Characterizing the regenerative capacity and growth patterns of the Texas blind salamander (Eurycea rathbuni).

BACKGROUND: Regeneration of complex patterned structures is well described among, although limited to a small sampling of, amphibians. This limitation impedes our understanding of the full range of regenerative competencies within this class of vertebrates, according to phylogeny, developmental life stage, and age. To broaden the phylogenetic breath of this research, we characterized the regenerative capacity of the Texas blind salamander (Eurycea rathbuni), a protected salamander native to the Edwards Aquifer of San Marcos, Texas and colonized by the San Marcos Aquatic Resource Center. As field observations suggested regenerative abilities in this population, the forelimb stump of a live captured female was amputated in the hopes of restoring the structure, and thus locomotion in the animal. Tails were clipped from two males to additionally document tail regeneration. RESULTS: We show that the Texas blind salamander exhibits robust limb and tail regeneration, like all other studied Plethodontidae. Regeneration in this species is associated with wound epithelium formation, blastema formation, and subsequent patterning and differentiation of the regenerate. CONCLUSIONS: The study has shown that the Texas blind salamander is a valuable model to study regenerative processes, and that therapeutic surgeries offer a valuable means to help maintain and conserve this vulnerable species.

Anthrax Epizootic in Wildlife, Bwabwata National Park, Namibia, 2017.

In late September 2017, Bwabwata National Park in Namibia experienced a sudden die-off of hippopotamuses and Cape buffalo. A multiorganizational response was initiated, involving several ministries within Namibia and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rapid interventions resulted in zero human or livestock cases associated with this epizootic.

Predictable invasion dynamics in North American populations of the Eurasian collared dove Streptopelia decaocto.

Species invasions represent a significant dimension of global change yet the dynamics of invasions remain poorly understood and are considered rather unpredictable. We explored interannual dynamics of the invasion process in the Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) and tested whether the advance of the invasion front of the species in North America relates to centrality (versus peripherality) within its estimated fundamental ecological niche. We used ecological niche modelling approaches to estimate the dimensions of the fundamental ecological niche on the Old World distribution of the species, and then transferred that model to the New World as measures of centrality versus peripherality within the niche for the species. Although our hypothesis was that the invasion front would advance faster over more favourable (i.e. more central) conditions, the reverse was the case: the invasion expanded faster in areas presenting less favourable (i.e. more peripheral) conditions for the species as it advanced across North America. This result offers a first view of a predictive approach to the dynamics of species' invasions, and thereby has relevant implications for the management of invasive species, as such a predictive understanding would allow better anticipation of coming steps and advances in the progress of invasions, important to designing and guiding effective remediation and mitigation efforts.

Knowledge Co-production at the Research-Practice Interface: Embedded Case Studies from Urban Forestry.

Cities are increasingly engaging in sustainability efforts and investment in green infrastructure, including large-scale urban tree planting campaigns. In this context, researchers and practitioners are working jointly to develop applicable knowledge for planning and managing the urban forest. This paper presents three case studies of knowledge co-production in the field of urban forestry in the United States. These cases were selected to span a range of geographic scales and topical scopes; all three are examples of urban researcher-practitioner networks in which the authors are situated to comment on reflexively. The three cases resemble institutional structures described in the knowledge co-production literature, including participatory research, a hybrid organization of scientists and managers, and a community of practice. We find that trust, embeddedness, new approaches by both practitioners and researchers, and blending of roles all serve to recognize multiple forms of capability, expertise, and ways of knowing. We discuss the impacts of knowledge co-production and the ways in which hybrid institutional forms can enable its occurrence.

Walking as a method for epistemic justice in sustainability.

We argue that walking as a method provides an integrative approach to advance epistemic justice in sustainability research. The theory and practice of walking as a method has grown quickly within the social sciences and arts but remains underrepresented in sustainability research, where walking is typically an object of study (e.g., urban walkability). We argue that walking should be valued as an important mode of knowledge production that simultaneously widens sustainability knowledge, integrates diverse knowledge systems, and supports transdisciplinary sustainability solutions. In this perspective article, we consider the following questions: (1) Why is walking important to sustainability knowledge? (2) How can walk-based methods advance epistemic justice in sustainability knowledge? (3) What outcomes might we expect from cultivating walking as a method for sustainability knowledge? We reflect on how walking as a method centers equity and the contributions of walk-based sustainability knowledge for research and policy.

