An international research team including scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig Germany has counted now chimpanzees and other large mammals living in Liberia.
The census revealed that this country is home to 7000 chimpanzees and therefore to the second largest population of the Western subspecies of chimpanzees.
in order to protect the chimpanzees more effectively. Following the complete wartime collapse of the country's economy Liberia's government has been trying to fuel economic growth by selling large amounts of its rich natural resources including rubber timber and minerals.
To close this data gap researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig Germany The Wild Chimpanzee Foundation in Abidjan CÃ'te d'Ivoire
and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in Bedfordshire UK via the Across the River Project together with experienced rangers from the Forestry Development Authority in Liberia local research assistants from Liberia and Sierra leone
a survey of chimpanzees and other large mammals across the entire country of Liberia. For two years the survey teams searched for the presence of chimpanzees and other large mammals in more than 100 locations throughout the country.
This project was logistically very challenging says corresponding author Jessica Junker who also supervised all data collection in the field.
With an estimated population of more than 7000 individuals Liberia now officially holds the second largest population of West African chimpanzees after Guinea.
Even more excitingly for conservation due to its relatively wide and continuous distribution within the country the chimpanzee population of Liberia is also probably one of most viable chimpanzee populations in West Africa making it a regional conservation priority.
Surprisingly the survey results showed that more than 70 percent of the chimpanzees as well as some of the most species-diverse communities of large mammals occurred outside the fully-protected areas
and selection in this ongoing process says lead author Clement Tweh of the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation in Liberia.
Our survey makes it clear that this action has saved also a large number of West african chimpanzees says co-author Menladi Lormie Max Planck researcher and FDA ecologist of the President's decision.
for the Protection of Birds in the Gola Forests Sierra leone and Liberia. With this study we provide an accurate and comprehensive data-based platform for local wildlife protection authorities policy-makers
Sediment traps like this one being deployed from the research vessel New Horizon were used to sample black carbon in particles that sank to the bottom of the Northeast Pacific.
Additional study co-authors include Xingli Wang Yongji Gong Gang Shi Kunttal Keyshar Gonglan Ye Robert Vajtai and Jun Lou all of Rice and Wai Leong Chow
#What bank voles can teach us about prion disease transmission and neurodegenerationwhen cannibals ate brains of people who died from prion disease many of them fell ill with the fatal neurodegenerative disease as well.
On the other hand transmission of prions between species for example from cows sheep or deer to humans is--fortunately--inefficient and only a small proportion of exposed recipients become sick within their lifetimes.
bank voles appear to lack a species barrier for prion transmission and their universal susceptibility turns out to be both informative and useful for the development of strategies to prevent prion transmission.
Trying to understand the unusual susceptibility of bank voles to prions from other species Stanley Prusiner Joel Watts Kurt Giles
and colleagues from the University of California in San francisco USA first tested whether the susceptibility is an intrinsic property of the voles'Prp
or whether other factors present in these rodents make them vulnerable. The scientists introduced into mice the gene that codes for the normal bank vole prion protein thereby generating mice that express bank vole Prp but not mouse Prp.
When these mice get older some of them spontaneously develop neurologic illness but in the younger ones the bank vole Prp is in its normal benign folded state.
The scientists then exposed young mice to toxic misfolded prions from 8 different species including human cattle elk sheep and hamster.
They found that all of these foreign-species prions can cause prion disease in the transgenic mice
and that the disease develops often more rapidly than it does in bank voles. The latter is likely
because the transgenic mice express higher levels of bank vole Prp than are naturally present in the voles.
The results show that the universal susceptibility of bank voles to cross-species prion transmission is an intrinsic property of bank vole Prp.
Because the transgenic mice develop prion disease rapidly the scientists propose that the mice will be useful tools in studying the processes by
which toxic prions convert healthy Prp and thereby destroy the brain. And because that process is similar across many neurodegenerative diseases better understanding prion disease development might have broader implications.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by PLOS. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
At the same time people kill wild animals for food trade or to defend lives or property and human activities degrade wildlife habitat.
and the resulting loss of predators and other larger-bodied species can affect interactions between species in ways that cause further local extinctions a process
Ironically in some places fences also provide poachers with a ready supply of wire for making snares.
