Bats associated with inactive mines in the Great Basin

We surveyed bats using echolocation calls near inactive mines in the western Great Basin from 2003 to 2007. We identified 14 species of bats during our surveys, with Myotis lucifugus and Lasionycteris noctivagans found at 9 sites and Myotis evotis and Tadarida brasiliensis at 7 sites; all other species were found at less than one-half of the sites. Euderma maculatum, a state-protected species in Nevada, was recorded at 2 sites. Our work provides information that will be useful in managing bat habitat, especially with regard to mining activities.     

Observations on Double-crested Cormorants ( Phalacrocorax auritus ) at sportfishing waters in southwestern Utah

Counts of Double-crested Cormorants ( Phalacrocorax auritus ) were made at 13 reservoirs and lakes in southwestern Utah during 1989-91 to determine current abundance of that species. Food habits of cormorants were studied at three of the reservoirs in 1989. Data were also collected on trout abundance during standardized gill-netting to make comparisons between cormorant numbers and trout abundance. Cormorants were observed at all waters studied except one and were generally most numerous during the spring as they migrated through the area. Estimated cormorant abundance ranged from 0 to 34 bird-days per ha and was highest at the larger, lower-elevation reservoirs. Cormorants were summer residents at several of the larger reservoirs and nested successfully at Piute Reservoir. Trout accounted for 24-81% of the diet of cormorants, with Utah chubs constituting most of the remainder of the diet. Estimates of the annual consumption of fish by cormorants ranged from 0 to 15.8 kg per ha. The index of trout abundance was inversely related to cormorant abundance ( P < .01) at the waters studied. Cormorants apparently have increased in numbers and extended their range in southwestern Utah during the past decade. This change may be the result of factors that have led to similar changes throughout North America as well as some factors unique to Utah. Methods to mitigate the impact of predation by piscivorous birds of sportfisheries are discussed. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has initiated a new management plan at Minersville Reservoir that incorporates piscivorous birds into sportfish management at that reservoir.     

Springtime movements, boost Use, and foraging activity of Townsend's big-eared bat ( Plecotus townsendii ) in central Oregon

Seasonal movements, roost-site fidelity, and foraging activity patterns are largely unknown for western populations of Townsend's big-eared bat ( Plecotus townsendii ). We used miniature radiotelemetry units to track springtime movements of six bats inhabiting forested lava flows in central Oregon, and found that bats moved up to 24 km from hibernacula to foraging areas. Individual bats returned to the same foraging area on successive nights but shifted to different areas in presumed response to changes in insect availability. Both sexes apparently use a series of interim roost sites between emergence from hibernation and the time females enter into maternity colonies, with little individual fidelity to these sites. In regions characterized by extensive lava-flow topography, suitable daytime roosts are numerous and dispersed over a large area, allowing bats to move relatively great distances to locate foraging ranges. Hence, the actual area of concern for effective management of individual populations can be considerably larger than indicated solely by locations of hibernacula and maternity caves of this declining species.     

Distribution and abundance of native Bonneville cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarki utah ) in southwestern Utah

The Bonneville cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarki utah ; BCT) was once abundant throughout the Bonneville Basin. In southwestern Utah, however, only 3 local populations of the subspecies were known to exist in 1977, when conservation efforts to protect and replicate them began. By 1995 remnant populations were known in 6 streams, and replicate populations had been established in an additional 16. Populations of BCT in southwestern Utah streams were survey by electrofishing in 1994 and 1995 to describe the subspecies' status. Estimated densities of age-1 and older BCT ranged from 118 to 546 fish per km. Biomass estimates ranged from 8 to 64 kg per ha. Several age groups of BCT were collected at most locations. Six populations were classified as self-sustaining, 9 as expanding through natural recruitment, 6 as new, and 1 as hybridized. Overall status of BCT in southwestern Utah has improved since 1977, but conservation measures must continue to maintain a positive trend.     

Scanning electron microscopic study of the male genitalia of the North American alderfly genus Sialis (Megaloptera: Sialidae)

Scanning electron micrographs are presented for 14 species of the North American alderfly Sialis : americana , arvalis , californica , contigua , cornuta , hamata , iola , joppa , mohri , nevadensis , occidens , rotunda , vagans , and velata . Male genitalic characters are described for use in species identification.     

