1,721,132 research outputs found
Ecological implications of introducing Leucaspius delineatus (Heckel, 1843) and Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck and Schlegel, 1842) into inland waters in England
Non-native species invasions threaten the structure, function and biodiversity of ecosystems worldwide, and those of non-native fishes pose amongst the greatest threats to inland waters of the U.K. This PhD investigated the establishment, dispersal and ecological implications of introducing the two non-native fish species, sunbleak Leucaspius delineatus (Heckel, 1843) and topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck and Schlegel, 1842) to inland waters of England. The introduction and initial dispersal of both species can be attributed to the commercial fish trade. Species-specific variability of life history, growth and morphological traits was examined in sunbleak (12 sites) and topmouth gudgeon (3 sites) to assess their role in establishment success. The drift dynamics, i.e. timing and intensity (propagule pressure), of sunbleak and topmouth gudgeon were assessed for source populations to determine dispersal potential. Potential risks for native species posed by these two alien cyprinids were assessed with respect to the parasite fauna and overlaps in resource use. For sunbleak, these were also examined in terms of social integration of this species into a native fish assemblage. Biological resistance to topmouth gudgeon invasion was evaluated by stomach flushing and gut content analysis of native piscivorous fishes.Inter-population variability in life histories and morphological characters were observed in both sunbleak and topmouth gudgeon. Populations of both species matured at small body sizes and between the ages 1 and 2. The fish were of good body condition and exhibited high reproductive investment. In both species, dispersal from source waters followed a diel pattern, with higher rates at night than during the day (e.g. maximum drift densities during May of 2004 and 2005: 9-10 sunbleak per 1000 m -3 at about 23:00 hrs; 40-52 topmouth gudgeon per 1000 m -3 at about 05:00 hrs). Downstream of one source population, microhabitat use of topmouth gudgeon was found to overlap with native species (brown trout Salmo trutta L., European chub Leuciscus cephalus (L.), bullhead Cottus gobio L., stoneloach Barbatula barbatula (L.); both brown trout and chub were observed to prey on topmouth gudgeon. However, predation intensity may be density-dependent and of insufficient level to impede topmouth gudgeon establishment, which was facilitated in the receiving stream by the consistent propagule pressure from on-line source populations. Sunbleak diet and microhabitat use also overlapped with native species (roach Rutilus rutilus (L.) and common bream Abramis brama (L.)) as young larvae, but this decreased with age. Social network analysis of sunbleak-native species interactions revealed that sunbleak creates significantly stronger social bonds with the native species than do natives amongst themselves.No macro-parasites were found in topmouth gudgeon, but two ‘Category II’ non-native parasites Neoergasilus japonicus (Harada, 1930) and Ergasilus briani (Markewitsch, 1932) were found in some populations of sunbleak. The potential for sunbleak to spread beyond their current distribution in England and the species’ social integration behaviour may facilitate the dispersal of these parasites, which may spread faster among communities invaded by sunbleak than in those where this non-native species is absent. The results of this PhD study are discussed within their wider context and their relevance to non-native species risk analysis and management
Biogeographie des Maladies Infectieuses Émergentes
La récente pandémie de Covid19 nous rappelle, si cela était encore nécessaire, que la propagation des maladies infectieuses ignore les frontières géographiques. Les changements combinés de biodiversité locale et l’utilisation des terres, l’augmentation de la connectivité internationale par le transport et le commerce ainsi que la menace imminente du changement climatique a accru le risque d’émergence et de réémergence des maladies infectieuses (EMI). Jusqu’à présent la réponse des politiques de santé publique a été la surveillance passive sans toutefois s’avérer réellement efficace dans la prévention et le contrôle des épidémies. Le choix qui a été fait ici est celui d’une nouvelle approche anticipative, par identification des zones à haut risques d’EMI en se basant sur la détection des facteurs environnementaux les plus favorisant. Parmi ces facteurs on trouve la conversion des terres, la diminution drastique de la biodiversité ou encore le changement climatique. Ainsi la méthode biogéographique a permis d’étudier et d’analyser les EMI à travers différents groupes de taxons de pathogènes comme les bactéries, les virus, les protozoaires et les champignons. L’étude a été portée globalement, ainsi que localement, en Guyane Française, un territoire français d’outre-mer situé en Amérique du Sud. Dans les deux cas, à travers les différents groupes de pathogènes, les risques d’inondation, les récentes conversions de parcelles de forêts en terres agro-minières et l’augmentation du minimum de température due au changement climatique se sont avérés être des facteurs significatifs dans l’émergence globale et locale des maladies infectieuses étudiées. Les principaux résultats de cette thèse sont les suivantes :1. Une approche biogéographique de modélisation de la distribution des EMI en utilisant les bases de données existantes sur les cas cliniques, l’imagerie satellite et un modèle statistique non conventionnel est efficace pour détecter précocement les régions à risque, permettre d’améliorer la prévention, et contrôler leur diffusion.2. Il est possible d’anticiper les EMI en identifiant et en gérant précocement les facteurs favorisant ayant un lien direct avec l’anthropisation de l’environnement.The COVID-19 pandemic highlights that the spread of infectious diseases goes beyond geographical boundaries. Simultaneous changes in local biodiversity and land use, the increasing international connectivity through human transport and trade and the imminent threat of climate change have increased the risk of the emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases. The current public health response to emerging infectious diseases (EID) by passive surveillance has proven largely ineffective in preventing and controlling disease outbreaks. The way toward is to “get ahead of the curve” by identifying potential hotspots of disease emergence and detecting the environmental triggers such as land transformation, biodiversity loss and climate change. I used a biogeographic approach to study and analyze disease emergence across different taxonomic pathogen groups such as bacterial, viral, protozoal and fungal, globally and in French Guiana, a French Overseas territory located in South America. I found that regions at risk of floods, recent conversion of forest to agricultural lands and increasing minimum temperature (i.e. temperature at night) caused by cli mate change were drivers for disease emergence locally and globally across the different pathogen groups. The main findings of the PhD thesis are the following:1. Biogeographic approach to mapping the distribution of EIDs with using existing human cases data, remote sensing imagery and unconventional statistical models is effective to “get ahead of the curve” in the detection of regions at risk and the management of EIDs.2. EIDs are not unprecedented but predictable by identifying and managing the triggers of disease emergence, which have a direct link with the anthropization of the environment
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Détection de l'agent rosette Sphareothecum destruens dans les communautés piscicoles de France (Rosetta)
Détection de l'agent rosette Sphareothecum destruens dans les communautés piscicoles de France (Rosetta)
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