Roe deer population trend after reintroduction of Eurasian lynx within the Palatinate Forest: a first insight into a long-term study

After becoming extinct approximately 250 years ago in the Palatinate Forest, the first Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) were reintroduced within this area in 2016, with 20 lynx reintroduced in the following five years. We observed the roe deer population within the Palatinate Forest before (2016) and during (2017–2019) the lynx reintroduction by estimating the population and evaluating the hunting bag. The roe deer population estimation based on the distance sampling method was conducted on ten defined transects with an average length of 48 km from 2016 to 2019, observing a 6,000 km transect length for 120 nights overall. An average of 6.54 ± 1.28 roe deer km-² was estimated over the course of the four years (2016 – 2019). Since we suspect that our estimations might underestimate the roe deer population within the Palatinate Forest, hence we preferred to use the roe deer count index for further analysis. Over the first four years (2016–2019), significant differences were neither found in the roe deer count index nor for the hunting bag in relation to the reintroduction of the lynx. The data and findings presented in this study provide a first insight into a long-term observation of a predator-prey system within the Palatinate Forest, with roe deer not having experienced a natural predator over a long time. In order to make coherent interpretations, long-term data is needed to estimate the population trends of both species within the Palatinate Forest

Antler casting in relation to parturition in semi-domesticated female reindeer

We investigated the timing of the right and left antler casting in semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.) in relation to parturition using 139 antlered adult individually marked females in 2008-09 between May 5 and June 2; a period when all calves were born and all females cast their antlers. We analysed time of casting of right and left antler in relation to pregnancy, female age and body weight, weight and sex of the calf, and birth date.  Seven of the females were non-pregnant (barren) and cast their antlers during the second week of May and at the same time as some of the females that gave birth initiated antler casting. Postpartum retention of antlers varied from 0 to 15 days. We found no difference between left and right antler casting schedule and within two days apart, 91% of the females had cast both antlers. The maximum number of antler castings per day occurred on the seventh day after parturition. Of the 132 females that gave birth, 7 females (5.3%) cast both antlers 5 – 23 days before calving, three females cast right antler 6 – 10 days before and the left antler 2 – 5 days after calving and one female that bore only a left antler casted a day before calving. Antler casting among lactating females was related only to female age, indicating that older females cast antlers earlier than younger females (i.e. 3 days earlier than the pooled mean of 7.6 days). Apart from calving date being two days later among the 7 females that alternated their casting schedule, female body weights, calf sex and calf birth weight among them did not differ between the two years. We conclude that it is a small but consistent antler casting overlap between barren and pregnant/lactating females, indicating that the control mechanism for casting of antlers is not “fool proof” and that antler status prior to parturition does not accurately predict pregnancy status in this domestic reindeer group

Reindeer fidelity to high quality winter pastures outcompete power line barrier effects

We investigated barrier effects of a 66 kV power line established in 1966 before and after the line was upgraded to 132 kV in 2004 over a period of 44 years (1974-2017) in the North Ottadalen wild reindeer area (3245 km2) of  which 1038 km2 are in use as winter pastures. The power line transects a peninsula (135 km2) with high quality winter pastures in the southeast periphery. The reindeer population originated from a nucleus herd of 402 animals of domestic origin released in the area in 1964-1965 and 100 resident wild animals. Yearly winter survey started in 1974 and reindeer were first surveyed south of the 66 kV power line in 1982. Comparing the number of animals recorded in the peninsula vs. the number of individuals expected relative to available grazing area during the three periods (1974-2004, 1982-2004 and 2005-2017), the number of animals recorded in the peninsula was 3.6–4.9 times higher than expected. Since the upgrade of the power line, a substantial part of the reindeer population grazed in the peninsula every year. We therefore conclude that there was no long-term barrier effect from the original power line and no barrier effects at all from the upgrade. However, during the first 5 surveys of this study, there were no animals in the peninsula. Therefore, even if there are several possible reasons for this, we cannot exclude the possibility of short-term barrier effects resulting from the construction of the original power line. Our results support recent studies that report no effects from existing power lines and contrast some previous findings that have reported strong long-term barrier and avoidance effects of such infrastructure for Rangifer migration and grazing behaviour

Effects of Wind Power Development on Reindeer: Global Positioning System Monitoring and Herders’ Experience

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Fluctuating asymmetry and feather growth bars as biomarkers to assess the habitat quality of shade coffee farming for avian diversity conservation

Shade coffee farming has been promoted as a means of combining sustainable coffee production and biodiversity conservation. Supporting this idea, similar levels of diversity and abundance of birds have been found in shade coffee and natural forests. However, diversity and abundance are not always good indicators of habitat quality because there may be a lag before population effects are observed following habitat conversion. Therefore, other indicators of habitat quality should be tested. In this paper, we investigate the use of two biomarkers: fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of tarsus length and rectrix mass, and feather growth bars (average growth bar width) to characterize the habitat quality of shade coffee and natural forests. We predicted higher FA and narrower feather growth bars in shade coffee forest versus natural forest, indicating higher quality in the latter. We measured and compared FA in tarsus length and rectrix mass and average growth bar width in more than 200 individuals of five bird species. The extent of FA in both tarsus length and rectrix mass was not different between the two forest types in any of the five species. Similarly, we found no difference in feather growth between shade coffee and natural forests for any species. Therefore, we conclude our comparison of biomarkers suggests that shade coffee farms and natural forests provide similar habitat quality for the five species we examined

Restoration of seagrass habitats: Effects of artificial and natural sediments on the development of transplanted eelgrass (Zostera marina)

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Landbruket – mer enn matproduksjon

