Higher Movement Rates Research Articles

Ocelot Population Status in Protected Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Forest fragmentation and habitat loss are detrimental to top carnivores, such as jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor), but effects on mesocarnivores, such as ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), are less clear. Ocelots need native forests, but also might benefit from the local extirpation of larger cats such as pumas and jaguars through mesopredator release. We used a standardized camera trap protocol to assess ocelot populations in six protected areas of the Atlantic forest in southeastern Brazil where over 80% of forest remnants are < 50 ha. We tested whether variation in ocelot abundance could be explained by reserve size, forest cover, number of free-ranging domestic dogs and presence of top predators. Ocelot abundance was positively correlated with reserve size and the presence of top predators (jaguar and pumas) and negatively correlated with the number of dogs. We also found higher detection probabilities in less forested areas as compared to larger, intact forests. We suspect that smaller home ranges and higher movement rates in smaller, more degraded areas increased detection. Our data do not support the hypothesis of mesopredator release. Rather, our findings indicate that ocelots respond negatively to habitat loss, and thrive in large protected areas inhabited by top predators.

Are large macroalgal blooms necessarily bad? Nutrient impacts on seagrass in upwelling-influenced estuaries.

Knowledge of nutrient pathways and their resulting ecological interactions can alleviate numerous environmental problems associated with nutrient increases in both natural and managed systems. Although not unique, coastal systems are particularly prone to complex ecological interactions resulting from nutrient inputs from both the land and sea. Nutrient inputs to coastal systems often spur ulvoid macroalgal blooms, with negative consequences for seagrasses, primarily through shading, as well as through changes in local biogeochemistry. We conducted complementary field and mesocosm experiments in an upwelling-influenced estuary, where marine-derived nutrients dominate, to understand the direct and indirect effects of nutrients on the macroalgal-eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) interaction. In the field experiment, we found weak evidence that nutrients and/or macroalgal treatments had a negative effect on eelgrass. However, in the mesocosm experiment, we found that a combination of nutrient and macroalgal treatments led to strongly negative eelgrass responses, primarily via indirect effects associated with macroalgal additions. Together, increased total light attenuation and decreased sediment oxygen levels were associated with larger effects on eelgrass than shading alone, which was evaluated using mimic algae treatments that did not alter sediment redox potential. Nutrient addition in the mesocosms directly affected seagrass density; biomass, and morphology, but not as strongly as macroalgae. We hypothesize that the contrary results from these parallel experiments are a consequence of differences in the hydrodynamics between field and mesocosm settings. We suggest that the high rates of water movement and tidal submersion of our intertidal field experiments alleviated the light reduction and negative biogeochemical changes in the sediment associated with macroalgal canopies, as well as the nutrient effects observed in the mesocosm experiments. Furthermore, adaptation of ulvoids and eelgrass to high, but variable, background nutrient concentrations in upwelling-influenced estuaries may partly explain the venue-specific results reported here. In order to manage critical seagrass habitats, nutrient criteria and macroalgal indicators must consider variability in marine-based nutrient delivery and local physical conditions among estuaries.

