North American Sucker Fish Diets in the Face of Ecological Challenges (Catostomidae)

Basic biological information, like fecundity, age at maturity, habitat occupation and range size, are critically important for conserving species under threat. However, funding for this sort of research is limited, especially for aquatic vertebrates like fishes, which have restricted ranges and are under threat from changes in land-use and watershed alteration. The suckers (Family Catostomidae) are freshwater fishes native to North America (and one species from China). Most species are presumed to be detritivorous, that is, feed on decaying plant and animal matter; however, the diet diversity of this family has never been analyzed at an evolutionary scale. Suckers are under considerable threat from water diversion (e.g., dams and channelization), habitat degradation, and agricultural pollution. Currently, 2.5% of sucker species in the US are recently extinct, and 22% are endangered or vulnerable. We performed a literature meta-analysis to examine the diversity of sucker diets as well as highlight any species which are priorities for conservation. Our specific questions were: (1) What do catostomids eat? (2) Do catostomid species overlap in their resource use? And finally, (3) do evolutionary relationships among species predict diet? We found that suckers consume a wide variety of prey, from insects and fish eggs, to detritus and even seeds. Diet data exists for only 42% of species; therefore, the vast majority of sucker diet diversity is unknown. The few species with unique diets (e.g., Deltistes luxatus, Erimyzon oblongus) tended towards carnivory and are classified as endangered or vulnerable (according to the IUCN and EPA)

Restoring History: Evaluating the rehydration potential of fish specimens from a forgotten ichthyology collection

Natural history collections are invaluable resources that document the record of Earth’s biodiversity. Such collections house physical specimens that can often be used in research and education (e.g., teaching tools for classes and public outreach events). The William Clay Ichthyology Collection at the University of Louisville contains thousands of fish specimens collected over the past century from locations in and around Kentucky, North America, Central and South America, and even Lake Malawi in Africa. Despite the incredible assortment of specimens present, this collection fell into disarray as departmental interests shifted over the last twenty-five years. This led to the desiccation of 114 lots, barring these from any research or educational use. We evaluated the rehydration potential of 75 of these lots to both restore the university’s natural collection of fish and build upon past methods of museum specimen preservation. Step-up hydration methods utilizing either ethanol or glycerol as a preservative were used to revive specimen quality. Success was defined as having an overall fleshy appearance and fin pliability. Preliminary results suggest larger specimens correlate to an overall longer rehydration time, and that glycerol as a preservative may be preferable to ethanol. Our findings demonstrate that specimen rehydration is a worthwhile endeavor and can aid collection managers when planning large-scale rehydration efforts

Tongue-bite apparatus highlights functional innovation in a 310-million-year-old ray-finned fish

Gill-skeleton modifications for processing prey represent a major source of functional innovation in living ray-finned fishes. Here we present the oldest actinopterygian tongue bite, derived from the gill skeleton, in the Middle Pennsylvanian (approx. 310 Ma) †Platysomus parvulus. Unrelated to extant tongue biters, this deep-bodied taxon possesses a large, multipartite basibranchial tooth plate opposing an upper tooth field centred on the vomer. This branchial structure occurs in conjunction with toothed jaws, indicating a role for both the basibranchial plate and jaws in feeding. †P. parvulus illustrates the assembly of the tongue bite in the geologically younger †Bobasatraniidae: large opposing dorsal (vomerine) and ventral (basibranchial) crushing plates associated with toothless jaws. The origin of tongue bites falls within the Carboniferous actinopterygian radiation, although it postdates the first signs of the consumption of hard prey (durophagy) in other ray-finned lineages by several million years. This lends support to a protracted model of actinopterygian diversification in the aftermath of the end-Devonian extinction

