Mobile device location data is already used by private companies, so why not for studying human-wildlife interactions, scientists ask

CELL PRESS

 

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BISON ROAD CROSSING

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CREDIT: MATTHIAS LORETTO

When did you last go anywhere without your cell phone? From maps and weather apps to social media platforms, we give consent for our phones to trace our footsteps and behavior. These curated mobility data are often used for personalized advertisements. In a commentary, published April 26 in the journal Cell Reports Sustainability, scientists argue mobility data can offer so much more—it is key to understanding human-wildlife interactions for guiding policy decisions on sustainability-related issues and should be free and accessible for research. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic confined humans indoors and hushed bustling cities, reports of wildlife wandering the streets flooded the internet. To ecologists and sustainability researchers, this was a unique opportunity to understand human-wildlife interactions, afforded by the most tragic of circumstances. Scientists, including some of the authors of the commentary, quickly joined hands to form the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative.

"Our global consortium has been investigating wildlife responses to sudden reductions in human mobility during pandemic lockdowns, using tracking data from animal-attached devices," says senior author Christian Rutz, of University of St Andrews, UK, who is the chair of the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative. "Such analyses of human-wildlife interactions would benefit tremendously from improved access to human-mobility data."

"What we very quickly realized is that we had a wealth of data on what animals were doing, but gaining access to data on what humans were doing was a major challenge," says first author Ruth Oliver of the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Generally, human-mobility data are held by private companies and sold for corporate interests. There are financial and logistical barriers for researchers to access the data to understand sustainability challenges."

To address this issue, the authors propose that governments and international organizations work together with companies on finding ways to make human-mobility data freely available for research. Drawing on lessons learned from the precedent of government-facilitated access to satellite remote sensing data for public good, the researchers believe human-mobility data hold similar potential, if access barriers were addressed.

Unlike human-mobility data for commercial purposes, which comprise detailed time-stamped movement trajectories of individual users, potentially posing privacy concerns when shared, what the researchers call for is much simpler. The researchers envision aggregated datasets, stripped of personal identifiers, counting the number of devices in an area over a defined time period. About three out of every four people aged 10 or older—roughly 5.9 billion individuals globally—own a cellular phone. This wealth of data can help address how the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems are connected. For example, analyses could help pinpoint hotspots where wildlife and humans interact frequently, informing zoonotic disease prevention and invasive species management.

"Because the aggregated datasets we're advocating for are very different from what’s needed for commercial applications, making them accessible to researchers wouldn't harm the market for more detailed data," says Oliver.

In fact, Oliver and her colleagues say that making human-mobility data available to researchers can also benefit private companies. Sharing aggregated data may generate further demand for bespoke, detailed data products and grow the global user base. With movements towards corporate digital responsibility, sharing data for conservation and sustainability research can also be a way to mitigate impact and contribute to societal good. 

"Our vision is to have this movement be a community-driven, collaborative effort. We want to understand the companies' concerns and collaborate on finding win-win solutions. Because privacy policies around human mobility-data vary around the world, government bodies' facilitation will be crucial," says Oliver. "More broadly, we feel it’s crucial to empower individuals to think about how they want their data used."

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This work was supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, NASA FINESST, the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, the National Biodiversity Future Center via the PNRR funds of the Italian Ministry of University and Research, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Cell Reports Sustainability, Oliver et al. “Access to human-mobility data is essential for building a sustainable future” https://cell.com/cell-reports-sustainability/fulltext/S2949-7906(24)00105-8

Cell Reports Sustainability (@CellRepSustain), published by Cell Press, is a monthly gold open access journal that publishes high-quality research and discussion that contribute to understanding and responding to environmental, social-ecological, technological, and energy- and health-related challenges. Visit https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-sustainability/home. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com.

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JOURNAL

Cell Reports Sustainability

DOI

10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100077 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Access to human mobility data is essential for building a sustainable future

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Apr-2024

 

Test reveals mice think like babies

‘Surprisingly strategic’ behavior deepens our understanding of animal cognition

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

 

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OVER CONSECUTIVE TRIALS, THE MICE WOULD TURN THE WHEEL LEFT FOR A BIT, THEN SWITCH TO TURNING IT RIGHT, SEEMINGLY MAKING MISTAKES BUT ACTUALLY BEING STRATEGIC.

