Population structure and history of the Welsh sheep breeds determined by whole genome genotyping

BACKGROUND: One of the most economically important areas within the Welsh agricultural sector is sheep farming, contributing around £230 million to the UK economy annually. Phenotypic selection over several centuries has generated a number of native sheep breeds, which are presumably adapted to the diverse and challenging landscape of Wales. Little is known about the history, genetic diversity and relationships of these breeds with other European breeds. We genotyped 353 individuals from 18 native Welsh sheep breeds using the Illumina OvineSNP50 array and characterised the genetic structure of these breeds. Our genotyping data were then combined with, and compared to, those from a set of 74 worldwide breeds, previously collected during the International Sheep Genome Consortium HapMap project. RESULTS: Model based clustering of the Welsh and European breeds indicated shared ancestry. This finding was supported by multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS), which revealed separation of the European, African and Asian breeds. As expected, the commercial Texel and Merino breeds appeared to have extensive co-ancestry with most European breeds. Consistently high levels of haplotype sharing were observed between native Welsh and other European breeds. The Welsh breeds did not, however, form a genetically homogeneous group, with pairwise F(ST) between breeds averaging 0.107 and ranging between 0.020 and 0.201. Four subpopulations were identified within the 18 native breeds, with high homogeneity observed amongst the majority of mountain breeds. Recent effective population sizes estimated from linkage disequilibrium ranged from 88 to 825. CONCLUSIONS: Welsh breeds are highly diverse with low to moderate effective population sizes and form at least four distinct genetic groups. Our data suggest common ancestry between the native Welsh and European breeds. These findings provide the basis for future genome-wide association studies and a first step towards developing genomics assisted breeding strategies in the UK. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12863-015-0216-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Victorian Coastal Monitoring Program: (1) VCMP Sites; (2) VCMP Coastal Erosion Indicators

<p>This dataset was produced by the Victorian Coastal Monitoring Program (VCMP), Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Victoria State Government, Australia.</p><p><a href="https://www.marineandcoasts.vic.gov.au/marine-and-coastal-knowledge/victorian-coastal-monitoring-program">https://www.marineandcoasts.vic.gov.au/marine-and-coastal-knowledge/victorian-coastal-monitoring-program</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.marineandcoasts.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/625352/VCMP_Erosion-Indicators_April_2023.pdf">https://www.marineandcoasts.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/625352/VCMP_Erosion-Indicators_April_2023.pdf</a></p><p>[ADD LINK TO VCMP SITES METADATA REPORT - ONCE PUBLISHED TO VCMP WEBSITE]</p><p>Products include: </p><p>(1) Complete processed shorelines dataset ('VCMP Sites'), including drone and satellite data, with transects, shorelines, time series, and cross-sections for drone surveys</p><p>(2) Summary outputs ('VCMP Coastal Erosion Indicators'), including the Erosion Warning Indicator (<i>EWI</i>) summary statistics and Erosion Hotspot Detector (<i>EHD</i>) outputs. </p><p>Survey data in this repository were updated to the start of 2023. </p><p>Regularly updated outputs for all VCMP products, including pre-processed VCMP drone data (digital surface models and orthomosaics) can be accessed through the Victorian government (contact <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>; <a href="https://www.marineandcoasts.vic.gov.au/marine-and-coastal-knowledge/victorian-coastal-monitoring-program">https://www.marineandcoasts.vic.gov.au/marine-and-coastal-knowledge/victorian-coastal-monitoring-program</a>). </p><p>'VCMP Sites' and 'VCMP Coastal Erosion Indicator' outputs and a wide array of marine and coastal data are viewable through the decision support portal CoastKit (<a href="https://mapshare.vic.gov.au/coastkit/">https://mapshare.vic.gov.au/coastkit/</a>). </p><p>Select outputs are also downloadable in spatial file format through DataShare Victoria (<a href="https://datashare.maps.vic.gov.au/search?q=vcmp">https://datashare.maps.vic.gov.au/search?q=vcmp</a>).</p&gt

Will drivers for home energy efficiency harm occupant health?

The UK government has committed to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, with housing accounting for 27% of total current emissions. There are several drivers both to reduce emissions from homes and to reduce fuel poverty, promoting a range of building and behavioural measures in homes. The health benefits of warmer homes in winter have been described, but there has been less consideration of the potential negative impacts of some of these measures. We examine the changes in UK homes, and the possible consequences for health. The main concerns for health surround the potential for poor indoor air quality if ventilation is insufficient and the possible risks of overheating in heatwave conditions. This paper notes a limited evidence base and the need for further research on the health effects of energy-efficient homes, particularly with regard to ventilation