Data collection and storage in long-term ecological and evolutionary studies : The Mongoose 2000 system

Studying ecological and evolutionary processes in the natural world often requires research projects to follow multiple individuals in the wild over many years. These projects have provided significant advances but may also be hampered by needing to accurately and efficiently collect and store multiple streams of the data from multiple individuals concurrently. The increase in the availability and sophistication of portable computers (smartphones and tablets) and the applications that run on them has the potential to address many of these data collection and storage issues. In this paper we describe the challenges faced by one such long-term, individual-based research project: the Banded Mongoose Research Project in Uganda. We describe a system we have developed called Mongoose 2000 that utilises the potential of apps and portable computers to meet these challenges. We discuss the benefits and limitations of employing such a system in a long-term research project. The app and source code for the Mongoose 2000 system are freely available and we detail how it might be used to aid data collection and storage in other long-term individual-based projects.Peer reviewe

Electroencephalographic features of convulsive epilepsy in Africa: A multicentre study of prevalence, pattern and associated factors

Objective: We investigated the prevalence and pattern of electroencephalographic (EEG) features of epilepsy and the associated factors in Africans with active convulsive epilepsy (ACE). Methods: We characterized electroencephalographic features and determined associated factors in a sample of people with ACE in five African sites. Mixed-effects modified Poisson regression model was used to determine factors associated with abnormal EEGs. Results: Recordings were performed on 1426 people of whom 751 (53%) had abnormal EEGs, being an adjusted prevalence of 2.7 (95% confidence interval (95% CI), 2.5–2.9) per 1000. 52% of the abnormal EEG had focal features (75% with temporal lobe involvement). The frequency and pattern of changes differed with site. Abnormal EEGs were associated with adverse perinatal events (risk ratio (RR) = 1.19 (95% CI, 1.07–1.33)), cognitive impairments (RR = 1.50 (95% CI, 1.30–1.73)), use of anti-epileptic drugs (RR = 1.25 (95% CI, 1.05–1.49)), focal seizures (RR = 1.09 (95% CI, 1.00–1.19)) and seizure frequency (RR = 1.18 (95% CI, 1.10–1.26) for daily seizures; RR = 1.22 (95% CI, 1.10–1.35) for weekly seizures and RR = 1.15 (95% CI, 1.03–1.28) for monthly seizures)). Conclusions: EEG abnormalities are common in Africans with epilepsy and are associated with preventable risk factors. Significance: EEG is helpful in identifying focal epilepsy in Africa, where timing of focal aetiologies is problematic and there is a lack of neuroimaging services

Variable ecological conditions promote male helping by changing banded mongoose group composition.

PublishedArticle© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Ecological conditions are expected to have an important influence on individuals’ investment in cooperative care. However, the nature of their effects is unclear: both favorable and unfavorable conditions have been found to promote helping behavior. Recent studies provide a possible explanation for these conflicting results by suggesting that increased ecological variability, rather than changes in mean conditions, promote cooperative care. However, no study has tested whether increased ecological variability promotes individual- level helping behavior or the mechanisms involved. We test this hypothesis in a long-term study population of the cooperatively breeding banded mongoose, Mungos mungo, using 14 years of behavioral and meteorological data to explore how the mean and variability of ecological conditions influence individual behavior, body condition, and survival. Female body condition was more sensitive to changes in rainfall leading to poorer female survival and pronounced male-biased group compositions after periods of high rainfall variability. After such periods, older males invested more in helping behavior, potentially because they had fewer mating opportunities. These results provide the first empirical evidence for increased individual helping effort in more variable ecological conditions and suggest this arises because of individual differences in the effect of ecological conditions on body condition and survival, and the knock-on effect on social group composition. Individual differences in sensitivity to environmental variability, and the impacts this has on the internal structure and composition of animal groups, can exert a strong influence on the evolution and maintenance of social behaviors, such as cooperative care.Natural Environment Research CouncilEuropean Research Council Starting Grant (SOCODEV

Epidemiology and Treatment of Epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa

The study was conducted in five HDSS which are part of the International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and Their Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (INDEPTH). The centres were Agincourt, South Africa (August 2008-February 2009); Ifakara, Tanzania (May 2009-December 2009); Iganga/Mayuge, Uganda (February 2009-October 2009); Kilifi, Kenya (conducted between December 2007-July 2008); Kintampo, Ghana (August 2010-April 2011)

