Occupancy and abundance of large macaws in the Beni savannahs, Bolivia

Fil: Berkunsky, Igor. Instituto Multidisciplinario sobre Ecosistemas y Desarrollo Sustentable. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Cepeda, Rosana E.. Instituto Multidisciplinario sobre Ecosistemas y Desarrollo Sustentable. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Marinelli, Claudia. Instituto Multidisciplinario sobre Ecosistemas y Desarrollo Sustentable. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Simoy, María Verónica. Instituto Multidisciplinario sobre Ecosistemas y Desarrollo Sustentable. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Daniele, Gonzalo. Instituto Multidisciplinario sobre Ecosistemas y Desarrollo Sustentable. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Kacoliris, Federico Pablo. Instituto Multidisciplinario sobre Ecosistemas y Desarrollo Sustentable. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Díaz Luque, José A.. Blue-throated Macaw Conservation Project. World Parrot Trust. Trinidad; BoliviaFil: Gandoy, Facundo. Instituto Multidisciplinario sobre Ecosistemas y Desarrollo Sustentable. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Aramburú, Rosana Mariel. División Zoología Vertebrados. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Gilardi, James D.. Blue-throated Macaw Conservation Project. World Parrot Trust. Trinidad; Bolivi

Évaluation de l'utilisation d'îles forestières par des espèces de perroquets dans une savane néotropicale

Understanding the effect of habitat fragmentation is a fundamental yet complicated aim of many ecological studies. Beni savanna is a naturally fragmented forest habitat, where forest islands exhibit variation in resources and threats. To understand how the availability of resources and threats affect the use of forest islands by parrots, we applied occupancy modeling to quantify use and detection probabilities for 12 parrot species on 60 forest islands. The presence of urucuri (Attalea phalerata) and macaw (Acrocomia aculeata) palms, the number of tree cavities on the islands, and the presence of selective logging,and fire were included as covariates associated with availability of resources and threats. The model-selection analysis indicated that both resources and threats variables explained the use of forest islands by parrots. For most species, the best models confirmed predictions. The number of cavities was positively associated with use of forest islands by 11 species. The area of the island and the presence of macaw palm showed a positive association with the probability of use by seven and five species, respectively, while selective logging and fire showed a negative association with five and six species, respectively. The Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis), the critically endangered parrot species endemic to our study area, was the only species that showed a negative association with both threats. Monitoring continues to be essential to evaluate conservation and management actions of parrot populations. Understanding of how species are using this natural fragmented habitat will help determine which fragments should be preserved and which conservation actions are needed.La compréhension de l'effet de la fragmentation de l'habitat est l'objectif fondamental mais compliqué de nombreuses recherches en écologie. La savane de Beni est un milieu forestier naturellement fragmenté dans lequel les îles forestières diffèrent sur le plan des ressources et des menaces. Afin de comprendre à quel point la disponibilité des ressources et les menaces ont une influence sur l'utilisation d'îles forestières par les perroquets, nous avons appliqué des modèles de présence pour quantifier l'utilisation et la probabilité de détection de 12 espèces de perroquets sur 60 îles forestières. La présence de palmiers canne (Acrocomia aculeata) et de palmiers urucuri (Attalea phalerata), le nombre de cavités d'arbres sur les îles et la présence de coupes sélectives et de feu ont été inclus comme covariables associées à la disponibilité des ressources et aux menaces. L'analyse de la sélection de modèles a indiqué que les variables relatives aux ressources et celles relatives aux menaces expliquaient l'utilisation d'îles forestières par les perroquets. Pour la plupart des espèces de perroquets, les meilleurs modèles ont confirmé les prédictions. Le nombre de cavités était positivement associé avec l'utilisation d'îles forestières chez 11 espèces. La superficie de l'île et la présence de palmiers canne étaient positivement associées avec la probabilité d'utilisation chez 7 et 5 espèces, respectivement, tandis que la coupe sélective et le feu étaient négativement associés chez 5 et 6 espèces, respectivement. L'Ara canindé (Ara glaucogularis), espèce de perroquet en voie de disparition critique endémique à notre aire d'étude, a été la seule espèce qui a montré une association négative avec les deux menaces. Le suivi demeure essentiel pour l'évaluation des mesures de conservation et de gestion des populations de perroquets. La compréhension de l'utilisation de ce milieu naturellement fragmenté par les espèces contribuera à déterminer quelles parcelles devraient être protégées et quelles mesures de conservation sont nécessaires.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Assessing the sensitivity of leeches as indicators of water quality

