Satellite Tagging and Biopsy Sampling of Killer Whales at Subantarctic Marion Island: Effectiveness, Immediate Reactions and Long-Term Responses

Remote tissue biopsy sampling and satellite tagging are becoming widely used in large marine vertebrate studies because they allow the collection of a diverse suite of otherwise difficult-to-obtain data which are critical in understanding the ecology of these species and to their conservation and management. Researchers must carefully consider their methods not only from an animal welfare perspective, but also to ensure the scientific rigour and validity of their results. We report methods for shore-based, remote biopsy sampling and satellite tagging of killer whales Orcinus orca at Subantarctic Marion Island. The performance of these methods is critically assessed using 1) the attachment duration of low-impact minimally percutaneous satellite tags; 2) the immediate behavioural reactions of animals to biopsy sampling and satellite tagging; 3) the effect of researcher experience on biopsy sampling and satellite tagging; and 4) the mid- (1 month) and long- (24 month) term behavioural consequences. To study mid- and long-term behavioural changes we used multievent capture-recapture models that accommodate imperfect detection and individual heterogeneity. We made 72 biopsy sampling attempts (resulting in 32 tissue samples) and 37 satellite tagging attempts (deploying 19 tags). Biopsy sampling success rates were low (43%), but tagging rates were high with improved tag designs (86%). The improved tags remained attached for 26±14 days (mean ± SD). Individuals most often showed no reaction when attempts missed (66%) and a slight reaction-defined as a slight flinch, slight shake, short acceleration, or immediate dive-when hit (54%). Severe immediate reactions were never observed. Hit or miss and age-sex class were important predictors of the reaction, but the method (tag or biopsy) was unimportant. Multievent trap-dependence modelling revealed considerable variation in individual sighting patterns; however, there were no significant mid- or long-term changes following biopsy sampling or tagging

The retrospective analysis of Antarctic tracking data project

The Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking Data (RAATD) is a Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research project led jointly by the Expert Groups on Birds and Marine Mammals and Antarctic Biodiversity Informatics, and endorsed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. RAATD consolidated tracking data for multiple species of Antarctic meso- and top-predators to identify Areas of Ecological Significance. These datasets and accompanying syntheses provide a greater understanding of fundamental ecosystem processes in the Southern Ocean, support modelling of predator distributions under future climate scenarios and create inputs that can be incorporated into decision making processes by management authorities. In this data paper, we present the compiled tracking data from research groups that have worked in the Antarctic since the 1990s. The data are publicly available through biodiversity.aq and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System. The archive includes tracking data from over 70 contributors across 12 national Antarctic programs, and includes data from 17 predator species, 4060 individual animals, and over 2.9 million observed locations

The retrospective analysis of Antarctic tracking data project

The Retrospective Analysis of Antarctic Tracking Data (RAATD) is a Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research project led jointly by the Expert Groups on Birds and Marine Mammals and Antarctic Biodiversity Informatics, and endorsed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. RAATD consolidated tracking data for multiple species of Antarctic meso- and top-predators to identify Areas of Ecological Significance. These datasets and accompanying syntheses provide a greater understanding of fundamental ecosystem processes in the Southern Ocean, support modelling of predator distributions under future climate scenarios and create inputs that can be incorporated into decision making processes by management authorities. In this data paper, we present the compiled tracking data from research groups that have worked in the Antarctic since the 1990s. The data are publicly available through biodiversity.aq and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System. The archive includes tracking data from over 70 contributors across 12 national Antarctic programs, and includes data from 17 predator species, 4060 individual animals, and over 2.9 million observed locations.Supplementary Figure S1: Filtered location data (black) and tag deployment locations (red) for each species. Maps are Lambert Azimuthal projections extending from 90° S to 20° S.Supplementary Table S1: Names and coordinates of the major study sites in the Southern Ocean and on the Antarctic Continent where tracking devices were deployed on the selected species (indicated by their 4-letter codes in the last column).Online Table 1: Description of fields (column names) in the metadata and data files.Supranational committees and organisations including the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Life Science Group and BirdLife International. National institutions and foundations, including but not limited to Argentina (Dirección Nacional del Antártico), Australia (Australian Antarctic program; Australian Research Council; Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation Inc., IMOS is a national collaborative research infrastructure, supported by the Australian Government and operated by a consortium of institutions as an unincorporated joint venture, with the University of Tasmania as Lead Agent), Belgium (Belgian Science Policy Office, EU Lifewatch ERIC), Brazil (Brazilian Antarctic Programme; Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq/MCTI) and CAPES), France (Agence Nationale de la Recherche; Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB; www.fondationbiodiversite.fr) in the context of the CESAB project “RAATD”; Fondation Total; Institut Paul-Emile Victor; Programme Zone Atelier de Recherches sur l’Environnement Antarctique et Subantarctique; Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises), Germany (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg - Institute for Advanced Study), Italy (Italian National Antarctic Research Program; Ministry for Education University and Research), Japan (Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition; JSPS Kakenhi grant), Monaco (Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco), New Zealand (Ministry for Primary Industries - BRAG; Pew Charitable Trusts), Norway (Norwegian Antarctic Research Expeditions; Norwegian Research Council), Portugal (Foundation for Science and Technology), South Africa (Department of Environmental Affairs; National Research Foundation; South African National Antarctic Programme), UK (Darwin Plus; Ecosystems Programme at the British Antarctic Survey; Natural Environment Research Council; WWF), and USA (U.S. AMLR Program of NOAA Fisheries; US Office of Polar Programs).http://www.nature.com/sdataam2021Mammal Research Institut

