AeRobiology: the computational tool for biological data in the air

Aerobiology databases are constantly growing. Managing these extensive datasets requires large amounts of time and effort. Nevertheless, publication and dissemination of the scientific findings demand quick and elaborated results, which have led to integrate computational techniques in almost all scientific fields. ”AeRobiology” is a new computational package implemented for R software which has been designed to automatically manage and visualise aerobiological data. It is an open access package and completely free to use. ”AeRobiology” package has 14 different functions which can be structured according to their utility: (1) checking the quality of the data, (2) data analysis and (3) visualization of results. Some of these functions allows to: interpolate missing gaps within the database with different techniques, calculate the main parameters of the pollen season according to all the existing Main Pollen Season definitions, elaborate pollen calendars, detect and measure trends in the main seasonal indexes, visualise the relative abundance of the different particles detected in the air, compare different years or different types of aerosols, visualise phenological parameters, and elaborate interactive plots for interpreting results on real time. More detailed information about each function can be consulted at: https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/AeRobiology/AeRobiology.pdf This new computational tool, which is already available at CRAN repository, could constitute a useful tool to the scientific field of aerobiology. It can reduce the time and effort of the data analysis even for researches who are not very familiar with programming languages. Furthermore, it could be a necessary tool to manage the real-time data from the new automatic sampling devices.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Factores que afectan a la abundancia de la perdiz roja Alectoris rufa en cotos de caza mayor: implicaciones para la gestión y conservación

[EN]: The red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa is not only the most important bird game species but also an important prey species for many predators in Iberia. However, its populations have significantly declined in recent decades, principally as the result of agricultural intensification on arable land. Its abundance has also undergone a significant decline in forested areas over the last few decades, where wild ungulate management and abundance have increased. In this scenario, we aimed to test the factors that affect red-legged partridge abundance in relation to high wild ungulate (wild boar and red deer) abundance in south-central Spain. The factors included as predictors were carnivore, wild boar and red deer abundances, vegetation features, nest predation rate and invertebrate availability. Red deer abundance showed a negative relationship with partridge abundance in spring (non-significant negative trends were also evident for carnivore and wild boar), whereas variables related to food availability (grass biomass, Hemipteran abundance and total invertebrate mass) had a positive effect in the same season. Moreover, deer and carnivore abundances and spring nest predation rate were negatively associated with partridge abundance in autumn. Plant biomass and Hemipteran abundance were negatively correlated with wild boar abundance, whereas maximum pasture height was negatively related to red deer and wild boar abundance. Overall, our results show that high ungulate densities may negatively affect partridge abundance, which may be mediated by (i) a reduction in food availability (invertebrate and herbaceous plant biomass) and (ii) nest predation by wild boar. This research has shown that current intensive big-game hunting management schemes in south-central Spain are often incompatible with red-legged partridge conservation, and that these effects should be taken into account when defining big-game management and conservation policies.[ES]: La perdiz roja Alectoris rufa no solo es el ave de caza más importante, sino que también es una importante presa para muchos depredadores en Iberia. Sin embargo, sus poblaciones han disminuido significativamente en las últimas décadas, principalmente como resultado de la intensificación de la agricultura en zonas agrícolas. Sus abundancias también han sufrido un descenso significativo en zonas forestales durante los últimos decenios donde la gestión de ungulados silvestres y sus abundancias se han incrementado. En este escenario, nuestro objetivo ha sido evaluar los factores que afectan a la abundancia de perdiz roja en un contexto de alta abundancia de ungulados silvestres (jabalí y ciervo) en el centro-sur de España. Los factores incluidos como predictores fueron la abundancia de carnívoros, jabalí y ciervo, las características de la vegetación, la proporción de nidos depredados y la disponibilidad de invertebrados. La abundancia de ciervo mostró una relación negativa con la abundancia de perdiz en primavera (también se evidenciaron tendencias negativas no significativas para carnívoros y jabalí), mientras que las variables relativas a la disponibilidad de alimento (biomasa herbácea, abundancia de hemípteros y el peso total de los invertebrados) tuvieron un efecto positivo en la misma estación. Por otra parte, en otoño, la abundancia de ciervos y carnívoros, y la tasa de depredación de nidos en primavera se asociaron negativamente con la abundancia de perdiz. La biomasa de herbáceas y la abundancia de hemípteros se correlacionaron negativamente con la abundancia de jabalíes, mientras que la altura máxima del pasto estuvo negativamente asociada con la abundancia de ciervo y jabalí. En general, nuestros resultados muestran que las altas densidades de ungulados podrían afectar negativamente a la abundancia de perdiz mediado por (i) una reducción en la disponibilidad de alimento (invertebrados y biomasa de herbáceas) y (ii) la depredación de nidos por el jabalí. Esta investigación ha puesto de manifiesto que los actuales sistemas intensivos de gestión de la caza mayor en el centro-sur de España no son compatibles con la conservación de la perdiz roja, y que por lo tanto, estos efectos deben ser considerados a la hora de definir las políticas para la gestión de la caza mayor y la conservación.To the Environmental Council of the Andalusian Autonomous Government for financing this work via a project to improve the habitat of the black vulture Aegypius monachus in Córdoba province.Peer Reviewe

