Focal Patch Research Articles

8242 A Case of Ayme Gripp Syndrome

Abstract Disclosure: P. Jaisinghani: Consulting Fee; Self; Novo Nordisk. J. Pappas: None. We present a 35 year old female with cataracts, generalized seizures and oligodontia, referred to us for hair loss and elevated TSH. For over 10 years, patient had a diffuse hair loss which progressed to a focal patch of hair loss in the setting of prior use of keppra and seborrheic dermatitis. Patient has regular menses, and no symptoms of hyper/hypothyroidism or family history of thyroid disease. Patient established care with dermatology and scalp biopsy noted early androgenetic alopecia. Physical exam was notable for short stature, height 4'11, 98 lbs, BMI 19.8 kg/m², progeric appearance, facial hyperpigmented spot, hair thinning, palpable thyroid R>L. Laboratory evaluation included TSH 6.150 (0.450 - 4.500 uIU/mL), DHEAS 263 (84.8 - 378.0 ug/dL), total testosterone 15 (10 - 55 ng/dL), FSH 6.6 (Follicular phase 3.5 - 12.5 mIU/mL), LH 7.6 (Follicular phase 2.4 - 12.5 mIU/mL), estradiol 83 (Follicular phase 12.5 - 166.0 pg/mL). Thyroid US demonstrated smaller than average size left lobe measuring 2.93 cm x 0.84 cm x 1.36cm vs right lobe measured 4.34 cm x 0.90 cm x 1.62. Labs noted TSH 5.690 (0.450 - 4.500 uIU/mL), establishing subclinical hypothyroidism and negative thyroid antibodies. Clinical genetics evaluation included trio exome sequencing which revealed a de novo pathogenic variant p.(Ser54Leu) (TCG>TTG): c.161 C>T in exon 1 of the MAF gene (NM_005360.4) which establishes the diagnosis of a Ayme- Gripp syndrome (AGS). AGS is characterized by a triad of cataract, sensorineural hearing loss, and characteristic facial features in combination with neurodevelopmental abnormalities. 21 affected individuals from 19 families have been reported with AGS. Clinical features in our case characteristic of AGS included short stature, brachycephaly, midface hypoplasia, long philtrum and premature hair loss. Hypothyroidism was identified in childhood in 3/15 identified individuals who responded to thyroid hormone replacement therapy. For this patient, we will monitor thyroid function tests every 3-6 months and monitor for symptoms of hypothyroidism. Patient has been referred to cardiology and nephrology, and will continue to follow with genetics and dermatology. Our case further establishes the association of hypothyroidism with AGS. Our case demonstrates the value of expanding the differential of endocrinopathies to rare genetic conditions which are currently identifiable by clinically available genomic tests. Presentation: 6/1/2024

The quality matters: Assessing the roles of patch quality and configuration on the abundance of an invading cerambycid species through a multi‐model inference approach

Abstract Landscape ecology studies are based on the concept that most local phenomena cannot be completely understood without considering the role of the surrounding landscape. A key factor in landscape ecology is the heterogeneous distribution of resources that different species use for food and reproduction. In this paper, we analyse the role of patch quality together with landscape attributes on the distribution and abundance of Arhopalus rusticus in the central west of Córdoba Province in Argentina. Land cover was estimated using Landsat 8 scenes. Landscape was quantified by estimating the focal patch area, the distance to nearest pine patch and the quality of the patch through the enhanced vegetation index obtained from the MODIS satellite. Generalised linear mixed models were employed to analyse the relationship between the independent variables and A. rusticus abundance. A multi‐model inference approach was employed to select the best model. The distance to nearest pine patch and the enhanced vegetation index of the previous year showed a negative relationship with A. rusticus abundance, while the relationship with the focal patch area and the enhanced vegetation index of the year in which the sampling took place was positive. Our results show that although landscape pattern of pine patches affects the invading capability of A. rusticus in a direct way, the forest patch quality is an important factor that limits the capability of the insect to establish itself in an area.

