Climate variables are not the dominant predictor of Arctic shorebird distributions.

Competing theoretical perspectives about whether or not climate is the dominant factor influencing species' distributions at large spatial scales have important consequences when habitat suitability models are used to address conservation problems. In this study, we tested how much variables in addition to climate help to explain habitat suitability for Arctic-breeding shorebirds. To do this we model species occupancy using path analyses, which allow us to estimate the indirect effects of climate on other predictor variables, such as land cover. We also use deviance partitioning to quantify the total relative importance of climate versus additional predictors in explaining species occupancy. We found that individual land cover variables are often stronger predictors than the direct and indirect effects of climate combined. In models with both climate and additional variables, on average the additional variables accounted for 57% of the explained deviance, independent of shared effects with the climate variables. Our results support the idea that climate-only models may offer incomplete descriptions of current and future habitat suitability and can lead to incorrect conclusions about the size and location of suitable habitat. These conclusions could have important management implications for designating protected areas and assessing threats like climate change and human development.

Climate-related range shifts in Arctic-breeding shorebirds.

Aim: To test whether the occupancy of shorebirds has changed in the eastern Canadian Arctic, and whether these changes could indicate that shorebird distributions are shifting in response to long-term climate change. Location: Foxe Basin and Rasmussen Lowlands, Nunavut, Canada. Methods: We used a unique set of observations, made 25 years apart, using general linear models to test if there was a relationship between changes in shorebird species' occupancy and their species temperature Index, a simple version of a species climate envelope. Results: Changes in occupancy and density varied widely across species, with some increasing and some decreasing. This is despite that overall population trends are known to be negative for all of these species based on surveys during migration. The changes in occupancy that we observed were positively related to the species temperature index, such that the warmer-breeding species appear to be moving into these regions, while colder-breeding species appear to be shifting out of the regions, likely northward. Main Conclusions: Our results suggest that we should be concerned about declining breeding habitat availability for bird species whose current breeding ranges are centered on higher and colder latitudes.

Bridging research and practice in conservation.

Calls for biodiversity conservation practice to be more evidence based are growing, and we agree evidence use in conservation practice needs improvement. However, evidence-based conservation will not be realized without improved access to evidence. In medicine, unlike in conservation, a well-established and well-funded layer of intermediary individuals and organizations engage with medical practitioners, synthesize primary research relevant to decision making, and make evidence easily accessible. These intermediaries prepare targeted evidence summaries and distribute them to practitioners faced with time-sensitive and value-laden decisions. To be effective, these intermediaries, who we refer to as evidence bridges, should identify research topics based on the priorities of practitioners; synthesize evidence; prepare and distribute easy-to-find and easy-to-use evidence summaries; and develop and maintain networks of connections with researchers and practitioners. Based on a review of the literature regarding evidence intermediaries in conservation and environmental management, as well as an anonymous questionnaire searching for such organizations, we found few intermediaries that met all these criteria. Few evidence bridges that do exist are unable to reach most conservation practitioners, which include resource managers in government and industry, conservation organizations, and farmers and other private landowners. We argue that the lack of evidence bridges from research to practitioners contributes to evidence complacency and limits the use of evidence in conservation action. Nevertheless, several existing organizations help reduce the gap between evidence and practice and could serve as a foundation for building additional components of evidence bridges in conservation. Although evidence bridges need expertise in research and evidence synthesis, they also require expertise in identifying and communicating with the community of practitioners most in need of clear and concise syntheses of evidence. Article Impact Statement: Evidence-based conservation will not be realized without improved access to evidence. We call for intermediary evidence bridges.

Vinculación entre la Investigación y la Práctica en la Conservación Resumen Cada vez existen más peticiones para que las prácticas de conservación de la biodiversidad estén más basadas en evidencias, además de que apoyamos la idea de que el uso de evidencias en la práctica de la conservación necesita mejorar. Sin embargo, la conservación basada en la evidencia no se logrará sin un acceso mejorado a las evidencias. En la medicina, no como en la conservación, un estrato bien establecido y financiado de individuos y organizaciones intermediarias interactúan con los médicos, sintetizan las investigaciones primarias relevantes para la toma de decisiones y hacen que las evidencias sean de fácil acceso. Estos intermediarios preparan resúmenes de evidencias específicas y los distribuyen a los médicos que enfrentan decisiones urgentes y muy valiosas. Para que sean efectivos, estos intermediarios, a quienes nos referimos como puentes de evidencias, deben poder identificar los temas de estudio con base en las prioridades de los practicantes, sintetizar evidencias, preparar y distribuir resúmenes fáciles de encontrar y fáciles de usar, y desarrollar y mantener redes de conexiones con los investigadores y los practicantes. Con base en una revisión de la literatura correspondiente a los intermediarios de evidencias en la conservación y el manejo ambiental, así como en un cuestionario anónimo que busca a dichas organizaciones, encontramos a pocos intermediarios que cumplieran con estos criterios. Los pocos puentes de evidencias que existen no son capaces de llegar a la mayoría de los practicantes de la conservación, los cuales incluyen a los gestores de recursos en el gobierno y en la industria, a las organizaciones de conservación y a los agricultores y otros terratenientes privados. Argumentamos que la falta de puentes de evidencia entre los investigadores y los practicantes contribuye a la indulgencia de evidencias y limita el uso de evidencias en las acciones de conservación. Sin embargo, varias organizaciones existentes ayudan a reducir la brecha entre la evidencia y la práctica y podrían funcionar como base para la construcción de componentes adicionales para los puentes de evidencia en la conservación. Aunque los puentes de evidencias necesitan experiencia con la investigación y con la síntesis de evidencias, también requieren experiencia con la identificación de y comunicación con la comunidad de practicantes que más necesitan una síntesis clara y concisa de la evidencia.