Export of fine particulate organic carbon from redwood‐dominated catchments

AbstractRecently, researchers have recognized the significant role of small mountainous river systems in the transport of carbon from terrestrial environments to the ocean, and the scale of such studies have ranged from channel bed units to continents. In temperate zones, these mountain river systems commonly drain catchments that are largely forested. However, the magnitude of carbon export from rivers draining old‐growth redwood forests has not been evaluated to date. Old‐growth redwood stands support some of the largest quantities of biomass in the world, up to 350 000 Mg of stem biomass km‐2 and soil organic carbon can reach 46 800 Mg km‐2. In north coastal California, suspended sediment samples were collected at three gaging stations for two to four years on streams draining old‐growth redwood forests. Carbon content, determined through loss‐on‐ignition tests, was strongly correlated with turbidity, and continuous turbidity records from the gaging stations were used to estimate annual carbon exports of 1 · 6 to 4 · 2 Mg km‐2 yr‐1. These values, representing 13 to 33% of the suspended sediment load, are some of the highest percentages reported in the global literature. The fraction of organic carbon as part of the suspended sediment load decreased with discharge, but reached an asymptote of 5 to 10% at flows 10 to 20 times the mean annual flows. Although larger rivers in this region exhibit high sediment yields (up to 3600 Mg km‐2 yr‐1), mainly attributed to high rates of uplift, mass movement, and timber harvest, the small pristine streams in this study have sediment yields of only 8 to 100 Mg km‐2 yr‐1. Because the current extent of old‐growth redwood stands is less than 5% of its pre‐European‐settlement distribution, the present organic carbon signature in suspended sediment loads in this region is likely different from that in the early 20th century. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Spatial patterns reveal strong abiotic and biotic drivers of zooplankton community composition in Lake Mývatn, Iceland

Spatial patterns in the abundance of species are determined by local abiotic and biotic conditions, and by the movement of individuals among localities. For species distributed among discrete habitat “islands”, such as zooplankton distributed among lakes, local conditions within lakes often dominate low movement rates among lakes to determine the composition of communities. Here, we ask whether the same abiotic and biotic environmental conditions can generate spatial patterns in the distribution of zooplankton within a lake where there are high horizontal movement rates. We conducted three spatial surveys of zooplankton communities in Lake Mývatn, Iceland, a moderately sized (37 km2) shallow lake with a high outflow rate. The pelagic zooplankton community showed strong spatial structure (spatial autocorrelation), with species composition varying with spatial variation in chlorophyll‐a, the abundance of Anabaena (cyanobacteria), lake depth, light extinction coefficient, and temperature. These factors are known from other studies to be strong drivers of among‐lake variation in freshwater zooplankton communities. However, in contrast with among‐lake studies, fish (stickleback) abundance had no measureable effect on the abundance or species composition of the zooplankton community, although high local stickleback abundance was associated with low zooplankton:phytoplankton biomass ratios. Finally, a parallel study of the underlying benthic crustacean community showed much finer spatial variation (spatial autocorrelation to a range ≤0.6 km vs. 9 km for pelagic zooplankton), suggesting that the stationary character of the benthos allows finer grained spatial patterns. Given the high flow rate of water in Mývatn (&gt;200 m/d), the generation of spatial patterns suggests very strong effects of variation in abiotic and biotic environmental conditions on the population dynamics of zooplankton in the lake.

Motor cortical oscillations are abnormally suppressed during repetitive movement in patients with Parkinson’s disease

ObjectiveImpaired repetitive movement in persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with reduced amplitude, paradoxical hastening and hesitations or arrest at higher movement rates. This study examined the effects of movement rate and medication on movement-related cortical oscillations in persons with PD. MethodsNine participants with PD were studied off and on medication and compared to nine control participants. Participants performed index finger movements cued by tones from 1 to 3Hz. Movement-related oscillations were derived from electroencephalographic recordings over the region of the contralateral sensorimotor cortex (S1/M1) during rest, listening, or synchronized movement. ResultsAt rest, spectral power recorded over the region of the contralateral S1/M1 was increased in the alpha band and decreased in the beta band in participants with PD relative to controls. During movement, the level of alpha and beta band power relative to baseline was significantly reduced in the PD group, off and on medication, compared to controls. Reduced movement amplitude and hastening at movement rates near 2Hz was associated with abnormally suppressed and persistent desynchronization of oscillations in alpha and beta bands. ConclusionMotor cortical oscillations in the alpha and beta bands are abnormally suppressed in PD, particularly during higher rate movements. SignificanceThese findings contribute to the understanding of mechanisms underlying impaired repetitive movement in PD.