Fragmentation shapes nest density and social structure but not genetic diversity of Temnothorax crassispinus (Formicidae)

AbstractHuman activities affect biodiversity by reducing the area of habitats, altering their shape, and increasing their isolation. Ants are particularly sensitive to habitat fragmentation, as it may locally change abiotic conditions, the availability of food and nest sites, the abundance of mutualists, competitors and predators, and also restrict gene flow between patches. As a result, the genetic population and colony structure of ants is expected to show signs of fragmentation. In the present study, we investigated the impact of fragmentation on the ant Temnothorax crassispinus in 45 forest patches across the Franconian Jura, Germany. Based on 283 colonies, of which 156 were genetically analyzed, we evidenced the presence of two putative distinct genetic clusters in the study area. Both the nest densities and the presence of queen were impacted by the number of adjacent forest patches within 400 m around the focal patch, but neither by patch shape nor patch size. We could not detect any effect of fragmentation on the genetic diversity, probably because the high dispersal abilities of T. crassispinus counterbalance any detrimental genetic consequences of fragmentation. Nevertheless, fragmentation still impacts the species density as well as the social structure of its colonies. Further investigations regarding the drivers of occurrence at a finer spatial scale might clarify the role of edge effects on the occurrence of this species.

Differential impacts on herbivore diversity and scale dependence of tree diversity in subtropical forests

AbstractPlant diversity has been found to increase herbivore diversity, including abundance, species richness and phylogenetic diversity. However, it is yet to be established at which spatial scale these effects are strongest, because host finding and community assembly may be shaped by host diversity both in local habitat patches and at larger scales.Using arthropod herbivore data collected from a large biodiversity and ecosystem function experiment in China (BEF‐China), we analysed how habitat patch (individual study plots) and larger‐scale (surrounding study plots) tree diversity relates to species richness, abundance, functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity of herbivore assemblages on focal plants.Tree diversity of both the focal habitat patch and larger‐scale patch neighbourhood affected herbivore diversity patterns and host plant selection, with the effect being greater for the former. Furthermore, focal and neighbouring trees that are phylogenetically related were found more likely to share similar herbivores.Synthesis. By focusing on tree diversity effects of both the local habitat patch and wider patch neighbourhoods, our findings highlight the importance of considering additional scales to give a more nuanced understanding of the mechanisms underlying herbivore community structure and diversity patterns in species‐rich forests.

Identify Representative Samples by Conditional Random Field of Cancer Histology Images.

Pathology analysis is crucial to precise cancer diagnoses and the succeeding treatment plan as well. To detect abnormality in histopathology images with prevailing patch-based convolutional neural networks (CNNs), contextual information often serves as a powerful cue. However, as whole-slide images (WSIs) are characterized by intense morphological heterogeneity and extensive tissue scale, a straightforward visual span to a larger context may not well capture the information closely associated with the focal patch. In this paper, we propose a novel pixel-offset based patch-location method to identify high-representative tissues, with a CNN backbone. Pathology Deformable Conditional Random Field (PDCRF) is proposed to learn the offsets and weights of neighboring contexts in a spatial-adaptive manner, to search for high-representative patches. A CNN structure with the localized patches as training input is then capable of consistently reaching superior classification outcomes for histology images. Overall, the proposed method has achieved state-of-the-art performance, in terms of the test classification accuracy improvement to the baseline by 1.15-2.60%, 0.78-1.78%, and 1.47-2.18% on TCGA public datasets of TCGA-STAD, TCGA-COAD, and TCGA-READ respectively. It also achieves 88.95% test accuracy and 0.920 test AUC on Camelyon 16. To show the effectiveness of the proposed framework on downstream tasks, we take a further step by incorporating an active learning model, which noticeably reduces the number of manual annotations by PDCRF to reach a parallel patch-based histology classifier.