Broadscale spatial synchrony in a West Nile virus mosquito vector across multiple timescales.

Insects often exhibit irruptive population dynamics determined by environmental conditions. We examine if populations of the Culex tarsalis mosquito, a West Nile virus (WNV) vector, fluctuate synchronously over broad spatial extents and multiple timescales and whether climate drives synchrony in Cx. tarsalis, especially at annual timescales, due to the synchronous influence of temperature, precipitation, and/or humidity. We leveraged mosquito collections across 9 National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) sites distributed in the interior West and Great Plains region USA over a 45-month period, and associated gridMET climate data. We utilized wavelet phasor mean fields and wavelet linear models to quantify spatial synchrony for mosquitoes and climate and to calculate the importance of climate in explaining Cx. tarsalis synchrony. We also tested whether the strength of spatial synchrony may vary directionally across years. We found significant annual synchrony in Cx. tarsalis, and short-term synchrony during a single period in 2018. Mean minimum temperature was a significant predictor of annual Cx. tarsalis spatial synchrony, and we found a marginally significant decrease in annual Cx. tarsalis synchrony. Significant Cx. tarsalis synchrony during 2018 coincided with an anomalous increase in precipitation. This work provides a valuable step toward understanding broadscale synchrony in a WNV vector.

Bridging Biodiversity and Health: The Global Biodiversity Information Facility's initiative on open data on vectors of human diseases.

There is an increased awareness of the importance of data publication, data sharing, and open science to support research, monitoring and control of vector-borne disease (VBD). Here we describe the efforts of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) as well as the World Health Special Programme on Research and Training in Diseases of Poverty (TDR) to promote publication of data related to vectors of diseases. In 2020, a GBIF task group of experts was formed to provide advice and support efforts aimed at enhancing the coverage and accessibility of data on vectors of human diseases within GBIF. Various strategies, such as organizing training courses and publishing data papers, were used to increase this content. This editorial introduces the outcome of a second call for data papers partnered by the TDR, GBIF and GigaScience Press in the journal GigaByte. Biodiversity and infectious diseases are linked in complex ways. These links can involve changes from the microorganism level to that of the habitat, and there are many ways in which these factors interact to affect human health. One way to tackle disease control and possibly elimination, is to provide stakeholders with access to a wide range of data shared under the FAIR principles, so it is possible to support early detection, analyses and evaluation, and to promote policy improvements and/or development.

Climate, landscape, and life history jointly predict multidecadal community mosquito phenology.

Phenology of adult host-seeking female mosquitoes is a critical component for understanding potential for vector-borne pathogen maintenance and amplification in the natural environment. Despite this importance, long-term multi-species investigations of mosquito phenologies across environments and differing species' life history traits are rare. Here we leverage long-term mosquito control district monitoring data to characterize annual phenologies of 7 host-seeking female mosquito species over a 20-year time period in suburban Illinois, USA. We also assembled data on landscape context, categorized into low and medium development, climate variables including precipitation, temperature and humidity, and key life history traits, i.e. overwintering stage and Spring-Summer versus Summer-mid-Fallseason fliers. We then fit linear mixed models separately for adult onset, peak abundances, and flight termination with landscape, climate and trait variables as predictors with species as a random effect. Model results supported some expectations, including warmer spring temperatures leading to earlier onset, warmer temperatures and lower humidity leading to earlier peak abundances, and warmer and wetter fall conditions leading to later termination. However, we also found sometimes complex interactions and responses contrary to our predictions. For example, temperature had generally weak support on its own, impacting onset and peak abundance timing; rather temperature has interacting effects with humidity or precipitation. We also found higher spring precipitation, especially in low development contexts, generally delayed adult onset, counter to expectations. These results emphasize the need to consider how traits, landscape and climatic factors all interact to determine mosquito phenology, when planning management strategies for vector control and public health protection.

Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens from Wild Pigs in Northern and Central Florida.

Invasive wild pigs are distributed across much of the U.S. and are hosts to tick vectors of human disease. Herein, adult ticks were collected from 157 wild pigs in 21 northern and central Florida counties from 2019-2020 during removal efforts by USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services personnel and evaluated for their potential to be used as a method of tick-borne disease surveillance. Collected ticks were identified, screened for pathogens, and the effects of landscape metrics on tick community composition and abundance were investigated. A total of 1415 adult ticks of four species were collected. The diversity of tick species collected from wild pigs was comparable to collections made throughout the state with conventional surveillance methods. All species collected have implications for pathogen transmission to humans and other animals. Ehrlichia, Anaplasma-like, and Rickettsia spp. were detected in ticks collected from wild pigs. These results suggest that tick collection from wild pigs is a suitable means of surveillance for pathogens and vectors. The strongest drivers of variation in tick community composition were the developed open space and mixed forest landcover classes. Fragmented shrub/scrub habitat was associated with increased tick abundance. Similar models may be useful in predicting tick abundance and distribution patterns.

Co-occurrence probabilities between mosquito vectors of West Nile and Eastern equine encephalitis viruses using Markov Random Fields (MRFcov).

Mosquito vectors of eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and West Nile virus (WNV) in the USA reside within broad multi-species assemblages that vary in spatial and temporal composition, relative abundances and vector competence. These variations impact the risk of pathogen transmission and the operational management of these species by local public health vector control districts. However, most models of mosquito vector dynamics focus on single species and do not account for co-occurrence probabilities between mosquito species pairs across environmental gradients. In this investigation, we use for the first time conditional Markov Random Fields (CRF) to evaluate spatial co-occurrence patterns between host-seeking mosquito vectors of EEEV and WNV around sampling sites in Manatee County, Florida. Specifically, we aimed to: (i) quantify correlations between mosquito vector species and other mosquito species; (ii) quantify correlations between mosquito vectors and landscape and climate variables; and (iii) investigate whether the strength of correlations between species pairs are conditional on landscape or climate variables. We hypothesized that either mosquito species pairs co-occur in patterns driven by the landscape and/or climate variables, or these vector species pairs are unconditionally dependent on each other regardless of the environmental variables. Our results indicated that landscape and bioclimatic covariates did not substantially improve the overall model performance and that the log abundances of the majority of WNV and EEEV vector species were positively dependent on other vector and non-vector mosquito species, unconditionally. Only five individual mosquito vectors were weakly dependent on environmental variables with one exception, Culiseta melanura, the primary vector for EEEV, which showed a strong correlation with woody wetland, precipitation seasonality and average temperature of driest quarter. Our analyses showed that majority of the studied mosquito species' abundance and distribution are insignificantly better predicted by the biotic correlations than by environmental variables. Additionally, these mosquito vector species may be habitat generalists, as indicated by the unconditional correlation matrices between species pairs, which could have confounded our analysis, but also indicated that the approach could be operationalized to leverage species co-occurrences as indicators of vector abundances in unsampled areas, or under scenarios where environmental variables are not informative.

Survey of Invasive Mosquito Surveillance and Control Capacity in Southeastern USA Reveals Training and Resource Needs.

Several invasive mosquito species that are nuisances or of medical and veterinary importance have been introduced into the Southeastern region of the USA, posing a threat to other species and the local ecosystems and/or increasing the risk of pathogen transmission to people, livestock, and domestic pets. Prompt and effective monitoring and control of invasive species is essential to prevent them from spreading and causing harmful effects. However, the capacity for invasive mosquito species surveillance is highly variable among mosquito control programs in the Southeast, depending on a combination of factors such as regional geography and climate, access to resources, and the ability to interact with other programs. To facilitate the development of invasive mosquito surveillance in the region, we, the Mosquito BEACONS (Biodiversity Enhancement and Control of Non-native Species) working group, conducted a survey on the capacities of various public health agencies and pest control agencies engaged in mosquito surveillance and control in seven Southeastern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina). Ninety control programs completed the survey, representing an overall response rate of 25.8%. We report key findings from our survey, emphasizing the training and resource needs, and discuss their implications for future invasive mosquito surveillance and control capacity building. By increasing communication and collaboration opportunities (e.g., real-time sharing of collection records, coordinated multistate programs), the establishment of Mosquito BEACONS and the implementation of this survey can accelerate knowledge transfer and improve decision support capacity in response to or in preparation for invasive mosquito surveillance and can establish infrastructure that can be used to inform programs around the world.