Comparative Immunogenicities of Frozen and Refrigerated Formulations of Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine in Healthy Subjects▿

The frozen version of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV; FluMist) was compared with a newly licensed, refrigerated formulation, the cold-adapted influenza vaccine, trivalent (CAIV-T), for their immunogenicity, safety, and tolerability in healthy subjects 5 to 49 years of age. Eligible subjects were randomized 1:1 to receive CAIV-T or frozen LAIV. Subjects 5 to 8 years of age received two doses of vaccine 46 to 60 days apart; subjects 9 to 49 years of age received one dose of vaccine. Equivalent immunogenicities were defined as serum hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) geometric mean titer (GMT) ratios >0.5 and <2.0 for each of the three vaccine-specific strains. A total of 376 subjects 5 to 8 years of age and 566 subjects 9 to 49 years of age were evaluable. Postvaccination HAI GMT ratios were equivalent for CAIV-T and LAIV. The GMT ratios of CAIV-T/LAIV for the H1N1, H3N2, and B strains were 1.24, 1.02, and 1.00, respectively, for the 5- to 8-year-old age group and 1.14, 1.12, and 0.96, respectively, for the 9- to 49-year-old age group. Seroresponse/seroconversion rates (fourfold or greater rise) were similar in both age groups for each of the three vaccine strains. Within 28 days, the most frequent reactogenicity event in the CAIV-T and LAIV groups was runny nose/nasal congestion, which occurred at higher rates after dose 1 (44% and 42%, respectively) than after dose 2 (41% and 29%, respectively) in the 5- to 8-year-old group. Otherwise, the rates of adverse events (AEs) were similar between the treatment groups and the two age cohorts, with no serious AEs related to the study vaccines. The immunogenicities, reactogenicity events, and AEs were comparable for refrigerated CAIV-T and frozen LAIV

Metrics for aggregating the climate effects of different emissions: a unifying framework

Multi-gas approaches to climate change policies require a metric establishing 'equivalences' among emissions of various species. Climate scientists and economists have proposed four kinds of such metrics and debated their relative merits. We present a unifying framework that clarifies the relationships among them. We show, as have previous authors, that the global warming potential (GWP), used in international law to compare emissions of greenhouse gases, is a special case of the global damage potential (GDP), assuming (1) a finite time horizon, (2) a zero discount rate, (3) constant atmospheric concentrations, and (4) impacts that are proportional to radiative forcing. Both the GWP and GDP follow naturally from a cost–benefit framing of the climate change issue. We show that the global temperature change potential (GTP) is a special case of the global cost potential (GCP), assuming a (slight) fall in the global temperature after the target is reached. We show how the four metrics should be generalized if there are intertemporal spillovers in abatement costs, distinguishing between private (e.g., capital stock turnover) and public (e.g., induced technological change) spillovers. Both the GTP and GCP follow naturally from a cost-effectiveness framing of the climate change issue. We also argue that if (1) damages are zero below a threshold and (2) infinitely large above a threshold, then cost-effectiveness analysis and cost–benefit analysis lead to identical results. Therefore, the GCP is a special case of the GDP. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change uses the GWP, a simplified cost–benefit concept. The UNFCCC is framed around the ultimate goal of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations. Once a stabilization target has been agreed under the convention, implementation is clearly a cost-effectiveness problem. It would therefore be more consistent to use the GCP or its simplification, the GTP

Comparison of the safety and immunogenicity of a refrigerator-stable versus a frozen formulation of ProQuad (measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella virus vaccine live)

Objective. A refrigerator-stable formulation of ProQuad has been developed to expand the utility of ProQuad to areas in which maintenance of a frozen cold chain (- 15 degrees C or colder) during storage and transport may not be feasible. The objective of this study was to demonstrate that the immunogenicity and safety profiles of a refrigerator-stable formulation of ProQuad are similar to the recently licensed frozen formulation. Methods. In this double-blind, randomized, multicenter study, healthy 12- to 23-month- old children with negative vaccination and clinical histories for measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and zoster were vaccinated with either the refrigerator-stable formulation of ProQuad (N = 1006) or the frozen formulation of ProQuad (N = 513). Patients were followed for 42 days after vaccination for adverse experiences. Immunogenicity was evaluated 6 weeks after vaccination. Results. The refrigerator-stable formulation of ProQuad was generally well tolerated. The incidence of adverse experiences was similar between groups. No vaccine-related serious adverse experiences were reported. For both groups, the response rate was >= 97.7% for measles, mumps, and rubella, and the percentage of patients with a varicella zoster virus antibody titer of >= 5 U/mL glycoprotein antigen-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay after vaccination was >= 88.8%. The geometric mean titers for all antigens were numerically slightly higher in patients who received the refrigerator-stable formulation. Conclusions. The refrigerator-stable formulation of ProQuad is generally well tolerated, highly immunogenic, and noninferior in terms of postvaccination antibody responses. This refrigerator-stable formulation may improve ease of vaccine administration, increase use of the vaccine throughout the world because of its improved storage conditions, and replace the frozen formulation of ProQuad or any dose of M-M-RII and Varivax in routine practice