Topographic barriers drive the pronounced genetic subdivision of a range-limited fossorial rodent.

Due to their limited dispersal ability, fossorial species with predominantly belowground activity usually show increased levels of population subdivision across relatively small spatial scales. This may be exacerbated in harsh mountain ecosystems, where landscape geomorphology limits species' dispersal ability and leads to small effective population sizes, making species relatively vulnerable to environmental change. To better understand the environmental drivers of species' population subdivision in remote mountain ecosystems, particularly in understudied high-elevation systems in Africa, we studied the giant root-rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus), a fossorial rodent confined to the afro-alpine ecosystem of the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia. Using mitochondrial and low-coverage nuclear genomes, we investigated 77 giant root-rat individuals sampled from nine localities across its entire ~1000 km2 range. Our data revealed a distinct division into a northern and southern group, with no signs of gene flow, and higher nuclear genetic diversity in the south. Landscape genetic analyses of the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes indicated that population subdivision was driven by slope and elevation differences of up to 500 m across escarpments separating the north and south, potentially reinforced by glaciation of the south during the Late Pleistocene (~42,000-16,000 years ago). Despite this landscape-scale subdivision between the north and south, weak geographic structuring of sampling localities within regions indicated gene flow across distances of at least 16 km at the local scale, suggesting high, aboveground mobility for relatively long distances. Our study highlights that despite the potential for local-scale gene flow in fossorial species, topographic barriers can result in pronounced genetic subdivision. These factors can reduce genetic variability, which should be considered when developing conservation strategies.

Giant root-rat engineering and livestock grazing activities regulate plant functional trait diversity of an Afroalpine vegetation community in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia.

Disturbances from rodent engineering and human activities profoundly impact ecosystem structure and functioning. Whilst we know that disturbances modulate plant communities, comprehending the mechanisms through which rodent and human disturbances influence the functional trait diversity and trait composition of plant communities is important to allow projecting future changes and to enable informed decisions in response to changing intensity of the disturbances. Here, we evaluated the changes in functional trait diversity and composition of Afroalpine plant communities in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia along gradients of engineering disturbances of a subterranean endemic rodent, the giant root-rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus Rüppell 1842) and human activities (settlement establishment and livestock grazing). We conducted RLQ (co-inertia analysis) and fourth-corner analyses to test for trait-disturbance (rodent engineering/human activities) covariation. Overall, our results show an increase in plant functional trait diversity with increasing root-rat engineering and increasing human activities. We found disturbance specific association with traits. Specifically, we found strong positive association of larger seed mass with increasing root-rat fresh burrow density, rhizomatous vegetative propagation negatively associated with increasing root-rat old burrow, and stolonifereous vegetative propagation positively associated with presence of root-rat mima mound. Moreover, both leaf size and leaf nitrogen content were positively associated with livestock dung abundance but negatively with distance from settlement. Overall, our results suggest that disturbances by rodents filter plant traits related to survival and reproduction strategies, whereas human activities such as livestock grazing act as filters for traits related to leaf economics spectrum along acquisitive resource-use strategy.

The effectiveness of short mobile phone text message reminders compared to usual care on medication adherence in patients with hypertension: a systematic review protocol.

BACKGROUND: Poor adherence to long-term medication increases the risk of morbidity and mortality and decreases the quality of life of patients with hypertension. One strategy to improve treatment adherence is to use a short text message reminder. Although evidence indicates that such programs increase medication adherence, the extent of their effectiveness and translation into clinical practice needs to be better documented. Our systematic review will collect and analyze the available evidence for clinical practice implementation. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of short mobile phone text message reminders versus usual/standard care for medication adherence in patients with hypertension. METHODS: This review will include and summarize evidence from randomized controlled trials. Adults (age > 18 years) with hypertension. The comparator group received either the usual care or standard care. It encompasses standard medical care for patients not participating in a structured and supervised intervention program such as a telemedicine program. We will include studies that assess the effectiveness of short mobile phone text message reminders in improving medication adherence in patients with hypertension compared to usual care. We will search the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Cochrane Library Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Cochrane Library. We will include studies published in English. Furthermore, we will consider studies published from the inception of the database until April 20, 2024. At least two reviewers will independently conduct study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. A third reviewer will determine and resolve discrepancies. We will conduct a quality assessment using the ROBIS 2 critical appraisal checklist. At least two independent reviewers will crosscheck the data synthesis. DISCUSSION: We expect this review to provide current evidence for future studies and clinical practice concerning the impact of mobile phone text message reminders on medication adherence issues. We will publish our results in a peer-reviewed journal for publication. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42023391236.

