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Large-Scale Historic Habitat Loss In Estuaries And Its Implications For Commercial And Recreational Fin Fisheries, Thomas Stamp, Elizabeth West, Tim Robbins, Shaun Plenty, Emma Sheehan Sep 2022

Large-Scale Historic Habitat Loss In Estuaries And Its Implications For Commercial And Recreational Fin Fisheries, Thomas Stamp, Elizabeth West, Tim Robbins, Shaun Plenty, Emma Sheehan

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Abstract Estuaries provide important nursery and feeding habitat for numerous commercially and ecologically important fish, however, have been historically subject to substantial habitat alteration/degradation via environmental fluctuations, sea level rise, human activity on intertidal habitats, and adjacent land management. This review has summarized estuarine habitat use for 12 economically important finfish in the United Kingdom, of which seven were found to utilize estuarine habitats e.g. saltmarsh during their life cycle. This review reveals that ∼2500 km2 of intertidal habitat has been lost from estuaries in England and Wales since 1843. The implications of this large-scale habitat loss and continued anthropogenic …

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Rh Blood Group D Antigen Genotyping Using A Portable Nanopore-Based Sequencing Device: Proof Of Principle, Wajnat A. Tounsi, Vasileios P. Lenis, Silja M. Tammi, Susanna Sainio, Katri Haimila, Neil D. Avent, Tracey E. Madgett Sep 2022

Rh Blood Group D Antigen Genotyping Using A Portable Nanopore-Based Sequencing Device: Proof Of Principle, Wajnat A. Tounsi, Vasileios P. Lenis, Silja M. Tammi, Susanna Sainio, Katri Haimila, Neil D. Avent, Tracey E. Madgett

School of Biomedical Sciences

BACKGROUND: Nanopore sequencing is direct sequencing of a single-stranded DNA molecule using biological pores. A portable nanopore-based sequencing device from Oxford Nanopore Technologies (MinION) depends on driving a DNA molecule through nanopores embedded in a membrane using a voltage. Changes in current are then measured by a sensor, thousands of times per second and translated to nucleobases. METHODS: Genomic DNA (gDNA) samples (n = 13) were tested for Rh blood group D antigen (RHD) gene zygosity using droplet digital PCR. The RHD gene was amplified in 6 overlapping amplicons using long-range PCR. Amplicons were purified, and the sequencing library was …

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Patterns Of Diurnal And Nocturnal Cub-Directed Social Interaction And Guarding Behaviour In Sumatran Tigers, Gq Pastorino, C Dougal, K Sanders, T Stubbington, Je Brereton, R Preziosi Sep 2022

Patterns Of Diurnal And Nocturnal Cub-Directed Social Interaction And Guarding Behaviour In Sumatran Tigers, Gq Pastorino, C Dougal, K Sanders, T Stubbington, Je Brereton, R Preziosi

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Felids are commonly housed in zoological collections worldwide. While aspects of their behaviour are well studied, there remain questions on best practice husbandry including during reproduction and breeding scenarios. In 2016, the Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) London Zoo held a pair of Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) for the purpose of breeding. While they are believed to be solitary in the wild, many collections maintain their tigers in pairs, with some keeping pairs together during parturition and rearing periods. The aim of this study was to investigate the social interactions between a male Sumatran tiger and cubs when housed …

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Energetics Of Tidally Induced Internal Waves Over Isolated Seamount, Nataliya Stashchuk, Vasiliy Vlasenko Sep 2022

Energetics Of Tidally Induced Internal Waves Over Isolated Seamount, Nataliya Stashchuk, Vasiliy Vlasenko

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Tidally generated internal waves over Rosemary Bank Seamount, North Atlantic, were investigated using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model. The model results were validated against in-situ data collected during the 136th cruise of the RRS ‘James Cook’ in June 2016. The current study focuses on the sensitivity of the model output to the parameter settings. The estimates of the available potential energy integrated over the model domain were taken as a proxy for evaluating the sensitivity of the model results to the grid steps, horizontal and vertical viscosity, diffusivity, and mixing schemes. It was found that coarse grid …