Dsg2 via Src-mediated transactivation shapes EGFR signaling towards cell adhesion

Rapidly renewing epithelial tissues such as the intestinal epithelium require precise tuning of intercellular adhesion and proliferation to preserve barrier integrity. Here, we provide evidence that desmoglein 2 (Dsg2), an adhesion molecule of desmosomes, controls cell adhesion and proliferation via epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling. Dsg2 is required for EGFR localization at intercellular junctions as well as for Src-mediated EGFR activation. Src binds to EGFR and is required for localization of EGFR and Dsg2 to cell–cell contacts. EGFR is critical for cell adhesion and barrier recovery. In line with this, Dsg2-deficient enterocytes display impaired barrier properties and increased cell proliferation. Mechanistically, Dsg2 directly interacts with EGFR and undergoes heterotypic-binding events on the surface of living enterocytes via its extracellular domain as revealed by atomic force microscopy. Thus, our study reveals a new mechanism by which Dsg2 via Src shapes EGFR function towards cell adhesion.     

The patterns and dynamics of genomic instability in metastatic pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive malignancy with a five-year mortality of 97-98%, usually due to widespread metastatic disease. Previous studies indicate that this disease has a complex genomic landscape, with frequent copy number changes and point mutations, but genomic rearrangements have not been characterized in detail. Despite the clinical importance of metastasis, there remain fundamental questions about the clonal structures of metastatic tumours, including phylogenetic relationships among metastases, the scale of ongoing parallel evolution in metastatic and primary sites, and how the tumour disseminates. Here we harness advances in DNA sequencing to annotate genomic rearrangements in 13 patients with pancreatic cancer and explore clonal relationships among metastases. We find that pancreatic cancer acquires rearrangements indicative of telomere dysfunction and abnormal cell-cycle control, namely dysregulated G1-to-S-phase transition with intact G2-M checkpoint. These initiate amplification of cancer genes and occur predominantly in early cancer development rather than the later stages of the disease. Genomic instability frequently persists after cancer dissemination, resulting in ongoing, parallel and even convergent evolution among different metastases. We find evidence that there is genetic heterogeneity among metastasis-initiating cells, that seeding metastasis may require driver mutations beyond those required for primary tumours, and that phylogenetic trees across metastases show organ-specific branches. These data attest to the richness of genetic variation in cancer, brought about by the tandem forces of genomic instability and evolutionary selection.     

Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height

Most common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits, but these typically explain small fractions of phenotypic variation, raising questions about the use of further studies. Here, using 183,727 individuals, we show that hundreds of genetic variants, in at least 180 loci, influence adult height, a highly heritable and classic polygenic trait. The large number of loci reveals patterns with important implications for genetic studies of common human diseases and traits. First, the 180 loci are not random, but instead are enriched for genes that are connected in biological pathways (P = 0.016) and that underlie skeletal growth defects (P?相似文献   

Global metabolic impacts of recent climate warming

Documented shifts in geographical ranges, seasonal phenology, community interactions, genetics and extinctions have been attributed to recent global warming. Many such biotic shifts have been detected at mid- to high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere-a latitudinal pattern that is expected because warming is fastest in these regions. In contrast, shifts in tropical regions are expected to be less marked because warming is less pronounced there. However, biotic impacts of warming are mediated through physiology, and metabolic rate, which is a fundamental measure of physiological activity and ecological impact, increases exponentially rather than linearly with temperature in ectotherms. Therefore, tropical ectotherms (with warm baseline temperatures) should experience larger absolute shifts in metabolic rate than the magnitude of tropical temperature change itself would suggest, but the impact of climate warming on metabolic rate has never been quantified on a global scale. Here we show that estimated changes in terrestrial metabolic rates in the tropics are large, are equivalent in magnitude to those in the north temperate-zone regions, and are in fact far greater than those in the Arctic, even though tropical temperature change has been relatively small. Because of temperature's nonlinear effects on metabolism, tropical organisms, which constitute much of Earth's biodiversity, should be profoundly affected by recent and projected climate warming.