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CREDIT: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

Are mice clever enough to be strategic?

Kishore Kuchibhotla, a Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist who studies learning in humans and animals, and who has long worked with mice, wondered why rodents often performed poorly in tests when they knew how to perform well. With a simple experiment, and by acting as “a little bit of a mouse psychologist,” he and his team figured it out.

“It appears that a big part of this gap between knowledge and performance is that the animal is engaging in a form of exploration—what the animal is doing is very clever,” he said. “It’s hard to say animals are making hypotheses, but our view is that animals, like humans, can make hypotheses and they can test them and may use higher cognitive processes to do it.”

The work, which deepens our understanding of animal cognition, and could lead to identifying the neural basis for strategizing, published today in Current Biology.

Kuchibhotla’s lab previously found that animals know a lot more about tasks than they demonstrate in tests. The team had two theories about what could be behind this gap. Either the mice were making mistakes because they were stressed, or they were doing something more purposeful: exploring and testing their knowledge.

To figure it out Kuchibhotla and Ziyi Zhu, a graduate student studying neuroscience, came up with a new experiment.

Mice heard two sounds. For one sound they were supposed to turn a wheel to the left. For the other sound, they’d turn the wheel to the right. When the mice performed correctly they were rewarded.

The researchers observed how upon hearing either sound over consecutive trials, the mice would turn the wheel left for a bit, then switch to turning it right, seemingly making mistakes but actually being purposeful.

“We find that when the animal is exploring, they engage in a really simple strategy, which is, ‘I’m going to go left for a while, figure things out, and then I’m going to switch and go right for a while,’” Kuchibhotla said. “Mice are more strategic than some might believe.”

Zhu added, “Errors during animal learning are often considered as mistakes. Our work brings new insight that not all errors are the same.”

The team learned even more about the rodents’ actions by taking the reward out of the equation.

When a mouse performed correctly and wasn’t rewarded, it immediately doubled down on the correct response when retested.

“If the animal has an internal model of the task, the lack of reward should violate its expectation. And if that’s the case, it should affect the behavior on subsequent trials. And that’s exactly what we found. On subsequent trials the animal just does a lot better,” Kuchibhotla said. “The animal is like, ‘Hey, I was expecting to be rewarded, I wasn’t, so let me test my knowledge, let me use the knowledge I have and see if it’s correct.’”

If the animal didn’t have an internal model of the task, there would be no expectations to violate and the mice would keep performing poorly.

“At a very early time in learning the animal has an expectation and when we violate it, it changes its strategy,” Kuchibhotla said. “It was surprisingly strategic.”

This mouse strategizing is comparable to how nonverbal human babies learn. Both are highly exploratory and both may test hypotheses in various ways, Kuchibhotla said.

During the experiments Kuchibhotla said he became “a little bit of a mouse psychologist” to interpret their behavior. Like working with a nonverbal infant, he and Zhu had to infer the underlying mental processes from the behavior alone.

“That’s what was really fun in this project, trying to figure out what the mouse is thinking,” he said. “You have to think about it from the perspective of the animal.”

Next the team hopes to determine the neural basis for strategic thinking, and how those strategies might compare across different animals.

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JOURNAL

Current Biology

DOI

10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.017 

 

From disorder to order: flocking birds and “spinning” particles

Research demonstrates a new mechanism of order formation in quantum systems, with potential applications for quantum technology

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

 

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SCHEMATIC PICTURE OF ACTIVITY-INDUCED FERROMAGNETISM IN QUANTUM ACTIVE MATTER. HERE, MOVING ATOMS WITH SPINS EXHIBITS THE FERROMAGNETIC ORDER (I.E., ALIGNING IN ONE DIRECTION) LIKE A FLOCK OF BIRDS DEPICTED ABOVE

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CREDIT: TAKASAN ET AL 2024

Researchers Kazuaki Takasan and Kyogo Kawaguchi of the University of Tokyo with Kyosuke Adachi of RIKEN, Japan's largest comprehensive research institution, have demonstrated that ferromagnetism, an ordered state of atoms, can be induced by increasing particle motility and that repulsive forces between atoms are sufficient to maintain it. The discovery not only extends the concept of active matter to quantum systems but also contributes to the development of novel technologies that rely on the magnetic properties of particles, such as magnetic memory and quantum computing. The findings were published in the journal Physical Review Research.

