma, and obesity. National adult and youth surveys to assess long-term outcomes are required by all Steps sites; however, site-specific surveys to assess intermediate outcomes are not required. Salinas is a medically underserved community of primarily Mexican American residents with high obesity rates and other poor health outcomes. The health department's Steps program has partnered with traditional organizations such as schools, senior centers, clinics, and faith-based organizations as well as novel organizations such as employers of agricultural workers and owners of taquerias. The health department and the Stanford Prevention Research Center developed new site-specific, community-focused partner surveys to assess intermediate outcomes to augment the nationally mandated surveys. These site-specific surveys will evaluate changes in organizational practices, policies, or both following the socioecological model, specifically the Spectrum of Prevention. Our site-specific partner surveys helped to 1) identify promising new partners, select initial partners from neighborhoods with the greatest financial need, and identify potentially successful community approaches; and 2) provide data for evaluating intermediate outcomes matched to national long-term outcomes so that policy and organizational level changes could be assessed. These quantitative surveys also provide important context-specific qualitative data, identifying opportunities for strengthening community partnerships. Developing site-specific partner surveys in multisite intervention studies can provide important data to guide local program efforts and assess progress toward intermediate outcomes matched to long-term outcomes from nationally mandated surveys.

  12. Changes in root-associated microbial communities are determined by species-specific plant growth responses to stress and disturbance

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bouasria, A.; Mustafa, T.; de Bello, Francesco; Zinger, L.; Lemperiere, G.; Geremia, R. A.; Choler, P.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 52, Sep-Oct 2012 (2012), s. 59-66 ISSN 1164-5563 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : ecosystem function * bacterial communities * grassland communities Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 1.838, year: 2012

  13. Community-Wide Zero Energy Ready Home Standard

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herk, A. [IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburght, PA (United States); Beggs, T. [IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburght, PA (United States)

    2016-02-05

    This report outlines the steps a developer can use when looking to create and implement higher performance standards such as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) standards in a community. The report also describes the specific examples of how this process was followed by a developer, Forest City, in the Stapleton community in Denver, Colorado. IBACOS described the steps used to begin to bring the DOE ZERH standard to the Forest City Stapleton community based on 15 years of community-scale development work done by IBACOS. As a result of this prior IBACOS work, the team gained an understanding of the various components that a master developer needs to consider and created strategies for incorporating those components in the initial phases of development to achieve higher performance buildings in the community. An automated scoring system can be used to perform an internal audit that provides a detailed and consistent evaluation of how several homes under construction or builders' floor plans compare with the requirements of the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home program. This audit can be performed multiple times at specific milestones during construction to allow the builder to make changes as needed throughout construction for the project to meet Zero Energy Ready Home standards. This scoring system also can be used to analyze a builder's current construction practices and design.

  14. HISTORICAL, FAUNISTIC AND ZOOGEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTIC OF MAMMALS OF THE CAUCASUS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. M. Abdurakhmanov

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. Subject, theme, aim of the work. Caucasian mountainous country is the original biogeographic region with a large number of endemic species, including mammals. The aim of the work was to conduct a historical analysis of the development of a modern faunal zoogeographical structure of the Caucasus theriofauna.Methods. We used in the work the methods of paleogeographic, historical and faunal analysis of the causes and ways of modelling a modern structure of Caucasus theriofauna and distribution of kinds and faunal species of mammals on its territory. There was a detailed analysis of all the available literature on the history of nature and fauna formation of the Caucasus, habitats of mammals, and their modern zoogeographical structure. Such a methodological approach allows us to explain many features of modern zoogeographic Caucasus theriofauna, not amenable to scientific explanation from the perspective of modern geographical situation.Results. The conducted detailed analytical overview of the formation problem and the nature of the current state of the Caucasus theriofauna lets explain, in terms of genesis, in close connection with the history of the Caucasus nature formation, a way of formation as well as the structure of the current state of the zoogeographical Caucasus theriofauna and the difference between the faunal complexes of its individual parts. As a result, now a there is picture of reconstruction of the most probable path of becoming the mammalian fauna of the Caucasus since ancient times to the present day , influenced by the formation of the structure of high-altitude zone, and then the patterns of glaciation in the region.The area of the results application. The results are of considerable theoretical and practical importance as a basis for assessing the causes of faunal diversity of ecological-faunal systems of mammals and patterns of their genetic relationship to the specific landscape. Of particular importance are the

  15. The case for the community partner in economic development

    OpenAIRE

    Anna Steiger; Tessa Hebb; Lisa A. Hagerman

    2007-01-01

    Community-based organizations promote economic development by assembling investments in affordable housing, mixed-use real estate, community facilities, and small business in specific geographies. A principal way that community-based organizations tap institutional investors for deals is by partnering with investment intermediaries who manage the risk of these transactions by pooling assets, spreading risk across investors, and pricing the transaction up to the associated risk. Such a partner...

  16. Unlocking hidden community assets : Marginal specialization and community resilience of Gypsy-Travelers in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Salemink, Koen

    2016-01-01

    Enduring social exclusion has forced Gypsy-Travelers to specialize in marginal economic activities. These marginal specializations build on specific skills, attitudes, and strategies which are valuable for the communities’ overall development. Today’s Gypsy-Traveler communities face a context of

  17. The effects of winter recreation on alpine and subalpine fauna: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chloe F Sato

    Full Text Available The ski industry is often perceived as having a negative impact on sensitive alpine and subalpine communities. However, empirical evidence of such impacts is lacking. We reviewed the available literature from the last 35 years to quantify the reported effects of winter recreation on faunal communities. Overall, using one-sample binomial tests ('sign tests' we found that the effects of all types of winter recreation-related disturbances (i.e. ski runs, resort infrastructure and winter tourism were more likely to be negative or have no effect, than be positive for wildlife. More specifically, in Europe, where the majority of the available research was conducted, the impacts of winter recreation were most often negative for fauna. In terms of specific taxa, birds and to a lesser extent mammals and arthropods, responded negatively to disturbance. Results from our meta-analysis confirmed the results from our binomial tests. Richness, abundance and diversity of fauna were lower in areas affected by winter recreation when compared with undisturbed areas. For most regions and taxa, however, empirical evidence remains too limited to identify clear impacts of winter recreation. We therefore conclude that the majority of ski resorts are operating in the absence of knowledge needed to inform effective strategies for biodiversity conservation and ecologically-sound management. Thus, there is an urgent need for more empirical research to be conducted throughout this increasingly threatened ecological community, especially given the indication from the available literature that fauna often respond negatively to winter recreation.

  18. Longing Itineraries: Building the Translocal Community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo López Angel

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Migration has reshaped social practices, the sense of belonging has been rethought, and the membership is renegotiated and contended; this is why strategies for their sustainability have been generated. The translocal community operates through multilocated relationships that reveal the ways in which migrants are adapting to the new demands of the community. We emphasize the emotional impulse of nostalgia as one of the vehicles of sustainability for the community. The community is redefined and understood in a set of socio-cultural relationships its members generate, and where the locality is not central, but the connection. A new dimension of the social community space is not just the community gathered in a specific place, but also that agreements, commitments, and acknowledgments are exhibited and settled in the cyberspace; this cyberspace gives cohesion and brings a dynamic element to preserve the community, despite the fact that it is even less concrete than the spatial notion of territory. Facebook, YouTube and a blog are the web platforms of the virtual space where "neighbors, compatriots and citizens" (categories of ascription from the migration get together, where there is a reproduction of social practices (even the most ancient and fundamental ones, to give a new dimension to a translocal, multilocated and ciberlocated community.

  19. Social capital and community heterogeneity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coffé, Hilde R.

    2009-01-01

    Abstract Recent findings indicate that more pronounced community heterogeneity is associated with lower levels of social capital. These studies, however, concentrate on specific aspects in which people differ (such as income inequality or ethnic diversity). In the present paper, we introduce the

  20. Variations in deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the Azores plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desbruyères, D.; Biscoito, M.; Caprais, J.-C.; Colaço, A.; Comtet, T.; Crassous, P.; Fouquet, Y.; Khripounoff, A.; Le Bris, N.; Olu, K.; Riso, R.; Sarradin, P.-M.; Segonzac, M.; Vangriesheim, A.

    2001-05-01

    Near the Azores Triple Junction as the Azores Plateau is approached, the ridge axis becomes shallower; its depth decreases from ca. 2400 m in the R AINBOW vent field (36°13'N) to ca. 850 m in the M ENEZ G WEN vent field (37°35'N). In this area, extensive mussel beds of the mytilid Bathymodiolus azoricus dominate the hydrothermal vent fauna, along with populations of three shrimps ( Rimicaris exoculata, Mirocaris fortunata and Chorocaris chacei). The main physical and chemical characteristics of the vent habitat were studied by discrete sampling, in situ analysis and sediment trap moorings. The vent fauna is distributed along a variable band where the vent fluids and seawater mix, with R. exoculata living in the most concentrated areas and Bathymodiolus azoricus in the most diluted zones. Various non-endemic species live at the border of the vent field. The variations observed in structure and composition of the communities along the depth gradient are most likely due to changes in vent fluid toxicity (metallic and sulphide content) and suspended mineral particles, which render the fluids harsher for species living there. The main faunal differences observed between L UCKY S TRIKE and M ENEZ G WEN hydrothermal fields are due to an impoverishment in the hydrothermal endemic species and to the penetration of bathyal species. The comparison of the three studied vent fields suggests the existence of a succession of several biogeographic islands rather than a single province.

  1. Environmental Factors Support the Formation of Specific Bacterial Assemblages on Microplastics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oberbeckmann, Sonja; Kreikemeyer, Bernd; Labrenz, Matthias

    2018-01-01

    While the global distribution of microplastics (MP) in the marine environment is currently being critically evaluated, the potential role of MP as a vector for distinct microbial assemblages or even pathogenic bacteria is hardly understood. To gain a deeper understanding, we investigated how different in situ conditions contribute to the composition and specificity of MP-associated bacterial communities in relation to communities on natural particles. Polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), and wooden pellets were incubated for 2 weeks along an environmental gradient, ranging from marine (coastal Baltic Sea) to freshwater (waste water treatment plant, WWTP) conditions. The associated assemblages as well as the water communities were investigated applying high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Our setup allowed for the first time to determine MP-dependent and -independent assemblage factors as subject to different environmental conditions in one system. Most importantly, plastic-specific assemblages were found to develop solely under certain conditions, such as lower nutrient concentration and higher salinity, while the bacterial genus Erythrobacter, known for the ability to utilize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), was found specifically on MP across a broader section of the gradient. We discovered no enrichment of potential pathogens on PE or PS; however, the abundant colonization of MP in a WWTP by certain bacteria commonly associated with antibiotic resistance suggests MP as a possible hotspot for horizontal gene transfer. Taken together, our study clarifies that the surrounding environment prevailingly shapes the biofilm communities, but that MP-specific assemblage factors exist. These findings point to the ecological significance of specific MP-promoted bacterial populations in aquatic environments and particularly in plastic accumulation zones. PMID:29403454

  2. Environmental Factors Support the Formation of Specific Bacterial Assemblages on Microplastics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonja Oberbeckmann

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available While the global distribution of microplastics (MP in the marine environment is currently being critically evaluated, the potential role of MP as a vector for distinct microbial assemblages or even pathogenic bacteria is hardly understood. To gain a deeper understanding, we investigated how different in situ conditions contribute to the composition and specificity of MP-associated bacterial communities in relation to communities on natural particles. Polystyrene (PS, polyethylene (PE, and wooden pellets were incubated for 2 weeks along an environmental gradient, ranging from marine (coastal Baltic Sea to freshwater (waste water treatment plant, WWTP conditions. The associated assemblages as well as the water communities were investigated applying high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Our setup allowed for the first time to determine MP-dependent and -independent assemblage factors as subject to different environmental conditions in one system. Most importantly, plastic-specific assemblages were found to develop solely under certain conditions, such as lower nutrient concentration and higher salinity, while the bacterial genus Erythrobacter, known for the ability to utilize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH, was found specifically on MP across a broader section of the gradient. We discovered no enrichment of potential pathogens on PE or PS; however, the abundant colonization of MP in a WWTP by certain bacteria commonly associated with antibiotic resistance suggests MP as a possible hotspot for horizontal gene transfer. Taken together, our study clarifies that the surrounding environment prevailingly shapes the biofilm communities, but that MP-specific assemblage factors exist. These findings point to the ecological significance of specific MP-promoted bacterial populations in aquatic environments and particularly in plastic accumulation zones.

  3. Case Study in Designing a Research Fundamentals Curriculum for Community Health Workers: A University - Community Clinic Collaborative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumbauld, Jill; Kalichman, Michael; Bell, Yvonne; Dagnino, Cynthia; Taras, Howard

    2014-01-01

    Introduction Community health workers are increasingly incorporated into research teams. Training them in research methodology and ethics, while relating these themes to a community’s characteristics, may help to better integrate these health promotion personnel into research teams. Approach and Strategies This pilot project involved the design and implementation of an interactive training course on research fundamentals for community health workers from clinics in a rural, predominately Latino setting. Curriculum development was guided by collaborative activities arising from a university - clinic partnership, a community member focus group, and the advice of community-based researchers. The resulting curriculum was interactive and stimulated dialogue between trainees and academic researchers. Discussion and Conclusions Collaboration between researchers and health agency professionals proved to be a practical method to develop curriculum for clinic staff. An interactive curriculum allowed trainees to incorporate community-specific themes into the discussion. This interaction educated course instructors from academia about the community as much as it educated course participants about research. The bidirectional engagement that occurs during the development and teaching of this course can potentially lead to research partnerships between community agencies and academia, better-informed members of the public, and research protocols that accommodate community characteristics. PMID:24121537

  4. Leaf Litter Decomposition and Nutrient Dynamics in Four Southern Forested Floodplain Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrell T. Baker; B. Graeme Lockaby; William H. Conner; Calvin E. Meier; John A. Stanturf

    2001-01-01

    Decomposition of site-specific litter mixtures was monitored for 100 wk in four Roodplaht communities: (i) a mixed oak community along the Cache River in central Arkansas, (ii) a sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.)-cherrybark oak (Quercus falcata var. pagodaefolia Ell.) community along Iatt Creek in...

  5. Contesting Community Online: Virtual Imagery among Dutch Orthodox Protestant Homosexuals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    W. de Koster (Willem)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractAbstract Whereas substantial scholarly attention has been paid to the online presentation of self, symbolic interactionist approaches are largely absent in the literature on virtual communities. Instead, recurrent questions are whether communities can exist online and if specific online

  6. Coupling bacterioplankton populations and environment to community function in coastal temperate waters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Traving, S. J.; Bentzon-Tilia, Mikkel; Knudsen-Leerbeck, H.

    2016-01-01

    Bacterioplankton play a key role in marine waters facilitating processes important for carbon cycling. However, the influence of specific bacterial populations and environmental conditions on bacterioplankton community performance remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to identify...... drivers of bacterioplankton community functions, taking into account the variability in community composition and environmental conditions over seasons, in two contrasting coastal systems. A Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) analysis of the biological and chemical data obtained from...... surface waters over a full year indicated that specific bacterial populations were linked to measured functions. Namely, Synechococcus (Cyanobacteria) was strongly correlated with protease activity. Both function and community composition showed seasonal variation. However, the pattern of substrate...

  7. Glycoside Hydrolases across Environmental Microbial Communities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renaud Berlemont

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Across many environments microbial glycoside hydrolases support the enzymatic processing of carbohydrates, a critical function in many ecosystems. Little is known about how the microbial composition of a community and the potential for carbohydrate processing relate to each other. Here, using 1,934 metagenomic datasets, we linked changes in community composition to variation of potential for carbohydrate processing across environments. We were able to show that each ecosystem-type displays a specific potential for carbohydrate utilization. Most of this potential was associated with just 77 bacterial genera. The GH content in bacterial genera is best described by their taxonomic affiliation. Across metagenomes, fluctuations of the microbial community structure and GH potential for carbohydrate utilization were correlated. Our analysis reveals that both deterministic and stochastic processes contribute to the assembly of complex microbial communities.

  8. Life without a cell membrane: Challenging the specificity of bacterial endophytes within Bryopsis (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hollants Joke

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The siphonous green macroalga Bryopsis has some remarkable characteristics. Besides hosting a rich endophytic bacterial flora, Bryopsis also displays extraordinary wound repair and propagation mechanisms. This latter feature includes the formation of protoplasts which can survive in the absence of a cell membrane for several minutes before regenerating into new individuals. This transient 'life without a membrane' state, however, challenges the specificity of the endophytic bacterial communities present and raises the question whether these bacteria are generalists, which are repeatedly acquired from the environment, or if there is some specificity towards the Bryopsis host. Results To answer this question, we examined the temporal stability and the uniqueness of endobiotic bacterial communities within Bryopsis samples from the Mexican west coast after prolonged cultivation. DGGE analysis revealed that Bryopsis endophytic bacterial communities are rather stable and clearly distinct from the epiphytic and surrounding cultivation water bacterial communities. Although these endogenous communities consist of both facultative and obligate bacteria, results suggest that Bryopsis owns some intrinsic mechanisms to selectively maintain and/or attract specific bacteria after repeated wounding events in culture. Conclusions This suggests that Bryopsis algae seem to master transient stages of life without a cell membrane well as they harbor specific - and possibly ecological significant - endophytic bacteria.

  9. Host-specificity among abundant and rare taxa in the sponge microbiome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reveillaud, Julie; Maignien, Loïs; Murat Eren, A; Huber, Julie A; Apprill, Amy; Sogin, Mitchell L; Vanreusel, Ann

    2014-06-01

    Microbial communities have a key role in the physiology of the sponge host, and it is therefore essential to understand the stability and specificity of sponge-symbiont associations. Host-specific bacterial associations spanning large geographic distance are widely acknowledged in sponges. However, the full spectrum of specificity remains unclear. In particular, it is not known whether closely related sponges host similar or very different microbiota over wide bathymetric and geographic gradients, and whether specific associations extend to the rare members of the sponge microbiome. Using the ultra-deep Illumina sequencing technology, we conducted a comparison of sponge bacterial communities in seven closely related Hexadella species with a well-resolved host phylogeny, as well as of a distantly related sponge Mycale. These samples spanned unprecedentedly large bathymetric (15-960 m) gradients and varying European locations. In addition, this study included a bacterial community analysis of the local background seawater for both Mycale and the widespread deep-sea taxa Hexadella cf. dedritifera. We observed a striking diversity of microbes associated with the sponges, spanning 47 bacterial phyla. The data did not reveal any Hexadella microbiota co-speciation pattern, but confirmed sponge-specific and species-specific host-bacteria associations, even within extremely low abundant taxa. Oligotyping analysis also revealed differential enrichment preferences of closely related Nitrospira members in closely related sponges species. Overall, these results demonstrate highly diverse, remarkably specific and stable sponge-bacteria associations that extend to members of the rare biosphere at a very fine phylogenetic scale, over significant geographic and bathymetric gradients.

  10. The herpetofauna of Sonora, Mexico, with comparisons to adjoining states

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enderson, E. F.

