Chronic pain and substance use disorders among older HIV-infected sexual minority men: implications for engagement in care

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Keep off the grass: Using herbivore exclusion cages to understand herbivory in seagrass meadows

Seagrasses provide important habitat that delivers ecosystem services and provides food to a wide diversity of herbivores globally. In the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) we find the full size spectrum of herbivores; from small mesograzers such as amphipods, to macrograzers such as fish and large megagrazers such as turtles and dugongs. These herbivores can structurally alter seagrass beds in either positive or negative ways depending on their size, feeding preferences and methods and grazing intensity. These structural changes can subsequently interact with the delivery of other ecosystem services, or the benefits to humans, provided by the seagrass meadow. In the tropics, we know little about the impact of herbivores and how different groups interact to structure seagrass meadows, despite the number and variety of herbivores present in tropical seagrass habitats. We carried out exclusion experiments that targeted each herbivore group individually and in combination in subtidal and intertidal seagrass meadows in Queensland, Australia to understand the role of herbivores in structuring meadows and the interaction between herbivore groups. Our results show different feeding strategies of herbivores in each habitat, especially megaherbivores, and these impact the meadow in different ways. The effects on biomass, shoot density and shoot height depended on the type of grazing observed. All herbivore groups acted to structure the seagrass and interacted to influence overall meadow properties. Grazer mediated changes in meadow structure will have important implications for the ecosystem services delivered by tropical seagrass ecosystems

Exclusion studies reveal the interactions between herbivores in structuring seagrass meadows their ecosystem services and the implications for effective management

Seagrasses provide important habitat that delivers ecosystem services and provides food to a wide diversity of herbivores globally. In the Great Barrier Reef we find large seagrass meadows that are grazed on by a diverse herbivore community. This presents a challenge for managers trying to conserve herbivores, the habitats they rely on and maintain ecosystem service delivery in coastal ecosystems. Herbivore communities can structurally alter seagrass meadows in positive or negative ways depending on their size, feeding methods and grazing intensity. These structural changes can alter the ecosystem services provided by the seagrass meadow. We carried out exclusion experiments targeting each herbivore group individually and in combination in subtidal and intertidal seagrass meadows in Queensland, to understand how herbivores can structure meadows and the interactions between herbivore groups. Our results show different feeding strategies of herbivores in each habitat, especially megaherbivores, which impact the meadow in different ways. The effects on biomass, shoot density and shoot height depended on the type of grazing observed. Grazer mediated changes in meadow structure will have important implications for the ecosystem services delivered by tropical seagrass ecosystems and the management of these ecosystems, including incorporating grazing dynamics into monitoring projects

Spatial and temporal patterns in macroherbivore grazing in a multi-species tropical seagrass meadow of the Great Barrier Reef

Macroherbivory is an important process in seagrass meadows worldwide; however, the impact of macroherbivores on seagrasses in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has received little attention. We used exclusion cages and seagrass tethering assays to understand how the intensity of macroherbivory varies over space and time in the seagrass meadows around Green Island (Queensland), and what impact this has on overall meadow structure. Rates of macroherbivory were comparatively low, between 0.25–44% of daily seagrass productivity; however, rates were highly variable over a one-year period, and among sites. Loss of seagrass material to macroherbivory was predominantly due to fish; however, urchin herbivory was also taking place. Macroherbivory rates were of insufficient intensity to impact overall meadow structure. No macroherbivory events were identified on video cameras that filmed in the day, indicating that feeding may be occurring infrequently in large shoals, or at night. While relatively low compared to some meadows, seagrass macroherbivory was still an important process at this site. We suggest that in this highly protected area of the GBR, where the ecosystem and food webs remain largely intact, macroherbivory was maintained at a low level and was unlikely to cause the large-scale meadow structuring influence that can be seen in more modified seagrass systems

Exclusion studies reveal the interactions between herbivores in structuring seagrass meadows