Predicting the main pollen season of Broussonetia Papyrifera (paper mulberry) tree

Paper mulberry pollen, declared a pest in several countries including Pakistan, can trigger severe allergies and cause asthma attacks. We aimed to develop an algorithm that could accurately predict high pollen days to underpin an alert system that would allow patients to take timely precautionary measures. We developed and validated two prediction models that take historical Nov 15, 2023 2/18 pollen and weather data as their input to predict the start date and peak date of the pollen season in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. The first model is based on linear regression and the second one is based on phenological modelling. We tested our models on an original and comprehensive dataset from Islamabad. The mean absolute errors (MAEs) for the start day are 2.3 and 3.7 days for the linear and phenological models, respectively, while for the peak day, the MAEs are 3.3 and 4.0 days, respectively. These encouraging results could be used in a website or app to notify patients and healthcare providers to start preparing for the paper mulberry pollen season. Timely action could reduce the burden of symptoms, mitigate the risk of acute attacks and potentially prevent deaths due to acute pollen-induced allergy

Land use and biodiversity patterns of the herpetofauna: The role of olive groves

The intensification of agriculture has significant environmental consequences. This intensification entails the simplification and homogenisation of the landscape, which leads to strong negative impacts at ecosystem level, including declines in animal biodiversity. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of different land uses on reptilian and amphibian biodiversity patterns at a regional scale by analysing a large database on the presence of amphibians and reptiles in Andalusia (southern Spain). GIS techniques and the Ecological-Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) were applied in order to assess whether the habitat was suitable for each reptilian and amphibian species, when the land use variables were excluded. The incongruence between the potential and the observed species richness was then correlated with the main types of land use in Andalusia. Our results showed that irrigated and unirrigated olive groves were associated with a biodiversity deficit of amphibians and reptiles respectively, whereas natural forests and pastures, along with more heterogeneous crops areas, were more suitable. A clustering analysis showed that generalist species were related to olive groves whereas rare and specialist species were related to land uses related to natural vegetation. In summary, our results indicate that large areas covered by olives groves harbour less amphibian and reptilian diversity, thus suggesting that agro-environmental schemes should be carried to promote the species richness in these crops.This work was supported by the project (AGL 2012-40128-C03-01) and EU–FEDER funds. AJC holds an FPI pre-doctoral scholarship.Peer reviewe

Las altas densidades de ciervo y jabalí son incompatibles con la conservación de la perdiz roja

