Status of the Jamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei): Assessing 15 Years of Conservation Effort

Following its rediscovery in 1990 in the remote Hellshire Hills, the Jamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei) has been the focus of a sustained conservation effort aimed at securing the species’ short- and long-term survival. Major threats to the iguana’s persistence include habitat destruction by humans and predation by introduced mammals such as dogs, cats, and the Indian Mongoose.Beginning in 1990 with field surveys of the remnant C. collei population and the formation of the Jamaican Iguana Research and Conservation Group (JIRCG), a variety of conservation measures have been implemented. Protection and monitoring of known nesting areas have facilitated the collection of founder stock for captive breeding and “headstart” programs, and have resulted in the collection, mark, and release of hundreds of C. collei hatchlings. As hedges against extinction in the wild, breeding nuclei of C. collei have been established at the Hope Zoo in Kingston and also at six U. S. zoos (Central Florida, Fort Worth, Gladys Porter in Brownsville, Texas, Indianapolis, San Diego, and Sedgwick County in Wichita, Kansas). The first captive-bred hatchlings were produced in September 2004 at the Hope Zoo. Adult-sized, headstarted C. collei reared at the Hope Zoo have been successfully repatriated into the Hellshire Hills, and we have now verified post-release survival of up to eight years. Egg-laying has been observed in repatriated females, suggesting that this zoo-based augmentation effort is having a positive effect on the remaining wild population.Ongoing exotic predator removal efforts seek to maintain a conservation zone that is largely devoid of nonnative mammalian predators such as cats and mongooses. To date, hundreds of these invasive predators have been trapped and removed from the core C. collei area, and preliminary data suggest that the iguana may be benefiting from this predator control program. More recently (2003–2004), efforts to control feral dog and pig populations have been intensified.Overall, the biological interventions directed at C. collei appear to have been highly successful. Unfortunately, C. collei’s dry forest habitat is at risk of ecological destruction. The remaining primary forest in Hellshire is under constant assault from the activities of illegal tree cutters, primarily charcoal burners. The JIRCG has protected a small portion of the forest in the vicinity of the known nesting areas and major iguana concentration, and attempts to discourage charcoal burners from penetrating farther into the undisturbed forest. If implemented, tabled government plans from the 1960s for large-scale commercial and residential development would likely cause the extinction of C. collei. Encouragingly, increased national and international appreciation of Hellshire’s stature as one of the finest remaining examples of Caribbean dry forest, together with considerable interest in the iguana’s plight, give hope that this unique ecosystem and its endangered occupants will receive adequate protection. Indeed, the Jamaican government’s declaration of the Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) in 1999 (including the Hellshire Hills and the Goat Islands) and the recent (2004) delegation of management authority to the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is a positive step in that direction

Status of the Jamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei): Assessing 15 Years of Conservation Effort

Following its rediscovery in 1990 in the remote Hellshire Hills, the Jamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei) has been the focus of a sustained conservation effort aimed at securing the species’ short- and long-term survival. Major threats to the iguana’s persistence include habitat destruction by humans and predation by introduced mammals such as dogs, cats, and the Indian Mongoose.Beginning in 1990 with field surveys of the remnant C. collei population and the formation of the Jamaican Iguana Research and Conservation Group (JIRCG), a variety of conservation measures have been implemented. Protection and monitoring of known nesting areas have facilitated the collection of founder stock for captive breeding and “headstart” programs, and have resulted in the collection, mark, and release of hundreds of C. collei hatchlings. As hedges against extinction in the wild, breeding nuclei of C. collei have been established at the Hope Zoo in Kingston and also at six U. S. zoos (Central Florida, Fort Worth, Gladys Porter in Brownsville, Texas, Indianapolis, San Diego, and Sedgwick County in Wichita, Kansas). The first captive-bred hatchlings were produced in September 2004 at the Hope Zoo. Adult-sized, headstarted C. collei reared at the Hope Zoo have been successfully repatriated into the Hellshire Hills, and we have now verified post-release survival of up to eight years. Egg-laying has been observed in repatriated females, suggesting that this zoo-based augmentation effort is having a positive effect on the remaining wild population.Ongoing exotic predator removal efforts seek to maintain a conservation zone that is largely devoid of nonnative mammalian predators such as cats and mongooses. To date, hundreds of these invasive predators have been trapped and removed from the core C. collei area, and preliminary data suggest that the iguana may be benefiting from this predator control program. More recently (2003–2004), efforts to control feral dog and pig populations have been intensified.Overall, the biological interventions directed at C. collei appear to have been highly successful. Unfortunately, C. collei’s dry forest habitat is at risk of ecological destruction. The remaining primary forest in Hellshire is under constant assault from the activities of illegal tree cutters, primarily charcoal burners. The JIRCG has protected a small portion of the forest in the vicinity of the known nesting areas and major iguana concentration, and attempts to discourage charcoal burners from penetrating farther into the undisturbed forest. If implemented, tabled government plans from the 1960s for large-scale commercial and residential development would likely cause the extinction of C. collei. Encouragingly, increased national and international appreciation of Hellshire’s stature as one of the finest remaining examples of Caribbean dry forest, together with considerable interest in the iguana’s plight, give hope that this unique ecosystem and its endangered occupants will receive adequate protection. Indeed, the Jamaican government’s declaration of the Portland Bight Protected Area (PBPA) in 1999 (including the Hellshire Hills and the Goat Islands) and the recent (2004) delegation of management authority to the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is a positive step in that direction

