Provision of ecosystem services by human-made structures in a highly impacted estuary

Water filtration is one of the most important ecosystem services provided by sessile organisms in coastal ecosystems. As a consequence of increased coastal development, human-made shoreline structures (e.g., docks and bulkheads) are now common, providing extensive surface area for colonization by filter feeders. We estimate that in a highly urbanized sub-tropical estuary, water filtration capacity supported by filter feeding assemblages on dock pilings accounts for 11.7 million liters of water h−1, or ~30% of the filtration provided by all natural oyster reef throughout the estuary. Assemblage composition, and thus filtration capacity, varied as a function of piling type, suggesting that the choice of building material has critical implications for ecosystem function. A more thorough depiction of the function of coastal ecosystems necessitates quantification of the extensive ecosystem services associated with human-made structures

Machbarkeitsstudie zu einer Folgekostenstudie von Trauma, sexualisierter Gewalt und Kindesmisshandlung

Misshandlungs- und Gewalterfahrung in der Kindheit kann zu zahlreichen gesundheitlichen Folgen und Teilhabebeeinträchtigungen führen. Diese ziehen immense direkte und indirekte Kosten in verschiedenen Versorgungsbereichen über ein Leben hinweg nach sich. Die Höhe dieser Kosten wurde für Deutschland noch nicht umfassend geschätzt. Bisher hat sich eine Studie aus dem Jahr 2012 den Folgekosten angenähert, die im Bereich des Gesundheitswesens für eine bestimmte Altersgruppe entstanden sind. Eine Aktualisierung nach über einer Dekade sowie eine Erweiterung der Kostenschätzung um sämtliche Versorgungsbereiche ist dringend notwendig. Ziel dieser Machbarkeitsstudie ist es, Kosten und Teilhabebeeinträchtigungen abzubilden, die in unterschiedlichen Versorgungsbereichen entstehen – insbesondere im Gesundheitssystem, in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe, im Sozialwesen, im Kontext des sozialen Entschädigungs- und des Strafrechts. Möglichkeiten sowie Hindernisse zur Berechnung dieser Folgekosten werden aufgezeigt. Dafür werden bestehende Daten und Forschungsergebnisse dargestellt und durch partizipative Ansätze ergänzt. Als partizipative Elemente wurden Workshops mit Betroffenen durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine umfassende Schätzung der lebenslangen Folgekosten von Misshandlungs- und Gewalterfahrung in der Kindheit auf Basis administrativer Daten einerseits durch massive Datenlücken in sämtlichen Versorgungsbereichen und andererseits durch datenschutzrechtliche Hürden bei der Datenverknüpfung aktuell unmöglich ist. Weiterhin lassen die Gruppendiskussionen aus den Betroffenenworkshops den Schluss zu, dass die Darstellung von Teilhabebeeinträchtigungen und Kostenfolgen in der aktuellen Forschung lückenhaft bzw. hinsichtlich einiger Versorgungsbereiche sogar nicht existent ist. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich, dass insbesondere die gesundheitsökonomische Erfassung nicht-monetärer Folgen und Folgekosten (z.B. durch die Veränderung von Lebensqualität), welche sich bislang an allgemeinen Krankheitsdefinitionen orientiert, überdacht, in ihrer Formulierung erneuert und insbesondere hinsichtlich methodischer Aspekte angepasst werden muss. Auf Grund der zahlreichen Datenlücken und datenschutzrechtlichen Hindernisse wird empfohlen eine Folgekostenstudie in Deutschland über eine repräsentative Umfrage umzusetzen, die sowohl Betroffene mit als auch Betroffene ohne Unterstützungsleistungen im Kindes- und Jugendalter umfasst. Damit sollen unterschiedliche Einflüsse auf die Folgekosten im Erwachsenenalter abgebildet werden können. Kostenbereiche, die bei der repräsentativen Umfrage berücksichtigt werden sollen, umfassen den Gesundheitsbereich, die Kinder- und Jugendhilfe sowie Schule, Bildung und Berufstätigkeit

Intergenerational genotypic interactions drive collective behavioural cycles in a social insect

