Resource partitioning among African savanna herbivores in North Cameroon: the importance of diet composition, food quality and body mass

The relationship between herbivore diet quality, and diet composition (the range of food plants consumed) and body mass on resource partitioning of herbivores remains the subject of an ongoing scientific debate. In this study we investigated the importance of diet composition and diet quality on resource partitioning among eight species of savanna herbivore in north Cameroon, with different body mass. Dung samples of four to seven wild herbivore and one domesticated species were collected in the field during the dry and wet period. Diet composition was based on microhistological examination of herbivore droppings, epidermis fragments were identified to genus or family level. In addition, the quality of the faecal droppings was determined in terms of phosphorus, nitrogen and fibre concentrations. The results showed that there was no significant correlation between body mass and (differences in) diet composition for wet and dry season. When all species are considered, only significant relationships are found by the Spearman rank correlation analyses during the wet season between body mass and phosphorus and nitrogen, but this relationship did not exist during the dry season. When the analyses focuses on ruminants only (thus leaving out hippo), none of the relationships between body mass and diet quality was significant in either season. During the dry season the proportion of graminoids ranged between 10% (small unidentified herbivore species) to 90% (hippopotamus), during the wet season this proportion ranged from 60% (zebu) to 90% (hippopotamus). All species but zebu had more graminoids in their dung during wet season compared with dry season. However all species but hartebeest had more graminoids old stems in their dung during the dry season, compared with the wet season. The niche breadth for food categories consumed by kob (0.300), hippo (0.090), hartebeest (0.350), roan (0.510) and zebu (0.300) was much greater in the dry season than in the wet season for kob (0.120), hippo (0.020), hartebeest (0.190), roan (0.090) and zebu (0.200). When looking at grass taxa consumed, the niche breadth of kob (0.220), hartebeest (0.140), and roan (0.250) was also greater in the dry season when compared with the wet season for kob (0.050), hartebeest (0.120) and roan (0.120). The opposite was found for zebu and hippo. Comparison of the species’ diet compositions with randomized data showed that dietary overlap between different herbivore species was much higher than what would be expected on the basis of chance, demonstrating surprisingly limited niche separation between species. This offers potential for competition, but it is more likely that the high niche overlap indicates absence of competition, due to low herbivore densities and abundant food resources, permitting species to share non-limiting resources. With increasing herbivore densities and subsequent increasing scarcity of resources, the relationship between diet quality and body mass in combination with increased niche separation is expected to become more visibl

An Evaluation of a Student Allied Health Professions’ Social Prescribing Scheme

Purpose: Social prescribing is a core part of healthcare policy within the NHS and requires support and contributions from all healthcare professionals, including Allied Healthcare Professionals (AHPs). The well-established medical student-led social prescribing student champion scheme (SPSCS) has been expanded to include AHPs, and AHP champions were recruited to deliver peer-led activities focused on social prescribing. This article aimed to evaluate the impact of the scheme\u27s expansion on AHP students. Method: Fourteen AHP champions ran 21 activities that reached 524 students. Those participating in the champion-led activities were asked to complete pre- and post-session surveys to capture the impact of the sessions on their awareness of, knowledge of, and confidence with clinically applying social prescribing. Participants also rated the opportunity for multi-disciplinary interaction and overall experience of the champion led activities. Results: It was found that participant’s post-session scores for awareness, understanding and confidence were higher than post-session scores. Further, post-session survey results showed that participants enjoyed and felt they had been able to experience multi-disciplinary interaction at events. Conclusions: In summary, the evaluation of the AHP SPSCS highlights the value of student-led peer teaching in helping to raise awareness and understanding about social prescribing for AHP students, whilst acknowledging the need to expand the scheme’s reach in the future

Assessing the social cohesion of a translocated pride of white lions integrated with wild tawny lions in South Africa, using social network analysis

In South Africa, lions are protected in national parks and smaller fenced reserves. Translocating lions between fenced reserves, whilst necessary to maintain genetic diversity, is disruptive and can impact survivorship and pride cohesion. Critical to translocation success is pride cohesion. White lions are a natural colour variant occurring in the Greater Kruger Park Region, where anthropogenic threats eliminated this population until reintroduction in 2006. Through social network analysis (SNA), the sociality of a released pride of captive-origin white and wild tawny lions was compared to two captive-origin and wild prides of tawny lions. Social interactions and pride dynamics were recorded for each pride. For all prides, cubs and subadults were central to the play network, while adults received the most social interactions. White and wild tawny adult males initiated more social interactions than captive-origin tawny males, whilst a keystone adult female was identified in each pride. For the constructed pride, social interactions were more evenly distributed, suggesting a high level of connectedness and cohesion. This is the first study to demonstrate that captive-origin white and wild tawny lions can form a socially functional pride, suggesting that white lions would survive in the wild in the absence of anthropogenic threats

Plant-herbivore interactions between seagrass and Dugongs in a tropical small island ecosystem

LEI Universiteit LeidenEnvironment and Developmen

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) expression and activation during lens development