WCS projects working with local people and government agencies have shown that human-elephant conflict can be reduced dramatically without using fences in countries as different as Indonesia and Tanzania.
or were susceptible to wind snow pests and pathogens. It is truly a unique achievement to design trees for deconstruction
Sage grouse are picky birds Arkle and colleagues found preferring a sagebrush steppe environment featuring very little human development and dwarf sagebrush (Artemisia arbuscula A. nova or A. tripartita) but not cheatgrass or other nonnative plants.
if just 2. 5%of the land is developed within five kilometers of a site the birds will be half as likely to use it.
and livestock watering stations provide predatory ravens with high perches from which to spy sage grouse nests.
and using different types of drill seeding equipment. Reseeding burns with local varietals or close genetic matches could improve recruitment.
With 420 species of wild bees in Michigan alone it makes sense to attract as many free pollinators as possible.
They found that one particular type of antioxidant in cocoa prevented laboratory mice from gaining excess weight
The scientists fed groups of mice different diets including high-fat and low-fat diets and high-fat diets supplemented with different kinds of flavanols.
They found that adding one particular set of these compounds known as oligomeric procyanidins (PCS) to the food made the biggest difference in keeping the mice's weight down
Improving peanut varieties to be more drought-insect -and disease-resistant can help farmers in developed nations produce more peanuts with fewer pesticides
Although the approved tablets are beneficial only for those suffering from some forms of grass allergy the FDA's approval will help open the door for others getting approved such as tablets for ragweed and dust mite allergy.
published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Chalk rivers found from Dorset to Cambridgeshire sustain a diverse range of protected animals
and limits photosynthesis. Particular types of bacteria consume methane creating food for grazing insects and consequently the rest of the food web including trout.
The above story is provided based on materials by Queen Mary University of London. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The scientists looked at the genes'response to five abiotic stresses--drought heavy metal contamination salt cold and nutrient deprivation--and five biotic stresses--bacteria fungus insect predation weed
competition and nematodes. A total of 196 genes showed a wide range of expressions to these stresses.
In studies with mice the researchers found that the administration of the elafin molecule protects the intestinal lining of the upper gut that is damaged by gluten.
Forest harvest creates a temporary opening that is needed by forest species such as butterflies and some birds and deer before it regrows to large trees.
In some cases exposure to soil contaminants can increase disease risks especially for young children said Brent Kim MHS lead author of the paper and a program officer with CLF.
at Viakable Technology and Research center in Monterrey Mexico and a research collaborator at Carbon Sponge Solutions in Houston.
By better understanding the history of the animals we domesticate we can better understand ourselves.
whether that is through breeding more disease-resistant animals or finding ways to increase dairy or beef production.
and protect mice against a lethal dose challenge of West Nile virus--even as late as 4 days after the initial infection.
West Nile virus is spread by infected mosquitoes and targets the central nervous system. It can be a serious life-altering
and protect mice from exposure. MABS target proteins found on the surface of West Nile virus
and neutralize West Nile virus. Mice were infected with a lethal dose of West Nile virus and increasing amounts of a MAB therapeutic were delivered as a single dose the same day of infection.
In each case they protected up to 90 percent of the mice from lethal infection. This is the first instance of such an effect
#Students on field course bag new spider speciesas a spin-off (pun intended) of their Tropical Biodiversity course in Malaysian Borneo a team of biology students discover a new spider species
Discovering a new spider species was not what she had anticipated when she signed up for her field course in Tropical Biodiversity says Elisa Panjang a Malaysian master's student from Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
Besides charismatic species such as the orangutans that the students encounter every day in the forest the tropical ecosystem consists of scores of unseen organisms
and the course focus is on these small things that run the world--such as the tiny orb-weaving spiders of the tongue-twistingly named family Symphytognathidae.
These one-millimetre-long spiders build tiny webs that they suspend between dead leaves on the forest floor.
What they weren't prepared for was that the webs turned out to be the work of an unknown species as spider specialist Jeremy Miller an instructor on the course quickly confirmed.
They rigged the field centre's microscopes with smartphones to produce images of the tiny spider's even tinier genitals (using cooking oil from the station's kitchen to make them more translucent) dusted the spider's webs with puffs of corn flour (also from the kitchen) to make them stand out
They also put a spider in alcohol as holotype the obligatory reference specimen for the naming of any new species
Even though thousands of similarly-sized spider species still await discovery Miller thinks the publication is an important one.