Data supporting Marshall et al. (2017) in Ecology and Evolution

This data supports the following publication: <div><br></div><div>Marshall HH, Vitikainen EIK, Mwanguhya F, Businge R, Kyabulima S, Hares MC, Inzani E, Kalema-Zikusosa G, Mwesige K, Nichols HJ, Sanderson JL and Cant MA (2017). Lifetime fitness consequences of early-life ecological hardship in a wild mammal population. <em>Ecology and Evolution</em><br></div><div><em><br></em></div><div>See read me.txt file for further information</div

Prevalence of active convulsive epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa and associated risk factors: cross-sectional and case-control studies.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa seems to be higher than in other parts of the world, but estimates vary substantially for unknown reasons. We assessed the prevalence and risk factors of active convulsive epilepsy across five centres in this region. METHODS: We did large population-based cross-sectional and case-control studies in five Health and Demographic Surveillance System centres: Kilifi, Kenya (Dec 3, 2007-July 31, 2008); Agincourt, South Africa (Aug 4, 2008-Feb 27, 2009); Iganga-Mayuge, Uganda (Feb 2, 2009-Oct 30, 2009); Ifakara, Tanzania (May 4, 2009-Dec 31, 2009); and Kintampo, Ghana (Aug 2, 2010-April 29, 2011). We used a three-stage screening process to identify people with active convulsive epilepsy. Prevalence was estimated as the ratio of confirmed cases to the population screened and was adjusted for sensitivity and attrition between stages. For each case, an age-matched control individual was randomly selected from the relevant centre's census database. Fieldworkers masked to the status of the person they were interviewing administered questionnaires to individuals with active convulsive epilepsy and control individuals to assess sociodemographic variables and historical risk factors (perinatal events, head injuries, and diet). Blood samples were taken from a randomly selected subgroup of 300 participants with epilepsy and 300 control individuals from each centre and were screened for antibodies to Toxocara canis, Toxoplasma gondii, Onchocerca volvulus, Plasmodium falciparum, Taenia solium, and HIV. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) with logistic regression, adjusted for age, sex, education, employment, and marital status. RESULTS: 586,607 residents in the study areas were screened in stage one, of whom 1711 were diagnosed as having active convulsive epilepsy. Prevalence adjusted for attrition and sensitivity varied between sites: 7·8 per 1000 people (95% CI 7·5-8·2) in Kilifi, 7·0 (6·2-7·4) in Agincourt, 10·3 (9·5-11·1) in Iganga-Mayuge, 14·8 (13·8-15·4) in Ifakara, and 10·1 (9·5-10·7) in Kintampo. The 1711 individuals with the disorder and 2032 control individuals were given questionnaires. In children (aged <18 years), the greatest relative increases in prevalence were associated with difficulties feeding, crying, or breathing after birth (OR 10·23, 95% CI 5·85-17·88; p<0·0001); abnormal antenatal periods (2·15, 1·53-3·02; p<0·0001); and head injury (1·97, 1·28-3·03; p=0·002). In adults (aged ≥18 years), the disorder was significantly associated with admission to hospital with malaria or fever (2·28, 1·06-4·92; p=0·036), exposure to T canis (1·74, 1·27-2·40; p=0·0006), exposure to T gondii (1·39, 1·05-1·84; p=0·021), and exposure to O volvulus (2·23, 1·56-3·19; p<0·0001). Hypertension (2·13, 1·08-4·20; p=0·029) and exposure to T solium (7·03, 2·06-24·00; p=0·002) were risk factors for adult-onset disease. INTERPRETATION: The prevalence of active convulsive epilepsy varies in sub-Saharan Africa and that the variation is probably a result of differences in risk factors. Programmes to control parasitic diseases and interventions to improve antenatal and perinatal care could substantially reduce the prevalence of epilepsy in this region

The data recorded in each of the three different screen sequences available in Mongoose 2000’s Observations mode.

<p>The data recorded in each of the three different screen sequences available in Mongoose 2000’s Observations mode.</p

Past and present data collection interfaces.

<p>The handheld devices interfaces and checksheets used by the Banded Mongoose Research Project previously (a-c) and in the Mongoose 2000 system (d-f). Panel a: Psion II data logger, model LZ; b: handheld Garmin eTrex GPS unit; c: example of a paper checksheet, here listing all the individuals present in group 1H on a given day.</p