Both short and long distance migrants use energy-minimizing migration strategies in North American herring gulls.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have proposed that birds migrating short distances migrate at an overall slower pace, minimizing energy expenditure, while birds migrating long distances minimize time spent on migration to cope with seasonal changes in environmental conditions. METHODS: We evaluated variability in the migration strategies of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), a generalist species with flexible foraging and flight behaviour. We tracked one population of long distance migrants and three populations of short distance migrants, and compared the directness of their migration routes, their overall migration speed, their travel speed, and their use of stopovers. RESULTS: Our research revealed that Herring Gulls breeding in the eastern Arctic migrate long distances to spend the winter in the Gulf of Mexico, traveling more than four times farther than gulls from Atlantic Canada during autumn migration. While all populations used indirect routes, the long distance migrants were the least direct. We found that regardless of the distance the population traveled, Herring Gulls migrated at a slower overall migration speed than predicted by Optimal Migration Theory, but the long distance migrants had higher speeds on travel days. While long distance migrants used more stopover days overall, relative to the distance travelled all four populations used a similar number of stopover days. CONCLUSIONS: When taken in context with other studies, we expect that the migration strategies of flexible generalist species like Herring Gulls may be more influenced by habitat and food resources than migration distance.

Arctic cleansing diet: Sex-specific variation in the rapid elimination of contaminants by the world's champion migrant, the Arctic tern.

Contamination of Arctic marine environments continues to be a concern for wildlife managers. Because the Arctic is a sink for the long-range transport of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), many studies have detected high concentrations of POPs in various Arctic birds. In this study from high Arctic Canada, we show that male Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea), which migrate from the Antarctic to the Arctic annually to breed, decline in concentrations of many hepatic POPs through the breeding season. This suggests that local Arctic food webs are less contaminated than regions where terns fed during or migration, despite that the terns appear to feed at a higher trophic level near their colony.

Correction to: Winter home range and habitat selection differs among breeding populations of herring gulls in eastern North America.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40462-019-0152-x.].

Winter home range and habitat selection differs among breeding populations of herring gulls in eastern North America.

Background: Recognizing the factors influencing migratory individuals throughout their annual cycle is important for understanding the drivers of population dynamics. Previous studies have found that Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) in the Atlantic region have lower survival rates than those in the Great Lakes and the Arctic. One possible explanation for divergent survival rates among these populations is differences in their non-breeding habitats. Methods: We tracked Herring Gulls from five populations, breeding in the eastern Arctic, the Great Lakes, Newfoundland, Sable Island, and the Bay of Fundy. We assessed the extent of migratory connectivity between breeding and wintering sites, and tested if there were differences in home range size or habitat selection among these populations during the winter. Results: The tracked Herring Gulls had strong migratory connectivity between their breeding and wintering areas. We found that Herring Gulls from the Arctic spent most of the winter in marine habitats, while the other populations used a wider variety of habitats. However, the Newfoundland and Sable Island populations selected for urban habitats, and almost all individuals the specialized in urban habitats came from one of the three Atlantic populations. Conclusions: Our results suggest that there could potentially be a link between urban habitat use during the winter and reduced adult survival in Atlantic Canada Herring Gulls.

Modelling demographic impacts of a growing Arctic fishery on a seabird population in Canada and Greenland.

In Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, reports indicate that Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) are vulnerable to bycatch in the fisheries for Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides). We modeled the potential current and future impacts the expanding halibut fishery may have on fulmar populations in the region using population viability analysis. By varying age-specific bycatch vulnerability, detectability, and the size of the at-risk population, we tested how different scenarios may influence population trajectories. From 2011 to 2015, the bycatch rate of fulmars was approximately 212 (SD ±â€¯111) individuals per year. This could cause declines (-12%) over three generations (66 years) at the three colonies closest to the fishing grounds. However, declines could be as high as -33% over this same period if unobservable bycatch is considered, and as low as -0.4% if bycatch is distributed among a larger population. Several uncertainties we modeled could be reduced by improving how bycatch data are recorded by at-sea observer programs.

Serum Samples From Middle-aged Adults Vaccinated Annually with Seasonal Influenza Vaccines Cross-neutralize Some Potential Pandemic Influenza Viruses.

