Natural history contributions of the University of Glasgow Exploration Society to Scotland and the World

Expeditions with a natural history focus have been organised by University of Glasgow staff and students since the 1930s. The educational benefits of such expeditions to students have been reported by Harper et al. ( Journal of Biological Education 51, 3- 16; 2017). Here, we present a short history of these expeditions, concentrating on their scientific achievements. In addition to expedition reports, a large number of PhD theses, masters and honours project reports and scientific papers have been based on expedition work. Many biological specimens have been deposited in museums, including some new species. We provide case histories of four expedition locations, to demonstrate the variety of work done, and the value of returning many times to the same place: Scotland, Trinidad and Tobago, North Cyprus and Ecuador. A major problem for expeditions is funding. For many years, the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland ran a funding stream that was crucial to the viability of Scottish university expeditions, but this has sadly now closed. For Glasgow University expeditions, the Blodwen Lloyd Binns Bequest has provided a reliable source since 1994, and we hope that it will continue to do so

Media framing of the Cayman Turtle Farm: implications for conservation conflicts

 This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordConflicts over natural resource use and management often arise where groups have different goals or priorities. The media can play an important dual role in these conflicts; article content might offer insights about public opinion, whilst media may shape debates and how issues are perceived by the public and decision-makers. Wildlife farming is a contentious conservation tool attracting the attention of worldwide media, and associated conflicts among different interest groups may undermine its applicability. We investigated the media’s portrayal of the Cayman Turtle Farm (CTF), a facility in the Cayman Islands which breeds green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) for human consumption, to investigate how the media presents information about wildlife farming (i.e. framing), consider its potential roles influencing conflicts and explore how it can be used for conservation conflict management. Content analysis was used to compare framing, article valence, and stakeholder representation in 634 newspaper articles from the international and local media. These media stories were framed in terms of: tourism, conflict, conservation, culture/community, management, and utilisation. International articles most often described CTF as a tourism facility. However, during a media campaign by an international animal welfare group, CTF was also often depicted as a source of controversy. Trade in turtle products was mostly debated in older articles. Local media mainly had a financial focus. Conflict framing was associated with a negative article valence, and conflict framed articles were significantly more likely to contain no conservation information. Mentions of environmental interest groups were significantly associated with negative articles, whereas academics were significantly more likely to be mentioned in positive articles. Conservationists must consider stakeholder objectives from the outset of interventions and be aware of the multiple roles the media might play. Media analysis and effectively harnessing the potential of media outlets should be considered as tools for managing conservation conflicts.Darwin Initiativ

An update on the safety and efficacy of decitabine in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal bone marrow malignancies characterized by peripheral cytopenias and dysplastic changes in the bone marrow with various clinical features. Patients with MDS, in particular those with intermediate-2 (Int-2) and high-risk disease, have a poor prognosis. The mainstay of treatment includes cytoxic chemotherapy and supportive care. Over the last decade, promising results from studies focusing on hypomethylating agents, such as decitabine (5-aza-deoxycytidine) and 5-azacitidine, have led to the expansion of the therapeutic arsenal for MDS. This review presents the current data available on the clinical efficacy and safety profile for decitabine as a treatment for MDS. Although not fully understood, decitabine’s antitumor activity may involve its ability to induce hypomethylation and reactivation of genes responsible for cellular differentiation, stimulate an immune response, induce DNA damage/apoptotic response pathways, and/or augment stem cell renewal. Future studies that use epigenetic therapies that combine hypomethylating agents with histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) and head-to-head comparison studies of decitabine and 5-azacitidine will provide valuable pre-clinical and clinical data, enhancing our understanding of these drugs

What goes in, must come out:combining scat-based molecular diet analysis and quantification of ingested microplastics in a marine top predator

Context: Microplastics (plastic particles &lt;5 mm in size) are highly available for ingestion by a wide range of organisms, either through direct consumption or indirectly, via trophic transfer, from prey to predator. The latter is a poorly understood, but potentially major, route of microplastic ingestion for marine top predators.Approach: We developed a novel and effective methodology pipeline to investigate dietary exposure of wild top predators (grey seals; Halichoerus grypus) to microplastics, by combining scat-based molecular techniques with a microplastic isolation method. We employed DNA metabarcoding, a rapid method of biodiversity assessment, to garner detailed information on prey composition from scats, and investigated the potential relationship between diet and microplastic burden.Results: Outcomes of the method development process and results of both diet composition from metabarcoding analysis and detection of microplastics are presented. Importantly, the pipeline performed well and initial results suggest the frequency of microplastics detected in seal scats may be related to the type of prey consumed. Conclusions: Our non-invasive, data rich approach maximises time and resource-efficiency, while minimising costs and sample volumes required for analysis. This pipeline could be used to underpin a much-needed increase in understanding of the relationship between diet composition and rates of microplastic ingestion in high trophic-level species.<br/

The effect of biologging devices on reproduction, growth and survival of adult sea turtles