Coccinellid abundance in shelterbelts is affected more by adjacent crop type and aphid abundance than vegetation characteristics

Coccinellidae are important natural enemies of agricultural pests in a variety of crops and there is interest in landscape manipulation to enhance coccinellid populations. Here we investigate impacts of non-crop woody vegetation variables, adjacent crop type and abundance of aphid prey on coccinellid abundance in shelterbelts adjacent to vineyards or pasture near Melbourne, Australia. Sixty sites were sampled five times at monthly intervals using yellow sticky traps. The abundance of coccinellids in shelterbelts was influenced to a greater extent by adjacent crop type and aphid abundance rather than vegetation characteristics like canopy flowers. Abundance of some species was 2–5 times higher in riparian shelterbelts while increased litter depth decreased abundance. When the leaf litter depth of shelterbelts was experimentally increased, the abundance of coccinellids decreased, whereas an experimental decrease in porosity tended to have the opposite effect. These findings suggest that coccinellid abundance can be influenced to some extent by characteristics of shelterbelts, but crop type and prey availability is likely to have a relatively larger impact, perhaps reflecting the high movement rates of this group of natural enemies.

Transcranial direct current stimulation improves ipsilateral selective muscle activation in a frequency dependent manner.

Failure to suppress antagonist muscles can lead to movement dysfunction, such as the abnormal muscle synergies often seen in the upper limb after stroke. A neurophysiological surrogate of upper limb synergies, the selectivity ratio (SR), can be determined from the ratio of biceps brachii (BB) motor evoked potentials to transcranial magnetic stimulation prior to forearm pronation versus elbow flexion. Surprisingly, cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (c-TDCS) over ipsilateral primary motor cortex (M1) reduces (i.e. improves) the SR in healthy adults, and chronic stroke patients. The ability to suppress antagonist muscles may be exacerbated at high movement rates. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the selective muscle activation of the biceps brachii (BB) is dependent on altering frequency demands, and whether the c-tDCS improvement of SR is dependent on task frequency. Seventeen healthy participants performed repetitive isometric elbow flexion and forearm pronation at three rates, before and after c-tDCS or sham delivered to ipsilateral left M1. Ipsilateral c-tDCS improved the SR in a frequency dependent manner by selectively suppressing BB antagonist excitability. Our findings confirm that c-tDCS is an effective tool for improving selective muscle activation, and provide novel evidence for its efficacy at rates of movement where it is most likely to benefit task performance.

Shifts in movement behavior of spawning fish under risk of predation by land-based consumers

Animals confront behavioral trade-offs whenever the movements required to attain suitable sites for reproduction or resource acquisition also increase exposure to predators. Hence, the consequences of such trade-offs should be considered in analyses of movement behavior. The objective of this study was to quantitatively link shifts in movement behavior of stream fish during the reproductive season to risk of mortality from land-based tetrapod predators. We tagged 30 brook trout with internal radio transmitters and extensively recorded both movement patterns and mortality from predation over the entire spatial range of the population. Our main result is that most of the individuals (19/30) had marked shifts in movement behavior, characterized by alternating periods of low and high movement rates, which were associated with marked shifts in mortality rate. Mortality rate increased from 0.016/day during periods of low movement rate (8.0 m/day; sheltering state) to 0.071/day during periods of high movement rate (91.0 m/day; searching state). Furthermore, individuals presenting no movement shift had low movement rate (9.6 m/day) and high mortality rate (0.096/day), in association with a preference for spawning ground. Mortality rates at the time of spawning were substantially greater than those previously reported in the literature and depended strongly on the movement state of the individuals and their use of spawning ground. Our quantitative analyses highlight the influence of within-individual variation in prey movement on risk of predation by land-based consumers.

