MOLT PATTERNS AND SEXING AND AGING CRITERIA FOR TEN SPECIES OF HIGH ELEVATION LANDBIRDS FROM SOUTHEASTERN PERU

Abstract ∙ Knowledge of molt patterns and their resulting plumages is useful for aging and sexing birds and, in mono‐ chromatic species, morphometric measurements can help to discern males from females. However, these data are largely undescribed for the majority of the world’s bird species, especially in the tropics. We sought to classify the molt strategy for 10 species of Neotropical passerines during their breeding seasons and considered whether a combination of wing chord, tail length and mass could be used to determine their sex. We used banding data from three years of mark‐recapture study at Wayqecha Biological Station (2900 m a.s.l.) along the east slope of the Andes in southeastern Peru to characterize molt and estimate morphological measurements. Each of the species exhibited a complete definitive prebasic molt and either a partial (nine species) or partial‐incomplete (one species) preformative molt, which we interpreted to be consistent with a complex basic molt strategy. For five of the 10 species, we found that wing, tail, and body mass measurements were useful in distinguishing between males and females. This study contributes to our understanding of tropical bird molt by providing previously undescribed aging and sexing criteria for some tropical landbirds common to high elevations of southern Peru.Resumen ∙ Patrones de muda y criterios para categorizar sexo y edad en diez especies de aves altoandinas en el sureste de Perú Los patrones de muda en la mayoría de las aves Neotropicales son poco conocidos y en especial se desconoce si las medidas corporales pueden ser usadas para determinar el sexo en especies sin dimorfismo sexual. En este trabajo clasificamos la estrategia de muda para 10 especies de paserinos Neotropicales y también exploramos si una combi‐ nación de medidas de longitud del ala, longitud de la cola y masa corporal pueden ser usadas para la determinación del sexo. Usamos datos de anillamiento de tres años de un estudio de recaptura en la Estación Biológica Wayqecha (2900 m s.n.m.) en el flanco oriental de los Andes al sureste de Perú. Cada especie exhibió una estrategia básica compleja de muda con una muda prebásica definitiva compleja, y una muda preformativa parcial (nueve especies) o parcial‐incompleta (uno especie). Para cinco de cada 10 especies, la combinación de medidas de la longitud del ala, la cola, y la masa corporal sirvieron para distinguir entre machos y hembras. Este estudio contribuye a la creciente literatura sobre los patrones de muda en aves tropicales y provee herramientas para clasificar la edad y el sexo de aves con plumaje sexualmente monocromático

Genome-Wide Analyses Characterize Shared Heritability Among Cancers and Identify Novel Cancer Susceptibility Regions

BACKGROUND: The shared inherited genetic contribution to risk of different cancers is not fully known. In this study, we leverage results from 12 cancer genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to quantify pairwise genome-wide genetic correlations across cancers and identify novel cancer susceptibility loci. METHODS: We collected GWAS summary statistics for 12 solid cancers based on 376 759 participants with cancer and 532 864 participants without cancer of European ancestry. The included cancer types were breast, colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, glioma, head and neck, lung, melanoma, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and renal cancers. We conducted cross-cancer GWAS and transcriptome-wide association studies to discover novel cancer susceptibility loci. Finally, we assessed the extent of variant-specific pleiotropy among cancers at known and newly identified cancer susceptibility loci. RESULTS: We observed widespread but modest genome-wide genetic correlations across cancers. In cross-cancer GWAS and transcriptome-wide association studies, we identified 15 novel cancer susceptibility loci. Additionally, we identified multiple variants at 77 distinct loci with strong evidence of being associated with at least 2 cancer types by testing for pleiotropy at known cancer susceptibility loci. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these results suggest that some genetic risk variants are shared among cancers, though much of cancer heritability is cancer-specific and thus tissue-specific. The increase in statistical power associated with larger sample sizes in cross-disease analysis allows for the identification of novel susceptibility regions. Future studies incorporating data on multiple cancer types are likely to identify additional regions associated with the risk of multiple cancer types

Traumatic brain injury: integrated approaches to improve prevention, clinical care, and research

No abstract available

A comparison in medicinal plant composition of primary and secondary growth stands by herbalist and medicinal literature references

