The impact of conservation translocations on vector-borne parasites : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Wildlife conservation in New Zealand relies on translocations of endangered species to safe sites. While knowledge of the biology and behaviour of translocated hosts has steadily increased, the role of parasites in wildlife translocations has been largely overlooked. Parasites can affect their host’s survivorship during translocations by causing disease. However, failure to translocate or reintroduce a host specific parasite with its endangered host can contribute to the extinction of the parasite with unforeseen consequences for the future of the host or even the whole ecosystem. The main aims of this study were to establish baseline data on the impact of North Island saddleback translocations on their avian malaria (Plasmodium spp.) parasites as well as gaining further insight into potential vectors in New Zealand. The study was also intended to contribute to the development of recommendations for future parasite screening programmes for native passerine translocations. Saddlebacks and Plasmodium were chosen because of the detailed saddleback translocation history and its known relationship with the parasite. As a result of this study, several Plasmodium lineages previously unrecorded in saddlebacks and New Zealand were identified, for example, the native Kokako01 and one lineage closest related to two lineages from the Americas. Nonetheless, the most frequent lineages found were the cosmopolitan P. elongatum GRW6 and LINN1, and P. vaughani SYAT05, common in birds introduced to New Zealand. This finding suggests that endemic parasites may have already become rare or extinct. In addition, Plasmodium DNA was detected in both native and introduced mosquitoes that may act as vectors. A qPCR assay was developed that was found to be a cost effective and rapid screening tool for the detection of Plasmodium in native birds suffering from acute infection, presenting with clinical symptoms, and in birds that were found dead. . I conclude that future translocations should consider the movement of endemic parasites with their hosts. How this should happen is open for future studies. However, I urge managers to start considering this issue now as New Zealand has already recorded the extinction of one endemic parasite and many more may have already been lost without knowledge

Review of a partial care program for severely emotionally disturbed youth

The need for research on programs for Emotionally Disturbed (ED) children and adolescents is great. The present study examined a partial care program for ED youth in New Jersey. There were 120 subjects in this study. Several characteristics of these subjects were examined – gender, race, age, diagnosis, and family status. The study also examined the subjects\u27 average length of stay in the program.and reasons for being discharged. In addition, the ratio of clients to staff was studied. The data was collected by examining the files of past and present clients to gather the necessary information. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results. The majority of the subjects were African American males between the ages of 12 and 15 years. Most were either diagnosed Conduct Disorder or Oppositional Defiant Disorder and most lived with a single parent. The overall length of stay for the subjects was 8 months. Most of them were discharged due to refusal of service or to another placement. The ratio of clients to staff varied from 6 to 1 to 3 to 1 over the three year period studied

Global Estimation Methodology for Wave Adaptation Modular Vessel Dynamics Using a Genetic Algorithm

Determining parameters for a system model for marine vessels becomes more difficult as the model is made more complex. Work has been done to determine the equations of motion, but not to fully define how to estimate all of the system parameters. This work utilizes a global optimization methodology for estimating the system parameters using a genetic algorithm. The optimizer uses training data sets created from a set of ship maneuvering standards to minimize the error in the 3 degree-of-freedom equations of motion. The model has been optimized using a “No Surge-Yaw” model (minimal surge coupling) and a “Full” model (all states have coupling effects to each other) to determine how well each model can be estimated. The “No Surge-Yaw” model had the best results with making a working marine vessel model. The “Full” model was difficult to optimize due to the additional parameters that had unknown, nonlinear constraints. The “No Surge-Yaw” model was compared to linearized, no coupling version of the model that is commonly used. The linearized model vastly overestimated the results in sway and yaw rate motion while the “No Surge-Yaw” captured the expected coupling dynamics that do exist. Overall, the results of this methodology did generate a set of working marine vessel parameters for an unknown, coupled-state dynamic model

Ecology and co-existence of two endemic day gecko (Phelsuma) species in Seychelles native palm forest

