Concentrating or scattering management in agricultural landscapes:Examining the effectiveness and efficiency of conservation measures

A key issue in conservation is where and how much management should be implemented to obtain optimal biodiversity benefits. Cost-effective conservation requires knowledge on whether biodiversity benefits are higher when management is concentrated in a few core areas or scattered across the landscape, and how these effects vary between species. To address these questions, we examined species-specific behavioural responses of over-wintering farmland birds to enhanced seed availability. In a two-year experiment we first examined the relationship between landscape-scale seed availability and farmland bird density. Then we investigated the relative resource delivery (difference in bird densities between landscapes with and without additional management) and the efficiency (number of individuals supported per unit management) of conservation actions, both at the landscape-scale (ca 100 ha) and at the scale of the conservation measures (3.6 ha). The conservation actions were targeted towards ten seed-eating farmland bird species, but we also considered the responses of seven non-targeted and more generalist seed-eating species, seven species that are less dependent on seeds and three species of birds of prey. We found a positive relationship between bird density and landscape-scale seed availability for eleven species and, for four of these species, the slope of this relationship changed before and after a threshold seed density. For two seed-eating specialists, the number of individuals using conservation patches declined with landscape-scale seed availability. In addition, we found that the relative resource delivery declined with landscape scale seed availability for three seed-eating specialists and was independent of landscape-scale seed availability in four other species. Our results suggest that farmland specialists may benefit most from winter food additions if conservation actions result in high landscape-scale seed availability. This may be achieved by concentrating conservation measures or by establishing measures in areas with high baseline seed availability. By contrast, species that can utilize a wider range of habitats and resources may benefit more from scattering measures across larger areas. Therefore, optimal management for the full range of farmland birds in wintertime may require a combination of core areas with concentrated management and more widely distributed smaller patches of conservation measures.</p

A genome-wide genetic map of NB-LRR disease resistance loci in potato

Like all plants, potato has evolved a surveillance system consisting of a large array of genes encoding for immune receptors that confer resistance to pathogens and pests. The majority of these so-called resistance or R proteins belong to the super-family that harbour a nucleotide binding and a leucine-rich-repeat domain (NB-LRR). Here, sequence information of the conserved NB domain was used to investigate the genome-wide genetic distribution of the NB-LRR resistance gene loci in potato. We analysed the sequences of 288 unique BAC clones selected using filter hybridisation screening of a BAC library of the diploid potato clone RH89-039-16 (S. tuberosum ssp. tuberosum) and a physical map of this BAC library. This resulted in the identification of 738 partial and full-length NB-LRR sequences. Based on homology of these sequences with known resistance genes, 280 and 448 sequences were classified as TIR-NB-LRR (TNL) and CC-NB-LRR (CNL) sequences, respectively. Genetic mapping revealed the presence of 15 TNL and 32 CNL loci. Thirty-six are novel, while three TNL loci and eight CNL loci are syntenic with previously identified functional resistance genes. The genetic map was complemented with 68 universal CAPS markers and 82 disease resistance trait loci described in literature, providing an excellent template for genetic studies and applied research in potato

Broadband and omnidirectional anti-reflection layer for iii/v multi-junction solar cells

Contains fulltext : 103915.pdf (preprint version ) (Open Access

Correction to: Spatial variation of rodenticides and emerging contaminants in blood of raptor nestlings from Germany

Badry A, Schenke D, Brucher H, et al. Correction to: Spatial variation of rodenticides and emerging contaminants in blood of raptor nestlings from Germany. Environmental science and pollution research international. 2022

Spatial variation of rodenticides and emerging contaminants in blood of raptor nestlings from Germany

