Conservation status and reproduction of the critically endangered freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera).

1. Freshwater unionoids are one of the most threatened animal groups worldwide and the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera is currently listed as critically endangered in Europe. The ‘EC Habitats & Species Directive’ requires that EU member states monitor the distribution and abundance of this species and report regularly on its conservation status.
2. The pearl mussel meta-population in Northern Ireland was surveyed to assess temporal population trends in Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and mussel reproduction throughout its range.
3. Mussels occurred in six rivers and numbers within three SAC designated sites remained stable between 2004-07 and 2011. The discovery of >8,000 previously unknown individuals in the Owenreagh River contributed to an overall increase (+56.8%) in the total known population. All populations actively reproduced during 2010 with approximately half of all individuals gravid. Moreover, suitable salmonid hosts occurred at all sites with 10.7% of salmon and 22.8% of trout carrying encysted glochidia. Populations were composed entirely of aged individuals with little evidence of recent recruitment.
4. We infer that the break in the life cycle must occur during the juvenile stage when glochidia metamorphose and settle into the interstitial spaces within the substrate. Water quality parameters, most notably levels of suspended solids, exceeded the recommended maximum thresholds in all rivers.
5. We posit that the deposition of silt may be the main cause of juvenile mortality contributing to a lack of recruitment. Consequently, all populations were judged to be in ‘unfavourable’ conservation status. Catchment-level management plans are urgently needed to reduce siltation with the aim of improving recruitment. Our results have implications for the success of ex-situ conservation programmes; specifically, the size at which captive bred juveniles are released into the wild. Further research is required to assess the vulnerabilities of early life stages of M. margaritifera to siltation.

‘Disability and HIV in Africa: Breaking the barriers to sexual health care’

Three decades in to the HIV pandemic, the issues affecting people with disabilities remains less known. Increasing attention has been given to this overlooked population when it comes to HIV prevention, treatment and care. This is related to the significant unmet sexual and reproductive health care needs facing people with disabilities worldwide. This article discusses the barriers to sexual health for people with disabilities in Africa, and presents an argument about how mainstream HIV prevention work and research does not adequately attend to the sorts of systemic barriers that exclude people with disabilities, which a more targeted, and critical approach could.

Reproduction et échanges génétiques horizontaux chez les champignons mycorhiziens à arbuscules

3 vidéos sont dans des fichiers complémentaires à ce mémoire

To Say or not to Say: Dyadic Ambivalence over Emotional Expression and its Associations with Sexual Function, Satisfaction, Depression, Dyadic Adjustment, and Pain in Women with Provoked Vestibulodynia and their Partners

Essai doctoral présenté à la Faculté des Arts et des Sciences en vue de l’obtention du grade de Doctorat en Psychologie Clinique

Are primary and secondary provoked vestibulodynia two different entities? A comparison of pain, psychosocial and sexual characteristics.

Introduction Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is suspected to be the most frequent cause of vulvodynia in premenopausal women. Based on the onset of PVD relative to the start of sexual experience, PVD can be divided into primary (PVD1) and secondary PVD (PVD2). Studies comparing these PVD subgroups are inconclusive as to whether differences exist in sexual and psychosocial functioning. Aim The aim of this study was to compare the pain, sexual and psychosocial functioning of a large clinical and community-based sample of premenopausal women with PVD1 and PVD2. Methods A total of 269 women (n = 94 PVD1; n = 175 PVD2) completed measures on sociodemographics, pain, sexual, and psychosocial functioning. Main Outcome Measures Dependent variables were the 0–10 pain numerical rating scale, McGill–Melzack Pain Questionnaire, Female Sexual Function Index, Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Painful Intercourse Self-Efficacy Scale, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Trait Subscale, Ambivalence over Emotional Expression Questionnaire, Hurlbert Index of Sexual Assertiveness, Experiences in Close Relationships Scale—Revised, and Dyadic Adjustment Scale-Revised. Results At first sexual relationship, women with PVD2 were significantly younger than women with PVD1 (P < 0.01). The average relationship duration was significantly longer in women with PVD2 compared with women with PVD1 (P < 0.01). Although women with PVD1 described a significantly longer duration of pain compared with women with PVD2 (P < 0.01), no significant subtype differences were found in pain intensity during intercourse. When controlling for the sociodemographics mentioned earlier, no significant differences were found in sexual, psychological, and relational functioning between the PVD subgroups. Nevertheless, on average, both groups were in the clinical range of sexual dysfunction and reported impaired psychological functioning. Conclusions The findings show that there are no significant differences in the sexual and psychosocial profiles of women with PVD1 and PVD2. Results suggest that similar psychosocial and sex therapy interventions should be offered to both subgroups of PVD.

Harmful or helpful : perceived solicitous and facilitative partner responses are differentially associated with pain and sexual satisfaction in women with provoked vestibulodynia.

