Exposed riverine sediments are unique riparian environments that exhibit high biodiversity and harbor many specialist species. Ground beetles are the most well studied inhabitants within these ...environments where they are often sampled using pitfall traps. In order to develop conservation measures for species occupying these habitats a logical first step is to refine sampling methods so that proper biodiversity assessments can be carried out. To that end, the effectiveness of two pitfall trap designs (standard trap vs. barrier trap) was evaluated. Over three sampling periods we collected 5,186 individuals represented by 43 species. Barrier traps proved to be superior, yielding significantly greater numbers of individuals (n = 3,456 vs. 1,730) than standard traps. Additionally, we collected more ground beetle species (37 vs. 30) in barrier traps than in standard pitfall traps. This study supports the rationale for deployment of more than one trap design to avoid deficiencies exhibited by a single type.
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Abstract
Background. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been found to be effective for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. The treatment of discogenic pain with PRP is under investigation.
...Objective. To assess changes in pain and function in patients with discogenic low back pain after an intradiscal injection of PRP.
Study Design. Prospective trial.
Methods. Patients were diagnosed with discogenic low back pain by clinical means, imaging, and exclusion of other structures. Provocation discography was used in a minority of the patients. Patients underwent a single treatment of intradiscal injection of PRP at one or multiple levels.
Main Outcome Measures. Patients were considered a categorical success if they achieved at least 50% improvement in the visual analog score and 30% decrease in the Oswestry Disability Index at 1, 2, and 6 months post-treatment.
Results. 22 patients underwent intradiscal PRP. Nine patients underwent a single level injection, ten at 2 levels, two at 3 levels, and one at 5 levels. Categorical success rates were as follows: 1 month: 3/22 = 14% (95% CI 0% to 28%), 2 months: 7/22 = 32% (95% CI 12% to 51%), 6 months: 9/19 = 47% (95% CI 25% to 70%).
Conclusion. This trial demonstrates encouraging preliminary 6 month findings, using strict categorical success criteria, for intradiscal PRP as a treatment for presumed discogenic low back pain. Randomized placebo controlled trials are needed to further evaluate the efficacy of this treatment.
Whereas the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States historically experienced fire primarily during the mid‐summer lightning season, managers today typically apply prescribed fire during the ...late winter or early spring months. The ecological implications of this discrepancy remain poorly understood, especially with regard to pollinators and their interactions with flowers. In a replicated field experiment, we compared the abundance and richness of bees and bee–flower interactions among pine savanna plots in Florida that were burned either during the winter, spring, summer, or fall. We netted 92 bee species from 77 species of flowers, representing 435 unique bee–flower interactions in total. When analyzing the results from each month separately, we detected significant short‐term reductions in the number of bees and bee–flower interactions following fires regardless of season. Although bee abundance and richness did not differ over the entire season, bee–flower interaction richness was significantly higher overall in spring and summer plots than in fall plots and the composition of both bees and bee–flower interactions differed significantly among treatments. Several bee–flower interactions were significantly associated with one or more of the treatments. Some of these associations could be attributed to differences in flowering phenology among treatments. Taken together, our findings suggest that season of fire has modest but potentially important implications for interactions between bees and flowers in southeastern pine ecosystems. Because most flowering plants within our study region are pollinated by a variety of bees and other insects, and most bees endemic to the region are polylectic, season of fire may not be very important to either group overall. However, the timing of fire may be more important to particular species including certain flower specialists and fire‐sensitive taxa such as butterflies. Future research targeting such species would be of interest.
Season of fire (winter, spring, summer, or fall) did not affect the total richness or abundance of bees over the entire sampling period. However, the richness of bee–flower interactions was significantly higher in spring and summer plots than in fall plots and there were compositional differences among treatments. We conclude that season of fire has modest but potentially important implications for bees and their interactions with flowers in southeastern US pine savannas.
