Näyttöön perustuva tuki- ja liikuntaelinsairauksien kuntoutus

103 s.Kelan rahoittaman TULES- eli tuki- ja liikuntaelinsairauksien kuntoutuksen standardien kehittämistä tukevan tutkimuksen (11/2013–8/2014) yhtenä osatavoitteena oli kartoittaa keskeisin tutkimusnäyttö tuki- ja liikuntaelinsairauksien vaikuttavasta kuntoutuksesta. Tämän työpaperin tarkoitus on antaa kuntoutuksen suunnittelijoille ja käytännön työntekijöille tietoa tämänhetkisen TULES-kuntoutuksen tutkimuksen tuloksista. Järjestelmällinen kirjallisuuskatsaus tuo esille vaikuttavaksi osoitettuja kuntoutusmuotoja. Tähän kirjallisuuskatsaukseen on lisäksi kerätty tietoa eri maiden kuntoutussuosituksista alaselän, niskan, olkapään sekä polven ja lonkan TULE-sairauksien osalta sekä kuntouttavan liikuntaharjoittelun perusteista. Järjestelmällinen tiedonhaku suoritettiin viiden vuoden ajalta; vuoden 2009 alusta vuoden 2013 loppuun saakka. Järjestelmällisen katsauksen päätulokset osoittivat aktiiviseen terapeuttiseen harjoitteluun perustuvien ohjelmien olevan vaikuttavia kaikkien katsauksessa mukana olleiden TULE-sairauksien kuntoutuksessa. Lisäksi todettiin manuaalisen terapian olevan vaikuttavaa alaselän ja niskan kuntoutuksessa. Kohtalaista tutkimusnäyttöä löytyi tiettyjen fysikaalisten hoitojen, mm. akupunktion, laserterapian ja pulsoivan magneettiterapian vaikuttavuudesta jokaisessa tutkitussa TULE-sairaudessa. Ohjauksellisista interventioista ainoastaan behavioraalisen terapian vaikuttavuus on osoitettu kohtalaiseksi alaselän kuntoutuksessa. Eri maiden ja yhdistysten suositukset painottavat tutkimusnäytön mukaisesti aktiivista harjoittelua niin selkä-, niska- kuin nivelkuntoutuksessa

