Patrones de legado en la abundancia de coleópteros montanos epigeos luego de la erupción del complejo volcánico Puyehue-Cordón Caulle (NW Patagonia, Argentina)

Organisms that survive a volcanic eruption are part of the biological legacies that are fundamental to subsequent succession and ecosystem development. In January 2012, the summer immediately after the eruption of the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcanic complex, we evaluated the short-term response of epigaeic beetle abundance to ash deposition. We focused on three mountains (La Mona, Bayo, Challhuaco) in northwestern Patagonia (Argentina) that were differentially affected by ash deposition. We re-established 32, 100 m2 sampling plots of nine pitfall traps, every 100 m of altitude from the base to the summit of each peak, which we had previously sampled in January 2005 and 2006. We compared the shape of pre- and post- eruptive abundance-elevation relationship (AER), and assessed whether the relative importance of environmental predictors of AER (ambient energy, vegetation cover, plant species richness and soil attributes) changed after the eruption. La Mona and Bayo were most affected by ash deposition; Challhuaco was considerable less affected. Yearly fluctuations in abundance levels were significant in Bayo; here, the shape of AER changed significantly after the eruption. In La Mona, abundance was similar among sampled years, and the shape of AER departed weakly from the overall trend after the eruption. In Challhuaco, abundance tended to increase weakly with time, and the shape of AER did not change after the eruption. Gravel percentage and tree canopy cover were the two most important predictors of pre-eruptive AER, but only tree canopy cover remained as important after the eruption. We conclude that short-term effects of ash deposition on epigaeic mountain beetles were subtle and suggest that the presence of a gradient of ash deposition may lead to associated patterns in biological legacies. Long-term monitoring is essential to fully understand the structural and functional recovery of these mountain ecosystems.Los organismos que sobreviven a una erupción volcánica son parte fundamental del legado biológico determinante de la subsecuente sucesión y desarrollo del ecosistema. En enero 2012, en el verano inmediato a la erupción del complejo volcánico PuyehueCordón Caulle, evaluamos la respuesta a corto plazo de la abundancia de coleópteros epigeos al depósito de ceniza. Estudiamos tres montañas (La Mona, Bayo, Challhuaco) en el noroeste de la Patagonia (Argentina), afectadas diferencialmente por el depósito de ceniza. Re-establecimos 32 sitios de muestreo con nueve trampas de caída distribuidas en 100 m2 , ubicados cada 100 m de altitud desde la base a la cima de cada montaña, y muestreados previamente (enero 2005, 2006). Comparamos la forma pre- y post- eruptiva de la relación abundancia-elevación (AER). Determinamos la importancia relativa de predictores ambientales de AER (energía ambiental, cobertura de la vegetación, riqueza de especies de plantas, y atributos de suelo) pre- y post- erupción. La Mona y Bayo fueron más afectados por el depósito de ceniza; Challhuaco fue menos afectado. Los niveles de abundancia fluctuaron significativamente en Bayo, se mantuvieron constantes en La Mona y aumentaron levemente en Challhuaco. Luego de la erupción, la forma de AER cambió significativamente en Bayo, se apartó débilmente de la tendencia promedio en La Mona, y no cambió en Challhuaco. El porcentaje de gravas y la cobertura del dosel arbóreo fueron los predictores más importantes de AER pre-eruptivo; solamente la cobertura del dosel arbóreo permaneció como importante luego de la erupción. Los efectos a corto plazo del depósito de ceniza sobre la abundancia de coleópteros epigeos fueron sutiles y sugieren que la presencia de un gradiente en el depósito de ceniza puede conducir a patrones asociados en los legados biológicos. Un monitoreo a largo plazo será indispensable para comprender la recuperación estructural y funcional de estos ecosistemas montanos.Fil: Ruggiero, Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Reg.universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Werenkraut, Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Reg.universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentin

Ecological responses of arthropods to volcanism

The explosive eruption of the PuyehueCordón Caulle (PCC) volcanic complex on June 4th 2011 changed substantially the physiognomy of landscapes in northwestern Patagonia (Argentina). The ash fall resulting from this powerful eruption blanketed several million hectares, and prevailing westerly winds during and after the event generated steep ashfall gradients (Gaitán et al. 2011) (Fig. 1) with important effects on spatial heterogeneity. Several research groups conducting ongoing research projects in northern Patagonia envisaged the spatial heterogeneity generated by the ash fall as a natural experiment that offered a unique opportunity to evaluate ecological effects of these unpredictable and extreme events.Fil: Ruggiero, Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Kitzberger, Thomas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; Argentin