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Although Eucalyptus is widely planted outside its native range for timber and pulp production, the effects of these exotic plantations on biodiversity relative to native semi-natural forests or ...plantations of native tree species remain incompletely understood. Here, we compare the diversity of saproxylic beetles (Coleoptera) and true bugs (Hemiptera) between non-native Eucalyptus benthamii Maiden and Cambage (Camden white gum) and native Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine) stands on the upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina, U.S.A. We sampled insects emerging from logs of both species placed in both stand types after 1, 2, 6, and 12 months in the field. Beetle and true bug richness and diversity were both significantly lower from eucalypt than from pine wood. Moreover, the two communities were compositionally distinct. Whereas pine supported many species of host-specific phloeoxylophagous beetles, most species collected from eucalypts were mycophagous or predatory taxa capable of utilizing a wide range of hosts. Species richness did not differ between logs placed in eucalypt vs. pine stands but Shannon's diversity was significantly higher in the eucalypt stands, possibly due to greater sun exposure in the latter. Contrary to a previous study, we found no support for the idea that eucalypt litter reduces the diversity of saproxylic insects. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that non-native plantations are less favorable to biodiversity than those consisting of native tree species.
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Both conservative and surgical treatment options for tendinopathies often have less than ideal outcomes. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has become an increasingly popular treatment option with only ...limited evidence for effectiveness.
A retrospective review was performed of all consecutive patients undergoing PRP for hip tendinopathies during a three-year period in a single outpatient spine and musculoskeletal clinic. Each procedure was performed under ultrasound guidance with a concurrent needle tenotomy. Categorical data analysis was performed to determine percent of patients achieving at least 30 %, 50 %, and 80 % relief of pain as measured by NRS.
A total of 48 patients were included with an average follow period of 14 weeks. Seventy-seven percent of patient achieved at least 30 % improvement in pain by NRS (95 % CI: 63%–88 %), 65 % achieved at least 50 % improvement in pain (95 % CI: 49%–78 %), and 27 % achieved at least 80 % pain improvement (95 % CI: 15%–42 %).
This retrospective study demonstrates relatively good outcomes for this novel treatment. The results of this single practice audit are similar to previously published retrospective and prospective trials.
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Although the fire-maintained pine savannas of the southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain are recognized for their plant diversity, pollinators associated with these ecosystems remain comparatively ...understudied. Here we present the results from a season-long effort to record bee-flower interactions at a single site in Florida. We collected 93 bee species (out of an estimated 117) from 79 flower species, with a total of 446 unique interactions. Bee richness and the number of interactions exhibited a bimodal pattern, dipping in mid-summer before an estimated peak in October. The most important floral resources changed throughout the season as did the composition of bees, with the spring and fall periods being particularly distinct. We found that pollen specialists (that collect pollen from a single family of plants) and pollen generalists accounted for a similar proportion of bee species over the entire season. However, pollen generalists outnumbered pollen specialists in the spring and summer before reversing in the fall. Pollen specialists visited significantly fewer plant species and families than pollen generalists and many were collected exclusively from their host family. This was particularly the case for aster specialists active only during the fall. We estimate that between 18.3-25.8% of the local bee fauna depends directly on the overstory trees for nesting habitat including dead wood and resin. Two management recommendations can be made based on these results. First, because fall is the period of peak floral abundance and bee richness, including many late-season aster specialists, it is probably the least favorable time for prescribed fire. Second, considering that a significant proportion of native bees depend on dead wood for nesting, it is important to retain standing dead trees and fallen wood whenever possible.
Invasive non-native woody shrubs pose a major threat to forested ecosystems in many parts of the world and there is an urgent need for research on the restoration and recovery of these areas. We ...studied patterns of tree growth and regeneration 13 years after the experimental eradication (by chainsaw or mulching machine followed by herbicide treatments) of
Ligustrum sinense
Lour. (Chinese privet) from riparian forests in Georgia, United States. We also followed the recovery of bee and butterfly populations using sites with no history of privet invasion as a reference. By the end of the study, the basal area of restored plots was 24% greater, on average, than still-invaded control plots. Because tree growth rates did not differ among treatments, this increase is attributable to the 60% increase in the number of regenerating native stems (dominated by
Acer negundo
L.) following privet removal. The benefits of privet removal on pollinators were immediate and long-lasting with the richness and abundance of bees and butterflies being consistently higher in restored plots than in control plots. The diversity, abundance, and composition of bees in restored and reference (i.e., never invaded) plots were comparable by the end of the study. This was less true for butterflies, however, possibly due to the legacy effects of privet invasion on plant communities. Our results demonstrate the long-term benefits of removing privet on forest regeneration and pollinator communities. Indeed, without such efforts, it is probable that forest cover will gradually thin and ultimately disappear from privet-invaded areas as overstory trees die without replacement.
