Behavioral Responses of North American Elk to Recreational Activity

ABSTRACT Off-road recreation on public lands in North America has increased dramatically in recent years. Wild ungulates are sensitive to human activities, but the effect of off-road recreation, both motorized and nonmotorized, is poorly understood. We measured responses of elk (Cervus elaphus) to recreational disturbance in northeast Oregon, USA, from April to October, 2003 and. We subjected elk to 4 types of recreational disturbance: all-terrain vehicle (ATV) riding, mountain biking, hiking, and horseback riding. Motion sensors inside radiocollars worn by 13 female elk recorded resting, feeding, and travel activities at 5-minute intervals throughout disturbance and control periods. Elk fed and rested during control periods, with little time spent traveling. Travel time increased in response to all 4 disturbances and was highest in mornings. Elk travel time was highest during ATV exposure, followed by exposure to mountain biking, hiking, and horseback riding. Feeding time decreased during ATV exposure and resting decreased when we subjected elk to mountain biking and hiking disturbance in 2003. Our results demonstrated that activities of elk can be substantially affected by off-road recreation. Mitigating these effects may be appropriate where elk are a management priority. Balancing management of species like elk with off-road recreation will become increasingly important as off-road recreational uses continue to increase o

Dynamics of Western Juniper Woodland Expansion into Sagebrush Communities in Central Oregon

Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) woodlands in Oregon have expanded four-fold from 600,000 ha in 1930 to \u3e 2.6 million ha, often resulting in the reduction and fragmentation of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities. We documented dynamics of western juniper across the John Day Ecological Province in central Oregon by recording size class and growth form at 178 sites. We used stratified random sampling, with strata based on vegetation association (sagebrush, juniper, other) and distance from juniper stands. Only 26 percent of sites contained pre-settlement trees (in other words, \u3e 140 years old), and \u3c 5 percent of the 2,254 junipers tallied were pre-settlement trees. Mean densities of pre-settlement trees by stratum ranged from 0 to 18 trees/ha, suggesting that historically, juniper was widely scattered across the landscape. Current densities of post-settlement trees ranged from 75 to 211 trees/ha in non-woodland strata to 457 trees/ha in the juniper stratum. Juniper in non-woodland strata was most abundant in sites adjacent to juniper stands and in sagebrush communities. Mean densities of post-settlement trees were greatest in the \u3e 2.0-m tall size class (82 trees/ha), followed by the 0.3 to 1-m tall size class (52 trees/ha). These densities pose substantial risk to sagebrush communities in central Oregon. Questions remain about the extent of western juniper woodlands across the species’ range that have replaced or are expanding into sagebrush communities versus sites that historically supported woodlands. However, our findings suggest that within sagebrush communities of the John Day province, intensive management through removal of western juniper may be prudent, while retaining pre-settlement trees

Enhancing access to alcohol use disorder pharmacotherapy and treatment in primary care settings: ADaPT-PC

Background: Only 7.8% of individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD) receive treatment in a given year. Most individuals with AUDs are identified in primary care (PC) settings and referred to substance use disorders (SUD) clinics; however, only a minority of those referred attend treatment services. Safe and effective pharmacological treatments for AUD exist, but they are rarely prescribed by PC providers. The objective of this study is to refine, implement, and evaluate an intervention to integrate pharmacological AUD treatment options into PC settings. This paper provides a detailed description of the intervention design and the evaluation components. Methods/design: Three large Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities are participating in the intervention. The intervention targets stakeholder groups with tailored strategies based on implementation theory and prior research identifying barriers to implementation of AUD pharmacotherapy. Local SUD providers and primary care mental health integration (PCMHI) providers are trained to serve as local implementation/clinical champions and receive external facilitation. PC providers receive access to consultation from local and national clinical champions, educational materials, and a dashboard of patients with AUD on their caseloads for case identification. Veterans with AUD diagnoses receive educational information in the mail just prior to a scheduled PC visit. Effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated through an interrupted time series with matched controls to monitor change in facility level AUD pharmacotherapy prescribing rates. Following Stetler\u27s four-phase formative evaluation (FE) strategy, FE methods include (1) developmental FE (pre-implementation interviews with champions, PC providers, and Veterans), (2) implementation-focused FE (tracking attendance at facilitation meetings, academic detailing efforts by local champions, and patient dashboard utilization), (3) progress-focused FE (tracking rates of AUD pharmacotherapy prescribing and rates of referral to PCMHI and SUD specialty care), and (4) interpretive FE (post- implementation interviews with champions and PC providers). Analysis of FE data will be guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Discussion: If demonstrated to be successful, this implementation strategy will provide a replicable, feasible, and relative low-cost method for integrating AUD treatment services into PC settings, thereby increasing access to AUD treatment

