Responses of tropical bats to habitat fragmentation, logging, and deforestation

Land-use change is a key driver of the global biodiversity crisis and a particularly serious threat to tropical biodiversity. Throughout the tropics, the staggering pace of deforestation, logging, and conversion of forested habitat to other land uses has created highly fragmented landscapes that are increasingly dominated by human-modified habitats and degraded forests. In this chapter, we review the responses of tropical bats to a range of land-use change scenarios, focusing on the effects of habitat fragmentation, logging, and conversion of tropical forest to various forms of agricultural production. Recent landscape- scale studies have considerably advanced our understanding of how tropical bats respond to habitat fragmentation and disturbance at the population, ensemble and assemblage level. This research emphasizes that responses of bats are often species- and ensemble-specific, sensitive to spatial scale, and strongly molded by the characteristics of the prevailing landscape matrix. Nonetheless, substantial knowledge gaps exist concerning other types of response by bats. Few studies have assessed responses at the genetic, behavioral or physiological level, with regard to disease prevalence, or the extent to which human disturbance erodes the capacity of tropical bats to provide key ecosystem services. A strong geographical bias, with Asia and, most notably, Africa, being strongly understudied, precludes a comprehensive understanding of the effects of fragmentation and disturbance on tropical bats. We strongly encourage increased research in the Paleotropics, and emphasize the need for long-term studies, approaches designed to integrate multiple scales, and answering questions that are key to conserving tropical bats in an era of environmental change and dominance of modified habitats (i.e., the Anthropocene)

Testing Dragonflies as Species Richness Indicators in a Fragmented Subtropical Atlantic Forest Environment

We surveyed 15 bodies of water among remnants of the Atlantic Forest biome in southern Brazil for adult dragonflies and damselflies to test whether an empirical selection method for diversity indicators could be applied in a subtropical ecosystem, where limited ecological knowledge on species level is available. We found a regional species pool of 34 species distributed in a nested subset pattern with a mean of 11.2 species per locality. There was a pronounced difference in species composition between spring, summer, and autumn, but no differences in species numbers between seasons. Two species, Homeoura chelifera (Selys) and Ischnura capreolus (Hagen), were the strongest candidates for regional diversity indicators, being found only at species-rich localities in our surveyed area and likewise in an undisturbed national forest reserve, serving as a reference site for the Atlantic Forest. Using our selection method, we found it possible to obtain a tentative list of diversity indicators without having detailed ecological information of each species, providing a reference site is available for comparison. The method thus allows for indicator species to be selected in blanco from taxonomic groups that are little known. We hence argue that Odonata can already be incorporated in ongoing assessment programs in the Neotropics, which would also increase the ecological knowledge of the group and allow extrapolation to other taxa. © 2015, Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil.</p

International consensus on the diagnosis and management of dumping syndrome

Dumping syndrome is a common but underdiagnosed complication of gastric and oesophageal surgery. We initiated a Delphi consensus process with international multidisciplinary experts. We defined the scope, proposed statements and searched electronic databases to survey the literature. Eighteen experts participated in the literature summary and voting process evaluating 62 statements. We evaluated the quality of evidence using grading of recommendations assessment, development and evaluation (GRADE) criteria. Consensus (defined as &gt;80% agreement) was reached for 33 of 62 statements, including the definition and symptom profile of dumping syndrome and its effect on quality of life. The panel agreed on the pathophysiological relevance of rapid passage of nutrients to the small bowel, on the role of decreased gastric volume capacity and release of glucagon-like peptide 1. Symptom recognition is crucial, and the modified oral glucose tolerance test, but not gastric emptying testing, is useful for diagnosis. An increase in haematocrit &gt;3% or in pulse rate &gt;10 bpm 30 min after the start of the glucose intake are diagnostic of early dumping syndrome, and a nadir hypoglycaemia level &lt;50 mg/dl is diagnostic of late dumping syndrome. Dietary adjustment is the agreed first treatment step; acarbose is effective for late dumping syndrome symptoms and somatostatin analogues are preferred for patients who do not respond to diet adjustments and acarbose. Dumping syndrome is a frequent complication of oesophageal and gastric surgery, as well as bariatric surgery; however, guidance on how to manage patients with this condition is lacking. In this Evidence-based guideline, the authors use a Delphi consensus process to develop uniform guidance for the definition, diagnosis and management of dumping syndrome