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Climate‐Driven Shifts In Kelp Forest Composition Reduce Carbon Sequestration Potential, Luka Seamus Wright, Albert Pessarrodona, A Foggo Sep 2022

Climate‐Driven Shifts In Kelp Forest Composition Reduce Carbon Sequestration Potential, Luka Seamus Wright, Albert Pessarrodona, A Foggo

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The potential contribution of kelp forests to blue carbon sinks is currently of great interest but interspecific variance has received no attention. In the temperate Northeast Atlantic, kelp forest composition is changing due to climate-driven poleward range shifts of cold temperate Laminaria digitata and L. hyperborea and warm temperate L. ochroleuca. To understand how this might affect the carbon sequestration potential of this ecosystem, we quantified interspecific differences in carbon export and decomposition alongside changes in detrital photosynthesis and biochemistry. We found that while warm temperate kelp exports up to 71% more carbon per plant, it decomposes up to 155% …

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Linking Variation In Planktonic Primary Production To Coral Reef Fish Growth And Condition, Rc Roche, A Heenan, Bm Taylor, Jn Schwarz, Et Al Aug 2022

Linking Variation In Planktonic Primary Production To Coral Reef Fish Growth And Condition, Rc Roche, A Heenan, Bm Taylor, Jn Schwarz, Et Al

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Within low-nutrient tropical oceans, islands and atolls with higher primary production support higher fish biomass and reef organism abundance. External energy subsidies can be delivered onto reefs via a range of physical mechanisms. However, the influence of spatial variation in primary production on reef fish growth and condition is largely unknown. It is not yet clear how energy subsidies interact with reef depth and slope. Here we test the hypothesis that with increased proximity to deep-water oceanic nutrient sources, or at sites with shallower reef slopes, parameters of fish growth and condition will be higher. Contrary to expectations, we found …

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Quantifying The Ecological Impacts Of Alien Aquatic Macrophytes: A Global Meta-Analysis Of Effects On Fish, Macroinvertebrate And Macrophyte Assemblages, Samuel J.L. Tasker, Andrew Foggo, David T. Bilton Aug 2022

Quantifying The Ecological Impacts Of Alien Aquatic Macrophytes: A Global Meta-Analysis Of Effects On Fish, Macroinvertebrate And Macrophyte Assemblages, Samuel J.L. Tasker, Andrew Foggo, David T. Bilton

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

1. Biological invasions constitute a pervasive and growing threat to the biodiversity and functioning of freshwater ecosystems. Macrophytes are key primary producers and ecosystem engineers in freshwaters, meaning that alien macrophyte invasions have the capacity to alter the structure and function of recipient aquatic ecosystems profoundly. Although prevailing wisdom holds that alien macrophyte invasions tend to compromise freshwater ecosystem structure and function, the ecological impacts of alien macrophyte invasion have not been quantitatively reviewed to date. 2. Here we present a global meta-analysis of 202 cases from 53 research articles, exploring the impacts of alien macrophyte invasion on the abundance …

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The Complete Mitochondrial Genome Of Talpa Martinorum (Mammalia: Talpidae), A Mole Species Endemic To Thrace: Genome Content And Phylogenetic Considerations, S Demirtas, Mahir Budak, Ertan M. Korkmaz, Jeremy B. Searle, David T. Bilton, I Gunduz Aug 2022

The Complete Mitochondrial Genome Of Talpa Martinorum (Mammalia: Talpidae), A Mole Species Endemic To Thrace: Genome Content And Phylogenetic Considerations, S Demirtas, Mahir Budak, Ertan M. Korkmaz, Jeremy B. Searle, David T. Bilton, I Gunduz

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The complete mitogenome sequence of Talpa martinorum, a recently described Balkan endemic mole, was assembled from next generation sequence data. The mitogenome is similar to that of the three other Talpa species sequenced to date, being 16,835 bp in length, and containing 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, an origin of L-strand replication, and a control region or D-loop. Compared to other Talpa mitogenomes sequenced to date, that of T. martinorum differs in the length of D-loop and stop codon usage. TAG and T-- are the stop codons for the ND1 and ATP8 genes, respectively, …

