Assessing the influence of CCAFS’ climate data and tools: findings from an Outcome Harvesting evaluation

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) integrates climate change research across all CGIAR Research Centres and Research Programs. Some of CCAFS’ work since 2010 has involved the development of high quality, accessible and easy-to-use climate data and tools. With an increased focus on achieving development outcomes influenced by such data and tools, a study was carried out starting in 2016 to evaluate the development effectiveness of some of CCAFS’ climate products: the GCM Climate Portal, MarkSimGCM, and the Climate Analogues tool (Box 1). The study was designed to explore whether use of these three products has led to development outcomes, and if so, what type of changes have been observed and how exactly the products have contributed to such changes. Outcomes here are defined as behavioural changes in individuals, groups or institutions doing something differently with respect to climate-change-related knowledge, attitude, capacity, policy or practice. Outcome Harvesting (Box 2) was used for the evaluation, along with some elements from Impact Pathways thinking (Douthwaite et al. 2008) and Contribution Analysis (Mayne 2008). We started the harvest by collecting outcome leads from project documents and an online survey. These leads provided the basis for selecting those cases that appeared promising to be turned into SMART outcomes (Box 3). A majority (70%) of the 30 cases investigated that employed CCAFS’ climate products were new in the sense that they were not directly related to the CCAFS program. Results from the survey indicated that the data and tools frequently were employed in countries not directly targeted by the CCAFS program and that users often discovered the tools via web search. These observations suggest strongly that CCAFS’ climate data and tools are widely used even without specific promotion, which is consistent with CCAFS’ mandate as a provider of international public goods (IPGs). After email exchanges and phone interviews, we identified a total of 14 cases with a plausible linkage to one of the tools and sufficiently detailed information to qualify as SMART outcomes (Box 4). Of these 14 SMART outcomes, eight related to the GCM Climate Portal and six to the use of the Climate Analogues tool. We found several MarkSimGCM leads, but no SMART outcomes at this stage. One SMART outcome was developed into an extended outcome story (“Farms of the Future, Africa”, Box 5) and one (“Seeds for Needs, India”, Box 6) was unpacked in considerable detail

Characterization of spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta microsatellite loci

We have isolated 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the spotted hyena,Crocuta crocuta.The loci displayed between eight and 14 alleles in a minimum of 12 individuals tested. These loci will be used to investigate relatedness within social groups, the genetic structure of populations, sexual selection, and mate choice in spotted hyenas

Exploring and developing effective evaluative approaches for evidencing the contribution of CCAFS climate data and tools towards development outcomes

Do CCAFS’ climate data and tools contribute to development outcomes? The production of International PublicGoods (IPGs) – such as high quality, easy to use climate data and tools – is part of CGIAR CCAFS’ delivery promise. With CCAFS’ transition to a results-based management approach there is an increased focus on achieving development outcomes. Hence, resources have to be balanced between i) IPG development, maintenance & support, ii) programs aiming to deliver development outcomes employing these IPGs, and iii) monitoring and evaluation efforts to assess such programs

Characterization of a Nonclassical Class I MHC Gene in a Reptile, the Galápagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus)

Squamates are a diverse order of vertebrates, representing more than 7,000 species. Yet, descriptions of full-length major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in this group are nearly absent from the literature, while the number of MHC studies continues to rise in other vertebrate taxa. The lack of basic information about MHC organization in squamates inhibits investigation into the relationship between MHC polymorphism and disease, and leaves a large taxonomic gap in our understanding of amniote MHC evolution. Here, we use both cDNA and genomic sequence data to characterize a class I MHC gene (Amcr-UA) from the Galápagos marine iguana, a member of the squamate subfamily Iguaninae. Amcr-UA appears to be functional since it is expressed in the blood and contains many of the conserved peptide-binding residues that are found in classical class I genes of other vertebrates. In addition, comparison of Amcr-UA to homologous sequences from other iguanine species shows that the antigen-binding portion of this gene is under purifying selection, rather than balancing selection, and therefore may have a conserved function. A striking feature of Amcr-UA is that both the cDNA and genomic sequences lack the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains that are necessary to anchor the class I receptor molecule into the cell membrane, suggesting that the product of this gene is secreted and consequently not involved in classical class I antigen-presentation. The truncated and conserved character of Amcr-UA lead us to define it as a nonclassical gene that is related to the few available squamate class I sequences. However, phylogenetic analysis placed Amcr-UA in a basal position relative to other published classical MHC genes from squamates, suggesting that this gene diverged near the beginning of squamate diversification

