Impacts of tropical forest disturbance on species vital rates

Tropical forests are experiencing enormous threats from deforestation and habitat degradation. Much knowledge of the impacts of these land-use changes on tropical species comes from studies examining patterns of richness and abundance. Demographic vital rates (survival, reproduction, and movement) can also be affected by land-use change in a way that increases species vulnerability to extirpation, but in many cases these impacts may not be manifested in short-term changes in abundance or species richness. We conducted a literature review to assess current knowledge and research effort concerning how land-use change affects species vital rates in tropical forest vertebrates. We found a general paucity of empirical research on demography across taxa and regions, with some biases toward mammals and birds and land-use transitions, including fragmentation and agriculture. There is also considerable between-species variation in demographic responses to land-use change, which could reflect trait-based differences in species sensitivity, complex context dependencies (e.g., between-region variation), or inconsistency in methods used in studies. Efforts to improve understanding of anthropogenic impacts on species demography are underway, but there is a need for increased research effort to fill knowledge gaps in understudied tropical regions and taxa. The lack of information on demographic impacts of anthropogenic disturbance makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions about the magnitude of threats to tropical ecosystems under anthropogenic pressures. Thus, determining conservation priorities and improving conservation effectiveness remains a challenge

The roles of endolithic fungi in bioerosion and disease in marine ecosystems. II. Potential facultatively parasitic anamorphic ascomycetes can cause disease in corals and molluscs

Anamorphic ascomycetes have been implicated as causative agents of diseases in tissues and skeletons of hard corals, in tissues of soft corals (sea fans) and in tissues and shells of molluscs. Opportunist marine fungal pathogens, such as Aspergillus sydowii, are important components of marine mycoplankton and are ubiquitous in the open oceans, intertidal zones and marine sediments. These fungi can cause infection in or at least can be associated with animals which live in these ecosystems. A. sydowii can produce toxins which inhibit photosynthesis in and the growth of coral zooxanthellae. The prevalence of many documented infections has increased in frequency and severity in recent decades with the changing impacts of physical and chemical factors, such as temperature, acidity and eutrophication. Changes in these factors are thought to cause significant loss of biodiversity in marine ecosystems on a global scale in general, and especially in coral reefs and shallow bays

Ecological implications of a flower size/number trade-off in tropical forest trees

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Contralateral hip fractures and other osteoporosis-related fractures in hip fracture patients: Incidence and risk factors. An observational cohort study of 1,229 patients

Purpose: To report risk factors, 1-year and overall risk for a contralateral hip and other osteoporosis-related fractures in a hip fracture population. Methods: An observational study on 1,229 consecutive patients of 50 years and older, who sustained a hip fracture between January 2005 and June 2009. Fractures were scored retrospectively for 2005-2008 and prospectively for 2008-2009. Rates of a contralateral hip and other osteoporosis- related fractures were compared between patients with and without a history of a fracture. Previous fractures, gender, age and ASA classification were analysed as possible risk factors. Results: The absolute risk for a contralateral hip fracture was 13.8 %, for one or more osteoporosis-related fracture( s) 28.6 %. First-, second- and third-year risk for a second hip fracture was 2, 1 and 0 %. Median (IQR) interval between both hip fractures was 18.5 (26.6) months. One-year incidence of other fractures was 6 %. Only age was a risk factor for a contralateral hip fracture, hazard ratio (HR) 1.02 (1.006-1.042, p = 0.008). Patients with a history of a fracture (33.1 %) did not have a higher incidence of fractures during follow-up (16.7 %) than patients without fractures in their history (14 %). HR for a contralateral hip fracture for the fracture versus the non-fracture group was 1.29 (0.75-2.23, p = 0.360). Conclusion: The absolute risk of a contralateral hip fracture after a hip fracture is 13.8 %, the 1-year risk was 2 %, with a short interval between the 2 hip fractures. Age was a risk factor for sustaining a contralateral hip fracture; a fracture in history was not

A Comprehensive Study of the Retinal Phenotype of Rpe65-Deficient Dogs.

