The wild boar Sus scrofa is an omnivore with one of the largest geographical ranges of all species. However, no synthesis exists on its diet, feeding behaviour and factors affecting food selection in ...its native and introduced ranges. A literature review and a test of effect size revealed significant differences in wild boar diet composition in native and introduced ranges. Wild boar diet is dominated by plant material (∼90%) in both ranges, but animal matter and fungi are consumed in greater proportions in the introduced range than in the native range. Food items frequently include agricultural crops (especially in the native range) and endangered animal species (especially in the introduced range). Energy requirements, food availability, and seasonal and geographical variations are major factors influencing food selection by wild boar. These factors may also interact with human activities (e.g. agricultural crops, supplementary feeding) to influence diet composition further. Dietary studies should be more rigorous and consistent across ranges to allow better comparisons. A detailed study of diet in combination with seasonal patterns of habitat use could provide key information such as target species and susceptible habitats on which management efforts should focus.
Wild boar are now present on all continents except Antarctica and can greatly affect community structure and ecosystem function. Their destructive feeding habits, primarily rooting disturbance, can ...reduce plant cover, diversity, and regeneration. Furthermore, predation and habitat destruction by boar can greatly affect animal communities. Effects of wild boar on fungi and aquatic communities are scarcely studied, and soil properties and processes seem more resistant to disturbance. Wild boar also affect humans’ economy as they cause crop damage and transmit diseases to livestock and wildlife. In this review, we found that most of the published literature examines boar effects in their introduced range and little is available from the native distribution. Because most of the research describes direct effects of wild boar on plant communities and predation on some animal communities, less is known about indirect effects on ecosystem function. Finally, predictive research and information on ecosystem recovery after wild boar removal are scarce. We identified research gaps and urge the need to lower wild boar densities. Identifying commonalities among wild boar impacts on native ecosystems across its introduced range will help in the design of management strategies.
Planar laser-plasma interaction (LPI) experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) have allowed access for the first time to regimes of electron density scale length (∼500 to 700 μm), ...electron temperature (∼3 to 5 keV), and laser intensity (6 to 16×10^{14} W/cm^{2}) that are relevant to direct-drive inertial confinement fusion ignition. Unlike in shorter-scale-length plasmas on OMEGA, scattered-light data on the NIF show that the near-quarter-critical LPI physics is dominated by stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) rather than by two-plasmon decay (TPD). This difference in regime is explained based on absolute SRS and TPD threshold considerations. SRS sidescatter tangential to density contours and other SRS mechanisms are observed. The fraction of laser energy converted to hot electrons is ∼0.7% to 2.9%, consistent with observed levels of SRS. The intensity threshold for hot-electron production is assessed, and the use of a Si ablator slightly increases this threshold from ∼4×10^{14} to ∼6×10^{14} W/cm^{2}. These results have significant implications for mitigation of LPI hot-electron preheat in direct-drive ignition designs.
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified numerous loci that influence risk for psychiatric diseases. Genetically engineered mice are often used to characterize genes implicated by ...GWASs. These studies are based on the assumption that observed genotype-phenotype relationships will generalize to humans, implying that the results would at least generalize to other inbred mouse strains. Given current concerns about reproducibility, we sought to directly test this assumption. We produced F1 crosses between male C57BL/6J mice heterozygous for null alleles of Cacna1c and Tcf7l2 and wild-type females from 30 inbred laboratory strains. We found extremely strong interactions with genetic background that sometimes supported diametrically opposing conclusions. These results do not negate the invaluable contributions of mouse genetics to biomedical science, but they do show that genotype-phenotype relationships cannot be reliably inferred by studying a single genetic background, and thus constitute a major challenge to the status quo.
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•Cacna1c and Tcf7l2 null allele effects were strongly influenced by genetic background•Some interactions with genetic background supported opposite conclusions•Genetic background modulated mutant phenotypes more strongly than sex•These results do not negate the contributions of mutant mice to biomedical research
Sittig et al. demonstrate low generalizability of mouse null allele phenotypes across a panel of F1 genetic backgrounds, which suggests that the use of single strains is a barrier to robust characterization of genotype-phenotype relationships.
The atmosphere plays a fundamental role in the transport of microbes across the planet but it is often neglected as a microbial habitat. Although the ocean represents two thirds of the Earth's ...surface, there is little information on the atmospheric microbial load over the open ocean. Here we provide a global estimate of microbial loads and air-sea exchanges over the tropical and subtropical oceans based on the data collected along the Malaspina 2010 Circumnavigation Expedition. Total loads of airborne prokaryotes and eukaryotes were estimated at 2.2 × 10
and 2.1 × 10
cells, respectively. Overall 33-68% of these microorganisms could be traced to a marine origin, being transported thousands of kilometres before re-entering the ocean. Moreover, our results show a substantial load of terrestrial microbes transported over the oceans, with abundances declining exponentially with distance from land and indicate that islands may act as stepping stones facilitating the transoceanic transport of terrestrial microbes.The extent to which the ocean acts as a sink and source of airborne particles to the atmosphere is unresolved. Here, the authors report high microbial loads over the tropical Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and propose islands as stepping stones for the transoceanic transport of terrestrial microbes..