The effect of habitat amount on flight‐related traits in the butterflyHamadryas februais sex‐dependent

AbstractMobility in flying animals can be assessed by variations in morpho–ecological traits such as body, thorax and wing sizes, wing shape and the proportion between body mass and wing area. Habitat loss and fragmentation can promote phenotypic plasticity and microevolutionary divergencies in natural populations. In this context, sexual differences in physiology and behaviour can impose different selection pressure on morphological aspects related to flight.We evaluated the relative impact of forest patch area and habitat amount in shaping flight‐related morpho–ecological traits of the tropical butterflyHamadryas februa. We find a marked sexual dimorphism in the species, with females being larger, having larger thorax, higher wing loadings and larger wing total area than males. These trait values indicate females as the more dispersive sex. We show that habitat amount modulates body mass allocations in both sexes, leading to an increase in thorax mass with decreasing habitat amount. The effect of habitat amount was more pronounced in females, which increased total mass and wing loading while decreasing thorax allocation with decreasing habitat amount. This outcome suggests that females increase abdominal mass in response to a reduction in habitat amount. The focal forest patch increasing area was linked to increases in hindwing lengths in both females and males.We advocate that both landscape metrics (i.e., habitat amount and patch area) should be considered in studies evaluating landscapes' impacts on insect mobility. We discuss results in terms of the species' sexual differences in flight behaviour and the relative importance of both landscape metrics.

Influence of visual background on discrimination of signal-relevant colours in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata).

Colour signals of many animals are surrounded by a high-contrast achromatic background, but little is known about the possible function of this arrangement. For both humans and non-human animals, the background colour surrounding a colour stimulus affects the perception of that stimulus, an effect that can influence detection and discrimination of colour signals. Specifically, high colour contrast between the background and two given colour stimuli makes discrimination more difficult. However, it remains unclear how achromatic background contrast affects signal discrimination in non-human animals. Here, we test whether achromatic contrast between signal-relevant colours and an achromatic background affects the ability of zebra finches to discriminate between those colours. Using an odd-one-out paradigm and generalized linear mixed models, we found that higher achromatic contrast with the background, whether positive or negative, decreases the ability of zebra finches to discriminate between target and non-target stimuli. This effect is particularly strong when colour distances are small (less than 4 ΔS) and Michelson achromatic contrast with the background is high (greater than 0.5). We suggest that researchers should consider focal colour patches and their backgrounds as collectively comprising a signal, rather than focusing on solely the focal colour patch itself.

Assessing the influence of the amount of reachable habitat on genetic structure using landscape and genetic graphs.

Genetic structure, i.e. intra-population genetic diversity and inter-population genetic differentiation, is influenced by the amount and spatial configuration of habitat. Measuring the amount of reachable habitat (ARH) makes it possible to describe habitat patterns by considering intra-patch and inter-patch connectivity, dispersal capacities and matrix resistance. Complementary ARH metrics computed under various resistance scenarios are expected to reflect both drift and gene flow influence on genetic structure. Using an empirical genetic dataset concerning the large marsh grasshopper (Stethophyma grossum), we tested whether ARH metrics are good predictors of genetic structure. We further investigated (i) how the components of the ARH influence genetic structure and (ii) which resistance scenario best explains these relationships. We computed local genetic diversity and genetic differentiation indices in genetic graphs, and ARH metrics in the unified and flexible framework offered by landscape graphs, and we tested the relationships between these variables. ARH metrics were relevant predictors of the two components of genetic structure, providing an advantage over commonly used habitat metrics. Although allelic richness was significantly explained by three complementary ARH metrics in the best PLS regression model, private allelic richness and MIW indices were essentially related with the ARH measured outside the focal patch. Considering several matrix resistance scenarios was also key for explaining the different genetic responses. We thus call for further use of ARH metrics in landscape genetics to explain the influence of habitat patterns on the different components of genetic structure.