In island ecosystems, reptiles play diverse ecological roles as a result of niche broadening, which increases potential niche overlap between species. Ecological niche partitioning is a means of reducing direct competition between coexisting species and differences in habitat use among island gecko species have been suggested as a by-product of specialization to feeding on certain resources. Here, we examine modes and drivers of niche partitioning of two endemic species of Phelsuma gecko (Phelsuma sundbergi and Phelsuma astriata) in relict native palm forest in the Seychelles to further understanding of congeneric reptile co-existence in native habitats. Phelsuma abundance, microhabitat use and habitat composition were quantified in different macrohabitat types. P. sundbergi showed a clear preference for habitat dominated by the coco de mer palm, Lodoicea maldivica and a strong association with male individuals of this dioecious species. P. astriata density increased significantly with arboreal biodiversity but did not display a relationship with a specific tree type. High levels of resource segregation were determined along the microhabitat axis, based on differential tree preference. Our results suggest that P. sundbergi and P. astriata may have evolved to co-exist in this habitat type through partitioning of microhabitat as members of a divergent specialist/generalist assemblage determined by consumption of L. maldivica pollen by P. sundbergi. Our findings concur with the hypothesis that differences in habitat use among island reptiles are a by-product of trophic specialization and support the conservation of native habitat for maintenance of reptile diversity

Laplace\u27s Equation in Fractional-Dimension Spaces

The correct way to model gravity is a question in physics whose answer continues to elude our understanding. One major difficulty is the dark matter problem, which exists due to the mass discrepancy between predicted and measured values in our universe. One possible solution to this problem is Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). MOND is an alternative gravity model that modifies Newtonian Dynamics with the hope to avoid the necessity of dark matter. Dr. Varieschi has done work connecting MOND to Newtonian Fractional-Dimension Gravity—the application of fractional calculus and fractional mechanics to classical gravitation laws. In this formulation, we can consider dimension (D) to be somewhere between 1 and 3. Laplace’s equation has already been found in the spherical coordinate system for this model, but the cylindrical case has not been explored. My work will answer two questions: “What is Laplace’s equation in cylindrical coordinates for varying fractional dimensions?” and “How can this result be applied to model galactic systems?” First, I conducted a thorough review of Laplace’s equation in spherical coordinates for both the three-dimensional and fractional-dimensional cases. I then compared these two cases and analyzed the results of that comparison. Then, I utilized Mathematica to determine Laplace’s equation in cylindrical coordinates. Finally, I applied the equation I found to galactic models, concluding that this formulation might be a promising start towards modeling gravity correctly

Numerical simulations of two-dimensional neural fields with applications to working memory

In this paper we describe a neural field model which explains how a population of cortical neurons may encode in its firing pattern simultaneously the nature and time of sequential stimulus events. From the mathematical point of view, this is obtained my means of a two-dimensional field, where one dimension represents the nature of the event (for example the color of a light signal) and the other represents the elapsed time. Some numerical experiments are reported which were carried out using a computational algorithm for two-dimensional neural field equations. These numerical experiments are described and their results are discussed.This work was supported by Portuguese National Fund (Fundação para ˜ a Ciência e a Tecnologia ˆ ) within projects SFRH/BSAB/135130/2017 and UID/MAT/00013/201

Polystyrene Surface-Absorbed Trehalose Diester as a Means for Performing Pulldown Assays

In 2016, over 10.4 million people contracted Tuberculosis (TB) infections for the first time, resulting in the deaths of 1.7 million people worldwide. Despite the existence of a vaccine, TB remains the number one cause of death from a single infectious disease according to the 2017 report from the World Health Organization. As a result, research and development of a new TB vaccine is ongoing, as it is suspected the currently available formulation does not contain an adjuvant which produces the necessary TH-17 response. In the search for new drugs to combat this epidemic, knowledge of how a compound triggers an immune response is paramount. One method for identifying an activated immune protein complex is via immunoprecipitation, colloquially referred to as a “pulldown.” In this study, a pelletable, beaded support of polystyrene (PS) with surface-absorbed trehalose diester (TDE) has been developed for use as a tool for identification of C-type lectin receptors. TDE was used as a stand-in for trehalose dimycolate, a glycolipid found in the cell wall of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is recognized by C-type lectin. Confirmation of surface-absorption and characterization of the modified beads was performed via dynamic light scattering and high-performance liquid chromatography