Effect of supplementary feeding on reproductive success of hihi (stitchbird, Notiomystis cincta) at a mature forest reintroduction site

Supplementary feeding has proven to be a successful conservation tool for many species, including New Zealand’s hihi (stitchbird, Notiomystis cincta). Previous research has shown supplementary feeding to substantially increase hihi reproductive success at regenerating forest sites, but suggested that it would have reduced benefit in mature forest habitat. Here we report the first direct test of the effect of supplementary feeding on hihi reproductive success in mature forest, using data from the recently reintroduced population at Maungatautari Ecological Island. Eight feeder-using females and nine non-feeder-using females were monitored during the 2012/13 breeding season at Maungatautari to determine how feeder use affected reproductive success (nest success, number of first-clutch fledglings per female and total number of fledglings per female). Feeder-using females fledged 3.7 times as many fledglings as non-feeder-using females in their first-clutch attempts (95% CI 1.6–8.8), and 1.8 times as many fledglings in total (95% CI 1.0–3.5). No feeder-using female experienced nest failure, whereas 7 of the 16 nest attempts of non-feeder-using females failed to fledge any young. The results suggest that, counter to expectations, supplementary feeder use has a significant impact on reproductive success in mature forest habitat. At least for Maungatautari, providing supplementary food in mature forest habitat appears to greatly reduce the probability of hihi nest failure, and increases the number of young a female can fledge

Behaviour in the hand predicts male natal dispersal distances in an establishing reintroduced hihi (Notiomystis cincta) population

Natal dispersal is a complex behaviour influenced by multiple factors that are often sex-specific and density-dependent. Reintroduced populations are typically low in density in the initial years of establishment; hence, understanding natal dispersal patterns in this context is a critical component of reintroduction biology. Natal dispersal is a key behaviour that influences both the probability of recruitment, and simultaneously dictates the spatial configuration of the reintroduced population as it establishes. Here, we examine natal dispersal in a reintroduced population of an endangered New Zealand forest passerine, the hihi, Notiomystis cincta, in the first 3 years after reintroduction to a large, mature forest reserve. We examined (1) differences between the sexes, and (2) the relationship between temperament and natal dispersal distances (NDD) in locally bred hihi over this time period. We found NDD varied widely in both sexes, with mean NDD significantly higher in males than females. There was a sex-specific effect of temperament, with males that distress-called during handling dispersing further than those that did not. Our results show that while clusters of individuals have established across the reserve due to conspecific attraction, there is movement between these clusters, primarily a consequence of dispersal of males of a distinct temperament. Continuing to monitor natal dispersal patterns as populations establish will provide further insights into the role of dispersal in shaping establishment patterns in reintroduced populations

Prospects for policy advances in science and technology in the Gulf Arab States: the role of international partnerships

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) policies in the Gulf Arab States are as diverse as the individual economies and political processes that characterize its member states. During the past decade, a number of expert review groups have argued that science and technology policy needs to be reformed and revitalized in the Gulf Arab States. Several reports and studies have identified the need to develop and adopt more rigorous plans to raise the level of research and development (R&D) in the region. In several of the Gulf Arab States, policy makers have sought to address this issue through establishment of new “Education Cities” wherein university campuses have been co-located with industrial parks in order to build regional knowledge economies. Many of these initiatives have attracted foreign talent and global R&D firms. Our research aims to understand the etiology of the under-performance of the R & D efforts in the region. In this paper, we report on results obtained from in-person interviews with the Ministers of Education and other educators in the Gulf Arab States. We interviewed experts in the field of science and technology policy in the Gulf region to address the following major questions: 1) how can science (e.g. biomedical, agriculture, engineering) be strengthened in the Gulf Arab States; 2) how effective are the science policies enacted by regional governments in the Gulf, and how can these policies be enhanced; 3) what role do regional or international collaborations play in a research and training network system, and how can these regional partnerships be bolstered; and, 4) how can the international community assist to accelerate progress and reduce the science knowledge gap. Our results show that the under-performance of the Gulf region in science and technology appears to be due to a: 1) lack of early exposure of young adults to science, 2) low perception of the societal value of science, 3) lack of institutional (e.g. university) resources, 4) too few scientists who make science their long-term careers, 5) lack of an integrated, international research network of collaboration, and 6) lack of motivation among students. We also report on our findings regarding the state-of-the-art of the research enterprise, and the strengths and weaknesses of the research and training environment as perceived by educators/administrators in the region