Enhancing access to alcohol use disorder pharmacotherapy and treatment in primary care settings: ADaPT-PC.

BACKGROUND: Only 7.8 % of individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD) receive treatment in a given year. Most individuals with AUDs are identified in primary care (PC) settings and referred to substance use disorders (SUD) clinics; however, only a minority of those referred attend treatment services. Safe and effective pharmacological treatments for AUD exist, but they are rarely prescribed by PC providers. The objective of this study is to refine, implement, and evaluate an intervention to integrate pharmacological AUD treatment options into PC settings. This paper provides a detailed description of the intervention design and the evaluation components. METHODS/DESIGN: Three large Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities are participating in the intervention. The intervention targets stakeholder groups with tailored strategies based on implementation theory and prior research identifying barriers to implementation of AUD pharmacotherapy. Local SUD providers and primary care mental health integration (PCMHI) providers are trained to serve as local implementation/clinical champions and receive external facilitation. PC providers receive access to consultation from local and national clinical champions, educational materials, and a dashboard of patients with AUD on their caseloads for case identification. Veterans with AUD diagnoses receive educational information in the mail just prior to a scheduled PC visit. Effectiveness of the intervention will be evaluated through an interrupted time series with matched controls to monitor change in facility level AUD pharmacotherapy prescribing rates. Following Stetler\u27s four-phase formative evaluation (FE) strategy, FE methods include (1) developmental FE (pre-implementation interviews with champions, PC providers, and Veterans), (2) implementation-focused FE (tracking attendance at facilitation meetings, academic detailing efforts by local champions, and patient dashboard utilization), (3) progress-focused FE (tracking rates of AUD pharmacotherapy prescribing and rates of referral to PCMHI and SUD specialty care), and (4) interpretive FE (post-implementation interviews with champions and PC providers). Analysis of FE data will be guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). DISCUSSION: If demonstrated to be successful, this implementation strategy will provide a replicable, feasible, and relative low-cost method for integrating AUD treatment services into PC settings, thereby increasing access to AUD treatment

Ungulate Browsing Maintains Shrub Diversity in the Absence of Episodic Disturbance in Seasonally-Arid Conifer Forest

Ungulates exert a strong influence on the composition and diversity of vegetation communities. However, little is known about how ungulate browsing pressure interacts with episodic disturbances such as fire and stand thinning. We assessed shrub responses to variable browsing pressure by cattle and elk in fuels treated (mechanical removal of fuels followed by prescribed burning) and non-fuels treated forest sites in northeastern Oregon, US. Seven treatment paddocks were established at each site; three with cattle exclusion and low, moderate and high elk browsing pressure, three with elk exclusion and low, moderate and high cattle browsing pressure, and one with both cattle and elk exclusion. The height, cover and number of stems of each shrub species were recorded at multiple plots within each paddock at the time of establishment and six years later. Changes in shrub species composition over the six year period were explored using multivariate analyses. Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used to determine the effect of browsing pressure on the change in shrub diversity and evenness. Vegetation composition in un-browsed paddocks changed more strongly and in different trajectories than in browsed paddocks at sites that were not fuels treated. In fuels treated sites, changes in composition were minimal for un-browsed paddocks. Shrub diversity and evenness decreased strongly in un-browsed paddocks relative to paddocks with low, moderate and high browsing pressure at non-fuels treated sites, but not at fuels treated sites. These results suggest that in the combined absence of fire, mechanical thinning and ungulate browsing, shrub diversity is reduced due to increased dominance by certain shrub species which are otherwise suppressed by ungulates and/or fuels removal. Accordingly, ungulate browsing, even at low intensities, can be used to suppress dominant shrub species and maintain diversity in the absence of episodic disturbance events

