Successional patterns of terrestrial wildlife following deglaciation.

Disturbance is a key driver of community assembly and patterns of diversity. Whereas successional changes in vegetation have been well-studied, postdisturbance successional patterns of wildlife communities remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the roles of site age and habitat in shaping community assembly and the diversity of terrestrial mammals in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (GBNP), which has undergone the most rapid and extensive deglaciation in the world since the Little Ice Age. Deglaciation has extensively altered the landscape, opening up new habitat for recolonization by plants and animals. We used camera traps, small mammal trapping and vegetation surveys to investigate the patterns of mammalian succession and beta diversity following deglaciation, using a space-for-time substitution across 10 sites during summers 2017 and 2018. Site age and habitat characteristics were not strongly correlated (r < 0.46), allowing the influences of time since disturbance and habitat changes to be distinguished. PERMANOVA analyses indicated that mammal community assembly was more strongly influenced by site age than habitat, whereas habitat and age had similar effects on beta (between site) diversity. Beta diversity was higher for smaller, less mobile mammals than larger, more mobile mammals and was primarily driven by species turnover among sites, whereas relative turnover was much lower for larger mammals. A comprehensive review of historical distributions of mammals in GBNP supported our findings that species turnover is a driving influence of community assembly for smaller mammals. Our results indicate that body size of mammals may play an important role in shaping colonization patterns postdisturbance, likely via size-related differences in mobility. Patterns of wildlife community assembly may therefore not track vegetation succession following disturbances if there are barriers to movement or if dispersal ability is limited, highlighting the importance of incorporating landscape connectivity and species traits into wildlife conservation efforts following disturbances. This knowledge may improve predictions of mammalian community assembly following major disturbance events.

Genetic architecture and evolution of color variation in American black bears.

Color variation is a frequent evolutionary substrate for camouflage in small mammals, but the underlying genetics and evolutionary forces that drive color variation in natural populations of large mammals are mostly unexplained. The American black bear, Ursus americanus (U. americanus), exhibits a range of colors including the cinnamon morph, which has a similar color to the brown bear, U. arctos, and is found at high frequency in the American southwest. Reflectance and chemical melanin measurements showed little distinction between U. arctos and cinnamon U. americanus individuals. We used a genome-wide association for hair color as a quantitative trait in 151 U. americanus individuals and identified a single major locus (p < 10-13). Additional genomic and functional studies identified a missense alteration (R153C) in Tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1) that likely affects binding of the zinc cofactor, impairs protein localization, and results in decreased pigment production. Population genetic analyses and demographic modeling indicated that the R153C variant arose 9.36 kya in a southwestern population where it likely provided a selective advantage, spreading both northwards and eastwards by gene flow. A different TYRP1 allele, R114C, contributes to the characteristic brown color of U. arctos but is not fixed across the range.

Unraveling the mystery of the glacier bear: Genetic population structure of black bears (Ursus americanus) within the range of a rare pelage type.

Glacier bears are a rare grey color morph of American black bear (Ursus americanus) found only in northern Southeast Alaska and a small portion of western Canada. We examine contemporary genetic population structure of black bears within the geographic extent of glacier bears and explore how this structure relates to pelage color and landscape features of a recently glaciated and highly fragmented landscape. We used existing radiocollar data to quantify black bear home-range size within the geographic range of glacier bears. The mean home-range size of female black bears in the study area was 13 km2 (n = 11), whereas the home range of a single male was 86.9 km2. We genotyped 284 bears using 21 microsatellites extracted from noninvasively collected hair as well as tissue samples from harvested bears. We found ten populations of black bears in the study area, including several new populations not previously identified, divided largely by geographic features such as glaciers and marine fjords. Glacier bears were assigned to four populations found on the north and east side of Lynn Canal and the north and west side of Glacier Bay with a curious absence in the nonglaciated peninsula between. Lack of genetic relatedness and geographic continuity between black bear populations containing glacier bears suggest a possible unsampled population or an association with ice fields. Further investigation is needed to determine the genetic basis and the adaptive and evolutionary significance of the glacier bear color morph to help focus black bear conservation management to maximize and preserve genetic diversity.

It's not that bad: the views of consumers and carers about routine outcome measurement in mental health.

The mandatory use of routine outcome measurement (ROM) has been introduced into all public sector mental health services in Australia over the past 6 years. Qualitative processes were used to engage consumers and carers in suggesting how the measures can be used in clinical practice. The project involved an audit by survey, followed by a range of interactive workshops designed to elicit the views of consumers, carers and clinicians, as well as to involve all parties in dialogue about ROM. In addition, there was engagement of consumers and carers in the training of clinicians in the clinical use of ROM, and in the production of promotional materials aimed at informing consumers and carers about ROM. When consumers and carers have had an opportunity to be involved in ROM they have found it a useful experience, and those who had not been involved can see the potential. Consumers and carers indicated that they believe the greatest opportunity arising from the suite of measures is the use of the consumer self-assessment measure the Behaviour and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-32).