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Situated in the topographically complex transition between the Neotropics and the temperate biomes of North America,the state of Sonora, Mexico, has an extraordinarily diverse herpetofauna. Surprisingly little research has been conductedon the state’s amphibians and reptiles and many systematic and biogeographic questions remain unanswered. Tofacilitate future research, we provide a checklist of Sonora’s herpetofauna, documenting species presence based onmuseum specimens, our fieldwork, and published research. Sonora’s herpetofauna is placed in a regional biogeographicperspective via a checklist for the six adjoining states together with faunal analyses. A total of 402 species ofamphibians and reptiles are recorded from these seven states. Sonora has the greatest species richness (187 species,followed by Chihuahua (169 species, and Sinaloa (146 species. Sonora's herpetofauna is most similar to that ofChihuahua, with which it shares a long border. Eleven biogeographic affinity-based faunal groups are recognized. Ofthese, three are dominant in Sonora: a core group classified as "Sonoran" demonstrates strong affinity to SonoranDesertscrub and Sinaloan Thornscrub communities; a Tropical group - with many species reaching their northerndistributional limits in the state; and a Madrean group consisting largely of montane species. Our state-level faunalanalysis provides some evidence of peninsular depauperization of the herpetofauna on the Baja California peninsula duein part to the small number of Neotropical species present in Baja California Sur. Our faunal analysis points towarddistinctive mainland and peninsular Sonoran Desert herpetofaunas centered on Sonora and the Baja CaliforniaPeninsula, respectively, each with about 50 non-insular species, and each with species-level endemism nearing 50%.

  11. Improving community ambulation after hip fracture: protocol for a randomised, controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D Orwig

    2017-01-01

    Discussion: This multicentre randomised study will be the first to test whether a home-based multi-component physiotherapy intervention targeting specific precursors of community ambulation (PUSH is more likely to lead to community ambulation than a home-based non-specific multi-component physiotherapy intervention (PULSE in older adults after hip fracture. The study will also estimate the potential economic value of the interventions.

  12. Ensemble method: Community detection based on game theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xia; Xia, Zhengyou; Xu, Shengwu; Wang, J. D.

    2014-08-01

    Timely and cost-effective analytics over social network has emerged as a key ingredient for success in many businesses and government endeavors. Community detection is an active research area of relevance to analyze online social network. The problem of selecting a particular community detection algorithm is crucial if the aim is to unveil the community structure of a network. The choice of a given methodology could affect the outcome of the experiments because different algorithms have different advantages and depend on tuning specific parameters. In this paper, we propose a community division model based on the notion of game theory, which can combine advantages of previous algorithms effectively to get a better community classification result. By making experiments on some standard dataset, it verifies that our community detection model based on game theory is valid and better.

  13. Emergent biosynthetic capacity in simple microbial communities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsuan-Chao Chiu

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Microbes have an astonishing capacity to transform their environments. Yet, the metabolic capacity of a single species is limited and the vast majority of microorganisms form complex communities and join forces to exhibit capabilities far exceeding those achieved by any single species. Such enhanced metabolic capacities represent a promising route to many medical, environmental, and industrial applications and call for the development of a predictive, systems-level understanding of synergistic microbial capacity. Here we present a comprehensive computational framework, integrating high-quality metabolic models of multiple species, temporal dynamics, and flux variability analysis, to study the metabolic capacity and dynamics of simple two-species microbial ecosystems. We specifically focus on detecting emergent biosynthetic capacity--instances in which a community growing on some medium produces and secretes metabolites that are not secreted by any member species when growing in isolation on that same medium. Using this framework to model a large collection of two-species communities on multiple media, we demonstrate that emergent biosynthetic capacity is highly prevalent. We identify commonly observed emergent metabolites and metabolic reprogramming patterns, characterizing typical mechanisms of emergent capacity. We further find that emergent secretion tends to occur in two waves, the first as soon as the two organisms are introduced, and the second when the medium is depleted and nutrients become limited. Finally, aiming to identify global community determinants of emergent capacity, we find a marked association between the level of emergent biosynthetic capacity and the functional/phylogenetic distance between community members. Specifically, we demonstrate a "Goldilocks" principle, where high levels of emergent capacity are observed when the species comprising the community are functionally neither too close, nor too distant. Taken together

  14. Are temperate canopy spiders tree-species specific?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mupepele, Anne-Christine; Müller, Tobias; Dittrich, Marcus; Floren, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    Arboreal spiders in deciduous and coniferous trees were investigated on their distribution and diversity. Insecticidal knock-down was used to comprehensively sample spiders from 175 trees from 2001 to 2003 in the Białowieża forest and three remote forests in Poland. We identified 140 species from 9273 adult spiders. Spider communities were distinguished between deciduous and coniferous trees. The richest fauna was collected from Quercus where beta diversity was also highest. A tree-species-specific pattern was clearly observed for Alnus, Carpinus, Picea and Pinus trees and also for those tree species that were fogged in only four or three replicates, namely Betula and Populus. This hitherto unrecognised association was mainly due to the community composition of common species identified in a Dufrene-Legendre indicator species analysis. It was not caused by spatial or temporal autocorrelation. Explaining tree-species specificity for generalist predators like spiders is difficult and has to involve physical and ecological tree parameters like linkage with the abundance of prey species. However, neither did we find a consistent correlation of prey group abundances with spiders nor could differences in spider guild composition explain the observed pattern. Our results hint towards the importance of deterministic mechanisms structuring communities of generalist canopy spiders although the casual relationship is not yet understood.

  15. Specific phobia predicts psychopathology in young women

    OpenAIRE

    Trumpf, Julia; Margraf, Jürgen; Vriends, Noortje; Meyer, Andrea Hans; Becker, Eni S.

    2010-01-01

    Background Although specific phobia is characterized by an early age at onset and by high rates of comorbidity, few studies have examined comorbid relationships prospectively. Objectives The present study investigated the association between specific phobia and the risk of a broad range of psychopathology among young women in the community. Method Data came from the Dresden Predictor Study in which 1,538 German women (18?25?years) completed a diagnostic interview at two time points. Results W...

  16. Report of epibiont Thecacineta calix (Ciliophora: Suctorea) on deep sea Desmodora (Nematoda) from the Andaman Sea, Indian Ocean

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Ingole, B.S.; Singh, R.; Sautya, S.; Dovgal, I.; Chatterjee, T.

    samples taken from the upper slope of the Northern Seamount located off Nicobar Island, 9859 0 31.52 00 N93857 0 15.48 00 E, from a water depth of 1301 m. Upon collection, the sponges were carefully separated from the sediment and immediately preserved... with absolute alcohol. In the laboratory, the sponge samples were washed carefully and the entire faunal community associated with sponge spicules were sorted out carefully and identified to the lowest possible taxa. All the nematodes were separated and fixed...

  17. Limnology of Priyadarshani Lake, Schirmacher Oasis, Antarctica

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Ingole, B.S.; Parulekar, A.H.

    , tardigrada, oligochaeta and mites. Faunal dens.ity was high in moss-associated sediments. Amaximum water depth of6.5m was recorded at the centre ofthe lake. A thick layer (25-90 em) ofmoss and algal communities covered the bottom sediments. The total volume... for microfauna, determination ofparticle size and organic content, using a metallic hand-coring device of 4.5 em diameter. Five additional stations were sampled within the lake from an inflatable boat, using a piston corer sampler of inner diameter 4.0 em. Niskin...

  18. Deep-sea benthic community and environmental impact assessment at the Atlantic Frontier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gage, John D.

    2001-05-01

    The seabed community provides a sensitive litmus for environmental change. North Sea analysis of benthic populations provides an effective means for monitoring impacts from man's interventions, such as offshore oil exploitation and fishing, against baseline knowledge of the environment. Comparable knowledge of the benthic biology in the deep waters of the Atlantic Frontier beyond the N.E. Atlantic shelf edge is poorly developed. But uncertainties should not encourage assumptions and extrapolations from the better-known conditions on the continental shelf. While sampling at present still provides the best means to assess the health of the deepwater benthic habitat, protocols developed for deep-sea fauna should be applied. These are necessary because of (a) lower faunal densities, (b) higher species richness, (c) smaller body size, and (d) to ensure comparability with other deep-sea data. As in the North Sea, species richness and relative abundance can be analysed from quantitative samples in order to detect impacts. But analysis based on taxonomic sufficiency above species level is premature, even if arguably possible for coastal communities. Measures also need to ensure identifications are not forced to more familiar coastal species without proper study. Species-level analysis may be applied to seabed photographs of megafauna in relation to data on bottom environment, such as currents and the sediment, to monitor the health of the deep-water community. Although the composition of higher taxa in the benthic community is broadly similar to soft sediments on the shelf, concordance in sensitivities is speculative. Moreover, new organisms occur, such as giant protozoan xenophyophores, unknown on the continental shelf, whose sensitivities remain conjectural. Past knowledge of the benthic biology of the deep-water areas off Scotland is based on scattered stations and some more focussed, multidisciplinary studies, and should be significantly augmented by the results from

  19. Lessons learned from a community-academic initiative: the development of a core competency-based training for community-academic initiative community health workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz, Yumary; Matos, Sergio; Kapadia, Smiti; Islam, Nadia; Cusack, Arthur; Kwong, Sylvia; Trinh-Shevrin, Chau

    2012-12-01

    Despite the importance of community health workers (CHWs) in strategies to reduce health disparities and the call to enhance their roles in research, little information exists on how to prepare CHWs involved in community-academic initiatives (CAIs). Therefore, the New York University Prevention Research Center piloted a CAI-CHW training program. We applied a core competency framework to an existing CHW curriculum and bolstered the curriculum to include research-specific sessions. We employed diverse training methods, guided by adult learning principles and popular education philosophy. Evaluation instruments assessed changes related to confidence, intention to use learned skills, usefulness of sessions, and satisfaction with the training. Results demonstrated that a core competency-based training can successfully affect CHWs' perceived confidence and intentions to apply learned content, and can provide a larger social justice context of their role and work. This program demonstrates that a core competency-based framework coupled with CAI-research-specific skill sessions (1) provides skills that CAI-CHWs intend to use, (2) builds confidence, and (3) provides participants with a more contextualized view of client needs and CHW roles.

  20. Short-term hurricane impacts on a neotropical community of marked birds and implications for early-stage community resilience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Andrew B; Winker, Kevin

    2010-11-30

    Populations in fragmented ecosystems risk extirpation through natural disasters, which must be endured rather than avoided. Managing communities for resilience is thus critical, but details are sketchy about the capacity for resilience and its associated properties in vertebrate communities. We studied short-term resilience in a community of individually marked birds, following this community through the catastrophic destruction of its forest habitat by Hurricane Iris in Belize, Central America. We sampled for 58 d immediately before the storm, 28 d beginning 11 d after Hurricane Iris, and for 69 d approximately one year later. Our data showed that the initial capacity for resilience was strong. Many banded individuals remained after the storm, although lower post-hurricane recapture rates revealed increased turnover among individuals. Changes occurred in community dynamics and in abundances among species and guilds. Survivors and immigrants both were critical components of resilience, but in a heterogeneous, species-specific manner. Delayed effects, including higher fat storage and increased species losses, were evident one year later.

  1. Seducing, engaging and supporting communities at Achmea

    OpenAIRE

    Dignum, M.V.; Eeden, P. van

    2003-01-01

    This paper discusses the development of sponsored communities of practice at Achmea and their contribution to the strategic objectives of the organization. The development process, based on the empowerment of communities, stresses the role of the participants. The paper introduces the SES model (seduce, engage, support) for the development of CoPs. The distributed nature of CoPs at Achmea imposes extra demands and requirements on their design. The paper also discusses specific aspects related...

  2. Perspectives on allergen-specific immunotherapy in childhood

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Calderon, M A; Gerth van Wijk, R; Eichler, I

    2012-01-01

    -specific immunotherapy in childhood. Unmet needs are identified. To fill the gaps and to bridge the different points of view, recommendations are made to researchers, to scientific and patient organizations and to regulators and ethical committees. Working together for the benefit of the community is essential...

  3. To leave from social scenario: on heterogeneity and specifity of populism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastián Barros

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper is part of a discussion on the specificity of populism. Taking Laclau’s theorerical framework as a starting point, we analise the importance of the concept of heterogeneity in his argument. Later on, we analise Rancière’s understanding of politics as conflict and conclude that the idea of heterogeneity is central to a definition of populism. In this sense, we argue that heterogenity is something which is moved from its natural place in the order of domination, and starts to be taken as a part in the definition of the commonness of the community. This would have three specific effects over the subsequent political articulations. The inclusion of a heterogeneity would demonstrate the inexistance of the community of equals, forcing the need for a new representation of that community, now incarnated in a subject that, in the name of the past tort, claims to represent the universal plenitude of the community. Finally, we analise interventions by Gramsci and Ortega y Gasset in relation to the irruption of heterogeneity.

  4. Community leadership and the challenges of community development in Nigeria: The case of Boki local government area, Cross River State”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Udensi, L.O.,

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the level and extent to which community leaders contribute towards successful community development projects in Boki Local Government Area, Cross River State. A total of 150 community leaders selected through multi-stage sampling technique participated in the study. Frequency counts, percentage, Group Arithmetic Mean and Mean Weight Value were utilized in realizing the objectives of the study. It was observed that leadership positions are not the exclusive preserve of a particular sex, age group, marital status or educational status; rather result indicated that the duration of residence of community leaders is a significant factor in the success of community development projects in the study area. The study concluded that knowledge on the level to which community leaders have participated in community development, and the challenges they face have serious implications for achieving sustainable community development projects. It was recommended among others that for sustainable community development to be achieved in the area, specific and deliberate strategies should be evolved to remedy some of the problems identified. The study suggests that more and dedicated community leaders should be identified and responsibilities aimed at improving the welfare of the people assigned to them.

  5. Bacterial community profiles in low microbial abundance sponges

    KAUST Repository

    Giles, Emily

    2012-09-04

    It has long been recognized that sponges differ in the abundance of associated microorganisms, and they are therefore termed either \\'low microbial abundance\\' (LMA) or \\'high microbial abundance\\' (HMA) sponges. Many previous studies concentrated on the dense microbial communities in HMA sponges, whereas little is known about microorganisms in LMA sponges. Here, two LMA sponges from the Red Sea, two from the Caribbean and one from the South Pacific were investigated. With up to only five bacterial phyla per sponge, all LMA sponges showed lower phylum-level diversity than typical HMA sponges. Interestingly, each LMA sponge was dominated by a large clade within either Cyanobacteria or different classes of Proteobacteria. The overall similarity of bacterial communities among LMA sponges determined by operational taxonomic unit and UniFrac analysis was low. Also the number of sponge-specific clusters, which indicate bacteria specifically associated with sponges and which are numerous in HMA sponges, was low. A biogeographical or host-dependent distribution pattern was not observed. In conclusion, bacterial community profiles of LMA sponges are clearly different from profiles of HMA sponges and, remarkably, each LMA sponge seems to harbour its own unique bacterial community. © 2012 Federation of European Microbiological Societies.

  6. Pyrosequencing reveals highly diverse and species-specific microbial communities in sponges from the Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Lee, Onon; Wang, Yong; Yang, Jiangke; Lafi, Feras Fawzi; Al-Suwailem, Abdulaziz M.; Qian, Peiyuan

    2010-01-01

    Marine sponges are associated with a remarkable array of microorganisms. Using a tag pyrosequencing technology, this study was the first to investigate in depth the microbial communities associated with three Red Sea sponges, Hyrtios erectus

  7. Philanthropic Donor Perspectives on Supporting Nursing Excellence in a Community Hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fickley, Sharon K; Mishler, Ray R; Black, Amelia S; DeGuzman, Pam B

    2016-11-01

    The purpose of this research is to explore donors' perspectives on support of nursing excellence in a community hospital. Philanthropic support is rapidly becoming critical to support nursing excellence in hospitals, including continuing education, nursing research, and professional development. However, no research has examined the experience of private donors who support nursing programs in community hospitals. Structured interviews were conducted with individuals with a history of providing significant financial support (gifts >$50 000) targeted specifically for nursing in a 176- bed community hospital in the southeastern United States. Analysis was performed using descriptive content analysis. Four themes emerged that centered around making a difference, helping nurses meet new challenges, an existing foundation of service, and valuing excellent nursing care received. This research provides specific information that nursing administrators can use when seeking philanthropic gifts to support nursing excellence programs in US community hospitals.

  8. Chromosome-specific DNA Repeat Probes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baumgartner, Adolf; Weier, Jingly Fung; Weier, Heinz-Ulrich G.

    2006-03-16

    In research as well as in clinical applications, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has gained increasing popularity as a highly sensitive technique to study cytogenetic changes. Today, hundreds of commercially available DNA probes serve the basic needs of the biomedical research community. Widespread applications, however, are often limited by the lack of appropriately labeled, specific nucleic acid probes. We describe two approaches for an expeditious preparation of chromosome-specific DNAs and the subsequent probe labeling with reporter molecules of choice. The described techniques allow the preparation of highly specific DNA repeat probes suitable for enumeration of chromosomes in interphase cell nuclei or tissue sections. In addition, there is no need for chromosome enrichment by flow cytometry and sorting or molecular cloning. Our PCR-based method uses either bacterial artificial chromosomes or human genomic DNA as templates with {alpha}-satellite-specific primers. Here we demonstrate the production of fluorochrome-labeled DNA repeat probes specific for human chromosomes 17 and 18 in just a few days without the need for highly specialized equipment and without the limitation to only a few fluorochrome labels.

  9. ROLE ASSESSMENT OF GIS ANALYSIS AND ITS RELIABILITY WHILE RANKING URBAN SUSTAINABILITY USING SCENARIOS SPECIFIC TO REGIONAL CLIMATE, COMMUNITY AND CULTURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Al Salmi

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Urban Sustainability expresses the level of conservation of a city while living a town or consuming its urban resources, but the measurement of urban sustainability depends on what are considered important indicators of conservation besides the permitted levels of consumption in accordance with adopted criteria. This criterion should have common factors that are shared for all the members tested or cities to be evaluated as in this particular case for Abu Dhabi, but also have specific factors that are related to the geographic place, community and culture, that is the measures of urban sustainability specific to a middle east climate, community and culture where GIS Vector and Raster analysis have a role or add a value in urban sustainability measurements or grading are considered herein. Scenarios were tested using various GIS data types to replicate urban history (ten years period, current status and expected future of Abu Dhabi City setting factors to climate, community needs and culture. The useful Vector or Raster GIS data sets that are related to every scenario where selected and analysed in the sense of how and how much it can benefit the urban sustainability ranking in quantity and quality tests, this besides assessing the suitable data nature, type and format, the important topology rules to be considered, the useful attributes to be added, the relationships which should be maintained between data types of a geo- database, and specify its usage in a specific scenario test, then setting weights to each and every data type representing some elements of a phenomenon related to urban suitability factor. The results of assessing the role of GIS analysis provided data collection specifications such as the measures of accuracy reliable to a certain type of GIS functional analysis used in an urban sustainability ranking scenario tests. This paper reflects the prior results of the research that is conducted to test the multidiscipline evaluation

  10. Role Assessment of GIS Analysis and its Reliability while Ranking Urban Sustainability Using Scenarios Specific to Regional Climate, Community and Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmi, H. Al; Abdulmuttalib, H. M.