Resumen del póster presentado a la V Reunión sobre Ungulados Silvestres Ibéricos (RUSI), celebrada en Ciudad Real el 12 y 13 de septiembre de 2014.En zonas forestales, las densidades de perdiz roja (Alectoris rufa) se han visto reducidas a la vez que las densidades de jabalí (Sus scrofa) y ciervo (Cervus elaphus) han aumentado notablemente como consecuencia de la gestión cinegética. La gestión ha estado encaminada a fomentar las poblaciones de ungulados, pero las altas densidades de ungulados podrían estar afectando a la perdiz roja mediante una reducción en la disponibilidad de alimento y por depredación de nidos en el caso del jabalí. Para testar si existe dicho efecto, en 9 fincas de caza mayor se realizaron una serie de experimentos cuyos objetivos fueron: a) testar el papel de jabalí como depredador de nidos de perdiz; y b) relacionar la abundancia de perdiz, jabalí y ciervo mediante la técnica de los mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS) incluyendo otras variables, como la abundancia de los grupos de invertebrados y las familias botánicas más importantes en la dieta de la perdiz, biomasa vegetal, biomasa de invertebrados, y la abundancia de carnívoros, con el fin de conocer los factores que influyen en la abundancia de perdiz en las fincas de caza mayor. Los resultados mostraron que: a) el jabalí fue el principal depredador de nidos de perdiz, consumiendo un 36 % de los nidos artificiales colocados; b) la abundancia de perdiz estuvo negativamente relacionada con la tasa de depredación de nidos y con la densidad de ciervo, jabalí y carnívoros, mientras que se encontró una relación positiva con la abundancia de Hemípteros, la biomasa de invertebrados y la biomasas vegetal; y c) los hemípteros así como la biomasa y altura del pasto se vieron afectados negativamente por los ungulados. Todos estos resultados ponen de manifiesto la incompatibilidad de altas densidades de ciervo y jabalí con la conservación de la perdiz roja en fincas de caza mayor.Peer Reviewe

¿Hasta qué punto los futuros docentes se sienten preparados para enseñar? Un estudio de caso en el Máster Universitario en formación del profesorado de educación secundaria

[EN]: Teacher-training programs around the world, and especially in Europe do not specify in detail the capacities that future professionals should acquire, so it brings about a great discussion among educators, researchers and teachers. The main objective of this study is to collect the impressions of future Secondary Education teachers as regards the competences attained during their studies. The self-evaluation of 353 students was carried out using a Likert-scale questionnaire made up by 13 variables gathered into three dimensions namely social competence, academic competence and personal competence. R Software, InfoStats and SPSS v. 25 software were used in order to analyze the data collected. Confirmatory factorial analyses and linear mixed modelling were applied to identify factors affecting the acquisition of competences. The students’ area of knowledge and their employment situation were key factors in the development of academic and social competences, while the personal dimension was affected only by the area of knowledge. These results obviously show that there are some competences whose level of development could be improved, and we have also identified some weaknesses in the development of certain competences. In addition, these data have allowed us to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the initial teacher-training curriculum.[ES]: Los programas de formación del profesorado en todo el mundo, y especialmente en Europa, no especifican en detalle las capacidades que deberían adquirir los futuros profesionales, por lo que provoca un gran debate entre educadores, investigadores y docentes. El objetivo principal de este estudio es conocer y evaluar el nivel de desarrollo de las competencias adquiridas por futuros docentes de Educación Secundaria durante su formación inicial. La autoevaluación de 353 estudiantes se realizó mediante un cuestionario en escala Likert con 13 variables agrupadas en tres dimensiones: competencia social, académica y personal. Se utilizó R, InfoStats y el software SPSS v.25 para analizar los datos recogidos. Se aplicaron análisis factoriales confirmatorios y modelos lineales mixtos para identificar los factores que afectan a la adquisición de competencias. El área de conocimiento de los estudiantes y su situación laboral fueron factores clave en el desarrollo de las competencias académicas y sociales, mientras que la dimensión personal solo se vio afectada por el área de conocimiento. Estos resultados muestran que existen algunas competencias cuyo nivel de desarrollo se podría mejorar. Asimismo, estos datos nos han permitido evaluar las fortalezas y debilidades del plan de estudios de la formación inicial docente.Peer reviewe

