Source apportionment of atmospheric trace gases and particulate matter: comparison of log-ratio and traditional approaches

In this paper we compare multivariate methods using both traditional approaches, which ignore issues of closure and provide relatively simple methods to deal with censored or missing data, and log-ratio methods to determine the sources of trace constituents in the atmosphere. The data set examined was collected from April to July 2008 at a sampling site near Woods Hole, Massachusetts, along the northeastern United States Atlantic coastline. The data set consists of trace gas mixing ratios (O3, SO2, NOx, elemental mercury [Hgo], and reactive gaseous mercury [RGM]), and concentrations of trace elements in fine (<2.5 μm) particulate matter (Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cs, Fe, Ga, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sr, Th, Ti, V, Y, and Zn) with varying percentages of censored values for each species. The data were separated into two subcompositions: s1, which is comprised by RGM and particulate Hg (HgP), which are both highly censored; and s2 which includes all of the trace elements associated with particulate matter except Hg, and the trace gases O3, SO2, NOx, and Hgo. Principal factor analysis (PFA) was successful in determining the primary sources for constituents in s2 using both traditional and log-ratio approaches. Using the traditional approach, regression between factor scores and RGM and particulate Hg concentrations suggested that none of the sources identified during PFA led to positive contributions of either reactive mercury compound. This finding is counter to most conventional thinking and is likely specious, resulting from removal of censored data (up to >80% of the entire dataset) during the analysis. Log-ratio approaches to find relationships between constituents comprising s2 with RGM and HgP (i.e., s1) focused on log-ratio correlation and regression analyses of alr-transformed data, using Al as the divisor. Regression models accounted for large fractions of the variance in concentrations of the two reactive mercury species and generally agreed with conceptualizations about the formation and behavior of these species. An analysis of independence between the subcompositions demonstrated that the behavior of the two constituents comprising s1 (i.e., RGM and HgP) is dependent on changes in s2. Our findings suggest that although problems related to closure are largely unknown or ignored in the atmospheric sciences, much insight can be gleaned from the application of log-ratio methods to atmospheric chemistry data

Scavenging in the Anthropocene: Human impact drives vertebrate scavenger species richness at a global scale

Understanding the distribution of biodiversity across the Earth is one of the most challenging questions in biology. Much research has been directed at explaining the species latitudinal pattern showing that communities are richer in tropical areas; however, despite decades of research, a general consensus has not yet emerged. In addition, global biodiversity patterns are being rapidly altered by human activities. Here, we aim to describe large‐scale patterns of species richness and diversity in terrestrial vertebrate scavenger (carrion‐consuming) assemblages, which provide key ecosystem functions and services. We used a worldwide dataset comprising 43 sites, where vertebrate scavenger assemblages were identified using 2,485 carcasses monitored between 1991 and 2018. First, we evaluated how scavenger richness (number of species) and diversity (Shannon diversity index) varied among seasons (cold vs. warm, wet vs. dry). Then, we studied the potential effects of human impact and a set of macroecological variables related to climatic conditions on the scavenger assemblages. Vertebrate scavenger richness ranged from species‐poor to species rich assemblages (4–30 species). Both scavenger richness and diversity also showed some seasonal variation. However, in general, climatic variables did not drive latitudinal patterns, as scavenger richness and diversity were not affected by temperature or rainfall. Rainfall seasonality slightly increased the number of species in the community, but its effect was weak. Instead, the human impact index included in our study was the main predictor of scavenger richness. Scavenger assemblages in highly human‐impacted areas sustained the smallest number of scavenger species, suggesting human activity may be overriding other macroecological processes in shaping scavenger communities. Our results highlight the effect of human impact at a global scale. As speciesrich assemblages tend to be more functional, we warn about possible reductions in ecosystem functions and the services provided by scavengers in human‐dominated landscapes in the Anthropocene

Fine-mapping host genetic variation underlying outcomes to Mycobacterium bovis infection in dairy cows

Abstract Background Susceptibility to Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle is governed in part by host genetics. However, cattle diagnosed as infected with M. bovis display varying signs of pathology. The variation in host response to infection could represent a continuum since time of exposure or distinct outcomes due to differing pathogen handling. The relationships between host genetics and variation in host response and pathological sequelae following M. bovis infection were explored by genotyping 1966 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows at 538,231 SNPs with three distinct phenotypes. These were: single intradermal cervical comparative tuberculin (SICCT) test positives with visible lesions (VLs), SICCT-positives with undetected visible lesions (NVLs) and matched controls SICCT-negative on multiple occasions. Results Regional heritability mapping identified three loci associated with the NVL phenotype on chromosomes 17, 22 and 23, distinct to the region on chromosome 13 associated with the VL phenotype. The region on chromosome 23 was at genome-wide significance and candidate genes overlapping the mapped window included members of the bovine leukocyte antigen class IIb region, a complex known for its role in immunity and disease resistance. Chromosome heritability analysis attributed variance to six and thirteen chromosomes for the VL and NVL phenotypes, respectively, and four of these chromosomes were found to explain a proportion of the phenotypic variation for both the VL and NVL phenotype. By grouping the M. bovis outcomes (VLs and NVLs) variance was attributed to nine chromosomes. When contrasting the two M. bovis infection outcomes (VLs vs NVLs) nine chromosomes were found to harbour heritable variation. Regardless of the case phenotype under investigation, chromosome heritability did not exceed 8% indicating that the genetic control of bTB resistance consists of variants of small to moderate effect situated across many chromosomes of the bovine genome. Conclusions These findings suggest the host genetics of M. bovis infection outcomes is governed by distinct and overlapping genetic variants. Thus, variation in the pathology of M. bovis infected cattle may be partly genetically determined and indicative of different host responses or pathogen handling. There may be at least three distinct outcomes following M. bovis exposure in dairy cattle: resistance to infection, infection resulting in pathology or no detectable pathology

Zusammenstellung und wissenschaftliche Interpretation von Daten ueber den Meeresboden der westlichen Ostsee aus den Jahren 1953 - 1985 Schlussbericht

SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F98B296+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany)DEGerman