We examined serum samples from adults ages 48-64 who received multiple seasonal influenza vaccines from 2004 to 2009 for cross-neutralizing antibodies to potential pandemic strains. Using pseudoviruses bearing various hemagglutinins (HA-pseudoviruses), we found serum neutralization titers (≥160) in 100% against A/Japan/305/1957 (H2N2), 53% against A/Hong Kong/1073/99 (H9N2), 56% against the H3N2 variant A/Indiana/08/11 (H3N2v), 11% against A/Hong Kong/G9/97 (H9N2), and 36% A/chicken/Hong Kong/SF4/01 (H6N1). None had titers >160 to A/Shanghai/2/13 (H7N9) or A/Netherlands/219/03 (H7N7). Thirty-six percent to 0% had neutralization titers to various H5N1 strains. Titers to H9, H6, and H5 HA-pseudoviruses correlated with each other, but not with H3N2v, suggesting group-specific cross-neutralization.

Cross-neutralizing antibodies to pandemic 2009 H1N1 and recent seasonal H1N1 influenza A strains influenced by a mutation in hemagglutinin subunit 2.

Pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus (2009 H1N1) differs from H1N1 strains that circulated in the past 50 years, but resembles the A/New Jersey/1976 H1N1 strain used in the 1976 swine influenza vaccine. We investigated whether sera from persons immunized with the 1976 swine influenza or recent seasonal influenza vaccines, or both, neutralize 2009 H1N1. Using retroviral pseudovirions bearing hemagglutinins on their surface (HA-pseudotypes), we found that 77% of the sera collected in 1976 after immunization with the A/New Jersey/1976 H1N1 swine influenza vaccine neutralized 2009 H1N1. Forty five percent also neutralized A/New Caledonia/20/1999 H1N1, a strain used in seasonal influenza vaccines during the 2000/01-2006/07 seasons. Among adults aged 48-64 who received the swine influenza vaccine in 1976 and recent seasonal influenza vaccines during the 2004/05-2008/09 seasons, 83% had sera that neutralized 2009 H1N1. However, 68% of age-matched subjects who received the same seasonal influenza vaccines, but did not receive the 1976 swine influenza vaccine, also had sera that neutralized 2009 H1N1. Sera from both 1976 and contemporary cohorts frequently had cross-neutralizing antibodies to 2009 H1N1 and A/New Caledonia/20/1999 that mapped to hemagglutinin subunit 2 (HA2). A conservative mutation in HA2 corresponding to a residue in the A/Solomon Islands/3/2006 and A/Brisbane/59/2007 H1N1 strains that circulated in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 influenza seasons, respectively, abrogated this neutralization. These findings highlight a cross-neutralization determinant influenced by a point mutation in HA2 and suggest that HA2 may be evolving under direct or indirect immune pressure.

Morphine distribution in the spinal cord after chronic infusion in pigs.

BACKGROUND: Continuous intrathecal drug delivery provides new options for chronic delivery of drugs that target the spinal cord, but therapeutic efficacy is highly variable. Using an acute porcine model, we have previously demonstrated that continuous intrathecal drug delivery efficacy may be highly variable because of severely limited drug distribution in the cerebrospinal fluid and spinal cord. We designed this study to determine whether the limited drug distribution observed in our acute studies occurs with chronic administration as well. METHODS: Four farm-bred pigs were implanted with intrathecal infusion pumps delivering morphine (1 mg/mL) at 20 µL per hour. Because of a programming error, 1 additional pig received intrathecal morphine at 2 µL per hour. Drug infusion continued for 14 days, during which time animal activity was unrestricted. At the end of 2 weeks the animals were anesthetized and euthanized and their spinal cords removed. The spinal cords were divided into 1-cm sections and morphine concentrations measured. RESULTS: As with previous acute animal studies, drug distribution was extremely limited. Morphine concentration decreased exponentially as a function of distance from the catheter tip, resulting in a 5- to 10-fold decrease over a distance of only 5 to 10 cm. CONCLUSION: Morphine distribution is very limited during chronic intrathecal delivery in ambulatory pigs, and there are significant spinal cord drug concentration gradients as a function of distance from the infusion point. Consequently, catheter tip position may be critical, particularly when infusing isobaric solutions. These data also support the hypothesis that inflammatory masses complicating chronic intrathecal opioid delivery occur at the catheter tip because limited drug distribution results in extremely high drug concentrations at that point.

Alpha-proteobacterial symbionts of marine bryozoans in the genus Watersipora.

Bacterial symbionts that resembled mollicutes were discovered in the marine bryozoan Watersipora arcuata in the 1980s. In this study, we used PCR and sequencing of 16S rRNA genes, specific fluorescence in situ hybridization, and phylogenetic analysis to determine that the bacterial symbionts of "W. subtorquata" and "W. arcuata" from several locations along the California coast are actually closely related alpha-Proteobacteria, not mollicutes. We propose the names "Candidatus Endowatersipora palomitas" and "Candidatus Endowatersipora rubus" for the symbionts of "W. subtorquata" and "W. arcuata," respectively.