Heritability and Phenotypic Variation of Canine Hip Dysplasia Radiographic Traits in a Cohort of Australian German Shepherd Dogs

Canine Hip Dysplasia (CHD) is a common, painful and debilitating orthopaedic disorder of dogs with a partly genetic, multifactorial aetiology. Worldwide, potential breeding dogs are evaluated for CHD using radiographically based screening schemes such as the nine ordinally-scored British Veterinary Association Hip Traits (BVAHTs). The effectiveness of selective breeding based on screening results requires that a significant proportion of the phenotypic variation is caused by the presence of favourable alleles segregating in the population. This proportion, heritability, was measured in a cohort of 13,124 Australian German Shepherd Dogs born between 1976 and 2005, displaying phenotypic variation for BVAHTs, using ordinal, linear and binary mixed models fitted by a Restricted Maximum Likelihood method. Heritability estimates for the nine BVAHTs ranged from 0.14–0.24 (ordinal models), 0.14–0.25 (linear models) and 0.12–0.40 (binary models). Heritability for the summed BVAHT phenotype was 0.30±0.02. The presence of heritable variation demonstrates that selection based on BVAHTs has the potential to improve BVAHT scores in the population. Assuming a genetic correlation between BVAHT scores and CHD-related pain and dysfunction, the welfare of Australian German Shepherds can be improved by continuing to consider BVAHT scores in the selection of breeding dogs, but that as heritability values are only moderate in magnitude the accuracy, and effectiveness, of selection could be improved by the use of Estimated Breeding Values in preference to solely phenotype based selection of breeding animals

Local flexibility in feeding behaviour and contrasting microhabitat use of an omnivore across latitudes

As the environment is getting warmer and species are redistributed, consumers can be forced to adjust their interactions with available prey, and this could have cascading effects within food webs. To better understand the capacity for foraging flexibility, our study aimed to determine the diet variability of an ectotherm omnivore inhabiting kelp forests, the sea urchin Echinus esculentus, along its entire latitudinal distribution in the northeast Atlantic. Using a combination of gut content and stable isotope analyses, we determined the diet and trophic position of sea urchins at sites in Portugal (42° N), France (49° N), southern Norway (63° N), and northern Norway (70° N), and related these results to the local abundance and distribution of putative food items. With mean estimated trophic levels ranging from 2.4 to 4.6, omnivory and diet varied substantially within and between sites but not across latitudes. Diet composition generally reflected prey availability within epiphyte or understorey assemblages, with local affinities demonstrating that the sea urchin adjusts its foraging to match the small-scale distribution of food items. A net “preference” for epiphytic food sources was found in northern Norway, where understorey food was limited compared to other regions. We conclude that diet change may occur in response to food source redistribution at multiple spatial scales (microhabitats, sites, regions). Across these scales, the way that key consumers alter their foraging in response to food availability can have important implication for food web dynamics and ecosystem functions along current and future environmental gradients