    2012-07-01

    Urban Sustainability expresses the level of conservation of a city while living a town or consuming its urban resources, but the measurement of urban sustainability depends on what are considered important indicators of conservation besides the permitted levels of consumption in accordance with adopted criteria. This criterion should have common factors that are shared for all the members tested or cities to be evaluated as in this particular case for Abu Dhabi, but also have specific factors that are related to the geographic place, community and culture, that is the measures of urban sustainability specific to a middle east climate, community and culture where GIS Vector and Raster analysis have a role or add a value in urban sustainability measurements or grading are considered herein. Scenarios were tested using various GIS data types to replicate urban history (ten years period), current status and expected future of Abu Dhabi City setting factors to climate, community needs and culture. The useful Vector or Raster GIS data sets that are related to every scenario where selected and analysed in the sense of how and how much it can benefit the urban sustainability ranking in quantity and quality tests, this besides assessing the suitable data nature, type and format, the important topology rules to be considered, the useful attributes to be added, the relationships which should be maintained between data types of a geo- database, and specify its usage in a specific scenario test, then setting weights to each and every data type representing some elements of a phenomenon related to urban suitability factor. The results of assessing the role of GIS analysis provided data collection specifications such as the measures of accuracy reliable to a certain type of GIS functional analysis used in an urban sustainability ranking scenario tests. This paper reflects the prior results of the research that is conducted to test the multidiscipline evaluation of urban

  11. Community pharmacy incident reporting: a new tool for community pharmacies in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Certina; Hung, Patricia; Lee, Gary; Kadija, Medina

    2010-01-01

    Incident reporting offers insight into a variety of intricate processes in healthcare. However, it has been found that medication incidents are under reported in the community pharmacy setting. The Community Pharmacy Incident Reporting (CPhIR) program was created by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada specifically for incident reporting in the community pharmacy setting in Canada. The initial development of key elements for CPhIR included several focus-group teleconferences with pharmacists from Ontario and Nova Scotia. Throughout the development and release of the CPhIR pilot, feedback from pharmacists and pharmacy technicians was constantly incorporated into the reporting program. After several rounds of iterative feedback, testing and consultation with community pharmacy practitioners, a final version of the CPhIR program, together with self-directed training materials, is now ready to launch. The CPhIR program provides users with a one-stop platform to report and record medication incidents, export data for customized analysis and view comparisons of individual and aggregate data. These unique functions allow for a detailed analysis of underlying contributing factors in medication incidents. A communication piece for pharmacies to share their experiences is in the process of development. To ensure the success of the CPhIR program, a patient safety culture must be established. By gaining a deeper understanding of possible causes of medication incidents, community pharmacies can implement system-based strategies for quality improvement and to prevent potential errors from occurring again in the future. This article highlights key features of the CPhIR program that will assist community pharmacies to improve their drug distribution system and, ultimately, enhance patient safety.

  12. Differential response of marine flagellate communities to prokaryotic food quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Corte, D.; Paredes, G.; Sintes, E.; Herndl, G. J.

    2016-02-01

    Marine prokaryotes play a major role in the biogeochemical cycles. The main predators of prokaryotes are heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF). HNF are thus a major link connecting dissolved organic material through prokaryotic grazing to the higher trophic levels. However, little is known about the grazing specificity of HNF on specific prokaryotic taxa. Bacterial and archaeal microbes may have different nutritive values for the HNF communities, thus affecting growth rates and community composition of HNFs. In this study we investigated the influence of prey food quality on Cafeteria roenbergensis and on a natural HNF community isolated in the northern Adriatic Sea. Two Nitrosopumilus maritimus-related strains isolated from the northern Adriatic Sea (Nitrosopumilus adriaticus, Nitrosopumilus piranensis), two Nitrosococcus strains and two fast growing marine Bacteria (Pseudomonas marina and Marinobacter algicola) were fed to the HNFs. The two fast growing bacterial strains resulted in high growth rates of Cafeteria roenbergensis and the mixed HNF community, while the two Nitrosococcus strains did not. Cafeteria roenbergensis fed on N. adriaticus but it did not graze N. piranensis, suggesting that the subtle metabolic and physiological differences between these two closely related thaumarchaeal strains affect the grazing pressure to which they are exposed. Our study also indicates that prokaryotic community composition influences the composition of the HNF community.

  13. Inter- and Intraspecific Variations of Bacterial Communities Associated with Marine Sponges from San Juan Island, Washington

    KAUST Repository

    Lee, O. O.

    2009-04-10

    This study attempted to assess whether conspecific or congeneric sponges around San Juan Island, Washington, harbor specific bacterial communities. We used a combination of culture-independent DNA fingerprinting techniques (terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis [DGGE]) and culture-dependent approaches. The results indicated that the bacterial communities in the water column consisted of more diverse bacterial ribotypes than and were drastically different from those associated with the sponges. High levels of similarity in sponge-associated bacterial communities were found only in Myxilla incrustans and Haliclona rufescens, while the bacterial communities in Halichondria panicea varied substantially among sites. Certain terminal restriction fragments or DGGE bands were consistently obtained for different individuals of M. incrustans and H. rufescens collected from different sites, suggesting that there are stable or even specific associations of certain bacteria in these two sponges. However, no specific bacterial associations were found for H. panicea or for any one sponge genus. Sequencing of nine DGGE bands resulted in recovery of seven sequences that best matched the sequences of uncultured Proteobacteria. Three of these sequences fell into the sponge-specific sequence clusters previously suggested. An uncultured alphaproteobacterium and a culturable Bacillus sp. were found exclusively in all M. incrustans sponges, while an uncultured gammaproteobacterium was unique to H. rufescens. In contrast, the cultivation approach indicated that sponges contained a large proportion of Firmicutes, especially Bacillus, and revealed large variations in the culturable bacterial communities associated with congeneric and conspecific sponges. This study revealed sponge species-specific but not genus- or site-specific associations between sponges and bacterial communities and emphasized the importance of using a combination

  14. LOCAL COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN TOURISM DEVEOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria TĂTĂRUȘANU

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The issue of community participation in tourism development has been brought in front of the sector decision makers and researchers mostly during the last period of time. It could be a source of benefits and it could also create a better relationship between the tourism companies and the community groups. In this paper the author writes a literature review on this subject in order to draw attention on this issue in the Romanian tourism literature and to create an analysis framework for specific cases of tourism development plans.

  15. "Socialized Music": Historical Formations of Community Music through Social Rationales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yerichuk, Deanna

    2014-01-01

    This article traces the formation of community music through professional and scholarly articles over the last century in North America, and argues that community music has been discursively formed through social rationales, although the specific rationales have shifted. The author employs an archaeological framework inspired by Michel Foucault to…

  16. Oral microbial community assembly under the influence of periodontitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hongju; Peng, Shuting; Dai, Lin; Zou, Quan; Yi, Bin; Yang, Xianghong; Ma, Zhanshan Sam

    2017-01-01

    Several ecological hypotheses (e.g., specific plaque, non-specific plaque and keystone pathogen) regarding the etiology of periodontitis have been proposed since the 1990s, most of which have been centered on the concept of dysbiosis associated with periodontitis. Nevertheless, none of the existing hypotheses have presented mechanistic interpretations on how and why dysbiosis actually occurs. Hubbell's neutral theory of biodiversity offers a powerful null model to test hypothesis regarding the mechanism of community assembly and diversity maintenance from the metagenomic sequencing data, which can help to understand the forces that shape the community dynamics such as dysbiosis. Here we reanalyze the dataset from Abusleme et al.'s comparative study of the oral microbial communities from periodontitis patients and healthy individuals. Our study demonstrates that 14 out of 61 communities (23%) passed the neutrality test, a percentage significantly higher than the previous reported neutrality rate of 1% in human microbiome (Li & Ma 2016, Scientific Reports). This suggests that, while the niche selection may play a predominant role in the assembly and diversity maintenance in oral microbiome, the effect of neutral dynamics may not be ignored. However, no statistically significant differences in the neutrality passing rates were detected between the periodontitis and healthy treatments with Fisher's exact probability test and multiple testing corrections, suggesting that the mechanism of community assembly is robust against disturbances such as periodontitis. In addition, our study confirmed previous finding that periodontitis patients exhibited higher biodiversity. These findings suggest that while periodontitis may significantly change the community composition measured by diversity (i.e., the exhibition or 'phenotype' of community assembly), it does not seem to cause the 'mutation' of the 'genotype" (mechanism) of community assembly. We argue that the 'phenotypic

  17. Oral microbial community assembly under the influence of periodontitis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongju Chen

    Full Text Available Several ecological hypotheses (e.g., specific plaque, non-specific plaque and keystone pathogen regarding the etiology of periodontitis have been proposed since the 1990s, most of which have been centered on the concept of dysbiosis associated with periodontitis. Nevertheless, none of the existing hypotheses have presented mechanistic interpretations on how and why dysbiosis actually occurs. Hubbell's neutral theory of biodiversity offers a powerful null model to test hypothesis regarding the mechanism of community assembly and diversity maintenance from the metagenomic sequencing data, which can help to understand the forces that shape the community dynamics such as dysbiosis. Here we reanalyze the dataset from Abusleme et al.'s comparative study of the oral microbial communities from periodontitis patients and healthy individuals. Our study demonstrates that 14 out of 61 communities (23% passed the neutrality test, a percentage significantly higher than the previous reported neutrality rate of 1% in human microbiome (Li & Ma 2016, Scientific Reports. This suggests that, while the niche selection may play a predominant role in the assembly and diversity maintenance in oral microbiome, the effect of neutral dynamics may not be ignored. However, no statistically significant differences in the neutrality passing rates were detected between the periodontitis and healthy treatments with Fisher's exact probability test and multiple testing corrections, suggesting that the mechanism of community assembly is robust against disturbances such as periodontitis. In addition, our study confirmed previous finding that periodontitis patients exhibited higher biodiversity. These findings suggest that while periodontitis may significantly change the community composition measured by diversity (i.e., the exhibition or 'phenotype' of community assembly, it does not seem to cause the 'mutation' of the 'genotype" (mechanism of community assembly. We argue that the

  18. The challenge of assessing MTech community-based-visual arts ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The article explores specific challenges in supervising, accommodating and evaluating diverse candidates who pursue an action-led and community-based research approach rooted within the visual arts. I contend that there is a specific challenge in the field of postgraduate supervision of engaging evaluation strategies.

  19. Climate Change Adaptation Tools at the Community Level: An Integrated Literature Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elvis Modikela Nkoana

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The negative impacts of climate change are experienced at the global, regional and local levels. However, rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa face additional socio-political, cultural and economic challenges in addition to climate change. Decision support tools have been developed and applied to assist rural communities to cope with and adapt to climate change. However, poorly planned participatory processes and the lack of context-specific approaches in these tools are obstacles when aiming at strengthening the resilience of these rural communities. This paper uses an integrated literature review to identify best practices for involving rural communities in climate change adaptation efforts through the application of context-specific and culturally-sensitive climate change adaptation tools. These best practices include the use of a livelihoods approach to engage communities; the explicit acknowledgement of the local cultural do’s and don’ts; the recognition of local champions appointed from within the local community; the identification and prioritisation of vulnerable stakeholders; and the implementation of a two-way climate change risk communication instead of a one-sided information sharing approach.

  20. Miami's Third Sector Alliance for Community Well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Scotney D; Raymond, Catherine; Levine, Daniella

    2014-01-01

    Traditional capacity-building approaches tend to be organizationally focused ignoring the fact that community-based organizations learn and take action in a larger network working to promote positive community change. The specific aim of this paper was to outline a vision for a Third Sector Alliance to build organizational, network, and sector capacity for community well-being in Miami. Building a foundation for social impact requires a strategy for organizational, network, and sector capacity building. Organizational, network, and sector capacity building can best be achieved through a cooperative network approach driven by a solid community-university partnership. Although a Third Sector Alliance for Community Well-being does not yet exist in Miami, Catalyst Miami and the University of Miami (UM) have partnered closely to articulate a vision of what could be and have been working to make that vision a reality.

  1. Comparison of Community Reintegration and Selected Stroke ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Windows User

    Stroke Specific Characteristics in Nigerian Male and Female ... This study investigated the difference between community reintegration of male and female stroke survivors and the ..... of self identified goals by adults with traumatic brain injury:.

  2. The objective of this program is to develop innovative DNA detection technologies to achieve fast microbial community assessment. The specific approaches are (1) to develop inexpensive and reliable sequence-proof hybridization DNA detection technology (2) to develop quantitative DNA hybridization technology for microbial community assessment and (3) to study the microbes which have demonstrated the potential to have nuclear waste bioremediation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Chung H.

    2004-01-01

    The objective of this program is to develop innovative DNA detection technologies to achieve fast microbial community assessment. The specific approaches are (1) to develop inexpensive and reliable sequence-proof hybridization DNA detection technology (2) to develop quantitative DNA hybridization technology for microbial community assessment and (3) to study the microbes which have demonstrated the potential to have nuclear waste bioremediation

  3. Dynamics in microbial communities: Unraveling mechanisms to identify principles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Konopka, Allan; Lindemann, Stephen R.; Fredrickson, Jim K.

    2015-07-01

    Diversity begets higher order properties such as functional stability and robustness in microbial communities, but principles that inform conceptual (and eventually predictive) models of community dynamics are lacking. Recent work has shown that selection as well as dispersal and drift shape communities, but the mechanistic bases for assembly of communities and the forces that maintain their function in the face of environmental perturbation are not well understood. Conceptually, some interactions among community members could generate endogenous dynamics in composition, even in the absence of environmental changes. These endogenous dynamics are further perturbed by exogenous forcing factors to produce a richer network of community interactions, and it is this “system” that is the basis for higher order community properties. Elucidation of principles that follow from this conceptual model requires identifying the mechanisms that (a) optimize diversity within a community and (b) impart community stability. The network of interactions between organisms can be an important element by providing a buffer against disturbance beyond the effect of functional redundancy, as alternative pathways with different combinations of microbes can be recruited to fulfill specific functions.

  4. Project-Based Community Participatory Action Research Using Geographic Information Technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Minsung

    2018-01-01

    The paper investigates the effects of a project-based community participation course in which students chose research topics relevant to a local community. Specifically, the students undertook the following projects: (1) creating a virtual 3D model of a local government office, (2) creating interactive digitized versions of mountain trails using…

  5. Community Resilience Education: Lessons Learned from an Emerging Community of Practice - NOAA's Environmental Literacy Grantees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoedinger, S. E.; McDougall, C.

    2017-12-01

    NOAA supports community resilience to extreme weather events, climate change and other environmental hazards by preparing communities through Weather Ready Nation and through programs addressing coastal community needs. These programs primarily target adult decisions makers in a professional capacity (emergency managers, city planners, et al.), leaving non-professional audiences without opportunities to understand and develop the skills to prepare for the threats and vulnerabilities that their communities face. As a result, resilience became the focus of NOAA's Environmental Literacy Grants in 2015. The goal of these investments is to strengthen the public's and/or K-12 students' environmental literacy to enable informed decision-making necessary for community resilience to extreme weather events and other environmental hazards. Funded projects build an understanding of Earth systems and the threats and vulnerabilities that are associated with a community's location, are aligned with existing adaptation/resilience plans, and connect audiences to relevant tools and resources to prepare for and respond to these hazards. These first few years of investment will create new models for how education can improve community resilience. Although these projects incorporate a variety of approaches, a few common themes stand out: empowering youth and adults to increase their understanding of locally relevant natural hazards and stresses; giving youth a voice in resilience planning; and student-led vulnerability assessments of their schools and communities. In this session we will report on the first convening of the principal investigators of our 13 funded projects, which represents the beginning of a new community of practice focused on resilience education. We will specifically share lessons learned about: engaging youth and adults about climate change and resiliency; working with local resilience/adaptation planners; and case studies on the use of NOAA's Digital Coast and

  6. Making big communities small: using network science to understand the ecological and behavioral requirements for community social capital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neal, Zachary

    2015-06-01

    The concept of social capital is becoming increasingly common in community psychology and elsewhere. However, the multiple conceptual and operational definitions of social capital challenge its utility as a theoretical tool. The goals of this paper are to clarify two forms of social capital (bridging and bonding), explicitly link them to the structural characteristics of small world networks, and explore the behavioral and ecological prerequisites of its formation. First, I use the tools of network science and specifically the concept of small-world networks to clarify what patterns of social relationships are likely to facilitate social capital formation. Second, I use an agent-based model to explore how different ecological characteristics (diversity and segregation) and behavioral tendencies (homophily and proximity) impact communities' potential for developing social capital. The results suggest diverse communities have the greatest potential to develop community social capital, and that segregation moderates the effects that the behavioral tendencies of homophily and proximity have on community social capital. The discussion highlights how these findings provide community-based researchers with both a deeper understanding of the contextual constraints with which they must contend, and a useful tool for targeting their efforts in communities with the greatest need or greatest potential.

  7. Researching in the community: the value and contribution of nurses to community based or primary health care research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barthow, Christine; Jones, Bernadette; Macdonald, Lindsay; Vernall, Sue; Gallagher, Peter; McKinlay, Eileen

    2015-05-01

    To describe the role, contribution and value of research nurses in New Zealand community-based or primary health care research. Research nurses are increasingly recognised as having a key role in undertaking successful research in hospitals and clinical trial units however only limited work has been undertaken to examine their role in community-based research. Undertaking health research in the community has unique challenges particularly in relation to research design and recruitment and retention of participants. We describe four community-based research projects involving research nurses, each with particular recruitment, retention and logistical problems. Vignettes are used to illustrate the role, contribution and value of research nurses in a diverse range of community research projects. The knowledge and skills used by research nurses in these projects included familiarity with communities, cultural competence, health care systems and practice philosophies and in particular with vulnerable populations. Their research actions and activities include competence with a broad range of research methodologies, organisational efficiency, family-centred approach, along with advocacy and flexibility. These are underpinned by nursing knowledge and clinical expertise contributing to an ability to work autonomously. These four projects demonstrate that research nurses in community-based research possess specific attributes which facilitate successful study development, implementation and outcome.

  8. Involving forest communities in identifying and constructing ecosystems services: millennium assessment and place specificity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley T. Asah; Dale J. Blahna; Clare M. Ryan

    2012-01-01

    The ecosystem services (ES) approach entails integrating people into public forest management and managing to meet their needs and wants. Managers must find ways to understand what these needs are and how they are met. In this study, we used small group discussions, in a case study of the Deschutes National Forest, to involve community members and forest staff in...

  9. 24 CFR 570.401 - Community adjustment and economic diversification planning assistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... undertake planning for community adjustment and economic diversification. (4) The cost-effectiveness of the... fiscal year, and will review and consider for funding each application according to the threshold and... cost analyses and similar planning for specific projects to implement community adjustment or economic...