Badry A, Schenke D, Brucher H, et al. Spatial variation of rodenticides and emerging contaminants in blood of raptor nestlings from Germany. Environmental science and pollution research international. 2022.Wildlife exposures to pest controlling substances have resulted in population declines of many predatory species during the past decades. Many pesticides were subsequently classified as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) and banned on national or global scales. However, despite their risks for non-target vertebrate wildlife, PBT substances such as anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are still permitted for use in Europe and have shown to threaten raptors. Whereas risks of ARs are known, much less information is available on emerging agrochemicals such as currently used PPPs and medicinal products (MPs) in higher trophic level species. We expect that currently used PPPs are relatively mobile (vs. lipophilic) as a consequence of the PBT criteria and thus more likely to be present in aqueous matrices. We therefore analyzed blood of 204 raptor nestlings of three terrestrial (red kite, common buzzard, Montagu's harrier) and two aquatic species (white-tailed sea eagle, osprey) from Germany. In total, we detected ARs in 22.6% of the red kites and 8.6% of the buzzards, whereas no Montagu's harriers or aquatic species were exposed prior to sampling. SigmaAR concentration tended to be higher in North Rhine-Westphalia (vs. North-Eastern Germany) where population density is higher and intense livestock farming more frequent. Among the 90 targeted and currently used PPPs, we detected six substances from which bromoxynil (14.2%) was most frequent. Especially Montagu's harrier (31%) and red kites (22.6%) were exposed and concentrations were higher in North Rhine-Westphalia as well. Among seven MPs, we detected ciprofloxacin (3.4%), which indicates that risk mitigation measures may be needed as resistance genes were already detected in wildlife from Germany. Taken together, our study demonstrates that raptors are exposed to various chemicals during an early life stage depending on their sampling location and underpins that red kites are at particular risk for multiple pesticide exposures in Germany. © 2022. The Author(s)

Sources and transmission routes of campylobacteriosis: A combined analysis of genome and exposure data.

Objectives: To determine the contributions of several animal and environmental sources of human campylobacteriosis and identify source-specific risk factors. Methods: 1417 Campylobacter jejuni/coli isolates from the Netherlands in 2017–2019 were whole-genome sequenced, including isolates from human cases (n = 280), chickens/turkeys (n = 238), laying hens (n = 56), cattle (n = 158), veal calves (n = 49), sheep/goats (n = 111), pigs (n = 110), dogs/cats (n = 100), wild birds (n = 62), and surface water (n = 253). Questionnaire-based exposure data was collected. Source attribution was performed using core-genome multilocus sequence typing. Risk factors were determined on the attribution estimates. Results: Cases were mostly attributed to chickens/turkeys (48.2%), dogs/cats (18.0%), cattle (12.1%), and surface water (8.5%). Of the associations identified, never consuming chicken, as well as frequent chicken consumption, and rarely washing hands after touching raw meat, were risk factors for chicken/turkey-attributable infections. Consuming unpasteurized milk or barbecued beef increased the risk for cattle-attributable infections. Risk factors for infections attributable to environmental sources were open water swimming, contact with dog faeces, and consuming non-chicken/turkey avian meat like game birds. Conclusions: Poultry and cattle are the main livestock sources of campylobacteriosis, while pets and surface water are important non-livestock sources. Foodborne transmission is only partially consistent with the attributions, as frequency and alternative pathways of exposure are significant.</p

Sources and transmission routes of campylobacteriosis: a combined analysis of genome and exposure data

Objectives: To determine the contributions of several animal and environmental sources of human campylobacteriosis and identify source-specific risk factors. Methods: 1417 Campylobacter jejuni/coli isolates from the Netherlands in 2017–2019 were whole-genome sequenced, including isolates from human cases (n = 280), chickens/turkeys (n = 238), laying hens (n = 56), cattle (n = 158), veal calves (n = 49), sheep/goats (n = 111), pigs (n = 110), dogs/cats (n = 100), wild birds (n = 62), and surface water (n = 253). Questionnaire-based exposure data was collected. Source attribution was performed using core-genome multilocus sequence typing. Risk factors were determined on the attribution estimates. Results: Cases were mostly attributed to chickens/turkeys (48.2%), dogs/cats (18.0%), cattle (12.1%), and surface water (8.5%). Of the associations identified, never consuming chicken, as well as frequent chicken consumption, and rarely washing hands after touching raw meat, were risk factors for chicken/turkey-attributable infections. Consuming unpasteurized milk or barbecued beef increased the risk for cattle-attributable infections. Risk factors for infections attributable to environmental sources were open water swimming, contact with dog faeces, and consuming non-chicken/turkey avian meat like game birds. Conclusions: Poultry and cattle are the main livestock sources of campylobacteriosis, while pets and surface water are important non-livestock sources. Foodborne transmission is only partially consistent with the attributions, as frequency and alternative pathways of exposure are significant