This tiny new spider is a nice counterpoint to the large-mammal work we're doing
Despite intensive search the students could not find the new spider in the plantations. Story Source:
A bacterium called Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLAS) vectored by the Asian citrus psyllid is presumed the causal agent of the disease.
Our results challenge the common misconception that goats aren't intelligent animals--they have the ability to learn complex tasks
#Peaches inhibit breast cancer metastasis in micelab tests at Texas A&m Agrilife Research have shown that treatments with peach extract inhibit breast cancer metastasis in mice.
Cancer cells were implanted under the skin of mice with an aggressive type of breast cancer cells the MDA-MB-435 and
when the mice were consuming the peach extract said Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos a food scientist for Agrilife Research in College Station.
Furthermore after determining the dose necessary to see the effects in mice it was calculated that for humans it would be equivalent to consuming two to three peaches per day.
and use it for studies of insects or even small fish. One day he hopes to have a commercial instrument that can be used by biological researchers around the world.
#Stink bug traps may increase damage to tomato fruitsthe invasive brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is an important pest of fruits and vegetables.
To counter them some home gardeners use pheromone-baited traps that are designed to attract trap
However new research from entomologists at the University of Maryland suggests that the traps may actually increase stink bug damage to tomatoes.
The researchers asked 15 gardeners to place stink bug traps at the ends of rows of tomatoes while another group of 14 placed no traps in their gardens.
Both groups experienced nearly the same amount of stink bugs on the tomato plants themselves but the the abundance of stink bugs on the tomato fruits was marginally greater in the gardens with traps
and the fruits sustained significantly more injury than tomato fruits grown in gardens without traps.
Furthermore tomato fruits on plants near the traps housed more stink bugs than tomato fruits on plants that were away from the traps.
We found no evidence that stink bug traps protected tomatoes from H. halys the authors wrote
and it appears that the addition of traps to gardens may increase injury to tomato fruits.
The increased damage may have resulted in part because of a phenomenon known as trap spillover which can occur
when pests arrive in the general vicinity of a trap and rest on vegetation before entering
and being captured by the trap. This study presents evidence that placement of an attract -and-kill stink bug trap near a plant may actually result in greater abundance of stink bugs on the fruit the researchers wrote.
Vegetable gardens with traps may sustain more injury than those without traps. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Entomological Society of America.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Pesticides make the life of earthworms miserablepesticides are sprayed on crops to help them grow but the effect on earthworms living in the soil under the plants is devastating new research reveals:
The worms only grow to half their normal weight and they do not reproduce as well as worms in fields that are sprayed not.
Pesticides have a direct impact on the physiology and behavior of earthworms a Danish/French research team reports after having studied earthworms that were exposed to pesticides over generations.
We see that the worms have developed methods to detoxify themselves so that they can live in soil sprayed with fungicide.
They spend a lot of energy on detoxifying and that comes with a cost: The worms do not reach the same size as other worms
and we see that there are fewer of them in sprayed soil. An explanation could be that they are less successful at reproducing
because they spend their energy on ridding themselves of the pesticide the researchers Ph d. student Nicolas Givaudan
The researchers set up an experiment to study the behavior of the earthworm species Aporectodea caliginosa.
They moved two portions of farmed soil with worms into the lab. One portion was taken from a local organic field the other from a local conventionally cultivated field that had been sprayed with fungicide for 20 years.
In the laboratory the researchers could see how the fungicide-exposed worms adapted to the toxic environment.
Over generations the worms have developed a method to detoxify themselves. The fungicide increased metabolism rate in the worms both the adapted worms and the not adapted worms.
In the not adapted worms we saw that their energy reserve of glycogen was used faster.
Contrastingly only in the adapted worms we saw that amino acids and protein contents increased suggesting a detoxification mechanism.
They also increased their feeding activity possibly to compensate for the increase in energy demand the researchers said.
Often there are 2--3 times more earthworms in unsprayed soil than in sprayed soil. The reason for this may be that earthworms in sprayed soil do not reproduce as successfully as worms in unsprayed soil
because they need to spend more energy on detoxifying the researchers say. They also weighed the worms in the experiment
and found that the worms exposed to fungicide weighed only half of the worms in organic soil.
