Remarks on the new earthworm taxa described by Aladesida and Owa in 2015 from Nigeria (Clitellata: Megadrili)

The earthworm fauna of tropical Africa is clearly understudied. This is mainly due to the lack of local earthworm researchers. Nigeria is an exception in this regard with an excellent earthworm researcher A.O. Segun and his successor S.O. Owa describing some 30 earthworm species belonging to the family Eudrilidae. Recently, Aladesida & Ova (2015) published descriptions of four new earthworm genera and species; Adodrilus stephana (Megascolecidae), Ekitidrilus alabataensis, Paranematogenia eyinwaensis (Ocnerodrilidae), and Imekodrilus hexagastricus (Moniligastridae). Examining the type material of the new taxa deposited in the Natural History Museum, London revealed that Adodrilus stephana Aladesida & Ova, 2015 is a synonym of Gordiodrilus robustus Beddard, 1892, Ekitidrilus alabataensis Aladesida & Ova, 2015 represents a nomen nudum. Due to the juvenile state of the types, the names Imekodrilus hexagastricus Aladesida & Ova, 2015 represent a nomen dubium in the family Ocnerodrilidae and Paranematogenia eyinwaensis a nomen dubium in the family Eudrilidae. To prevent further nomenclatural problems, lectotypes for Adodrilus stephana and Paranematogenia eyinwaensis were designated

Statistical Downscaling of Extreme Temperature Events in Greenland

Global and regional climate models are deterministic physical models which provide predictions of, amongst other things, future temperatures under a range of climate change scenarios. Predictions are available on grids with cells ranging from XX to YY (GCM) and XX to YY (RCM). The way in which these models are fitted means that they are often good at predicting changes in the mean temperature, but less good at predicting the behaviour of unusual events. Accurate predictions of such events is of particular importance in polar regions, as they can lead to increased ice melt which, in turn, leads to sea level rises. In a recent comparison of observation data and regional climate model output in Greenland, it was observed that regional climate models underestimate the sizes of extreme temperature events, and hence will underestimate future return levels. To resolve this, we fit a statistical downscaling model, based on existing extreme value models, which shows quite marked success in improving estimates of return levels, when compared to the naive approach of using the RCM output directly. Results focus on a single location in Greenland (Summit), but consider four sets of RCM output

Comparative marine biodiversity and depth zonation in the Southern Ocean: evidence from a new large polychaete dataset from Scotia and Amundsen seas

Based on a dataset of 16,991 and 307 morphospecies of polychaete worms collected from 58 epibenthic sledge deployments across the Scotia and Amundsen Seas, we show that the structures of their shelf, deep-shelf and slope communities are composed of distinct polychaete assemblages spanning regions with “high”, “intermediate”, and “low” biodiversity. Depth has been identified as the main factor structuring the polychaete communities in both seas, countering the prevalent notion of extended eurybathy of the Southern Ocean benthos. From an evolutionary perspective, this strong dissimilarity between shelf and slope fauna could be interpreted as evidence for survival in shelf refugias, rather than migration into deeper waters during glacial maxima. The previously unsampled Amundsen Sea is shown to be diverse, harbouring a high level of taxonomic novelty, with many species new to science. The polychaete community of the inner shelf in the Amundsen Sea (Pine Island Bay) has also been shown to be of deep-sea character, likely due to intrusion of the Circumpolar Deep Water onto the shelf. In the Scotia Sea, our data support the notion of relatively high biodiversity of waters around the South Orkney Islands, South Georgia, and Shag Rocks (all recently established as Marine Protected Areas) and depressed diversity in the extreme environment of Southern Thule

Awareness and support: students’ views about the prevention of sexual assault on UK campuses