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Announcing The Minderoo – Monaco Commission On Plastics And Human Health, Philip J. Landrigan, Hervé Raps, Christos Symeonides, Thomas Chiles, Maureen Cropper, Judith Enck, Mark E. Hahn, Richard Hixson, Pushpam Kumar, Adetoun Mustapha, Yongjoon Park, Margaret Spring, John Stegeman, Richard Thompson, Zhanyun Wang, Megan Wolff, Aroub Yousuf, Sarah Dunlop Aug 2022

Announcing The Minderoo – Monaco Commission On Plastics And Human Health, Philip J. Landrigan, Hervé Raps, Christos Symeonides, Thomas Chiles, Maureen Cropper, Judith Enck, Mark E. Hahn, Richard Hixson, Pushpam Kumar, Adetoun Mustapha, Yongjoon Park, Margaret Spring, John Stegeman, Richard Thompson, Zhanyun Wang, Megan Wolff, Aroub Yousuf, Sarah Dunlop

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Plastic is the signature material of our age. In the 75 years since large-scale production began in the aftermath of World War II, plastic has transformed our world, supported many of the most significant advances of modern civilization, and enabled breakthroughs in virtually every field of human endeavor. But plastic also poses great and growing dangers to human health and the environment, harms that fall disproportionately on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. The extent and magnitude of these dangers are only beginning to be understood.

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Short-Finned Pilot Whales Exhibit Behavioral Plasticity In Foraging Strategies Mediated By Their Environment, Jeanne M. Shearer, Frants H. Jensen, Nicola J. Quick, Ari Friedlaender, Brandon Southall, Douglas P. Nowacek, Matthew Bowers, Heather J. Foley, Zachary T. Swaim, Danielle M. Waples, Andrew J. Read Aug 2022

Short-Finned Pilot Whales Exhibit Behavioral Plasticity In Foraging Strategies Mediated By Their Environment, Jeanne M. Shearer, Frants H. Jensen, Nicola J. Quick, Ari Friedlaender, Brandon Southall, Douglas P. Nowacek, Matthew Bowers, Heather J. Foley, Zachary T. Swaim, Danielle M. Waples, Andrew J. Read

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Predators adapt their foraging behavior to exploit a variety of prey in a range of environments. Short-finned pilot whales are wide-ranging predators in tropical and sub-tropical oceans, but most previous studies of their foraging ecology have been conducted near oceanic islands. We deployed sound- and movement-recording tags on 43 short-finned pilot whales off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA, to measure their foraging behavior in a continental shelf-break ecosystem and investigate how variation in the environment shapes their behavior. Overall, the foraging behavior of pilot whales off Cape Hatteras was similar to that of their counterparts from island-associated habitats. Off Cape …

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Performance Of Deep-Sea Habitat Suitability Models Assessed Using Independent Data, And Implications For Use In Area-Based Management, Kerry L. Howell, Kyran Graves, Giulia La Bianca Aug 2022

Performance Of Deep-Sea Habitat Suitability Models Assessed Using Independent Data, And Implications For Use In Area-Based Management, Kerry L. Howell, Kyran Graves, Giulia La Bianca

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Marine spatial management requires accurate data on species and habitat distributions. For the deep sea, these data are lacking. Habitat suitability modelling offers a robust defensible means to fill data gaps, provided models are sufficiently reliable. We tested the performance of published models of 2 deep-sea habitat-forming taxa at low and high resolutions (~1 km and 200 m grid-cell size), across the extended exclusive economic zones of the UK and Ireland. We constructed new data-rich models and compared new and old estimates of the area of habitat protected, noting changes in the protected area network since 2015. Results of independent …

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Morphodynamics Of Wave-Dominated Beaches, B Castelle, G Masselink Aug 2022

