An important factor in the evolution of reproductive strategies in birds is the loss of a clutch or a brood. Many avian species produce a replacement clutch following the loss of the first clutch, ...but additional breeding effort carries physiological costs and can also reduce female fitness. Thus, egg production in replacement clutches is usually reduced. In contrast, European starling mothers seem to invest equally in their first and replacement clutches. This study investigated whether female starlings use differential allocation of resources to offspring, rather than egg production, to strategically balance investment and returns from the replacement clutch. By removing the first clutch, we induced females to lay a replacement clutch, and focused on covariation of egg size, embryo sex and laying order in both clutches. Results suggest that starling mothers created a pattern of resource allocation with laying order, but not with offspring sex, in the replacement clutch; whereas no pattern of resource allocation existed in the first clutch. This finding indicates that although starlings do not reduce egg production between first and replacement clutches, they may use other mechanisms to fine-tune their investment and maximize their fitness gains from the replacement clutch.
Migration is one of several marine vertebrate traits increasingly affected by human encroachment. The Adriatic Sea is an important foraging and wintering site for loggerhead turtles (
Caretta caretta
...), and one of the Mediterranean regions where they are most heavily impacted, particularly by fisheries bycatch. Conservation measures concern foraging and wintering areas and nesting grounds, and must, therefore, be informed by the natal origin of individuals in these mixed aggregates. Genetic diversity was investigated among 488 loggerheads found stranded or incidentally captured in fishing gear across the Adriatic and the origin of individuals was assessed through mixed-stock analysis based on comparison of 755 bp of mitochondrial DNA control region sequence. In addition, we highlight the importance of the Gulf of Manfredonia (Apulia, Italy), and of the northeastern Adriatic—a previously genetically undescribed foraging ground. No significant genetic divergence was recorded among sampling areas, between turtles sampled in cold and warm months or between adults and juveniles. The distribution of turtles across the Adriatic Sea appeared not to depend on individual origin. Rookeries in western Greece and Crete provided the most important contributions to the Adriatic mixed stock. In particular, the Greek populations were the most abundant locally in the Gulf of Manfredonia, so they are likely to experience an even greater impact than previously thought because of the severe fishery bycatch levels in this area. This study also provides an example of how substantial increases in sample sizes permit a relatively comprehensive testing of genetic structure across groupings in foraging aggregations.
One of the major negative effects of roads is the creation of barriers to the movement of wildlife, ultimately disconnecting populations and increasing extinction risk. We collected genetic data from ...a threatened brown bear population in the central part of the Pindos mountain range in northwestern Greece to provide information about this, as yet genetically undescribed, population and to evaluate its status prior to the construction of a major highway. We used noninvasive genetic sampling methods and microsatellite analysis to investigate nuclear genetic diversity, population genetic structure, demographic history, relatedness within the population and estimated effective and total population size. Brown bears in the study area were found to possess a relatively high level of nuclear genetic diversity and low levels of inbreeding; the population did not show any signs of substructuring but seems to have gone through a genetic bottleneck in the recent past. The estimated effective population size was 29, and the total population size estimate obtained by two different methods was 33 and 51 individuals, respectively. Our results indicate a good conservation status of this bear population and provide baseline genetic data for the future evaluation of the effects on bears from the construction of a major highway, for monitoring the genetic status of this and other bear populations in Greece and for assessing gene flow in bear populations in southern Europe.
Brown bears have lost most of their range on the European continent. The remaining western populations are small, isolated and highly endangered. The Dinaric-Pindos brown bear population is the ...western-most stable population and the fourth largest in Europe. It has been recognized as a potential source for recolonization of populations whose survival is at risk. Indeed, several translocations of Dinaric bears to Italy, Austria and France have recently been made. Despite the importance of the Dinaric bear population, its genetic status remains poorly understood. Using tissue samples from 156 hunted or accidentally killed Dinaric bears in Croatia, this study analysed genetic diversity at 12 microsatellite loci, as well as population structure and past reductions in size. In addition, a subset of 59 samples was used to assess diversity of the mitochondrial DNA control region. The results indicate that Dinaric bears have high nuclear genetic diversity, as compared to other extant brown bear populations, despite genetic evidence of a bottleneck caused by past persecutions. However, haplotype diversity was low, probably as a result of male-biased dispersal and female philopatry. Not surprisingly, no evidence of population sub-structure was found using nuclear markers, as the bear habitat has remained continuous and the highway network has been built only recently. Management should focus on maintaining habitat connectivity and keeping the effective population size as large as possible. In addition, when removing individuals, care should be taken not to further deplete the population of rare haplotypes. A coordinated transboundary management of the entire Dinaric-Pindos brown bear population should be a priority for its long-term conservation.