Flocking birds, swarming bacteria, cellular flows. These are all examples of active matter, a state in which individual agents, such as birds, bacteria, or cells, self-organize. The agents change from a disordered to an ordered state in what is called a "phase transition." As a result, they move together in an organized fashion without an external controller.

“Previous studies have shown that the concept of active matter can apply to a wide range of scales, from nanometers (biomolecules) to meters (animals),” says Takasan, the first author. “However, it has not been known whether the physics of active matter can be applied usefully in the quantum regime. We wanted to fill in that gap.”

To fill the gap, the researchers needed to demonstrate a possible mechanism that could induce and maintain an ordered state in a quantum system. It was a collaborative work between physics and biophysics. The researchers took inspiration from the phenomena of flocking birds because, due to the activity of each agent, the ordered state is more easily achieved than in other types of active matter. They created a theoretical model in which atoms were essentially mimicking the behavior of birds. In this model, when they increased the motility of the atoms, the repulsive forces between atoms rearranged them into an ordered state called ferromagnetism. In the ferromagnetic state, spins, the angular momentum of subatomic particles and nuclei, align in one direction, just like how flocking birds face the same direction while flying.

“It was surprising at first to find that the ordering can appear without elaborate interactions between the agents in the quantum model,” Takasan reflects on the finding. “It was different from what was expected based on biophysical models.”

The researcher took a multi-faceted approach to ensure their finding was not a fluke. Thankfully, the results of computer simulations, mean-field theory, a statistical theory of particles, and mathematical proofs based on linear algebra were all consistent. This strengthened the reliability of their finding, the first step in a new line of research.

“The extension of active matter to the quantum world has only recently begun, and many aspects are still open,” says Takasan. “We would like to further develop the theory of quantum active matter and reveal its universal properties.”

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JOURNAL

Physical Review Research

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Activity-induced ferromagnetism in one-dimensional quantum many-body systems

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Apr-2024

 

Experimental NIH malaria monoclonal antibody protective in Malian children

Mid-stage trial shows treatment prevents infection, disease

NIH/NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES

 

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A SINGLE INJECTION OF AN EXPERIMENTAL MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY CALLED L9LS PREVENTED MALARIA INFECTION IN CHILDREN IN MALI. L9LS BINDS TO AND NEUTRALIZES “SPOROZOITES,” THE FORM OF THE MALARIA PARASITE TRANSMITTED BY MOSQUITOES THAT INVADES THE LIVER TO INITIATE INFECTION.

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CREDIT: NIH

One injected dose of an experimental malaria monoclonal antibody was 77% effective against malaria disease in children in Mali during the country’s six-month malaria season, according to the results of a mid-stage clinical trial. The trial assessed an investigational monoclonal antibody developed by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and results appear in The New England Journal of Medicine.

“A long-acting monoclonal antibody delivered at a single health care visit that rapidly provides high-level protection against malaria in these vulnerable populations would fulfill an unmet public health need,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of NIH. 

The clinical trial assessed two dose levels, with 19% of the 300mg-dose group and 28% of the 150mg-dose group developing symptomatic malaria, providing protective efficacy of 77% and 67% against symptomatic malaria, respectively. Among children who received placebo, 81% became infected with Plasmodium falciparum, and 59% had symptomatic malaria during the six-month study period. The authors note that the trial demonstrated for the first time that a single dose of a monoclonal antibody given by subcutaneous injection can provide high-level protection against malaria in children in an area of intense malaria transmission.

In 2022, the P. falciparum parasite caused a majority of the nearly 250 million estimated cases of malaria globally and most of the more than 600,000 malaria deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Most malaria cases and deaths are among children in Africa. Malaria parasites such as P. falciparum are transmitted to people by mosquito bites.