Assessing coincidence between areas with alien species and priority conservation areas for vertebrate groups in a Mediterranean hotspot

Resumen del póster presentado a la 10th European Vertebrate Pest Management Conference, celebrada en Sevilla (España) del 21 al 25 de septiembre de 2015.Risk maps summarizing the landscape suitability of novel areas for invading species can be valuable tools for preventing species invasions through preventive conservation plans, since avoiding future invasions is less difficult and costly than the control or eradication of already-established populations. These risk maps are based on the identification of environmental variables affecting alien species distribution. In this study, this technique, was used to establish the areas that had a higher risk of being colonized by alien species, and then overlap these areas with priority conservation zones characterized by a higher vertebrate species richness. GIS techniques and spatially explicit predictive modelling were applied to determine habitat suitability for the diversity of vertebrate alien species in Spain. Our results showed that urban land uses and the distances to big cities and some climatic variables such as Mean Diurnal Range´´, ``Isothermality´´ or ``Mean Temperature of Driest Quarter´´ were key features to predict the distribution of alien species. Moreover, the numbers of native and alien species were positively correlated in accordance with the acceptance hypothesis that predicts a higher number of both native and alien species when more micro niches are available. We also identified Potential Conflict Areas, which have higher values for the number of both native and predicted alien species. Many of the identified potential conflict areas coincide with protected areas, which further aggravates the problem as these areas are often home to endangered species which may be adversely affected by the emergence of alien species.Peer Reviewe

¿Hasta qué punto los futuros docentes se sienten preparados para enseñar?: Un estudio de caso en el Máster Universitario en formación del profesorado de educación secundaria

Teacher-training programs around the world, and especially in Europe do not specify in detail the capacities that future professionals should acquire, so it brings about a great discussion among educators, researchers and teachers. The main objective of this study is to know and evaluate the level of competence development acquired by future Secondary Education teachers during their initial training. The self-evaluation of 353 students was carried out using a Likert-scale questionnaire made up by 13 variables gathered into three dimensions namely social competence, academic competence and personal competence. R Software, InfoStats and SPSS v.25 software were used in order to analyze the data collected. Confirmatory factorial analyses and linear mixed modelling were applied to identify factors affecting the acquisition of competences. The students’ area of knowledge and their employment situation were key factors in the development of academic and social competences, while the personal dimension was affected only by the area of knowledge. These results obviously show that there are some competences whose level of development could be improved, and we have also identified some weaknesses in the development of certain competences. In addition, these data have allowed us to assess the strengths and weak-nesses of the initial teacher-training curriculumLos programas de formación del profesorado en todo el mundo, y especialmente en Europa, no especifican en detalle las capacidades que deberían adquirir los futuros profesionales, por lo que provoca un gran debate entre educadores, investigadores y docentes. El objetivo principal de este estudio es conocer y evaluar el nivel de desarrollo de las competencias adquiridas por futuros docentes de Educación Secundaria durante su formación inicial. La autoevaluación de 353 estudiantes se realizó mediante un cuestionario en escala Likert con 13 variables agrupadas en tres dimensiones: competencia social, académica y personal. Se utilizó R, InfoStats y el software SPSS v.25 para analizar los datos recogidos. Se aplicaron análisis factoriales confirmatorios y modelos lineales mixtos para identificar los factores que afectan a la adquisición de competencias. El área de conocimiento de los estudiantes y su situación laboral fueron facto-res clave en el desarrollo de las competencias académicas y sociales, mientras que la dimensión personal solo se vio afectada por el área de conocimiento. Estos resultados muestran que existen algunas competencias cuyo nivel de desarrollo se podría mejorar. Asimismo, estos datos nos han permitido evaluar las fortalezas y debilidades del plan de estudios de la formación inicial docent