Važnost vježbanja kod oboljelih od dijabetesa Šulevski, Petra; Kocijan, Ivna
Journal of Applied Health Sciences = Časopis za primijenjene zdravstvene znanosti,
03/2019, Letnik:
5, Številka:
1
Paper
Odprti dostop
Sve je veći broj oboljelih osoba od dijabetesa, kako u svijetu tako i u Hrvatskoj. Procjene govore o ukupnoj brojci od 415 milijuna oboljelih. Broj oboljelih, a posebice onih s dijagnozom dijabetesa ...tipa 2, upućuje na neuredan način života, odnosno loše prehrambene navike, sedentaran način života i stres. Liječenje dijabetesa provodi se pravilnom prehranom, redovitom tjelesnom aktivnošću i medikamentnom terapijom, a sve u cilju regulacije glikemije. Tjelesna aktivnost sastavni je dio liječenja dijabetesa jer se njezinim provođenjem održava odgovarajuća razina glikemije, poboljšava lipidni status te povećava osjetljivost stanica na inzulin. Ujedno se vježbanjem smanjuje potreba za inzulinom jer mišići svojom kontrakcijom pojačano troše glukozu. Dozvoljene su sve vrste tjelesne aktivnosti, ponekad uz određena individualna ograničenja, a najviše koristi polučuje ako se vježbanje provodi redovito i uz umjereni intenzitet, ali uz određeni oprez, posebice ako su prisutne komplikacije bolesti. Posebnu pažnju treba posvetiti riziku od hipoglikemije, jer se prilikom tjelovježbe smanjuje razina glukoze. Prije provođenja tjelesne aktivnosti potrebno je provjeriti razinu glukoze te tomu prilagoditi tjelesnu aktivnost ili je odgoditi u slučaju previsoke ili preniske razine. Istraživanja su pokazala da aerobne i anaerobne aktivnosti utječu na regulaciju glukoze. Prije svega, preporučuju se vježbe fleksibilnosti (iako nemaju izravan utjecaj na smanjenje glukoze) te vježbe balansa, koje smanjuju mogućnost padova. Preporučuje se 150 minuta tjedno umjerene do snažne aktivnosti.Primjerice, vježbe se mogu provoditi umjerenim intenzitetom uz 15 ponavljanja ili jakim intenzitetom uz šest do osam ponavljanja. Možemo zaključiti da je redovita tjelovježba nužna za očuvanje zdravlja i kvalitete života oboljelih od dijabetesa.
The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the only resident marine mammal species in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea, with an estimated number at around 220 individuals. It is an ...endangered and legally protected species in Croatia, and its demographic history is poorly known. This study investigates the level of genetic diversity in the bottlenose dolphin population from the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea and a possibility of recent population size contraction, since there are indications that there has been intensive eradication operations in the mid 20th century that might have caused reductions in the effective population size and might have resulted in a loss of genetic variation. Thirty samples were genotyped at 12 dinucleotide microsatellite loci. The mean allelic richness (6.835±0.705) and mean expected heterozygosity (0.692±0.05) revealed high level of genetic diversity. Bottleneck analysis gave ambiguous evidence for a recent population decline in the investigated bottlenose dolphin population. The M ratio test, with two sets of parameter values, suggested a recent bottleneck; whereas the analysis by the Bottleneck program under three mutation models (TPM, SMM and IAM) showed no evidence for a genetic bottleneck. We take a more conservative approach to the interpretation of these results by accepting the evidence of a recent bottleneck. We suggest maintaining the current level of bottlenose dolphin protection in the area and careful monitoring of the population in the future.
Faecal and vomit samples were collected from 12 griffon vultures (
Gyps fulvus
) in May 2002 and examined for bacteria, fungi and parasites. Bacteria present included
Escherichia coli
,
Aeromonas ...salmonicidia
,
Proteus
sp.,
Escherichia fergusonii
,
Providencia alcalifaciens
,
Micrococcus
sp. and
Streptococcus
sp. Mycological examination revealed the presence of
Candida
sp., yeasts and in one case,
Rhodotorula rubra
. Strongyle eggs were found in several samples. In most faecal samples, ascarid eggs of
Toxocara
type were found. Tapeworm eggs of
Moniezia
type were present in one faecal sample. Both microbiologic and parasitic findings are most likely the result of the feeding habits of griffon vultures.
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