Selection of areas for restoration should be based on cost‐effectiveness analysis to attain the maximum benefit with a limited budget and overcome the traditional ad hoc allocation of funds for ...restoration projects. Restoration projects need to be planned on the basis of ecological knowledge and economic and social constraints. We devised a novel approach for selecting cost‐effective areas for restoration on the basis of biodiversity and potential provision of 3 ecosystem services: carbon storage, water depuration, and coastal protection. We used Marxan, a spatial prioritization tool, to balance the provision of ecosystem services against the cost of restoration. We tested this approach in a mangrove ecosystem in the Caribbean. Our approach efficiently selected restoration areas that at low cost were compatible with biodiversity targets and that maximized the provision of one or more ecosystem services. Choosing areas for restoration of mangroves on the basis carbon storage potential, largely guaranteed the restoration of biodiversity and other ecosystem services.
1. Freshwater conservation has received less attention than its terrestrial or marine counterparts. Given the accelerated rate of change and intensive human use that freshwater ecosystems are ...submitted to, it is urgent to focus more attention on fresh waters. Existing conservation planning tools - such as Marxan - need to be modified to account for the special nature of these systems. Connectivity plays a key role in freshwater ecosystems. Threats are mediated along river corridors, and the condition of the entire catchment influences river biodiversity downstream. This needs to be considered in conservation planning. 2. The probabilities of occurrence of nine native freshwater fish species in a Mediterranean river basin, obtained from Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines‐ Generalized Linear Model (MARS‐GLM) models, were used as features to develop spatial conservation priorities. The priorities accounted for complementarity and spatial design issues. 3. To deal with the connected nature of rivers, we modified Marxan's boundary length penalty, avoiding the selection of isolated planning units and forcing the inclusion of closer upstream areas. We introduced ‘virtual boundaries' between non‐headwater stream segments and added distance‐weighted penalties to the overall connectivity cost (CP) when stream segments upstream of the selected planning units are not selected. 4. This approach to prioritising connectivity is concordant with ecological theory, as it considers the natural and roughly exponential decay of upstream influences with distance. It accounts for the natural capacity of rivers to mitigate impacts when designing reserves. When connectivity was not emphasised, Marxan prioritised natural corridors for longitudinal movements. In contrast, whole sub‐basins were prioritised when connectivity was emphasised. Changing the relative emphasis on connectivity substantially changed the spatial prioritisation; our conservation investment could move from one basin to another. 5. Our novel approach to dealing with directional connectivity enables managers of freshwater systems to set ecologically meaningful spatial conservation priorities.
The main purpose of this study was to evaluate running kinematic characteristics and foot strike patterns (FSP) during early and late stages of actual and common high-intensity intermittent training ...(HIIT): 5 × 2000 m with 120-s recovery between runs. Thirteen healthy, elite, highly trained male endurance runners participated in this study. They each had a personal record in the half-marathon of 70 ± 2.24 min, and each had a minimum experience of 4 years of training and competition. Heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were monitored during HIIT. High levels of exhaustion were reached by the athletes during HIIT (HRpeak: 174.30 bpm; RPE: 17.23). There was a significant increase of HRpeak and RPE during HIIT; nevertheless, time for each run remained unchanged. A within-protocol paired t-test (first vs. last run) revealed no significant changes (P ≥ 0.05) in kinematics variables and FSP variables during HIIT. There were no substantial changes on kinematics and FSP characteristics in endurance runners after fatigue induced by a HIIT. Only the minimum ankle alignment showed a significant change. The author suggests that these results might be due to both the high athletic level of participants and their experience in HIIT.
Highlights • Gait variability, bilateral coordination, and asymmetry were analyzed in fibromyalgia women. • Gait was characterized by its variability and reflected fibromyalgia's gait coordination. • ...The fibromyalgia group showed more gait asymmetry when walking quickly. • The variability and the bilateral coordination could complement the evaluation of fibromyalgia symptoms.
Highlights • The effect of school trolley load on gait parameters of children was studied. • We used four load conditions: without trolley, 10, 15 and 20% of body weight. • None of the gait ...parameters studied differed significantly between the loads. • Gait was influenced by the use of the trolley independently of the load transported.
The aim of this study was to determine the influence of barefoot running on foot-strike patterns, eversion-inversion, running speed and vertical foot rotation in endurance runners. Eighty healthy ...recreational runners (age = 34.11 ± 12.95 years old, body mass index = 22.56 ± 2.65 kg · m
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2
) performed trials in shod/unshod running conditions on a treadmill at comfortable and competitive self-selected speeds. Data were collected by systematic observation of lateral and back recordings at 240 Hz. McNemar's test indicated significant differences between shod/unshod conditions and foot strike at comfortable and competitive speeds (P < 0.001). Speed was related to vertical foot rotation type for shod (P < 0.01) and unshod conditions (P < 0.05). Significant differences were found between shod/unshod conditions in foot rotation at comfortable running speeds (P < 0.001) and competitive running speeds (P < 0.01). No significant difference was found in inversion or eversion (P ≥ 0.05). In conclusion, the results suggest that running kinematics, in terms of foot-strike patterns and vertical foot rotation, differ between shod/unshod conditions, while the inversion or eversion degree remains unchanged.