Personality-dependent spatial ecology occurs independently from dispersal in wild burbot (Lota lota)

Although personality has been documented in numerous animals and characters, research into personality-dependent spatial ecology has focused on dispersal. Indeed, few authors have investigated the role of other important spatial traits such as home range, movement distance, vertical activity, and site fidelity, and it is not clear whether these behaviors are correlated with dispersal. In this study, we investigated individual differences in home range, dispersal from release, vertical activity, movement distance, and site fidelity of 44 wild burbot Lota lota over 2 years, using an acoustic telemetry array and a Bayesian mixed modeling framework. We tested whether the spatial behaviors met the following criteria for personality-dependent behavior: repeatability, cross-contextual consistency, and an absence of pseudo-repeatability associated with spatial context choice. We then tested for between-individual correlations among spatial behaviors, indicative of a behavioral syndrome. Our results documented repeatable, cross-contextually consistent, personality-dependent home range, movement, dispersal from release, and site fidelity. In contrast, behavioral differences in vertical activity were inconsistent across sampling years and may have been a product of habitat heterogeneity. Our data indicate a spatial behavioral syndrome occurred independently from dispersal from release, with behavioral types ranging from resident individuals with small home ranges, high site fidelity, and minimal movement to mobile individuals with large home ranges, high movement rates, and little site fidelity. Our findings suggest animal personality can play a key role in shaping the space use of individuals, and this diversity in spatial behaviors may be too complex to be captured by often used simple linear measures of dispersal.

Summer habitat use and movements of late juvenile European flounder (Platichthys flesus) in tidal freshwaters: Results from an acoustic telemetry study

European flounder (Platichthys flesus) is generally considered to be a marine euryhaline species. Most existing studies have focused on the brackish part of its life cycle. This is the first time that acoustic telemetry has been used to study the movements, home range, and habitat use of late-stage juvenile flounders (2+, 3+) in a freshwater tidal segment of an estuary. A total of twenty individuals were marked during the summer of 2008. Fish movements were monitored using sixteen fixed receivers, as well as through manual tracking. To allow the combined use of both types of tracking data, a Brownian Bridge movement model was employed. This type of model takes into account the time-ordered nature of position data and calculates the proportion of time spent in certain areas based on movement paths. Summer movements of European flounder in freshwater habitats were restricted to longitudinal ranges of 50m to 870m, suggesting a sedentary life phase. Diet analysis and habitat preferences for both shaded and shallow areas of water suggest that the fish were searching for both food and shelter from predators. Small individual home ranges, coupled with the level of overlap between them, suggest that many fish shared small home ranges with conspecifics. In addition, there was a tendency for 3+ flounders to have higher rates of movement and larger home ranges. The results of this study further emphasise the importance of preserving freshwater habitats as foraging areas for European flounder, especially intertidal habitats up to the tidal limit.

Effects of natural and anthropogenic change on habitat use and movement of endangered salt marsh harvest mice.

The northern salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris halicoetes) is an endangered species endemic to the San Francisco Bay Estuary. Using a conservation behavior perspective, we examined how salt marsh harvest mice cope with both natural (daily tidal fluctuations) and anthropogenic (modification of tidal regime) changes in natural tidal wetlands and human-created diked wetlands, and investigated the role of behavioral flexibility in utilizing a human-created environment in the Suisun Marsh. We used radio telemetry to determine refuge use at high tide, space use, and movement rates to investigate possible differences in movement behavior in tidal versus diked wetlands. We found that the vast majority of the time salt marsh harvest mice remain in vegetation above the water during high tides. We also found no difference in space used by mice during high tide as compared to before or after high tide in either tidal or diked wetlands. We found no detectable difference in diurnal or nocturnal movement rates in tidal wetlands. However, we did find that diurnal movement rates for mice in diked wetlands were lower than nocturnal movement rates, especially during the new moon. This change in movement behavior in a relatively novel human-created habitat indicates that behavioral flexibility may facilitate the use of human-created environments by salt marsh harvest mice.