The objective of this work was assessing the sensitivity of leeches to several water quality attributes in lowlands streams.Weused occupancymodelling that account explicitly for detectability, to estimate the influence of four variables (dissolved oxygen, 5-days biochemicals oxygen demand, conductivity, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen) affecting nine species. We described the sensitivity as a change in the occupancy along the range of water quality attributes.We found at least one species of Helobdella in 81% of sites and Helobdella, as genus, was detected along the entire gradient of each attribute. However, differences in the sensitivitywere observed between species. For example, if we analyse the sensitivity of the genus Helobdella to dissolved oxygen, we can say that it is very tolerant. However, if we analyse the response to dissolved oxygen of each one of the species of Helobdella,wewill realize that H. michaelseni, and H. simplex showed a high occupancy at high levels of dissolved oxygen; while H. hyalina and H. triserialis lineata showed high occupancy at low levels. Describe the sensitivity of the species in terms of occupancy, offers a new methodology to understand how the species behave along a stressor gradient.Instituto de Limnología "Dr. Raúl A. Ringuelet"Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Occupancy and abundance of large macaws in the Beni savannahs, Bolivia

Monitoring of wild populations is central to species conservation and can pose a number of challenges. To identify trends in populations of parrots, monitoring programmes that explicitly take detectability into account are needed. We assessed an occupancy model that explicitly accounted for detectability as a tool for monitoring the large macaws of Bolivia’s Beni savannahs: the blue-throated Ara glaucogularis, blue-and-yellow Ara ararauna and red-andgreen macaws Ara chloropterus. We also evaluated the joint presence of the three macaw species and estimated their abundance in occupied areas. We modelled occupancy and detection for the three macaw species by combining several site and visit covariates and we described their conditional occupancy. Macaws occupied two thirds of the surveyed area and at least two species occurred together in one third of this area. Probability of detection was 0.48–0.86. For each macaw species, occupancy was affected by the abundance of the other two species, the richness of cavity-nesting species, and the distance to the nearest village. We identified key priority areas for the conservation of these macaws. The flexibility of occupancy methods provides an efficient tool for monitoring macaw occupancy at the landscape level, facilitating prediction of the range of macaw species at a large number of sites, with relatively little effort. This technique could be used in other regions in which the monitoring of threatened parrot populations requires innovative approaches.First published on line: 17 July 2014.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Occupancy and abundance of large macaws in the Beni savannahs, Bolivia

Monitoring of wild populations is central to species conservation and can pose a number of challenges. To identify trends in populations of parrots, monitoring programmes that explicitly take detectability into account are needed. We assessed an occupancy model that explicitly accounted for detectability as a tool for monitoring the large macaws of Bolivia’s Beni savannahs: the blue-throated Ara glaucogularis, blue-and-yellow Ara ararauna and red-andgreen macaws Ara chloropterus. We also evaluated the joint presence of the three macaw species and estimated their abundance in occupied areas. We modelled occupancy and detection for the three macaw species by combining several site and visit covariates and we described their conditional occupancy. Macaws occupied two thirds of the surveyed area and at least two species occurred together in one third of this area. Probability of detection was 0.48–0.86. For each macaw species, occupancy was affected by the abundance of the other two species, the richness of cavity-nesting species, and the distance to the nearest village. We identified key priority areas for the conservation of these macaws. The flexibility of occupancy methods provides an efficient tool for monitoring macaw occupancy at the landscape level, facilitating prediction of the range of macaw species at a large number of sites, with relatively little effort. This technique could be used in other regions in which the monitoring of threatened parrot populations requires innovative approaches.First published on line: 17 July 2014.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Occupancy and abundance of large macaws in the Beni savannahs, Bolivia

Monitoring of wild populations is central to species conservation and can pose a number of challenges. To identify trends in populations of parrots, monitoring programmes that explicitly take detectability into account are needed. We assessed an occupancy model that explicitly accounted for detectability as a tool for monitoring the large macaws of Bolivia’s Beni savannahs: the blue-throated Ara glaucogularis, blue-and-yellow Ara ararauna and red-andgreen macaws Ara chloropterus. We also evaluated the joint presence of the three macaw species and estimated their abundance in occupied areas. We modelled occupancy and detection for the three macaw species by combining several site and visit covariates and we described their conditional occupancy. Macaws occupied two thirds of the surveyed area and at least two species occurred together in one third of this area. Probability of detection was 0.48–0.86. For each macaw species, occupancy was affected by the abundance of the other two species, the richness of cavity-nesting species, and the distance to the nearest village. We identified key priority areas for the conservation of these macaws. The flexibility of occupancy methods provides an efficient tool for monitoring macaw occupancy at the landscape level, facilitating prediction of the range of macaw species at a large number of sites, with relatively little effort. This technique could be used in other regions in which the monitoring of threatened parrot populations requires innovative approaches.First published on line: 17 July 2014.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Cabbage and fermented vegetables : From death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT(1)R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance as well as lung and endothelial damage, two severe outcomes of COVID-19. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is the most potent antioxidant in humans and can block in particular the AT(1)R axis. Cabbage contains precursors of sulforaphane, the most active natural activator of Nrf2. Fermented vegetables contain many lactobacilli, which are also potent Nrf2 activators. Three examples are: kimchi in Korea, westernized foods, and the slum paradox. It is proposed that fermented cabbage is a proof-of-concept of dietary manipulations that may enhance Nrf2-associated antioxidant effects, helpful in mitigating COVID-19 severity.Peer reviewe