Modelling the sequential behaviours of simultaneous predator and prey patch use

Models investigating predator–prey games often fix one player's behaviour while allowing the other to make patch use choices. Here, we use adaptive dynamics to model changes in behavioural rates of a predator and prey, while explicitly allowing both to make decisions simultaneously. Our model focuses on a two-patch situation. The prey can move between an open patch, allowing for energy intake but also predation risk, and a refuge with no possibility of energy intake or predation risk. The predator can move between that patch, where it can attack prey, and an alternative patch that provides a fixed rate of energy intake, and consequently imposes a missed opportunity cost (MOC) of using the focal patch. The model predicts how the rates of movement by the players are influenced by specific parameters, including the predator's lethality and MOC, as well as the information available to the players. For example, our model predicts that the time a prey takes to emerge from its refuge and the time a predator waits for the prey to emerge depend on the sequence of events leading to the prey entering the refuge. For instance, the predator would leave the patch more quickly and the prey would emerge from the refuge more quickly if the prey entered the refuge after a failed attack rather than as part of its time allocation. • We use adaptive dynamics to model behavioural changes in predator–prey patch use. • We model a two-patch choice: open vs environment (predator); open vs refuge (prey). • Players can make decisions simultaneously and use information from recent encounters. • Specific parameters (risk, opportunity) affect each player's rate of movements. • Adaptive movement rules depend on predator lethality and missed opportunity costs.

Long-term drivers of persistence and colonization dynamics in spatially structured amphibian populations.

Many organisms live in networks of local populations connected by dispersing individuals, called spatially structured populations (SSPs), where the long-term persistence of the entire network is determined by the balance between 2 processes acting at the scale of local populations: extinction and colonization. When multiple threats act on an SSP, a comparison of the different factors determining local extinctions and colonizations is essential to plan sound conservation actions. We assessed the drivers of long-term population dynamics of multiple amphibian species at the regional scale. We used dynamic occupancy models within a Bayesian framework to identify the factors determining persistence and colonization of local populations. Because connectivity among patches is fundamental to SSPs dynamics, we considered 2 measures of connectivity acting on each focal patch: incidence of the focal species and incidence of invasive crayfish. We used meta-analysis to summarize the effect of different drivers at the community level. Persistence and colonization of local populations were jointly determined by factors acting at different scales. Persistence probability was positively related to the area and the permanence of wetlands, whereas it was negatively related to occurrence of fish. Colonization probability was highest in semipermanent wetlands and in sites with a high incidence of the focal species in nearby sites, whereas it showed a negative relationship with the incidence of invasive crayfish in the landscape. By analyzing long-term data on amphibian population dynamics, we found a strong effect of some classic features commonly used in SSP studies, such as patch area and focal species incidence. The presence of an invasive non-native species at the landscape scale emerged as one of the strongest drivers of colonization dynamics, suggesting that studies on SSPs should consider different connectivity measures more frequently, such as the incidence of predators, especially when dealing with biological invasions.

Extent, configuration and diversity of burned and forested areas predict bat richness in a fire-maintained forest

ContextFire transforms, fragments and sometimes maintains forests, creating mosaics of burned and unburned patches. Highly mobile animals respond to resources in the landscape at a variety of spatial scales, yet we know little about their landscape-scale relationships with fire.ObjectivesWe aimed to identify drivers of bat richness in a landscape mosaic of forested and burned areas while identifying spatial scales at which bat richness was most strongly related to extent, configuration, and diversity measures of landscape-level habitat.MethodsWe used multi-species hierarchical occupancy modelling to relate bat richness to landscape variables at 10 spatial scales, based on acoustic data collected in the Sierra Nevada, United States. We also assessed redundancy among landscape variable type (extent, configuration, and diversity) and between focal patch types (forested and burned).ResultsBat richness was positively associated with heterogenous landscapes, shown by positive associations with pyrodiversity, extent and mean area of burned patches, burned and forested edge density and patch density and relationships were generally consistent across scales. Extent of forest cover and burned areas were highly correlated, but configuration and diversity of these patch types diverged.ConclusionsBat communities of our study area appear to be largely resilient to wildfire and adapted to more heterogenous forests and shorter-interval fire regimes that likely predominated before the fire suppression era.