Seasonal Effects of Hydropeaking on Growth, Energetics and Movement of Juvenile Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar)

The performance and movements of juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar exposed to variable water discharge (simulating hydropeaking) but with a stable water-covered area were studied in six experimental stream channels, both during the winter and summer. Thirty fish were stocked into each channel, and the growth, body fat and movements of the fish were followed for about 2.5 months in each season. During the winter, no effect of hydropeaking was documented on performance or movement. In the summer, fish experiencing hydropeaking had lower body mass, lower body fat, and higher movement rates than the control fish. In general, effect sizes were small, and the rapid and frequent changes in water discharge and water level in the present study had small effects on the performance of juvenile Atlantic salmon. The cumulative long-term effect at the population level is unknown, but a reduced growth rate of 10% and a reduction in body fat of 16% in the hydropeaking experiments in the summer might to some extent translate into increased smolt age and lower overwintering survival. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Habitat selection during ungulate dispersal and exploratory movement at broad and fine scale with implications for conservation management.

BackgroundDispersal has a critical influence on demography and gene flow and as such maintaining connectivity between populations is an essential element of modern conservation. Advances in satellite radiotelemetry are providing new opportunities to document dispersal, which previously has been difficult to study. This type of data also can be used as an empirical basis for defining landscapes in terms of resistance surfaces, enabling habitat corridors to be identified. However, despite the scale-dependent nature of habitat selection few studies have investigated selection specifically during dispersal. Here we investigate habitat selection during and around dispersal periods as well as the influence of age and sex on dispersal for a large ungulate.ResultsOf 158 elk (Cervus elaphus) tracked using GPS radiotelemetry almost all dispersers were males, with individuals dispersing up to 98 km. The dispersal period was distinct, with higher movement rates than before or after dispersal. At fine scale elk avoided the most rugged terrain in all time periods, but to a greater extent during and after dispersal, which we showed using step selection functions. In contrast, habitat selection by resident elk was less affected by ruggedness and more by an attraction to areas of higher forage availability. At the broad scale, however, movement corridors of dispersers were characterized by higher forage availability and slightly lower ruggedness then expected using correlated random walks.ConclusionsIn one of the first examples of its kind we document complete long-distance dispersal events by an ungulate in detail. We find dispersal to be distinct in terms of movement rate and also find evidence that habitat selection during dispersal may differ from habitat selection in the home-range, with potential implications for the use of resistance surfaces to define conservation corridors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40462-014-0015-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Seasonal and Annual Survival of the SalamanderSalamandra salamandra salamandra

Abstract Survival is an important component of population growth rate. We use data from a 9-yr mark-recapture study to estimate annual and monthly survival probabilities of adult salamanders (Salamandra salamandra). Monthly survival probability was 0.98–0.99 and did not differ between summer and winter. Annual survival probability was 0.86. These estimates are similar to estimates for other salamander species. While other studies on Salamandra salamandra concluded that this species shows high movement rates, our results suggest very low movement rates.

Testing the consistency of wildlife data types before combining them: the case of camera traps and telemetry.

Wildlife data gathered by different monitoring techniques are often combined to estimate animal density. However, methods to check whether different types of data provide consistent information (i.e., can information from one data type be used to predict responses in the other?) before combining them are lacking. We used generalized linear models and generalized linear mixed-effects models to relate camera trap probabilities for marked animals to independent space use from telemetry relocations using 2 years of data for fishers (Pekania pennanti) as a case study. We evaluated (1) camera trap efficacy by estimating how camera detection probabilities are related to nearby telemetry relocations and (2) whether home range utilization density estimated from telemetry data adequately predicts camera detection probabilities, which would indicate consistency of the two data types. The number of telemetry relocations within 250 and 500 m from camera traps predicted detection probability well. For the same number of relocations, females were more likely to be detected during the first year. During the second year, all fishers were more likely to be detected during the fall/winter season. Models predicting camera detection probability and photo counts solely from telemetry utilization density had the best or nearly best Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), suggesting that telemetry and camera traps provide consistent information on space use. Given the same utilization density, males were more likely to be photo-captured due to larger home ranges and higher movement rates. Although methods that combine data types (spatially explicit capture–recapture) make simple assumptions about home range shapes, it is reasonable to conclude that in our case, camera trap data do reflect space use in a manner consistent with telemetry data. However, differences between the 2 years of data suggest that camera efficacy is not fully consistent across ecological conditions and make the case for integrating other sources of space-use data.

