Adapters: A Unified Library for Parameter-Efficient and Modular Transfer Learning

We introduce Adapters, an open-source library that unifies parameter-efficient and modular transfer learning in large language models. By integrating 10 diverse adapter methods into a unified interface, Adapters offers ease of use and flexible configuration. Our library allows researchers and practitioners to leverage adapter modularity through composition blocks, enabling the design of complex adapter setups. We demonstrate the library's efficacy by evaluating its performance against full fine-tuning on various NLP tasks. Adapters provides a powerful tool for addressing the challenges of conventional fine-tuning paradigms and promoting more efficient and modular transfer learning. The library is available via https://adapterhub.ml/adapters.Comment: EMNLP 2023: Systems Demonstration

Oligodon vertebralis (Dark-spined Kukri Snake)

A new record of the colubrid snake, Oligodon vertebralis from Sarawak is presented

Cuora mouhotii (Gray 1862) – Keeled Box Turtle

– The Keeled Box Turtle, Cuora mouhotii (Family Geoemydidae), is a small (carapace length up to ca. 250 mm), once poorly-known terrestrial species. Recent extensive research on the species in its natural habitat in northern Vietnam and Hainan, China, has significantly increased available knowledge of the species. Cuora mouhotii is a highly terrestrial turtle from the mesic forests of Southeast Asia. Two subspecies have been described, and intergradient populations are known. Relatively widespread, it is apparently abundant nowhere. Omnivorous, at least in captivity, the species is highly carnivorous in the wild but will also take fruit. Clutch size ranges from 1–9 eggs, with egg dimensions ca. 41 x 26 mm; incubation period in captivity varies from 82 to 120 days. Major threats to the species are loss of forest habitat from logging and commercial trade for Traditional Chinese Medicine and food. To a lesser extent capture for local consumption and both national and international pet trade are factors threatening this species

Adapters: A Unified Library for Parameter-Efficient and Modular Transfer Learning

We introduce Adapters, an open-source library that unifies parameter-efficient and modular transfer learning in large language models. By integrating 10 diverse adapter methods into a unified interface, Adapters offers ease of use and flexible configuration. Our library allows researchers and practitioners to leverage adapter modularity through composition blocks, enabling the design of complex adapter setups. We demonstrate the library’s efficacy by evaluating its performance against full fine-tuning on various NLP tasks. Adapters provides a powerful tool for addressing the challenges of conventional fine-tuning paradigms and promoting more efficient and modular transfer learning. The library is available via https://adapterhub.ml/adapters

The global diversity and distribution of lizard clutch sizes

AimClutch size is a key life- history trait. In lizards, it ranges over two orders of magnitude. The global drivers of spatial and phylogenetic variation in clutch have been extensively studied in birds, but such tests in other organisms are lacking. To test the generality of latitudinal gradients in clutch size, and their putative drivers, we present the first global- scale analysis of clutch sizes across lizard taxa.LocationGlobal.Time periodRecent.Major taxa studiedLizards (Reptilia, Squamata, Sauria).MethodsWe analysed clutch- size data for over 3,900 lizard species, using phylogenetic generalized least- square regression to study the relationships between clutch sizes and environmental (temperature, precipitation, seasonality, primary productivity, insularity) and ecological factors (body mass, insularity, activity times, and microhabitat use).ResultsLarger clutches are laid at higher latitudes and in more productive and seasonal environments. Insular taxa lay smaller clutches on average. Temperature and precipitation per se are unrelated to clutch sizes. In Africa, patterns differ from those on other continents. Lineages laying small fixed clutches are restricted to low latitudes.Main conclusionsWe suggest that the constraint imposed by a short activity season, coupled with abundant resources, is the main driver of large- clutch evolution at high latitudes and in highly seasonal regions. We hypothesize that such conditions - which are unsuitable for species constrained to laying multiple small clutches - may limit the distribution of fixed- clutch taxa.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156247/4/geb13124-sup-0001-AppendixS1.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156247/3/geb13124.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156247/2/geb13124-sup-0003-AppendixS3.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156247/1/geb13124_am.pd