Kereru in Urbanised Landscapes

Urban areas are quickly supplanting other land covers on a global scale as a direct result of a rapid human population growth and associated anthropogenic disturbances. Although the concept of a city as an ecosystem is now widely accepted, relatively little is still known about how wildlife responds to urbanised landscapes. In addition, the factors affecting habitat selection of highly mobile avian species within urbanised landscapes have seldom been quantified at multiple spatial scales. Understanding the human social aspects of urban ecology is also vital to wildlife conservation because as the majority of the world’s population continues to shift into cities, they are becoming increasingly “disconnected” from nature. However, people can contribute both directly through involvement in wildlife research, and indirectly through knowledge acquisition and environmental awareness. The kereru (New Zealand pigeon, Hemiphaga novaseelandiae) is a large, highly mobile, fruit-eating pigeon endemic to New Zealand. Although once in nationwide decline, kereru appear to have slowly increased in numbers across New Zealand, most notably in urbanised landscapes. Kereru recovery may be due to the control of mammalian predators and competitors, as well as a reflection of the kereru’s ability to adapt to and exploit novel suburban habitat. However, little is known about how kereru select amongst urbanised habitat, the impacts of injuries sustained within this habitat on post-rehabilitation success or how researchers can integrate urban residents into the conservation of kereru. This thesis aims to (1) advance current knowledge of kereru ecology within urbanised landscapes and to explore the concept of kereru as an “urban adapted” species, and (2) to examine the role of people in urban avian ecology, from the perspectives of both the researcher and the public. I applied a multi-scale approach to examine habitat selection by kereru at regional (first-order), winter range (second-order), and site (third-order) levels, using a citizen-generated dataset and by monitoring a marked and radio-tagged population in Wellington City. At the first-order of selection, citizens’ sightings of kereru revealed that birds selected areas with intermediate levels of building and road coverage when possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) control measures were undertaken. Radio-telemetry of kereru revealed that habitat selection within Wellington’s residential ecosystems occurred at the third- but not second-order of selection. Sites within winter ranges were selected based upon the presence of a native food source, conspecifics and possum control. My results suggest that possum control may be creating a buffered “safe zone” for kereru within suburban areas whereby predation risk is lowered, or more likely, competition for native food sources is reduced. While it is encouraging to see increasing numbers of kereru in urbanised areas, this environment is often the cause of injuries not normally sustained in the wildlands. I monitored kereru during the early post-release period following rehabilitation in two variably urbanised landscapes. Results of my modelling suggested that the sex of the bird, release site, severity of the injury sustained, and the time of year a bird was released were important determinants of early rehabilitation success. This thesis ends with a study that integrated local school children into my field research as part of a conservation education program. Using kereru as a focal species, I tested whether incorporating biological researchers into the classroom and hands-on experiences with radio-telemetry of wild birds in local green space increased wildlife knowledge, environmental awareness and intentions to act amongst children. No significant increases in wildlife knowledge were found in either treatment group, however those children who participated in exercises with researchers in local green space demonstrated, and retained, higher levels of nature awareness than groups who participated in the schoolyard. In summary, applying multiple methods and considering both the biological and social aspects of urban avian ecology have allowed me to gain a more holistic picture of the kereru's ability to adapt to urbanised landscapes and how people living in cities can contribute towards the conservation of kereru

“Fright moult” in kereru (New Zealand pigeon,Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) during capture results in loss of tail feathers

2 page(s

Survival of the sexiest

"Survival of the fittest" never applied to beards, so why did they evolve and what role do they play in mate selection in modern society?3 page(s

Do women’s preferences for men’s facial hair change with reproductive status?

Women’s preferences for masculine traits are reported to be greater among young reproductively capable women, particularly just prior to ovulation, than among pregnant and postmenopausal women. This study is the first to investigate whether women’s preferences for men’s facial hair follow this pattern. We conducted surveys quantifying reproductive status and attractiveness ratings for facial hair (clean-shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble, and full beards) among 426 women from Wellington City, New Zealand. Results showed that pregnant, pre- and postmenopausal women rated faces that were clean-shaven, or with light and heavy stubble, as more attractive than full beards. Postmenopausal women gave higher scores for all degrees of facial hair, including full beards, than premenopausal and pregnant women. Premenopausal women at the high fertility phases of the menstrual cycle gave higher ratings for heavy stubble than participants at the low fertility phase or who were using contraceptives. However, these differences were not statistically significant, and the main effects were driven primarily by the low ratings ascribed to full beards. Women with partners that were clean-shaven judged clean-shaven faces as most attractive, whereas women with partners with heavy stubble or full beards judged heavy stubble as most attractive. Although women’s current partner and father’s degree of beardedness were positively correlated, their fathers’ beardedness showed little relationship to attractiveness judgments of facial hair. These results demonstrate that all women by no means consider beards unattractive. However, preferences vary only subtly with respect to hormonal, reproductive, and relationship status.9 page(s

Experience in local urban wildlife research enhances a conservation education program with school children

The "extinction of [ecological] experience" is a concern for children in urban centres. Urban environments, traditionally the refuge of exotic human-commensal species, are being increasingly colonised by native species. We used a native bird as a focal species for integrating urban biological research and environmental education (EE) in conservation. We tested whether incorporating biological researchers into classroom teaching and hands-on experiences with radio-telemetry of wild birds increased wildlife knowledge, environmental awareness and intentions to act amongst children from local schools. We found no significant increases in knowledge after our EE programme. However, those children who participated in exercises with researchers in local green space demonstrated a greater level of nature awareness than groups who participated in the schoolyard, and retained this level three months after the programme completion. We illustrate the importance of incorporating biological research in conservation education in urban centres.6 page(s

