Evaluation of a warfarin bait for controlling invasive wild pigs (\u3ci\u3eSus scrofa\u3c/i\u3e)

BACKGROUND: Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) cause widespread environmental and economic damage, and as a result are subjected to extensive control. Current management strategies have proven insufficient, and there is growing interest in use of toxicants to control invasive populations of this species. In 2017 a low-dose warfarin bait was federally approved for use in controlling wild pigs in the United States. However, no states have allowed use of this bait due to unanswered questions regarding welfare concerns, field efficacy, and non-target impacts. RESULTS: All captive wild pigs fed 0.005% warfarin baits in no choice feeding trials succumbed in an average of 8 days from exposure. Behavioral symptoms of warfarin exposure included vomiting, external bleeding, abnormal breathing, incoordination, and limping. Postmortem examinations revealed hemorrhaging in organs and muscles, particularly the legs, gastrointestinal tract, and abdomen. Warfarin residues in tissues averaged 1.0mg kg-1 for muscle, 3.9mg kg-1 for liver, and 2.8mg kg-1 for small intestines. Field testing revealed wild pigs required extensive training to access bait within pig-specific bait stations, and once acclimated, exhibited reluctance to consume toxic baits, resulting in no mortalities across two separate field deployments of toxic bait. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest wild pigs are susceptible to low-dose warfarin, and warfarin residues in pig tissues postmortem are generally low. However, although warfarin-based baits are currently approved for use by the US Environmental Protection Agency, further improvements to pig-specific bait delivery systems and bait palatability are needed, as well as additional research to quantify efficacy, cost, and non-target impacts prior to widespread implementation

Role of social structure in establishment of an invasive large mammal after translocation

Background Data on the movement behavior of translocated wild pigs is needed to develop appropriate response strategies for containing and eliminating new source populations following translocation events. We conducted experimental trials to compare the home range establishment and space-use metrics, including the number of days and distance traveled before becoming range residents, for wild pigs translocated with their social group and individually. Results We found wild pigs translocated with their social group made less extensive movements away from the release location and established a stable home range ~5 days faster than those translocated individually. We also examined how habitat quality impacted the home range sizes of translocated wild pigs and found wild pigs maintained larger ranges in areas with higher proportion of low-quality habitat. Conclusion Collectively, our findings suggest translocations of invasive wild pigs have a greater probability of establishing a viable population near the release site when habitat quality is high and when released with members of their social unit compared to individuals moved independent of their social group or to low-quality habitat. However, all wild pigs translocated in our study made extensive movements from their release location, highlighting the potential for single translocation events of either individuals or groups to have far-reaching consequences within a much broader landscape beyond the location where they are released. These results highlight the challenges associated with containing populations in areas where illegal introduction of wild pigs occurs, and the need for rapid response once releases are identified

oMEGACat I: MUSE spectroscopy of 300,000 stars within the half-light radius of ω\omega Centauri

Omega Centauri ($\omega$ Cen) is the most massive globular cluster of the Milky Way and has been the focus of many studies that reveal the complexity of its stellar populations and kinematics. However, most previous studies have used photometric and spectroscopic datasets with limited spatial or magnitude coverage, while we aim to investigate it having full spatial coverage out to its half-light radius and stars ranging from the main sequence to the tip of the red giant branch. This is the first paper in a new survey of $\omega$ Cen that combines uniform imaging and spectroscopic data out to its half-light radius to study its stellar populations, kinematics, and formation history. In this paper, we present an unprecedented MUSE spectroscopic dataset combining 87 new MUSE pointings with previous observations collected from guaranteed time observations. We extract spectra of more than 300,000 stars reaching more than two magnitudes below the main sequence turn-off. We use these spectra to derive metallicity and line-of-sight velocity measurements and determine robust uncertainties on these quantities using repeat measurements. Applying quality cuts we achieve signal-to-noise ratios of 16.47/73.51 and mean metallicity errors of 0.174/0.031 dex for the main sequence stars (18 mag $\rm < mag_{F625W}<$22 mag) and red giant branch stars (16 mag $<\rm mag_{F625W}<$10 mag), respectively. We correct the metallicities for atomic diffusion and identify foreground stars. This massive spectroscopic dataset will enable future studies that will transform our understanding of $\omega$ Cen, allowing us to investigate the stellar populations, ages, and kinematics in great detail.Comment: 27 pages, 18 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ, the catalog will be available in the online material of the published articl

oMEGACat I: MUSE spectroscopy of 300,000 stars within the half-light radius of ω Centauri