Worms in organic soil had an average weight of 0. 6 grams worms in conventionally cultivated soil had an average weight of 0. 3 grams.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Southern Denmark. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Fortunately Perumal was able to obtain the human breast tissue he needed free of charge through the Lions Eye
The successful studies in animals may lead to clinical testing in humans. If this approach is successful the impact will be huge in terms of reducing side effects. says Perumal.
%East Carroll Parish LA 0. 7%Wheeler County GA 0. 6%Benson County ND 0. 5%Claiborne County MS 0
and animals kill good and bad bacteria. Scientists can use the UF study's findings to begin to develop better drugs that target bad pathogens
#Climate change will improve survival rates of British bird--the long-tailed titclimate change may be bad news for billions
but scientists at the University of Sheffield have discovered one unlikely winner--a tiny British bird the long-tailed tit.
Like other small animals that live for only two or three years these birds had until now been thought to die in large numbers during cold winters.
But new research suggests that warm weather during spring instead holds the key to their survival.
The findings come from a 20-year study of long-tailed tits run by Professor Ben Hatchwell at the Department of Animal and Plant sciences.
During spring birds must work their socks off to raise their chicks said Philippa Gullett.
For most small birds that live for only two or three years not raising any chicks one year is a disaster.
No surprise then that these birds are willing to invest everything and risk death if it means their young survive.
The research discovered that birds trying to breed in warm and dry springs have much better chances of surviving to the next year--a novel result that counters common assumptions about the cause of death for small birds.
The result is that by the end of the breeding season the adult birds are exhausted.
We're not saying that birds never die in winter--in harsh years there are bound to be explained some fatalities Dr Karl Evans
. However it seems that in most years autumn weather plays a bigger role perhaps acting as a filter that weeds out weaker birds before the real winter hits.
While many species struggle to adjust to climate change these delightful birds seem likely to be winners.
what Earth habitable for mammals and destruction of forests will lead to the ultimate destruction of mammals--including humans.
Trees are one of the few things which live longer than humans--a true intergenerational gift.
#Secret of multiple insecticide resistance in mosquitoesresearchers at LSTM have discovered how unprecedented multiple and extreme-level resistance is generated in mosquitoes found in the rice fields of Tiassalã in southern CÃ'te d'Ivoire.
The paper CYP6 P450 enzymes and ACE-1 duplication produce extreme and multiple insecticide resistance in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae published in PLOS Genetics today highlights the combination of stringently-replicated whole genome transcription
when the Anopheles gambiae larvae sampled from the rice paddies of Tiassalã were raised to adults and tested using WHO tube bioassays.
They proved to be resistant to all four of the insecticide classes available for mosquito control (Edi et al.
This is the first wild Anopheles population to display such complete multiple resistance which is a serious concern
In addition to many of the mosquitoes surviving a standard one-hour insecticide exposure (used as THE WHO standard to monitor the prevalence of resistance) the levels of resistance displayed in Tiassalã were very high with 50%of mosquitoes tested surviving for longer
The new work reveals that two members of the P450 gene superfamily in particular are expressed highly in resistant Tiassalã mosquitoes:
When these genes were transplanted into Drosophila resistance to pyrethroids and carbamates was generated in otherwise susceptible fly strains..
These genes are familiar candidates to LSTM researchers who have documented previously their links with pyrethroid and DDT resistance.
whereas carbamates and organophosphates target the neurotransmitter Acetylcholinesterase encoded by the gene ACE-1. This is where Tiassalã mosquitoes yielded another surprise contributing to their exceptionally high carbamate resistance.
This combination of distinct mechanisms provides the Anopheles population of Tiassalã with high levels of resistance and resistance across insecticides.
which mosquitoes can become resistant to the available arsenal of insecticides. Controlling populations like Tiassalã will be particularly challenging
#Diet of elusive red widow spider revealed by biologistbeetles: it's what's for breakfast--at least for the red widow spider of Florida's scrub habitat according to a study by University of Missouri biologist James Carrel.
The study provides a first glimpse at the diet of this mysterious spider revealing that it primarily preys upon species of scarab beetles common to the scrub habitat.
Carrel's findings shed light on red widow spiders'restriction to the Florida scrub habitat and the need for habitat conservation efforts.