  10. SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF INDIVIDUAL BERG BALANCE ITEMS COMPARED WITH THE TOTAL SCORE TO PREDICT FALLS IN COMMUNITY DWELLING ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hazel Denzil Dias

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Falls are a major problem in the elderly leading to increased morbidity and mortality in this population. Scores from objective clinical measures of balance have frequently been associated with falls in older adults. The Berg Balance Score (BBS which is a frequently used scale to test balance impairments in the elderly ,takes time to perform and has been found to have scoring inconsistencies. The purpose was to determine if individual items or a group of BBS items would have better accuracy than the total BBS in classifying community dwelling elderly individuals according to fall history. Method: 60 community dwelling elderly individuals were chosen based on a history of falls in this cross sectional study. Each BBS item was dichotomized at three points along the scoring scale of 0 – 4: between scores of 1 and 2, 2 and 3, and 3 and 4. Sensitivity (Sn, specificity (Sp, and positive (+LR and negative (-LR likelihood ratios were calculated for all items for each scoring dichotomy based on their accuracy in classifying subjects with a history of multiple falls. These findings were compared with the total BBS score where the cut-off score was derived from receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results: On analysing a combination of BBS items, B9 and B11 were found to have the best sensitivity and specificity when considered together. However the area under the curve of these items was 0.799 which did not match that of the total score (AUC= 0.837. A, combination of 4 BBS items - B9 B11 B12 and B13 also had good Sn and Sp but the AUC was 0.815. The combination with the AUC closest to that of the total score was a combination items B11 and B13. (AUC= 0.824. hence these two items can be used as the best predictor of falls with a cut off of 6.5 The ROC curve of the Total Berg balance Scale scores revealed a cut off score of 48.5. Conclusion: This study showed that combination of items B11 and B13 may be best predictors of falls in

  11. SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF INDIVIDUAL BERG BALANCE ITEMS COMPARED WITH THE TOTAL SCORE TO PREDICT FALLS IN COMMUNITY DWELLING ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hazel Denzil Dias

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Falls are a major problem in the elderly leading to increased morbidity and mortality in this population. Scores from objective clinical measures of balance have frequently been associated with falls in older adults. The Berg Balance Score (BBS which is a frequently used scale to test balance impairments in the elderly ,takes time to perform and has been found to have scoring inconsistencies. The purpose was to determine if individual items or a group of BBS items would have better accuracy than the total BBS in classifying community dwelling elderly individuals according to fall history. Method: 60 community dwelling elderly individuals were chosen based on a history of falls in this cross sectional study. Each BBS item was dichotomized at three points along the scoring scale of 0 – 4: between scores of 1 and 2, 2 and 3, and 3 and 4. Sensitivity (Sn, specificity (Sp, and positive (+LR and negative (-LR likelihood ratios were calculated for all items for each scoring dichotomy based on their accuracy in classifying subjects with a history of multiple falls. These findings were compared with the total BBS score where the cut-off score was derived from receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results: On analysing a combination of BBS items, B9 and B11 were found to have the best sensitivity and specificity when considered together. However the area under the curve of these items was 0.799 which did not match that of the total score (AUC= 0.837. A, combination of 4 BBS items - B9 B11 B12 and B13 also had good Sn and Sp but the AUC was 0.815. The combination with the AUC closest to that of the total score was a combination items B11 and B13. (AUC= 0.824. hence these two items can be used as the best predictor of falls with a cut off of 6.5 The ROC curve of the Total Berg balance Scale scores revealed a cut off score of 48.5. Conclusion: This study showed that combination of items B11 and B13 may be best predictors of falls in

  12. Assessing participatory practices in community-based natural resource management: experiences in community engagement from southern Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyer, J; Stringer, L C; Dougill, A J; Leventon, J; Nshimbi, M; Chama, F; Kafwifwi, A; Muledi, J I; Kaumbu, J-M K; Falcao, M; Muhorro, S; Munyemba, F; Kalaba, G M; Syampungani, S

    2014-05-01

    The emphasis on participatory environmental management within international development has started to overcome critiques of traditional exclusionary environmental policy, aligning with shifts towards decentralisation and community empowerment. However, questions are raised regarding the extent to which participation in project design and implementation is meaningful and really engages communities in the process. Calls have been made for further local-level (project and community-scale) research to identify practices that can increase the likelihood of meaningful community engagement within externally initiated projects. This paper presents data from three community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) project case studies from southern Africa, which promote Joint Forest Management (JFM), tree planting for carbon and conservation agriculture. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, community-level meetings, focus groups and interviews. We find that an important first step for a meaningful community engagement process is to define 'community' in an open and participatory manner. Two-way communication at all stages of the community engagement process is shown to be critical, and charismatic leadership based on mutual respect and clarity of roles and responsibilities is vital to improve the likelihood of participants developing understanding of project aims and philosophy. This can lead to successful project outcomes through community ownership of the project goals and empowerment in project implementation. Specific engagement methods are found to be less important than the contextual and environmental factors associated with each project, but consideration should be given to identifying appropriate methods to ensure community representation. Our findings extend current thinking on the evaluation of participation by making explicit links between the community engagement process and project outcomes, and by

  13. Engaging community to support HIV prevention research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahay, Seema; Mehendale, Sanjay

    2011-01-01

    Actively engaging communities in effective partnerships is considered critical for ethically robust and locally relevant HIV prevention research. This can be challenging in developing countries that have little prior experience in this area. This paper summarizes processes and lessons learnt while setting up the Community Involvement Plan of National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, India. Formal partnerships were established with voluntary agencies. The focus was on using strategies adapted from participatory learning and action techniques. The community program was implemented through peer educators specifically identified from the communities where partner non-governmental organizations function. At the grass root level, peer educators imparted education to the common people about research studies and helped to implement community based recruitment and retention activities. The focus was on facilitating periodic interaction between the outreach workers of the research team and the peers and modifying the strategies till they were found locally implementable and appropriate. Through adequate time investment, mutually beneficial and respectful partnerships with community based organizations and grass root level workers, the community became actively involved in clinical research. The program helped in developing a sense of partnership among the peers for the research conducted by the research organization, widening the net of community education and identification of research participants. By building trust in the community and implementing research within an ethical framework, culturally sensitive matters were appropriately addressed. The community involvement process is long, laborious and ever-evolving. Effective community engagement requires institutional leadership support, adequate funding and commitment by researchers. It is possible to sustain such a model in a resource limited setting.

  14. Ferrous iron- and ammonium-rich diffuse vents support habitat-specific communities in a shallow hydrothermal field off the Basiluzzo Islet (Aeolian Volcanic Archipelago).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bortoluzzi, G; Romeo, T; La Cono, V; La Spada, G; Smedile, F; Esposito, V; Sabatino, G; Di Bella, M; Canese, S; Scotti, G; Bo, M; Giuliano, L; Jones, D; Golyshin, P N; Yakimov, M M; Andaloro, F

    2017-09-01

    Ammonium- and Fe(II)-rich fluid flows, known from deep-sea hydrothermal systems, have been extensively studied in the last decades and are considered as sites with high microbial diversity and activity. Their shallow-submarine counterparts, despite their easier accessibility, have so far been under-investigated, and as a consequence, much less is known about microbial communities inhabiting these ecosystems. A field of shallow expulsion of hydrothermal fluids has been discovered at depths of 170-400 meters off the base of the Basiluzzo Islet (Aeolian Volcanic Archipelago, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea). This area consists predominantly of both actively diffusing and inactive 1-3 meters-high structures in the form of vertical pinnacles, steeples and mounds covered by a thick orange to brown crust deposits hosting rich benthic fauna. Integrated morphological, mineralogical, and geochemical analyses revealed that, above all, these crusts are formed by ferrihydrite-type Fe 3+ oxyhydroxides. Two cruises in 2013 allowed us to monitor and sampled this novel ecosystem, certainly interesting in terms of shallow-water iron-rich site. The main objective of this work was to characterize the composition of extant communities of iron microbial mats in relation to the environmental setting and the observed patterns of macrofaunal colonization. We demonstrated that iron-rich deposits contain complex and stratified microbial communities with a high proportion of prokaryotes akin to ammonium- and iron-oxidizing chemoautotrophs, belonging to Thaumarchaeota, Nitrospira, and Zetaproteobacteria. Colonizers of iron-rich mounds, while composed of the common macrobenthic grazers, predators, filter-feeders, and tube-dwellers with no representatives of vent endemic fauna, differed from the surrounding populations. Thus, it is very likely that reduced electron donors (Fe 2+ and NH 4 + ) are important energy sources in supporting primary production in microbial mats, which form a habitat-specific

  15. Bio-indications of sunken ships and ship wrecks

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Parulekar, A

    An evaluation of bottom fauna of ship-wreck sites in estuarine and coastal waters of Goa, India, revealed an exceptionally high biotic enrichment. In terms of number of species, faunal dispersion, faunal diversity, biomass and productivity, in space...

  16. Transgenic potatoes for potato cyst nematode control can replace pesticide use without impact on soil quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Jayne; Wang, Dong; Lilley, Catherine J; Urwin, Peter E; Atkinson, Howard J

    2012-01-01

    Current and future global crop yields depend upon soil quality to which soil organisms make an important contribution. The European Union seeks to protect European soils and their biodiversity for instance by amending its Directive on pesticide usage. This poses a challenge for control of Globodera pallida (a potato cyst nematode) for which both natural resistance and rotational control are inadequate. One approach of high potential is transgenically based resistance. This work demonstrates the potential in the field of a new transgenic trait for control of G. pallida that suppresses root invasion. It also investigates its impact and that of a second transgenic trait on the non-target soil nematode community. We establish that a peptide that disrupts chemoreception of nematodes without a lethal effect provides resistance to G. pallida in both a containment and a field trial when precisely targeted under control of a root tip-specific promoter. In addition we combine DNA barcoding and quantitative PCR to recognise nematode genera from soil samples without microscope-based observation and use the method for nematode faunal analysis. This approach establishes that the peptide and a cysteine proteinase inhibitor that offer distinct bases for transgenic plant resistance to G. pallida do so without impact on the non-target nematode soil community.

  17. Transgenic potatoes for potato cyst nematode control can replace pesticide use without impact on soil quality.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jayne Green

    Full Text Available Current and future global crop yields depend upon soil quality to which soil organisms make an important contribution. The European Union seeks to protect European soils and their biodiversity for instance by amending its Directive on pesticide usage. This poses a challenge for control of Globodera pallida (a potato cyst nematode for which both natural resistance and rotational control are inadequate. One approach of high potential is transgenically based resistance. This work demonstrates the potential in the field of a new transgenic trait for control of G. pallida that suppresses root invasion. It also investigates its impact and that of a second transgenic trait on the non-target soil nematode community. We establish that a peptide that disrupts chemoreception of nematodes without a lethal effect provides resistance to G. pallida in both a containment and a field trial when precisely targeted under control of a root tip-specific promoter. In addition we combine DNA barcoding and quantitative PCR to recognise nematode genera from soil samples without microscope-based observation and use the method for nematode faunal analysis. This approach establishes that the peptide and a cysteine proteinase inhibitor that offer distinct bases for transgenic plant resistance to G. pallida do so without impact on the non-target nematode soil community.

  18. Partnered Evaluation of a Community Engagement Intervention: Use of a “Kickoff” Conference in a Randomized Trial for Depression Care Improvement in Underserved Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendel, Peter; Ngo, Victoria K.; Dixon, Elizabeth; Stockdale, Susan; Jones, Felica; Chung, Bowen; Jones, Andrea; Masongsong, Zoe; Khodyakov, Dmitry

    2013-01-01

    Community partnered research and engagement strategies are gaining recognition as innovative approaches to improving healthcare systems and reducing health disparities in underserved communities. These strategies may have particular relevance for mental health interventions in low income, minority communities in which there often is great stigma and silence surrounding conditions such as depression and difficulty in implementing improved access and quality of care. At the same time, there is a relative dearth of evidence on the effectiveness of specific community engagement interventions and on the design, process, and context of these interventions necessary for understanding their implementation and generalizability. This paper evaluates one of a number of community engagement strategies employed in the Community Partners in Care (CPIC) study, the first randomized controlled trial of the role of community engagement in adapting and implementing evidence-based depression care. We specifically describe the unique goals and features of a community engagement “kickoff” conference as used in CPIC and provide evidence on the effectiveness of this type of intervention by analyzing its impact on: 1) stimulating a dialogue, sense of collective efficacy, and opportunities for learning and networking to address depression and depression care in the community, 2) activating interest and participation in CPIC’s randomized trial of two different ways to implement evidence-based quality improvement (QI) programs for depression across diverse community agencies, and 3) introducing evidence-based toolkits and collaborative care models to potential participants in both intervention conditions and other community members. We evaluated the effectiveness of the conference through a community-partnered process in which both community and academic project members were involved in study design, data collection and analysis. Data sources include participant conference evaluation

  19. Working Together to Support English Language Learners: School-Family-Community Engagement. PERC Research Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Rosemary; Reumann-Moore, Rebecca; Rowland, Jeannette; Lin, Joshua

    2016-01-01

    When schools, families, and communities work together, student outcomes are better. This brief focuses on the ways family and community engagement can enhance schools' efforts to improve outcomes for ELLs and highlights specific strategies schools can use to more effectively engage families and communities.

  20. Sources of funding for community schemes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-11-01

    There is an increasing level of interest amongst community groups in the UK to become involved in the development of renewable energy schemes. Often however these community groups have only limited funds of their own, so any additional funds that can be identified to help fund their renewable energy scheme can be very useful. There are a range of funding sources available that provide grants or loans for which community groups are eligible to apply. Few of these funding sources are targeted towards renewable energy specifically, nevertheless the funds may be applicable to renewable energy schemes under appropriate circumstances. To date, however, few of these funds have been accessed by community groups for renewable energy initiatives. One of the reasons for this low take-up of funds on offer could be that the funding sources may be difficult and time-consuming to identify, especially where the energy component of the fund is not readily apparent. This directory draws together details about many of the principal funding sources available in the UK that may consider providing funds to community groups wanting to develop a renewable energy scheme. (author)

  1. Developing Community-Based Rehabilitation Programs for Musculoskeletal Diseases in Low-Income Areas of Mexico: The Community-Based Rehabilitation for Low-Income Communities Living With Rheumatic Diseases (CONCORD) Protocol

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background The negative impact of musculoskeletal diseases on the physical function and quality of life of people living in developing countries is considerable. This disabling effect is even more marked in low-socioeconomic communities within developing countries. In Mexico, there is a need to create community-based rehabilitation programs for people living with musculoskeletal diseases in low-socioeconomic areas. These programs should be directed to prevent and decrease disability, accommodating the specific local culture of communities. Objective The objective of this paper is to describe a research protocol designed to develop, implement, and evaluate culturally sensitive community-based rehabilitation programs aiming to decrease disability of people living with musculoskeletal diseases in two low-income Mexican communities. Methods A community-based participatory research approach is proposed, including multi and transdisciplinary efforts among the community, medical anthropology, and the health sciences. The project is structured in 4 main stages: (1) situation analysis, (2) program development, (3) program implementation, and (4) program evaluation. Each stage includes the use of quantitative and qualitative methods (mixed method program). Results So far, we obtained resources from a Mexican federal agency and completed stage one of the project at Chankom, Yucatán. We are currently receiving funding from an international agency to complete stage two at this same location. We expect that the project at Chankom will be concluded by December of 2017. On the other hand, we just started the execution of stage one at Nuevo León with funding from a Mexican federal agency. We expect to conclude the project at this site by September of 2018. Conclusions Using a community-based participatory research approach and a mixed method program could result in the creation of culturally sensitive community-based rehabilitation programs that promote community development and

  2. Disturbance-diversity relationships for soil fauna are explained by faunal community biomass in a salt marsh

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thakur, M.P.; Berg, M.P.; Eisenhauer, N.; van Langevelde, Frank

    2014-01-01

    Disturbance-diversity relationships have long been studied in ecology with a unimodal relationship as the key prediction. Although this relationship has been widely contested, it is rarely tested for soil invertebrate fauna, an important component of terrestrial biodiversity. We tested

  3. Disturbance–diversity relationships for soil fauna are explained by faunal community biomass in a salt marsh

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thakur, M.P.; Berg, M.P.; Eisenhauer, N.; Langevelde, van F.

    2014-01-01

    Disturbance–diversity relationships have long been studied in ecology with a unimodal relationship as the key prediction. Although this relationship has been widely contested, it is rarely tested for soil invertebrate fauna, an important component of terrestrial biodiversity. We tested

  4. Promoting Community Health Resources: Preferred Communication Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Background: Community health promotion efforts involve communicating resource information to priority populations. Which communication strategies are most effective is largely unknown for specific populations. Objective: A random-dialed telephone survey was conducted to assess health resource comm...

  5. A community of scholars or scholars of the community? A note on the limits of relevance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, K R

    1984-09-01

    Universities are increasingly expected to be accountable for the large sums of public money they spend. Universities in Australia are currently under pressure to turn out graduates who are technically trained for immediate entry into the work force. Universities are expected to teach knowledge and skills which are relevant to what the community needs now. If the universities accept such obligations of accountability and relevance, what are the implications for the university enterprise? Over the past decade, medical schools have attempted to spell out their purposes, writing their overall goals and then specific objectives to guide teaching in all departments. These lists of goals and objectives usually incorporate a strong orientation to meeting current community needs. One expression of these community needs is the call for 'Health for all by the year 2000', supported by all governments through the World Health Organization. Turning out graduates to provide community health care would be a relevant goal which an accountable medical school could hardly deny. What evidence is available about university responses to such needs?

  6. Bacterial community changes in an industrial algae production system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulbright, Scott P; Robbins-Pianka, Adam; Berg-Lyons, Donna; Knight, Rob; Reardon, Kenneth F; Chisholm, Stephen T

    2018-04-01

    While microalgae are a promising feedstock for production of fuels and other chemicals, a challenge for the algal bioproducts industry is obtaining consistent, robust algae growth. Algal cultures include complex bacterial communities and can be difficult to manage because specific bacteria can promote or reduce algae growth. To overcome bacterial contamination, algae growers may use closed photobioreactors designed to reduce the number of contaminant organisms. Even with closed systems, bacteria are known to enter and cohabitate, but little is known about these communities. Therefore, the richness, structure, and composition of bacterial communities were characterized in closed photobioreactor cultivations of Nannochloropsis salina in F/2 medium at different scales, across nine months spanning late summer-early spring, and during a sequence of serially inoculated cultivations. Using 16S rRNA sequence data from 275 samples, bacterial communities in small, medium, and large cultures were shown to be significantly different. Larger systems contained richer bacterial communities compared to smaller systems. Relationships between bacterial communities and algae growth were complex. On one hand, blooms of a specific bacterial type were observed in three abnormal, poorly performing replicate cultivations, while on the other, notable changes in the bacterial community structures were observed in a series of serial large-scale batch cultivations that had similar growth rates. Bacteria common to the majority of samples were identified, including a single OTU within the class Saprospirae that was found in all samples. This study contributes important information for crop protection in algae systems, and demonstrates the complex ecosystems that need to be understood for consistent, successful industrial algae cultivation. This is the first study to profile bacterial communities during the scale-up process of industrial algae systems.

  7. Improving healthcare value through clinical community and supply chain collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishii, Lisa; Demski, Renee; Ken Lee, K H; Mustafa, Zishan; Frank, Steve; Wolisnky, Jean Paul; Cohen, David; Khanna, Jay; Ammerman, Joshua; Khanuja, Harpal S; Unger, Anthony S; Gould, Lois; Wachter, Patricia Ann; Stearns, Lauren; Werthman, Ronald; Pronovost, Peter

    2017-03-01

    We hypothesized that integrating supply chain with clinical communities would allow for clinician-led supply cost reduction and improved value in an academic health system. Three clinical communities (spine, joint, blood management) and one clinical community-like physician led team of surgeon stakeholders partnered with the supply chain team on specific supply cost initiatives. The teams reviewed their specific utilization and cost data, and the physicians led consensus-building conversations over a series of team meetings to agree to standard supply utilization. The spine and joint clinical communities each agreed upon a vendor capping model that led to cost savings of $3 million dollars and $1.5 million dollars respectively. The blood management decreased blood product utilization and achieved $1.2 million dollars savings. $5.6 million dollars in savings was achieved by a clinical community-like group of surgeon stakeholders through standardization of sutures and endomechanicals. Physician led clinical teams empowered to lead change achieved substantial supply chain cost savings in an academic health system. The model of combining clinical communities with supply chain offers hope for an effective, practical, and scalable approach to improving value and engaging physicians in other academic health systems. This clinician led model could benefit both private and academic health systems engaging in value optimization efforts. N/A. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. The Use of Gemstones in the Chinese Community

    OpenAIRE

    Badaruddin Mohamed; Salasiah Che Lah; Noor Azam Azmi

    2016-01-01

    This article aimed to provide documentation of information relating to local intelligence from the older generations, specifically the local intelligence of the Chinese community on gemstones.To better understand this issue, an informal interview had been conducted on an informant from the Chinese community who has vast experiences dealing with gemstone crafting. Literature reviews were also carried out to further understand the issue under discussion. It can be assumed that religion is the m...

