Diversity of microorganisms in Hyalomma aegyptium collected fromspur-thighedtortoise(Testudograeca)in North Africa and Anatolia

Ticks carry a diverse community of microorganisms including non-pathogenic symbionts, commensals, and pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, protozoans, and fungi. The assessment of tick-borne microorganisms (TBM) in tortoises and their ticks is essential to understand their eco-epidemiology, and to map and monitor potential pathogenstohumansandotheranimals.Theaimofthisstudywastocharacterizethe diversity of microorganisms found in ticks collected from the spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca) in North Africa and Anatolia. Ticks feeding on wild T. graeca were collected, and pathogens were screened by polymerase chain reaction using groupspecific primers. In total, 131 adult Hyalomma aegyptium ticks were collected from 92 T. graeca in Morocco (n = 48), Tunisia (n = 2), Algeria (n = 70), and Turkey (n = 11). Bacteria and protozoa detected included Hemolivia mauritanica (22.9%), Midichloria mitochondrii (11.4%), relapsing-fever borreliae (8.4%), Ehrlichia spp. (7.6%), Rickettsia spp. (3.4%), Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. (0.9%), Francisella spp. (0.9%), and Wolbachia spp. (0.8%). The characterization of Rickettsia included R. sibirica mongolitimonae (Algeria), R. aeschlimannii (Turkey), and R.africae (Morocco). Hemolivia mauritanica and Ehrlichia spp. prevalence varied significantly with the sampling region/country. We did not detect significant associations in microorganism presence within ticks, nor between microorganism presence and tick mitochondrial DNA haplogroups. This is the first report of Francisella persica-like, relapsing fever borreliae, M. mitochondrii, andWolbachia spp. in H.aegyptiumticks collected from wild hosts from the South and Eastern Mediterranean region, and of R. sibirica mongolitimonae and R. africae in H. aegyptium from Algeria and Morocco, respectively. Given that T. graeca is a common species in commercial and non-commercial pet trade, the evaluation of the role of this species anditsticksashostsforTBMisparticularlyrelevantforpublichealthThis study received financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia by the strategic program of MARE (MARE - UID/MAR/04292/2020) and the transitory norm contract DL57/2016/CP1370/CT89 to ACN and by the FCT IF contract (IF/01257/2012) and project (IF01257/2012/CP0159/CT0005) to AP. The work of EG and AG was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science through projects CGL2015- 64144 and PID2019-105682RA-I00/AEI/10.13039/5011 00011033 (the first with the support of the European Regional Development Fund, MINECO/FEDER).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Four-colour photometry of eclipsing binaries

Complete uvby light curves of the young detached double-lined massive O-type eclipsing binary V 3903 Sagittarii, obtained from 1989 to 1994, are presented. The observations were obtained at two different sites and a discussion of the characteristics of both data sets is included.

Relationship of weather types on the seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield in the western Mediterranean basin

Rainfall is the key factor to understand soil erosion processes, mechanisms, and rates. Most research was conducted to determine rainfall characteristics and their relationship with soil erosion (erosivity) but there is little information about how atmospheric patterns control soil losses, and this is important to enable sustainable environmental planning and risk prevention. We investigated the temporal and spatial variability of the relationships of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield with atmospheric patterns (weather types, WTs) in the western Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, we analyzed a large database of rainfall events collected between 1985 and 2015 in 46 experimental plots and catchments with the aim to: (i) evaluate seasonal differences in the contribution of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield produced by the WTs; and (ii) to analyze the seasonal efficiency of the different WTs (relation frequency and magnitude) related to rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield. The results indicate two different temporal patterns: the first weather type exhibits (during the cold period: autumn and winter) westerly flows that produce the highest rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield values throughout the territory; the second weather type exhibits easterly flows that predominate during the warm period (spring and summer) and it is located on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the cyclonic situations present high frequency throughout the whole year with a large influence extended around the western Mediterranean basin. Contrary, the anticyclonic situations, despite of its high frequency, do not contribute significantly to the total rainfall, runoff, and sediment (showing the lowest efficiency) because of atmospheric stability that currently characterize this atmospheric pattern. Our approach helps to better understand the relationship of WTs on the seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall, runoff and sediment yield with a regional scale based on the large dataset and number of soil erosion experimental stations.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2014 52135-C3-3-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. ESP2017-89463-C3-3-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2014-59946-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2015-65569-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2015-64284-C2-2-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2015-64284-C2-1-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2016-78075-PMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. GL2008-02879/BTEEuropean Commission | Ref. LEDDRA 243857Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. CGL2017-83866- C3-1-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. PCIN-2017-061/AEIMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. FJCI-2017-33652Gobierno de Aragón | Ref. E02_17RGeneralitat de Catalunya | Ref. 2014 SGR 645Junta de Castilla y León | Ref. CLU-2018-04Gobierno Vasco | Ref. IT1029-16OECD (Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems) | Ref. OCDE TAD/CRP JA0008880