Predicting the potential distribution of Culex (Melanoconion) cedecei in Florida and the Caribbean using ecological niche models.

Everglades virus (EVEV), an enzootic subtype of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, along with its endemic mosquito vector, Culex cedecei, is known only from South Florida. The taxonomy of Cx. cedecei is complex and was once synonymous with Culex opisthopus and Culex taeniopus. We modeled potential distribution of Cx. cedecei in Florida and the Caribbean using an ecological niche model and compared this distribution to the recorded distribution of EVEV in Florida as well as historical records of Cx. opisthopus/Cx. taeniopus. We used recent collections and occurrence data from scientific publications and temperature/precipitation variables and vegetation greenness values to calibrate models. We found mean annual temperature contributed the greatest to model performance. Everglades virus in humans and wildlife corresponded with areas predicted suitable for Cx. cedecei in Florida but not with incidence of antibodies reported in dogs. Most records of Cx. opisthopus/Cx. taeniopus in the Caribbean did not correspond to areas predicted suitable for Cx. cedecei, which may be due to mean annual temperature values in the Caribbean exceeding values within the calibration region, imposing model constraints. Results indicated that this model may adequately predict the distributions of Cx. cedecei within Florida but cannot predict areas suitable in the Caribbean.

Predicting potential transmission risk of Everglades virus in Florida using mosquito blood meal identifications.

The overlap between arbovirus host, arthropod vectors, and pathogen distributions in environmentally suitable habitats represents a nidus where risk for pathogen transmission may occur. Everglades virus (EVEV), subtype II Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), is endemic to southern Florida where it is transmitted by the endemic vector Culex cedecei between muroid rodent hosts. We developed an ecological niche model (ENM) to predict areas in Florida suitable for EVEV transmission based upon georeferenced vector-host interactions from PCR-based blood meal analysis from blood-engorged female Cx. cedecei females. Thirteen environmental variables were used for model calibration, including bioclimatic variables derived from Daymet 1 km daily temperature and precipitation values, and land use and land cover data representing percent land cover derived within a 2.5 km buffer from 2019 National Land Cover Database (NLCD) program. Maximum temperature of the warmest month, minimum temperature of the coldest month, and precipitation of the driest month contributed 31.6%, 28.5% and 19.9% to ENM performance. The land cover types contributing the greatest to the model performance were percent landcover of emergent herbaceous and woody wetlands which contributed 5.2% and 4.3% to model performance, respectively. Results of the model output showed high suitability for Cx. cedecei feeding on rodents throughout the southwestern portion of the state and pockets of high suitability along the northern east coast of Florida, while areas with low suitability included the Miami-Dade metropolitan area and most of northern Florida and the Panhandle. Comparing predicted distributions of Cx. cedecei feeding upon rodent hosts in the present study to historical human cases of EVEV disease, as well as antibodies in wildlife show substantial overlap with areas predicted moderate to highly suitable for these vector/host associations. As such, the findings of this study likely predict the most accurate distribution of the nidus of EVEV to date, indicating that this method allows for better inference of potential transmission areas than models which only consider the vector or vertebrate host species individually. A similar approach using host blood meals of other arboviruses can be used to predict potential areas of virus transmission for other vector-borne diseases.

Application of Deep Learning to Community-Science-Based Mosquito Monitoring and Detection of Novel Species.

