Invasive alien species disrupt spatial and temporal ecology and threaten extinction in an insular, small mammal community

The impact of invasive bank vole (Myodes glareolus) and greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) on indigenous Irish small mammals, varies with season and habitat. We caught bank voles in deciduous woodland, young coniferous plantations and open habitats such as rank grass. The greater white-toothed shrew was absent from deciduous woods and plantations but did use open habitats with low level cover in addition to field margins. Numbers of both invasive species in field margins during summer were higher than in the previous spring. The indigenous wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) and pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus), differed in degrees of negative response to invasive species. Wood mice with bank voles in hedgerows had reduced recruitment and lower peak abundance. This effect was less extreme where both invasive species were present. Wood mice numbers along field margins and open habitats were significantly depressed by the presence of the bank vole with no such effect in deciduous woodland or coniferous plantations. Summer recruitment in pygmy shrews was reduced in hedgerows with bank voles. Where greater white-toothed shrew was present, the pygmy shrew was entirely absent from field margins. Species replacement due to invasive small mammals is occurring in their major habitat i.e. field margins and open habitats where there is good ground cover. Pygmy shrew will probably disappear from these habitats throughout Ireland. Wood mice and possibly pygmy shrew may survive in deciduous woodland and conifer plantations. Mitigation of impacts of invasive species should include expansion of woodland in which native species can survive.

Covering over the cracks in conservation assessments at EU interfaces: A cross-jurisdictional ecoregion scale approach using the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra)

Throughout the European Union, the EC Habitats Directive requires that member states undertake national surveillance of designated species. Despite biological connections between-populations across-borders, national assessments need not be co-ordinated in any way. We conducted a trans-boundary assessment of the status of Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) aimed at providing consistency across a single biogeographical unit, i.e. the island of Ireland, comprising two states, i.e. the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland). Our aim was to ensure consistency with previous assessments conducted separately in each state, and permit each Government to fulfil their separate statutory reporting commitments. The species range increased by 23% from 1996–2006 and 2007–11. The population estimate of 9400 [95%CI 8700–12,200] breeding females during 2010/11 was not significantly different from 8300 [95%CI 7600–9800] breeding females established as a baseline during 1981–82. Modelling of species-habitat associations suggested that available habitat was not limiting and no putative pressures recorded at sites surveyed negatively affected species occurrence. Thus, under the statutory parameters for assessing a species’ conservation status, i.e. range, population, habitat and future prospects, the otter was judged to be in ‘Favourable’ status throughout Ireland and in both discrete political jurisdictions. Thus, we provide a trans-boundary test case for EU member states that share habitats and species across ecoregions, ensuring conservation assessment data are standardised, synchronised, spatially consistent and, therefore, biologically relevant without compromising legal and administrative autonomy within separate jurisdictions.

Physiological stress in the Eurasian badger (Meles meles): Effects of host, disease and environment

A method for monitoring hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) responses of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) to stressors was validated by measuring cortisol excretion in serum and faeces. Serum and faecal samples were collected under anaesthesia from live-captured, wild badgers and fresh faeces was collected from latrines at 15 social groups in County Down, Northern Ireland. Variation in levels of cortisol in wild badgers was investigated relative to disease status, season, age, sex, body mass, body condition and reproductive status and environmental factors that might influence stress. Faecal cortisol levels were significantly higher in animals testing culture-positive for Mycobacterium bovis. Prolonged elevation of cortisol can suppress immune function, which may have implications for disease transmission. There was a strong seasonal pattern in both serum cortisol, peaking in spring and faecal cortisol, peaking in summer. Cortisol levels were also higher in adults with poor body condition and low body mass. Faecal samples collected from latrines in grassland groups had significantly higher cortisol than those collected from woodland groups, possibly as a result of greater exposure to sources of environmental stress. This study is the first to investigate factors influencing physiological stress in badgers and indicates that serological and faecal excretion are valid indices of the HPA response to a range of stressors.

