The effect of changing land use on the availability of potential nest trees for the endangered Muir’s corella (Cacatua pastinator pastinator): a case study of the establishment of commercial Tasmanian Blue Gum plantations in Western Australia

In the mid-1990s commercial Tasmanian blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) plantations were established in south-west Western Australia. We examined the extent of loss of potential nesting trees for an endangered obligate hollow-nesting cockatoo, Muir’s corella (Cacatua pastinator pastinator), resulting from establishment of these plantations during 1995–2004. Clearing of native vegetation was extensive in both Tonebridge (51%) and Frankland (76%) study sites. The proportion of land used for timber plantation increased significantly from 2.4% to 12.1% (Tonebridge) and 0.5% to 9% (Frankland) in the period 1995–2004. Plantations were predominantly established on already cleared farmland, but during the rapid development of plantations, large numbers of remnant paddock trees (mean = 56%) in cleared farmland were removed. Despite the loss of more than 50% of potential nesting habitat over an area of 376 km2 within its current distribution, Muir’s corella continued to increase in numbers. However, there are concerns about delayed impacts of the clearing of potential nest trees we have observed, and consequences of further tree loss during future plantation harvesting. Evidence-based demonstration of biodiversity protection is increasingly needed to fulfil forest and plantation stewardship requirements, so greater care needs to be directed towards the management of extant remnant vegetation in paddocks

It's a job to be done’. Managing polypharmacy at home: A qualitative interview study exploring the experiences of older people living with frailty

Introduction Many older people live with both multiple long-term conditions and frailty; thus, they manage complex medicines regimens and are at heightened risk of the consequences of medicines errors. Research to enhance how people manage medicines has focused on adherence to regimens rather than on the wider skills necessary to safely manage medicines, and the older population living with frailty and managing multiple medicines at home has been under-explored. This study, therefore, examines in depth how older people with mild to moderate frailty manage their polypharmacy regimens at home. Methods Between June 2021 and February 2022, 32 patients aged 65 years or older with mild or moderate frailty and taking five or more medicines were recruited from 10 medical practices in the North of England, United Kingdom, and the CARE 75+ research cohort. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face to face, by telephone or online. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings Five themes were developed: (1) Managing many medicines is a skilled job I didn't apply for; (2) Medicines keep me going, but what happened to my life?; (3) Managing medicines in an unclear system; (4) Support with medicines that makes my work easier; and (5) My medicines are familiar to me—there is nothing else I need (or want) to know. While navigating fragmented care, patients were expected to fit new medicines routines into their lives and keep on top of their medicines supply. Sometimes, they felt let down by a system that created new obstacles instead of supporting their complex daily work. Conclusion Frail older patients, who are at heightened risk of the impact of medicines errors, are expected to perform complex work to safely self-manage multiple medicines at home. Such a workload needs to be acknowledged, and more needs to be done to prepare people in order to avoid harm from medicines. Patient and Public Involvement An older person managing multiple medicines at home was a core member of the research team. An advisory group of older patients and family members advised the study and was involved in the first stages of data analysis. This influenced how data were coded and themes shaped

Transcriptional profiling of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes for adult age estimation

The age distribution of female mosquitoes in the field is a critical component of vectorial capacity because of the extrinsic incubation period of mosquito-borne pathogens. However this parameter has not been well characterized in malaria vectors because of methodological difficulties; transcriptional profiling provides a potential new approach for age determination. In Anopheles gambiae, microarrays were used to examine global gene expression over adult life. Nine genes were selected from the 2714 gene transcripts that displayed age-related transcription patterns, and quantitative reverse transcription PCR used to select the four best performing genes. The resulting age estimation assay was able to predict female age from lab-reared samples with sufficient accuracy to provide a potentially useful tool for studies of malaria epidemiology and control

The remarkable vocal anatomy of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus): insights into low-frequency sound production in a marsupial species

Koalas are characterised by a highly unusual vocal anatomy, with a descended larynx and velar vocal folds, allowing them to produce calls with disproportionately low frequencies. Here we use advanced imaging techniques, histological data, classical macroscopic dissection and behavioural observations to provide the first detailed description and interpretation of male and female koala vocal anatomy. We show that both males and females have an elongated pharynx and soft palate, resulting in a permanently descended larynx. In addition, the hyoid apparatus has a human-like configuration in which paired dorsal, resilient ligaments suspend the hyoid apparatus from the skull, while the ventral parts tightly connect to the descended larynx. We also show that koalas can retract the larynx down into the thoracic inlet, facilitated by a dramatic evolutionary transformation of the ventral neck muscles. First, the usual retractors of the larynx and the hyoid have their origins deep in the thorax. Second, three hyoid muscles have lost their connection to the hyoid skeleton. Third, the genioglossus and geniohyoid muscles have greatly increased in length. Finally, the digastric, omohyoid and sternohyoid muscles, connected by a common tendinous intersection, form a guiding channel for the dynamic down-and-up movements of the ventral hyoid parts and the larynx. We suggest that these features evolved to accommodate the low resting position of the larynx and assist in its retraction during call production. We also confirm that the edges of the intra-pharyngeal ostium have specialised to form the novel, extra-laryngeal velar vocal folds, which are much larger than the true, intra-laryngeal vocal folds in both sexes, but more developed and specialised for low frequency sound production in males than in females. Our findings illustrate that strong selection pressures on acoustic signalling not only lead to the specialisation of existing vocal organs, but can also result in the evolution of novel vocal structures in both sexes

Biomagnifcation and body distribution of ivermectin in dung beetles

We thank the staf of Doñana Biological Reserve (DBR-ICTS), Doñana National Park, and Los Alcornocales Natural Park, especially D. Paz, F. Ibáñez, P. Bayón, M. Malla and D. Ruiz for logistic facilities for the field work and permissions (2019107300000904/IRM/MDCG/mes) to collect cattle dung and dung beetles. We are grateful to J. Castro and A. Rascón for technical assistance. We also thank A. V. Giménez-Gómez for her technical assistance in the laboratory work. We thank also F.-T Krell and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. Financial support was provided by the project CGL2015-68207-R of the Secretaría de Estado de Investigación–Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad.A terrestrial test system to investigate the biomagnifcation potential and tissue-specifc distribution of ivermectin, a widely used parasiticide, in the non-target dung beetle Thorectes lusitanicus (Jekel) was developed and validated. Biomagnifcation kinetics of ivermectin in T. lusitanicus was investigated by following uptake, elimination, and distribution of the compound in dung beetles feeding on contaminated faeces. Results showed that ivermectin was biomagnifed in adults of T. lusitanicus when exposed to non-lethal doses via food uptake. Ivermectin was quickly transferred from the gut to the haemolymph, generating a biomagnifcation factor (BMFk) three times higher in the haemolymph than in the gut after an uptake period of 12 days. The fat body appeared to exert a major role on the biomagnifcation of ivermectin in the insect body, showing a BMFk 1.6 times higher than in the haemolymph. The results of this study highlight that the biomagnifcation of ivermectin should be investigated from a global dung-based food web perspective and that the use of these antiparasitic substances should be monitored and controlled on a precautionary basis. Thus, we suggest that an additional efort be made in the development of standardised regulatory recommendations to guide biomagnifcation studies in terrestrial organisms, but also that it is necessary to adapt existing methods to assess the efects of such veterinary medical products