Many social animals display collective activity cycles based on synchronous behavioural oscillations across group members. A classic example is the colony cycle of army ants, where thousands of individuals undergo stereotypical biphasic behavioural cycles of about one month. Cycle phases coincide with brood developmental stages, but the regulation of this cycle is otherwise poorly understood. Here, we probe the regulation of cycle duration through interactions between brood and workers in an experimentally amenable army ant relative, the clonal raider ant. We first establish that cycle length varies across clonal lineages using long-term monitoring data. We then investigate the putative sources and impacts of this variation in a cross-fostering experiment with four lineages combining developmental, morphological and automated behavioural tracking analyses. We show that cycle length variation stems from variation in the duration of the larval developmental stage, and that this stage can be prolonged not only by the clonal lineage of brood (direct genetic effects), but also of the workers (indirect genetic effects). We find similar indirect effects of worker line on brood adult size and, conversely (but more surprisingly), indirect genetic effects of the brood on worker behaviour (walking speed and time spent in the nest).ISSN:1471-295

Similar cost of Hamiltonella defensa in experimental and natural aphid-endosymbiont associations

Endosymbiont-conferred resistance to parasitoids is common in aphids, but comes at a cost to the host in the absence of parasitoids. In black bean aphids (Aphis fabae), costs in terms of reduced lifespan and lifetime reproduction were demonstrated by introducing 11 isolates of the protective symbiont Hamiltonella defensa into previously uninfected aphid clones. Transfection of H. defensa isolates into a common genetic background allows to compare the costs of different endosymbiont isolates unconfounded by host genetic variation, but has been suggested to overestimate the realized costs of the endosymbiont in natural populations, because transfection creates new and potentially maladapted host–symbiont combinations that would be eliminated by natural selection in the field. In this experiment, we show that removing H. defensa isolates from their natural host clones with antibiotics results in a fitness gain that is comparable to the fitness loss from their introduction into two new clones. This suggests that estimating cost by transfecting endosymbiont isolates into a shared host genotype does not lead to gross overestimates of their realized costs, at least not in the two recipient genotypes used here. By comparing our data with data reported in previous publications using the same lines, we show that symbiont-induced costs may fluctuate over time. Thus, costs estimated after extended culture in the laboratory may not always be representative of the costs at the time of collection in the field. Finally, we report the accidental observation that two isolates from a distinct haplotype of H. defensa could not be removed by cefotaxime treatment, while all isolates from two other haplotypes were readily eliminated, which is suggestive of variation in susceptibility to this antibiotic in H. defensa.ISSN:2045-775

Similar cost of Hamiltonella defensa in experimental and natural aphid-endosymbiont associations

Endosymbiont-conferred resistance to parasitoids is common in aphids, but comes at a cost to the host in the absence of parasitoids. In black bean aphids (Aphis fabae), costs in terms of reduced lifespan and lifetime reproduction were demonstrated by introducing 11 isolates of the protective symbiont Hamiltonella defensa into previously uninfected aphid clones. Transfection of H. defensa isolates into a common genetic background allows to compare the costs of different endosymbiont isolates unconfounded by host genetic variation, but has been suggested to overestimate the realized costs of the endosymbiont in natural populations, because transfection creates new and potentially maladapted host–symbiont combinations that would be eliminated by natural selection in the field. In this experiment, we show that removing H. defensa isolates from their natural host clones with antibiotics results in a fitness gain that is comparable to the fitness loss from their introduction into two new clones. This suggests that estimating cost by transfecting endosymbiont isolates into a shared host genotype does not lead to gross overestimates of their realized costs, at least not in the two recipient genotypes used here. By comparing our data with data reported in previous publications using the same lines, we show that symbiont-induced costs may fluctuate over time. Thus, costs estimated after extended culture in the laboratory may not always be representative of the costs at the time of collection in the field. Finally, we report the accidental observation that two isolates from a distinct haplotype of H. defensa could not be removed by cefotaxime treatment, while all isolates from two other haplotypes were readily eliminated, which is suggestive of variation in susceptibility to this antibiotic in H. defensa.ISSN:2045-775

Can You Sleep? – Effect of Retrospective Recall of Child Maltreatment on Sleep Parameters and the Mediating Role of Psychological Distress Among Students of Two German Universities