  9. Limnology of freshwater lakes of Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Ingole, B.S.; Parulekar, A.H.

    taxonomic groups with minimum and maximum faunal density of 43 and 823 individuals in 10 cm/2 respectively was recorded from covered and uncovered sediments. Faunal density showed a strong correlation with organic carbon content and the sediment texture...

  10. Embracing a competency-based specialty curriculum for community-based nursing roles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, Pamela F; Swider, Susan M; Breakwell, Susan; Cowell, Julia M; Reising, Virginia

    2013-01-01

    The Quad Council competencies for public health nursing (PHN) provide guidance in developing curricula at both the generalist and specialist level. However, these competencies are based on nursing roles in traditional public health agencies and community/public health is defined more broadly than official agency practice. The question arises as to whether community-based specialties require largely the same knowledge and skill set as PHN. The purpose of the competency cross-mapping project reported here was to (a) assess the intersection of the Quad Council competencies with four community-based specialties and (b) ensure the appropriateness of a Quad Council-based curriculum to prepare graduates across these four specialties (home health, occupational health, environmental health, and school nursing). This article details the multistep cross-mapping process, including validation with practice leaders. Results indicate strong alignment of community-based specialty competencies with Quad Council competencies. Community-based specialty-specific content that did not align well is identified, along with examples of didactic and clinical strategies to address gaps. This work indicates that a Quad Council-based curriculum is appropriate to prepare graduates in community-based specialties when attention to the specialty-specific competencies in the clinical setting is included. This work guides the development of a doctorate of nursing practice curriculum in PHN, encompassing the four additional community-based specialties. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Tobacco control recommendations identified by LGBT Atlantans in a community-based participatory research project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Lawrence; Damarin, Amanda K; Marshall, Zack

    2014-01-01

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are increasingly aware that disproportionately high smoking rates severely impact the health of their communities. Motivated to make a change, a group of LGBT community members, policymakers, and researchers from Atlanta carried out a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project. This formative research study sought to identify recommendations for culturally relevant smoking prevention and cessation interventions that could improve the health of Atlanta's LGBT communities. Data presented here come from four focus groups with 36 participants and a community meeting with 30 participants. Among study participants, the most favored interventions were providing LGBT-specific cessation programs, raising awareness about LGBT smoking rates, and getting community venues to go smoke-free. Participants also suggested providing reduced-cost cessation products for low-income individuals, using LGBT "role models" to promote cessation, and ensuring that interventions reach all parts of the community. Findings reinforce insights from community-based research with other marginalized groups. Similarities include the importance of tailoring cessation programs for specific communities, the need to acknowledge differences within communities, and the significance of community spaces in shaping discussions of cessation. Further, this study highlights the need for heightened awareness. The Atlanta LGBT community is largely unaware that high smoking rates affect its health, and is unlikely to take collective action to address this problem until it is understood.

  12. Partnership readiness for community-based participatory research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, Jeannette O; Newman, Susan D; Meadows, Otha; Cox, Melissa J; Bunting, Shelia

    2012-08-01

    The use of a dyadic lens to assess and leverage academic and community partners' readiness to conduct community-based participatory research (CBPR) has not been systematically investigated. With a lack of readiness to conduct CBPR, the partnership and its products are vulnerable. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the dimensions and key indicators necessary for academic and community partnership readiness to conduct CBPR. Key informant interviews and focus groups (n = 36 participants) were conducted with academic and community participants who had experiences with CBPR partnerships. A 'framework analysis' approach was used to analyze the data and generate a new model, CBPR Partnership Readiness Model. Antecedents of CBPR partnership readiness are a catalyst and mutual interest. The major dimensions of the CBPR Partnership Readiness Model are (i) goodness of fit, (ii) capacity, and (iii) operations. Preferred outcomes are sustainable partnership and product, mutual growth, policy and social and health impact on the community. CBPR partnership readiness is an iterative and dynamic process, partnership and issue specific, influenced by a range of environmental and contextual factors, amenable to change and essential for sustainability and promotion of health and social change in the community.

  13. Governance Mechanisms in Food Community Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pascucci, S.; Lombardi, A.; Cembalo, L.; Dentoni, D.

    2013-01-01

    This paper discusses the concept of the food community network (FCN) and how consumers and farmers organize credence food transactions. The FCN is based on pooling specific resources and using membership-based contracts to assign decision and property rights. It implies an organization based on a

  14. On community as a governmental technology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsson, Ulf; Petersson, Kenneth; Krejsler, John B.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the reinstatement of community as a historical practice and governmental technology in contemporary political discourses of European Union (EU), and more specifically in the context of higher education including the education and training of teachers...... in the Nordic countries. Our focus is not educational policy as a base for ways of thinking about and organising education in Europe, but as a base for ways of thinking about and constructing Europe as a community (Nóvoa, 2004; Larner & Walters, 2004). To do this we use a genealogical method inspired by Michael...

  15. Fostering successful scientific software communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bangerth, W.; Heister, T.; Hwang, L.; Kellogg, L. H.

    2016-12-01

    Developing sustainable open source software packages for the sciences appears at first to be primarily a technical challenge: How can one create stable and robust algorithms, appropriate software designs, sufficient documentation, quality assurance strategies such as continuous integration and test suites, or backward compatibility approaches that yield high-quality software usable not only by the authors, but also the broader community of scientists? However, our experience from almost two decades of leading the development of the deal.II software library (http://www.dealii.org, a widely-used finite element package) and the ASPECT code (http://aspect.dealii.org, used to simulate convection in the Earth's mantle) has taught us that technical aspects are not the most difficult ones in scientific open source software. Rather, it is the social challenge of building and maintaining a community of users and developers interested in answering questions on user forums, contributing code, and jointly finding solutions to common technical and non-technical challenges. These problems are posed in an environment where project leaders typically have no resources to reward the majority of contributors, where very few people are specifically paid for the work they do on the project, and with frequent turnover of contributors as project members rotate into and out of jobs. In particular, much software work is done by graduate students who may become fluent enough in a software only a year or two before they leave academia. We will discuss strategies we have found do and do not work in maintaining and growing communities around the scientific software projects we lead. Specifically, we will discuss the management style necessary to keep contributors engaged, ways to give credit where credit is due, and structuring documentation to decrease reliance on forums and thereby allow user communities to grow without straining those who answer questions.

  16. The Ecology of Microbial Communities Associated with Macrocystis pyrifera.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michelou, Vanessa K; Caporaso, J Gregory; Knight, Rob; Palumbi, Stephen R

    2013-01-01

    Kelp forests are characterized by high biodiversity and productivity, and the cycling of kelp-produced carbon is a vital process in this ecosystem. Although bacteria are assumed to play a major role in kelp forest carbon cycling, knowledge of the composition and diversity of these bacterial communities is lacking. Bacterial communities on the surface of Macrocystis pyrifera and adjacent seawater were sampled at the Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey Bay, CA, and further studied using 454-tag pyrosequencing of 16S RNA genes. Our results suggest that M. pyrifera-dominated kelp forests harbor distinct microbial communities that vary temporally. The distribution of sequence tags assigned to Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteriodetes differed between the surface of the kelp and the surrounding water. Several abundant Rhodobacteraceae, uncultivated Gammaproteobacteria and Bacteriodetes-associated tags displayed considerable temporal variation, often with similar trends in the seawater and the surface of the kelp. Bacterial community structure and membership correlated with the kelp surface serving as host, and varied over time. Several kelp-specific taxa were highly similar to other bacteria known to either prevent the colonization of eukaryotic larvae or exhibit antibacterial activities. Some of these kelp-specific bacterial associations might play an important role for M. pyrifera. This study provides the first assessment of the diversity and phylogenetic profile of the bacterial communities associated with M. pyrifera.

  17. Community responses to extreme climatic conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frédéric JIGUET, Lluis BROTONS, Vincent DEVICTOR

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Species assemblages and natural communities are increasingly impacted by changes in the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events. Here we propose a brief overview of expected and demonstrated direct and indirect impacts of extreme events on animal communities. We show that differential impacts on basic biological parameters of individual species can lead to strong changes in community composition and structure with the potential to considerably modify the functional traits of the community. Sudden disequilibria have even been shown to induce irreversible shifts in marine ecosystems, while cascade effects on various taxonomic groups have been highlighted in Mediterranean forests. Indirect effects of extreme climatic events are expected when event-induced habitat changes (e.g. soil stability, vegetation composition, water flows altered by droughts, floods or hurricanes have differential consequences on species assembled within the communities. Moreover, in increasing the amplitude of trophic mismatches, extreme events are likely to turn many systems into ecological traps under climate change. Finally, we propose a focus on the potential impacts of an extreme heat wave on local assemblages as an empirical case study, analysing monitoring data on breeding birds collected in France. In this example, we show that despite specific populations were differently affected by local temperature anomalies, communities seem to be unaffected by a sudden heat wave. These results suggest that communities are tracking climate change at the highest possible rate [Current Zoology 57 (3: 406–413, 2011].

  18. Urban and community forests of the Pacific region: California, Oregon, Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    David J. Nowak; Eric J. Greenfield

    2010-01-01

    This report details how land cover and urbanization vary within the states of California, Oregon, and Washington by community (incorporated and census designated places), county subdivision, and county. Specifically this report provides critical urban and community forestry information for each state including human population characteristics and trends, changes in...

  19. Differentiation of MIS 9 and MIS 11 in the continental record: vegetational, faunal, aminostratigraphic and sea-level evidence from coastal sites in Essex, UK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roe, Helen M.; Coope, G. Russell; Devoy, Robert J. N.; Harrison, Colin J. O.; Penkman, Kirsty E. H.; Preece, Richard C.; Schreve, Danielle C.

    2009-11-01

    Multidisciplinary investigations of the vegetational, faunal and sea-level history inferred from the infills of buried channels on the coast of eastern Essex have a direct bearing on the differentiation of MIS 11 and MIS 9 in continental records. New data are presented from Cudmore Grove, an important site on Mersea Island that can be linked to the terrace sequence of the River Thames. The vegetational history has been reconstructed from a pollen sequence covering much of the interglacial represented. The temperate nature of the climate is apparent from a range of fossil groups, including plant remains, vertebrates (especially the rich herpetofauna), molluscs and beetles, which all have strong thermophilous components. The beetle data have been used to derive a Mutual Climatic Range reconstruction, suggesting that mean July temperatures were about 2 °C warmer than modern values for southeast England, whereas mean January temperatures may have been slightly colder. The sea-level history has been reconstructed from the molluscs, ostracods and especially the diatoms, which indicate that the marine transgression occurred considerably earlier in the interglacial cycle than at the neighbouring Hoxnian site at Clacton. There are a number of palynological similarities between the sequence at Cudmore Grove and Clacton, especially the presence of Abies and the occurrence of Azolla filiculoides megaspores. Moreover, both sites have yielded Palaeolithic archaeology, indeed the latter is the type site of the Clactonian (flake-and-core) industry. However, the sites can be differentiated on the basis of mammalian biostratigraphy, new aminostratigraphic data, as well as the differences in the sea-level history. The combined evidence suggests that the infill of the channel at Cudmore Grove accumulated during MIS 9, whereas the deposits at Clacton formed during MIS 11. The infill of a much later channel, yielding non-marine molluscs and vertebrates including Hippopotamus, appears

  20. Determine small and medium enterprise social media activities: A community engagement project in the Tshwane community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louise van Scheers

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to determine small and medium enterprise (SME social media activities and promote CE scholarship engagement. It is a community engagement project conducted in the Tshwane community. Community engagement (CE as a planned process with the specific purpose of working with identified groups of people in the community to address issues affecting their well-being. The CE project SME skills transfer workshops are aimed at expanding involvement with the community. The benefits of social media seem to be ignored by most SMEs however; challenges prevent SME owners from using the tool effectively. A survey study method of research design has been selected for the research. The sample for the study comprised 200 SME owners who currently manage small businesses in the Tshwane area. The conducted research recommends that social media can be cost effective if the SMEs make use of their social networks and use best practises that enable them to get their adverts or posts shared across social networks. The conducted research also recommends that SMEs with limited resources start with social media and YouTube as a marketing tool, as the learning curve is low and cost involved is almost nil.

  1. Evaluating distributed medical education: what are the community's expectations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovato, Chris; Bates, Joanna; Hanlon, Neil; Snadden, David

    2009-05-01

    This study aimed to explore community members' perceptions of present and future impacts of the implementation of an undergraduate medical education programme in an underserved community. We conducted semi-structured interviews with eight key informants representing the health, education, business, economy, media and political sectors. A two-stage approach was used. In the first stage, the interviews were analysed to identify sector-specific impacts informants perceived as already occurring or which they hoped to see in the future. The transcripts were then re-analysed to determine any underlying themes that crossed sectors. Community leaders described impacts that were already occurring in all sectors and also described changes in the community itself. Four underlying themes emerged: an increase in pride and status; partnership development; community self-efficacy, and community development. These underlying themes appear to characterise the development of social capital in the community. The implementation of distributed undergraduate medical education programmes in rural and underserved communities may impact their host communities in ways other than the production of a rural doctor workforce. Further studies to quantify impacts in diverse sectors and to explore possible links with social capital are needed.

  2. The role of community centres in offering protection: UNHCR and Al Ghaith Association in Yemen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas Martin-Achard

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Community centres play an important role in offering protection for displaced communities, particularly for members of those communities who have specific needs. Somali refugees in Yemen formed the Al Ghaith Association and are now running their own community centres to support fellow refugees. Below, UNHCR and Al Ghaith discuss their approaches.

  3. Planning community-based assessments of HIV educational intervention programs in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelcey, Ben; Shen, Zuchao

    2017-08-01

    A key consideration in planning studies of community-based HIV education programs is identifying a sample size large enough to ensure a reasonable probability of detecting program effects if they exist. Sufficient sample sizes for community- or group-based designs are proportional to the correlation or similarity of individuals within communities. As a result, efficient and effective design requires reasonable a priori estimates of the correlational structure among individuals within communities. In this study, we investigate the degree of correlation among individuals within communities and regions using samples of sixth-grade adolescents from 609 local area district communities and 122 regions in 15 sub-Saharan African nations. We develop nation-specific and international summaries of these correlations using variance partitioning coefficients from multilevel models and subsequently assess the extent to which different types of background variables delineate key sources of these correlations. The results suggest persistent differences among communities and regions and that the degree of correlation among individuals within communities varied considerably by nation. The findings underscore the importance of empirically derived values of design parameters that are anchored in evidence specific to the outcome, nation and context of the planned study. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Sustaining health education research programs in Aboriginal communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wisener, Katherine; Shapka, Jennifer; Jarvis-Selinger, Sandra

    2017-09-01

    Despite evidence supporting the ongoing provision of health education interventions in First Nations communities, there is a paucity of research that specifically addresses how these programs should be designed to ensure sustainability and long-term effects. Using a Community-Based Research approach, a collective case study was completed with three Canadian First Nations communities to address the following research question: What factors are related to sustainable health education programs, and how do they contribute to and/or inhibit program success in an Aboriginal context? Semi-structured interviews and a sharing circle were completed with 19 participants, including members of community leadership, external partners, and program staff and users. Seven factors were identified to either promote or inhibit program sustainability, including: 1) community uptake; 2) environmental factors; 3) stakeholder awareness and support; 4) presence of a champion; 5) availability of funding; 6) fit and flexibility; and 7) capacity and capacity building. Each factor is provided with a working definition, influential moderators, and key evaluation questions. This study is grounded in, and builds on existing research, and can be used by First Nations communities and universities to support effective sustainability planning for community-based health education interventions.

  5. Species-specific effects of epigeic earthworms on microbial community structure during first stages of decomposition of organic matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Brandón, María; Lores, Marta; Domínguez, Jorge

    2012-01-01

    Epigeic earthworms are key organisms in organic matter decomposition because of the interactions they establish with microorganisms. The earthworm species and the quality and/or substrate availability are expected to be major factors influencing the outcome of these interactions. Here we tested whether and to what extent the epigeic earthworms Eisenia andrei, Eisenia fetida and Perionyx excavatus, widely used in vermicomposting, are capable of altering the microbiological properties of fresh organic matter in the short-term. We also questioned if the earthworm-induced modifications to the microbial communities are dependent on the type of substrate ingested. To address these questions we determined the microbial community structure (phospholipid fatty acid profiles) and microbial activity (basal respiration and microbial growth rates) of three types of animal manure (cow, horse and rabbit) that differed in microbial composition, after being processed by each species of earthworm for one month. No differences were found between earthworm-worked samples with regards to microbial community structure, irrespective of type of manure, which suggests the existence of a bottleneck effect of worm digestion on microbial populations of the original material consumed. Moreover, in mesocosms containing cow manure the presence of E. andrei resulted not only in a decrease in bacterial and fungal biomass, but also in a reduced bacterial growth rate and total microbial activity, while no such reduction was found with E. fetida and P. excavatus. Our results point to the species of earthworm with its associated gut microbiota as a strong determinant of the process shaping the structure of microbial communities in the short-term. This must nonetheless be weighed against the fact that further knowledge is necessary to evaluate whether the changes in the composition of microbiota in response to the earthworm species is accompanied by a change in the microbial community diversity and

  6. Species-specific effects of epigeic earthworms on microbial community structure during first stages of decomposition of organic matter.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Gómez-Brandón

    Full Text Available Epigeic earthworms are key organisms in organic matter decomposition because of the interactions they establish with microorganisms. The earthworm species and the quality and/or substrate availability are expected to be major factors influencing the outcome of these interactions. Here we tested whether and to what extent the epigeic earthworms Eisenia andrei, Eisenia fetida and Perionyx excavatus, widely used in vermicomposting, are capable of altering the microbiological properties of fresh organic matter in the short-term. We also questioned if the earthworm-induced modifications to the microbial communities are dependent on the type of substrate ingested.To address these questions we determined the microbial community structure (phospholipid fatty acid profiles and microbial activity (basal respiration and microbial growth rates of three types of animal manure (cow, horse and rabbit that differed in microbial composition, after being processed by each species of earthworm for one month. No differences were found between earthworm-worked samples with regards to microbial community structure, irrespective of type of manure, which suggests the existence of a bottleneck effect of worm digestion on microbial populations of the original material consumed. Moreover, in mesocosms containing cow manure the presence of E. andrei resulted not only in a decrease in bacterial and fungal biomass, but also in a reduced bacterial growth rate and total microbial activity, while no such reduction was found with E. fetida and P. excavatus.Our results point to the species of earthworm with its associated gut microbiota as a strong determinant of the process shaping the structure of microbial communities in the short-term. This must nonetheless be weighed against the fact that further knowledge is necessary to evaluate whether the changes in the composition of microbiota in response to the earthworm species is accompanied by a change in the microbial community

  7. Scoping study into community-based renewable energy projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-07-01

    This scoping study has been carried out by the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE), a charity which promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy. CSE have used their involvement in the development of the Energy Club (the first energy service company for householders in the UK) and the Bristol Environment and Energy Trust (a cross-sector organisation initiating environmental projects) as the basis of the study. This study is the first phase of a long term project to set up two small-scale renewable energy schemes to demonstrate the benefits of a community based approach. Specific objectives of the study were: to identify, quantify and cost, renewable energy resources for interested community organisations; to evaluate two routes for developing community based projects - Environment Trusts and Energy Clubs'; to organise a seminar with the objective of bringing together community interest groups with experts in renewable energy; to identify two communities with viable renewable projects for the next phase - full feasibility studies/pilot projects. (author)

  8. Species richness and occupancy estimation in communities subject to temporary emigration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kery, M.; Royle, J. Andrew; Plattner, M.; Dorazio, R.M.