Despite growing concerns about pollinator declines,1,2,3,4 evidence that this is a widespread problem affecting entire communities remains limited.5 There is a particular shortage of pollinator time ...series from relatively undisturbed natural habitats, such as forests, which are generally thought to provide refuge to biodiversity from anthropogenic stressors.6 Here, we present the results from standardized pollinator sampling over 15 years (2007–2022) at three relatively undisturbed forested locations in the southeastern United States. We observed significant declines in the richness (39%) and abundance (62.5%) of bees as well as the abundance of butterflies (57.6%) over this time period. Unexpectedly, we detected much stronger declines in the richness and abundance of above-ground-nesting bees (81.1% and 85.3%, respectively) compared with below-ground-nesting bees. Even after dropping the first or last year of sampling, which happened to yield the greatest and lowest numbers of pollinators, respectively, we still detected many of the same negative trends. Our results suggest that sharp declines in pollinators may not be limited to areas experiencing direct anthropogenic disturbances. Possible drivers in our system include increasing mean annual minimum temperatures near our study sites as well as an invasive wood-nesting ant that has become increasingly widespread and abundant in the region over the course of this study.
•Declines in pollinators were detected over 15 years in southeastern US forests•Bees that nest above ground exhibited stronger declines than ground-nesting taxa•Possible causes include increasing minimum temperatures and an invasive ant
Ulyshen and Horn report significant declines of bees and butterflies over a 15-year period in southeastern US forests. Their findings suggest that pollinator declines may be occurring even in relatively undisturbed habitats and that above-ground-nesting bees may be experiencing stronger declines than soil-nesting species.
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The bean plataspid, Megacopta cribraria (F.), recently was discovered in the United States feeding on kudzu, Pueraria montana Lour. (Merr.) variety lobata (Willd.), an economically important invasive ...vine. We studied its biology on kudzu and its impact on kudzu growth. We also tested its ability to use other common forest legumes for oviposition and development. Flight intercept traps operated from 17 May 2010 to 31 May 2011 in a kudzu field near Athens, GA showed three peaks of adult flight activity suggesting there are two generations per year on kudzu. Vine samples examined for eggs from April 2010 to April 2011 and June to October 2011 showed two periods of oviposition activity in 2010, which coincided with the peaks in adult activity. In 2011, the second period of oviposition began on or before 24 June and then egg abundance declined gradually thereafter until late August when we recovered <2 eggs/0.5 m of vine. Samples of the five nymphal instars and adults on vines did not show similar trends in abundance. Adults did not lay eggs on the various legume species tested in 2010 in a no-choice test possibly because the cages were too small. In the 2011 field host range experiments conducted in a kudzu field by using 12 legume species, M. cribraria preferentially oviposited on kudzu over soybean, Glycine max Merrill, but they still laid 320 eggs per plant on soybean. Lespedeza hirta (L.) Hornem. and Lespedeza cuneata (Dum. Cours.) G. Don had 122.2 and 108.4 eggs per plant, respectively. Kudzu and soybean were the only species M. cribraria completed development on. Plots protected from M. cribraria feeding by biweekly insecticide applications had 32.8% more kudzu biomass than unprotected plots. Our results show that M. cribraria has a significant impact on kudzu growth and could help suppress this pest weed.
Although necromass decay rates are limited by the slowest portions to decompose, most decomposition studies examine only the earliest stage of decay. As such, these studies run the risk of yielding ...misleading results regarding the relative contributions of different decomposers. For example, the contributions of macroinvertebrates to wood decomposition remain mostly unknown beyond the first 50% of mass lost, despite drastic changes in substrate conditions over time. We sought to clarify how the macroinvertebrate contribution to decay changes over the course of wood decomposition in the Southeastern United States—a region with a long history of wood decomposition research. To this end, we (1) compiled data from published studies comparing wood decay with and without macroinvertebrates; and (2) conducted a field study assessing wood mass loss, with and without macroinvertebrate access, at three sites across the region over four years. With these combined data, we analyzed macroinvertebrate contribution as decay progressed, revealing a quadratic relationship, wherein macroinvertebrate contribution increased early in decomposition and then began to decline as decay progressed. Strong local site effects, particularly the abundance and activity of termites, determine the time required for wood to reach this point of mass loss.
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