Gjennom en periode har både antallet foretak som driver jordbruk i Norge, og jordbruksareal som holdes i drift, gått ned. Landskap der forholdene har ligget til rette for å drive jordbruk har mange steder en lang brukshistorie. Her har menneskers aktivitet satt spor, både i form av kulturhistoriske spor og i form av arter som trives nær jordbruk og bosetning. I en vurdering av hvilke areal som bør prioriteres for å bringes tilbake i jordbruksproduksjon kan også dette være viktige forhold å ta med i vurderingene.Landbruket – mer enn matproduksjonpublishedVersio

Foraging ecology of African wolves (Canis lupaster) and its implications for the conservation of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis)

African wolves (AWs) are sympatric with endangered Ethiopian wolves (EWs) in parts of their range. Scat analyses have suggested a dietary overlap between AWs and EWs, raising the potential for exploitative competition, and a possible conservation threat to EWs. However, in contrast to that of the well-studied EW, the foraging ecology of AWs remains poorly characterized. Accordingly, we studied the foraging ecology of radio-collared AWs (n = 11 individuals) at two localities with varying levels of anthropogenic disturbance in the Ethiopian Highlands, the Guassa-Menz Community Conservation Area (GMCCA) and Borena-Saynt National Park (BSNP), accumulating 845 h of focal observation across 2952 feeding events. We also monitored rodent abundance and rodent trapping activity by local farmers who experience conflict with AWs. The AW diet consisted largely of rodents (22.0%), insects (24.8%), and goats and sheep (24.3%). Of the total rodents captured by farmers using local traps during peak barley production (July to November) in GMCCA, averaging 24.7 ± 8.5 rodents/hectare/day, 81% (N = 3009) were scavenged by AWs. Further, of all the rodents consumed by AWs, most (74%) were carcasses. These results reveal complex interactions between AWs and local farmers, and highlight the scavenging niche occupied by AWs in anthropogenically altered landscapes in contrast to the active hunting exhibited by EWs in more intact habitats. While AWs cause economic damage to local farmers through livestock predation, they appear to play an important role in scavenging pest rodents among farmlands, a pattern of behaviour which likely mitigates direct and indirect competition with EWs. We suggest two routes to promote the coexistence of AWs and EWs in the Ethiopian highlands: local education efforts highlighting the complex role AWs play in highland ecosystems to reduce their persecution, and enforced protection of intact habitats to preserve habitat preferred by EWs

Pongamia seed cake as a valuable source of plant nutrients for sustainable agriculture

Pongamia, a multipurpose leguminous tree containing non-edible oil, grows widely in India. Oil extracted from the seeds of Pongamia is used as energy source as well as in tanneries while the cake (a byproduct after extracting oil) was found to be rich in all plant nutrients in general and nitrogen (4.28%) and sulfur (0.19%) in particular. Both nitrogen and sulfur were found to be deficient in 100 and 80%, respectively, in soil samples from farmers' fields in Powerguda village of Adilabad district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Use of Pongamia seed cake as a source of plant nutrients for maize, soyabean and cotton was found beneficial in participatory research and development trials on farmers' fields. Further, application of critically deficient micronutrients such as zinc and boron and secondary nutrient sulfur increased crop yields by 16.7 and 19% in soyabean and cotton, respectively. In addition, B:C ratios of 5.03, 1.81 and 2.04 were obtained for soyabean, maize and cotton, respectively, with use of cake as a source of N, however it needed higher initial investment

The global burden of adolescent and young adult cancer in 2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background In estimating the global burden of cancer, adolescents and young adults with cancer are often overlooked, despite being a distinct subgroup with unique epidemiology, clinical care needs, and societal impact. Comprehensive estimates of the global cancer burden in adolescents and young adults (aged 15-39 years) are lacking. To address this gap, we analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, with a focus on the outcome of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), to inform global cancer control measures in adolescents and young adults. Methods Using the GBD 2019 methodology, international mortality data were collected from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, and population-based cancer registry inputs modelled with mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs). Incidence was computed with mortality estimates and corresponding MIRs. Prevalence estimates were calculated using modelled survival and multiplied by disability weights to obtain years lived with disability (YLDs). Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated as age-specific cancer deaths multiplied by the standard life expectancy at the age of death. The main outcome was DALYs (the sum of YLLs and YLDs). Estimates were presented globally and by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintiles (countries ranked and divided into five equal SDI groups), and all estimates were presented with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). For this analysis, we used the age range of 15-39 years to define adolescents and young adults. Findings There were 1.19 million (95% UI 1.11-1.28) incident cancer cases and 396 000 (370 000-425 000) deaths due to cancer among people aged 15-39 years worldwide in 2019. The highest age-standardised incidence rates occurred in high SDI (59.6 [54.5-65.7] per 100 000 person-years) and high-middle SDI countries (53.2 [48.8-57.9] per 100 000 person-years), while the highest age-standardised mortality rates were in low-middle SDI (14.2 [12.9-15.6] per 100 000 person-years) and middle SDI (13.6 [12.6-14.8] per 100 000 person-years) countries. In 2019, adolescent and young adult cancers contributed 23.5 million (21.9-25.2) DALYs to the global burden of disease, of which 2.7% (1.9-3.6) came from YLDs and 97.3% (96.4-98.1) from YLLs. Cancer was the fourth leading cause of death and tenth leading cause of DALYs in adolescents and young adults globally. Interpretation Adolescent and young adult cancers contributed substantially to the overall adolescent and young adult disease burden globally in 2019. These results provide new insights into the distribution and magnitude of the adolescent and young adult cancer burden around the world. With notable differences observed across SDI settings, these estimates can inform global and country-level cancer control efforts. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe