Interactive public digital displays: investigating its use in a high school context

This paper presents a longitudinal user study that investigated the adoption of some Bluetooth based functionalities for a public digital display in a high school. More specifically, the utilization of Bluetooth device naming extended beyond social identity representation and introduced the use of a simple interaction mechanism. The interaction mechanism involves recognizing parts of the Bluetooth device name as explicit instructions to trigger the generation of content on an interactive public display. Together with representatives of the teachers' community, the design team defined some social rules concerning usage in order to account for the specificities of the place. In the user study, three fully functional prototypes were deployed at the school hall of the high school. The functionalities introduced with the different prototypes were: the visualization on the display of the Bluetooth device names, the possibility to contribute to tag clouds and the possibility to choose icons from a given set for self-expression. The results suggest that people appropriated some but not all of the functionalities employed. Implications of our findings to the design of interactive digital displays are pointed out.(undefined

The role of familial conflict in home range settlement and fitness of a solitary mammal

Familial conflict, including parent–offspring conflict (POC) and sibling competition (SC), occurs when an individual maximizes its access to a limiting resource at the expense of a related individual. The role of familial conflict for competition over space as a limited resource remains relatively unexplored. In this study, we examined how familial conflict affects natal dispersal and settlement decisions of a solitary mammal, the brown bear, Ursus arctos, and tested whether these settlement patterns covary with fitness. First, we tested whether the distance settled from the natal range was affected by aspects of POC (litter type: single versus multiple; mother's age; mother's living status) and SC (settled near versus far from the natal home range, body size). We then modelled how distance settled from the natal range influenced three measures of fitness: survival to reproduction, lifetime reproductive success and lifetime survival. In line with POC, we found that daughters settled twice as far from the natal range when their mother was alive than when she was dead. We found strong evidence for SC where in sibling pairs, the ‘near’ sister settled nearly three times closer to the natal range than her sibling. We found contradictory patterns in fitness outcomes based on settlement distance, such that females settling closer to the natal range had higher lifetime survival but were less likely to successfully wean at least one offspring. Despite survival advantages gained by settling closer to the natal range, there was no evidence that settlement distance influenced lifetime reproductive success. Fitness outcomes in this population may be influenced more by factors related to annual hunting than by familial conflict or proximity to the natal range

Effects of Human Disturbance on Terrestrial Apex Predators

The effects of human disturbance spread over virtually all ecosystems and ecological communities on Earth. In this review, we focus on the effects of human disturbance on terrestrial apex predators. We summarize their ecological role in nature and how they respond to different sources of human disturbance. Apex predators control their prey and smaller predators numerically and via behavioral changes to avoid predation risk, which in turn can affect lower trophic levels. Crucially, reducing population numbers and triggering behavioral responses are also the effects that human disturbance causes to apex predators, which may in turn influence their ecological role. Some populations continue to be at the brink of extinction, but others are partially recovering former ranges, via natural recolonization and through reintroductions. Carnivore recovery is both good news for conservation and a challenge for management, particularly when recovery occurs in human-dominated landscapes. Therefore, we conclude by discussing several management considerations that, adapted to local contexts, may favor the recovery of apex predator populations and their ecological functions in nature

Movement and habitat selection of a large carnivore in response to human infrastructure differs by life stage

BackgroundThe movement extent of mammals is influenced by human-modified areas, which can affect population demographics. Understanding how human infrastructure influences movement at different life stages is important for wildlife management. This is true especially for large carnivores, due to their substantial space requirements and potential for conflict with humans.MethodsWe investigated human impact on movement and habitat selection by GPS-collared male brown bears (Ursus arctos) in two life stages (residents and dispersers) in central Sweden. We identified dispersers visually based on their GPS locations and used hidden Markov models to delineate dispersal events. We used integrated step selection analysis (iSSA) to infer movement and habitat selection at a local scale (availability defined by hourly relocations), and resource selection functions (RSFs) to infer habitat selection at a landscape scale (availability defined by the study area extent).ResultsMovement of residents on a local scale was facilitated by small forestry roads as they moved faster and selected areas closer to forestry roads, and they avoided areas closer to larger public roads and buildings on both scales. Dispersers were more ambivalent in their response to human infrastructure. Dispersers increased their speed closer to small forestry roads and larger public roads, did not exhibit selection for or against any road class, and avoided areas closer to buildings only at local scale. Dispersers did not select for any features on the landscape, which is likely explained by the novelty of the landscape or their naivety towards it.ConclusionOur results show that movement in male brown bears is life stage-dependent and indicate that connectivity maps derived from movement data of dispersing animals may provide more numerous and more realistic pathways than those derived from resident animal data alone. This suggests that data from dispersing animals provide more realistic models for reconnecting populations and maintaining connectivity than if data were derived from resident animals alone

Evolution of major histocompatibility complex class I and class II genes in the brown bear

International audienceBackground: Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins constitute an essential component of the vertebrate immune response, and are coded by the most polymorphic of the vertebrate genes. Here, we investigated sequence variation and evolution of MHC class I and class II DRB, DQA and DQB genes in the brown bear Ursus arctos to characterise the level of polymorphism, estimate the strength of positive selection acting on them, and assess the extent of gene orthology and trans-species polymorphism in Ursidae . Results: We found 37 MHC class I, 16 MHC class II DRB, four DQB and two DQA alleles. We confirmed the expression of several loci: three MHC class I, two DRB, two DQB and one DQA. MHC class I also contained two clusters of non-expressed sequences. MHC class I and DRB allele frequencies differed between northern and southern populations of the Scandinavian brown bear. The rate of nonsynonymous substitutions (d N ) exceeded the rate of synonymous substitutions (d S ) at putative antigen binding sites of DRB and DQB loci and, marginally significantly, at MHC class I loci. Models of codon evolution supported positive selection at DRB and MHC class I loci. Both MHC class I and MHC class II sequences showed orthology to gene clusters found in the giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Conclusions: Historical positive selection has acted on MHC class I, class II DRB and DQB, but not on the DQA locus. The signal of historical positive selection on the DRB locus was particularly strong, which may be a general feature of caniforms. The presence of MHC class I pseudogenes may indicate faster gene turnover in this class through the birth-and-death process. South - north population structure at MHC loci probably reflects origin of the populations from separate glacial refugia

No evidence for the effect of MHC on male mating success in the brown bear

Mate choice is thought to contribute to the maintenance of the spectacularly high polymorphism of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes, along with balancing selection from parasites, but the relative contribution of the former mechanism is debated. Here, we investigated the association between male MHC genotype and mating success in the brown bear. We analysed fragments of sequences coding for the peptide-binding region of the highly polymorphic MHC class I and class II DRB genes, while controlling for genome-wide effects using a panel of 18 microsatellite markers. Male mating success did not depend on the number of alleles shared with the female or amino-acid distance between potential mates at either locus. Furthermore, we found no indication of female mating preferences for MHC similarity being contingent on the number of alleles the females carried. Finally, we found no significant association between the number of MHC alleles a male carried and his mating success. Thus, our results provided no support for the role of mate choice in shaping MHC polymorphism in the brown bear

Individual variation in predatory behavior, scavenging and seasonal prey availability as potential drivers of coexistence between wolves and bears

Several large carnivore populations are recovering former ranges, and it is important to understand interspecific interactions between overlapping species. In Scandinavia, recent research has reported that brown bear presence influences gray wolf habitat selection and kill rates. Here, we characterized the temporal use of a common prey resource by sympatric wolves and bears and described individual and seasonal variation in their direct and/or indirect interactions. Most bear–wolf interactions were indirect, via bear scavenging of wolf kills. Bears used >50% of wolf kills, whereas we did not record any wolf visit at bear kills. Adult and subadult bears visited wolf kills, but female bears with cubs of the year, the most vulnerable age class to conspecifics and other predators, did not. Wolf and bear kill rates peaked in early summer, when both targeted neonate moose calves, which coincided with a reduction in bear scavenging rate. Some bears were highly predatory and some did not kill any calf. Individual and age-class variation (in bear predation and scavenging patterns) and seasonality (in bear scavenging patterns and main prey availability of both wolves and bears) could mediate coexistence of these apex predators. Similar processes likely occur in other ecosystems with varying carnivore assemblages

The G428A nonsense mutation in FUT2 provides strong but not absolute protection against symptomatic GII.4 Norovirus infection.

In November 2004, 116 individuals in an elderly nursing home in El Grao de Castellón, Spain were symptomatically infected with genogroup II.4 (GII.4) norovirus. The global attack rate was 54.2%. Genotyping of 34 symptomatic individuals regarding the FUT2 gene revealed that one patient was, surprisingly, a non-secretor, hence indicating secretor-independent infection. Lewis genotyping revealed that Lewis-positive and negative individuals were susceptible to symptomatic norovirus infection indicating that Lewis status did not predict susceptibility. Saliva based ELISA assays were used to determine binding of the outbreak virus to saliva samples. Saliva from a secretor-negative individual bound the authentic outbreak GII.4 Valencia/2004/Es virus, but did not in contrast to secretor-positive saliva bind VLP of other strains including the GII.4 Dijon strain. Amino acid comparison of antigenic A and B sites located on the external loops of the P2 domain revealed distinct differences between the Valencia/2004/Es and Dijon strains. All three aa in each antigenic site as well as 10/11 recently identified evolutionary hot spots, were unique in the Valencia/2004/Es strain compared to the Dijon strain. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of symptomatic GII.4 norovirus infection of a Le(a+b-) individual homozygous for the G428A nonsense mutation in FUT2. Taken together, our study provides new insights into the host genetic susceptibility to norovirus infections and evolution of the globally dominating GII.4 viruses.Original Publication: Beatrice Carlsson, Elin Kindberg, Javier Buesa, Gustaf E Rydell, Marta Fos Lidón, Rebeca Montava, Reem Abu Mallouh, Ammi Grahn, Jesús Rodríguez-Díaz, Juan Bellido, Alberto Arnedo, Göran Larson and Lennart Svensson, The G428A nonsense mutation in FUT2 provides strong but not absolute protection against symptomatic GII.4 Norovirus infection., 2009, PLoS ONE, (4), 5, e5593. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0005593 Licensed under Creative Common

Behavioral reactions of brown bears to approaching humans in Fennoscandia

Human disturbance causes behavioral responses in wildlife, including large carnivores. Previous research in Scandinavia has documented that brown bears (Ursus arctos) show a variety of behavioral reactions to different human activities. We investigated how proximity to human settlements and roads, as proxies of human influence, affected brown bears' reactions to encountering humans. We analyzed experimental approaches to GPS collared bears, 18 males and 23 single females, in Sweden (n = 148 approaches) and Finland (n = 33), conducted between 2004 and 2012. The bears in Finland inhabited areas with higher human density compared to Sweden. However, the proportion of bears staying or moving when approached and the flight initiation distances were similar in both countries. In Sweden, the flight responses were not dependent on human densities or roads inside the bears' home ranges or the distances from the bears to roads and settlements. Brown bears in Fennoscandia live in areas with relatively low human population densities, but in many areas with high forestry road densities. Our results show that bears' flight reactions were consistent between areas, which is an important message for management, reinforcing previous studies that have documented human avoidance by bears at different spatial and temporal scales.Peer reviewe