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opencc-zeroAug 2022View details →

Population models used in: Method to assess potential magnitude of terrestrial European avian population reductions from ingestion of lead ammunition

Current estimates of terrestrial bird losses across Europe from ingestion of lead ammunition are based on uncertain or generic assumptions. A method is needed to develop defensible European-specific estimates compatible with available data that does not require long-term field studies. We propose a 2-step method using carcass data and population models. The method estimates percentage of deaths diagnosed as directly caused by lead poisoning as a lower bound and, as an upper bound, the percentage of possible deaths from sublethal lead poisoning that weakens birds, making them susceptible to death by other causes. We use these estimates to modify known population-level annual mortality. Our method also allows for potential reductions in reproduction from lead shot ingestion because reductions in survival and reproduction are entered into population models of species with life histories representative of the most groups of susceptible species. The models estimate the sustainability and potential population decreases from lead poisoning in Europe. Using the best available data, we demonstrate the method on two taxonomic groups of birds: gallinaceous birds and diurnal raptors. The direction of the population trends affects the estimate, and we incorporated such trends into the method. Our midpoint estimates of the reduction in population size of the European gallinaceous bird (< 2%) group and raptor group (2.9 – 7.7%) depend on the species life history, maximum growth rate, population trend, and if reproduction is assumed to be reduced. Our estimates can be refined as more information becomes available in countries with data gaps. We advocate use of this method to improve upon or supplement approaches currently being used. As we demonstrate, the method also can be applied to individual species of concern if enough data across countries are available.

opencc-zeroJul 2024View details →

Data from: Impacts of weathered microplastic ingestion on gastrointestinal microbial communities and health endpoints in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas)

Microplastics are a ubiquitous presence in the world's aquatic environments and their threat to aquatic biota is poorly understood, especially in freshwater ecosystems. In the environment, microbial biofilms can form on the surface of microplastics, and these plastics have the potential to adsorb harmful toxins. Because lab-based studies on microplastics are often conducted with clean polymers, in ecologically unrealistic conditions and concentrations, the impact of these weathered microplastics on aquatic organisms in ecologically realistic conditions is still unclear. To help address the need for ecologically relevant microplastic exposure data, we incubated 500 μm polyethylene microplastic beads in Muskegon Lake, Michigan, USA and used them to conduct a 28-day ingestion study with male and female fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). We examined the effects of microplastic ingestion on the fish gut microbial community along with hepatic gene expression and health parameters. We found that microplastic ingestion had statistically significant impacts on growth in male fathead minnows. Microplastic treatment did not significantly alter the beta diversity of the gut microbial community for either males or females, but there were clear differences between sexes and over time, indicating that these factors may outweigh the impacts of microplastic ingestion on beta diversity in the gut. The expression of immune response genes was not altered in males. It did, however, cause some changes to alpha diversity metrics in both sexes and there were several differentially abundant taxa among treatments. These data suggest that microplastic ingestion has health effects, but these effects may be sex specific across certain species and they are likely not being solely driven by changes in gut microbial communities.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2022View details →

Fig. 1 in Ingestion of plastics in the European bass (DIcentrarchus labrax Linnaeus, 1758): first known observation in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Fig. 1. Different plastic products found in the gut of European bass, purchased from the city of Plovdiv (photograph: Velichka Pachedzhieva).

Figure 6 in Indiscriminate ingestion of entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria by Aedes aegypti larvae: a novel strategy to control the vector of Chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever

Figure 6. Aedes aegypti larval mortality when exposed to 1000 infective juveniles (IJs) of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora at different depths of water.

Figure 2 in Indiscriminate ingestion of entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria by Aedes aegypti larvae: a novel strategy to control the vector of Chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever

Figure 2. Susceptibility of Aedes aegypti larvae to different species of EPN. Five 3rd instar larvae exposed to 1000 infective juveniles (IJs) and mortality assessed daily over 3-day period (DPI).