Mosquito-borne diseases account for human morbidity and mortality worldwide, caused by the parasites (e.g., malaria) or viruses (e.g., dengue, Zika) transmitted through bites of infected female mosquitoes. Globally, billions of people are at risk of infection, imposing significant economic and public health burdens. As such, efficient methods to monitor mosquito populations and prevent the spread of these diseases are at a premium. One proposed technique is to apply acoustic monitoring to the challenge of identifying wingbeats of individual mosquitoes. Although researchers have successfully used wingbeats to survey mosquito populations, implementation of these techniques in areas most affected by mosquito-borne diseases remains challenging. Here, methods utilizing easily accessible equipment and encouraging community-scientist participation are more likely to provide sufficient monitoring. We present a practical, community-science-based method of monitoring mosquito populations using smartphones. We applied deep-learning algorithms (TensorFlow Inception v3) to spectrogram images generated from smartphone recordings associated with six mosquito species to develop a multiclass mosquito identification system, and flag potential invasive vectors not present in our sound reference library. Though TensorFlow did not flag potential invasive species with high accuracy, it was able to identify species present in the reference library at an 85% correct identification rate, an identification rate markedly higher than similar studies employing expensive recording devices. Given that we used smartphone recordings with limited sample sizes, these results are promising. With further optimization, we propose this novel technique as a way to accurately and efficiently monitor mosquito populations in areas where doing so is most critical.

West Nile Virus Surveillance in Sentinel Chickens and Mosquitoes in Panama City Beach, Florida, from 2014 To 2020.

Over 20 years since its introduction, the West Nile virus (WNV) continues to be the leading cause of arboviral disease in the USA. In Panama City Beach (Bay County, FL), WNV transmission is monitored using sentinel chickens and testing mosquito pools for presence of viral RNA. In the current work, we monitored WNV transmission from 2014 to 2020 through weekly serology sampling of sentinel chickens; mosquito populations through biweekly mosquito collections by suction traps (1 m and 9 m) and weekly gravid trap collections; and mosquito infection rates using a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. Samples were sent to the Bureau of Public Health Laboratories (Tampa, FL) for testing presence/absence of WNV via RT-PCR assay. Our results indicated that canopy surveillance could augment ground collections, providing greater proportions of Culex mosquitoes with less bycatch compared with ground collections. Serology indicated 94 seroconversions to WNV in the study area from 2014 to 2020. The most active year was 2016, which accounted for 32% (n = 30) of all seroconversions reported during the study period. We detected 20 WNV-positive mosquito pools from Culex quinquefasciatus during 2014-17; mosquito infection rates ranged from 2.02 to 23.81 per thousand (95% CI). Climate data indicated anomalously high precipitation in 2014-19 preceding WNV transmission. Data analyzed herein indicate utility in year-round continuous and diversified surveillance methodologies. This information is needed to properly calibrate future models that could assist with predicting transmission events of WNV in Panama City Beach, FL.

The effects of captivity on the microbiome of the endangered Comal Springs riffle beetle (Heterelmis comalensis).

The gut microbiome is affected by host intrinsic factors, diet and environment, and strongly linked to host's health. Although fluctuations of microbiome composition are normal, some are due to changes in host environmental conditions. When species are moved into captive environments for conservation, education or rehabilitation, these new conditions can influence a change in gut microbiome composition. Here, we compared the microbiomes of wild and captive Comal Springs riffle beetles (Heterelmis comalensis) by using amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. We found that the microbiome of captive beetles was more diverse than wild beetle microbiomes. We identified 24 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) with relative abundances significantly different between the wild and captive beetles. Many of the ASVs overrepresented in captive beetle microbiomes belong to taxa linked to nitrogen-rich environments. This is one of the first studies comparing the effects of captivity on the microbiome of an endangered insect species. Our findings provide valuable information for future applications in the management of captive populations of H. comalensis.

A need for clarity on surgical management of breast sarcoma: Scottish sarcoma network guidelines and regional audit.