This is the final version. Available from BMC via the DOI in this record.The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Background Telemetry and biologging systems, ‘tracking’ hereafter, have been instrumental in meeting the challenges associated with studying the ecology and behaviour of cryptic, wide-ranging marine mega-vertebrates. Over recent decades, globally, sea turtle tracking has increased exponentially, across species and life-stages, despite a paucity of studies investigating the effects of such devices on study animals. Indeed, such studies are key to informing whether data collected are unbiased and, whether derived estimates can be considered typical of the population at large. Methods Here, using a 26-year individual-based monitoring dataset on sympatric green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles, we provide the first analysis of the effects of device attachment on reproduction, growth and survival of nesting females. Results We found no significant difference in growth and reproductive correlates between tracked and non-tracked females in the years following device attachment. Similarly, when comparing pre- and post-tracking data, we found no significant difference in the reproductive correlates of tracked females for either species or significant carry-over effects of device attachment on reproductive correlates in green turtles. The latter was not investigated for loggerhead turtles due to small sample size. Finally, we found no significant effects of device attachment on return rates or survival of tracked females for either species. Conclusion While there were no significant detrimental effects of device attachment on adult sea turtles in this region, our study highlights the need for other similar studies elsewhere and the value of long-term individual-based monitoring

Quality and Severity of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms among African American Elders

Lack of population-based data on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among African American men represents a significant gap in understanding. This study examined LUTS among a racially over-sampled, mixed urban/rural, elderly cohort of African Americans and whites in the South to discern whether racial differences exist in the prevalence, severity, and associated risk factors of LUTS. Longitudinal analyses using generalized estimating equations (GEE) were conducted on the 1994–1998 EPESE dataset for 5 North Carolina counties. In 1994, the analytic cohort included 482 African Americans and 407 whites; by 1998, 249 and 222, respectively. In 1994, 49.4% of African Americans reported LUTS compared to 56.8% of whites. By 1998, percentages increased to 60.6% and 70.3%, respectively. LUTS was associated with being African American, married, having poor health status and disability, delaying care quite often, being in a nursing home or in a rural area, and having a male physician

Remote electronic monitoring as a potential alternative to on-board observers in small-scale fisheries

This is the final version of the article. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Small-scale fisheries can greatly impact threatened marine fauna. Peru's small-scale elasmobranch gillnet fishery captures thousands of sharks and rays each year, and incidentally captures sea turtles, marine mammals and seabirds. We assessed the ability of a dedicated fisheries remote electronic monitoring (REM) camera to identify and quantify captures in this fishery by comparing its performance to on-board observer reports. Cameras were installed across five boats with a total of 228 fishing sets monitored. Of these, 169 sets also had on-board fisheries observers present. The cameras were shown to be an effective tool for identifying catch, with > 90% detection rates for 9 of 12 species of elasmobranchs caught. Detection rates of incidental catch were more variable (sea turtle = 50%; cetacean = 80%; pinniped = 100%). The ability to quantify target catch from camera imagery degraded for fish quantities exceeding 15 individuals. Cameras were more effective at quantifying rays than sharks for small catch quantities (x ≤ 15 fish), whereas size affected camera performance for large catches (x > 15 fish). Our study showed REM to be effective in detecting and quantifying elasmobranch target catch and pinniped bycatch in Peru's small-scale fishery, but not, without modification, in detecting and quantifying sea turtle and cetacean bycatch. We showed REM can provide a time- and cost-effective method to monitor target catch in small-scale fisheries and can be used to overcome some deficiencies in observer reports. With modifications to the camera specifications, we expect performance to improve for all target catch and bycatch species.This work was supported by the Darwin Initiative Project EIDP0046 and the Whitley Fund for Nature Grant 150626 CF15. David C. Bartholomew is supported by a NERC studentship NE/L002434/1

A global review of marine turtle entanglement in anthropogenic debris: a baseline for further action

Entanglement in anthropogenic debris poses a threat to marine wildlife. Although this is recognised as a cause of marine turtle mortality, there remain quantitative knowledge gaps on entanglement rates and population implications. We provide a global summary of this issue in this taxon using a mixed methods approach, including a literature review and expert opinions from conservation scientists and practitioners worldwide. The literature review yielded 23 reports of marine turtle entanglement in anthropogenic debris, which included records for 6 species, in all ocean basins. Our experts reported the occurrence of marine turtles found entangled across all species, life stages and ocean basins, with suggestions of particular vulnerability in pelagic juvenile life stages. Numbers of stranded turtles encountered by our 106 respondents were in the thousands per year, with 5.5% of turtles encountered entangled; 90.6% of these dead. Of our experts questioned, 84% consider that this issue could be causing population level effects in some areas. Lost or discarded fishing materials, known as ‘ghost gear’, contributed to the majority of reported entanglements with debris from land-based sources in the distinct minority. Surveyed experts rated entanglement a greater threat to marine turtles than oil pollution, climate change and direct exploitation but less of a threat than plastic ingestion and fisheries bycatch. The challenges, research needs and priority actions facing marine turtle entanglement are discussed as pathways to begin to resolve and further understand the issue. Collaboration among stakeholder groups such as strandings networks, the fisheries sector and the scientific community will facilitate the development of mitigating actions