Z problematyki ochrony ludności. Istota ewakuacji w ujęciu specjalistycznym

The concept of evacuation has different meanings. Some of them have found application in regulations and considerations relevant to broadly understood civil protection. The article includes the results of the review of bibliographic sources for purpose of identifying the nature and essence of the phenomenon of evacuation in the specialist perspective. Due to the identification of various approaches (including general and specialist), after systematizing and analyzing them within the framework of comparative studies – presented on the basis of two related articles – the author\u27s definition of evacuation was proposed.Pojęcie ewakuacji posiada różne znaczenia. Niektóre z nich znalazły zastosowanie w regulacjach i rozważaniach właściwych szeroko rozumianej ochronie ludności. W artykule zawarto wyniki dokonanego przeglądu źródeł bibliograficznych pod kątem identyfikacji natury i istoty zjawiska ewakuacji w ujęciu specjalistycznym. Wobec zidentyfikowania różnorodnych ujęć (w tym ogólnego i specjalistycznego), po dokonaniu ich usystematyzowania i analizy w ramach studium komparatystycznego – przedstawionego na gruncie dwóch powiązanych ze sobą artykułów – zaproponowano autorską definicję ewakuacji

System ratownictwa górskiego w Polsce

Mountain rescue is a complex human activity, which in Poland has found its reflection in legal regulations and took the organizational form of a dedicated protection system. The article contains the results of scientific research carried out in terms of the need to prepare the characteristics of the rescue system in the mountains. In order to identify various appropriate organizational solutions functioning in many countries of the world, the example of Poland was used, while indicating the need to conduct an appropriate comparative study as the next stage of the cognitive process of mountain rescue systems.Ratownictwo górskie stanowi złożoną działalność człowieka, która to w Polsce znalazła swoje odzwierciedlenie w regulacjach prawnych oraz przybrała formę organizacyjną dedykowanego systemu ochronnego. W artykule zawarto wyniki badań naukowych przeprowadzonych pod kątem potrzeby sporządzenia charakterystyki systemu ratownictwa w górach. Wobec zidentyfikowania zróżnicowanych właściwych rozwiązań organizacyjnych funkcjonujących w wielu państwach świata posłużono się przykładem Polski z jednoczesnym wskazaniem potrzeby przeprowadzenia stosownego studium komparatystycznego jako kolejnego etapu procesu poznania systemów ratownictwa górskiego

El amor no se parece a esto

El presente proyecto de graduación tiene como tema a trabajar “la representación de la espacialidad en la narrativa” a través de un guion que traspasa la estructura clásica para responder a una decisión espacial en relación a la idea del “otro lado”, un lado que tiene peso aún cuando no se es visto. El guion trabaja sobre dos personajes y un espacio fraccionado, es por esto que, desafiando la estructura canónica y clásica, se tomó la decisión de dividirlo en dos columnas, una por personaje, intentando simular el lugar en que se encuentra cada una y que luego veremos de esta manera en el cortometraje. En este proyecto la espacialidad está representada desde un principio a través de lo que vemos y escuchamos en el guion, siendo el espacio parte del todo que, como un personaje más, se apropia del relato y le da sentido al mismo. De este modo, el espacio desde la narrativa, se halla al nivel de los personajes en función de revelar diferentes aspectos para contar la historia de un vínculo.Tesis colectiva en co-autoría con Amparo Barboza (ver "Documentos relacionados").Facultad de Arte

Z problematyki ochrony ludności. Istota ewakuacji w ujęciu powszechnym

The concept of evacuation has been widely used for centuries, both in colloquial speech and as part of arrangements and regulations relating to ensuring widely understood civil protection. The article presents the results of the review of bibliographic sources for purpose of identifying the nature and essence of the phenomenon of evacuation. Due to the identification of various approaches (including general and specialist), after systematizing and analyzing them within the framework of comparative studies, presented on the basis of two related articles, the author's definition of evacuation was proposed.Pojęcie ewakuacji jest od wieków w powszechnym użytku, zarówno w mowie potocznej, jak i w ramach ustaleń czy regulacji odnoszących się do zapewniania szeroko rozumianej ochrony ludności. W artykule przedstawiono wyniki dokonanego przeglądu źródeł bibliograficznych pod kątem identyfikacji natury i istoty zjawiska ewakuacji. Wobec zidentyfikowania różnorodnych ujęć (w tym ogólnego i specjalistycznego), po dokonaniu ich usystematyzowania i analizy w ramach studium komparatystycznego, przedstawionego na gruncie dwóch powiązanych ze sobą artykułów, zaproponowano autorską definicję ewakuacji