The biogeography of South African terrestrial plant invasions

Thousands of plant species have been introduced, intentionally and accidentally, to South Africa from many parts of the world. Alien plants are now conspicuous features of many South African landscapes and hundreds of species have naturalised (i.e. reproduce regularly without human intervention), many of which are also invasive (i.e. have spread over long distances). There is no comprehensive inventory of alien, naturalised, and invasive plants for South Africa, but 327 plant taxa, most of which are invasive, are listed in national legislation. We collated records of 759 plant taxa in 126 families and 418 genera that have naturalised in natural and semi-natural ecosystems. Over half of these naturalised taxa are trees or shrubs, just under a tenth are in the families Fabaceae (73 taxa) and Asteraceae (64); genera with the most species are Eucalyptus,Acacia, and Opuntia. The southern African Plant Invaders Atlas (SAPIA) provides the best data for assessing the extent of invasions at the national scale. SAPIA data show that naturalised plants occur in 83% of quarter-degree grid cells in the country. While SAPIA data highlight general distribution patterns (high alien plant species richness in areas with high native plant species richness and around the main human settlements), an accurate, repeatable method for estimating the area invaded by plants is lacking. Introductions and dissemination of alien plants over more than three centuries, and invasions over at least 120 years (and especially in the last 50 years) have shaped the distribution of alien plants in South Africa. Distribution patterns of naturalised and invasive plants define four ecologically-meaningful clusters or “alien plant species assemblage zones”, each with signature alien plant taxa for which trait-environment interactions can be postulated as strong determinants of success. Some widespread invasive taxa occur in high frequencies across multiple zones; these taxa occur mainly in riparian zones and other azonal habitats,or depend on human-mediated disturbance, which weakens or overcomes the factors that determine specificity to any biogeographical region

Unusual tumours of the heart: diagnostic and prognostic implications

Metastases to the heart are extremely uncommon. We describe three unusual cases along with their management. A review of the current literature concerning cardiac secondaries is included

Ballistic protective properties of material representative of English civil war buff-coats and clothing

One type of clothing system used in the English Civil War, more common amongst cavalrymen than infantrymen, was the linen shirt, wool waistcoat and buff-coat. Ballistic testing was conducted to estimate the velocity at which 50% of 12-bore lead spherical projectiles (V50) would be expected to perforate this clothing system when mounted on gelatine (a tissue simulant used in wound ballistic studies). An estimated six-shot V50 for the clothing system was calculated as 102 m/s. The distance at which the projectile would have decelerated from the muzzle of the weapon to this velocity in free flight was triple the recognised effective range of weapons of the era suggesting that the clothing system would provide limited protection for the wearer. The estimated V50 was also compared with recorded bounce-and-roll data; this suggested that the clothing system could provide some protection to the wearer from ricochets. Finally, potential wounding behind the clothing system was investigated; the results compared favourably with seventeenth century medical writings

The H-band Emitting Region of the Luminous Blue Variable P Cygni: Spectrophotometry and Interferometry of the Wind