Ecological Diversity in South American Mammals: Their Geographical Distribution Shows Variable Associations with Phylogenetic Diversity and Does Not Follow the Latitudinal Richness Gradient

The extent to which the latitudinal gradient in species richness may be paralleled by a similar gradient of increasing functional or phylogenetic diversity is a matter of controversy. We evaluated whether taxonomic richness (TR) is informative in terms of ecological diversity (ED, an approximation to functional diversity) and phylogenetic diversity (AvPD) using data on 531 mammal species representing South American old autochthonous (marsupials, xenarthrans), mid-Cenozoic immigrants (hystricognaths, primates) and newcomers (carnivorans, artiodactyls). If closely related species are ecologically more similar than distantly related species, AvPD will be a strong predictor of ED; however, lower ED than predicted from AvPD may be due to species retaining most of their ancestral characters, suggesting niche conservatism. This pattern could occur in tropical rainforests for taxa of tropical affinity (old autochthonous and mid-Cenozoic immigrants) and in open and arid habitats for newcomers. In contrast, higher ED than expected from AvPD could occur, possibly in association with niche evolution, in arid and open habitats for taxa of tropical affinity and in forested habitats for newcomers. We found that TR was a poor predictor of ED and AvPD. After controlling for TR, there was considerable variability in the extent to which AvPD accounted for ED. Taxa of tropical affinity did not support the prediction of ED deficit within tropical rainforests, rather, they showed a mosaic of regions with an excess of ED interspersed with zones of ED deficit within the tropics; newcomers showed ED deficit in arid and open regions. Some taxa of tropical affinity showed excess of ED in tropical desert areas (hystricognaths) or temperate semideserts (xenarthrans); newcomers showed excess of ED at cold-temperate latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. This result suggests that extreme climatic conditions at both temperate and tropical latitudes may have promoted niche evolution in mammals.Fil: Fergnani, Paula Nilda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Ruggiero, Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación En Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; Argentin

Cliffs Used as Communal Roosts by Andean Condors Protect the Birds from Weather and Predators

The quality and availability of resources influence the geographical distribution of species. Social species need safe places to rest, meet, exchange information and obtain thermoregulatory benefits, but those places may also serve other important functions that have been overlooked in research. We use a large soaring bird that roosts communally in cliffs, the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), as a model species to elucidate whether roost locations serve as a refuge from adverse weather conditions (climatic refuge hypothesis, CRH), and/or from predators or anthropogenic disturbances (threats refuge hypothesis, TRH). The CRH predicts that communal roosts will face in the opposite direction from where storms originate, and will be located in climatically stable, low precipitation areas. The TRH predicts that communal roosts will be large, poorly accessible cliffs, located far from human-made constructions. We surveyed cliffs used as communal roosts by condors in northwestern Patagonia, and compared them with alternative non-roosting cliffs to test these predictions at local and regional scales. We conclude that communal roosting places provide refuge against climate and disturbances such as, for instance, the threats of predators (including humans). Thus, it is not only the benefits gained from being aggregated per se, but the characteristics of the place selected for roosting that may both be essential for the survival of the species. This should be considered in management and conservation plans given the current scenario of global climate change and the increase in environmental disturbances.Fil: Lambertucci, Sergio Agustin. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnol.conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Invest.en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente;Fil: Ruggiero, Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnol.conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Invest.en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente

