Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jessica L. Roberts, David Luther
Summary: A diverse range of management techniques, including both behavior-based and non-behavior-based strategies, can improve the survival of captive bred birds during the post-release establishment phase. Behavior-based techniques, such as exposing birds to wild food and acclimating them to the release area before release, as well as non-behavior-based techniques, such as managing the release area and providing post-release food aid, have been found to increase bird survival after release. These methods should be further explored to enhance avian survival, advance conservation translocations, and improve the conservation of endangered species.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ilaria Fozzi, Rudy Brogi, Silvia Cavazza, Roberta Chirichella, Davide De Rosa, Mauro Aresu, Jacopo Cerri, Marco Apollonio, Fiammetta Berlinguer
Summary: Conservation translocations of vultures can adopt either soft or hard-release strategies. A study comparing the spatial behavior and mortality of 38 Griffon vultures released in Sardinia found that griffons without acclimatization did not stabilize their home range size, while long-acclimatized griffons stabilized it in the second year. Short-acclimatized griffons always had a large home range soon after release. The number of individuals reaching sexual maturity was higher in long-acclimatized griffons compared to short-acclimatized ones or hard-released griffons. Soft release with a long acclimatization period appears to be the most successful method for ensuring stable home ranges and survival of griffon vultures.
Article
Ecology
Yanina Benedetti, Federico Morelli, Corey T. Callaghan, Richard Fuller
Summary: The study assessed the spatial distribution of avian specialization in Europe, finding a positive correlation between avian specialization and elevation as well as forested land cover. The Natura 2000 network was found to support all types of avian ecological specialization, particularly in areas designated under both directives.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Anezka Santolikova, Jana Brzonova, Ivan Cepicka, Milena Svobodova
Summary: This study reveals the host-vector-parasite associations between louse flies, birds, and trypanosomes, and identifies several new trypanosome lineages and vectors.
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Zhibin Cheng, Xiuhua Tian, Zhenyu Zhong, Pengfei Li, Daming Sun, Jiade Bai, Yuping Meng, Shumiao Zhang, Yuanyuan Zhang, Libo Wang, Dingzhen Liu
Summary: Reintroduction plays a crucial role in the conservation of endangered species, but long-term data on population dynamics and conservation status are often lacking. The conservation efforts of the Chinese Milu over the past 35 years have resulted in a current population of approximately 9062 individuals, with successful reintroductions and rapid population growth. Challenges in Milu conservation in China persist despite these achievements.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Mohamed Diallo, Sebastien Ollier, Anael Mayeur, Juan Fernandez-Manjarres, Alfredo Garcia-Fernandez, Jose Maria Iriondo, Anne-Charlotte Vaissiere, Bruno Colas
Summary: Plant translocations in the Western Palearctic aimed at mitigating the consequences of climate change by relocating to slightly cooler climatic conditions. However, climate considerations have not been fully integrated into translocation projects, indicating a need for greater attention in the face of rapid anthropogenic climate change.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rachel L. White, Lizzie P. Jones, Lucy Groves, Michael A. Hudson, Rosalind J. Kennerley, Sarah L. Crowley
Summary: Species reintroductions are widely used for conservation purposes, however, there is limited research and policy attention to socio-cultural drivers. Taking the case of white stork reintroduction in England, the study found that while most people had neutral or uncertain attitudes, the majority supported the reintroduction due to perceived socio-cultural benefits, biodiversity enrichment, and moral reasons.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Federico Morelli, Yanina Benedetti, Jeffrey O. Hanson, Richard A. Fuller
Summary: Specialist bird species are more at risk of extinction than generalist species, and their distribution does not always align with overall bird species richness. Certain areas, such as the Amazon and Central Africa, have a higher concentration of diet specialist birds than expected. While the global protected area system adequately represents a significant portion of resident and breeding species, there is still a need to improve protection for the most threatened species by including measures of specialization in conservation planning.
CONSERVATION LETTERS
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Simon C. R. Lee, David J. Hodgson, Stuart Bearhop
Summary: Species translocation is a popular method for ecological restoration and rewilding. The use of biotelemetry can improve the success of population translocations by providing valuable data on ecology and behavior. However, the application of biotelemetry in avian translocations is limited, with most studies focusing on short-term monitoring and lacking pre-release sampling and planning.