Figure 4 in Indiscriminate ingestion of entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria by Aedes aegypti larvae: a novel strategy to control the vector of Chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever

Figure 4. Melanization of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora within Aedes aegypti larvae (3rd instar). A melanized H. bacteriophora within dead Ae. aegypti larvae (a), close up picture of melanized nematode upon larval dissection (b), nematodes representing different stages of melanization recovered from one dead Ae. aegypti larvae (c). Arrows indicate melanized nematode within Ae. aegypti larvae.

Figure 7 in Indiscriminate ingestion of entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria by Aedes aegypti larvae: a novel strategy to control the vector of Chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever

Figure 7. Aedes aegypti larval mortality when exposed to supernatants and cell suspensions of Xenorhabdus nematophila (X. n.) and Photorhabdus laumondii (P. l.) in 24 well plates. Different uppercase or lower letters above error bars indicate statistical significance (Tukey's test p ≤ 0.05).

Figure 3 in Indiscriminate ingestion of entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria by Aedes aegypti larvae: a novel strategy to control the vector of Chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever

Figure 3. Different stages of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora colonization of Aedes aegypti larvae (3rd instar). H. bacteriophora within larvae at 2-day post inoculation (a), H. bacteriophora emerging out of larvae upon larval dissection at 7-day post inoculation) (b), adult H. bacteriophora within larvae along with large number of infective juveniles (IJs) released from another adult H. bacteriophora (c). Black arrows indicate adult H. bacteriophora, whereas green arrows indicate newly emerged IJs.

Fig. 2 in Anticoccidial activity of the secondary metabolites in alpine plants frequently ingested by wild Japanese rock ptarmigans

Fig. 2. The efficacy of the natural components against E. tenella sporozoites. The viability of sporozoites was determined at various concentrations of the compounds that showed effectiveness at 100 μM. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value was determined from the approximate curves obtained from these results. SPZ: sporozoite.

Fig. 1 in Anticoccidial activity of the secondary metabolites in alpine plants frequently ingested by wild Japanese rock ptarmigans

Fig. 1. Direct effects of the natural components derived from alpine plants on E. tenella sporozoites. The viability of sporozoites treated with each natural component derived from alpine plants or lasalocid (positive control) with the viability of the DMSO-treated group set as 100%. The final concentration was 100 μM for the natural components, and 1 μM for lasalocid. SPZ: sporozoite; Las: lasalocid. Outliers were tested using Thompson's test (p <0.05), and the student's t-test was utilized to compare the data with the DMSO-treated group as a control (**p <0.01, ***p <0.001, ****p <0.0001).

Fig. 3 in Anticoccidial activity of the secondary metabolites in alpine plants frequently ingested by wild Japanese rock ptarmigans

Fig. 3. Confirmation of the active compounds using commercially available compounds and their efficacy. (A) The viability of sporozoites treated with each commercially available compound or lasalocid (positive control) was compared to the viability of the DMSO-treated group, which was set as 100%. The final concentration was 100 μM for the synthetic compounds, and 1 μM for lasalocid. SPZ: sporozoite, Las: lasalocid. The student's t-test was used for the comparisons (****p <0.0001) without outliers, as tested using Thompson's test (p <0.05). (B) The viability of sporozoites was determined at each concentration of the synthetic compounds that showed effectiveness at 100 μM. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value was determined by approximating the curves obtained from the results.

Fig. 4 in Anticoccidial activity of the secondary metabolites in alpine plants frequently ingested by wild Japanese rock ptarmigans

Fig. 4. The inhibitory effects of the natural components derived from alpine plants on sporozoite cell invasion. The invasion rate of sporozoites treated with each natural component derived from alpine plants or lasalocid (positive control) with the viability of the DMSO-treated group set as 100%. Each compound was used at its maximum non-toxic concentration. Las: lasalocid. The student's t-test was utilized to compare the data with the DMSO-treated group as a control (**p <0.01, ***p <0.001, ****p <0.0001). Outliers were identified and removed using Thompson's test (p <0.05).

publicJul 2024View details →

Data from: Impacts of weathered microplastic ingestion on gastrointestinal microbial communities and health endpoints in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas)

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publicNov 2022View details →

Population models used in: Method to assess potential magnitude of terrestrial European avian population reductions from ingestion of lead ammunition

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publicAug 2024View details →

Growth and ingestion data for house crickets reared at ad libitum conditions

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