Purpose: Child maltreatment may be linked with long-term sleeping disorders and limited coping with stress. Yet, the potential relationships are only marginally studied. Patients and Methods: Based on a sample of young adults (n = 312) this study aims at exploring the effects of child maltreatment and the experience of threat to personal safety and life in childhood on sleep disturbances in early adulthood. Data were collected at the two study sites, Ulm University and Bielefeld University, by an online survey. For both risk factors, child maltreatment and the experience of threat to personal safety and life in childhood, a direct impact on sleep disturbances and an indirect path via psychological distress were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Results: In these models, the direct path to sleep disturbances turned out to be significant for the experience of threat to personal safety and life (Path C: b = 0.18, p = 0.013), but not for child maltreatment (Path C: b = 0.05, p = 0.491). However, the current level of psychological distress was found to have a mediating effect on sleep disturbances for both risk factors, thereby confirming indirect significant effects. Conclusion: Considering that the etiological pathway of child maltreatment on sleeping disturbances is mediated via psychological distress, this provides a venue to test in future research whether stress reduction interventions can reduce the negative consequences of child maltreatment on sleep disorders

COVID-19—What Price Do Children Pay? An Analysis of Economic and Social Policy Factors

Numerous studies have addressed the indirect consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for children such as social isolation or increases in reported child maltreatment. Research on the economic and sociopolitical consequences is scarce as they can only be evaluated with a time lag. To improve our understanding of future, long-term developments in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we gathered findings from the still unexploited empirical literature on the aftermath of earlier pandemics, epidemics, and other infectious disease outbreaks. On top of this, we scrutinized research on past economic crises to interpret the link between changes in the economy and the health of children. Many of the side effects of battling the spread of the current pandemic, such as school closures, the stigma of infection, or conflicts about vaccines, are not novel and have already been documented in connection with previous infectious disease outbreaks. Results highlight that changes in the financial situation of families and socio-political challenges affect the situation and daily routine of children and youth in the long term. In consequence, the already pronounced socioeconomic inequalities will likely further increase. On top of this, due to reduced revenues, child protective services are likely to face challenges in the availability of human and financial resources

Widening epidemiological data on the prevalence of child maltreatment : validation of the German ICAST-R in a student sample and national household survey

Background: A number of instruments for measuring child maltreatment (CM) prevalence have repeatedly been used across different countries. Although they hold the potential for providing benchmarks to tackle the gap of lacking comparability of CM prevalence across countries, contextual information about the adverse experiences such as perpetrator, chronicity, frequency, or severity are rarely covered. The ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool - Retrospective (ICAST-R) covers these important dimensions. The German version increases the number of available versions to 21 different languages. Spoken by about 120 million people, German is one of the 20 most prevalent languages around the world. Moreover, the ICAST-R is intended to be used with young adults. This study further aims at adding towards the gap of psychometrics in older age groups. Methods: Analyses are based on both a sample of German students (n = 333) and a nationally representative household survey (n = 2515). The validation process covered six steps: (1) Analyses of missing data on single items, (2) calculation of descriptive statistics to estimate the prevalence CM as well as subjective severity and main perpetrators. (3) Structural validity of the four conceptualized subtypes of CM (neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse) was tested using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). Next (4), equivalence testing by multigroup confirmatory factor analyses (MGCFA) on age groups was conducted within the representative sample; (5) reliability was tested by determining internal consistencies for each subscale via the McDonald's Omega, Kuder-Richardson 20 (KR-20), and Cronbach's alpha. Lastly (6), criterion validity was tested in regression models comparing depressive/anxious symptomatology for single victimization and polyvictimization. Results: The German ICAST-R yielded low missing values items in both samples. 16 % of the participants in the national household survey reported neglect, 20.3 % physical abuse, 22.2 % emotional abuse, and 8.6 % sexual abuse. Polyvictimization was prevalent with 20.6 % of subjects reporting >2 types of CM. Students in the pilot-survey reported much higher prevalence estimates than participants in the nationally representative sample. The types of CM subjectively rated as most harmful were emotional abuse and sexual abuse. In both samples, structural validity was similarly confirmed as CFA was reproducing the four conceptualized subtypes of CM with adequate fit (household survey: CFI 0.919, TLI 0.907, RMSEA 0.017, SRMR 0.046). Internal consistency achieved acceptable and comparable values for all three types of coefficients; criterion validity was established with a significant dose-response effect of CM experiences on both anxiety and depressive symptoms/diagnoses. Age dependent analyses on structural validity (MGCFA) and reliability in the household survey revealed potential weaknesses of items. Conclusion: The German version of the ICAST-R both widens the possibility of international CM prevalence comparison and provides novel epidemiological data for Germany on subjective severity of CM and CM perpetrators. Even in the presence of a marked selection bias, the ICAST-R had similarly good psychometric properties in the student and nationally representative household sample. Except for issues with two items, equivalence testing was comparable across age groups