Consequences of specialized breeding in the Swedish Warmblood horse population

In many European warmblood studbooks, clear specialization toward either jumping or dressage horses is evident. The Swedish Warmblood (SWB) is also undergoing such specialization, creating a possible need for separate breeding programs and a discipline-specific Young Horse Test (YHT). This study investigated how far specialization of the SWB breed has proceeded and the potential consequences. Individuals in a population of 122,054 SWB horses born between 1980 and 2020 were categorized according to pedigree as jumping (J), dressage (D), allround (AR), or thoroughbred (Th). Data on 8,713 J horses and 6,477 D horses assessed for eight traits in YHT 1999-2020 were used to estimate genetic parameters within and between J and D horses and between different periods. Future scenarios in which young horses are assessed for either jumping or dressage traits at YHT were also analyzed. More than 80% of horses born in 1980-1985 were found to be AR horses, while 92% of horses born in 2016-2020 belonged to a specialized category. The average relationship within J or D category was found to increase during the past decade, whereas the relationship between these categories decreased. Heritability estimates for gait traits were 0.42-0.56 for D horses and 0.25-0.38 for J horses. For jumping traits, heritability estimates were 0.17-0.26 for J horses and 0.10-0.18 for D horses. Genetic correlations between corresponding traits assessed in J and D horses were within the range 0.48-0.81, with a tendency to be lower in the late study period. In the future scenarios, heritability and genetic variance both decreased for traits that were not assessed in all horses, indicating that estimation of breeding value and genetic progress for these traits could be affected by a specialized YHT. However, ranking of sires based on estimated breeding values (EBVs) and accuracy of EBVs was only slightly altered for discipline-specific traits. With continued specialization in SWB, specialization of the YHT should thus be considered

A hitchhiker's guide to European lake ecological assessment and intercalibration

The Water Framework Directive is the first international legislation to require European countries to establish comparable ecological assessment schemes for their freshwaters. A key element in harmonising quality classification within and between Europe's river basins is an "Intercalibration" exercise, stipulated by the WFD, to ensure that the good status boundaries in all of the biological assessment methods correspond to similar levels of anthropogenic pressure. In this article, we provide a comprehensive overview of this international comparison, focusing on the assessment schemes developed for freshwater lakes. Out of 82 lake ecological assessment methods reported for the comparison, 62 were successfully intercalibrated and included in the EC Decision on intercalibration, with a high proportion of phytoplankton (18), macrophyte (17) and benthic fauna (13) assessment methods. All the lake assessment methods are reviewed in this article, including the results of intercalibration. Furthermore, the current gaps and way forward to reach consistent management objectives for European lakes are discussed. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Phenotypic associations between linearly scored traits and sport performance in the Swedish Warmblood horse population

The goal for most warmblood studbooks is to produce horses that are internationally competitive in sports like show jumping or dressage. The linear scoring system, describing the horse between two biological extremes, is commonly used for a more objective assessment of young horses in many studbooks. However, few studies have examined the phenotypic association between traits linearly scored at a young age and sport performance, and whether there might be an intermediate optimum on the linear scale. This study investigated the phenotypic association between linearly scored traits and competition performance in show jumping or dressage, using the results of linear scoring from young horse performance tests between 2013 and 2021 and competition data between 2014 and 2021 for Swedish Warmblood horses. Sport performance was defined as lifetime accumulated points achieved in show jumping or dressage competitions. Horses were classified as jumping (J) or dressage (D) horses according to their sires’ and grandsires’ classification. In total, 48 linearly scored traits, assessed on a biological scale from A to I, were analyzed. The phenotypic association between the linear score for each trait and sport performance was studied using linear models for sport performance including fixed effects of sex, birth year and linear and quadratic regression on adjusted linearly scored trait values. Significant differences in LS means between J and D horses were found for all linearly scored traits except for length of body and five traits referring to leg conformation. For J horses, 25 linearly scored traits (eight conformation traits, three gait traits, 13 jumping traits and one behavior trait) were found to be significantly associated (