The Rpe65-deficient dog has been important for development of translational therapies of Leber congenital amaurosis type 2 (LCA2). The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive report of the natural history of retinal changes in this dog model. Rpe65-deficient dogs from 2 months to 10 years of age were assessed by fundus imaging, electroretinography (ERG) and vision testing (VT). Changes in retinal layer thickness were assessed by optical coherence tomography and on plastic retinal sections. ERG showed marked loss of retinal sensitivity, with amplitudes declining with age. Retinal thinning initially developed in the area centralis, with a slower thinning of the outer retina in other areas starting with the inferior retina. VT showed that dogs of all ages performed well in bright light, while at lower light levels they were blind. Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) inclusions developed and in younger dogs and increased in size with age. The loss of photoreceptors was mirrored by a decline in ERG amplitudes. The slow degeneration meant that sufficient photoreceptors, albeit very desensitized, remained to allow for residual bright light vision in older dogs. This study shows the natural history of the Rpe65-deficient dog model of LCA2

Land Law, Property Ideologies and the British-Irish relationship

English and Irish land law are deeply influenced by the historical context of the British-Irish relationship, yet property scholarship comparing the two jurisdictions is surprisingly rare. The current Brexit negotiations provide a timely reminder of the strategic importance of property and trade relations between the two countries; and of their related-but-different legal cultures. In this article we examine how the property cultures of England and Ireland were shaped by the politics and practices of land tenure, by competing economic and property ideologies, and by the influence of both on national identity and statehood in both jurisdictions. The article reveals the role of local contexts and events in shaping land reform, and demonstrates the fertile potential of the comparative frame to contextualise each jurisdiction’s doctrines and practices. As domestic land law systems are drawn together in the context of emerging EU jurisdiction over areas like mortgage credit, each jurisdiction’s underpinning ideological commitments have important implications for the ease – or not – of attempts to harmonize member state practices. We explain the alignments and divergences between domestic underpinnings of Irish and English law, and reflect on the implications of our findings for contemporary property problems in the context of evolving economic and political relationships between the UK and Ireland

Protecting tropical forests from the rapid expansion of rubber using carbon payments

Expansion of Hevea brasiliensis rubber plantations is a resurgent driver of deforestation, carbon emissions, and biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asian rubber extent is massive, equivalent to 67% of oil palm, with rapid further expansion predicted. Results-based carbon finance could dis-incentivise forest conversion to rubber, but efficacy will be limited unless payments match, or at least approach, the costs of avoided deforestation. These include opportunity costs (timber and rubber profits), plus carbon finance scheme setup (transaction) and implementation costs. Using comprehensive Cambodian forest data, exploring scenarios of selective logging and conversion, and assuming land-use choice is based on net present value, we find that carbon prices of $30-$51 per tCO2are needed to break even against costs, higher than those currently paid on carbon markets or through carbon funds. To defend forests from rubber, either carbon prices must be increased, or other strategies are needed, such as corporate zero-deforestation pledges, and governmental regulation and enforcement of forest protection

Atypical Neurophysiology Underlying Episodic and Semantic Memory in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show atypicalities in episodic memory (Boucher et al. in Psychological Bulletin, 138 (3), 458-496, 2012). We asked participants to recall the colours of a set of studied line drawings (episodic judgement), or to recognize line drawings alone (semantic judgement). Cycowicz et al. (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 65, 171-237, 2001) found early (300 ms onset) posterior old-new event-related potential effects for semantic judgements in typically developing (TD) individuals, and occipitally focused negativity (800 ms onset) for episodic judgements. Our results replicated findings in TD individuals and demonstrate attenuated early old-new effects in ASD. Late posterior negativity was present in the ASD group, but was not specific to this time window. This non-specificity may contribute to the atypical episodic memory judgements characteristic of individuals with ASD

African Americans, Gentrification, and Neoliberal Urbanization: the Case of Fort Greene, Brooklyn

This article examines the gentrification of Fort Greene, which is located in the western part of black Brooklyn, one of the largest contiguous black urban areas in the USA. Between the late 1960s and 2003, gentrification in Fort Greene followed the patterns discovered by scholars of black neighborhoods; the gentrifying agents were almost exclusively black and gentrification as a process was largely bottom-up because entities interested in the production of space were mostly not involved. Since 2003, this has changed. Whites have been moving to Fort Greene in large numbers and will soon represent the numerical majority. Public and private interventions in and around Fort Greene have created a new top-down version of gentrification, which is facilitating this white influx. Existing black residential and commercial tenants are replaced and displaced in the name of urban economic development