A global consistent positive effect of urban green area size on bird richness

Background: Although the species-urban green area relationship (SARu) has been analyzed worldwide, the global consistency of its parameters, such as the fit and the slope of models, remains unexplored. Moreover, the SARu can be explained by 20 different models. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate which models provide a better explanation of SARus and, focusing on the power model, to evaluate the global heterogeneity in its fit and slope. Methods: We tested the performance of multiple statistical models in accounting for the way in which species richness increases with area, and examined whether variability in model form was associated with various methodological and environmental factors. Focusing on the power model, we analyzed the global heterogeneity in the fit and slope of the models through a meta-analysis. Results: Among 20 analyzed models, the linear model provided the best fit to the most datasets, was the top ranked model according to our efficiency criterion, and was the top overall ranked model. The Kobayashi and power models were the second and third overall ranked models, respectively. The number of green areas and the minimum number of species within a green area were the only significant variables explaining the variation in model form and performance, accounting for less than 10% of the variation. Based on the power model, there was a consistent overall fit (r 2 = 0.50) and positive slope of 0.20 for the species richness increase with area worldwide. Conclusions: The good fit of the linear model to our SARu datasets contrasts with the non-linear SAR frequently found in true and non-urban habitat island systems; however, this finding may be a result of the small sample size of many SARu datasets. The overall power model slope of 0.20 suggests low levels of isolation among urban green patches, or alternatively that habitat specialist and area sensitive species have already been extirpated from urban green areas.Fil: Levau, Lucas M.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; ArgentinaFil: Ruggiero, Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche. Laboratorio de Ecotono; ArgentinaFil: Matthews, Thomas J.. Universidade dos Açores; Portugal. University of Birmingham; Reino UnidoFil: Bellocq, Maria Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Argentin

Large-scale patterns in morphological diversity and species assemblages in Neotropical Triatominae (Heteroptera: Reduviidae)

We analysed the spatial variation in morphological diversity (MDiv) and species richness (SR) for 91 species of Neotropical Triatominae to determine the ecological relationships between SR and MDiv and to explore the roles that climate, productivity, environmental heterogeneity and the presence of biomes and rivers may play in the structuring of species assemblages. For each 110 km x 110 km-cell on a grid map of America, we determined the number of species (SR) and estimated the mean Gower index (MDiv) based on 12 morphological attributes. We performed bootstrapping analyses of species assemblages to identify whether those assemblages were more similar or dissimilar in their morphology than expected by chance. We applied a multi-model selection procedure and spatial explicit analyses to account for the association of diversity-environment relationships. MDiv and SR both showed a latitudinal gradient, although each peaked at different locations and were thus not strictly spatially congruent. SR decreased with temperature variability and MDiv increased with mean temperature, suggesting a predominant role for ambient energy in determining Triatominae diversity. Species that were more similar than expected by chance co-occurred near the limits of the Triatominae distribution in association with changes in environmental variables. Environmental filtering may underlie the structuring of species assemblages near their distributional limits.Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectore

Aprender en tiempos de pandemia: opiniones de estudiantes de la Licenciatura en Ciencias Biológicas (UNCo Bariloche) sobre la enseñanza virtual

La llegada de la COVID-19 y disposición de aislamiento obligatorio impuso una migración repentina de la docencia universitaria hacia la virtualidad. Para analizar sus percepciones sobre los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje en esta virtualidad, evaluamos la opinión de estudiantes de la Licenciatura en Ciencias Biológicas (UNCo Bariloche), respecto de clases con modalidades sincrónicas y asincrónicas, actividades prácticas, trabajos grupales, materiales complementarios y evaluaciones.Fil: Reissig, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Ruggiero, Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: de Torres Curth, Monica Irma. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Chaia, Eugenia Esther. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Crego, Paula. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Quiroga, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Vega, Rocío Marisol. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; ArgentinaEncuentro de Enseñanza de la Biología en contexto de PandemiaSan Carlos de BarilocheArgentinaAsociación de Docentes de Ciencias Biológicas de la Argentin

Brain tumours in the time of COVID-19: An online survey on patients’ disease experience in one Italian region

BackgroundSince the outbreak, in 2019, of COVID-19, the world has experienced marked changes in daily habits, partly reflecting the exceptional social restrictions and health measures adopted to contain the disease. All these measures significantly affected not only peoples’s daily lives and psychological well-being but also the possibility for the healthcare system to function properly. In this setting, brain tumour patients were at risk due to their higher physical and mental fragility and their need for regular care. The aim of the present study was to assess, using a self-reported online questionnaire, the patients’s perceptions regarding their disease experience.Materials and methodsWe developed an online anonymous self-report survey to assess patients’s disease experience during the pandemic. We investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients’s cancer care schedules, their psychological distress and emotions felt during the pandemic, their levels of worry about COVID-19, and their oncological conditions.Results107 patients answered our survey, most of them suffering from a glioma. Less than one-third of the sample had their appointments cancelled, delayed or converted into online visits due to the pandemic. Of the patients who answered the survey, 95% declared they were satisfied with their Institute’s oncological management. The feelings reported most often were peacefulness or anxiety/worry; the majority of the sample reported high levels of loneliness, which tended to increase with age, whilst the psychological distress was correlated with age and with having a recurrence of the disease. Half of the sample declared severe worry about their oncological condition, in particular subjects with a recurrence or who were receiving adjuvant therapies. Patients with recurrence tended to worry more about the possibility of contracting COVID-19, and its effects.ConclusionOur findings illustrate how fragile and in need of care patients with a brain tumour may be, especially those with more severe clinical conditions. These data may help boost healthcare professionals’s knowledge about brain tumour patients’s needs and fears, so as to be able to offer them a better hospital experience and improve their clinical management, while possibly also reducing the psychological burden on patients and their families