Pollination supply models from a local to global scale

Ecological intensification has been embraced with great interest by the academic sector but is still rarely taken up by farmers because monitoring the state of different ecological functions is not straightforward. Modelling tools can represent a more accessible alternative of measuring ecological functions, which could help promote their use amongst farmers and other decision-makers. In the case of crop pollination, modelling has traditionally followed either a mechanistic or a data-driven approach. Mechanistic models simulate the habitat preferences and foraging behaviour of pollinators, while data-driven models associate georeferenced variables with real observations. Here, we test these two approaches to predict pollination supply and validate these predictions using data from a newly released global dataset on pollinator visitation rates to different crops. We use one of the most extensively used models for the mechanistic approach, while for the data-driven approach, we select from among a comprehensive set of state-of-The-Art machine-learning models. Moreover, we explore a mixed approach, where data-derived inputs, rather than expert assessment, inform the mechanistic model. We find that, at a global scale, machine-learning models work best, offering a rank correlation coefficient between predictions and observations of pollinator visitation rates of 0.56. In turn, the mechanistic model works moderately well at a global scale for wild bees other than bumblebees. Biomes characterized by temperate or Mediterranean forests show a better agreement between mechanistic model predictions and observations, probably due to more comprehensive ecological knowledge and therefore better parameterization of input variables for these biomes. This study highlights the challenges of transferring input variables across multiple biomes, as expected given the different composition of species in different biomes. Our results provide clear guidance on which pollination supply models perform best at different spatial scales-the first step towards bridging the stakeholder-Academia gap in modelling ecosystem service delivery under ecological intensification.This research has been supported by the 2017–2018 Belmont Forum and BiodivERsA joint call for research proposals, under the BiodivScen ERA-NET Cofund programme; the funding organizations AEI, NWO, ECCyT and NSF; the Spanish State Research Agency through María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence accreditation (MDM-2017-0714); the Basque Government BERC programme; the Comunidad de Madrid through the call Research Grants for Young Investigators from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; the European Union FEDER Interreg Sudoe programme (SOE1/P5/E0129); the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and Special Research Fund of Ghent University (BOF); INIA-RTA2013-00139-C03-01 (MinECo and FEDER) and PCIN2014-145-C02-02 (MinECo; EcoFruit project BiodivERsA-FACCE2014-74); the Global Environmental Facility–United Nations Environment Programme–Food and Agricultural Organization Global Pollination Project; the INTA Structural Project “Development of the organized, sustainable and competitive beekeeping sector (2019-PE-E1-I017-001)”; the Portuguese national research funding agency (FCT, contract IF/00001/2015); the Maria Zambrano International Talent Recruitment Programme funded by the Spanish Ministry of Universities; a Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Research Fellowship; the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq, no. 308358/2019-8); the Philippines Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Research; the USDA NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative, from Project 2012-51181-20105: Developing Sustainable Pollination Strategies for U.S. Specialty Crops; the Felix Trust; the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute for Food and Agriculture, through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative projects 2012-01534 (Developing Sustainable Pollination Strategies for U.S. Specialty Crops) and PEN04398 (Determining the Role of and Limiting Factors Facing Native Pollinators in Assuring Quality Apple Production in Pennsylvania; a Model for the Mid-Atlantic Tree Fruit Industry); the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania; the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; the German Research Foundation; the German Academic Exchange Service; USDA NIFA SCRI (PEN04398) and USDA NIFA (ARK02527 ARK02710); Science Foundation Ireland; the Irish Research Council, Environmental Protection Agency and Eva Crane Trust; CNPq; the Global Environmental Facility (GEF); the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (Fundo Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade, FUNBIO); the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA grant UofG2015-2466); the initiative Food from Thought: Agricultural Systems for a Healthy Planet, funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (grant 000054); the Rebanks Family Chair in Pollinator Conservation by the Weston Family Foundation; the North-South Centre; ETH Zürich; the Mercator Foundation Switzerland through the ETH Zürich World Food System Center; and the Swedish Research Council Formas

Multiwavelength behaviour of the blazar OJ 248 from radio to gamma-rays

VK: BIBCODE: 2015MNRAS.450.2677C; DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv823; eprintid: arXiv:1505.00916Peer reviewe