Effects of urban environmental conditions and landscape structure on taxonomic and functional groups of insects

Insects are a particularly sensitive group to urbanization, and they are also highly dependent on structural, compositional, and environmental characteristics of the landscape as well as its scale. The identification of the landscape variables and scale which influence this group are necessary for the development of sustainable landscape planning in the face of climate change and environmental degradation. Here we aim to determine the most important spatial scale for the diversity of taxonomic and functional groups of insects, testing the hypothesis that the importance of environmental and landscape structure-composition variables on insect diversity and functional groups vary with the spatial scale. Finally, we selected the scale with the highest proportion of explained variance for the total, analyzing the correlations of landscape variables with each group. We collected insects in 15 non-overlapped landscapes, classifying them according to their order and functional groups. We generated 6 concentric circles from a focal patch per landscape, using remote sensing data to characterize landscape environmental and structural-composition variables from 200 to 1200 m. Finally, we tested the hypothesis by using the Variable Importance for the Projection and R2 from Partial Least Square Regressions metrics. We identified that the importance of landscape diversity varied across the different scales. We found that 600 m was the scale with the highest explained variance for orders and functional groups in the total set. The scale at diversity of orders and functional groups reached the highest explained variance diversity that varied among groups. Parasitoids, predators, and phytophages responded to smaller scales, while pollinators and micophages to, and saproxylics to larger scales. Urban area and temperature were negatively associated with total diversity, while variables linked with vegetation quality presented a positive correlation. The generated results may contribute to improve the understanding of the urban ecology of insects, aiming to contribute with sustainable urban planning and conservation.

Effects of Past and Present-Day Landscape Structure on Forest Soil Microorganisms

Theory surrounding landscape ecology have been built on the species distribution of birds and plants, but increasing evidence now exists for below-ground organisms, whose dispersal may also be affected by above-ground landscape structures. Uncertainties remain for how communities of microorganisms respond to landscape structure over time, and whether some groups of microorganisms react more than others. Here, we investigated if fungal or bacterial diversity is driven by the amount of forest cover in the current or the past landscape. We tested the Habitat Amount Hypothesis (HAH) on ancient forests of the Cevennes national park, that experienced increased fragmentation 150 years ago, and are today surrounded by recent forests. As ancient forests are often more diverse in plant species, we hypothesized that the higher quantity of ancient forests in the landscape, the richer local fungal and bacterial communities would be. More precisely, we expected that ectomycorrhizal fungi, and pathotrophic fungi, often indicators of mature forests, would be also more sensitive to forest history and therefore to the quantity of ancient forests than bacteria and saprotrophic fungi. We sampled 40 soil cores per 0.5 ha, pooled in 8 composite samples per plot in 27 landscapes and sequenced ITS and 16S markers by Illumina-Mi seq. To identify functional groups of fungi, we relied on their taxonomy and the use of public databases. Our results partly follow the HAH, as fungal richness was positively related with the quantity of ancient forests in the landscape and not by the focal patch size. Ectomycorrhizal and pathotrophic fungi were positively affected by the ancient forest cover, and so were saprotrophic ones, but not bacteria. Local factors also shaped the communities such as soil composition and elevation, confirming classical patterns in soil microbial ecology. Interestingly, past landscape structure was better at explaining fungal community richness than contemporary landscape, suggesting a time lag in the response of communities to landscape modification and a potential extinction debt. Our results reveal the importance of below-ground communities in studies of landscape and historical ecology, with their structure and functions likely to be intimately linked with soil and landscape history.