In 2020, scientists at NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center reported that they had isolated the antibody from a volunteer who had been vaccinated with an experimental malaria vaccine. The antibody was modified with a mutation that prolonged its durability in the bloodstream following administration. In an earlier study, conducted in Mali by the same research group, a previously discovered antibody was highly protective against P. falciparum infection in adults when given intravenously. However, the new antibody was shown to be more potent in animal studies and was manufactured at a higher concentration than CIS43LS, allowing it to be given by subcutaneous injection. 

The trial in Mali took place in two parts, first to assess safety in a small number of adults and children, and then in a larger clinical efficacy trial involving 225 children. The efficacy trial took place from July 2022 to January 2023 and included healthy children 6 to 10 years of age, 75 of whom received a 300 mg dose, 75 a 150 mg dose, and 75 of whom received a placebo.

The researchers are continuing clinical development of the experimental antibody, focusing on other high-risk populations, such as infants and young children, children hospitalized with severe anemia, and pregnant women. An ongoing clinical trial in Kenya is assessing the efficacy of the antibody in children 5 months to 5 years of age over a 12-month study period, and scientists are also conducting a clinical trial in Mali to assess the antibody in women of childbearing potential to prepare to test the antibody in pregnancy. 

NIAID led the clinical trial in conjunction with the University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Mali, through NIAID’s Division of Intramural Research International Centers of Excellence in Research (ICER) program. For more details about the clinical trial, see ClinicalTrials.gov using identifier NCT05304611.

Reference:
K Kayentao et al. Subcutaneous Administration of a Monoclonal Antibody to Prevent Malaria. The New England Journal of Medicine DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2312775 (2024).

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NIAID conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website. 

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit https://www.nih.gov/. 

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health®

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JOURNAL

New England Journal of Medicine

DOI

10.1056/NEJMoa2312775 

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are n

 

Energy trades could help resolve Nile conflict

UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

Scientists have shed light on a new, transformative approach that could help resolve a dispute over the Nile river’s water resources.

The Nile is one of the longest rivers globally and spreads over 11 countries in East Africa, supplying water, energy production, environmental quality and cultural wealth. However, the use of Nile resources has been a long-standing source of tension, often overshadowing opportunities for cooperation and mutual benefit.

But as the demand for energy, water, and food in Africa is steadily increasing, the study, led by The University of Manchester in collaboration with regional organisations, offers a glimmer of hope at a resolution.

The research, published today in the journal Nature Water, moves away from traditional water-centric agreements, and presents a detailed simulation of the combined energy-water system to reveal how different scenarios of international energy trades could help alleviate the Nile water conflict.

First author Dr Mikiyas Etichia from The University of Manchester, said: “Traditionally, water disputes in transboundary river basins like the Nile have been approached through a water-centric viewpoint. However, sharing benefits of water resources, such as hydro-generated electricity, crops and fisheries can result in a win-win situation.”

Co-author Dr Mohammed Basheer, Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, added: “In the Nile Basin, energy-river basin benefit-sharing projects have been implemented in the past at a small scale, but detailed tools like the one presented in the paper can help create actionable large-scale proposals.”

At the heart of the dispute lies the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) - a large dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia constructed to improve Ethiopia's electricity access and to export electricity to neighbouring countries. The project sparked tensions between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt over water rights and access.

The simulator, designed by the scientists using open-source technology, covers 13 East African countries, including those within the Nile Basin, to model potential energy trade agreements between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt.

By increasing electricity trade, countries can simultaneously address water deficits, boost hydropower generation, reduce energy curtailment, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Corresponding author Professor Julien Harou from The University of Manchester, said: “The energy trades tested in this study provide the countries a range of solutions that are likely in their national interest.

“The study highlights the value of detailed multisector simulation to unpick the complex interdependencies of large multi-country resource systems. Implementation of the arrangements proposed here would need to be further assessed from governance and legal perspectives to become viable proposals. If successful, they could contribute to sustainable resource management and regional stability.

“We are hopeful the new analytical tools or their results will be taken up by the negotiating parties.”

-ends-

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JOURNAL

Nature Water

DOI

10.1038/s44221-024-00222-9 

ARTICLE TITLE

Energy trade tempers Nile water conflict

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Apr-2024

 

Homelessness a major issue for many patients in the emergency department

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

Housing insecurity is an issue for 1 in 20 patients who go to emergency departments at major medical centers in the Southeast, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) study published in JAMA Network Open.