Response of native versus exotic plant guilds to cattle and elk herbivory in forested rangeland

Questions: Are exotic plant species favoured by non-native ungulate herbivores and disadvantaged by native herbivores in forested rangelands? Do the impacts of ungulates on exotic vs native plants depend on forest management activities such as prescribed fire and stand thinning? Location: Northeastern Oregon, USA. Methods: We recorded changes in richness and cover of different exotic and native plant life forms in experimental plots that were grazed only by cattle (a non-native herbivore), only by elk (a native herbivore) or not grazed by any ungulate over a 7-yr period at both managed (recently burned and thinned) and unmanaged (where no fire and thinning has occurred in >40 yr) forest stands. Results: There was a general decrease in exotic plant species richness and cover across all treatments. However, the decrease in exotic richness, particularly of exotic annual forbs, was slightly lower in plots grazed by elk than in ungrazed plots at managed stands. Managed stands also displayed a larger increase in native annual forb richness and exotic graminoid richness, and a larger decrease in native perennial graminoid cover with cattle grazing than elk grazing. At unmanaged stands, cover of woody native plants such as shrubs, sub-shrubs and trees as well as native perennial forbs decreased or remained relatively constant with elk grazing while increasing strongly at plots that were ungrazed or grazed by cattle. Conclusions: Cattle and elk have variable effects on different plant guilds at managed vs unmanaged forest stands. Overall, cattle grazing tends to have a larger impact on herbaceous plant guilds at managed stands, while elk grazing tends to have a larger impact on woody plant guilds at unmanaged stands. However, in contrast to findings from other ecosystems, grazing only has a minor impact on exotic plant dynamics in our study area, and cattle grazing does not favour exotic plants any more than grazing by elk or ungulate exclusion.Keywords: Non-Native Species, Conditioned Correspondence Analysis, Conifer Forest Management, Grazing, Ungulates, Stand Thinning, Prescribed Burnin

Impact of ungulate exclusion on understorey succession in relation to forest management in the Intermountain Western United States

QUESTIONS: Do successional trajectories in plant diversity, heterogeneity and dominance respond differently to ungulate exclusion in unmanaged forests vs managed forests that are thinned and burned? Is vegetation in recently thinned and burned stands more sensitive to changes in the grazing regime? LOCATION: Northeast OR, USA. METHODS: We evaluated changes in plant community composition, diversity, heterogeneity and dominance under herbivory by multiple ungulates (cattle, elk, deer) vs ungulate exclusion at sites where trees were recently thinned and a prescribed burn was applied (managed), and in sites that were not thinned or burned in over 40 yr (unmanaged). Plant species diversity was calculated with the Simpsons index and richness as the total number of plant species. We estimated changes in plant community heterogeneity using a measure of taxonomic dissimilarity. Plant dominance was measured as the relative evenness among different plant functional groups (annual and perennial forbs and graminoids, and shrubs, subshrubs and trees). RESULTS: As expected, managed sites displayed more early succession species, such as annual forbs and annual graminoids,while unmanaged sites were dominated by late-succession species such as shrubs, subshrubs and trees. Species richness, particularly of annuals, was strongly reduced when ungulates were excluded from managed sites, and to a lesser extent from unmanaged sites for some perennial plant species. Species diversity decreased to a slightly greater extent with ungulate exclusion at managed sites. Species dominance was not influenced by ungulate exclusion. The effect of ungulate exclusion on plant heterogeneity also depended on forest management. Heterogeneity increased at managed sites and decreased in unmanaged sites with ungulate exclusion. Overall, the change in vegetation composition over time increased with the exclusion of ungulates, particularly at managed sites. CONCLUSIONS: The strength and direction of specific vegetation and diversity responses to ungulate exclusion vary with forest management, and the influence of ungulate exclusion on plant succession is more pronounced in recently thinned and burned sites. Management of wild and domestic ungulates thus needs to account for forest management activities that alter vegetation seral stage and increase the sensitivity of vegetation to the ungulate grazing regime.Keywords: Grazing, Stand thinning, Cattle, Conifer forest, Elk and deer herbivory, Prescribed burning, Taxonomic dissimilarityKeywords: Grazing, Stand thinning, Cattle, Conifer forest, Elk and deer herbivory, Prescribed burning, Taxonomic dissimilarit