    2009-01-01

    Species richness is the most common biodiversity metric, although typically some species remain unobserved. Therefore, estimates of species richness and related quantities should account for imperfect detectability. Community dynamics can often be represented as superposition of species-specific phenologies (e. g., in taxa with well-defined flight [insects], activity [rodents], or vegetation periods [plants]). We develop a model for such predictably open communities wherein species richness is expressed as the sum over observed and unobserved species of estimated species-specific and site-specific occurrence indicators and where seasonal occurrence is modeled as a species-specific function of time. Our model is a multispecies extension of a multistate model with one unobservable state and represents a parsimonious way of dealing with a widespread form of 'temporary emigration.'' For illustration we use Swiss butterfly monitoring data collected under a robust design (RD); species were recorded on 13 transects during two secondary periods within data, where secondary samples are pooled. The latter model yielded unrealistically high estimates of total community size of 274 species. In contrast, estimates were similar under models applied to RD data with constant (122) or seasonally varying (126) detectability for each species, but the former was more parsimonious and therefore used for inference. Per transect, 6 44 (mean 21.1) species were detected. Species richness estimates averaged 29.3; therefore only 71% (range 32-92%) of all species present were ever detected. In any primary period, 0.4-5.6 species present were overlooked. Detectability varied by species and averaged 0.88 per primary sampling period. Our modeling framework is extremely flexible; extensions such as covariates for the occurrence or detectability of individual species are easy. It should be useful for communities with a predictable form of temporary emigration where rigorous estimation of community

  9. Being an online celebrity: Norms and expectations of YouTube’s beauty community

    OpenAIRE

    García-Rapp, Florencia; Roca-Cuberes, Carles

    2017-01-01

    This paper is based on 22 months of online fieldwork examining YouTube’s beauty community, specifically the beauty guru Bubz, her uploaded content, and user comments. We aim to conceptualize central community-specific dynamics and practices, particularly those related to self-presentation and identity management and their affordances for legitimized online popularity. We explain how the guru’s successful online persona is based on a performative blend of relatable, down-to-earth values paired...

  10. Vaginal and Uterine Bacterial Communities in Postpartum Lactating Cows

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brooke A. Clemmons

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Reproductive inefficiency in cattle has major impacts on overall productivity of cattle operations, increasing cost of production, and impacting the sustainability of the cattle enterprise. Decreased reproductive success and associated disease states have been correlated with the presence of specific microbes and microbial community profiles, yet details of the relationship between microbial communities and host physiology are not well known. The present study profiles and compares the microbial communities in the bovine uterus and vagina using 16S rRNA sequencing of the V1–V3 hypervariable region at the time of artificial insemination. Significant differences (p < 0.05 between the vaginal and uterine communities were observed at the level of α-diversity metrics, including Chao1, Shannon’s Diversity Index, and observed OTU. Greater clustering of vaginal OTU was apparent in principal coordinate analysis compared to uterine OTU, despite greater diversity in the vaginal community in both weighted and unweighted UniFrac distance matrices (p < 0.05. There was a significantly greater relative abundance of unassigned taxa in the uterus (p = 0.008, otherwise there were few differences between the overall community profiles. Both vaginal and uterine communities were dominated by Firmicutes, although the relative abundance of rRNA sequences corresponding to species in this phylum was significantly (p = 0.007 lower in the uterine community. Additional differences were observed at the genus level, specifically in abundances within Clostridium (p = 0.009, Anaerofustis (p = 0.018, Atopobium (p = 0.035, Oscillospira (p = 0.035, 5-7N15 (p = 0.035, Mycoplasma (p = 0.035, Odoribacter (p = 0.042, and within the families Clostridiaceae (p = 0.006, Alcaligenaceae (p = 0.021, and Ruminococcaceae (p = 0.021. Overall, the comparison revealed differences and commonalities among bovine reproductive organs, which may be influenced by host physiology. The increased

  11. Extending the GI Brokering Suite to Support New Interoperability Specifications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boldrini, E.; Papeschi, F.; Santoro, M.; Nativi, S.

    2014-12-01

    The GI brokering suite provides the discovery, access, and semantic Brokers (i.e. GI-cat, GI-axe, GI-sem) that empower a Brokering framework for multi-disciplinary and multi-organizational interoperability. GI suite has been successfully deployed in the framework of several programmes and initiatives, such as European Union funded projects, NSF BCube, and the intergovernmental coordinated effort Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Each GI suite Broker facilitates interoperability for a particular functionality (i.e. discovery, access, semantic extension) among a set of brokered resources published by autonomous providers (e.g. data repositories, web services, semantic assets) and a set of heterogeneous consumers (e.g. client applications, portals, apps). A wide set of data models, encoding formats, and service protocols are already supported by the GI suite, such as the ones defined by international standardizing organizations like OGC and ISO (e.g. WxS, CSW, SWE, GML, netCDF) and by Community specifications (e.g. THREDDS, OpenSearch, OPeNDAP, ESRI APIs). Using GI suite, resources published by a particular Community or organization through their specific technology (e.g. OPeNDAP/netCDF) can be transparently discovered, accessed, and used by different Communities utilizing their preferred tools (e.g. a GIS visualizing WMS layers). Since Information Technology is a moving target, new standards and technologies continuously emerge and are adopted in the Earth Science context too. Therefore, GI Brokering suite was conceived to be flexible and accommodate new interoperability protocols and data models. For example, GI suite has recently added support to well-used specifications, introduced to implement Linked data, Semantic Web and precise community needs. Amongst the others, they included: DCAT: a RDF vocabulary designed to facilitate interoperability between Web data catalogs. CKAN: a data management system for data distribution, particularly used by

  12. Storefront cigarette advertising differs by community demographic profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seidenberg, Andrew B; Caughey, Robert W; Rees, Vaughan W; Connolly, Gregory N

    2010-01-01

    Tobacco manufacturers have targeted youth and ethnic/racial minorities with tailored advertising. Less is known about how characteristics of storefront tobacco advertisements, such as location, position, size, and content, are used to appeal to demographic subgroups. The occurrence and characteristics of storefront cigarette advertising were observed for all licensed tobacco retailers in two defined communities. Measures were taken in two Boston, Massachusetts, area urban communities: a low-income, minority community and a high-income, nonminority community. No human subjects were involved in this study. Advertisement position (attached or separated from storefront), size (small, medium, or large), mentholation, and price were recorded. Geographic coordinates of tobacco retailers and schools were mapped using ArcGIS 9.2. Differences between the communities in advertisement number and characteristics were assessed using bivariate analyses. Logistic regression was used to ascertain the odds of specific advertising features occurring in the low-income/minority community. The low-income/minority community had more tobacco retailers, and advertisements were more likely to be larger, promote menthol products, have a lower mean advertised price, and occur within 1000 feet of a school. Storefront cigarette advertising characteristics that increase exposure and promote youth initiation were more prominent in a low-income/minority community. The findings emphasize the need for more effective regulation of storefront tobacco advertising.

  13. Phytoplankton pigments and macrobenthos in nearshore waters off an oil terminal at Uran (Maharashtra), west coast of India

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    JiyalalRam, M.; Mehta, P.; Govindan, K.

    )) whereas the biomass ws comparable between the two zones. The subtidal regions had poor faunal group diversity, faunal density (av 250 m sup(-2)) and biomass (av 0.2 mg sup(-2)) associated with clayey silt bottom enriched with organic matter (3...

  14. Mental health literacy among refugee communities: differences between the Australian lay public and the Iraqi and Sudanese refugee communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    May, Samantha; Rapee, Ronald M; Coello, Mariano; Momartin, Shakeh; Aroche, Jorge

    2014-05-01

    This study investigated differences in mental health knowledge and beliefs between participants from the Iraqi and Sudanese refugee communities, and Australian-born individuals, in Sydney, Australia. Ninety-seven participants were given vignettes of characters describing symptoms of major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress. They were required to identify psychological symptoms as disorders, rate beliefs about the causes of and helpful treatments for these disorders, and rate attitude statements regarding the two characters. Australian participants recognized the presented symptoms as specific mental disorders significantly more than Iraqi and Sudanese participants did, and reported causal and treatment beliefs which were more congruent with expert beliefs as per the western medical model of mental disorder. The Sudanese group endorsed supernatural and religious causal beliefs regarding depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms most often; but both Sudanese and Iraqi participants strongly supported options from the supernatural and religious treatment items. However, evidence for pluralistic belief systems was also found. Although sampling was non-random, suggesting caution in the interpretation of results, it appears that the mental health literacy of lay Australians may be more aligned with the western medical model of mental disorder than that of Iraqi and Sudanese refugee communities. Mental health literacy support needs of Iraqi and Sudanese refugee communities resettled in western countries such as Australia might include education about specific symptoms and causes of mental disorder and the effectiveness of psychiatric treatments. These findings provide useful directions for the promotion of optimal service utilization among such communities.

  15. The Whittard Canyon - A case study of submarine canyon processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amaro, T.; Huvenne, V. A. I.; Allcock, A. L.; Aslam, T.; Davies, J. S.; Danovaro, R.; De Stigter, H. C.; Duineveld, G. C. A.; Gambi, C.; Gooday, A. J.; Gunton, L. M.; Hall, R.; Howell, K. L.; Ingels, J.; Kiriakoulakis, K.; Kershaw, C. E.; Lavaleye, M. S. S.; Robert, K.; Stewart, H.; Van Rooij, D.; White, M.; Wilson, A. M.

    2016-08-01

    Submarine canyons are large geomorphological features that incise continental shelves and slopes around the world. They are often suggested to be biodiversity and biomass hotspots, although there is no consensus about this in the literature. Nevertheless, many canyons do host diverse faunal communities but owing to our lack of understanding of the processes shaping and driving this diversity, appropriate management strategies have yet to be developed. Here, we integrate all the current knowledge of one single system, the Whittard Canyon (Celtic Margin, NE Atlantic), including the latest research on its geology, sedimentology, geomorphology, oceanography, ecology, and biodiversity in order to address this issue. The Whittard Canyon is an active system in terms of sediment transport. The net suspended sediment transport is mainly up-canyon causing sedimentary overflow in some upper canyon areas. Occasionally sediment gravity flow events do occur, some possibly the result of anthropogenic activity. However, the role of these intermittent gravity flows in transferring labile organic matter to the deeper regions of the canyon appears to be limited. More likely, any labile organic matter flushed downslope in this way becomes strongly diluted with bulk material and is therefore of little food value for benthic fauna. Instead, the fresh organic matter found in the Whittard Channel mainly arrives through vertical deposition and lateral transport of phytoplankton blooms that occur in the area during spring and summer. The response of the Whittard Canyon fauna to these processes is different in different groups. Foraminiferal abundances are higher in the upper parts of the canyon and on the slope than in the lower canyon. Meiofaunal abundances in the upper and middle part of the canyon are higher than on adjacent slopes, but lower in the deepest part. Mega- and macrofauna abundances are higher in the canyon compared with the adjacent slope and are higher in the eastern than

  16. Long-term changes in composition and distribution patterns in the Iberian herpetofaunal communities since the latest Pleistocene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bisbal-Chinesta, Josep Francesc; Blain, Hugues-Alexandre

    2018-03-01

    The climate has undergone significant changes since the end of the Last Glacial Maximum and in the course of the Holocene, parallel to important cultural transformations and migrations in the human communities. The faunal record has also suffered the effects of climate change. Amphibians and reptiles in particular have been shown to be highly sensitive because they are very susceptible to temperature alterations due to their ectothermy. This research presents the first approach to the Iberian paleobiogeography of the different species of amphibians and reptiles from the Late Pleistocene (MIS3) to present times, based on a comparative synthesis of the latest research published in recent years and the fossil record of the 58 archaeo-paleontological sites with significant assemblages. The paleoherpetofaunal associations make it possible to establish two major biotic regions during the Late Pleistocene. The first biotic region was located in the center and south of the Iberian Peninsula, with thermophilic species as the most representative taxa. The second biotic region was formed by the Atlantic-Cantabrian facade and the northeast Iberian area, dominated by hygrophilous and Euro-Siberian species, with an absence of Mediterranean species. After the Last Glacial Maximum there was an unprecedented concurrence in the northern Iberian Peninsula of autochthonous taxa from that area with thermophilic species. In the early Holocene, new species with no previous record in the Iberian Peninsula entered northern Iberia from eastern Mediterranean refugia. Finally, the introduction of North African species was the last significant biogeographical change during the Middle-Late Holocene.

  17. Sustaining Open Source Communities through Hackathons - An Example from the ASPECT Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heister, T.; Hwang, L.; Bangerth, W.; Kellogg, L. H.

    2016-12-01

    The ecosystem surrounding a successful scientific open source software package combines both social and technical aspects. Much thought has been given to the technology side of writing sustainable software for large infrastructure projects and software libraries, but less about building the human capacity to perpetuate scientific software used in computational modeling. One effective format for building capacity is regular multi-day hackathons. Scientific hackathons bring together a group of science domain users and scientific software contributors to make progress on a specific software package. Innovation comes through the chance to work with established and new collaborations. Especially in the domain sciences with small communities, hackathons give geographically distributed scientists an opportunity to connect face-to-face. They foster lively discussions amongst scientists with different expertise, promote new collaborations, and increase transparency in both the technical and scientific aspects of code development. ASPECT is an open source, parallel, extensible finite element code to simulate thermal convection, that began development in 2011 under the Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics. ASPECT hackathons for the past 3 years have grown the number of authors to >50, training new code maintainers in the process. Hackathons begin with leaders establishing project-specific conventions for development, demonstrating the workflow for code contributions, and reviewing relevant technical skills. Each hackathon expands the developer community. Over 20 scientists add >6,000 lines of code during the >1 week event. Participants grow comfortable contributing to the repository and over half continue to contribute afterwards. A high return rate of participants ensures continuity and stability of the group as well as mentoring for novice members. We hope to build other software communities on this model, but anticipate each to bring their own unique challenges.

  18. Functional & phylogenetic diversity of copepod communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benedetti, F.; Ayata, S. D.; Blanco-Bercial, L.; Cornils, A.; Guilhaumon, F.

    2016-02-01

    The diversity of natural communities is classically estimated through species identification (taxonomic diversity) but can also be estimated from the ecological functions performed by the species (functional diversity), or from the phylogenetic relationships among them (phylogenetic diversity). Estimating functional diversity requires the definition of specific functional traits, i.e., phenotypic characteristics that impact fitness and are relevant to ecosystem functioning. Estimating phylogenetic diversity requires the description of phylogenetic relationships, for instance by using molecular tools. In the present study, we focused on the functional and phylogenetic diversity of copepod surface communities in the Mediterranean Sea. First, we implemented a specific trait database for the most commonly-sampled and abundant copepod species of the Mediterranean Sea. Our database includes 191 species, described by seven traits encompassing diverse ecological functions: minimal and maximal body length, trophic group, feeding type, spawning strategy, diel vertical migration and vertical habitat. Clustering analysis in the functional trait space revealed that Mediterranean copepods can be gathered into groups that have different ecological roles. Second, we reconstructed a phylogenetic tree using the available sequences of 18S rRNA. Our tree included 154 of the analyzed Mediterranean copepod species. We used these two datasets to describe the functional and phylogenetic diversity of copepod surface communities in the Mediterranean Sea. The replacement component (turn-over) and the species richness difference component (nestedness) of the beta diversity indices were identified. Finally, by comparing various and complementary aspects of plankton diversity (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity) we were able to gain a better understanding of the relationships among the zooplankton community, biodiversity, ecosystem function, and environmental forcing.

  19. Community-based knowledge translation: unexplored opportunities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Armstrong Rebecca

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Knowledge translation is an interactive process of knowledge exchange between health researchers and knowledge users. Given that the health system is broad in scope, it is important to reflect on how definitions and applications of knowledge translation might differ by setting and focus. Community-based organizations and their practitioners share common characteristics related to their setting, the evidence used in this setting, and anticipated outcomes that are not, in our experience, satisfactorily reflected in current knowledge translation approaches, frameworks, or tools. Discussion Community-based organizations face a distinctive set of challenges and concerns related to engaging in the knowledge translation process, suggesting a unique perspective on knowledge translation in these settings. Specifically, community-based organizations tend to value the process of working in collaboration with multi-sector stakeholders in order to achieve an outcome. A feature of such community-based collaborations is the way in which 'evidence' is conceptualized or defined by these partners, which may in turn influence the degree to which generalizable research evidence in particular is relevant and useful when balanced against more contextually-informed knowledge, such as tacit knowledge. Related to the issues of evidence and context is the desire for local information. For knowledge translation researchers, developing processes to assist community-based organizations to adapt research findings to local circumstances may be the most helpful way to advance decision making in this area. A final characteristic shared by community-based organizations is involvement in advocacy activities, a function that has been virtually ignored in traditional knowledge translation approaches. Summary This commentary is intended to stimulate further discussion in the area of community-based knowledge translation. Knowledge translation, and exchange

  20. Minority within a Minority Paradox: Asian Experiences in Latino Schools & Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koo, Sarai; Nishimura, Trisha S.

    2013-01-01

    Drawing on Critical Race Theory (CRT), the authors report on narratives of education collected from three young Asian women living in and attending a predominately Latina/o community and school. The authors explored how Asians and Latina/o groups intersect in a majority minority community. Specifically, they sought to understand: (1) How young…

  1. Renewing the American Community College. The Jossey-Bass Higher Education Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deegan, William L.; And Others

    A framework for examining the future development of the community college and specific policy and program proposals is provided by the 13 essays in this collection. Part one, "The Community College in Perspective," includes "The Evolution of Two-Year Colleges Through Four Generations," by Dale Tillery and William L. Deegan; and "Determining…

  2. On Community Education and Community Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dušana Findeisen

    1996-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper Dušana Findeisen introduces community education and development. She particularly insists upon the fact that in the future our life will not be organised around a paid full time job and that we will be forced into searching other ways of getting involved into society and to acquire our social identity. Community education is one of the ways we could eventually choose. Since community development education in Slovenia has not developed yet the author begins by describing some basic concepts like community and history of community education and community development movement. Further on, she introduces the Andragogical Summer School based in a small Slovenian town, its aim being to encourage Slovenian adult educators to encourage community development projects.

  3. Structure of the community of nesting birds in a ravine oak wood in the valley of the Oskol river

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Atemasov

    2016-10-01

    nesting in the crown were 32.3% and ground-nesting species 25.3%. The geographical and genesis structure of the communities of nesting birds are characterized by predominance of species from Nemoral and Ancient-Nemoral faunal assemblage (in some years up to 90.9% of the population. The species from the forest-steppe faunistic complex of the European type of fauna account for 3.6% to 9.48% of the population of nesting birds, and most of these have the status of third-degree (rare species. The composition of the group of third-degree species is highly diverse: in addition to the elements of Nemoral, Ancient-Nemoral and forest-steppe complexes, it includes species from the tropical and boreal groups. Among third-degree species there is a tendency to decrease in some species from the Nemoral faunal complex with a simultaneous increase in the forest-steppe faunistic component and increase in the homogeneity of the geography-genesis structure as a whole. The significant share of the population from the Nemoral and Ancient-Nemoral species complex, which formed in deciduous forests, is evidence of the origin of the  researched ravine oak wood as a remnant of the once vast oak-forest areas.