Coefficient shifts in geographical ecology: an empirical evaluation of spatial and non-spatial regression

Copyright © 2009 The Authors. Copyright © ECOGRAPHY 2009.A major focus of geographical ecology and macro ecology is to understand the causes of spatially structured ecological patterns. However, achieving this understanding can be complicated when using multiple regressions, because the relative importance of explanatory variables, as measured by regression coefficients, can shift depending on whether spatially explicit or non-spatial modelling is used. However, the extent to which coefficients may shift and why shifts occur are unclear. Here, we analyze the relationship between environmental predictors and the geographical distribution of species richness, body size, range size and abundance in 97 multi-factorial data sets. Our goal was to compare standardized partial regression coefficients of non-spatial ordinary least squares regressions (i.e. models fitted using ordinary least squares without taking autocorrelation into account; “OLS models” hereafter) and eight spatial methods to evaluate the frequency of coefficient shifts and identify characteristics of data that might predict when shifts are likely. We generated three metrics of coefficient shifts and eight characteristics of the data sets as predictors of shifts. Typical of ecological data, spatial autocorrelation in the residuals of OLS models was found in most data sets. The spatial models varied in the extent to which they minimized residual spatial autocorrelation. Patterns of coefficient shifts also varied among methods and datasets, although the magnitudes of shifts tended to be small in all cases. We were unable to identify strong predictors of shifts, including the levels of autocorrelation in either explanatory variables or model residuals. Thus, changes in coefficients between spatial and non-spatial methods depend on the method used and are largely idiosyncratic, making it difficult to predict when or why shifts occur. We conclude that the ecological importance of regression coefficients cannot be evaluated with confidence irrespective of whether spatially explicit modelling is used or not. Researchers may have little choice but to be more explicit about the uncertainty of models and more cautious in their interpretation

A machine-learning based bio-psycho-social model for the prediction of non-obstructive and obstructive coronary artery disease

Background: Mechanisms of myocardial ischemia in obstructive and non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), and the interplay between clinical, functional, biological and psycho-social features, are still far to be fully elucidated. Objectives: To develop a machine-learning (ML) model for the supervised prediction of obstructive versus non-obstructive CAD. Methods: From the EVA study, we analysed adults hospitalized for IHD undergoing conventional coronary angiography (CCA). Non-obstructive CAD was defined by a stenosis < 50% in one or more vessels. Baseline clinical and psycho-socio-cultural characteristics were used for computing a Rockwood and Mitnitski frailty index, and a gender score according to GENESIS-PRAXY methodology. Serum concentration of inflammatory cytokines was measured with a multiplex flow cytometry assay. Through an XGBoost classifier combined with an explainable artificial intelligence tool (SHAP), we identified the most influential features in discriminating obstructive versus non-obstructive CAD. Results: Among the overall EVA cohort (n = 509), 311 individuals (mean age 67 ± 11 years, 38% females; 67% obstructive CAD) with complete data were analysed. The ML-based model (83% accuracy and 87% precision) showed that while obstructive CAD was associated with higher frailty index, older age and a cytokine signature characterized by IL-1β, IL-12p70 and IL-33, non-obstructive CAD was associated with a higher gender score (i.e., social characteristics traditionally ascribed to women) and with a cytokine signature characterized by IL-18, IL-8, IL-23. Conclusions: Integrating clinical, biological, and psycho-social features, we have optimized a sex- and gender-unbiased model that discriminates obstructive and non-obstructive CAD. Further mechanistic studies will shed light on the biological plausibility of these associations. Clinical trial registration: NCT02737982