Effects of roadside edge on nest predators and nest survival of Asian tropical forest birds

Creation of roadside forest edges can have indirect effects on forest bird communities, as edges can promote species detrimental to forest-nesting birds such as nest predators. We assessed species-specific rates of nest survival of understory birds, relative abundances of specific nest predators and predator-specific rates of nest predation relative to the distance from roadside forest edge in a dry evergreen forest in northeastern Thailand. During the breeding seasons (FebruaryeAugust) of 2014e2016 we searched for nests along two, 1-km transects which ran perpendicular from the edge of a five-lane highway into the forest interior. To assess nest predator species, video cameras were placed on active nests of understory birds and multiple techniques were used to assess the relative abundances of the documented nest predators. We found 306 active nests of 26 species and recorded 179 predation events from 13 species of nest predators. Distance to edge influenced the daily nest survival rates for four of seven focal bird species, with three species having higher survival rates nearer to the edge. Four of six predators had higher relative abundances in the forest interior. Rats and the Common Green Magpie (Cissa chinensis) had higher abundances nearer the edge. Snake detections were too few to assess statistically. Nest predation rates for the top three predators, Northern Pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina), Green Cat Snake (Boiga cyanea) and Crested Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgratus) were significantly greater in the forest interior. The fourth-most important, Common Green Magpie, was the only predator responsible for more nest predation events closer to habitat edge compared to interior. Our study suggests that the impacts of edges on nesting success are highly dependent on the nest predator community and the species-specific responses of predators to edges

Abundance estimation from multiple data types for groupliving animals: An example using dhole (Cuon alpinus)

Large carnivores are declining globally and require baseline population estimates for management, however large-scale population estimation is problematic for species without unique natural marks. We used camera trap records of dhole Cuon alpinus, a group-living species, from three national parks in Thailand as a case study in which we develop integrated likelihood models to estimate abundance incorporating two different data sets, count data and detection/non-detection data. We further investigated relative biases of the models using different proportions of data with lower versus higher quality and assessed parameter identifiability. The simulations indicated that the relative bias on average across 24 tested scenarios was 2% with a 95% chance that the simulated data sets obtained the true animal abundances. We found that bias was high (\u3e10%) when sampling 60 sites with only 5 sampling occasions. We tested four additional scenarios with varying proportions of count data. Our model tolerated the use of relatively low proportions of the higher quality count data, but below 10% the results began to show bias (\u3e6%). Data cloning indicated that the parameters were identifiable with all posterior variances shrinking to near zero. Our model demonstrates the benefits of combining data from multiple studies even with different data types. Furthermore, the approach is not limited to camera trap data. Detection/non-detection data from track surveys or counts from transects could also be combined. Particularly, our model is potentially useful for assessing populations of rare species where large amounts of by-catch datasets are available

Loss-of-function analysis of EphA receptors in retinotectal mapping

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Community Paramedicine in Rural Areas: State and Local Findings and the Role of the State Flex Program (Policy Brief #35)

This study examined the evidence base for community paramedicine in rural communities, the role of community paramedics in rural healthcare delivery systems, the challenges faced by states in implementing community paramedicine programs, and the role of the state Flex programs in supporting development of community paramedicine programs. Additionally, the study provides a snapshot of community paramedicine programs currently being developed and/or implemented in rural areas. Another FMT briefing paper describes these same findings in detail. Highlights: Many rural community paramedicine programs are in pilot stages. Most community paramedics work within an expanded role rather than an expanded scope of practice, the latter requiring legislative or regulatory change. Funding and reimbursement for community paramedicine services are major challenges for the sustainability of community paramedicine programs. Data collection is vital for community paramedicine programs to be able to show value, including shared saving and patient outcomes. Collaboration at local and state levels is essential for buy-in, and partnering with the State Office of Rural Health is especially helpful in the early development and outreach efforts for rural community paramedicine programs

Road induced edge effects on a forest bird community in tropical Asia

Background: Edge effects cause changes in bird community richness, abundance, and/or distribution within a landscape, but the avian guilds most influenced can vary among regions. Although Southeast Asia has the highest rates of deforestation and projected species loss, and is currently undergoing an explosive growth in road infrastructure, there have been few studies of the effects of forest edges on avian communities in this region. Methods: We examined avian community structure in a dry evergreen forest in northeastern Thailand adjacent to a five-lane highway. We evaluated the richness and abundance of birds in 11 guilds at 24 survey points on three parallel transects perpendicular to the edge. At each point, 10-min surveys were conducted during February‒August 2014 and March‒August 2015. Vegetation measurements were conducted at 16 of the bird survey points and ambient noise was measured at all 24 survey points. Results: We found a strongly negative response to the forest edge for bark-gleaning, sallying, terrestrial, and understory insectivores and a weakly negative response for arboreal frugivore-insectivores, foliage gleaning insectivores, and raptors. Densities of trees and the percentage canopy cover were higher in the interior, and the ambient noise was lower. In contrast, arboreal nectarivore-insectivores responded positively to the forest edge, where there was a higher vegetation cover in the ground layer, a lower tree density, and a higher level of ambient noise. Conclusion: Planners should avoid road development in forests of high conservation value to reduce impacts on biodiversity. Where avoidance is impossible, a number of potential mitigation methods are available, but more detailed assessments of these are needed before they are applied in this region