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Regina Kate Warne, Anne-Lise Chaber
Summary: This study reviewed conservation translocation projects and found that the source of animals, pathogen type, host, and lack of disease risk analysis all contributed to disease transmission in translocation projects. It is recommended that future translocation projects conduct thorough disease risk analysis and establish a database for publishing protocols and outcomes.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yue Wang, Hiroatsu Fukuda, Pengchong Zhang, Ting Wang, Guofu Yang, Weijun Gao, Yijun Lu
Summary: Urban wetlands play an important role in the urban ecological environment and can serve as refuges for endangered plants. This study identifies suitable habitats for Isoetes sinensis in urban wetlands and suggests that planting this endangered plant in urban wetlands can help protect the species. However, there are uncertainties related to successful reintroduction due to the plant's weed-like appearance, poor resistance to pesticides, and changes in urban wetland environment.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Ralph W. Tingley, Dana M. Infante, Emily M. Dean, Douglas W. Schemske, Arthur R. Cooper, Jared A. Ross, Wesley Daniel
Summary: Habitat degradation and climate change pose a greater threat to the survival of stream fishes. Reestablishment efforts and translocation to suitable areas can be effective conservation strategies. However, the lack of historical species data limits the effectiveness of reestablishments. This study presents a method that ranks stream habitat for species reestablishment using available information.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Deborah M. Leigh, Heidi E. L. Lischer, Frederic Guillaume, Christine Grossen, Torsten Gunther
Summary: Identifying local adaptation in bottlenecked species is crucial, and methods for detecting selection play an important role in species management and response to climate change. However, distinguishing selection signals from genetic drift in bottlenecked populations is challenging. This study used simulations to evaluate the accuracy of selection detection methods in Alpine ibex populations, finding high false positive rates but improved accuracy when combining multiple methods.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
M. R. Whitehead, J. L. Silcock, C. L. Simmons, L. Monks, R. Dillon, N. Reiter, M. Jusaitis, D. J. Coates, M. Byrne, P. A. Vesk
Summary: A chief tool in plant conservation is the establishment of threatened plant populations by translocating individuals grown ex-situ. Various techniques to enhance translocation performance have become established as standard, including the number of propagules planted, fencing to protect from herbivores, and stimulating recruitment. Factors influencing recruitment were uncertain, but burning and watering increased its likelihood. Translocations in grassland habitats and of perennial grasses performed worse compared to other habitats and lifeforms. Our study supports the effectiveness of a limited number of management interventions and emphasizes the need for more experimental data to improve our understanding of factors influencing success in plant translocations.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Hamish A. Burnett, Vanessa C. Bieker, Mathilde Le Moullec, Bart Peeters, Jorgen Rosvold, Ashild onvik Pedersen, Love Dalen, Leif Egil Loe, Henrik Jensen, Brage B. Hansen, Michael D. Martin
Summary: Anthropogenic reintroduction can supplement natural recolonization in reestablishing a species' distribution and abundance. However, both reintroductions and recolonizations can give rise to founder effects that reduce genetic diversity and increase inbreeding, potentially causing the accumulation of genetic load and reduced fitness.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Parasitology
Alexander Y. F. Lam, Ernest Lacey, Vesna De Petra, Deborah A. Williamson, Jan Slapeta, Aaron R. Jex, Samantha J. Emery-Corbin
Summary: Trichomonas vaginalis is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection, causing 170 million cases of trichomoniasis annually. Current treatment relies on 5-nitroimidazoles (5NIs), but drug resistance is increasing. Diagnostic tools and drug resistance testing methods are limited. Microaerophilic conditions can be used to assess the oxygen-dependent resistance of 5NIs in trichomonads, providing possibilities for high-throughput analysis and standardized surveillance programs.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Evangelia Frangedaki, Laura Sardone, Giuseppe Carlo Marano, Nikos D. Lagaros
Summary: This study explores the design optimization in architectural and structural engineering design using digital tools and services. Optimization, previously considered a complex mathematical tool, has become more user-friendly and efficient, making it attractive for early stage architectural design. Customized structural design optimization services have emerged as an alternative to all-encompassing digital tools. The paper presents strategies for parameterizing variables in architectural synthesis and provides a review of optimization processes and tools in the field. Real-world applications of parametric optimization in the built environment are also discussed.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS-STRUCTURES AND BUILDINGS
(2023)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ambar Kachale, Zuzana Pavlikova, Anna Nenarokova, Adriana Roithova, Ignacio M. Durante, Petra Miletinova, Kristina Zahonova, Serafim Nenarokov, Jan Votypka, Eva Horakova, Robert L. Ross, Vyacheslav Yurchenko, Petra Beznoskova, Zdenek Paris, Leos Shivaya Valasek, Julius Lukes
Article
Parasitology
Emily Kate Francis, Jan Slapeta
Summary: Sampling in New South Wales, Australia revealed that untreated feral goats harbor genetic markers associated with anthelmintic resistance, suggesting that wild ruminants could serve as reservoirs for anthelmintic resistance.
Article
Parasitology
Phoebe Rivory, Rogan Lee, Jan Slapeta
Summary: Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a parasitic worm that can infect non-permissive accidental hosts, such as dogs, humans, horses, marsupials, and birds. Its infective larvae are sourced from molluscs and can be ingested by accidental hosts. The larvae can spontaneously emerge from dead snails in water and can infect rats. Our study found that a higher proportion of A. cantonensis larvae emerged from crushed and submerged snails 62 days post-infection (30.3%). The total larval burden of snails increased at 91 days post-infection, suggesting that the emerged larvae can be recycled by the snail population. There is a window of opportunity for infective larvae to autonomously escape dead snails between 1 and 3 months. The mode of infection, whether through ingestion of infected gastropods or drinking water contaminated with escaped larvae, needs to be considered from a human and veterinary medicine perspective.