These patients were more likely to present with a chief complaint of suicide, to be uninsured, and to have multiple visits during the study period from Jan. 5 to May 16, 2023. 

“This points to the importance of prioritizing mental health care and homeless health teams in hospital settings,” said lead author Madeleine Ball, a class of 2024 student in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and 2023-2024 Research Committee Lead for VUMC’s Homeless Health Service. 

“Directing resources toward patients who come to the emergency department regularly could have significant impact for patients. Our study emphasizes the utility of screening for homelessness in all acute care centers to best tailor and optimize care for this susceptible patient population.”

 uthors examined a total of 23,795 emergency department visits, using the Veterans Health Administration’s Homelessness Screening Clinical Reminder to screen for homelessness. 

Information from the questionnaire was combined with demographics, method of arrival, diagnoses, acuity, timing of presentation, disposition, and insurance status.

A total of 5% (1,185) screened positive for housing insecurity.

Unstable housing and homelessness can exacerbate adverse health outcomes, leading to increased risk of chronic disease, injury, and disability, the authors said, but emergency departments currently do not have a universal method to identify those at risk of, or currently experiencing, homelessness.

“Now that our team has made screening for housing insecurity common practice in the VUMC ED, we have several research questions to explore,” Ball said. 

“We plan to present a qualitative analysis of the implementation of this new screening process with a goal of answering a wide variety of research questions to optimize care for this patient population.”

Senior author Jennifer Hess, MD, assistant professor of Emergency Medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine at VUMC, said she hopes the analysis provides a call for other institutions to introduce screening and create tailored care plans for patients experiencing housing insecurity

“This project contributed a vital first step in advancing health equity by identifying who may benefit from resources and additional assistance,” Hess said. 

“We are grateful for the diverse, multidisciplinary team that allowed this project to happen and look forward to where it may lead. As homelessness and housing insecurity continue to rise throughout the country, we need to make it a priority to improve care for this susceptible and often overlooked patient population.”

JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

ARTICLE TITLE

Characteristics and Healthcare Utilization of Patients with Housing Insecurity in the Emergency Department

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Apr-2024

 

Undocumented Latinx patients got COVID-19 vaccine at same rate as US citizens

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - LOS ANGELES HEALTH SCIENCES

For undocumented Latinx patients who sought care in the emergency room during the pandemic, the reported rate of having received the COVID-19 vaccine was found to be the same as U.S. citizens, a new UCLA Health study found. These findings surprised researchers, given that COVID-19 disproportionately affected the Latinx community in infections, hospitalizations, and death.

Dr. Jesus R. Torres, lead study author and emergency medicine physician at UCLA Health, aimed to study undocumented people because they tend not to be identified in existing research even though they comprise approximately 3% of the population in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center. Torres noted that the emergency room is one of the very few places where undocumented immigrants can get access to medical care.

From September 2, 2021, to March 31, 2022, the researchers surveyed 306 emergency room patients about their citizenship status and whether they received a COVID-19 vaccine or not. The group was comprised of adult men, women, and Latinx, Black, White, and other races.

The researchers found that undocumented Latinx patients were more likely to have a prior COVID-19 infection. They also found that the group had the same rate of vaccine uptake compared to other groups in the study.

“We would have expected Latinx patients to have lower rates of vaccination, considering higher rates of infection, hospitalizations, and death,” Torres said.

Torres said that from a public health perspective, it’s imperative to identify disadvantaged groups for research, policy advising, resource allocation, and targeted vaccine uptake campaigns.

Article: COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in the Undocumented Latinx Population Presenting to the Emergency Department JAMA Network Open. 2024;7(4):e248578. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.8578

JOURNAL

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.8578 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in Undocumented Latinx Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

26-Apr-2024

 

April research news from the Ecological Society of America

ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

 

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A RECENT STUDY PUBLISHED IN FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT CALLS FOR COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT OF ALTERED LANDSCAPES LEFT BEHIND AFTER WILDFIRE.

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CREDIT: KT DAVIS

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) presents a roundup of four research articles recently published across its six esteemed journals. Widely recognized for fostering innovation and advancing ecological knowledge, ESA’s journals consistently feature illuminating and impactful studies. This compilation of papers explores fire hazards in Mediterranean cork oak woodlands, putting theory to work predicting where cold-blooded organisms will occur under climate change, barriers to going high-tech in rangeland management and more, showcasing the Society’s commitment to promoting cutting-edge research that furthers our understanding of the natural world.