Morphodynamics Of Wave-Dominated Beaches, B Castelle, G Masselink

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Abstract Wave-dominated sandy beaches are highly valued by societies and are amongst the world’s most energetic and dynamic environments. On wave-dominated beaches with unlimited sand supply and limited influence of tide and geology, beach change has long been conceptualised in the morphodynamic framework of Wright and Short (1984). Such framework describes the occurrence of beach types based on wave conditions and sediment characteristics across the complete reflective–dissipative spectrum. Building on theoretical work, field/laboratory measurements and monitoring programmes, the physical mechanisms underpinning this morphodynamic framework have been progressively unravelled. Cross-shore morphological changes are primarily controlled by equilibrium and beach memory principles …

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Metabolomics Profiling Of Vitamin D Status In Relation To Dyslipidemia, Hanaa Mousa, Mohamed A. Elrayess, Ilhame Diboun, Simon K. Jackson, Susu M. Zughaier Aug 2022

Metabolomics Profiling Of Vitamin D Status In Relation To Dyslipidemia, Hanaa Mousa, Mohamed A. Elrayess, Ilhame Diboun, Simon K. Jackson, Susu M. Zughaier

School of Biomedical Sciences

Vitamin D deficiency is a global disorder associated with several chronic illnesses including dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome. The impact of this association with both dyslipidemia and vitamin D deficiency on metabolomics profile is not yet fully understood. This study analyses the metabolomics and lipidomic signatures in relation to vitamin D status and dyslipidemia. Metabolomics data were collected from Qatar Biobank database and categorized into four groups based on vitamin D and dyslipidemia status. Metabolomics multivariate analysis was performed using the orthogonal partial least square discriminate analysis (OPLS-DA) whilst linear models were used to assess the per-metabolite association with each of …

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Plastics Treaty — Research Must Inform Action, Richard C. Thompson, Sabine Pahl, Emenda Sembiring Aug 2022

Plastics Treaty — Research Must Inform Action, Richard C. Thompson, Sabine Pahl, Emenda Sembiring

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

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The Ecotoxicological Consequences Of Microplastics And Co-Contaminants In Aquatic Organisms: A Mini-Review, Farhan R. Khan, Ana I. Catarino, Nathaniel J. Clark Aug 2022

The Ecotoxicological Consequences Of Microplastics And Co-Contaminants In Aquatic Organisms: A Mini-Review, Farhan R. Khan, Ana I. Catarino, Nathaniel J. Clark

School of Health Professions

Microplastics (MPs, <5 mm in size) are a grave environmental concern. They are a ubiquitous persistent pollutant group that has reached into all parts of the environment — from the highest mountain tops to the depths of the ocean. During their production, plastics have added to them numerous chemicals in the form of plasticizers, colorants, fillers and stabilizers, some of which have known toxicity to biota. When released into the environments, MPs are also likely to encounter chemical contaminants, including hydrophobic organic contaminants, trace metals and pharmaceuticals, which can sorb to plastic surfaces. Additionally, MPs have been shown to be ingested by a wide range of organisms and it is this combination of ingestion and chemical association that gives weight to the notion that MPs may impact the bioavailability and toxicity of both endogenous and exogenous co-contaminants. In this mini-review, we set the recent literature within what has been previously published about MPs as chemical carriers to biota, with particular focus on aquatic invertebrates and fish. We then present a critical viewpoint on the validity of laboratory-to-field extrapolations in this area. Lastly, we highlight the expanding ‘microplastic universe’ with the addition of anthropogenic particles that have gained recent attention, namely, tire wear particles, nanoplastics and, bio-based or biodegradable MPs, and highlight the need for future research in their potential roles as vehicles of co-contaminant transfer.