PURPOSE: Regulation of lens development involves an intricate interplay between growth factor (e.g. FGF and TGFbeta) and extracellular matrix (ECM) signaling pathways. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase that plays key roles in transmitting ECM signals by integrins. In this study, we delineated patterns of FAK expression and tyrosine phosphorylation (Y397) in the developing lens and investigated its regulation by FGF2. We also examined FAK expression and activation during disrupted fiber differentiation in mice expressing a dominant-negative TGFbeta receptor. METHODS: FAK expression and activation (phosphorylation on Y397) was studied in embryonic and postnatal rodent lenses by in situ hybridization, immunofluorescence, and western blotting. Rat lens explants were used to investigate the effects of FGF2 on FAK expression and activation. Immunofluorescence and western blotting were used to examine FAK expression and phosphorylation in transgenic mice that express a dominant-negative TGFbeta receptor. RESULTS: FAK is widely expressed and phosphorylated during embryonic stages of lens morphogenesis and differentiation. However, in postnatal lenses its expression and activation becomes restricted to the posterior germinative zone and the transitional zone at the lens equator. While both NH2- and COOH-terminal antibodies revealed cytoplasmic and membrane-associated staining in lens cells, the NH2-terminal antibody also showed FAK was present in fiber cell nuclei. In vitro, FAK expression and phosphorylation on Y397 were increased by concentrations of FGF2 that initiate lens epithelial cell migration (10 ng/ml) and differentiation (50 ng/ml) but not proliferation (5 ng/ml). Moreover, reactivity for Y397 phosphorylated FAK is prominent in the nuclei of differentiating fibers both in vivo and in vitro. Disruption of TGFbeta-like signals by ectopic expression of a dominant-negative TGFbeta receptor (TbetaRII(D/N)) results in abnormal lens fiber differentiation in transgenic mice. While FAK expression is initiated normally in the posterior germinative zone of TbetaRII(D/N) transgenic lenses, as fiber differentiation proceeds, FAK becomes localized to a perinuclear compartment, decreases its association with the cytoskeleton and is poorly phosphorylated on Y(397). CONCLUSIONS: FAK is widely expressed and activated during early lens morphogenesis. During secondary lens fiber differentiation, FAK is expressed and phosphorylated on Y397 as epithelial cells exit the cell cycle, initiate migration at the equator, and undergo differentiation in the transitional zone. During terminal fiber differentiation an NH2-terminal fragment of FAK, including Y397, is translocated to the nucleus. The expression, activation, and nuclear localization of FAK are regulated, at least partly, by FGF2. FAK activity and subcellular localization are also modulated by TGFbeta-like signals. In fiber cells of TbetaRII(D/N) transgenic lenses, FAK is abnormally retained in a perinuclear compartment, loses its association with the cytoskeleton, and is poorly phosphorylated. These data suggest that integrin signaling via FAK plays important roles during lens differentiation, mediated by FGFs and TGFbeta-superfamily signals

Home range and movement patterns of reintroduced white lions (Panthera leo melanochaita) in the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve, South Africa

White lions are a colour variant of the African lion Panthera leo melanochaita and disappeared from the wild due to anthropogenic factors until their reintroduction to the Greater Kruger Park Region of South Africa in 2006. Natural home range behaviour is an index of reintroduction success. Therefore, the home range and movement of a pride of reintroduced white lions and a constructed pride consisting of reintroduced white lions and translocated wild tawny lionesses in small, fenced reserves was assessed. GPS data from collared adults were collected for the white lion pride between 2010–2011 and 2018–2020 for the constructed pride. Home ranges were estimated using kernel density estimation and minimum convex polygon, with minimum daily distance tested for differences between sex, season, and pride. Home ranges were small and average daily movements restricted for both prides (white lion pride: 5.41 km2 and 10.44 ± 4.82 km; constructed pride: 5.50 km2, 11.37 ± 4.72 km) due to the small reserve size of 7 km2. There was no difference between prides for annual and seasonal home range size, male and female home ranges, minimum daily distance travelled, or habitat selection. White lions from both prides established territories and displayed natural home ranging behaviour, suggesting that their reintroduction was successful, in the absence of anthropogenic threats

An evaluation of a student allied health professions’ social prescribing scheme

Purpose: Social prescribing is a core part of healthcare policy within the NHS and requires support and contributions from all healthcare professionals, including Allied Healthcare Professionals (AHPs). The well-established medical student-led social prescribing student champion scheme (SPSCS) has been expanded to include AHPs, and AHP champions were recruited to deliver peer-led activities focused on social prescribing. This article aimed to evaluate the impact of the scheme's expansion on AHP students. Method: Fourteen AHP champions ran 21 activities that reached 524 students. Those participating in the champion-led activities were asked to complete pre- and post-session surveys to capture the impact of the sessions on their awareness of, knowledge of, and confidence with clinically applying social prescribing. Participants also rated the opportunity for multi-disciplinary interaction and overall experience of the champion led activities. Results: It was found that participant’s post-session scores for awareness, understanding and confidence were higher than post-session scores. Further, post-session survey results showed that participants enjoyed and felt they had been able to experience multi-disciplinary interaction at events. Conclusions: In summary, the evaluation of the AHP SPSCS highlights the value of student-led peer teaching in helping to raise awareness and understanding about social prescribing for AHP students, whilst acknowledging the need to expand the scheme’s reach in the future

Saving biodiversity by fighting desertification in West and Central Africa

Environment and Developmen

Economic assessment study of the Logone floodplain

VakpublicatieInstitute of Environmental Science

Evaluation of smallholder farming systems in the Western Highlands of Cameroon

Small scale farming systems in the Western Highlands of Cameroon (WHC) are influenced by many factors. Understanding the determinants that influence the system is essential when targeting appropriate intervention strategies for improvement. A field survey was carried out and analysed to understand the forces that drive the farming systems in this area. The impacts of farming practices on farm sustainability were used as indicators to score sustainability. The results revealed that the household characteristics were very similar across the villages while the sustainability differed depending on the intensity of off-farm inputs in the production systems and other socio-economic factors. Sustainability had significant negative relationships with the intensity of land use, off-farm inputs, and sole cropping practice and a positive relationship with the age of the head of the household. The determinants of the system which explained 62.15% of the total variation of sustainability in the study area were grouped to indicate a number of underlying common factors influencing sustainability. The villages of the WHC had much in common and could benefit equally from the same improved technologies and recommendations.Conservation Biolog