The Guadiana River basin's freshwater fish species richness, endemicity and threatened status (92% of native species are threatened) highlight the need for a large-scale study to identify priority ...areas for their conservation. One of the most common problems in conservation planning is the assessment of a site's relative value for the conservation of regional biodiversity. Here we used a two-tiered approach, which integrates an assessment of biodiversity loss and the evaluation of conservation value through site-specific measures. These measures based on the reference condition approach introduce the ability to make objective comparisons throughout the Guadiana River basin, thus avoiding a priori target areas. We identified a set of biodiversity priority areas of special conservation significance--which contain rare taxa as well as intact fish communities--because of their outstanding contribution to the basin's biodiversity. The inclusion of complete sub-basins in these priority areas might guarantee an optimal solution in terms of spatial aggregation and connectivity. However, the high spatial fragmentation to which the Guadiana River basin is submitted due to river regulation highlights the necessity of a systematic approach to evaluate the capability of the identified priority areas to maintain the Guadiana's freshwater fish biodiversity.
On-farm conservation programmes require land managers to pursue both market and non-market objectives. If one can identify objectives that are complementary (co-benefits) and competitive (trade-offs) ...so that co-benefits can be pursued and trade-offs avoided, one may be able to lower the costs to land managers of on-farm conservation programmes.
We used data from farms in northern Australia to identify potential trade-offs and co-benefits between market and non-market objectives. We used Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess the relationship between farm ‘inputs’ (e.g. land, labour, capital) and both market and non-market ‘outputs’ (used interchangeably with ‘outcomes’) (e.g. value of on-farm production, turtle biodiversity). The DEA analysis generated an ‘efficiency score’ for each farm; the best scores were associated with farms that used fewest inputs and had the ‘best’ outcome(s). We then looked for statistically significant relationships between those scores and other variables known to influence outcomes.
After controlling for biophysical factors (e.g. rainfall, soil type), we found little evidence of trade-offs between market and non-market outcomes. We found that farms with many weeds had poor market efficiency scores, suggesting that weed-reduction programmes could generate substantive co-benefits for agriculture and biodiversity. Properties managed by people who preferred a small steady income (over a large uncertain income) had higher non-market efficiency scores, suggesting a link between conservation and attitudes to risk. Our results also suggest that encouraging on-farm agricultural diversification, the adoption of environmentally focused land-management plans, and a generally more positive attitude towards conservation could improve environmental outcomes without compromising market outcomes.
•We compile data on market and aquatic biodiversity outcomes from farms in Northern Australia.•We demonstrate a method for assessing co-benefits and trade-offs between outcomes.•We show that weed-reduction programmes may generate co-benefits for agriculture and biodiversity.•Agricultural diversification may generate environmental benefits at little or no market cost.•So too may NRM plans and more positive conservation attitudes.
The river Nile flows across 11 African countries, supporting millions of human livelihoods, and holding globally important biodiversity and endemism yet remains underprotected. No basin-wide spatial ...conservation planning has been attempted to date, and the importance of coordinated conservation planning for the Nile's biodiversity remains unknown. We address these gaps by creating a basin-wide conservation plan for the Nile's freshwater fish. We identify priority areas for conservation action and compare cross-boundary collaboration scenarios for achieving biodiversity conservation targets, accounting for river connectivity. We found that collaborative conservation efforts are crucial for reducing conservation costs, saving 34% of costs compared to an uncoordinated, business-as-usual scenario. While most Nile basin countries benefit from coordinating conservation planning, costs and benefits are unequally distributed. We identify "hot spots" consistently selected as conservation priority areas across all collaboration scenarios, and provide a framework for improving return on conservation investment for large and complex river systems globally.
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic syndrome characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain that causes a significant reduction in functional capacity, affecting thus health and quality of life (QOL).
...The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of FM patients in the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and its relation with health and QOL.
Thirty-six FM patients (all women), differentiated by degree of severity of disease, and 14 healthy women were evaluated. Distance walked in the 6MWT, cardiorespiratory responses, heart rate responses, kinematic parameters of gait, the results of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), and the results of the Short-Form Healthy Survey (SF-36) were analyzed.
Women with FM covered a shorter distance in the 6MWT, had a lower cardiorespiratory response, and had lower spatio-temporal parameters of gait than healthy women. No correlation was found in FM patients between the total FIQ score and the distance walked in the 6MWT.
The analysis of performance parameters in the 6MWT may be an element of clinical relevance in FM patients.
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