Genetic Impact of a Severe El Niño Event on Galápagos Marine Iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus)

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a major source of climatic disturbance, impacting the dynamics of ecosystems worldwide. Recent models predict that human-generated rises in green-house gas levels will cause an increase in the strength and frequency of El Niño warming events in the next several decades, highlighting the need to understand the potential biological consequences of increased ENSO activity. Studies have focused on the ecological and demographic implications of El Niño in a range of organisms, but there have been few systematic attempts to measure the impact of these processes on genetic diversity in populations. Here, we evaluate whether the 1997–1998 El Niño altered the genetic composition of Galápagos marine iguana populations from eleven islands, some of which experienced mortality rates of up to 90% as a result of El Niño warming. Specifically, we measured the temporal variation in microsatellite allele frequencies and mitochondrial DNA diversity (mtDNA) in samples collected before (1991/1993) and after (2004) the El Niño event. Based on microsatellite data, only one island (Marchena) showed signatures of a genetic bottleneck, where the harmonic mean of the effective population size (Ne) was estimated to be less than 50 individuals during the period between samplings. Substantial decreases in mtDNA variation between time points were observed in populations from just two islands (Marchena and Genovesa). Our results suggests that, for the majority of islands, a single, intense El Niño event did not reduce marine iguana populations to the point where substantial neutral genetic diversity was lost. In the case of Marchena, simultaneous changes to both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA variation may also be the result of a volcanic eruption on the island in 1991. Therefore, studies that seek to evaluate the genetic impact of El Niño must also consider the confounding or potentially synergistic effect of other environmental and biological forces shaping populations

Preparation and characterization of ramie-glass fiber reinforced polymer matrix hybrid composites

The use of ramie fibers as reinforcement in hybrid composites is justified considering their satisfactory mechanical properties if compared with other natural fibers. This study aims to verify changes in chemical composition and thermal stability of the ramie fibers after washing with distilled water. One additional goal is to study glass fiber and washed ramie fiber composites focusing on the effect of varying both the fiber length (25, 35, 45 and 55 mm) and the fiber composition. The overall fiber loading was maintained constant (21 vol.%). Based on the results obtained, the washed ramie fiber may be considered as an alternative for the production of these composites. The higher flexural strength presented being observed for 45 mm fiber length composite, although this difference is not significant for lower glass fiber volume fractions: (0:100) and (25:75). Also, by increasing the relative volume fraction of glass fiber until an upper limit of 75%, higher flexural and impact properties were obtained

Evidence for differential assortative female preference in association with refugial isolation of rainbow skinks in Australia's tropical rainforests

Copyright: © 2008 Dolman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Divergence driven by female preference can give rise to pre-mating isolation more rapidly than post-mating isolation can evolve through the accumulation of allelic incompatibilities. Moreover pre-mating isolation may be more effective at maintaining morphological differentiation between divergent populations. In the context of Australian rainforest endemic skinks that were historically subjected to refugial isolation, this study examined the following predictions: 1) that assortative female preference is associated with more recent divergence of southern C. rubrigularis (S-RED) and C. rhomboidalis (BLUE), but not with deeply divergent S-RED and northern C. rubrigularis (N-RED); and 2) that upon secondary contact, morphological differentiation is maintained between S-RED and BLUE, whereas N-RED and S-RED remain morphogically indistinguishable. Principal Findings Female preference trials found no evidence for assortative female preference between N-RED and S-RED, supporting a previous genetic hybrid zone study which inferred post-mating but no pre-mating isolation. In contrast there is evidence for assortative female preference between S-RED and BLUE, with BLUE females preferring to associate with BLUE males, but S-RED females showing no preference. Multi-locus coalescent analyses, used to estimate post-divergence gene-flow between proximally located S-RED and BLUE populations, rejected zero gene-flow from BLUE to S-RED and thus RED and BLUE have maintained morphological differentiation despite secondary contact. Morphometric analyses confirmed a lack of morphological divergence between N-RED and S-RED and established that BLUE is morphologically divergent from RED in traits other than throat colour. Conclusions/Significance Long-term isolation has been sufficient to generate post-mating isolation but no morphological divergence between N-RED and S-RED. In contrast, greater morphological differentiation is associated with evidence for assortative female preference between more recently diverged S-RED and BLUE. Combined with previous estimates of lineage-wide gene flow, these results are consistent with the suggestion that assortative female preference is more effective than post-mating isolation in maintaining morphological differentiation between divergent populations.Gaynor Dolma