Human activities modulate reciprocal effects of a subterranean ecological engineer rodent, Tachyoryctes macrocephalus, on Afroalpine vegetation cover.

Human activities, directly and indirectly, impact ecological engineering activities of subterranean rodents. As engineering activities of burrowing rodents are affected by, and reciprocally affect vegetation cover via feeding, burrowing and mound building, human influence such as settlements and livestock grazing, could have cascading effects on biodiversity and ecosystem processes such as bioturbation. However, there is limited understanding of the relationship between human activities and burrowing rodents. The aim of this study was therefore to understand how human activities influence the ecological engineering activity of the giant root-rat (Tachyoryctes macrocephalus), a subterranean rodent species endemic to the Afroalpine ecosystem of the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia. We collected data on human impact, burrowing activity and vegetation during February and March of 2021. Using path analysis, we tested (1) direct effects of human settlement on the patterns of livestock grazing intensity, (2) direct and indirect impacts of humans and livestock grazing intensity on the root-rat burrow density and (3) whether human settlement and livestock grazing influence the effects of giant root-rat burrow density on vegetation and vice versa. We found lower levels of livestock grazing intensity further from human settlement than in its proximity. We also found a significantly increased giant root-rat burrow density with increasing livestock grazing intensity. Seasonal settlement and livestock grazing intensity had an indirect negative and positive effect on giant root-rat burrow density, respectively, both via vegetation cover. Analysing the reciprocal effects of giant root-rat on vegetation, we found a significantly decreased vegetation cover with increasing density of giant root-rat burrows, and indirectly with increasing livestock grazing intensity via giant root-rat burrow density. Our results demonstrate that giant root-rats play a synanthropic engineering role that affects vegetation structure and ecosystem processes.

GABB: A global dataset of alpine breeding birds and their ecological traits.

Alpine ecosystems represent varied climates and vegetation structures globally, with the potential to support rich and functionally diverse avian communities. High mountain habitats and species are under significant threat from climate change and other anthropogenic factors. Yet, no global database of alpine birds exists, with most mountain systems lacking basic information on species breeding in alpine habitats, their status and trends, or potential cryptic diversity (i.e., sub-species distributions). To address these critical knowledge gaps, we combined published literature, regional monitoring schemes, and expert knowledge from often inaccessible, data-deficient mountain ranges to develop a global list of alpine breeding bird species with their associated distributions and select ecological traits. This dataset compiles alpine breeding records for 1,310 birds, representing 12.0% of extant species and covering all major mountain regions across each continent, excluding Antarctica. The Global Alpine Breeding Bird dataset (GABB) is an essential resource for research on the ecological and evolutionary factors shaping alpine communities, as well as documenting the value of these high elevation, climate-sensitive habitats for conserving biodiversity.

Diversity of medium and large mammals in the Loka Abaya National Park, southern Ethiopia.

We evaluated the richness, diversity, and composition of the medium and large mammal community in the Loka Abaya National Park (LANP), southern Ethiopia, and how these parameters differ among four habitat types: wooded grassland, riverine forest, hilly scrubland and wetland, and between seasons. We recorded a total of 2,573 individual animals of 28 medium and large mammal species in the park. This included three globally threatened species: the endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), the vulnerable Leopard (Panthera pardus), and Hippopotamus (Hippopothamus amphibius). Season had little effect on species richness, diversity, and composition both across and within habitat types. However, species richness across seasons was significantly different among the four habitat types, in the declining order of the following: wooded grassland > riverine forest > hilly scrubland > wetland. The strongest similarity in species composition, both across and within seasons, was found between wooded grassland and riverine forest. In terms of relative abundance, mammal assemblage of the wooded grassland and wetland habitats had more evenly distributed number of species with different relative abundance categories. Overall, Anubis Baboon (Papio anubis), Grivet Monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops), and Greater Kudu (Tragelephus strepsiceros) were the three most abundant species across habitat types. In conclusion, findings of our study reveal that LANP plays an important role in Ethiopia's mammal conservation. Our findings will serve as baseline information for managers of the park to make effective conservation decisions and as a baseline for researchers wishing to conduct related ecological studies.