Meta-ecosystem dynamics and functioning on finite spatial networks

The addition of spatial structure to ecological concepts and theories has spurred integration between sub-disciplines within ecology, including community and ecosystem ecology. However, the complexity of spatial models limits their implementation to idealized, regular landscapes. We present a model meta-ecosystem with finite and irregular spatial structure consisting of local nutrient-autotrophs-herbivores ecosystems connected through spatial flows of materials and organisms. We study the effect of spatial flows on stability and ecosystem functions, and provide simple metrics of connectivity that can predict these effects. Our results show that high rates of nutrient and herbivore movement can destabilize local ecosystem dynamics, leading to spatially heterogeneous equilibria or oscillations across the meta-ecosystem, with generally increased meta-ecosystem primary and secondary production. However, the onset and the spatial scale of these emergent dynamics depend heavily on the spatial structure of the meta-ecosystem and on the relative movement rate of the autotrophs. We show how this strong dependence on finite spatial structure eludes commonly used metrics of connectivity, but can be predicted by the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the connectivity matrix that describe the spatial structure and scale. Our study indicates the need to consider finite-size ecosystems in meta-ecosystem theory.

Spatiotemporal Accuracy of Real-Time 3D Echocardiography in the Neonatal and Pediatric Setting – Validation Studies using Small Dynamic Test Objects

The precision of real-time 3D-echocardiography (RT3DE) is not sufficiently validated for small, fast-moving structures such as the neonatal and pediatric heart. To assess the spatiotemporal accuracy of RT3DE in small, moving test objects. Small, calibrated test objects in the size of neonatal and pediatric heart chambers were made from polyurethane foam or metal wire mesh and moved in a water bath through a calibrated dynamic test system. Using matrix transducers (X7-2, ie33 and X4-1, Sonos 7500, Philips, Andover, USA), 2 D and live 3 D datasets under variation of the motion speed (0.033 - 0.133 m/s corresponding to 50 - 200 heart cycles/minute), the volume rate and transducer position were recorded and analyzed (QLab 7.0, Philips). 3 D datasets of the moving test objects showed relevant spatial distortion, which was obviously related to the sequential scanning technology of the matrix transducer. Different segments of a test object were not recorded simultaneously, but rather row-by-row, so that there was a time delay between the first and the last-recorded voxel of a single 3 D volume (mean±SD: 28.9 ± 7.82 m/s or 80 ± 7 % of the time duration of a 3 D volume). With increasing motion speed of the test object and reduced 3 D volume rate, the distortion artifacts increased significantly. 3 D acquisitions using matrix technology demonstrate relevant spatiotemporal inaccuracies. This may lead to misinterpretations during the evaluation of the synchronicity of valvular or ventricular motion and incorrect definition of volume estimations. In particular, at higher heart rates and higher rates of movement, these limitations have to be taken into account in clinical practice.

Linking movement and reproductive history of brook trout to assess habitat connectivity in a heterogeneous stream network

Summary Defining functional connectivity between habitats in spatially heterogeneous landscapes is a particular challenge for small‐bodied aquatic species. Traditional approaches (e.g. mark–recapture studies) preclude an assessment of animal movement over the life cycle (birth to reproduction), and movement of individuals may not represent the degree of gene movement for fecund species. We investigated the degree of habitat connectivity (defined as the exchange of individuals and genes between mainstem and tributary habitats) in a stream brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) population using mark–recapture [passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags], stationary PIT‐tag antennae and genetic pedigree data collected over 4 years (3425 marked individuals). We hypothesised that: (i) a combination of these data would reveal higher estimates of animal movement over the life cycle (within a generation), relative to more temporally confined approaches, and (ii) movement estimates of individuals within a generation would differ from between‐generation movement of genes because of spatial variation in reproductive success associated with high fecundity of this species. Over half of PIT‐tagged fish (juveniles and adults) were recaptured within 20 m during periodic sampling, indicating restricted movement. However, continuous monitoring with stationary PIT‐tag antennae revealed distinct peaks in trout movements in June and October–November, and sibship data inferred post‐emergence movements of young‐of‐year trout that were too small to be tagged physically. A combination of these methods showed that a moderate portion of individuals (28–33%) moved between mainstem and tributary habitats over their life cycle. Patterns of reproductive success varied spatially and temporally. The importance of tributaries as spawning habitat was discovered by accounting for reproductive history. When individuals born in the mainstem reproduced successfully, over 50% of their surviving offspring were inferred to have been born in tributaries. This high rate of gene movement to tributaries was cryptic, and it would have been missed by estimates based only on movement of individuals. This study highlighted the importance of characterising animal movement over the life cycle for inferring habitat connectivity accurately. Such movements of individuals can contribute to substantial gene movements in a fecund species characterised by high variation in reproductive success.