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Characterization And Classification Of Estuarine Suspended Particles Based On Their Inorganic/Organic Matter Composition, Z Safar, C Chassagne, S Rijnsburger, Mi Sanz, Aj Manning, Aj Souza, Kessel T Van, A Horner-Devine, R Flores, M Mckeon, Jd Pietrzak Aug 2022

Characterization And Classification Of Estuarine Suspended Particles Based On Their Inorganic/Organic Matter Composition, Z Safar, C Chassagne, S Rijnsburger, Mi Sanz, Aj Manning, Aj Souza, Kessel T Van, A Horner-Devine, R Flores, M Mckeon, Jd Pietrzak

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

An 11 hours survey was performed on the 17th of September 2014 in the Rhine Region Of Freshwater Influence (Rhine-ROFI) about 10 km downstream of the mouth of the Rotterdam Waterway during calm weather conditions. Suspended Particle Matter (SPM) measurements were performed during a full tidal cycle, near the seabed, at neap tide, and samples were taken at 0.6 meter above bed for on-board analysis. The measurements were performed with (a) LISST 100X, a submersible particle size analyzer, (b) LISST-HOLO, a submersible digital holographic camera, (c) a home-made underwater camera and (d) an on-board LabSFLOC2 video microscopy equipment that used …

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Longitudinal Expression Profiling Identifies A Poor Risk Subset Of Patients With Abc-Type Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, F Bewicke-Copley, K Korfi, S Araf, Et Al Aug 2022

Longitudinal Expression Profiling Identifies A Poor Risk Subset Of Patients With Abc-Type Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, F Bewicke-Copley, K Korfi, S Araf, Et Al

Peninsula Medical School

Despite the effectiveness of immuno-chemotherapy, 40% of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) experience relapse or refractory disease. Longitudinal studies have previously focused on the mutational landscape of relapse but fell short of providing a consistent relapse-specific genetic signature. In our study, we have focussed attention on the changes in gene expression profile accompanying DLBCL relapse using archival paired diagnostic/relapse specimens from 38 de novo DLBCL patients. Cell of origin remained stable from diagnosis to relapse in 80% of patients, with only a single patient showing COO switching from ABC to GCB. Analysis of the transcriptomic changes that occur …

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The Developmental Trajectories Of Children’S Reorientation To Global And Local Properties Of Environmental Geometry, Matthew G. Buckley, Luke J. Holden, Alastair D. Smith, Mark Haselgrove Aug 2022

The Developmental Trajectories Of Children’S Reorientation To Global And Local Properties Of Environmental Geometry, Matthew G. Buckley, Luke J. Holden, Alastair D. Smith, Mark Haselgrove

School of Psychology

The way in which organisms represent the shape of their environments during navigation has been debated in cognitive, comparative, and developmental psychology. While there is evidence that adult humans encode the entire boundary shape of an environment (a global-shape representation), there are also data demonstrating that organisms reorient using only segments of the boundary that signal a goal location (a local-shape representation). Developmental studies offer unique insights into this debate; however, most studies have used designs that cannot dissociate the type of boundary-shape representation that children use to guide reorientation. Thus, we examined the developmental trajectories of children's reorientation according …

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Genetic Diversity Of Honeybee Colonies Predicts Gut Bacterial Diversity Of Individual Colony Members, Calum Bridson, Latha Vellaniparambil, Rachel E. Antwis, Werner Müller, R. Tucker Gilman, Jennifer K. Rowntree Aug 2022

Genetic Diversity Of Honeybee Colonies Predicts Gut Bacterial Diversity Of Individual Colony Members, Calum Bridson, Latha Vellaniparambil, Rachel E. Antwis, Werner Müller, R. Tucker Gilman, Jennifer K. Rowntree

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

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Synoptic Observations Of Sediment Transport And Exchange Mechanisms In The Turbid Ems Estuary: The Edom Campaign, Maren Ds Van, C Maushake, J-W Mol, Keulen D Van, J Jürges, J Vroom, H Schuttelaars, T Gerkema, K Schulz, Th Badewien, M Gerriets, A Engels, A Wurpts, D Oberrecht, Aj Manning, T Bailey, L Ross, V Mohrholz, Dml Horemans, M Becker, D Post, C Schmidt, Pjt Dankers Aug 2022