Fragment shape and size, landscape permeability and fragmentation level as predictors of primate occupancy in a region of Brazilian Cerrado

Human activities result in the formation of a mosaic of forest patches within a non-habitat matrix. The response of the local biodiversity to changes in land-use may occur at different scales. It is important to evaluate the effects of the attributes of both the patches and the surrounding landscape on the occupancy of forest patches by animal populations. Here, we assessed the predictive potential of local (basal area, tree density), patch (size, shape) and landscape scale (total area of forest, number of patches, matrix permeability, patch proximity) variables on the occupancy of forest patches by the syntopic primates Alouatta caraya, Sapajus libidinosus and Callithrix penicillata in the city of Goiânia in the Cerrado region of central Brazil. We used playback to survey primate populations in 22 focal patches and assessed the landscape within a 1000 m buffer zone around each site. In A. caraya, occupancy was influenced by the shape of the focal patches, the amount of forest and fragmentation level of the landscape. Focal patch size and the permeability of the matrix were the principal determinants of the occupancy of S. libidinosus. None of the predictors influenced patch occupancy in C. penicillata, and the structure of the vegetation did not influence occupancy in any of the species. The preservation of as many forest patches as possible, both large and small, as well as gallery forests, and the enhancement of matrix permeability will be essential for the long-term conservation of the syntopic primates of the Cerrado of central Brazil.

Using a species-centered approach to predict bird community responses to habitat fragmentation

The relative importance of habitat fragmentation versus loss on species richness has been much debated. However, recent findings that fragmentation effects are relatively weak may be an artifact of using human-classified vegetation rather than adopting a species-eye view to measure landscape structure. We present the first example of a species-centered approach for examining fragmentation effects on ecological communities. We tested hypotheses relating to the relative influence of habitat amount, configuration, and focal patch size on southwest Oregon bird communities. We used boosted regression trees based on unclassified Landsat TM to create ‘stacked’ species distribution models (S-SDMs) for a large pool of avian species and nested subset of habitat specialists. We tested the relative importance of S-SDM-derived habitat amount, patch number, mean patch size, and focal patch size in explaining species richness. We compared this approach to metrics based on generic land-cover classifications. Species-centered models had greater statistical support than land-cover models. In species-centered models, species richness increased as a function of focal patch size and decreased with patch number, supporting the hypothesis of negative effects of fragmentation per se. Land-cover based models indicated inconsistent support for habitat amount but a positive effect of fragmentation. The species-centered approach identified habitat configuration relationships obscured by land-cover based approaches. While positive land-cover based fragmentation effects were consistent with recent synthesis work, the species-centered approach consistently revealed strong negative effects of fragmentation matching traditional theoretical expectations. S-SDMs may offer promise for generalizing ecological theory to real species distributions.

Carrying capacity of a spatially-structured population: Disentangling the effects of dispersal, growth parameters, habitat heterogeneity and habitat clustering

Carrying capacity, K, is a fundamental quantity in theoretical and applied ecology. When populations are distributed over space, carrying capacity becomes a complicated function of local, global and nearby environments, dispersal rate, and the relationship between population growth parameters, e.g., r and K. Expressions for the total carrying capacity, Ktotal, in an n-patch model that explicitly disentangle all of these factors are currently lacking. Therefore, here we derive Ktotal for a linear spatial array of n habitat patches with logistic growth and strong or weak random dispersal of individuals between adjacent patches. With strong dispersal, Ktotal depends on the mean r and K over all patches (〈r〉 and 〈K〉), the among-patch variance in K, and the linear regression coefficient of r on K, βr,K. Strong dispersal increases Ktotal only if βr, K > 〈r〉/〈K〉, which requires a positive convex or negative concave association between r and K, and decreases Ktotal if βr, K < 〈r〉/〈K〉. Alternatively, weak dispersal increases Ktotal only if the within-patch covariance of r and K, cov(r, K) is greater than the spatial covariance between r and K, cov(r, Km), defined as the average covariance between r in a focal patch and K in neighboring patches. Unlike the strong dispersal limit, this condition depends not only on the magnitude of environmental heterogeneity, but explicitly on the spatial distribution of heterogeneity (i.e., habitat clustering). This work clarifies how the interaction between dispersal, habitat heterogeneity, and population growth parameters shape carrying capacity in spatial populations, with implications for species management, conservation and evolution.

