Native and alien macroinvertebrate richness in a remnant of the former river Rhine : a source for recolonisation of restored habitats?

Rivers are among the most endangered ecosystems of the world with dramatically decreasing biodiversity. Rehabilitation programmes aiming at restoration of riverine ecosystems rely on the recolonisation of native macroinvertebrates from refuges. We examined whether a relatively natural remnant of the former river Rhine (Altrhein) harbours a higher richness of benthic macroinvertebrates than two sites of the modified Rhine with artificial and semi-natural embankments near Basel. All three sites were bimonthly sampled between May 2007 and May 2008 using three techniques: Kick and Sweep, drifting animals collected from pieces of stone turned by hand, and animals collected from stone surfaces. Taxa richness was higher in the Altrhein than in the two sampling sites in the river Rhine, but it was mainly a result of the large number of individuals sampled at this site. Despite 17% of taxa recorded were alien, the three sampling sites differed neither in the number of alien taxa nor in their abundances. However, lower percentages of both alien taxa and individuals were recorded in the Altrhein than at the other two sites in the Rhine. Indicator value analysis showed that the macroinvertebrate community of the Altrhein maintains several native and specific taxa. Multivariate analyses supported the separation of the communities collected at different sampling sites and also the uniqueness of the community in the Altrhein. The observed patterns, however, strongly depended on the sampling method applied, thereby calling the attention to the application of standard sampling methods and also to the restriction of result comparisons on projects using identical sampling methodology. Our study shows that the remnant of the former river Rhine serves as a refuge for macroinvertebrates which may facilitate future restoration of the river embankment

Maternal and neonatal outcomes after caesarean delivery in the African Surgical Outcomes Study: a 7-day prospective observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Maternal and neonatal mortality is high in Africa, but few large, prospective studies have been done to investigate the risk factors associated with these poor maternal and neonatal outcomes. METHODS: A 7-day, international, prospective, observational cohort study was done in patients having caesarean delivery in 183 hospitals across 22 countries in Africa. The inclusion criteria were all consecutive patients (aged ≥18 years) admitted to participating centres having elective and non-elective caesarean delivery during the 7-day study cohort period. To ensure a representative sample, each hospital had to provide data for 90% of the eligible patients during the recruitment week. The primary outcome was in-hospital maternal mortality and complications, which were assessed by local investigators. The study was registered on the South African National Health Research Database, number KZ_2015RP7_22, and on ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT03044899. FINDINGS: Between February, 2016, and May, 2016, 3792 patients were recruited from hospitals across Africa. 3685 were included in the postoperative complications analysis (107 missing data) and 3684 were included in the maternal mortality analysis (108 missing data). These hospitals had a combined number of specialist surgeons, obstetricians, and anaesthetists totalling 0·7 per 100 000 population (IQR 0·2-2·0). Maternal mortality was 20 (0·5%) of 3684 patients (95% CI 0·3-0·8). Complications occurred in 633 (17·4%) of 3636 mothers (16·2-18·6), which were predominantly severe intraoperative and postoperative bleeding (136 [3·8%] of 3612 mothers). Maternal mortality was independently associated with a preoperative presentation of placenta praevia, placental abruption, ruptured uterus, antepartum haemorrhage (odds ratio 4·47 [95% CI 1·46-13·65]), and perioperative severe obstetric haemorrhage (5·87 [1·99-17·34]) or anaesthesia complications (11·47 (1·20-109·20]). Neonatal mortality was 153 (4·4%) of 3506 infants (95% CI 3·7-5·0). INTERPRETATION: Maternal mortality after caesarean delivery in Africa is 50 times higher than that of high-income countries and is driven by peripartum haemorrhage and anaesthesia complications. Neonatal mortality is double the global average. Early identification and appropriate management of mothers at risk of peripartum haemorrhage might improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in Africa. FUNDING: Medical Research Council of South Africa.Medical Research Council of South Africa