Coupled Networks of Permanent Protected Areas and Dynamic Conservation Areas for Biodiversity Conservation Under Climate Change

The complexity of climate change impacts on ecological processes necessitates flexible and adaptive conservation strategies that cross traditional disciplines. Current strategies involving protected areas are predominantly fixed in space, and may on their own be inadequate under climate change. Here, we propose a novel approach to climate adaptation that combines permanent protected areas with temporary conservation areas to create flexible networks. Previous work has tended to consider permanent and dynamic protection as separate actions, but their integration could draw on the strengths of both approaches to improve biodiversity conservation and help manage for ecological uncertainty in the coming decades. As there are often time lags in the establishment of new permanent protected areas, the inclusion of dynamic conservation areas within permanent networks could provide critical transient protection to mitigate land-use changes and biodiversity redistributions. This integrated approach may be particularly useful in highly human-modified and fragmented landscapes where areas of conservation value are limited and long-term place-based protection is unfeasible. To determine when such an approach may be feasible, we propose the use of a decision framework. Under certain scenarios, these coupled networks have the potential to increase spatio-temporal network connectivity and help maintain biodiversity and ecological processes under climate change. Implementing these networks would require multidisciplinary scientific evidence, new policies, creative funding solutions, and broader acceptance of a dynamic approach to biodiversity conservation

Coupled networks of permanent protected areas and dynamic conservation areas for biodiversity conservation under climate change

The complexity of climate change impacts on ecological processes necessitates flexible and adaptive conservation strategies that cross traditional disciplines. Current strategies involving protected areas are predominantly fixed in space, and may on their own be inadequate under climate change. Here, we propose a novel approach to climate adaptation that combines permanent protected areas with temporary conservation areas to create flexible networks. Previous work has tended to consider permanent and dynamic protection as separate actions, but their integration could draw on the strengths of both approaches to improve biodiversity conservation and help manage for ecological uncertainty in the coming decades. As there are often time lags in the establishment of new permanent protected areas, the inclusion of dynamic conservation areas within permanent networks could provide critical transient protection to mitigate land-use changes and biodiversity redistributions. This integrated approach may be particularly useful in highly human-modified and fragmented landscapes where areas of conservation value are limited and long-term place-based protection is unfeasible. To determine when such an approach may be feasible, we propose the use of a decision framework. Under certain scenarios, these coupled networks have the potential to increase spatio-temporal network connectivity and help maintain biodiversity and ecological processes under climate change. Implementing these networks would require multidisciplinary scientific evidence, new policies, creative funding solutions, and broader acceptance of a dynamic approach to biodiversity conservation

Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P < 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P < 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223

Dispersal, Connectivity, and Population Genetic Structure in the Sea

The spatial distribution of genetic variation across landscapes is influenced by physical features that facilitate or restrict movement and natural selection driven by environmental heterogeneity. Many marine organisms undergo a pelagic larval stage, during which time ocean currents influence dispersal and the degree of gene flow. Furthermore, gradients in temperature, salinity, and other environmental conditions produce spatially varying selection pressures across species ranges. In the first part of my thesis, I offer a novel perspective for marine conservation that emphasizes the importance of considering both connectivity (where connectivity is maintained by dispersal) and the potential for marine populations to adapt to their environment. To do so, I highlight how genomic data can be used to infer population connectivity (i.e. based on neutral genetic variation) and environmental selection (i.e. based on putatively adaptive genetic variation) in the context of marine reserve networks. Next, using a genomic dataset derived from restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq), I investigated the impact of ocean currents and environmental variables on spatial patterns of neutral and adaptive genetic variation in the commercially harvested giant California sea cucumber (P. californicus) along the northeastern Pacific coast. The results showed evidence for population structure despite the potential for widespread gene flow, and demonstrated that accounting for directionality of ocean currents explained genetic variation better than between-site geographic distances. Strong associations between sea bottom temperature and putatively adaptive loci were identified at a broad spatial scale, as well as moderate evidence that surface salinity and bottom current velocities contribute to regional patterns of adaptive differentiation. In a study using simulations of larval dispersal coupled with demo-genetic simulations, I found that potential dispersal was spatially restricted with shorter pelagic larval duration (PLD), but there was no difference between a model of diffusive (isotropic) larval transport and oceanographic (anisotropic) transport. However, several important caveats were highlighted that should be addressed in future work. Collectively, my thesis integrates genomic, environmental, and oceanographic data to understand the role of seascape features on connectivity and adaptation, with implications for marine conservation plans that aim to connect marine populations and support adaptive responses to environmental change.Ph.D

Extra-Pair Paternity in a Socially Monogamous Neotropical Tanager, the Ringed Warbling-Finch Poospiza torquata

Social monogamy with genetic polygamy is a frequent mating system in birds. In Passeriformes, extra-pair paternity (EPP) was reported in 86% of the studied species, with high variation in occurrence and frequency within and between species. In the highly diverse Neotropical region, the genetic mating system is known for only 26 bird species. We present the first molecular data on the genetic breeding system of the Ringed Warbling-finch Poospiza torquata, a socially monogamous species of the tanagers family (Thraupidae) that inhabits arid and semi-arid regions of South America. We obtained data from 92 nestlings belonging to 35 nests during three consecutive breeding seasons (2008-2011). Paternity assignments were made using five microsatellites developed for other bird species, and calculated using CERVUS v. 3.0. We found that extra-pair males sired 20.65% of the offspring in 42.86% of the broods. The EPP level in this species was found to be close to the average level in Thraupidae, with reported values ranging between 8-50% and 15-63% for nestlings and broods with EPP, respectively. This wide interspecific variation points to the ecological factors as being very important in facilitating EPP among Thraupidae species.Fil: Sánchez, Rocío. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto de Ecología Regional. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Ecología Regional; ArgentinaFil: Blendinger, Pedro Gerardo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Instituto de Ecología Regional. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Ecología Regional; ArgentinaFil: Xuereb, Amanda. University of Toronto; CanadáFil: Lougheed, Stephen. Queens University; Canad

01-RDA_candidate_snps

script to perform RDA for detecting candidate SNP

02-compute_polygenic_scores

script to compute polygenic scores across candidate SNP

meanbottomtemp_atsites

bottom temperature at sites for polygenic score

3699snps_freqs

allele frequencies for RD