CD44-Mediated Activaton of α5β1-Intergrin, Cortactin and Paxillin Signaling Underpins Ashesion of basal-like breat cancer cells to Endotherlium and Fibronectin- enriched Matrices

CD44 expression is elevated in basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) tissue, and correlates with increased efficiency of distant metastasis in patients and experimental models. We sought to characterize mechanisms underpinning CD44-promoted adhesion of BLBC cells to vascular endothelial monolayers and extracellular matrix (ECM) substrates. Stimulation with hyaluronan (HA), the native ligand for CD44, increased expression and activation of β1-integrin receptors, and increased α5-integrin subunit expression. Adhesion assays confirmed that CD44-signalling potentiated BLBC cell adhesion to endothelium and Fibronectin in an α5B1-integrin-dependent mechanism. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments confirmed HA-promoted association of CD44 with talin and the β1-integrin chain in BLBC cells. Knockdown of talin inhibited CD44 complexing with β1-integrin and repressed HA-induced, CD44-mediated activation of β1-integrin receptors. Immunoblotting confirmed that HA induced rapid phosphorylation of cortactin and paxillin, through a CD44-dependent and β1-integrin-dependent mechanisms. Knockdown of CD44, cortactin or paxillin independently attenuated the adhesion of BL-BCa cells to endothelial monolayers and Fibronectin. Accordingly, we conclude that CD44 induced, integrin-mediated signaling not only underpins efficient adhesion of BLBC cells to BMECs to facilitate extravasation but initiates their adhesion to Fibronectin, enabling penetrant cancer cells to adhere more efficiently to underlying Fibronectin-enriched matrix present within the metastatic niche.

European Union non-discrimination law and intersectionality:Investigating the triangle of racial, gender and disability discrimination

This book contributes to a critical reflection of current legislative and jurisprudential developments in Non-Discrimination Law, focusing on the European Union. The book is focused on intersectionality between gender, race and disability and the question of whether, and to what extent, this intersection can be adequately addressed in (EU) law. The discussion rests on two basic assumptions. First, the multiplication of 'discrimination grounds' in EU law and other legal regimes should not result in a dilution of the demands of equality law. Accordingly, the book focuses on the three key grounds - race, gender and disability. These constitute nodes around which other discrimination grounds can be grouped. Second, any multi-ground non-discrimination law framework needs to engage with the question of discrimination on several grounds. This book provides a critical evaluation of some of the problems presented by such intersectionality and an opportunity to explore the issues in depth. This collection offers some new proposals relating to the regrouping of identity categories and to the general approach to socio-legal research in the field. It also contains a comparative section, which expands on practical experiences with intersectionality and law, and a section dedicated to juridical responses to intersectionality.

Winter Is Coming: Seasonal Variation in Resting Metabolic Rate of the European Badger (Meles meles)

Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is a measure of the minimum energy requirements of an animal at rest, and can give an indication of the costs of somatic maintenance. We measured RMR of free-ranging European badgers (Meles meles) to determine whether differences were related to sex, age and season. Badgers were captured in live-traps and placed individually within a metabolic chamber maintained at 20 ± 1°C. Resting metabolic rate was determined using an open-circuit respirometry system. Season was significantly correlated with RMR, but no effects of age or sex were detected. Summer RMR values were significantly higher than winter values (mass-adjusted mean ± standard error: 2366 ± 70 kJ⋅d-1; 1845 ± 109 kJ⋅d-1, respectively), with the percentage difference being 24.7%. While under the influence of anaesthesia, RMR was estimated to be 25.5% lower than the combined average value before administration, and after recovery from anaesthesia. Resting metabolic rate during the autumn and winter was not significantly different to allometric predictions of basal metabolic rate for mustelid species weighing 1 kg or greater, but badgers measured in the summer had values that were higher than predicted. Results suggest that a seasonal reduction in RMR coincides with apparent reductions in physical activity and body temperature as part of the overwintering strategy ('winter lethargy') in badgers. This study contributes to an expanding dataset on the ecophysiology of medium-sized carnivores, and emphasises the importance of considering season when making predictions of metabolic rate.

Streaming Elements for FPGA Signal and Image Processing Accelerators

Field programmable gate array devices boast abundant resources with which custom accelerator components for signal, image and data processing may be realised; however, realising high performance, low cost accelerators currently demands manual register transfer level design. Software-programmable ’soft’ processors have been proposed as a way to reduce this design burden but they are unable to support performance and cost comparable to custom circuits. This paper proposes a new soft processing approach for FPGA which promises to overcome this barrier. A high performance, fine-grained streaming processor, known as a Streaming Accelerator Element, is proposed which realises accelerators as large scale custom multicore networks. By adopting a streaming execution approach with advanced program control and memory addressing capabilities, typical program inefficiencies can be almost completely eliminated to enable performance and cost which are unprecedented amongst software-programmable solutions. When used to realise accelerators for fast fourier transform, motion estimation, matrix multiplication and sobel edge detection it is shown how the proposed architecture enables real-time performance and with performance and cost comparable with hand-crafted custom circuit accelerators and up to two orders of magnitude beyond existing soft processors.