We assessed the medicinal plant composition of a primary and secondary forest stand in lower montane wet forest in La Cruz, Costa Rica. Herbaceous and woody plant species above 45cm and below 200 cm in height (excluding vines and ferns) were collected identified and evidence for possible medicinal properties sought in both medicinal reference books and from local herbalist. We found approximately the same overall and medicinal diversity in both stands, but the species composition changed between primary and secondary forests. From our interviews with local herbalists, we found that herbalists knew more medicinal species in secondary growth than primary growth. This is expected since secondary forests are more accessible to local communities than undisturbed primary forest areas. From our comparison of local herbalist knowledge to medicinal information in book references, we found that herbalists know more medicinal species in both primary and secondary forest than what books report. However, book references report on average more medicinal uses per plant species. Studies of medicinal knowledge may be used to define a value for a forest area which could be critical for its conservation. Furthermore, it is essential for studies on medicinal composition of forests to include both scientific investigation and local herbalist knowledge in order to maximize the value assigned to a forest area. Evaluamos la composición medicinal en el bosque primario y secundario en La Cruz, Costa Rica a 1540 m del bosque mojado premontano. Especies de plantas herbáceos y leñosos mas que 45cm y menos que 200 cm estaban recolectados, identificados y examinados para propiedades medicinales y usos curativos en cuenta de libros de referencia medicinal botania y las cuentas de herbalistos locales. Nos encontramos aproximadamente el mismo de diversidad especies en las dos parcelas, pero la composición de especies cambio se varía mucho. Encontramos que herbalistas locales saben más sobre las especies secundarias y sus usos que las especies primarias. También, encontramos que herbalistas locales saben una variedad mas extenso de especies que pueden estar utilizados medicinalmente en las parcelas primarios y secundarios, sin embargo los libros referencias pueden proveer mas usos curativos por especie. Los estudios del conocimiento medicinal pueden definir un valor para un bosque que sea critical para su conservación. También, es esencial que los estudios en la composición científica y el conocimiento de los herbalistas en orden que maximar el valor de un bosque.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/tropical_ecology/1226/thumbnail.jp

A comparison in medicinal plant composition of primary and secondary growth stands by herbalist and medicinal literature references

We assessed the medicinal plant composition of a primary and secondary forest stand in lower montane wet forest in La Cruz, Costa Rica. Herbaceous and woody plant species above 45cm and below 200 cm in height (excluding vines and ferns) were collected identified and evidence for possible medicinal properties sought in both medicinal reference books and from local herbalist. We found approximately the same overall and medicinal diversity in both stands, but the species composition changed between primary and secondary forests. From our interviews with local herbalists, we found that herbalists knew more medicinal species in secondary growth than primary growth. This is expected since secondary forests are more accessible to local communities than undisturbed primary forest areas. From our comparison of local herbalist knowledge to medicinal information in book references, we found that herbalists know more medicinal species in both primary and secondary forest than what books report. However, book references report on average more medicinal uses per plant species. Studies of medicinal knowledge may be used to define a value for a forest area which could be critical for its conservation. Furthermore, it is essential for studies on medicinal composition of forests to include both scientific investigation and local herbalist knowledge in order to maximize the value assigned to a forest area. Evaluamos la composición medicinal en el bosque primario y secundario en La Cruz, Costa Rica a 1540 m del bosque mojado premontano. Especies de plantas herbáceos y leñosos mas que 45cm y menos que 200 cm estaban recolectados, identificados y examinados para propiedades medicinales y usos curativos en cuenta de libros de referencia medicinal botania y las cuentas de herbalistos locales. Nos encontramos aproximadamente el mismo de diversidad especies en las dos parcelas, pero la composición de especies cambio se varía mucho. Encontramos que herbalistas locales saben más sobre las especies secundarias y sus usos que las especies primarias. También, encontramos que herbalistas locales saben una variedad mas extenso de especies que pueden estar utilizados medicinalmente en las parcelas primarios y secundarios, sin embargo los libros referencias pueden proveer mas usos curativos por especie. Los estudios del conocimiento medicinal pueden definir un valor para un bosque que sea critical para su conservación. También, es esencial que los estudios en la composición científica y el conocimiento de los herbalistas en orden que maximar el valor de un bosque.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/tropical_ecology/1226/thumbnail.jp

Composition and distribution of lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) on Colombian and Peruvian birds: New data on louse-host association in the Neotropics

The diversity of permanent ectoparasites is likely underestimated due to the difficulty of collecting samples. Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are permanent ectoparasites of birds and mammals; there are approximately 5,000 species described and many more undescribed, particularly in the Neotropics. We document the louse genera collected from birds sampled in Peru (2006–2007) and Colombia (2009–2016), from 22 localities across a variety of ecosystems, ranging from lowland tropical forest and Llanos to high elevation cloud forest. We identified 35 louse genera from a total of 210 bird species belonging to 37 avian families and 13 orders. These genera belong to two suborders and three families of lice: Amblycera, families Menoponidae (present on 131 bird species) and Ricinidae (39 bird species); and Ischnocera, family Philopteridae (119 bird species). We compared our bird-louse associations with data in Price et al. (2003) and recently published Neotropical studies. The majority of bird-louse associations (51.9%) were new, with most of these coming from Passeriformes, the most diverse avian order, with the most poorly known louse fauna. Finally, we found geographical variation in louse infestation and prevalence rates. With this study, we report the first comprehensive documentation of bird-louse associations for Colombia and substantially increase the known associations documented for Peru