Invasive species are a pervasive driver of global change with increasing media coverage. Media coverage and framing can influence both invasive species management and policies, as well as shed light ...on research needs. Using the wild boar (Sus scrofa) invasion in Argentina as a case study, we conducted a content analysis of media coverage and scientific articles. Specifically, we compared news and scientific articles based on their emphasis: ecological, economic, and health impacts and the overall perception portrayed in the news: "positive" when the articles emphasized benefits from wild boar and "negative" when focused on damage and/or loss. A literature search using Google news, Web of Science, Scielo, and Google Scholar yielded a total of 194 news articles and 37 research papers on wild boar in Argentina. More than half of the news articles focused on economic impacts of wild boar (56%) such as sport hunting, illegal hunting, and road accidents; while 27% focused on ecological impacts, and 10% on health impacts. In contrast, the majority of the scientific articles (65%) focused on ecological impacts of wild boar on native species and ecosystems; while 21% were related to health impacts and only 8.3% of scientific articles were related to economic impacts. This mismatch between media and science reveals a disconnection between social and scientific interests in wild boar and their management in Argentina, and it provides insights to research needs and prevention of management conflicts. Additionally, we found that 66.8% of news articles focused on "negative" aspects of wild boar, while 33.2% of news articles portrayed "positive" perceptions. This finding is very important because the management of invasive species such as wild boar usually requires lethal techniques, and the success of the programs depend on favorable social and political support. Good science communication is therefore key to helping scientists and managers perform more effective management actions.
The fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique is used today by companies engaged in the fabrication of traffic signs for the manufacture of light-emitting diode LED spotlights. In this sector, the ...surface properties of the elements used (surface finish, hydrophobic features) are decisive because surfaces that retain little dirt and favor self-cleaning behavior are needed. A design of experiments (L27) with five factors and three levels has been carried out. The factors studied were: Layer height (LH), print temperature (T), print speed (PS), print acceleration (PA), and flow rate (F). Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) specimens of 25.0 × 25.0 × 2.4 mm have been printed and, in each of them, the surface roughness (
,
), sliding angle (SA
, SA
), and contact angle (CA
, CA
) in both perpendicular directions have been measured. Taguchi and ANOVA analysis shows that the most influential variables in this case are printing acceleration for
(
-value = 0.052) and for SA
(
-value = 0.051) and flow rate for
(
-value = 0.001) and for SA
(
-value = 0.012). Although the ANOVA results for the contact angle are not significant, specimen 8 (PA = 1500 mm/s
and flow rate F = 110%) and specimen 10 (PA =1500 mm/s
and F = 100%) have reached contact angle values above or near the limit value for hydrophobia, respectively.
First measurements of the in-flight shape of imploding inertial confinement fusion (ICF) capsules at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) were obtained by using two-dimensional x-ray radiography. The ...sequence of area-backlit, time-gated pinhole images is analyzed for implosion velocity, low-mode shape and density asymmetries, and the absolute offset and center-of-mass velocity of the capsule shell. The in-flight shell is often observed to be asymmetric even when the concomitant core self-emission is round. A ∼ 15 μm shell asymmetry amplitude of the Y(40) spherical harmonic mode was observed for standard NIF ICF hohlraums at a shell radius of ∼ 200 μm (capsule at ∼ 5× radial compression). This asymmetry is mitigated by a ∼ 10% increase in the hohlraum length.
Recent studies suggest that previous estimates of mesopelagic biomasses are severely biased, with the new, higher estimates underlining the need to unveil behaviourally mediated coupling between ...shallow and deep ocean habitats. We analysed vertical distribution and diel vertical migration (DVM) of mesopelagic acoustic scattering layers (SLs) recorded at 38 kHz across oceanographic regimes encountered during the circumglobal Malaspina expedition. Mesopelagic SLs were observed in all areas covered, but vertical distributions and DVM patterns varied markedly. The distribution of mesopelagic backscatter was deepest in the southern Indian Ocean (weighted mean daytime depth: WMD 590 m) and shallowest at the oxygen minimum zone in the eastern Pacific (WMD 350 m). DVM was evident in all areas covered, on average ~50% of mesopelagic backscatter made daily excursions from mesopelagic depths to shallow waters. There were marked differences in migrating proportions between the regions, ranging from ~20% in the Indian Ocean to ~90% in the Eastern Pacific. Overall the data suggest strong spatial gradients in mesopelagic DVM patterns, with implied ecological and biogeochemical consequences. Our results suggest that parts of this spatial variability can be explained by horizontal patterns in physical-chemical properties of water masses, such as oxygen, temperature and turbidity.
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