  4. The Aragonian and Vallesian high-resolution micromammal succession from the Calatayud-Montalbán Basin (Aragón, Spain)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    García-Paredes, Israel; Álvarez-Sierra, María Ángeles; Van den Hoek Ostende, Lars W.; Hernández-Ballarín, Verónica; Hordijk, Kees; López-Guerrero, Paloma; Oliver, Adriana; Peláez-Campomanes, Pablo

    We present an updated taxonomy and faunal distribution of the micromammal fossil record from the Aragonian and Lower Vallesian of the Calatayud-Montalbán Basin. The analysed record includes the orders Rodentia, Eulipotyphla, and Lagomorpha. The pattern of species turnover shows seven major faunal

  5. The influence of bioturbation on the vertical distribution of soil organic matter in volcanic ash soils: a case study in northern Ecuador

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tonneijck, F.H.; Jongmans, A.G.

    2008-01-01

    Soil faunal bioturbation ('bioturbation') is often cited as a major process influencing the vertical distribution of soil organic matter (SOM). The influence of bioturbation on vertical SOM transport is complex because it is the result of interaction between different groups of soil faunal species

  6. Multi-method (TL and OSL), multi-material (quartz and flint) dating of the Mousterian site of Roc de Marsal (Dordogne, France): correlating Neanderthal occupations with the climatic variability of MIS 5–3

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guerin, Guillaume; Discamps, Emmanuel; Lahaye, Christelle

    2012-01-01

    on unheated quartz. Chronological results combined with palaeoenvironmental data – faunal remains and micromorphological features in the sediments from the cave, pollen proxies and faunal remains from the region – allowed us to place climate variations in southwest France on a numerical time scale...

  7. Broad-Scale Comparison of Photosynthesis in Terrestrial and Aquatic Plant Communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sand-Jensen, Kaj; Krause-Jensen, D.

    1997-01-01

    Comparisons of photosynthesis in terrestrial and aquatic habitats have been impaired by differences in methods and time-scales of measurements. We compiled information on gross photosynthesis at high irradiance and photosynthetic efficiency at low irradiance from 109 published terrestrial studies...... communities probably due to more efficient light utilization and gas exchange in the terrestrial habitats. By contrast only small differences were found within different aquatic plant communities or within different terrestrial plant communities....... of forests, grasslands and crops and 319 aquatic studies of phytoplankton, macrophyte and attached microalgal communities to test if specific differences existed between the communities. Maximum gross photosynthesis and photosynthetic efficiency were systematically higher in terrestrial than in aquatic...

  8. Improving information for community-based adaptation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huq, Saleemul

    2011-10-15

    Community-based adaptation aims to empower local people to cope with and plan for the impacts of climate change. In a world where knowledge equals power, you could be forgiven for thinking that enabling this type of adaptation boils down to providing local people with information. Conventional approaches to planning adaptation rely on 'expert' advice and credible 'science' from authoritative information providers such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But to truly support the needs of local communities, this information needs to be more site-specific, more user-friendly and more inclusive of traditional knowledge and existing coping practices.

  9. Gender-Specific Factors Associated with Suicide Attempts among the Community-Dwelling General Population with Suicidal Ideation: the 2013 Korean Community Health Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    We identified traditional risk factors and investigated poorly understood risk factors for suicide attempts according to gender in a large Korean population. We analyzed the data from 6,768 males and 12,475 females with suicidal ideation obtained from the nationwide 2013 Korean Community Health Survey. The dependent variable was suicide attempts within the past year. There was a significant trend towards an increase in suicide attempts with decreasing age in both genders. Compared with those who were married, suicide attempts were significantly higher among those who were widowed, divorced, or separated for males (odds ratio [OR], 2.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.34–3.20), but lower for females (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.45–0.98). Current smoking and depression were significant risk factor for suicide attempts in males and females. However, monthly household income, myocardial infarction, and osteoporosis were significantly associated with suicide attempts only in males, whereas education level, recipient of National Basic Livelihood Security, family contact, leisure activity, and drinking frequency were significantly associated only in females. These findings indicate that gender difference should be considered in the assessment, prevention, and management of future suicide attempts by community policy-makers and clinicians. PMID:27822943

  10. Extent and patterns of community collaboration in local health departments: An exploratory survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fisher John W

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Local public health departments (LHDs in the United States have been encouraged to collaborate with various other community organizations and individuals. Current research suggests that many forms of active partnering are ongoing, and there are numerous examples of LHD collaboration with a specific organization for a specific purpose or program. However, no existing research has attempted to characterize collaboration, for the defined purpose of setting community health status priorities, between a defined population of local officials and a defined group of alternative partnering organizations. The specific aims of this study were to 1 determine the range of collaborative involvement exhibited by a study population of local public health officials, and, 2 characterize the patterns of the selection of organizations/individuals involved with LHDs in the process of setting community health status priorities. Methods Local health department officials in North Carolina (n = 53 responded to an exploratory survey about their levels of involvement with eight types of possible collaborator organizations and individuals. Descriptive statistics and the stochastic clustering technique of Self-Organizing Maps (SOM were used to characterize their collaboration. Results Local health officials vary extensively in their level of collaboration with external collaborators. While the range of total involvement varies, the patterns of involvement for this specific function are relatively uniform. That is, regardless of the total level of involvement (low, medium or high, officials maintain similar hierarchical preference rankings with Community Advisory Boards and Local Boards of Health most involved and Experts and Elected Officials least involved. Conclusion The extent and patterns of collaboration among LHDs with other community stakeholders for a specific function can be described and ultimately related to outcome measures of LHD performance.

  11. Contaminant profiles for surface water, sediment, flora and fauna associated with the mangrove fringe along middle and lower eastern Tampa Bay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, M A; Russell, M J

    2015-06-15

    Contaminant concentrations are reported for surface water, sediment, flora and fauna collected during 2010-2011 from the mangrove fringe along eastern Tampa Bay, Florida. Concentrations of trace metals, chlorinated pesticides, atrazine, total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls were species-, chemical- and location-specific. Contaminants in sediments did not exceed proposed individual sediment quality guidelines. Most sediment quality assessment quotients were less than one indicating the likelihood of no inhibitory effect based on chemical measurements alone. Faunal species typically contained more contaminants than plant species; seagrass usually contained more chemicals than mangroves. Bioconcentration factors for marine angiosperms were usually less than 10 and ranged between 1 and 31. Mercury concentrations (ppm) in blue crabs and fish did not exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fish tissue criterion of 0.3 and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration action level of 1.0. In contrast, total mercury concentrations in faunal species often exceeded guideline values for wildlife consumers of aquatic biota. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. LHCb: LHCbDirac is a DIRAC extension to support LHCb specific workflows

    CERN Multimedia

    Stagni, Federico

    2012-01-01

    We present LHCbDIRAC, an extension of the DIRAC community Grid solution to handle the LHCb specificities. The DIRAC software has been developed for many years within LHCb only. Nowadays it is a generic software, used by many scientific communities worldwide. Each community wanting to take advantage of DIRAC has to develop an extension, containing all the necessary code for handling their specific cases. LHCbDIRAC is an actively developed extension, implementing the LHCb computing model and workflows. LHCbDIRAC extends DIRAC to handle all the distributed computing activities of LHCb. Such activities include real data processing (reconstruction, stripping and streaming), Monte-Carlo simulation and data replication. Other activities are groups and user analysis, data management, resources management and monitoring, data provenance, accounting for user and production jobs. LHCbDIRAC also provides extensions of the DIRAC interfaces, including a secure web client, python APIs and CLIs. While DIRAC and LHCbDIRAC f...

  13. Increasing Social Capital and Personal Efficacy through Small-Scale Community Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molitor, Fred; Rossi, Melissa; Branton, Lisa; Field, Julie

    2011-01-01

    California's voter-approved Children and Families Act of 1998 calls for money collected from tobacco taxes to support services for families with children up to 5 years of age. Sacramento County uses a portion of its allocation for small community grants with the specific intent of building social capital among neighbors and across communities. The…

  14. Functional outcomes in community-based adults with borderline personality disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javaras, Kristin N; Zanarini, Mary C; Hudson, James I; Greenfield, Shelly F; Gunderson, John G

    2017-06-01

    Many individuals in clinical samples with borderline personality disorder (BPD) experience high levels of functional impairment. However, little is known about the levels of functional impairment experienced by individuals with BPD in the general community. To address this issue, we compared overall and domain-specific (educational/occupational; social; recreational) functioning in a sample of community-based individuals with BPD (n = 164); community-based individuals without BPD (n = 901); and clinically-ascertained individuals with BPD (n = 61). BPD diagnoses and functional outcomes were based on well-accepted, semi-structured interviews. Community-based individuals with BPD were significantly less likely to experience good overall functioning (steady, consistent employment and ≥1 good relationship) compared to community-based individuals without BPD (BPD: 47.4%; Non- BPD: 74.5%; risk difference -27.1%; p < 0.001), even when compared directly to their own non-BPD siblings (risk difference -35.5%; p < 0.001). Community-based individuals with BPD versus those without BPD did not differ significantly on most domain-specific outcomes, but the former group experienced poorer educational/occupational performance and lower quality relationships with parents, partners, and friends. However, community-based individuals with BPD were significantly more likely to experience good overall functioning than clinically-based individuals with BPD (risk difference -35.2%; p < 0.001), with the latter group more likely to experience reduced employment status, very poor quality relationships with partners, and social isolation. In conclusion, community-based individuals with BPD experienced marked functional impairment, especially in the social domain, but were less likely to experience the more extreme occupational and social impairments seen among patients with BPD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Perturbation metatranscriptomics for studying complex microbial communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Williams, Rohan B.H.; Kirkegaard, Rasmus Hansen; Arumugam, Krithika

    Studying the functional state of natural or engineered microbial communities presents substantial challenges due to both the complexities of field sampling, and, in the laboratory context, the inability of culture or reactor systems to maintain community composition ex situ over long periods. Here...... correlation between orthologous genes (Pearson r=0.4). We also used these data to annotate uncharacterized genes in the Ca. nitrospira defluvii genome: finding clear evidence for several previously unrecognized denitrification related genes, using a combination of expression profiles and protein domain data...... are associated with the transition from anoxic to aerobic conditions, and are observable at a whole community level and 3) these data provide a means of identifying unannotated genes in reference genomes that are likely to be associated with specific functional processes. More broadly, our approach permits...

  16. Satellite-enabled educational services specification and requirements analysis based on user feedback

    OpenAIRE

    Tsekeridou, Sofia; Tiropanis, Thanassis; Rorris, Dimitris; Constantinos, Makropoulos; Serif, Tacha; Stergioulas, Lampros

    2008-01-01

    Advanced tele-education services provision in remote geographically dispersed user communities (such as agriculture and maritime), based on the specific needs and requirements of such communities, implies significant infrastructural and broadband connectivity requirements for rich media, timely and quality-assured content delivery and interactivity. The solution to broadband access anywhere is provided by satellite-enabled communication infrastructures. This paper aims to present such satelli...

  17. History of benthic research in the English Channel: From general patterns of communities to habitat mosaic description

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dauvin, Jean-Claude

    2015-06-01

    Benthic studies in the English Channel (EC), a shallow megatidal and epicontinental sea, began in the 1960s and 1970s with the work of teams led by Norman Holme (UK) and Louis Cabioch (F). During this period, benthic sampling was mainly qualitative, i.e. using a device such as the 'Rallier du Baty' dredge in the case of the French team and a modified anchor dredge in the case of the British team. Studies were focused on acquiring knowledge of the main distributions of benthic communities and species. Surveys on the scale of the whole EC led to the recognition of general features and two main patterns were identified: 1) the role of hydrodynamics on the spatial distribution of sediment, benthic species and communities; 2) the presence of a west-east climatic gradient of faunal impoverishment. Benthic studies in the 1980s-1990s were focused on the beginning of the implementation of long-term survey at a limited number of sites to identify seasonal and multi-annual changes. In the first decade of the 2000s, the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive to define the Ecological Quality Status of marine environments increased the need to acquire better information of the structure and functioning of benthic communities, since benthic species and habitats were recognised as good indicators of human pressure on marine ecosystems. Faced with the increase of human maritime activities, the appearance of invasive species and the need to preserve sensitive marine habitats, benthic studies have been focused on developing a 'toolkit' to help in the decision-making and planning for both sound governance and sustainable management of marine resources and human activities in the English Channel. Multidisciplinary approaches were used to differentiate habitats in a more precise detail. Both indirect (side-scan sonar, ROV) and direct (grab sampling with benthos identification and grain-size analyses) approaches were used and

  18. Dynamic structure of stock communities: a comparative study between stock returns and turnover rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Li-Ling; Jiang, Xiong-Fei; Li, Sai-Ping; Zhong, Li-Xin; Ren, Fei

    2017-07-01

    The detection of community structure in stock market is of theoretical and practical significance for the study of financial dynamics and portfolio risk estimation. We here study the community structures in Chinese stock markets from the aspects of both price returns and turnover rates, by using a combination of the PMFG and infomap methods based on a distance matrix. An empirical study using the overall data set shows that for both returns and turnover rates the largest communities are composed of specific industrial or conceptional sectors and the correlation inside a sector is generally larger than the correlation between different sectors. However, the community structure for turnover rates is more complex than that for returns, which indicates that the interactions between stocks revealed by turnover rates may contain more information. This conclusion is further confirmed by the analysis of the changes in the dynamics of community structures over five sub-periods. Sectors like banks, real estate, health care and New Shanghai take turns to comprise a few of the largest communities in different sub-periods, and more interestingly several specific sectors appear in the communities with different rank orders for returns and turnover rates even in the same sub-period. To better understand their differences, a comparison between the evolution of the returns and turnover rates of the stocks from these sectors is conducted. We find that stock prices only had large changes around important events while turnover rates surged after each of these events relevant to specific sectors, which shows strong evidence that the turnover rates are more susceptible to exogenous shocks than returns and its measurement for community detection may contain more useful information about market structure.

  19. Opportunities and challenges for public libraries to enhance community resilience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veil, Shari R; Bishop, Bradley Wade

    2014-04-01

    This study bridges a gap between public library and emergency management policy versus practice by examining the role of public libraries in the community resource network for disaster recovery. Specifically, this study identifies the opportunities and challenges for public libraries to fulfill their role as a FEMA-designated essential community organization and enhance community resilience. The results indicate there are several opportunities for libraries to enhance community resilience by offering technology resources and assistance; providing office, meeting, and community living room space; serving as the last redundant communication channel and a repository for community information and disaster narratives; and adapting or expanding services already offered to meet the changing needs of the community. However, libraries also face challenges in enhancing community resilience, including the temptation to overcommit library capacity and staff capability beyond the library mission and a lack of long-term disaster plans and collaboration with emergency managers and government officials. Implications for library and emergency management practice and crisis research are discussed. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

  20. The Ukrainian community of Western Siberia: specific features of formation and development in the 2nd half of the 19th – early 20th century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir N. Shaidurov

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The agrarian crisis in the European part of the Russian Empire in the middle of the 20th century seriously impeded agricultural progress. Agrarian overpopulation and peasants deprived of land in the course of the peasant reform of 1861 further aggravated the negative situation in the governorates of Central Russia, Belarus, and left-bank Ukraine. These factors provided fertile soil for migratory sentiments among peasants. It was resettlement in vacant lands in the Asiatic Russia and North Caucasus, which allowed most of them to preserve their homesteads. In the 2nd half of the 19th – early 20th century, Ukrainian peasants were actively engaged in the migration movement which was supported by the state. One of the main placement areas became Western Siberia where a large Ukrainian peasant community was formed. The history of research on the Ukrainian community in Western Siberia is fragmentary, as many aspects remain unstudied. Hence, the article focuses on the following questions: causes of the Ukrainian migration to the border lands of the Russian Empire; stages in the migration; main areas where Ukrainians resided in Siberia; population dynamics of the Ukrainian community; adaptation patterns specific for Ukrainian migrants in their new places of residence; their role in the economic life of Siberia in the early 20th century. This article utilizes primary data from the All-Russian Agricultural and Land Census of 1917, which have been introduced for scientific use for the first time. As the methodological basis, the study draws on the system approach combining regional, neo-imperial and comparative principles.

  1. Ecological Networks and Community Attachment and Support Among Recently Resettled Refugees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soller, Brian; Goodkind, Jessica R; Greene, R Neil; Browning, Christopher R; Shantzek, Cece

    2018-03-25

    Interventions aimed at enhancing mental health are increasingly centered around promoting community attachment and support. However, few have examined and tested the specific ecological factors that give rise to these key community processes. Drawing from insights from the ecological network perspective, we tested whether spatial and social overlap in routine activity settings (e.g., work, school, childcare) with fellow ethnic community members is associated with individuals' attachment to their ethnic communities and access to social resources embedded in their communities. Data on routine activity locations drawn from the Refugee Well-Being Project (based in a city in the Southwestern United States) were used to reconstruct the ecological networks of recently resettled refugee communities, which were two-mode networks that comprise individuals and their routine activity locations. Results indicated that respondents' community attachment and support increased with their ecological network extensity-which taps the extent to which respondents share routine activity locations with other community members. Our study highlights a key ecological process that potentially enhances individuals' ethnic community attachment that extends beyond residential neighborhoods. © Society for Community Research and Action 2018.

  2. Species-specific effects of Asian and European earthworms on microbial communities in Mid-Atlantic deciduous forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earthworm species with different feeding, burrowing, and/or casting behaviors can lead to distinct microbial communities through complex direct and indirect processes. European earthworm invasion into temperate deciduous forests in North America has been shown to alter microbial biomass in the soil ...

  3. Indigenous community based participatory research and health impact assessment: A Canadian example

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwiatkowski, Roy E.

    2011-01-01

    The Environmental Health Research Division (EHRD) of the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada conducts science-based activities and research with Canadian Indigenous communities in areas such as climate change adaptation, environmental contaminants, water quality, biomonitoring, risk assessment, health impact assessment, and food safety and nutrition. EHRD's research activities have been specifically designed to not only inform Health Canada's policy decision-makers but as well, Indigenous community decision-makers. This paper will discuss the reasons why Indigenous community engagement is important, what are some of the barriers preventing community engagement; and the efforts by EHRD to carry out community-based participatory research activities with Indigenous peoples.