 

From Ecological Applications:

Browsers put a cork in Mediterranean woodland fire risk
Author contact: Miguel N. Bugalho (migbugalho@isa.ulisboa.pt)  

Mediterranean oak woodlands are the original home of the world’s cork trees, but they are increasingly threatened by shrub encroachment and intense fires. At the same time, deer numbers have been on the rise throughout the Iberian Peninsula primarily due to land abandonment and an absence of predators. Focusing on the ways in which interactions among drought, shrub encroachment and deer impact Portuguese woodlands, the authors found that deer can reduce the risk of fire in these unique ecosystems. By browsing on encroaching shrubs, deer kept shrub expansion in check, which reduced fuel loads and lessened fire hazards. After 18 years, woodland plots that were fenced to keep deer out had denser thickets of shrubs—more fuel for fire—than neighboring unfenced plots where deer were free to browse. Based on these results, the authors conclude that control of understory vegetation by deer and other browsers can play an important role in shielding Mediterranean woodlands from intensifying fire conditions as the world warms. 

Read the article: Ungulates mitigate the effects of drought and shrub encroachment on the fire hazard of Mediterranean oak woodlands

 

From Ecology:

Novel framework predicts where species will occur under climate change
Author contact: Margaret W. Simon (mwsimon@ku.edu)

Move over, birds and mammals—most animals on Earth, including nearly all pests and pathogens, are cold-blooded and unable to internally regulate their body temperature. Climate change is expected to directly impact where these species live, how many there are, and which new pests or diseases invade. To predict these impacts, this study examines how temperature affects different traits of cold-blooded animals and how these traits, in turn, influence their populations. By creating a model that considers how traits like growth rate and reproduction respond to temperature changes, the research team can predict where species can survive as temperatures shift. The model is general enough to work for many types of cold-blooded animals, from insects to fish to reptiles, and can even apply to conditions other than temperature, like humidity or salinity. By understanding these temperature effects, we can better anticipate how climate change will affect ecosystems, including which species might thrive or struggle in new conditions.

Read the article: Predicting the fundamental thermal niche of ectotherms

 

From Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment:

Wider use of technology would aid rangeland management
Author contact: Brandon T. Bestelmeyer (brandon.bestelmeyer@usda.gov)

With accelerating development of new digital tools like monitoring databases, online maps, virtual fencing, mobile applications and more, land management is going high-tech—or, at least, it has the potential to do so. For managers of the world’s rangelands, numerous web-based instruments have been introduced in recent years that could significantly improve, if not revolutionize, development of effective management and response strategies. But what good are these marvels of the modern age if rangeland managers can’t access, are unfamiliar with or have little confidence in such tools? The authors of this article contend that social networks of managers, scientists and technology experts will be crucial if rangeland management is to keep pace with technological innovation and adapt to a changing world.  

Read the article: Fulfilling the promise of digital tools to build rangeland resilience

 

Tips for managing landscapes reshaped by wildfire
Author contact: Kimberley T. Davis (kimberley.davis@usda.gov)

Natural landscapes have historically been shaped by wildfire, but changing climate conditions are driving rapid shifts in how often and how intensely fires burn. These changing fire regimes can trigger large-scale changes in many ecosystems. Post-fire transitions from forest to scrubland, or from native sagebrush to invasive grasslands, have been well documented throughout the western U.S. However, the authors of this study argue that too little of this research has focused on whether conventional management approaches can meet the complex challenges posed by these altered ecosystems. They advocate for greater collaboration among managers, scientists and Indigenous communities, along with additional pre- and post-fire research, expanded monitoring and greater exchange of information among stakeholders.