Paleogene origin of Planktivory In The Batoidea

The planktivorous mobulid rays are a sister group to, and descended from, rhinopterid and myliobatid rays which possess a dentition showing adaptations consistent with a specialized durophageous diet. Within the Paleocene and Eocene there are several taxa which display dentitions apparently transitional between these extreme trophic modality, in particular the genus Burnhamia. The holotype of Burnhamia daviesi was studied through X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning. Digital renderings of this incomplete but articulated jaw and dentition revealed previously unrecognized characters regarding the jaw cartilages and teeth. In addition, the genus Sulcidens gen. nov. is erected for articulated dentitions from the Paleocene previously assigned to Myliobatis. Phylogenetic analyses confirm Burnhamia as a sister taxon to the mobulids, and the Mobulidae as a sister group to Rhinoptera. Shared dental characters between Burnhamia and Sulcidens likely represent independent origins of planktivory within the rhinopterid – myliobatid clade. The transition from highly-specialized durophagous feeding morphologies to the morphology of planktivores is perplexing, but was facilitated by a pelagic swimming mode in these rays and we propose through subsequent transition from either meiofauna-feeding or pelagic fish-feeding to pelagic planktivory

Ecological and Phenotypic Diversification after a Continental Invasion in Neotropical Freshwater Stingrays

Habitat transitions are key potential explanations for why some lineages have diversified and others have not—from Anolis lizards to Darwin\u27s finches. The ecological ramifications of marine-to-freshwater transitions for fishes suggest evolutionary contingency: some lineages maintain their ancestral niches in novel habitats (niche conservatism), whereas others alter their ecological role. However, few studies have considered phenotypic, ecological, and lineage diversification concurrently to explore this issue. Here, we investigated the macroevolutionary history of the taxonomically and ecologically diverse Neotropical freshwater river rays (subfamily Potamotrygoninae), which invaded and diversified in the Amazon and other South American rivers during the late Oligocene to early Miocene. We generated a time-calibrated, multi-gene phylogeny for Potamotrygoninae and reconstructed evolutionary patterns of diet specialization. We measured functional morphological traits relevant for feeding and used comparative phylogenetic methods to examine how feeding morphology diversified over time. Potamotrygonine trophic and phenotypic diversity are evenly partitioned (non-overlapping) among internal clades for most of their history, until 20–16 mya, when more recent diversification suggests increasing overlap among phenotypes. Specialized piscivores (Heliotrygon and Paratrygon) evolved early in the history of freshwater stingrays, while later trophic specialization (molluscivory, insectivory, and crustacivory) evolved in the genus Potamotrygon. Potamotrygonins demonstrate ecological niche lability in diets and feeding apparatus; however, diversification has mostly been a gradual process through time. We suggest that competition is unlikely to have limited the potamotrygonine invasion and diversification in South America

Mixed-reality-supported communication for professional home care: system, use, barriers and use cases

The rising demand for home care services in Europe, driven by an aging population, presents challenges such as staffing shortages and resource limitations. One way to address these challenges is to increase the use of innovative digital solutions. For this reason, the ‘Care about Care’ project developed the digital Remote Care Assist (RCA) system to enable remote on-site support for professional home care, with a Care Expert Center web application for providing and a mixed-reality Remote Support application for Microsoft HoloLens 2 for receiving support. The solution was tested in two test centers located in Austria and Luxembourg. This paper aims to explore both the general perception and the actual interaction with the RCA system by nursing and care staff and experts in the two test centers. It also aims to identify barriers and potential use cases for successful implementation. We applied a mixed-methods approach by combining usage data measurement and focus group interviews. The results highlight the potential of RCA to improve remote consultations, with key benefits in wound care/medical issues, hands-free interaction and smooth service handovers to colleagues. Barriers were related to the device weight, handling and issues when using the device in areas with poor internet connectivity. The lack of availability of experienced staff to work in the Expert Center has affected usage. Improved device design, centralized expertise and enhanced connectivity are essential for successful integration of RCA into home care