Why Seychelles Warblers fail to recolonize nearby islands:Unwilling or unable to fly there?

The Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis is a rare island endemic which, from 1920 to 1988, occurred only on Cousin Island (29 ha) in the Seychelles. Despite the saturated nature of this population and the possibility of obtaining higher reproductive success on new nearby islands, inter-island dispersal by Seychelles Warblers is extremely rare (0.10%). We test the hypothesis that Seychelles Warblers show an adaptation typical for island birds: a low-cost reduced-size flight apparatus. We compared the anatomy of the flight apparatus (wing shape, wing loading, skeletal parts and musculature) of Seychelles Warblers with that of three closely related migratory Acrocephalus species (Eurasian Reed Warbler A. scirpaceus, Australian Reed Warbler A. australis and African Reed Warbler A. baeticatus). Seychelles Warblers do not differ from the migratory warblers in pectoral mass and skeletal attachment area relative to body mass, wing shape and wing loading. Seychelles Warblers show the morphological structures required for sustained flight, but may have the behavioural reluctance to cross what they may regard as extensive bodies of water.</p

Het zieke kind: een zorg voor huisarts en kinderarts

[s er een reden tot zorg over de wijze waarop de medische zorg voor kinderen in het Nederlandse gezondheidszorgsysteem is verankerd? Ogenschijnlijk niet! Vrijwel nergens ter wereld zijn de cijfers die een maat vormen voor de gezondheidstoestand van kinderen gunstiger. Zou het toch nog beter kunnen2 De zorg voor het zieke kind is in ons land primair de taak van de huisarts, dit in tegenstelling tot de situatie in veel andere landen waar zowel de curatieve als de preventieve zorg veelal door de kinderarts wordt verleend. Specialistische zorg, ook die van de kinderarts, wordt gegeven na verwijzing en de preventieve zorg is in handen van de jeugdgezondheidszorg. Zijn er punten waarop de zorg door de huisarts te kort schiet, op welke wijze zou de kinderarts kunnen bijdragen aan een verbetering van de zorg en is de wisselwerking tussen de circuits waarin de zorg wordt verleend optimaal? Voor de afdelingen huisartsgeneeskunde en kindergeneeskunde van de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam was dit begin jaren tachtig een discussiepunt. In 1986 werden door het Ministerie van Onderwijs en Wetenschappen gelden beschikbaar gesteld voor projecten, gericht op onderzoek dat een bijdrage levert aan de versterking van de extramurale gezondheidszorg. Uit het Vernieuwingsfonds Extramurale Vakken/Toponderzoek Eerstelijn werden gelden toegekend aan de afdelingen Huisartsgeneeskunde en Kindergeneeskunde van de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam om onderzoek te verrichten naar de samen~ werking tussen huisarts en kinderarts. De doelstelling van het onderzoek was na te gaan of er knelpunten zijn in de wiize waarop de zorg voor zieke kinderen door huisarts en kinderarts wordt gerealiseerd en op welke punten de samenwerking tussen huisarts en kinderarts niet optimaal is. Indien problemen gesignaleerd werden zou worden nagegaan of de werkwijze van en de interacties tussen huisarts en kinderarts door interventies verbeterd konden worden, er van uitgaande dat dit zou bijdragen tot de verbetering van de zorg voor het zieke kind

Assessing habitat requirements of Asian tapir in forestry landscapes: Implications for conservation