THE AVIFAUNA OF THE MO SINGTO FOREST DYNAMICS PLOT, KHAO YAI NATIONAL PARK, THAILAND

ABSTRACT The 169 species of birds recorded on the 30 ha Mo Singto Forest Dynamics Plot, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, are a subset of the 329 species recorded in the headquarters area of the park. Most of the Mo Singto-recorded species are typical of evergreen forest interior but the transient occurrence of a small number of other species, inhabitants of forest edge or more open habitats, is documented. Almost one third of species found on the plot were moderate to long-distance migrant, non-breeding, visitors. The largest foraging guilds were foliage-gleaning insectivores and sallying insectivores, together accounting for over one-third of all species. Though obligate frugivores were poorly represented, most insectivorous birds incorporated fruits in their diet. The nearly 30-year history of avian recording at Mo Singto, with intensive community studies having been conducted in the past decade, and the location of the study plot near the submontane-montane transition, make it an ideal site for continuation of detailed monitoring, particularly that related to the impact of climate change

Advances in applied supramolecular technologies

Supramolecular chemistry is a comparatively young field that to date has mainly been focused on building a foundation of fundamental understanding. With much progress in this area, researchers are seeking to apply this knowledge to the development of commercially viable products. In this review we seek to outline historical and recent developments within the field of supramolecular chemistry that have made the transition from laboratory to market, and to bring to light those technologies that we believe have commercial potential. In doing so we hope we may illuminate pathways to market for research currently being conducted

Relation of maternal prepregnancy body mass index with offspring bone mass in childhood: is there evidence for an intrauterine effect?1234

Background: Evidence indicates that intrauterine skeletal development has implications for bone mass in later life and that maternal fat stores in pregnancy are important for fetal bone mineral accrual

Identifying conservation priorities for an understudied species in decline: Golden cats (Catopuma temminckii) in mainland Tropical Asia

Abstract Identifying conservation priorities for an understudied species can be challenging, as the amount and type of data available to work with are often limited. Here, we demonstrate a flexible workflow for identifying priorities for such data-limited species, focusing on the little-studied Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) in mainland Tropical Asia. Using recent occurrence records, we modeled the golden cat's expected area of occurrence and identified remaining habitat strongholds (i.e., large intact areas with moderate-to-high expected occurrence). We then classified these strongholds by recent camera-trap survey status (from a literature review) and near-future threat status (based on publicly available forest loss projections and Bayesian Belief Network derived estimates of hunting-induced extirpation risk) to identify conservation priorities. Finally, we projected the species' expected area of occurrence in the year 2000, approximately three generations prior to today, to define past declines and better evaluate the species' current conservation status. Lower levels of hunting-induced extirpation risk and higher levels of closed-canopy forest cover were the strongest predictors of recent camera-trap records. Our projections suggest a 68% decline in area with moderate-to-high expected occurrence between 2000 and 2020, with a further 18% decline predicted over the next 20 years. Past and near-future declines were primarily driven by cumulatively increasing levels of hunting-induced extirpation risk, suggesting assessments of conservation status based solely on declines in habitat may underestimate actual population declines. Of the 40 remaining habitat strongholds, 77.5% were seriously threatened by forest loss and hunting. Only 52% of threatened strongholds had at least one site surveyed, compared to 100% of low-to-moderate threat strongholds, thus highlighting an important knowledge gap concerning the species' current distribution and population status. Our results suggest the golden cat has experienced, and will likely continue to experience, considerable population declines and should be considered for up-listing to a threatened category (i.e., VU/EN) under criteria A2c of the IUCN Red List

The science of clinical practice: disease diagnosis or patient prognosis? Evidence about "what is likely to happen" should shape clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis is the traditional basis for decision-making in clinical practice. Evidence is often lacking about future benefits and harms of these decisions for patients diagnosed with and without disease. We propose that a model of clinical practice focused on patient prognosis and predicting the likelihood of future outcomes may be more useful. DISCUSSION: Disease diagnosis can provide crucial information for clinical decisions that influence outcome in serious acute illness. However, the central role of diagnosis in clinical practice is challenged by evidence that it does not always benefit patients and that factors other than disease are important in determining patient outcome. The concept of disease as a dichotomous 'yes' or 'no' is challenged by the frequent use of diagnostic indicators with continuous distributions, such as blood sugar, which are better understood as contributing information about the probability of a patient's future outcome. Moreover, many illnesses, such as chronic fatigue, cannot usefully be labelled from a disease-diagnosis perspective. In such cases, a prognostic model provides an alternative framework for clinical practice that extends beyond disease and diagnosis and incorporates a wide range of information to predict future patient outcomes and to guide decisions to improve them. Such information embraces non-disease factors and genetic and other biomarkers which influence outcome. SUMMARY: Patient prognosis can provide the framework for modern clinical practice to integrate information from the expanding biological, social, and clinical database for more effective and efficient care