Purpose: Sexual assault is prevalent on UK University campuses, and prevention efforts are being increased. However, at present there is limited evidence about UK students’ attitudes towards sexual assault prevention and what they think should be done to effectively address the issue. The purpose of this study was to explore these views to provide a foundation for the development of a new intervention. Methods: A cross sectional anonymous online survey was completed by 515 students (73% women; M age 21.56; 79% heterosexual; 82.9% White). There were quantitative questions about experiences of sexual assault, attitudes towards sexual consent and victim blaming. Qualitative data was collected regarding participants’ views on what universities should do to target sexual assault. Findings: In line with previous studies, we found evidence of commonplace and normalised sexual assault behaviours. Women had more positive attitudes towards explicit consent than men, and were less likely to blame victims of sexual assault who had been drinking. Consent behaviour was predicted by positive views towards consent and lower levels of blaming. Themes relating to ‘awareness’, ‘attitudes’, ‘environment’ and ‘opposition’ were identified in the qualitative data. Practical implications: Findings highlight the importance of engaging with students to develop effective prevention measures. Students are likely to find university led prevention strategies acceptable, but this topic needs to be addressed in the context of the prevailing culture, which may provide an environment where certain behaviours are tolerated. New prevention programmes need to treat the issue as one that is relevant to all students and not just target men as perpetrators and women as victims. Such strategies need to do more than treat this as an isolated issue, to which the solution is re-education about the meaning of consent

Checklist of newly-vouchered annelid taxa from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, central Pacific Ocean, based on morphology and genetic delimitation

We present a checklist of annelids from recent United Kingdom Seabed Resources (UKSR) expeditions (Abyssal Baseline - ABYSSLINE project) to the eastern abyssal Pacific Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) polymetallic nodule fields, based on DNA species delimitation, including imagery of voucher specimens, Darwin Core (DwC) data and links to vouchered specimen material and new GenBank sequence records. This paper includes genetic and imagery data for 129 species of annelids from 339 records and is restricted to material that is, in general, in too poor a condition to describe formally at this time, but likely contains many species new to science. We make these data available both to aid future taxonomic studies in the CCZ that will be able to link back to these genetic data and specimens and to better underpin ongoing ecological studies of potential deep-sea mining impacts using the principles of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusuable) data and specimens that will be available for all.We include genetic, imagery and all associated metadata in Darwin Core format for 129 species of annelids from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, eastern abyssal Pacific, with 339 records

Priority strategies to improve gender equity in Canadian emergency medicine: proceedings from the CAEP 2021 Academic Symposium on leadership

Objectives: Gender inequities are deeply rooted in our society and have significant negative consequences. Female physicians experience numerous gender-related inequities (e.g., microaggressions, harassment, violence). These inequities have far-reaching consequences on health, well-being and career longevity and may result in the devaluing of various strengths that female emergency physicians bring to the table. This, in turn, has an impact on patient healthcare experience and outcomes. During the 2021 Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) Academic Symposium, a national collaborative sought to understand gender inequities in emergency medicine in Canada. Methods: We used a multistep stakeholder-engagement-based approach (harnessing both quantitative and qualitative methods) to identify and prioritize problems with gender equity in emergency medicine in Canada. Based on expert consultation and literature review, we developed recommendations to effect change for the higher priority problems. We then conducted a nationwide consultation with the Canadian emergency medicine community via online engagement and the CAEP Academic Symposium to ensure that these priority problems and solutions were appropriate for the Canadian context. Conclusion: Via the above process, 15 recommendations were developed to address five unique problem areas. There is a dearth of research in this important area and we hope this preliminary work will serve as a starting point to fuel further research. To facilitate these scholarly endeavors, we have appended additional documents identifying other key problems with gender equity in emergency medicine in Canada as well as proposed next steps for future research

Extracting primary care records for prostate cancer patients in the CHHiP multicentre randomised control trial: A healthcare data linkage study