  4. Pharmacists' experience of conflict in community practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, Zubin; Gregory, Paul A M; Martin, J Craig

    2010-03-01

    Interpersonal conflict may be characterized as intellectual disagreement with emotional entanglement. While interpersonal conflict has been studied and described in different health care settings, there is little research that focuses on community pharmacists and the ways in which they experience conflict in professional practice. To describe and characterize the experience of interpersonal conflict within community pharmacy practice. A self-reporting narrative log was developed in which actively recruited pharmacists reported and reflected upon their day-to-day experiences of interpersonal conflict in professional practice. Focus groups of pharmacists were convened following data analysis to provide context and confirmation of identified themes. Based on this analysis, an explanatory model for interpersonal conflict in community pharmacy practice was generated. Participants were actively recruited from community pharmacy settings in the Toronto (Canada) area. A total of 41 community pharmacists participated. Interpersonal conflict in pharmacy practice is ubiquitous and results from diverse triggers. A conflict stance model was developed, based on the worldview and the communication style of the individual pharmacist. Specific conflict stances identified were: imposing, thwarting, settling, and avoiding. Further testing and refinement of this model is required. Crown Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Soil inoculation with microbial communities - can this become a useful tool in soil remediation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krug, Angelika; Wang, Fang; Dörfler, Ulrike; Munch, Jean Charles; Schroll, Reiner

    2010-05-01

    We artificially loaded different type of agricultural soils with model 14C-labelled chemicals, and we inoculated such soils with different microbial communities as well as isolated strains to enhance the mineralization of such chemicals. Inocula were introduced by different approaches: (i) soil inocula, (ii) application of isolated strain as well as microbial community via media, (iii) isolated strain as well as microbial community attached to a carrier material. Most of the inoculation experiments were conducted in laboratory but we also tested one of these approaches under real environmental conditions in lysimeters and we could show that the approach was successful. We already could show that inoculating soils with microbial communities attached on a specific carrier material shows the highest mineralization effectiveness and also the highest sustainability. Microbes attached on clay particles preserved their function over a long time period even if the specific microbial substrate was already degraded or at least not detectable any more. Additionally we already could show that in specific cases some soil parameters might reduce the effectiveness of such an approach. Results on isoproturon as a model for phenylurea-herbicides and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene as an example for an industrially used chemical as well as the corresponding chemicals` degrading microbial communities and isolated strain will be presented.

  6. A model for evolution of overlapping community networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karan, Rituraj; Biswal, Bibhu

    2017-05-01

    A model is proposed for the evolution of network topology in social networks with overlapping community structure. Starting from an initial community structure that is defined in terms of group affiliations, the model postulates that the subsequent growth and loss of connections is similar to the Hebbian learning and unlearning in the brain and is governed by two dominant factors: the strength and frequency of interaction between the members, and the degree of overlap between different communities. The temporal evolution from an initial community structure to the current network topology can be described based on these two parameters. It is possible to quantify the growth occurred so far and predict the final stationary state to which the network is likely to evolve. Applications in epidemiology or the spread of email virus in a computer network as well as finding specific target nodes to control it are envisaged. While facing the challenge of collecting and analyzing large-scale time-resolved data on social groups and communities one faces the most basic questions: how do communities evolve in time? This work aims to address this issue by developing a mathematical model for the evolution of community networks and studying it through computer simulation.

  7. Telling her story: narrating a Japanese lesbian community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welker, James

    2010-01-01

    This article explores queer Japanese women's narratives of their own histories and the history of the "Japanese lesbian community," which has been constructed as a space outside the heterosexual mainstream, a space where queer women can find at least temporary refuge. It begins with the acknowledgment that the evolution and the shape of the community, along with the identities of the women who comprise it, are shifting and contested. This article specifically looks at the long history of the lesbian bar scene as well as more recent history of lesbian dance parties; the early role of lesbian feminism and activism; lesbian community-based and commercial publications, paying special attention to the critical role translation has played in Japanese lesbian discourse and the construction of multiple lesbian identities; and, finally, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride events and film festivals, through which the larger LGBT community has been gaining increasing visibility. This article argues that while some of the building blocks of the community are borrowed, from the "West" as well as from the Japanese gay community, there has also been creative translation, adaptation, and resistance to these imports. The resulting Japanese lesbian community is a complex and local construct, an innovative bricolage firmly sited in Japan.

  8. Indigenous community health and climate change: integrating biophysical and social science indicators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donatuto, Jamie; Grossman, Eric E.; Konovsky, John; Grossman, Sarah; Campbell, Larry W.

    2014-01-01

    This article describes a pilot study evaluating the sensitivity of Indigenous community health to climate change impacts on Salish Sea shorelines (Washington State, United States and British Columbia, Canada). Current climate change assessments omit key community health concerns, which are vital to successful adaptation plans, particularly for Indigenous communities. Descriptive scaling techniques, employed in facilitated workshops with two Indigenous communities, tested the efficacy of ranking six key indicators of community health in relation to projected impacts to shellfish habitat and shoreline archaeological sites stemming from changes in the biophysical environment. Findings demonstrate that: when shellfish habitat and archaeological resources are impacted, so is Indigenous community health; not all community health indicators are equally impacted; and, the community health indicators of highest concern are not necessarily the same indicators most likely to be impacted. Based on the findings and feedback from community participants, exploratory trials were successful; Indigenous-specific health indicators may be useful to Indigenous communities who are assessing climate change sensitivities and creating adaptation plans.

  9. CHARACTERISTICS OFBENTHIC FISH COMMUNITY OF DNIEPER STORAGE POOL LITTORAL ZONE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Novitskiy R. A.

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Specific composition of bull-calves is analyzed together with their quantitative and quality parameters in the littoral zone of the Dnepr storage pool. The structural-functional features of organization of littoral communities of bull-calves were studied. The patterns of spatial distribution of Bull-calf (Gobiidae representatives were analyzed for the storage pool; their role in the littoral fish communities was clarified.

  10. Detection of communities with Naming Game-based methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeiro, Carlos Henrique Costa

    2017-01-01

    Complex networks are often organized in groups or communities of agents that share the same features and/or functions, and this structural organization is built naturally with the formation of the system. In social networks, we argue that the dynamic of linguistic interactions of agreement among people can be a crucial factor in generating this community structure, given that sharing opinions with another person bounds them together, and disagreeing constantly would probably weaken the relationship. We present here a computational model of opinion exchange that uncovers the community structure of a network. Our aim is not to present a new community detection method proper, but to show how a model of social communication dynamics can reveal the (simple and overlapping) community structure in an emergent way. Our model is based on a standard Naming Game, but takes into consideration three social features: trust, uncertainty and opinion preference, that are built over time as agents communicate among themselves. We show that the separate addition of each social feature in the Naming Game results in gradual improvements with respect to community detection. In addition, the resulting uncertainty and trust values classify nodes and edges according to role and position in the network. Also, our model has shown a degree of accuracy both for non-overlapping and overlapping communities that are comparable with most algorithms specifically designed for topological community detection. PMID:28797097

  11. Storefront Cigarette Advertising Differs by Community Demographic Profile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seidenberg, Andrew B.; Caughey, Robert W.; Rees, Vaughan W.; Connolly, Gregory N.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose Tobacco manufacturers have targeted youth and ethnic/racial minorities with tailored advertising. Less is known about how characteristics of storefront tobacco advertisements, such as location, position, size, and content, are used to appeal to demographic subgroups. Design The occurrence and characteristics of storefront cigarette advertising were observed for all licensed tobacco retailers in two defined communities. Setting Measures were taken in two Boston, Massachusetts, area urban communities: a low-income, minority community and a high-income, nonminority community. Subjects No human subjects were involved in this study. Measures Advertisement position (attached or separated from storefront), size (small, medium, or large), mentholation, and price were recorded. Geographic coordinates of tobacco retailers and schools were mapped using ArcGIS 9.2. Analysis Differences between the communities in advertisement number and characteristics were assessed using bivariate analyses. Logistic regression was used to ascertain the odds of specific advertising features occurring in the low-income/minority community. Results The low-income/minority community had more tobacco retailers, and advertisements were more likely to be larger, promote menthol products, have a lower mean advertised price, and occur within 1000 feet of a school. Conclusion Storefront cigarette advertising characteristics that increase exposure and promote youth initiation were more prominent in a low-income/minority community. The findings emphasize the need for more effective regulation of storefront tobacco advertising. PMID:20594091

  12. Engaging with Underserved Urban Communities on Climate Resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akerlof, K.; Moser, F. C.; Baja, K.; Dindinger, J. M.; Chanse, V.; Rowan, K. E.; Rohring, B.

    2016-12-01

    Meeting the needs of urban high-risk/low-resource communities is one of the most critical challenges in improving climate resilience nationally, but little tailored information exists to guide community engagement efforts specifically for these contexts. This case study describes a collaboration between universities, local governments, and community members working in underserved neighborhoods of the City of Baltimore and Prince George's County, Maryland. In service of current and developing community programs, the team surveyed residents door-to-door about their perceptions of the socio-environmental risks they face, their priorities for change, and the ways in which communication may build protective social capital. We highlight theoretical, applied, and pedagogical aspects of the study that inform both the promise and limitations of these collaborations. These include: 1) the role of citizen participation in climate adaptation decision-making; 2) the meaning, use, and potential impact of community data; 3) balancing differing organizational priorities, timelines, and cultures within community-based projects; and 4) research participation of undergraduate students. The results of the survey illuminate climate risk perceptions in neighborhoods facing complex stressors with lessons for communication and engagement in other urban areas facing similar adaptation challenges.

  13. Lipid Biomarkers for a Hypersaline Microbial Mat Community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahnke, Linda L.; Embaye, Tsege; Turk, Kendra A.

    2003-01-01

    The use of lipid biomarkers and their carbon isotopic compositions are valuable tools for establishing links to ancient microbial ecosystems. As witnessed by the stromatolite record, benthic microbial mats grew in shallow water lagoonal environments where microorganisms had virtually no competition apart from the harsh conditions of hypersalinity, desiccation and intense light. Today, the modern counterparts of these microbial ecosystems find appropriate niches in only a few places where extremes eliminate eukaryotic grazers. Answers to many outstanding questions about the evolution of microorganisms and their environments on early Earth are best answered through study of these extant analogs. Lipids associated with various groups of bacteria can be valuable biomarkers for identification of specific groups of microorganisms both in ancient organic-rich sedimentary rocks (geolipids) and contemporary microbial communities (membrane lipids). Use of compound specific isotope analysis adds additional refinement to the identification of biomarker source, so that it is possible to take advantage of the 3C-depletions associated with various functional groups of organisms (i.e. autotrophs, heterotrophs, methanotrophs, methanogens) responsible for the cycling of carbon within a microbial community. Our recent work has focused on a set of hypersaline evaporation ponds at Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico which support the abundant growth of Microcoleus-dominated microbial mats. Specific biomarkers for diatoms, cyanobacteria, archaea, green nonsulfur (GNS), sulfate reducing, and methanotrophic bacteria have been identified. Analyses of the ester-bound fatty acids indicate a highly diverse microbial community, dominated by photosynthetic organisms at the surface.

  14. Community integration after severe traumatic brain injury in adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truelle, Jean-Luc; Fayol, Patrick; Montreuil, Michèle; Chevignard, Mathilde

    2010-12-01

    Despite being the main cause of death and disability in young adults, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a rather neglected epidemic. Community integration of persons with TBI was, until recently, insufficiently informed by clinical research. To bridge the gap between rehabilitation and community re-entry, the first task is to assess the person, using TBI-specific outcome measures. The second task is to provide re-entry programs, the effectiveness of which is assessed by those measures, using well designed studies. There are very few such studies. However, there are some effective comprehensive programs and others which are specifically targeted dealing mainly with return to work, behavior, and family issues. The complex psychological and environmental components of the disability require individualized and often long-term care. For persons with severe TBI trying to achieve the best possible community integration a new semiology is required, not just limited to medical care, but also involving social and psychological care that is tailored to the needs of each individual and family, living within his/her environment. Currently, only a minority benefit from well validated programs.

  15. A rural, community-based suicide awareness and intervention program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Sharon; Walker, Coralanne; Miles, Alison C J; De Silva, Eve; Zimitat, Craig

    2015-01-01

    Suicide is a prominent public health issue in rural Australia and specifically in Tasmania, which has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. The Community Response to Eliminating Suicide (CORES) program was developed in rural Tasmania in response to a significant number of suicides over a short period of time. CORES is unique in that it is both a community-based and gatekeeper education model. CORES aims to build and empower communities to take ownership of suicide prevention strategies. It also aims to increase the individual community member's interpersonal skills and awareness of suicide risks, while building peer support and awareness of suicide prevention support services within the community itself. Pre- and post-test surveys after the CORES 1-day suicide awareness and intervention program (SAIP) showed significant increases in levels of comfort and confidence in discussing suicide with those who may be contemplating that action. CORES builds community capital through establishing new connections within communities. Establishment of local executive groups, funding and SAIP are key activities of successful CORES programs in communities around Australia. Over half of the initial leaders are still actively involved after a decade, which reflects positively on the quality and outcomes of the program. This study supports CORES as a beneficial and feasible community-based suicide intervention program for rural communities.

  16. Validation of English and Spanish-language versions of a screening questionnaire for rheumatoid arthritis in an underserved community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potter, Jeffrey; Odutola, Jennifer; Gonzales, Christian Amurrio; Ward, Michael M

    2008-08-01

    Questionnaires to screen for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been tested in groups that were primarily well educated and Caucasian. We sought to validate the RA questions of the Connective Tissue Disease Screening Questionnaire (CSQ) in ethnic minorities in an underserved community, and to test a Spanish-language version. The Spanish-language version was developed by 2 native speakers. Consecutive English-speaking or Spanish-speaking patients in a community-based rheumatology practice completed the questionnaire. Diagnoses were confirmed by medical record review. Sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaire for a diagnosis of RA were computed for each language version, using 2 groups as controls: patients with noninflammatory conditions, and participants recruited from the community. The English-language version was tested in 53 patients with RA (79% ethnic minorities; mean education level 11.3 yrs), 85 rheumatology controls with noninflammatory conditions, and 82 community controls. Using 3 positive responses as indicating a positive screening test, the sensitivity of the questionnaire was 0.77, the specificity based on rheumatology controls was 0.45, and the specificity based on community controls was 0.94. The Spanish-language version was tested in 55 patients with RA (mean education level 7.8 yrs), 149 rheumatology controls, and 88 community controls. The sensitivity of the Spanish-language version was 0.87, with specificities of 0.60 and 0.97 using the rheumatology controls and community controls, respectively. The sensitivity of the English-language version of the RA questions of the CSQ was lower in this study than in other cohorts, reflecting differences in the performance of the questions in different ethnic or socioeconomic groups. The Spanish-language version demonstrated good sensitivity, and both had excellent specificity when tested in community controls.

  17. Bacterial Community Dynamics in Dichloromethane-Contaminated Groundwater Undergoing Natural Attenuation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justin Wright

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The uncontrolled release of the industrial solvent methylene chloride, also known as dichloromethane (DCM, has resulted in widespread groundwater contamination in the United States. Here we investigate the role of groundwater bacterial communities in the natural attenuation of DCM at an undisclosed manufacturing site in New Jersey. This study investigates the bacterial community structure of groundwater samples differentially contaminated with DCM to better understand the biodegradation potential of these autochthonous bacterial communities. Bacterial community analysis was completed using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene of groundwater samples (n = 26 with DCM contamination ranging from 0.89 to 9,800,000 μg/L. Significant DCM concentration-driven shifts in overall bacterial community structure were identified between samples, including an increase in the abundance of Firmicutes within the most contaminated samples. Across all samples, a total of 6,134 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs were identified, with 16 taxa having strong correlations with increased DCM concentration. Putative DCM degraders such as Pseudomonas, Dehalobacterium and Desulfovibrio were present within groundwater across all levels of DCM contamination. Interestingly, each of these taxa dominated specific DCM contamination ranges respectively. Potential DCM degrading lineages yet to be cited specifically as a DCM degrading organisms, such as the Desulfosporosinus, thrived within the most heavily contaminated groundwater samples. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed aerobic and anaerobic bacterial taxa with DCM-degrading potential were present at the study site. Our 16S rRNA gene survey serves as the first in situ bacterial community assessment of contaminated groundwater harboring DCM concentrations ranging over seven orders of magnitude. Diversity analyses revealed known as well as potentially novel DCM degrading taxa within defined DCM concentration

  18. A cross-taxa study using environmental DNA/RNA metabarcoding to measure biological impacts of offshore oil and gas drilling and production operations

    KAUST Repository

    Laroche, Olivier

    2017-12-01

    Standardized ecosystem-based monitoring surveys are critical for providing information on marine ecosystem health. Environmental DNA/RNA (eDNA/eRNA) metabarcoding may facilitate such surveys by quickly and effectively characterizing multi-trophic levels. In this study, we assessed the suitability of eDNA/eRNA metabarcoding to evaluate changes in benthic assemblages of bacteria, Foraminifera and other eukaryotes along transects at three offshore oil and gas (O&G) drilling and production sites, and compared these to morphologically characterized macro-faunal assemblages. Bacterial communities were the most responsive to O&G activities, followed by Foraminifera, and macro-fauna (the latter assessed by morphology). The molecular approach enabled detection of hydrocarbon degrading taxa such as the bacteria Alcanivorax and Microbulbifer at petroleum impacted stations. Most identified indicator taxa, notably among macro-fauna, were highly specific to site conditions. Based on our results we suggest that eDNA/eRNA metabarcoding can be used as a stand-alone method for biodiversity assessment or as a complement to morphology-based monitoring approaches.

  19. A cross-taxa study using environmental DNA/RNA metabarcoding to measure biological impacts of offshore oil and gas drilling and production operations

    KAUST Repository

    Laroche, Olivier; Wood, Susanna A.; Tremblay, Louis A.; Ellis, Joanne; Lear, Gavin; Pochon, Xavier

    2017-01-01

    Standardized ecosystem-based monitoring surveys are critical for providing information on marine ecosystem health. Environmental DNA/RNA (eDNA/eRNA) metabarcoding may facilitate such surveys by quickly and effectively characterizing multi-trophic levels. In this study, we assessed the suitability of eDNA/eRNA metabarcoding to evaluate changes in benthic assemblages of bacteria, Foraminifera and other eukaryotes along transects at three offshore oil and gas (O&G) drilling and production sites, and compared these to morphologically characterized macro-faunal assemblages. Bacterial communities were the most responsive to O&G activities, followed by Foraminifera, and macro-fauna (the latter assessed by morphology). The molecular approach enabled detection of hydrocarbon degrading taxa such as the bacteria Alcanivorax and Microbulbifer at petroleum impacted stations. Most identified indicator taxa, notably among macro-fauna, were highly specific to site conditions. Based on our results we suggest that eDNA/eRNA metabarcoding can be used as a stand-alone method for biodiversity assessment or as a complement to morphology-based monitoring approaches.

  20. Responses of high-elevation herbaceous plant assemblages to low glacial CO₂ concentrations revealed by fossil marmot (Marmota) teeth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLean, Bryan S; Ward, Joy K; Polito, Michael J; Emslie, Steven D

    2014-08-01

    Atmospheric CO2 cycles of the Quaternary likely imposed major constraints on the physiology and growth of C3 plants worldwide. However, the measured record of this remains both geographically and taxonomically sparse. We present the first reconstruction of physiological responses in a late Quaternary high-elevation herbaceous plant community from the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA. We used a novel proxy-fossilized tooth enamel of yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris)-which we developed using detailed isotopic analysis of modern individuals. Calculated C isotopic discrimination (Δ) of alpine plants was nearly 2 ‰ lower prior to the Last Glacial Maximum than at present, a response almost identical to that of nonherbaceous taxa from lower elevations. However, initial shifts in Δ aligned most closely with the onset of the late Pleistocene bipolar temperature "seesaw" rather than CO2 increase, indicating unique limitations on glacial-age high-elevation plants may have existed due to both low temperatures and low CO2. Further development of system-specific faunal proxies can help to clarify this and other plant- and ecosystem-level responses to past environmental change.