Population Genetic Analysis Reveals Diversity in Lasiodiplodia Species Infecting Date Palm, Citrus, and Mango in Oman and the UAE.

Lasiodiplodia is a common pathogen causing dieback, gummosis, or root necrosis on the three most important fruit crops in Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE): date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), Citrus spp., and mango (Mangifera indica). A study was conducted to examine diversity in 64 Lasiodiplodia isolates infecting date palm (24), Citrus (11), and mango (29) in Oman and the UAE. Identification based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA and EF1α gene showed that date palm isolates belonged to L. hormozganensis (75% of isolates) and L. theobromae (25%); Citrus isolates belonged to L. hormozganensis (45%), L. theobromae (45%), and L. iraniensis (10%); and mango isolates belonged to L. theobromae (59%), L. iraniensis (34%), and L. hormozganensis (7%). Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting of the 64 isolates using four primer pair combinations produced 64 genotypes and 972 polymorphic alleles. Cluster analysis separated the isolates into four clusters representing the three species. A higher level of genetic diversity was observed in L. iraniensis (0.3105) compared to L. hormozganensis (0.2503) and L. theobromae (0.2331) in Oman. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated the existence of low levels of genetic differentiation among date palm populations of L. hormozganensis obtained from Oman and the UAE (FST = 0.025) and among populations of L. hormozganensis (0.0485) and L. theobromae (0.0703) from date palm, Citrus, and mango. These findings imply a high rate of movement of L. hormozganensis and L. theobromae isolates among date palm, Citrus, and mango and between the two countries. Findings from the pathogenicity test supported the AMOVA analysis and suggested a lack of host specialization in L. hormozganensis, L. iraniensis, and L. theobromae on date palm, acid lime, and mango. Although this is the first record of L. hormozganensis and L. iraniensis in Oman, the relatively moderate level of genetic diversity in the two species compared to L. theobromae suggests that the two species have been in Oman for a long time but misidentified by morphology and ITS rDNA sequences as L. theobromae. This study is also the first record of date palm and acid lime as natural hosts for L. hormozganensis and the first record of L. hormozganensis in the UAE. The diversity in Lasiodiplodia species affecting date palm, Citrus, and mango in Oman and the UAE should be taken into consideration when planning future management programs for diseases caused by these pathogens.

The effect of illumination and time of day on movements of bobcats (Lynx rufus).

Understanding behavioral changes of prey and predators based on lunar illumination provides insight into important life history, behavioral ecology, and survival information. The objectives of this research were to determine if bobcat movement rates differed by period of day (dark, moon, crepuscular, day), lunar illumination (<10%, 10 - <50%, 50 - <90%, >90%), and moon phase (new, full). Bobcats had high movement rates during crepuscular and day periods and low movement rates during dark periods with highest nighttime rates at 10-<50% lunar illumination. Bobcats had highest movement rates during daytime when nighttime illumination was low (new moon) and higher movement rates during nighttime when lunar illumination was high (full moon). The behaviors we observed are consistent with prey availability being affected by light level and by limited vision by bobcats during darkness.