Synoptic Observations Of Sediment Transport And Exchange Mechanisms In The Turbid Ems Estuary: The Edom Campaign, Maren Ds Van, C Maushake, J-W Mol, Keulen D Van, J Jürges, J Vroom, H Schuttelaars, T Gerkema, K Schulz, Th Badewien, M Gerriets, A Engels, A Wurpts, D Oberrecht, Aj Manning, T Bailey, L Ross, V Mohrholz, Dml Horemans, M Becker, D Post, C Schmidt, Pjt Dankers

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

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Range-Wide Habitat Use Of The Harpy Eagle Indicates Four Major Tropical Forest Gaps In The Key Biodiversity Area Network, Luke J. Sutton, David L. Anderson, Miguel Franco, Christopher J.W. Mcclure, Everton B.P. Miranda, F. Hernán Vargas, F. Hernán Vargas, Robert Puschendorf Aug 2022

Range-Wide Habitat Use Of The Harpy Eagle Indicates Four Major Tropical Forest Gaps In The Key Biodiversity Area Network, Luke J. Sutton, David L. Anderson, Miguel Franco, Christopher J.W. Mcclure, Everton B.P. Miranda, F. Hernán Vargas, F. Hernán Vargas, Robert Puschendorf

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Abstract Quantifying habitat use is important for understanding how animals meet their requirements for survival and provides information for conservation planning. Currently, assessments of range-wide habitat use that delimit species distributions are incomplete for many taxa. The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) is a raptor of conservation concern, widely distributed across Neotropical lowland forests, that currently faces threats from habitat loss and fragmentation. Here, we use penalized logistic regression to identify species-habitat associations and predict habitat suitability based on a new International Union for the Conservation of Nature range metric, termed Area of Habitat. From the species-habitat model, we performed a …

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Soils, Science And Community Action (Soilscan): A Citizen Science Tool To Empower Community-Led Land Management Change In East Africa, C Kelly, M Wynants, A Patrick, A Taylor, F Mkilema, M Nasseri, S Lewin, L Munishi, K Mtei, P Ndakidemi, W Blake Aug 2022

Soils, Science And Community Action (Soilscan): A Citizen Science Tool To Empower Community-Led Land Management Change In East Africa, C Kelly, M Wynants, A Patrick, A Taylor, F Mkilema, M Nasseri, S Lewin, L Munishi, K Mtei, P Ndakidemi, W Blake

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Pastoralist communities worldwide face complex challenges regarding food and feed productivity. Primary production systems are under stress, nutritional choices are changing and the relationship between development and agriculture is undergoing profound transformation. Under increasing pressure from climate and land use change, East African agro-pastoral systems are approaching a tipping point in terms of land degradation. There is an urgent need for evidence-led sustainable land management interventions to reverse degradation of natural resources that support food and water security. A key barrier, however, is a lack of high spatial resolution soil health data wherein collecting such information for each individual community …

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The Effect Of Increasing Intestinal Short‐Chain Fatty Acid Concentration On Gut Permeability And Liver Injury In The Context Of Liver Disease: A Systematic Review, Keith Pohl, Prebashan Moodley, Ashwin Dhanda Aug 2022

The Effect Of Increasing Intestinal Short‐Chain Fatty Acid Concentration On Gut Permeability And Liver Injury In The Context Of Liver Disease: A Systematic Review, Keith Pohl, Prebashan Moodley, Ashwin Dhanda

Peninsula Medical School

Background and AimThe gut barrier protects the liver through tight junctions, which are disrupted in liver disease either from dysbiosis, inflammation, or the effects of ingested compounds such as alcohol. Strengthening of the gut barrier may ameliorate liver injury of varying etiologies. Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have been shown to improve gut barrier function. This systematic review aims to synthesize all studies that have trialed SCFA supplementation as a therapy for liver disease.MethodsA systematic review assessing the impact of SCFA supplementation on liver injury and intestinal permeability was conducted. All forms of intervention that specifically increased intestinal SCFA concentration …