The iconic large-bodied Asian tapir (Tapirus indicus) is endemic to Southeast Asia and is currently listed as endangered. To date, little is known about how tapir respond to habitat fragmentation in forestry landscapes. This study aimed to assess tapir occurrence in eight forestry reserves, outside the main protected areas in Peninsular Malaysia, using non-intrusive camera trapping methods. These reserves include logged or unlogged, contiguous or fragmented, peat swamp forest and lowland dipterocarp forest. Out of 345 camera-trapping locations, over six years, we detected tapir at 39 locations, represented by 960 images. An assessment of vegetation structure and landscape variables was conducted to identify the key factors associated with their tapir presence. We found that tapir occurrence significantly increased with the number of trees with a DBH of 5–45 cm, number of saplings, percentage of canopy cover, trees with a DBH of more than 45 cm and distance from the nearest road. While, tapir detection decreased with the number of dead fallen trees and number of palms. Our data highlights the importance of conserving these remaining fragmented forest reserves, particularly peat swamp forests and ways in which suitable habitat conditions may be created to support tapir populations. We conclude by discussing intervention approaches such as relocation, reintroduction and restocking and restoration to improve the structural attributes of vegetation utilised by tapirs

Contrasting Genetic Structure in Two Co-Distributed Species of Old World Fruit Bat

The fulvous fruit bat (Rousettus leschenaulti) and the greater short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus sphinx) are two abundant and widely co-distributed Old World fruit bats in Southeast and East Asia. The former species forms large colonies in caves while the latter roots in small groups in trees. To test whether these differences in social organization and roosting ecology are associated with contrasting patterns of gene flow, we used mtDNA and nuclear loci to characterize population genetic subdivision and phylogeographic histories in both species sampled from China, Vietnam and India. Our analyses from R. leschenaulti using both types of marker revealed little evidence of genetic structure across the study region. On the other hand, C. sphinx showed significant genetic mtDNA differentiation between the samples from India compared with China and Vietnam, as well as greater structuring of microsatellite genotypes within China. Demographic analyses indicated signatures of past rapid population expansion in both taxa, with more recent demographic growth in C. sphinx. Therefore, the relative genetic homogeneity in R. leschenaulti is unlikely to reflect past events. Instead we suggest that the absence of substructure in R. leschenaulti is a consequence of higher levels of gene flow among colonies, and that greater vagility in this species is an adaptation associated with cave roosting

Evolutionary effects of alternative artificial propagation programs: implications for viability of endangered anadromous salmonids

Most hatchery programs for anadromous salmonids have been initiated to increase the numbers of fish for harvest, to mitigate for habitat losses, or to increase abundance in populations at low abundance. However, the manner in which these programs are implemented can have significant impacts on the evolutionary trajectory and long-term viability of populations. In this paper, we review the potential benefits and risks of hatchery programs relative to the conservation of species listed under the US Endangered Species Act. To illustrate, we present the range of potential effects within a population as well as among populations of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) where changes to major hatchery programs are being considered. We apply evolutionary considerations emerging from these examples to suggest broader principles for hatchery uses that are consistent with conservation goals. We conclude that because of the evolutionary risks posed by artificial propagation programs, they should not be viewed as a substitute for addressing other limiting factors that prevent achieving viability. At the population level, artificial propagation programs that are implemented as a short-term approach to avoid imminent extinction are more likely to achieve long-term population viability than approaches that rely on long-term supplementation. In addition, artificial propagation programs can have out-of-population impacts that should be considered in conservation planning

The tonic immobility test: Do wild and captive golden mantella frogs (Mantella aurantiaca) have the same response?

Adaptations to captivity that reduce fitness are one of many reasons, which explain the low success rate of reintroductions. One way of testing this hypothesis is to compare an important behavioural response in captive and wild members of the same species. Thanatosis, is an anti-predator strategy that reduces the risk of death from predation, which is a common behavioral response in frogs. The study subjects for this investigation were captive and wild populations of Mantella aurantiaca. Thanatosis reaction was measured using the Tonic Immobility (TI) test, a method that consists of placing a frog on its back, restraining it in this position for a short period of time and then releasing it and measuring how much time was spent feigning death. To understand the pattern of reaction time, morphometric data were also collected as body condition can affect the duration of thanatosis. The significantly different TI times found in this study, one captive population with shorter responses, were principally an effect of body condition rather than being a result of rearing environment. However, this does not mean that we can always dismiss the importance of rearing environment in terms of behavioural skills expressed