The presence of the casein kinase II phosphorylation sites of Vpu enhances the CD4+ T cell loss caused by the simian–human immunodeficiency virus SHIVKU-lbMC33 in pig-tailed macaques

AbstractThe simian–human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV)/ macaque model for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 has become a useful tool to assess the role of Vpu in lentivirus pathogenesis. In this report, we have mutated the two phosphorylated serine residues of the HIV-1 Vpu to glycine residues and have reconstructed a SHIV expressing this nonphosphorylated Vpu (SHIVS52,56G). Expression studies revealed that this protein was localized to the same intracellular compartment as wild-type Vpu. To determine if this virus was pathogenic, four pig-tailed macaques were inoculated with SHIVS52,56G and virus burdens and circulating CD4+ T cells monitored up to 1 year. Our results indicate that SHIVS52,56G caused rapid loss in the circulating CD4+ T cells within 3 weeks of inoculation in one macaque (CC8X), while the other three macaques developed no or gradual numbers of CD4+ T cells and a wasting syndrome. Histological examination of tissues revealed that macaque CC8X had lesions in lymphoid tissues (spleen, lymph nodes, and thymus) that were typical for macaques inoculated with pathogenic parental SHIVKU-1bMC33 and had no lesions within the CNS. To rule out that macaque CC8X had selected for a virus in which there was reversion of the glycine residues at positions 52 and 56 to serine residues and/or compensating mutations occurred in other genes associated with CD4 down-regulation, sequence analysis was performed on amplified vpu sequences isolated from PBMC and from several lymphoid tissues at necropsy. Sequence analysis revealed a reversion of the glycine residues back to serine residues in this macaque. The other macaques maintained low virus burdens, with one macaque (P003) developing a wasting syndrome between months 9 and 11. Histological examination of tissues from this macaque revealed a thymus with severe atrophy that was similar to that of a previously reported macaque inoculated with a SHIV lacking vpu (Virology 293, 2002, 252). Sequence analysis revealed no reversion of the glycine residues in the vpu sequences isolated from this macaque. These results contrast with those from four macaques inoculated with the parental pathogenic SHIVKU-1bMC33, all of which developed severe CD4+ T cell loss within 1 month after inoculation. Taken together, these results indicate that casein kinase II phosphorylation sites of Vpu contributes to the pathogenicity of the SHIVKU-1bMC33 and suggest that the SHIVKU-1bMC33/pig-tailed macaque model will be useful in analyzing amino acids/domains of Vpu that contribute to the pathogenesis of HIV-1

Effects of ungulate herbivory on aspen, cottonwood, and willow development under forest fuels treatment regimes