Data from: Urbanized landscapes favored by fig-eating birds increase invasive but not native juvenile strangler fig abundance

Propagule pressure can determine the success or failure of invasive plant range expansion. Range expansion takes place at large spatial scales, often encompassing many types of land cover, yet the effect of landscape context on propagule pressure remains largely unknown. Many studies have reported a positive correlation between invasive plant abundance and human land use; increased propagule pressure in these landscapes may be responsible for this correlation. We tested the hypothesis that increased rates of seed dispersal by fig-eating birds, which are more common in urban habitats, result in an increase in invasive strangler fig abundance in landscapes dominated by human land use. We quantified abundance of an invasive species (Ficus microcarpa) and a native species (F. aurea) of strangler fig in plots spanning the entire range of human land use in South Florida, USA, from urban parking lots to native forest. We then compared models that predicted juvenile fig abundance based on distance to adult fig seed sources and fig-eating bird habitat quality with models that lacked one or both of these terms. The best model for juvenile invasive fig abundance included both distance to adult and fig-eating bird habitat terms, suggesting that landscape effects on invasive fig abundance are mediated by seed-dispersing birds. In contrast, the best model for juvenile native fig abundance included only presence/absence of adults, suggesting that distance from individual adult trees may have less effect on seed limitation for a native species compared to an invasive species undergoing range expansion. However, models for both species included significant effects of adult seed sources, implying that juvenile abundance is limited by seed arrival. This result was corroborated by a seed addition experiment that indicated that both native and invasive strangler figs were strongly seed limited. Understanding how landscape context affects the mechanisms of plant invasion may lead to better management techniques. Our results suggest that prioritizing removal of adult trees in sites with high fig-eating bird habitat may be the most effective method to control F. microcarpa abundance

Life history measurements of tropical Andean birds

These data were collected in the field from the Manu Biosphere Reserve, southeastern Peru between 2011-2016. Abbreviations of column headings are for apparent adult survival, phi; standard error, se; the top model selected using QAIC, QAIC_top_model; the mean elevation of capture locations for the species, cap_elev; basal metabolic rate, bmr; and estimated c-hat for each model used to adjust QAIC; chat

Data from: Urbanized landscapes favored by fig-eating birds increase invasive but not native juvenile strangler fig abundance

Propagule pressure can determine the success or failure of invasive plant range expansion. Range expansion takes place at large spatial scales, often encompassing many types of land cover, yet the effect of landscape context on propagule pressure remains largely unknown. Many studies have reported a positive correlation between invasive plant abundance and human land use; increased propagule pressure in these landscapes may be responsible for this correlation. We tested the hypothesis that increased rates of seed dispersal by fig-eating birds, which are more common in urban habitats, result in an increase in invasive strangler fig abundance in landscapes dominated by human land use. We quantified abundance of an invasive species (Ficus microcarpa) and a native species (F. aurea) of strangler fig in plots spanning the entire range of human land use in South Florida, USA, from urban parking lots to native forest. We then compared models that predicted juvenile fig abundance based on distance to adult fig seed sources and fig-eating bird habitat quality with models that lacked one or both of these terms. The best model for juvenile invasive fig abundance included both distance to adult and fig-eating bird habitat terms, suggesting that landscape effects on invasive fig abundance are mediated by seed-dispersing birds. In contrast, the best model for juvenile native fig abundance included only presence/absence of adults, suggesting that distance from individual adult trees may have less effect on seed limitation for a native species compared to an invasive species undergoing range expansion. However, models for both species included significant effects of adult seed sources, implying that juvenile abundance is limited by seed arrival. This result was corroborated by a seed addition experiment that indicated that both native and invasive strangler figs were strongly seed limited. Understanding how landscape context affects the mechanisms of plant invasion may lead to better management techniques. Our results suggest that prioritizing removal of adult trees in sites with high fig-eating bird habitat may be the most effective method to control F. microcarpa abundance

Location and size of adult Ficus microcarpa trees

This file contains the size and location of all reproductive adult Ficus microcarpa trees within 300 m of center plots. The column Sitecode matches the column of the same name in the "Center plots.csv" file. The DBH column is the diameter at breast height in cm of adult trees, Distance is distance from the trunk of the tree to the center of the center plot in m, and y and x are the coordinates in UTM (NAD83/ zone 17N) of each tree