Tipping Points and Climate Change: Metaphor Between Science and the Media

Over the past decade, scientists and journalists have prominently utilized the metaphor of a tipping point for drastic, irreversible and dangerous climate change. This paper shows how the tipping point metaphor became a multi-purpose bridge between science and the news media, describing how its meaning and use developed and diversified in interaction between these two domains. Within the scientific domain, the metaphor developed from a rhetorical device conveying a warning of drastic, irreversible and dangerous climate change to a theoretical concept driving empirical research. The news media soon picked up the tipping point metaphor for abrupt and dangerous climate change, turning it into a common part of the journalistic lexicon. Moreover, both science and the news media developed another, societal use of the tipping point metaphor, calling for radical societal change to avoid climate change catastrophe. The tipping point metaphor is hence not a monolithic notion but a highly versatile concept and expression, allowing it to be used for various communicative purposes by distinct stakeholders in different contexts

Tipping Points and Climate Change: Metaphor Between Science and the Media

Over the past decade, scientists and journalists have prominently utilized the metaphor of a tipping point for drastic, irreversible and dangerous climate change. This paper shows how the tipping point metaphor became a multi-purpose bridge between science and the news media, describing how its meaning and use developed and diversified in interaction between these two domains. Within the scientific domain, the metaphor developed from a rhetorical device conveying a warning of drastic, irreversible and dangerous climate change to a theoretical concept driving empirical research. The news media soon picked up the tipping point metaphor for abrupt and dangerous climate change, turning it into a common part of the journalistic lexicon. Moreover, both science and the news media developed another, societal use of the tipping point metaphor, calling for radical societal change to avoid climate change catastrophe. The tipping point metaphor is hence not a monolithic notion but a highly versatile concept and expression, allowing it to be used for various communicative purposes by distinct stakeholders in different contexts

Lake hydromorphology assessment in Europe: Where are we 20 years after the adoption of the Water Framework Directive?

International audienceThe characterization of lake hydromorphology is crucial to understand the dynamics of biodiversity. In Europe, it isalso a regulatory requirement of the Water Framework Directive. However, according to the literature, few methodsinclude this characterization. The aim of this study is to review the state of the art of the methods currently used orunder development in European countries to assess lake hydromorphological status for the implementation of theWFD. Our analysis is based on responses to a questionnaire distributed to national experts on hydromorphologyof the 28 countries implementing the WFD. Our results highlighted significant progress in the assessment ofhydromorphological features and processes. Water level regime, through the range of water flow or existing watermanagement, and structure of the shore zone through macrophytes and substrate characteristics or measurement oflateral connectivity, are the most frequently assessed features. Stratification, surface/groundwater connection andplanform pattern are the lake features most frequently omitted from the methods. However, in most of the countries,the development of methods was still in progress to meet the WFD requirement. Definition of reference condition is acentral component of all WFD compliant assessment tools but this is a challenge particularly in the assessment ofhydromorphological alteration of reservoirs. Similarly, demonstrating strong links between hydromorphological indicatorsand biological quality elements remains a challenge with many knowledge gaps still evident. These results highlight the need for rapid collection of new environmental data and the need for conceptual and applied research to make methodological progress in assessing lake hydromorphology and ensuring habitat quality

Lake hydromorphology assessment in Europe: Where are we 20 years after the adoption of the Water Framework Directive?

International audienceThe characterization of lake hydromorphology is crucial to understand the dynamics of biodiversity. In Europe, it isalso a regulatory requirement of the Water Framework Directive. However, according to the literature, few methodsinclude this characterization. The aim of this study is to review the state of the art of the methods currently used orunder development in European countries to assess lake hydromorphological status for the implementation of theWFD. Our analysis is based on responses to a questionnaire distributed to national experts on hydromorphologyof the 28 countries implementing the WFD. Our results highlighted significant progress in the assessment ofhydromorphological features and processes. Water level regime, through the range of water flow or existing watermanagement, and structure of the shore zone through macrophytes and substrate characteristics or measurement oflateral connectivity, are the most frequently assessed features. Stratification, surface/groundwater connection andplanform pattern are the lake features most frequently omitted from the methods. However, in most of the countries,the development of methods was still in progress to meet the WFD requirement. Definition of reference condition is acentral component of all WFD compliant assessment tools but this is a challenge particularly in the assessment ofhydromorphological alteration of reservoirs. Similarly, demonstrating strong links between hydromorphological indicatorsand biological quality elements remains a challenge with many knowledge gaps still evident. These results highlight the need for rapid collection of new environmental data and the need for conceptual and applied research to make methodological progress in assessing lake hydromorphology and ensuring habitat quality