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Payment For Ecosystem Services In Peru: Assessing The Socio-Ecological Dimension Of Water Services In The Upper Santa River Basin, Rm Dextre, Ml Eschenhagen, M Camacho Hernández, S Rangecroft, Et Al Aug 2022

Payment For Ecosystem Services In Peru: Assessing The Socio-Ecological Dimension Of Water Services In The Upper Santa River Basin, Rm Dextre, Ml Eschenhagen, M Camacho Hernández, S Rangecroft, Et Al

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Increasing pressures on ecosystems in the Latin American region, as well as the adoption of multilateral conservation commitments, have led to the implementation of instruments that are economic in nature but oriented towards the recovery, conservation, and functioning of ecosystems such as Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES). In the Peruvian Andes, hydro-climatic factors and land-use changes are affecting the capacity of the ecosystems of the glaciated Cordillera Blanca to provide water services, in terms of both quality and quantity, to the main users of the Santa River basin. Thus, this study analyses how the socio-ecological interactions affect, and are affected …

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Development Of Microsatellites Markers For The Deep Coral Madracis Myriaster (Pocilloporidae: Anthozoa), Diana C. Ballesteros-Contreras, Lina M. Barrios, Richard Preziosi Aug 2022

Development Of Microsatellites Markers For The Deep Coral Madracis Myriaster (Pocilloporidae: Anthozoa), Diana C. Ballesteros-Contreras, Lina M. Barrios, Richard Preziosi

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

AbstractIn 2013 Colombia made an important step towards the construction and management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by establishing the first Deep Corals National Park (PNNCP). Inside this MPA, the coral Madracis myriaster (Cnidaria: Pocilloporidae) was found as the main reef builder, offering habitat for many species of fish and invertebrates. In order to improve the study of deep-sea coral habitats, their connectivity and prospective management, nine new genetic markers (microsatellites) were developed for M. myriaster and tested in samples from PNNCP. We present the assessment of these markers, with a specificity for the deep coral, and its prospective use …

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How Do Zoo Evening Events At Zsl London Zoo Affect Sumatran Tiger Behaviour And Enclosure, Gq Pastorino, T Stubbington, Sr Brereton, Je Brereton, A Gabb, R Stoycheva, A Ferguson, R Preziosi Aug 2022

How Do Zoo Evening Events At Zsl London Zoo Affect Sumatran Tiger Behaviour And Enclosure, Gq Pastorino, T Stubbington, Sr Brereton, Je Brereton, A Gabb, R Stoycheva, A Ferguson, R Preziosi

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Globally, zoological collections may host public events after usual opening hours including festivals, special tours and evening events, in order to generate income. During the summer of 2014, The Zoological Society of London held a series of nine evening events during which zoos’ opening hours were extended, with entertainment offerings such as tours and visitor events provided. This study investigated the effect of evening events on the behaviour and enclosure use of five Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) at ZSL London Zoo. Instantaneous focal sampling was utilised to collect behavioural data and enclosure zone occupancy. Measures of visitor density, crowd …

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On The Properties Evolution Of Eco-Material Dedicated To Manufacturing Artificial Reef Via 3d Printing: Long-Term Interactions Of Cementitious Materials In The Marine Environment, F Boukhelf, N Sebaibi, M Boutouil, Ai Yoris-Nobile, E Blanco-Fernandez, D Castro-Fresno, C Real-Gutierrez, Rjh Herbert, S Greenhill, B Reis, Jn Franco, Mt Borges, I Sousa-Pinto, Der Linden P Van, Ob Gómez, Hs Meyer, E Almada, R Stafford, V Danet, J Lobo-Arteaga, M Tuaty-Guerra, Alice Hall Jul 2022

On The Properties Evolution Of Eco-Material Dedicated To Manufacturing Artificial Reef Via 3d Printing: Long-Term Interactions Of Cementitious Materials In The Marine Environment, F Boukhelf, N Sebaibi, M Boutouil, Ai Yoris-Nobile, E Blanco-Fernandez, D Castro-Fresno, C Real-Gutierrez, Rjh Herbert, S Greenhill, B Reis, Jn Franco, Mt Borges, I Sousa-Pinto, Der Linden P Van, Ob Gómez, Hs Meyer, E Almada, R Stafford, V Danet, J Lobo-Arteaga, M Tuaty-Guerra, Alice Hall