Article
Parasitology
Marcus Truong, Jan Slapeta
Summary: Researchers optimized single-plex probe-based qPCR assays into a multiplexed qPCR panel to detect cyst-forming coccidia, specifically T. gondii and N. caninum. The multiplexed qPCR assay showed a high level of analytical sensitivity, with a limit of detection of 100 copies of target sequence synthetic DNA. This assay can be used for effective detection of parasite DNA in animal tissue for diagnostic purposes.
PARASITOLOGY RESEARCH
(2023)
Editorial Material
Parasitology
Alena Bruce Krejci, Katerina Votypkova, Julius Lukes, Jan Votypka
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Parasitology
Jan Slapeta
Summary: Large language models like ChatGPT will greatly impact parasitology, especially students. These models lack the authentic experiences gained by students during their training, but this is an opportunity rather than a weakness for the field of parasitology.
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Vojtech Balaz, Phoebe Rivory, Douglas Hayward, Susan Jaensch, Richard Malik, Rogan Lee, David Modry, Jan Slapeta
Summary: The authors developed a fast and portable loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to detect the presence of rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) in cerebrospinal fluid samples from dogs on the Australian east coast. This new method outperforms the previous PCR assay and can be used for portable emergency diagnostics in humans, dogs, and wildlife. It can also be used to screen water supplies and potential food sources for the parasite. This study has important implications for improving diagnostic accessibility.
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Michaela Henry, Richard Malik, Jan Slapeta, Rogan Lee
Summary: By administering an anthelmintic combination orally to rats, this study effectively prevented the migration of Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae in the central nervous system, thus preventing pulmonary infections.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Amanda T. S. Albanaz, Mark Carrington, Alexander O. Frolov, Anna I. Ganyukova, Evgeny S. Gerasimov, Alexei Y. Kostygov, Julius Lukes, Marina N. Malysheva, Jan Votypka, Alexandra Zakharova, Kristina Zahonova, Sara L. Zimmer, Vyacheslav Yurchenko, Anzhelika Butenko
Summary: This study conducted genome sequencing and analysis on previously overlooked trypanosomatid species, revealing their genomic diversity and chromosomal variations. The findings provide a solid foundation for future research on the genetic basis of life cycle changes and adaptation to different hosts in this species.
Article
Parasitology
Kristyna Hrazdilova, Ondrej Danek, Alena Hrbatova, Barbora Cervena, Eva Noskova, Peter Adamik, Jan Votypka, Andrei Daniel Mihalca, Mechouk Noureddine, David Modry, Ludek Zurek
Summary: In this study, a multiplex PCR method was developed to distinguish Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes inopinatus, and the lack of evidence for the presence of I. inopinatus in Central Europe was confirmed. The study also demonstrated that hybridization and introgression can occur between I. ricinus and I. inopinatus, and the hybrids can survive in Europe.
PARASITES & VECTORS
(2023)
Article
Parasitology
Donnamae Klocek, Danyil Grybchuk, Lucie Ticha, Jan Votypka, Petr Volf, Alexei Yu. Kostygov, Vyacheslav Yurchenko
Summary: This work analyzed RNA viruses in Sauroleishmania spp. and found RNA viruses in three out of seven isolates, belonging to the families Narnaviridae and Totiviridae. Phylogenetic inferences showed that totiviruses from L. adleri and L. tarentolae clustered with LRV2s, while a narnavirus from L. gymnodactyli was related to narnaviruses of Blechomonas spp. This study expanded the understanding of RNA virus-host interactions in trypanosomatids and provided insights into their evolution and potential routes of viral transmission.
PARASITOLOGY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Parasitology
Elijah Hillhouse, Emily K. Francis, Jan Slapeta
Summary: This study found that burned soil significantly affects the free-living stages of ruminant nematodes, with higher temperatures resulting in fewer larvae. This has important implications for agriculture, as it means a reduced population of parasitic nematodes available for consumption on pasture. These experiments provide insights into how post-fire soil conditions alter the number of infective larvae available on pasture and the infectivity of the pasture to livestock.
VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tomas Erban, Kamila Parizkova, Bruno Sopko, Pavel Talacko, Martin Markovic, Jana Jarosova, Jan Votypka
Summary: A challenge in bee protection is to assess the risks of pesticide-pathogen interactions. This study found that both Lotmaria passim parasite and imidacloprid pesticide may affect the physiology, behavior, immunity, microbiome, and lifespan of honey bees. Cage experiments showed that imidacloprid increased the infection rate and load of L. passim in individual bees. Proteomic analysis revealed that imidacloprid neutralized the effect of L. passim on transferrin 1 expression.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