LIM-kinase1 Hemizygosity Implicated in Impaired Visuospatial Constructive Cognition

AbstractTo identify genes important for human cognitive development, we studied Williams syndrome (WS), a developmental disorder that includes poor visuospatial constructive cognition. Here we describe two families with a partial WS phenotype; affected members have the specific WS cognitive profile and vascular disease, but lack other WS features. Submicroscopic chromosome 7q11.23 deletions cosegregate with this phenotype in both families. DNA sequence analyses of the region affected by the smallest deletion (83.6 kb) revealed two genes, elastin (ELN ) and LIM-kinase1 (LIMK1). The latter encodes a novel protein kinase with LIM domains and is strongly expressed in the brain. Because ELN mutations cause vascular disease but not cognitive abnormalities, these data implicate LIMK1 hemizygosity in impaired visuospatial constructive cognition

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Bringing It All Together: Multi-species Integrated Population Modelling of a Breeding Community

Integrated population models (IPMs) combine data on different aspects of demography with time-series of population abundance. IPMs are becoming increasingly popular in the study of wildlife populations, but their application has largely been restricted to the analysis of single species. However, species exist within communities: sympatric species are exposed to the same abiotic environment, which may generate synchrony in the fluctuations of their demographic parameters over time. Given that in many environments conditions are changing rapidly, assessing whether species show similar demographic and population responses is fundamental to quantifying interspecific differences in environmental sensitivity and highlighting ecological interactions at risk of disruption. In this paper, we combine statistical approaches to study populations, integrating data along two different dimensions: across species (using a recently proposed framework to quantify multi-species synchrony in demography) and within each species (using IPMs with demographic and abundance data).We analyse data from three seabird species breeding at a nationally important long-term monitoring site. We combine demographic datasets with island-wide population counts to construct the first multi-species Integrated Population Model to consider synchrony. Our extension of the IPM concept allows the simultaneous estimation of demographic parameters, adult abundance and multi-species synchrony in survival and productivity, within a robust statistical framework. The approach is readily applicable to other taxa and habitats

AD51B in Familial Breast Cancer

Common variation on 14q24.1, close to RAD51B, has been associated with breast cancer: rs999737 and rs2588809 with the risk of female breast cancer and rs1314913 with the risk of male breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of RAD51B variants in breast cancer predisposition, particularly in the context of familial breast cancer in Finland. We sequenced the coding region of RAD51B in 168 Finnish breast cancer patients from the Helsinki region for identification of possible recurrent founder mutations. In addition, we studied the known rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 SNPs and RAD51B haplotypes in 44,791 breast cancer cases and 43,583 controls from 40 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) that were genotyped on a custom chip (iCOGS). We identified one putatively pathogenic missense mutation c.541C>T among the Finnish cancer patients and subsequently genotyped the mutation in additional breast cancer cases (n = 5259) and population controls (n = 3586) from Finland and Belarus. No significant association with breast cancer risk was seen in the meta-analysis of the Finnish datasets or in the large BCAC dataset. The association with previously identified risk variants rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 was replicated among all breast cancer cases and also among familial cases in the BCAC dataset. The most significant association was observed for the haplotype carrying the risk-alleles of all the three SNPs both among all cases (odds ratio (OR): 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11–1.19, P = 8.88 x 10−16) and among familial cases (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.16–1.32, P = 6.19 x 10−11), compared to the haplotype with the respective protective alleles. Our results suggest that loss-of-function mutations in RAD51B are rare, but common variation at the RAD51B region is significantly associated with familial breast cancer risk

A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity.Peer reviewe

A communal catalogue reveals Earth’s multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world’s importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth’s microbial diversity