How do we study birds in urban settings? A systematic review

As the global footprint of urban areas expands, there is increasing motivation to conserve biodiversity in these areas. Cities typically develop in fertile, biodiverse locations, and often contain relatively high numbers of threatened species. Despite this, urban landscapes are often overlooked as conservation priorities. Although birds have been extensively studied in urban areas, research effort may not be consistent among species. An unbalanced representation of species and collective tendencies to focus on particular research topics pose a risk to the completeness of our understanding of urban ornithology. Developing a better understanding of how birds are studied in urban areas is crucial to mitigate the risk of biodiversity loss. Here, we conducted a systematic quantitative literature review to determine research effort at the species level for birds in Australian urban areas. We modelled which species characteristics predict the level of species research effort across studies with varying levels of conservation relevance and study themes. We found that studies with a strong link to conservation were uncommon and that most studies targeted broad suites of species rather than specific groups or species. Species characteristics, including species taxonomic group, migratory behaviour, threat status and body mass, were significant predictors of research effort. These results highlight the biases that exist in urban bird research, showing that applied conservation is uncommon and usually broad. Understanding the biases in Australian urban ornithology establishes a foundation for expected biases on other continents, which once addressed will be beneficial to conserving urban bird biodiversity

Big changes in backyard birds: An analysis of long-term changes in bird communities in Australia's most populous urban regions

Urban environments are increasingly acknowledged as a priority for biodiversity conservation. Birds in particular are capable of persisting, and sometimes thriving, in cities and towns globally. However, the process of urbanization results in the loss of many bird species due to the resulting changes in habitat conditions. Urban expansion and densification present a threat to both urban bird biodiversity and bird conservation more broadly. Australian urban areas, including suburban and peri-urban areas, currently support moderate bird species richness, but the rapidly changing urban landscape threatens these communities. Unfortunately, many bird species' population trends are not actively studied, resulting in a poor understanding of species persistence in urban environments. Here, we used bird survey data from long-running citizen science databases in a Bayesian List Length Analysis to determine changes in bird species prevalence (the probability of observing a species in a given survey event) over time in Australia's four most populous urban regions. We found that introduced species, historically prominent in Australian urban bird communities, are decreasing in prevalence in all four regions, while a small group of native urban exploiters are becoming more prevalent. Our results also show that many species perceived to be “iconic” or “common” are experiencing declines in prevalence in urban areas, highlighting the importance of monitoring and conservation action in urban areas

Which is a better predictor of plant traits : temperature or precipitation?

Question: Are plant traits more closely correlated with mean annual temperature, orwithmean annual precipitation? Location: Global. Methods: We quantified the strength of the relationships between temperature and precipitation and 21 plant traits from 447,961 species-site combinations worldwide. We used meta-analysis to provide an overall answer to our question. Results: Mean annual temperature was significantly more strongly correlated with plant traits than was mean annual precipitation. Conclusions: Our study provides support for some of the assumptions of classical vegetation theory, and points to many interesting directions for future research. The relatively low R2 values for precipitation might reflect the weak link betweenmean annual precipitation and the availability of water to plants

Which is a better predictor of plant traits : temperature or precipitation?

Question: Are plant traits more closely correlated with mean annual temperature, or with mean annual precipitation? Location: Global. Methods: We quantified the strength of the relationships between temperature and precipitation and 21 plant traits from 447,961 species-site combinations worldwide. We used meta-analysis to provide an overall answer to our question. Results: Mean annual temperature was significantly more strongly correlated with plant traits than was mean annual precipitation. Conclusions: Our study provides support for some of the assumptions of classical vegetation theory, and points to many interesting directions for future research. The relatively low R² values for precipitation might reflect the weak link between mean annual precipitation and the availability of water to plants.14 page(s