Nrf2-interacting nutrients and COVID-19 : time for research to develop adaptation strategies

There are large between- and within-country variations in COVID-19 death rates. Some very low death rate settings such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, the Balkans and Africa have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods whose intake is associated with the activation of the Nrf2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2) anti-oxidant transcription factor. There are many Nrf2-interacting nutrients (berberine, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, quercetin, resveratrol, sulforaphane) that all act similarly to reduce insulin resistance, endothelial damage, lung injury and cytokine storm. They also act on the same mechanisms (mTOR: Mammalian target of rapamycin, PPAR gamma:Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, NF kappa B: Nuclear factor kappa B, ERK: Extracellular signal-regulated kinases and eIF2 alpha:Elongation initiation factor 2 alpha). They may as a result be important in mitigating the severity of COVID-19, acting through the endoplasmic reticulum stress or ACE-Angiotensin-II-AT(1)R axis (AT(1)R) pathway. Many Nrf2-interacting nutrients are also interacting with TRPA1 and/or TRPV1. Interestingly, geographical areas with very low COVID-19 mortality are those with the lowest prevalence of obesity (Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia). It is tempting to propose that Nrf2-interacting foods and nutrients can re-balance insulin resistance and have a significant effect on COVID-19 severity. It is therefore possible that the intake of these foods may restore an optimal natural balance for the Nrf2 pathway and may be of interest in the mitigation of COVID-19 severity

Valoración de aspectos vinculados al consumo, calidad y seguridad de la carne, en consumidores argentinos de carne

The development of meat producing sector is directly influenced by the concepts and criteria of the consumers. Numerous and diverse aspects are taken into account by consumers at the time of purchase, with appearance, freshness and product availability being the most important points. Knowledge the trends, concepts and willingness to purchase by consumers is allows the agroindustrial sector a better growth and development. The aim at study was to study the consumption, quality and health aspects of meat through a survey of Argentine consumers of meat. The data were collected in cities of the province of Buenos Aires. The survey was anonymous, voluntary and through a questionnaire arranged online. The information collected was analyzed by descriptive test according to: sex, age range, employment status and area of residence. The data indicated that the most outstanding features and trends in consumer habits, quality criteria and decision to purchase meat in citizens of the province of Buenos Aires, are related according to age and, to a lesser extent, sex, residence or employment situation. These observations suggest that would be a good opportunity for the producer’s development products orientated to particular age group public and their preferences. Health general aspects suggested it is important for scientific and educational sector generate and transmit more information to society about proper habits of food handling at home.El crecimiento del sector productor de carne se ve influenciado directamente por los conceptos y criterios de los consumidores. Los aspectos tenidos en cuenta por estos al momento de comprar son numerosos y variados, y los puntos más importantes son la calidad sensorial, higiénico-sanitaria, disponibilidad de productos y tendencia de consumo. Conocer las preferencias, conceptos y actitud de compra por parte de los consumidores permite al sector agroindustrial un mejor crecimiento y desarrollo. El presente trabajo planteó como objetivo estudiar aspectos de consumo, calidad y sanidad de la carne mediante encuesta con consumidores argentinos. Los datos fueron recabados en ciudades de la provincia de Buenos Aires. La encuesta fue anónima, voluntaria y mediante un cuestionario dispuesto on-line. La información obtenida fue analizada mediante test descriptivo según sexo, rango etario, situación laboral y zona de residencia. Los resultados logrados mostraron similitud de comportamiento con otras sociedades latinoamericanas, estudiadas previamente. Los datos indicaron que los rasgos y tendencias más destacados en los hábitos de consumo, criterios de calidad y decisión de compra de carne en ciudadanos de la provincia de Buenos Aires, están relacionados con la edad y en menor medida con el sexo, lugar de residencia o la situación laboral. Las observaciones sugerirían que una buena oportunidad para el sector productor es trabajar en el desarrollo de productos “dirigidos” según los grupos etarios y sus preferencias. En relación con los aspectos de la sanidad, se pudo apreciar que la población usa prácticas en el hogar con elevado potencial de contaminación cruzada y proliferación de microorganismos en los alimentos. Frente a esto se destaca la importancia de los sectores científico y educativo en la necesidad de generar y transmitir información a la sociedad sobre hábitos adecuados de manipulación de alimentos especialmente en hogares