This is the final version of the article. Available from American Astronomical Society / IOP Publishing via the DOI in this record.We present the first high angular resolution observations in the near-infrared H band (1.6 μm) of the luminous blue variable star P Cygni. We obtained six-telescope interferometric observations with the CHARA Array and the MIRC beam combiner. These show that the spatial flux distribution is larger than expected for the stellar photosphere. A two-component model for the star (uniform disk) plus a halo (two-dimensional Gaussian) yields an excellent fit of the observations, and we suggest that the halo corresponds to flux emitted from the base of the stellar wind. This wind component contributes about 45% of the H-band flux and has an angular FWHM = 0.96 mas, compared to the predicted stellar diameter of 0.41 mas. We show several images reconstructed from the interferometric visibilities and closure phases, and they indicate a generally spherical geometry for the wind. We also obtained near-infrared spectrophotometry of P Cygni from which we derive the flux excess compared to a purely photospheric spectral energy distribution. The H-band flux excess matches that from the wind flux fraction derived from the two-component fits to the interferometry. We find evidence of significant near-infrared flux variability over the period from 2006 to 2010 that appears similar to the variations in the Hα emission flux from the wind.We acknowledge with thanks the variable star observations from the AAVSO International Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this research. Support for Ritter Astrophysical Research Center during the time of the observations was provided by the National Science Foundation Program for Research and Education with Small Telescopes (NSF-PREST) under grant AST-0440784 (N.D.M.). This work was also supported by the National Science Foundation under grants AST-0606861 and AST-1009080 (D.R.G.). N.D.R. gratefully acknowledges his current CRAQ postdoctoral fellowship. We are grateful for the insightful comments of A. F. J. Moffat that improved portions of the paper, discussions with Paco Najarro and Luc Dessart about spectroscopic modeling of P Cygni, and support of the MIRC 6 telescope beam combiner by Ettore Pedretti. Institutional support has been provided by the GSU College of Arts and Sciences and by the Research Program Enhancement fund of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, administered through the GSU Office of the Vice President for Research. Operational funding for the CHARA Array is provided by the GSU College of Arts and Sciences, by the National Science Foundation through grants AST-0606958 and AST-0908253, by the W. M. Keck Foundation, and by the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute. We thank the Mount Wilson Institute for providing infrastructure support at Mount Wilson Observatory. The CHARA Array, operated by Georgia State University, was built with funding provided by the National Science Foundation, Georgia State University, the W. M. Keck Foundation, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. This research was conducted in part using the Mimir instrument, jointly developed at Boston University and Lowell Observatory and supported by NASA, NSF, and the W. M. Keck Foundation. J.D.M. acknowledges University of Michigan and NSF AST-0707927 for support of MIRC construction and observations. D.P.C. acknowledges support under NSF AST-0907790 to Boston University. We gratefully acknowledge all of this support. This research has made use of the SIMBAD database operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France

WNT signaling regulates self-renewal and differentiation of prostate cancer cells with stem cell characteristics

Prostate cancer cells with stem cell characteristics were identified in human prostate cancer cell lines by their ability to form from single cells self-renewing prostaspheres in non-adherent cultures. Prostaspheres exhibited heterogeneous expression of proliferation, differentiation and stem cell-associated makers CD44, ABCG2 and CD133. Treatment with WNT inhibitors reduced both prostasphere size and self-renewal. In contrast, addition of Wnt3a caused increased prostasphere size and self-renewal, which was associated with a significant increase in nuclear Β-catenin, keratin 18, CD133 and CD44 expression. As a high proportion of LNCaP and C4-2B cancer cells express androgen receptor we determined the effect of the androgen receptor antagonist bicalutamide. Androgen receptor inhibition reduced prostasphere size and expression of PSA, but did not inhibit prostasphere formation. These effects are consistent with the androgen-independent self-renewal of cells with stem cell characteristics and the androgen-dependent proliferation of transit amplifying cells. As the canonical WNT signaling effector Β-catenin can also associate with the androgen receptor, we propose a model for tumour propagation involving a balance between WNT and androgen receptor activity. That would affect the self-renewal of a cancer cell with stem cell characteristics and drive transit amplifying cell proliferation and differentiation. In conclusion, we provide evidence that WNT activity regulates the self-renewal of prostate cancer cells with stem cell characteristics independently of androgen receptor activity. Inhibition of WNT signaling therefore has the potential to reduce the self-renewal of prostate cancer cells with stem cell characteristics and improve the therapeutic outcome.Peer reviewe