The pine scrub habitat found on sandy ridges in Central and Southeastern Florida is one of the oldest in North america said Carrel Curators Professor Emeritus in the MU Division of Biological sciences.
Many of the plants and animals found on these ridges including the red widow spider are restricted to these high dry areas.
Our research suggests that red widows have evolved to specialize on scarab beetles because they are reliable food sources.
Carrel said that red widow spiders are difficult to study due to habitat confinement and the hidden nature of their webs which are built in palmetto shrubs.
The only clues to the spiders'presence visible solely on foggy mornings during four months of the year are spun the threads loosely between tips of palmetto frond.
Since 1987 Carrel has been monitoring populations of this spider at the Archbold Biological Station which protects a 5193-acre Florida scrub preserve near Lake Placid Only twice in those 23 years--in March 1989
and in May 2003--have enough webs been located to study the dietary habits of these elusive spiders.
The scientists identified 43 species of insects among the 98 specimens collected. The study revealed that the primary prey of the spider especially in early spring are five species of scarab beetles endemic to the Florida scrub habitat.
The scarab beetles which often are larger and stronger than the spiders themselves fly just above the tops of scrub vegetation said Mark Deyrup senior research biologist for the Archbold Biological Station who co-authored the study.
Sometimes beetles hit the web strands between tips of palmetto fronds and tumble into the denser tangle of threads below catching them in the red widows'webs.
Carrel has monitored red widow spider populations at the Station since 1987 but has found enough webs to study red widows'dietary habits only twice.
During both time periods Carrel worked alongside Deyrup to collect and identify prey from spiders'webs.
Carrel's study entitled Red widow spiders prey extensively on scarab beetles endemic in Florida scrub appeared in the March issue of the Florida Entomologist.
Funding for the study came in part from a grant from the University of Missouri in Columbia MO.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Missouri-Columbia. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
#Excessive deer populations hurt native plant biodiversitytoo much garlic mustard growing in the forests of Pennsylvania?
Actually the problem may be too many deer. A new study published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes that an overpopulation of deer is the primary reason garlic mustard is crowding out native plants such as trillium
which are preferred food for wild deer. Our findings show that there is a link between disruption of the native animal community
and invasion by nonnative plant species says Carol Horvitz professor of ecology in the University of Miami College of Arts
and Sciences and co-author of the study. Similar links maybe found in other ecosystems between disrupted fauna and declining diversity of flora.
Deer density in the U s. is about four to 10 times what it was prior to European settlement of North america.
Our findings imply that management of overabundant grazing animals would be beneficial for conservation of plant biodiversity says Horvitz who is also a founding member of UM's Institute of Theoretical and Mathematical Ecology.
The study was initiated in 2003 at the Trillium Trail Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel Pa. by a team of researchers from the University of Miami and University of Pittsburgh.
The project takes a long view on why invasive garlic mustard plants thrive to the detriment of native species. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a plant native to Europe
and Asia and is inedible by deer standards. It was brought to the United states--Long island N y. specifically--in the 1860s for use as a kitchen herb.
To study the effect of rampant deer on trillium and garlic mustard populations the researchers established multiple 196-square-meter plots in the forest.
Half were fenced to exclude deer. Years of observation and hours of statistical analysis later the team found that in plots where deer were excluded the trillium population is increasing
and the garlic mustard population is trending toward zero. This demonstrates that the high population growth rate of the invader is caused by the high abundance of deer says Susan Kalisz professor of evolutionary ecology in the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Biological sciences and principal investigator of the study.
This effect is reversible with deer exclusion. The team's results support an ecological theory that native species in communities can exert biotic resistance.
This means that native plants as a group can successfully compete against invaders. If the native plants are allowed to thrive rather than being consumed by deer the combined natural competitive advantages of those plants--including trillium--allow them to repel the outsiders.
When people walk in the woods where deer are overabundant they don't realize what's missing Kalisz says.
They don't know what used to be growing there. They don't know that species are being lost
Reduce deer populations restore natives and prevent invasion. It's not simple Kalisz says. Deer management policies vary from state to state
and deer don't respect political boundaries. Some states keep deer populations low while others prefer to maintain higher populations to appeal to groups such as hunters.
Yet deer exact a toll not only on forest species but also farms orchards and even your car and your car insurance rate Kalisz says.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by University of Miami. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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