Omega Centauri (ω Cen) is the most massive globular cluster of the Milky Way and has been the focus of many studies that reveal the complexity of its stellar populations and kinematics. However, most previous studies have used photometric and spectroscopic datasets with limited spatial or magnitude coverage, while we aim to investigate it having full spatial coverage out to its half-light radius and stars ranging from the main sequence to the tip of the red giant branch. This is the first paper in a new survey of ω Cen that combines uniform imaging and spectroscopic data out to its half-light radius to study its stellar populations, kinematics, and formation history. In this paper, we present an unprecedented MUSE spectroscopic dataset combining 87 new MUSE pointings with previous observations collected from guaranteed time observations. We extract spectra of more than 300,000 stars reaching more than two magnitudes below the main sequence turn-off. We use these spectra to derive metallicity and line-of-sight velocity measurements and determine robust uncertainties on these quantities using repeat measurements. Applying quality cuts we achieve signal-to-noise ratios of 16.47/73.51 and mean metallicity errors of 0.174/0.031 dex for the main sequence stars (18 mag < magF625W < 22 mag) and red giant branch stars (16 mag < magF625W <10 mag), respectively. We correct the metallicities for atomic diffusion and identify foreground stars. This massive spectroscopic dataset will enable future studies that will transform our understanding of ω Cen, allowing us to investigate the stellar populations, ages, and kinematics in great detail

Behavioral state resource selection in invasive wild pigs in the Southeastern United States

Elucidating correlations between wild pig (Sus scrofa) behavior and landscape attributes can aid in the advancement of management strategies for controlling populations. Using GPS data from 49 wild pigs in the southeastern U.S., we used hidden Markov models to define movement path characteristics and assign behaviors (e.g., resting, foraging, travelling). We then explored the connection between these behaviors and resource selection for both sexes between two distinct seasons based on forage availability (i.e., low forage, high forage). Females demonstrated a crepuscular activity pattern in the high-forage season and a variable pattern in the low-forage season, while males exhibited nocturnal activity patterns across both seasons. Wild pigs selected for bottomland hardwoods and dense canopy cover in all behavioral states in both seasons. Males selected for diversity in vegetation types while foraging in the low-forage season compared to the high-forage season and demonstrated an increased use of linear anthropogenic features across seasons while traveling. Wild pigs can establish populations and home ranges in an array of landscapes, but our results demonstrate male and female pigs exhibit clear differences in movement behavior and there are key resources associated with common behaviors that can be targeted to improve the efficiency of management programs

Defining the incidence of cardiorespiratory instability in patients in step-down units using an electronic integrated monitoring system

Background: To our knowledge, detection of cardiorespiratory instability using noninvasive monitoring via electronic integrated monitoring systems (IMSs) in intermediate or step-down units (SDUs) has not been described. We undertook this study to characterize respiratory status in an SDU population, to define features of cardiorespiratory instability, and to evaluate an IMS index value that should trigger medical emergency team (MET) activation. Methods: This descriptive, prospective, single-blinded, observational study evaluated all patients in a 24-bed SDU in a university medical center during 8 weeks from November 16, 2006, to January 11, 2007. An IMS (BioSign; OBS Medical, Carmel, Indiana) was inserted into the standard noninvasive hardwired monitoring system and used heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and peripheral oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry to develop a single neural networked signal, or BioSign Index (BSI). Data were analyzed for cardiorespiratory instability according to BSI trigger value and local MET activation criteria. Staff were blinded to BSI data collected in 326 patients (total census). Results: Data for 18 248 hours of continuous monitoring were captured. Data for peripheral oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry were absent in 30% of monitored hours despite being a standard of care. Cardiorespiratory status in most patients (243 of 326 [74.5%]) was stable throughout their SDU stay, and instability in the remaining patients (83 of 326 [25%]) was exhibited infrequently. We recorded 111 MET activation criteria events caused by cardiorespiratory instability in 59 patients, but MET activation for this cause occurred in only 7 patients. All MET events were detected by BSI in advance (mean, 6.3 hours) in a bimodal distribution (>6 hours and ≤45 minutes). Conclusions: Cardiorespiratory instability, while uncommon and often unrecognized, was preceded by elevation of the IMS index. Continuous noninvasive monitoring augmented by IMS provides sensitive detection of early instability in patients in SDUs. ©2008 American Medical Association. All rights reserved

Fast-moving stars around an intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri

Black holes have been found over a wide range of masses, from stellar remnants with masses of 5-150 solar masses (Msun), to those found at the centers of galaxies with M>105 Msun. However, only a few debated candidate black holes exist between 150 and 105 Msun. Determining the population of these intermediate-mass black holes is an important step towards understanding supermassive black hole formation in the early universe. Several studies have claimed the detection of a central black hole in ω Centauri, the Milky Way's most massive globular cluster. However, these studies have been questioned due to the possible mass contribution of stellar mass black holes, their sensitivity to the cluster center, and the lack of fast-moving stars above the escape velocity. Here we report observations of seven fast-moving stars in the central 3 arcseconds (0.08 pc) of ω Centauri. The velocities of the fast-moving stars are significantly higher than the expected central escape velocity of the star cluster, so their presence can only be explained by being bound to a massive black hole. From the velocities alone, we can infer a firm lower limit of the black hole mass of ∼8,200 Msun, making this a compelling candidate for an intermediate-mass black hole in the local universe