Seagrasses provide important habitat that delivers ecosystem services and provides food to a wide diversity of herbivores globally. In the Great Barrier Reef we find large seagrass meadows that are grazed on by a diverse herbivore community. This presents a challenge for managers trying to conserve herbivores, the habitats they rely on and maintain ecosystem service delivery in coastal ecosystems. Herbivore communities can structurally alter seagrass meadows in positive or negative ways depending on their size, feeding methods and grazing intensity. These structural changes can alter the ecosystem services provided by the seagrass meadow. We carried out exclusion experiments targeting each herbivore group individually and in combination in subtidal and intertidal seagrass meadows in Queensland, Australia to understand how herbivores can structure meadows and the interactions between herbivore groups. Our results show different feeding strategies of herbivores in each habitat, especially megaherbivores, which impact the meadow in different ways. The effects on biomass, shoot density and shoot height depended on the type of grazing observed. Grazer mediated changes in meadow structure will have important implications for the ecosystem services delivered by tropical seagrass ecosystems and the management of these ecosystems, including incorporating grazing dynamics into monitoring projects

Interventions for treating people with symptoms of bladder pain syndrome : A network meta-analysis

Funding Information: • National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), UK. This review was commissioned by the NIHR Systematic Reviews Programme as project number 16/59/01. • National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), UK. This project was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), via Cochrane Infrastructure funding to Cochrane Incontinence. The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the review authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Systematic Reviews Programme, NIHR, National Health Service or the Department of Health. The NIHR is the largest single funder of Cochrane Incontinence.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Evidence that implementation intentions reduce drivers' use of mobile phones while driving

Implementation intentions are IF-THEN plans that have the potential to reduce mobile phone use while driving and thus contribute towards the prevention of road traffic crashes. We tested whether an intervention, designed to promote the formation of implementation intentions, could reduce drivers’ use of mobile phones. A randomized controlled design was used. The participants (N = 136) were randomised to an implementation or a control condition. Self-report questionnaires were administered to all participants at both pre- and one-month post-intervention to measure the use of mobile phones while driving, goal intentions and the theoretically derived motivational pre-cursors of goal intentions (attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control). Immediately following the pre-intervention questionnaire, the participants in the implementation intention condition (n = 67) were given a volitional help sheet, which asked them to form implementation intentions by specifying target driving situations that tempted them the most to use a mobile phone and linking them with goal-directed responses that could be used to resist the temptation. The participants in the control condition (n = 69) were asked to specify target situations that tempted them the most to use a mobile phone while driving and to generally try to avoid using a mobile phone in those situations. One-month post-intervention, the participants in the implementation intention condition reported using a mobile phone less often while driving in their specified target driving situations than did the participants in the control condition. As expected, no differences were found between the conditions in the reported frequency of mobile phone use in unspecified driving situations, goal intentions or any motivational pre-cursor of goal intentions. The implementation intention intervention that was tested in this study is a potentially effective tool for reducing mobile phone use while driving in target driving situations where behaviour-change is most needed

The role of herbivory in structuring tropical seagrass ecosystem service delivery

Seagrass meadows support key ecosystem services, via provision of food directly for herbivores, and indirectly to their predators. The importance of herbivores in seagrass meadows has been well-documented, but the links between food webs and ecosystem services in seagrass meadows have not previously been made explicit. Herbivores interact with ecosystem services – including carbon sequestration, cultural values, and coastal protection. Interactions can be positive or negative and depend on a range of factors including the herbivore identity and the grazing type and intensity. There can be unintended consequences from management actions based on a poor understanding of trade-offs that occur with complex seagrass-herbivore interactions. Tropical seagrass meadows support a diversity of grazers spanning the meso-, macro- and megaherbivore scales. We present a conceptual model to describe how multiple ecosystem services are influenced by herbivore pressure in tropical seagrass meadows. Our model suggests that a balanced ecosystem, incorporating both seagrass and herbivore diversity, is likely to sustain the broadest range of ecosystem services. Our framework suggests the pathway to achieve desired ecosystem services outcomes requires knowledge on four key areas: (1) how size classes of herbivores interact to structure seagrass; (2) desired community and management values; (3) seagrass responses to top-down and bottom-up controls; (4) the pathway from intermediate to final ecosystem services and human benefits. We suggest research should be directed to these areas. Herbivory is a major structuring influence in tropical seagrass systems and needs to be considered for effective management of these critical habitats and their services