Outcomes of upper extremity interventions for chronic critical ischemia

BackgroundCritical hand ischemia owing to below-the-elbow atherosclerotic occlusive disease is relatively uncommon. The aim of this study was to examine the outcomes in patients presenting with critical ischemia owing to below-the-elbow arterial atherosclerotic disease who underwent nonoperative and operative management. MethodsA database of patients undergoing operative and nonoperative management for symptomatic below-the-elbow atherosclerotic disease between 2006 and 2016 was retrospectively queried. Patients with critical ischemia (tissue loss and rest pain) were identified. Three management groups were identified: no revascularization (None), endovascular revascularization (Endo), and open revascularization by bypass (Bypass). Patients with acute embolism, active vasculitis, end-stage renal disease, ipsilateral dialysis access complications of steal, and ipsilateral trauma were excluded. ResultsOne hundred eight patients (56% male; average age, 59 years) presented with symptomatic below-the-elbow disease: 93% presented with digital ulceration and the remainder with rest pain. Eighty-one percent had diabetes and 41% had chronic renal insufficiency (not on dialysis). All underwent catheter-based angiography. Fifty-three patients (49%) had no intervention and subsequently were committed to wound care; 26 of these required no further intervention, 10 had an interval palmar sympathectomy, and 17 underwent either a phalanx or digital amputation. Thirty-four patients (31%) underwent an endovascular intervention with a median of 1.5 vessels (ulnar, radial, or interosseous arteries) intervened on. Technical success was achieved in 29 patients (85%). Of the five technical failures, two went on to bypass, one had a focal endarterectomy and patch angioplasty, and one was treated conservatively. Ten patients in the Endo group required either a phalanx or digital amputation. Twenty-one patients (19%) underwent a saphenous vein bypass (reversed or nonreserved) to the radial in 12 and the ulnar in 11 limbs. In follow-up, 11 patients underwent open or endovascular intervention to maintain patency of the bypass. There were nine phalanx or digital amputations in the Bypass group. No below-the-elbow or above-the-elbow amputations were performed within 30 days. The wound healing rate without amputation was 78% (85 of 108). The predictors of wound healing were technical success of the revascularization, intact palmar arch and presence of digital run-off. The presence of an incomplete arch and poor digital run-off were associated with a phalanx or digital amputation. ConclusionsUpper extremity interventions for critical ischemia are associated with a high rate of success. Major amputations are rare and the many can be treated nonoperatively. In appropriately selected patients, both endovascular and open interventions have a high rate of success.

The ecological footprint of Acca sellowiana domestication maintains the residual vertebrate diversity in threatened highlands of Atlantic Forest.