Read the article: Centering sociological connections to collaboratively manage post-fire vegetation shifts

 

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The Ecological Society of America, founded in 1915, is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 8,000 member Society publishes six journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach and education initiatives. The Society’s Annual Meeting attracts 4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at https://www.esa.org

Follow ESA on social media:
Twitter/X – @esa_org
Instagram – @ecologicalsociety
Facebook – @esa.org

 

Antimicrobial resistance crisis: “Antibiotics are not magic bullets”

Dr James Gill, a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Warwick and a practising GP, will attend a pivotal event hosted at the House of Lords on Monday (April 29) focused on combating the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK

Dr James Gill, a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Warwick and a practising GP, will attend a pivotal event hosted at the House of Lords on Monday (April 29) focused on combating the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Antimicrobial resistance poses a formidable threat to communities worldwide, with projections indicating that by 2050, over 10 million deaths annually could be attributed to AMR, surpassing even the toll of cancer. In the face of this escalating emergency, effective communication is paramount. Health professionals and organisations play a crucial role in disseminating accurate, accessible information to raise awareness about critical health issues such as AMR.

Reflecting on the significance of the event, Dr James Gill said, "Antibiotics have been perceived as magic bullets, capable of swiftly addressing various ailments. However, their indiscriminate use poses significant risks, both in terms of adverse effects and the development of resistance."

Partnering with The Fleming Initiative, YouTube Health will collaborate to amplify awareness of this pressing global concern across social media platforms. Under the patronage of HRH Prince William and the leadership of Lord Ara Darzi, The Fleming Initiative represents a transformative alliance of policymakers, scientists, and behavioural change experts committed to combating AMR.

Dr Gill continued, "A fundamental shift in patient perception is imperative. Rather than viewing antibiotics as a panacea, patients must understand the potential harm associated with their misuse. Empowering patients to question the necessity of antibiotics and fostering a dialogue on appropriate usage is paramount in addressing the challenge of AMR."

While physicians are well-informed, there exists a pressing necessity to re-educate patients on the nuanced impact of antibiotics. Rather than viewing these medications as mere symptom alleviators, patients must understand the potential long-term harm, including disruptions to their gut microbiome and the development of antibiotic resistance. Dr Gill underscores the importance of fostering a shift in patient mindset, wherein individuals actively engage in discussions with their doctors, questioning the necessity of antibiotic prescriptions and considering alternative approaches.

By enhancing patient awareness, Dr Gill envisions a transformative outcome wherein patients adopt a more discerning approach towards antibiotic use, ultimately contributing to the collective effort in combating antimicrobial resistance.Dr James Gill, a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Warwick and a practising GP, will attend a pivotal event hosted at the House of Lords on Monday (April 29) focused on combating the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Antimicrobial resistance poses a formidable threat to communities worldwide, with projections indicating that by 2050, over 10 million deaths annually could be attributed to AMR, surpassing even the toll of cancer. In the face of this escalating emergency, effective communication is paramount. Health professionals and organisations play a crucial role in disseminating accurate, accessible information to raise awareness about critical health issues such as AMR.

Reflecting on the significance of the event, Dr James Gill said, "Antibiotics have been perceived as magic bullets, capable of swiftly addressing various ailments. However, their indiscriminate use poses significant risks, both in terms of adverse effects and the development of resistance."

Partnering with The Fleming Initiative, YouTube Health will collaborate to amplify awareness of this pressing global concern across social media platforms. Under the patronage of HRH Prince William and the leadership of Lord Ara Darzi, The Fleming Initiative represents a transformative alliance of policymakers, scientists, and behavioural change experts committed to combating AMR.

Dr Gill continued, "A fundamental shift in patient perception is imperative. Rather than viewing antibiotics as a panacea, patients must understand the potential harm associated with their misuse. Empowering patients to question the necessity of antibiotics and fostering a dialogue on appropriate usage is paramount in addressing the challenge of AMR."

While physicians are well-informed, there exists a pressing necessity to re-educate patients on the nuanced impact of antibiotics. Rather than viewing these medications as mere symptom alleviators, patients must understand the potential long-term harm, including disruptions to their gut microbiome and the development of antibiotic resistance. Dr Gill underscores the importance of fostering a shift in patient mindset, wherein individuals actively engage in discussions with their doctors, questioning the necessity of antibiotic prescriptions and considering alternative approaches.

By enhancing patient awareness, Dr Gill envisions a transformative outcome wherein patients adopt a more discerning approach towards antibiotic use, ultimately contributing to the collective effort in combating antimicrobial resistance.