Herbivory by domestic and wild ungulates can dramatically affect vegetation structure, composition and dynamics in nearly every terrestrial ecosystem of the world. These effects are of particular concern in forests of western North America, where intensive herbivory by native and domestic ungulates has the potential to substantially reduce or eliminate deciduous, highly palatable species of aspen (Populus tremuloides), cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa), and willow (Salix spp.). In turn, differential herbivory pressure may favor greater establishment of unpalatable conifers that serve as ladder fuels for stand-replacing fires. The resulting high fuel loads often require silvicultural fuels reductions to mitigate fire risk, which in turn may facilitate additional recruitment of deciduous species but also additional herbivory pressure. Potential interactions of ungulate herbivory with episodic disturbances of silviculture, fire, and other land uses are not well documented, but are thought to operate synergistically to affect forest dynamics. We evaluated individual and joint effects of ungulate herbivory and fuels reduction treatments in grand fir (Abies grandis) and Douglas-fir (Psuedotsuga menziezii) forests that dominate large areas of interior western North America. We applied fuels reduction treatments of mechanical thinning and prescribed fire and then evaluated the responses of aspen, cottonwood, and willow species to these treatments (N = 3) versus areas of no treatment (N = 3), and to exclusion from ungulate herbivory versus areas subjected to extant herbivory by free-ranging cattle (Bos taurus), elk (Cervus elaphus), and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Densities of deciduous species were >4 times higher in response to fuels reduction treatments (84.4 individuals/ha) compared to areas of no treatment (19.7 individuals/ha). Additionally, when ungulates were excluded from fuels treated sites, the density of cottonwood was >5 times higher (122.5 individuals/ha) than fuels treated sites subjected to extant herbivory (24.3 individuals/ha). Similarly, densities of Populus spp. and Salix spp. were >3 times higher (211.6 individuals/ha) on fuels treated sites excluded from ungulate herbivory versus fuels treated sites subjected to extant herbivory (66.1 stems/ha). Deciduous species subjected to extant ungulate herbivory also were significantly lower in height, canopy surface area, and canopy volume than the same species inside the ungulate exclosures. Recruitment and long-term survival of aspen, cottonwood, and willow species in coniferous forests of interior western North America require a combination of episodic disturbances such as silviculture and fire to facilitate deciduous plant recruitment, followed by reductions in grazing pressure by domestic and wild ungulates during the time intervals between episodic disturbances to facilitate plant establishment, growth and survival.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/forest-ecology-and-management/Keywords: Chronic disturbances, Fire, Grazing, Ungulates, Fuels reduction, Forest dynamic

Atopic dermatitis and food sensitization in South African toddlers: Role of fiber and gut microbiota

The pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD) is complex and related to allergic responses and defects in skin barrier function. In common with many atopic diseases, the prevalence of AD has been increasing across the world.1 One of the theories for this increase is increased hygiene and urbanization-related changes in the environment, which can affect the human microbiome.2 Previous studies have found associations between the composition of the early gut microbiome and development of atopic conditions, including AD.3 Although the rate of atopic conditions, including AD and food allergy, is increasing on all continents, the prevalence of these diseases is still lower in African countries.1 This is especially interesting because individuals of African origin who live in Western countries, such as African Americans, are at a higher risk for severe AD.4 This variation places Africa in a special position; studying African populations is necessary not only to find ways to prevent increases of allergy conditions in African countries but also to provide important clues to the causes of this global increasing of allergic conditions. Young children who have developed AD in African communities with a low incidence of atopic disease might be the transitional group. In the current study, we have, for the first time to our knowledge, analyzed the fecal microbiota composition of a group of young black African children aged 12 to 36 months old with and without AD living in the same community in Cape Town, South Africa. Our primary goal was to examine whether toddlers with AD and control toddlers from Cape Town have different microbiomes in terms of bacterial richness and diversity. We also aimed to investigate the differences in the relative abundance for different operational taxonomic units between these 2 groups. In our subgroup analyses, we further tested the effect of multiple environmental factors on the gut microbiome in these children