Article
Zoology
Benjamin Kilham, James R. Spotila
Summary: New data on black bear social structure revealed the presence of a matrilinear hierarchy, where dominant females compete and establish control over food, space, and younger bears. Affiliative behavior between bears, both related and unrelated, helps to establish the social structure of the bear community.
INTEGRATIVE ZOOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Virology
Arturo Oliver-Guimera, Alzbeta Hejtmankova, Kenneth Jackson, Patricia A. Pesavento
Summary: Polyomaviruses are ancient DNA viruses that infect various species of animals. Black bears are the natural hosts for Ursus americanus polyomavirus 1 (UaPyV1), with the virus detected in tissues of six out of seven bears submitted for examination. However, there is currently no evidence of a specific disease associated with UaPyV1 infection in this small group of bears.
ARCHIVES OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jamshid Parchizadeh, Kenneth F. Kellner, Jeremy E. Hurst, David W. Kramer, Jerrold L. Belant
Summary: Free-ranging large carnivores can cause human-wildlife conflicts with economic costs. This study analyzed a conflict database of American black bears in New York State to investigate the factors associated with high or moderate severity conflicts. Results indicated that drought, conflicts within parks, mild conflicts early in the year, and bear abundance were all linked to an increased frequency of later conflicts. Measures such as reducing bear access to human food, using bear-resistant waste management, electric fencing, and modifying crop placement are recommended to mitigate conflicts and facilitate coexistence.
Article
Biology
Karla Alujevic, Jeffrey W. Streicher, Raquel A. Garcia, Ana Riesgo, Sergio Taboada, Michael L. Logan, Susana Clusella-Trullas
Summary: Understanding the relationship between behavioural buffering of temperature change and organismal fitness is crucial in the era of human-driven climate change. This study investigated how thermal landscapes, physiological performance, and behaviour interact and shape fitness in the southern rock agama lizard. The results showed that male lizards in territories with low thermal quality spent more time compensating for sub-optimal temperatures and displayed less. Moreover, the display rate was positively associated with lizard fitness, indicating that engaging in thermoregulatory behaviour may incur opportunity costs as climate change progresses.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Erick J. Lundgren, Karla T. Moeller, Michael Otis Clyne, Owen S. Middleton, Sean M. Mahoney, Christina L. Kwapich
Summary: American black bears have been found to leave their signs, including cubs, in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. The dominant food item in their diet was found to be Apache cicada nymphs, and the bears' excavation of these nymphs had potential implications for the ecosystem. The study suggests that desert riparian systems could be an alternative habitat for black bears, which is important in the face of increasing landscape fragmentation and militarization in the U.S.-Mexican borderlands.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Michael J. Hooker, Joseph D. Clark, Bobby T. Bond, Michael J. Chamberlain
Summary: Habitat fragmentation and loss have negative impacts on the isolation and extinction risks of American black bear populations. The study found limited demographic connectivity between the central Georgia bear population and surrounding bear populations, and the establishment of corridors may have marginal effects on gene flow.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Melanie R. Boudreau, Mariela G. Gantchoff, Laura Conlee, Charles Anderson, Nathaniel R. Bowersock, Jerrold L. Belant, Raymond B. Iglay
Summary: Having reproducible and transparent science-based processes is crucial in wildlife management, especially when establishing harvest frameworks. This study provides an example of using multiple data sets to assess spatial and temporal vulnerability of black bear harvest, resulting in the establishment of bear management zones and timing recommendations to limit female harvest bias.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Joshua D. Alston, Joseph D. Clark, Daniel B. Gibbs, John Hast
Summary: This study used spatially explicit capture-recapture methods to estimate the abundance and growth of reintroduced American black bear population in Kentucky and Tennessee. The results showed that hunting seasons had minimal impact on the population growth, and genetic diversity was retained. This could be attributed to the lack of conspecifics, highly productive habitat, and initial age and sex distribution.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Jae Min Lee, Dong-Chan Koh, Gi-Tak Chae, Weon-Seo Kee, Kyung-Seok Ko
Summary: This study investigated the hydrogeochemical characteristics of traditional springs, CO2-rich waters, and hot spas in South Korea, revealing their classification based on bedrock geology and structural settings. Six major water types were identified, primarily originating from weatherable carbonate and sedimentary rocks. The occurrence of mineralized waters was found to be concentrated near faults between younger granitic rocks and older rocks, demonstrating the influence of lithological and structural settings on the distribution of natural mineral waters.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Ilan S. Schwartz, Katherine E. Link, Roxana Daneshjou, Nicolas Cortes-Penfield
Summary: Large language models (LLMs) trained by deep learning algorithms are AI systems that can process natural language and generate text responses. Although they have limitations, understanding and utilizing LLMs is crucial due to the rapid improvement in technology and increasing calls for clinical integration.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Caleb L. Loughran, Blair O. Wolf
Summary: In lizards, there is a wide variation in their ability to cool down through panting, which affects how long they can tolerate high heat levels. This study examines the relationship between panting, temperature regulation, evaporative water loss, and metabolic costs in 17 lizard species. The results show that the capacity for evaporative cooling varies among species and significantly affects lizards' ability to dissipate heat. Evaporation rates ranged from 0.32 to 1.5 g H2O h-1, with lizards losing up to 6% of their body mass per hour while panting. Despite experiencing an increase in metabolic rate, the energetic costs of panting remained relatively low compared to evaporative water loss. The overall rate of evaporative heat loss is positively correlated with the maximum temperature difference a species can maintain. This study highlights the importance of considering the metabolic and water balance costs associated with evaporative cooling in hot environments.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Jennifer L. Heyward, Benjamin D. Reynolds, Melanie L. Foster, Kate E. Archibald, Michael K. Stoskopf, Freya M. Mowat
Summary: The study examined the subtype and topography of cones in the retinas of American black bears. It found that the black bear retina contains both cone subtypes, with L/M cones significantly outnumbering S cones. The results suggest that American black bears have dichromatic vision with high acuity.
ANATOMICAL RECORD-ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Zoology
S. Thakur, R. Pal, N. S. Kahera, S. Sathyakumar
Summary: The study investigated the coexistence patterns of two bear species in the Western Himalayan region of India. The results showed the spatial and temporal behavior of the bears and their interactions with humans in different anthropogenic environments. The study revealed that both biological factors and human activities can influence interspecific competition.
JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Genevieve Pugesek, Matthew A. Mumma, Shane P. Mahoney, Lisette P. Waits
Summary: This study utilized molecular methods to assess the consumption of ungulates by American black bears in a diversionary feeding program. Results showed that factors such as gender, year, and implementation of the diversionary feeding program did not affect the bears' consumption of caribou and moose.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Lei Li
Summary: Microbial natural products and their analogues have been widely used as pharmaceutical agents, especially for infectious diseases and cancer. However, the development of new structural classes with innovative chemistry and modes of action is urgently needed to combat antimicrobial resistance and other public health problems. Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies and computational tools present new opportunities to explore untapped microbial biosynthetic potential and discover millions of secondary metabolites. This review emphasizes the challenges associated with discovering new chemical entities, the rich reservoirs provided by unexplored sources, and emerging synthetic biotechnologies for large-scale and rapid drug discovery.
BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
(2023)