Introduction The aim is to investigate the effect of cardiovascular and diabetes comorbidities on radiotherapy-related side-effects in prostate cancer. Previous research suggests that comorbidities increase the risk of side-effects, but some cardiovascular medications may reduce symptoms by protecting against radiation damage. The evidence is inconclusive and mechanisms are not fully understood. Objective To explore whether routine primary care data can supplement clinical trial data in evaluating the impact of comorbidities and prescription medications on patient outcomes. Approach The CHHiP radiotherapy trial (CRUK/06/16) recruited 3,216 prostate cancer patients from 71 centres in UK, Ireland, Switzerland, and New Zealand between 2002 and 2011. Baseline comorbidity and radiotherapy-related side-effects over time were recorded. This was linked to computerised medical records (CMRs) from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC) database. RCGP RSC is a network of 192 English general practices with over 2 million patients (2.8% of the population). Results The English population of CHHiP patients (N=2811) was used. 120 CMRs were linked, which exceeded the estimation of 79 linked records. However, six CMRs showed no evidence of regular GP care and a further eight patients were not recruited into the CHHiP trial until after they had de-registered from an RCGP RSC practice. Information on cardiovascular and diabetes comorbidities was extracted for 106 patients. The mean age was 69±7 years, representative of the CHHiP population. From the CMRs, 23 (22%) patients had diabetes and 47 (44%) had hypertension including 37 (35%) who took angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (medications lowering blood pressure). In addition, 44 (41%) patients took aspirin, 65 (61%) statins (lowering blood lipids) and 14 (13%) took metformin (lowering blood sugar levels).  Conclusion/Implications The small sample limits statistical analysis. However, a clinical trial was successfully linked to GP data to determine comorbidities and medications of patients. This will serve as a pilot for further research. The advantage of data linkage is that it may provide a mechanism for long-term follow-up of radiotherapy-related side-effects

Dendrobaena loebli

Dendrobaena loebli (Zicsi, 1985) Fitzingeria loebli Zicsi, 1985a Rev. suisse Zool. 92 (2): 330. Fitzingeria loebli: Szederjesi & Csuzdi 2012 Zootaxa 3304: 37. Dendrobaena loebli: Szederjesi et al. 2018 Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 182: 508. Remarks. According to a recent integrated taxonomic study the genus Fitzingeria Zicsi, 1978 was found to be polyphyletic and its members are nested among the different Dendrobaena species. Consequently, Fitzingeria has been eliminated and the species were transferred to Dendrobaena (Szederjesi et al. 2018).Published as part of Csuzdi, Csaba, Szederjesi, Tímea & Sherlock, Emma, 2018, Annotated checklist of earthworm species described by András Zicsi (Clitellata: Megadrili), pp. 11-42 in Zootaxa 4496 (1) on page 23, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4496.1.4, http://zenodo.org/record/144701

Modelling of Climatic Tolerances of Three Earthworm Species; Satchellius mammalis, Lumbricus friendi and Lumbricus festivus Using Maximum Entropy Modeling

Earthworm distributions are poorly known and individual species climatic tolerances, even less so. This paper sets out to use three species with a mainly Anglo-French distribution to test out whether using Maximum Entropy Modelling (Maxent) could be useful when studying earthworm distributions. It also gives an indication of how the likely climatic changes over a 50 year period will affect them. Overall the software seems to give useful information of where across Europe a particular species will thrive, even if not currently recorded there. It gives a real insight into how particular species might be better able to survive longer drier periods than others and which are on the edge of their climatic range already. Maxent modelling was clearly successful in demonstrating that the distributions of the ecologically different earthworm species are affected by a combination of different environmental variables. In the case of the epigeic Satchellius mammalis they are the annual temperature range, the precipitation of the driest month and the mean annual precipitation, for the epi-endogeic Lumbricus festivus they are the precipitation of the driest month, the precipitation of the wettest month and the annual temperature range. For the anecic Lumbricus friendi the most important environmental variables proved to be the annual temperature range, the mean diurnal temperature range and the precipitation seasonality

Annotated checklist of earthworm species described by András Zicsi (Clitellata: Megadrili)

Csuzdi, Csaba, Szederjesi, Tímea, Sherlock, Emma (2018): Annotated checklist of earthworm species described by András Zicsi (Clitellata: Megadrili). Zootaxa 4496 (1): 11-42, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4496.1.