Global conservation status of turtles and tortoises (order Testudines)

We present a review and analysis of the conservation status and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat categories of all 360 currently recognized species of extant and recently extinct turtles and tortoises (Order Testudines). Our analysis is based on the 2018 IUCN Red List status of 251 listed species, augmented by provisional Red List assessments by the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) of 109 currently unlisted species of tortoises and freshwater turtles, as well as re-assessments of several outdated IUCN Red List assessments. Of all recognized species of turtles and tortoises, this combined analysis indicates that 20.0% are Critically Endangered (CR), 35.3% are Critically Endangered or Endangered (CR+EN), and 51.9% are Threatened (CR+EN+Vulnerable). Adjusting for the potential threat levels of Data Deficient (DD) species indicates that 56.3% of all data-sufficient species are Threatened. We calculated percentages of imperiled species and modified Average Threat Levels (ATL; ranging from Least Concern = 1 to Extinct = 8) for various taxonomic and geographic groupings. Proportionally more species in the subfamily Geoemydinae (Asian members of the family Geoemydidae) are imperiled (74.2% CR I EN, 79.0% Threatened, 3.89 ATL) compared to other taxonomic groupings, but the families Podocnemididae, Testudinidae, and Trionychidae and the superfamily Chelonioidea (marine turtles of the families Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae) also have high percentages of imperiled species and ATLs (42.9-50.0% CR+EN, 73.8-100.0% Threatened, 3.44-4.06 ATL). The subfamily Rhinoclemmydinae (Neotropical turtles of the family Geoemydidae) and the families Kinosternidae and Pelomedusidae have the lowest percentages of imperiled species and ATLs (0%-7.4% CR+EN, 7.4%-13.3% Threatened, 1.65-1.87 ATL). Turtles from Asia have the highest percentages of imperiled species (75.0% CR+EN, 83.0% Threatened, 3.98 ATL), significantly higher than predicted based on the regional species richness, due to much higher levels of exploitation in that geographic region. The family Testudinidae has the highest ATL (4.06) of all Testudines due to the extinction of several species of giant tortoises from Indian and Pacific Ocean islands since 1500 CE. The family Testudinidae also has an ATL higher than all other larger polytypic families (>= 5 species) of Reptilia or Amphibia. The order Testudines is, on average, more imperiled than all other larger orders (>= 20 species) of Reptilia, Amphibia, Mammalia, or Ayes, but has percentages of CR FEN and Threatened species and an ATL (2.96) similar to those of Primates and Caudata (salamanders)

The conservation status of the world’s reptiles

Effective and targeted conservation action requires detailed information about species, their distribution, systematics and ecology as well as the distribution of threat processes which affect them. Knowledge of reptilian diversity remains surprisingly disparate, and innovative means of gaining rapid insight into the status of reptiles are needed in order to highlight urgent conservation cases and inform environmental policy with appropriate biodiversity information in a timely manner. We present the first ever global analysis of extinction risk in reptiles, based on a random representative sample of 1500 species (16% of all currently known species). To our knowledge, our results provide the first analysis of the global conservation status and distribution patterns of reptiles and the threats affecting them, highlighting conservation priorities and knowledge gaps which need to be addressed urgently to ensure the continued survival of the world’s reptiles. Nearly one in five reptilian species are threatened with extinction, with another one in five species classed as Data Deficient. The proportion of threatened reptile species is highest in freshwater environments, tropical regions and on oceanic islands, while data deficiency was highest in tropical areas, such as Central Africa and Southeast Asia, and among fossorial reptiles. Our results emphasise the need for research attention to be focussed on tropical areas which are experiencing the most dramatic rates of habitat loss, on fossorial reptiles for which there is a chronic lack of data, and on certain taxa such as snakes for which extinction risk may currently be underestimated due to lack of population information. Conservation actions specifically need to mitigate the effects of human-induced habitat loss and harvesting, which are the predominant threats to reptiles