Broad-Scale Patterns of Late Jurassic Dinosaur Paleoecology

There have been numerous studies on dinosaur biogeographic distribution patterns. However, these distribution data have not yet been applied to ecological questions. Ecological studies of dinosaurs have tended to focus on reconstructing individual taxa, usually through comparisons to modern analogs. Fewer studies have sought to determine if the ecological structure of fossil assemblages is preserved and, if so, how dinosaur communities varied. Climate is a major component driving differences between communities. If the ecological structure of a fossil locality is preserved, we expect that dinosaur assemblages from similar environments will share a similar ecological structure.This study applies Ecological Structure Analysis (ESA) to a dataset of 100+ dinosaur taxa arranged into twelve composite fossil assemblages from around the world. Each assemblage was assigned a climate zone (biome) based on its location. Dinosaur taxa were placed into ecomorphological categories. The proportion of each category creates an ecological profile for the assemblage, which were compared using cluster and principal components analyses. Assemblages grouped according to biome, with most coming from arid or semi-arid/seasonal climates. Differences between assemblages are tied to the proportion of large high-browsing vs. small ground-foraging herbivores, which separates arid from semi-arid and moister environments, respectively. However, the effects of historical, taphonomic, and other environmental factors are still evident.This study is the first to show that the general ecological structure of Late Jurassic dinosaur assemblages is preserved at large scales and can be assessed quantitatively. Despite a broad similarity of climatic conditions, a degree of ecological variation is observed between assemblages, from arid to moist. Taxonomic differences between Asia and the other regions demonstrate at least one case of ecosystem convergence. The proportion of different ecomorphs, which reflects the prevailing climatic and environmental conditions present during fossil deposition, may therefore be used to differentiate Late Jurassic dinosaur fossil assemblages. This method is broadly applicable to different taxa and times, allowing one to address questions of evolutionary, biogeographic, and climatic importance

Biological impacts of the 2013–2015 warm-water anomaly in the northeast Pacific: Winners, Losers, and the Future

A large patch of anomalously warm water (nicknamed “the Blob”) appeared off the coast of Alaska in the winter of 2013–2014 and subsequently stretched south to Baja California. This northeastern Pacific warm-water anomaly persisted through the end of 2015. Scientists and the public alike noted widespread changes in the biological structure and composition of both openocean and coastal ecosystems. Changes included geographical shifts of species such as tropical copepods, pelagic red crabs, and tuna; closures of commercially important fisheries; and mass strandings of marine mammals and seabirds. The ecological responses to these physical changes have been sparsely quantified and are largely unknown. Here, we provide a bottom-up summary of some of the biological changes observed in and around the areas affected by the Blob

Biological impacts of the 2013–2015 warm-water anomaly in the northeast Pacific: Winners, Losers, and the Future

A large patch of anomalously warm water (nicknamed “the Blob”) appeared off the coast of Alaska in the winter of 2013–2014 and subsequently stretched south to Baja California. This northeastern Pacific warm-water anomaly persisted through the end of 2015. Scientists and the public alike noted widespread changes in the biological structure and composition of both openocean and coastal ecosystems. Changes included geographical shifts of species such as tropical copepods, pelagic red crabs, and tuna; closures of commercially important fisheries; and mass strandings of marine mammals and seabirds. The ecological responses to these physical changes have been sparsely quantified and are largely unknown. Here, we provide a bottom-up summary of some of the biological changes observed in and around the areas affected by the Blob

Pay for performance: will dentistry follow?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>"Pay for performance" is an incentive system that has been gaining acceptance in medicine and is currently being considered for implementation in dentistry. However, it remains unclear whether pay for performance can effect significant and lasting changes in provider behavior and quality of care. Provider acceptance will likely increase if pay for performance programs reward true quality. Therefore, we adopted a quality-oriented approach in reviewing those factors which could influence whether it will be embraced by the dental profession.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The factors contributing to the adoption of value-based purchasing were categorized according to the Donabedian quality of care framework. We identified the dental insurance market, the dental profession position, the organization of dental practice, and the dental patient involvement as structural factors influencing the way dental care is practiced and paid for. After considering variations in dental care and the early stage of development for evidence-based dentistry, the scarcity of outcome indicators, lack of clinical markers, inconsistent use of diagnostic codes and scarcity of electronic dental records, we concluded that, for pay for performance programs to be successfully implemented in dentistry, the dental profession and health services researchers should: 1) expand the knowledge base; 2) increase considerably evidence-based clinical guidelines; and 3) create evidence-based performance measures tied to existing clinical practice guidelines.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>In this paper, we explored factors that would influence the adoption of value-based purchasing programs in dentistry. Although none of these factors were essential deterrents for the implementation of pay for performance programs in medicine, the aggregate seems to indicate that significant changes are needed before this type of program could be considered a realistic option in dentistry.</p