Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impact.

Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a "Green List of Species" (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species' progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement against benchmarks of species' viability, functionality, and preimpact distribution) to determine current species recovery status (herein species recovery score) and application of that method to estimate past and potential future impacts of conservation based on 4 metrics (conservation legacy, conservation dependence, conservation gain, and recovery potential). We tested the framework with 181 species representing diverse taxa, life histories, biomes, and IUCN Red List categories (extinction risk). Based on the observed distribution of species' recovery scores, we propose the following species recovery categories: fully recovered, slightly depleted, moderately depleted, largely depleted, critically depleted, extinct in the wild, and indeterminate. Fifty-nine percent of tested species were considered largely or critically depleted. Although there was a negative relationship between extinction risk and species recovery score, variation was considerable. Some species in lower risk categories were assessed as farther from recovery than those at higher risk. This emphasizes that species recovery is conceptually different from extinction risk and reinforces the utility of the IUCN Green Status of Species to more fully understand species conservation status. Although extinction risk did not predict conservation legacy, conservation dependence, or conservation gain, it was positively correlated with recovery potential. Only 1.7% of tested species were categorized as zero across all 4 of these conservation impact metrics, indicating that conservation has, or will, play a role in improving or maintaining species status for the vast majority of these species. Based on our results, we devised an updated assessment framework that introduces the option of using a dynamic baseline to assess future impacts of conservation over the short term to avoid misleading results which were generated in a small number of cases, and redefines short term as 10 years to better align with conservation planning. These changes are reflected in the IUCN Green Status of Species Standard

Population status and factors influencing the distribution of Critically Endangered gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) in a regulated unprotected river system in India

Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), the last surviving crocodilian member of the genus Gavialis, is endemic to the Indian subcontinent and is listed as one of the priorities species under the Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered framework. Historically, the gharial used to occur in all major river systems of the Indian Subcontinent, now found in isolated stretches, mostly within the boundaries of Protected Areas. The gharial population decreased by over 80 % between the 1950s and 1960s due to habitat degradation, poaching, and mortality from passive fishing. The gharial population is, however, rebounding due to concerted conservation efforts launched in the mid-1970s. One of the largest gharial populations outside of the Protected Area is in the Gandak River, a transboundary northern tributary of the Ganga. However, the habitat association of gharial in relation to the rising anthropogenic stressors is not well-documented from an ecological standpoint in the Gandak River. The present study assessed the population status and factors influencing the gharial distribution in the Gandak River. Boat-based visual encounter surveys were conducted for data collection, and generalized linear models (GLMs) were employed to evaluate the factors influencing gharial distribution. The encounter rate fluctuated along the surveyed river stretches, peaking in the upstream. We observed a positive association with channel depth while a negative one with channel width, livestock presence, fishing nets, and fishing boats. The observed pattern of encounter rate and negative association with anthropogenic variables indicate spatial avoidance of these factors. Overall, conservation interventions, such as adaptive management strategies to reduce and remove these factors, are required for long-term gharial persistence in the regulated unprotected riverscape

Evaluation of an Objective MRI-Based Tumor Regression Grade (mrTRG) Score and a Subjective Likert Score for Assessing Treatment Response in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancers—A Retrospective Study

Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with the help of MRI-based tumor regression grade (mrTRG) score has been used as a tool to predict pathological tumor regression grade (pTRG) in patients of rectal cancer post-neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Our study aims to evaluate the ability of MRI in assessing treatment response comparing an objective mrTRG score and a subjective Likert score, with a focus on the ability to predict pathologic complete response (pCR)

Safety and Efficacy of Vacuum-Assisted Breast Biopsies under Ultrasound and Stereotactic Guidance

Purpose To evaluate the safety and efficacy of vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB) under ultrasound and stereotactic guidance

Prioritising river stretches using multi-modelling habitat suitability of Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica) as a flagship species for aquatic biodiversity conservation in the Ganga River Basin, India

Globally, the river ecosystems are threatened due to human-driven exploitation and indiscriminate resource use. The rate of species loss is a magnitude higher in these ecosystems, hence, identifying conservation priority areas as refugia, using the flagship-cum-indicator species approach can aid in long-term conservation of multiple species and ensure uninterrupted functioning of ecological processes. For effective conservation planning, we derived the site occupancy and abundance of Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica) as a flagship species in the Ganga River Basin, and modelled their distribution vis-à-vis river conditions for identifying Conservation Priority Stretches (CPS). The study incorporates the first-ever basin-wide (4635 km river) Gangetic dolphin (GD) sightings to estimate range decline, abundance, and identify CPS of select rivers in the Basin. A total of 2151 sightings of surfacing dolphins with mean encounter rate of 0.55 ± 0.09 sightings/km of the river was observed from the surveyed stretch. The GD encounter rate varied significantly across the surveyed rivers (Analysis of Variance, F = 3.08, p < 0.001). We estimated 24.37 % decline in the dolphin distribution range in the basin since 19th Century. The estimated population size of the dolphin in the Basin was 3330 individuals ± 620 individuals (Confidence Interval 95 % = 2304–4668; Coefficient of Variance = 18.61) which varied across the river. The site occupancy and abundance were best predicted by channel depth (β = 0.82 ± 0.46), meanders (β = 02.56 ± 0.87) and individual rivers, whereas channel width (β = 0.11 ± 0.08) and survey efforts influenced detection probabilities. Further, we identified 610 km (12.2 %) of river stretches as high CPS in the Basin based on the prediction probability (≥0.70) of GD. Protection of these stretches is likely to ensure sustained reproduction of GD and provide refugia for other threatened species of the Ganga River and its tributaries, which is under increasing anthropogenic pressure