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

This paper deals with the evolution monitoring of biomass colonization and mechanical properties of 3D printed eco-materials/mortars immersed in the sea. Measurements of tensile strength, compressive strength, and Young’s modulus were determined on samples deployed along the Atlantic coast of Europe, in France, United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal. The samples were manufactured using 3D printing, where six mix designs with a low environmental impact binder were used. These mortars were based on geopolymer and cementitious binders (Cement CEM III), in which sand is replaced by three types of recycled sand, including glass, seashell, and limestone by 30%, 50%, and 100% …

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The Gut Microbiome Variability Of A Butterflyfish Increases On Severely Degraded Caribbean Reefs, Friederike Clever, Jade M. Sourisse, Richard F. Preziosi, Jonathan A. Eisen, E. Catalina Rodriguez Guerra, Jarrod J. Scott, Laetitia G.E. Wilkins, Andrew H. Altieri, W. Owen Mcmillan, Matthieu Leray Jul 2022

The Gut Microbiome Variability Of A Butterflyfish Increases On Severely Degraded Caribbean Reefs, Friederike Clever, Jade M. Sourisse, Richard F. Preziosi, Jonathan A. Eisen, E. Catalina Rodriguez Guerra, Jarrod J. Scott, Laetitia G.E. Wilkins, Andrew H. Altieri, W. Owen Mcmillan, Matthieu Leray

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

AbstractEnvironmental degradation has the potential to alter key mutualisms that underlie the structure and function of ecological communities. How microbial communities associated with fishes vary across populations and in relation to habitat characteristics remains largely unknown despite their fundamental roles in host nutrition and immunity. We find significant differences in the gut microbiome composition of a facultative coral-feeding butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) across Caribbean reefs that differ markedly in live coral cover (∼0–30%). Fish gut microbiomes were significantly more variable at degraded reefs, a pattern driven by changes in the relative abundance of the most common taxa potentially associated with stress. …

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Feedback And Spider Size Estimation: A Quantitative Investigation Into Whether Fear And Feedback Influences Size Estimation In Spiders, Amelia Clements Jul 2022

Feedback And Spider Size Estimation: A Quantitative Investigation Into Whether Fear And Feedback Influences Size Estimation In Spiders, Amelia Clements

The Plymouth Student Scientist

This paper investigated the link between trait fear in spider phobic participants and size estimation of an imagined spider. However, previous research has suggested that there is a strong association between fear and size estimation bias in phobic individuals, which could be mediating spider phobia. To reduce this bias, false verbal feedback was given to spider phobic participants to test whether spider size estimation can be reduced through convincing participants that they are less afraid of spiders than the average person. Participants were either in the no feedback or feedback condition. The feedback condition were told that they are less …

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Investigating Metformin & Syrosingopine's Synthetic Lethality In Pc3 & Thp-1 Cancer Cell Lines, Sophia V. Medeiros Jul 2022

Investigating Metformin & Syrosingopine's Synthetic Lethality In Pc3 & Thp-1 Cancer Cell Lines, Sophia V. Medeiros

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The oral antidiabetic, metformin, has been documented to have antineoplastic activity in various cancer cell lines, associated with the inhibition of mitochondrial complex I. However, pre-clinical studies have struggled to demonstrate such antineoplastic activity utilising metformin concentrations attainable with standard antidiabetic dosing. Research has revealed that metformin combined with the anti-hypertensive drug, syrosingopine, lowers metformin’s therapeutic threshold and sensitizes cancer cells to killing, by inhibiting monocarboxylate transporters (MCT)1/MCT4. The potent interaction between these drugs elicits a synthetic lethality, specific to transformed cells. This preliminary study aimed to investigate metformin’s antineoplastic effects and its synergistic relationship with syrosingopine by measuring cell …

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