Past and contemporary human actions are causing numerous changes in patterns and processes at various ecosystem scales and trophic levels, including unintended downstream changes, such as species interactions. In its native range Acca sellowiana (Feijoa) combines some characteristics of human interactions: incipient domestication, restricted to subtropical Atlantic Forest highlands, associated with the threatened conifer Araucaria angustifolia (Araucaria), within a domesticated landscape with anthropogenic forest patches, and provides fruit at a time of resource shortage (Araucaria seeds—pinhão). We quantify the trophic relationships between Feijoa and vertebrates, and evaluate the influences on interactions caused by environmental variations, Feijoa domestication evidences, spatial distance and fruit availability. In four sites within protected areas, we selected 28 focal individuals of Feijoa (seven/site) and collected three temporal replicas between 2015 and 2016, when we measured productivity and frugivory via 45-second videos taken with camera traps. Using ecological network, rarefaction curves and variation partitioning analyses, we evaluate the frugivory network topology, the spatiotemporal structure of communities in relation to fruit availability and the influence of predictive variables on frugivory. We found a large spatiotemporal variation in productivity of Feijoa and that 20 species consumed Feijoa fruits, with a species degree of 2.8 (±5.7) and average Feijoa degree of 14.4 (±10.1), in a modular network with intermediary connectance. Rarefaction curves showed that richness and the independent records are congruent with the fruit amount. Variation partitioning showed that, for the focal individuals, canopy area, green coverage, patch size and distance to water influenced frugivory, and the Feijoa domestication influenced significantly the mammalian frugivory. Feijoa is an important resource that provides food during the time of year when Pinhão is absent, and attracts frugivores, maintain the residual diversity of vertebrates contributing to the structure of communities in highlands. Our insights allowed us to evaluate the magnitude of the interactions between vertebrates and an incipient domesticated tree, in a cultural landscape and highly threatened environment, under a basal foodweb approach with implications for bottom-up and top-down forces. The results contribute to understanding animal-plant relationships, including concepts that can be replicated for other sessile prey and mobile predators in any region or habitat under different gradients of management. Thus, this work shows how human actions can change not only patterns of distribution and abundance but also the diversity and direction of interspecific interactions among species.

The role of host patch characteristics and dispersal capability in distribution and abundance ofArhopalus rusticusin centralArgentina

AbstractHost patch characteristics may influence the abundance of a species, but this will depend on the species’ dispersal ability and the distance between suitable patches. In central Argentina, an area of introduced pine forest was planted for wood production in the 1940s. In 2006, an invading longhorn beetle,Arhopalus rusticus(L.) (Coleoptera:Cerambycidae), was detected in the area. Since then, the species has expanded its range until it occupies the whole area. We analyze how the configuration of host patches and flight performance ofA. rusticusaffect its distribution. The study was performed in the center‐west of Córdoba Province, Argentina, with 24 000 ha of introduced pine forests the main pine production zone of the province. Land cover was estimated using Landsat 8 scenes. Landscape was quantified by estimating the focal patch's area, fractal dimension index (FRAC), and Euclidean nearest neighbor distance (ENN). Focal patch area showed a positive relationship withA. rusticusabundance, whereasENNandFRAChad a negative relationship. The dispersal ability ofA. rusticuswas determined by putting recently emerged individuals to fly in flight mills. The flight performance results indicated that the species was probably introduced in the area by human activity, then rapidly established and expanded to the whole area. This indicates the importance of preventing its arrival in other pine production areas of Argentina, as it has proved to be an extremely successful invader.

Forest fragmentation and loss reduce richness, availability, and specialization in tropical hummingbird communities

AbstractHummingbirds are important pollinators of many native Neotropical plants but their abundance and diversity in landscapes dominated by intensive human uses such as agriculture have rarely been examined, despite such land‐uses prevailing in the tropics. We examined how tropical deforestation affects hummingbird community structure in premontane forest patches embedded in a tropical countryside of Coto Brus Canton, Costa Rica. We captured hummingbirds in fourteen landscapes representing a gradient in patch size and forest amount, and tested for the effects of these variables on (1) hummingbird captures at flowers (pollinator availability); (2) species richness; and (3) filtering of functional traits. After accounting for sampling effects, both hummingbird availability and species richness declined by 40% and 50%, respectively, across the gradient in deforestation that we observed (9–66% forest within 1000 m). Focal patch size was the strongest predictor, even after statistically accounting for the amount of forest and matrix composition of landscapes. These reductions in availability and richness were well predicted by functional traits; morphologically specialized species with the capacity to transport long‐distance outcrossed pollen and low functional redundancy within the pollinator network showed the greatest sensitivity to landscape change. We hypothesize that declines in hummingbird availability, diversity, and functional traits are important mechanisms driving the observed pollen limitation of ornithophilous flowers in fragmented tropical landscapes. Efforts to conserve large forest patches and enhance matrix permeability are critical for maintaining forest hummingbird communities and pollination services under current and predicted deforestation regimes.