Currently, there are no comprehensive breast sarcoma guidelines in the UK. There is therefore a need for guidelines to clarify surgical management, which we have based on data from our regional audit, current evidence, and consensus between West of Scotland Breast Cancer and Scottish Sarcoma Managed Clinical Networks. Methods and results: From 2007 to 2019, 46 patients were treated with breast sarcoma in the West of Scotland. Sarcoma Centre versus Peripheral Hospitals: Incomplete excision rate was 0% at sarcoma centre and 50% at peripheral hospitals (p = 0.0002, Odds Ratio 43). For angiosarcoma, 0% positive margin at the sarcoma centre versus 62.5% at the peripheral unit (p = 0.0036, odds ratio 39.3). Tumours treated at the sarcoma centre were larger than those treated at peripheral hospitals (92.5 versus 39.7 mm, p = 0.0009). WLE (wide local excision) versus mastectomy: Out of eight WLE patients, seven (87.5%) had positive margins, with 6 of these patients proceeding to mastectomy (i.e. 75% WLE patients ultimately had a mastectomy). The positive margin rate was significantly higher in WLE (87.5%) than in mastectomy (10.3%) (p = 0.0001, odds ratio 60.7). Survival: No difference was noted between the sarcoma centre and peripheral hospitals for overall survival (p = 0.43), stratified for tumours <5 cm (p = 0.16), and disease-free survival (p = 0.45). Conclusions: Our data strongly suggest that specific guidelines are needed for breast sarcoma, and that managing these patients according to breast carcinoma protocols in peripheral hospitals is sub-optimal. We recommend centralisation of breast sarcoma patient care to a specialist sarcoma centre, with WLE not recommended as a firstline surgical option given both the high rates of incomplete excision and subsequent need for completion mastectomy.

What Matters to Us: Impact of Telemedicine During the Pandemic in the Care of Patients With Sarcoma Across Scotland.

PURPOSE: In Scotland, approximately 350 sarcoma cases are diagnosed per year and treated in one of the five specialist centers. Many patients are required to travel long distances to access specialist care. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a number of rapid changes into the care for patients with cancer, with increasing utilization of telemedicine. We aimed to evaluate how the utilization of telemedicine affects professionals and patients across Scotland and care delivery, at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre Sarcoma Unit. METHODS: Between June 8 and August 25, 2020, we invited patients and professional sarcoma multidisciplinary team members to participate in separate online anonymous survey questionnaires, to assess their attitudes toward telemedicine. Data were extracted, and descriptive statistics were performed. RESULTS: Patient satisfaction (n = 64) with telemedicine was high (mean = 9.4/10) and comparable with traditional face-to-face appointments (mean = 9.5/10). Patients were receptive to the use of telemedicine in certain situations, with patients strongly opposed to being told bad news via telemedicine (88%). Providers recommended the use of telemedicine in certain patient populations and reported largely equivalent workloads when compared with traditional consultations. Providers reported that telemedicine should be integrated into regular practice (66%), with patients echoing this indicating a preference for a majority of telemedicine appointments (57%). CONCLUSION: Telemedicine in sarcoma care is favorable from both clinician and patient perspectives. Utilization of telemedicine for patients with rare cancers such as sarcomas is an innovative approach to the delivery of care, especially considering the time and financial pressures on patients who often live a distance away from specialist centers. Patients and providers are keen to move toward a more flexible, mixed system of care.

Potential Distribution of Aedes (Ochlerotatus) scapularis (Diptera: Culicidae): A Vector Mosquito New to the Florida Peninsula.

Aedes scapularis is a neotropical mosquito known to transmit pathogens of medical and veterinary importance. Its recent establishment in southeastern Florida has potential public health implications. We used an ecological niche modeling approach to predict the abiotic environmental suitability for Ae. scapularis across much of the Americas and Caribbean Islands. Georeferenced occurrence data obtained from the Global Biodiversity Inventory Facility and recent collection records of Ae. scapularis from southern Florida served as input for model calibration. Environmental layers included bioclimatic variables provided in 2000 to 2010 average Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications climatic (MERRAclim) data. Models were run in the software program Maxent. Isothermality values often found in costal environments, had the greatest contribution to model performance. Model projections suggested that there are areas predicted to be suitable for Ae. Scapularis across portions of the Amazon Basin, the Yucatán Peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, and multiple Caribbean Islands. Additionally, model predictions suggested connectivity of highly suitable or relatively suitable environments spanning the United States Gulf Coast, which may facilitate the geographic expansion of this species. At least sixteen Florida counties were predicted to be highly suitable for Ae. scapularis, suggesting that vigilance is needed by vector control and public health agencies to recognize the further spread of this vector.