Introduction.  Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a highly prevalent vulvovaginal pain condition that negatively affects women's emotional, sexual, and relationship well-being. Recent studies have investigated the role of interpersonal variables, including partner responses. Aim.  We examined whether solicitous and facilitative partner responses were differentially associated with vulvovaginal pain and sexual satisfaction in women with PVD by examining each predictor while controlling for the other. Methods.  One hundred twenty-one women (M age = 30.60, SD = 10.53) with PVD or self-reported symptoms of PVD completed the solicitous subscale of the spouse response scale of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory, and the facilitative subscale of the Spouse Response Inventory. Participants also completed measures of pain, sexual function, sexual satisfaction, trait anxiety, and avoidance of pain and sexual behaviors (referred to as “avoidance”). Main Outcome Measures.  Dependent measures were the (i) Pain Rating Index of the McGill Pain Questionnaire with reference to pain during vaginal intercourse and (ii) Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction Scale. Results.  Controlling for trait anxiety and avoidance, higher solicitous partner responses were associated with higher vulvovaginal pain intensity (β = 0.20, P = 0.03), and higher facilitative partner responses were associated with lower pain intensity (β = −0.20, P = 0.04). Controlling for sexual function, trait anxiety, and avoidance, higher facilitative partner responses were associated with higher sexual satisfaction (β = 0.15, P = 0.05). Conclusions.  Findings suggest that facilitative partner responses may aid in alleviating vulvovaginal pain and improving sexual satisfaction, whereas solicitous partner responses may contribute to greater pain.

Studies on a sea anemone ,anthopleura nicrescens(verrill) from the south west coast of India

The present study was undertaken with a view to understanding some aspects of the morphology, bionomics and physiology of the sea anemone A.nigrescens. This species was selected for the study since it is abundantly available along the coast throughout the year and can successfully reared in the laboratory without much effort. The present study deals with the following aspects of A.nigrescens. description of the species, habitat, food and feeding, digestion, studies on salinity tolerance, studies on oxygen consumption, studies on tolerance to desiccation, asexual reproduction and regeneration.

Children’s literature: sexual identity, gender and childhood

On the twenty-third of May 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. This event reversed a large part, if not all, of Ireland’s reputation for a Catholic-led conservatism concerning sexual and gender identities. I argue in this article that we can see a parallel-in-miniature to this momentous shift in something of a reversal of children’s literature’s views in this respect too, and I will concentrate on exploring what is at stake in the ways that childhood, sexual and gender identities are constructed in some recent children’s literature criticism in the light of these shifts. My interest is to consider: what is the ever-burgeoning interest in the gay, queer, cross-dressing, transsexual or transgender child precisely about? I ask this question on the grounds of not assuming that this interest in these identities arises necessarily simply out of a self-evident, progressive, liberatory impulse, and, alongside this, I also do not assume that ‘identities’ are essential, self-organised traits awaiting revelation and liberation.

Genetic variation and population structuring in two brooding coral species (Siderastrea stellata and Siderastrea radians) from Brazil

Siderastrea stellata and S. radians are scleractinian coral species that present a remarkable overlap of diagnostic characteristics and sympatric distribution. Moreover, both are viviparous with similar reproductive strategies and with a gregarious larval behavior. Samples of both species from the Brazilian coast were analyzed using 18 isozymic loci to quantify their genetic variability and populational structure. Results confirmed species identity, high intrapopulational variability and revealed moderate genetic structuring among all samples (S. stellata: F(ST) = 0.070; S. radians: F(ST) = 0.092). Based on genotypic diversity analysis, there was evidence that local recruitment may have a minor role in the populations (mean, G(o) :G(e) = 1.00 +/- 0.0003 SD for S. stellata and 0.99 +/- 0.0023 SD for S. radians). Deviations towards heterozygote deficiencies found in both Siderastrea species could be explained by the Wahlund effect, since there was evidence that populations might be composed of colonies of different ages. In S. radians it is also likely that there is some inbreeding occurring in the studied populations. Despite the brooding pattern and the gregarious larval behavior, our data suggest the occurrence of gene flow along the Brazilian coast. This is the first study on population genetics of Brazilian reef corals.

Food resources influencing the asexual reproductive cycle of coronate Scyphozoa

The study of the strobilation process, a feature unique in the class Scyphozoa, is an issue that helps understanding the patterns of asexual reproduction in sessile invertebrates. Many inducers of asexual reproduction are known for scyphozoans. However, the influence of food resources on the strobilation of Coronate Scyphozoa has never been tested. WO observed strobilation of a large number of polyps of Nausithoe aurea, from a wide sampling area along the South Atlantic coast of Brazil, through the administration of controlled number of hatched nauplii of Artemia franciscana under a previous tested starvation and feeding protocol. The number of strobilations between and within groups varied and the fate and shape of strobilation deviated from the biology reported in the original description. Artificial seawater was used to reduce the influence of dissolved organic matter as likely important alternative nourishment.

The effect of mood on opposite-sex judgments of males' commitment and females sexual intent

Gender differences in perceptions of sexual intent and commitment have been the subject of formal and informal inquiry for considerable time. One evolutionary theory, Error Management Theory (EMT), predicts that opposite-sex perceptions of female sexual intent and male commitment intent reflect intrinsic biases that minimize gender-specific evolutionary costs. The results supporting these hypotheses were obtained from subjects regardless of mood. We hypothesized that mood would influence ratings of sexual and commitment intent. Sixty participants (30 males, 30 females) were recruited and exposed to a positive and negative mood condition in counterbalanced groups using video stimuli. Preliminary analyses found an unexpected effect of order of mood induction, necessitating separate analyses of the Positive-Negative (PN) and Negative-Positive (NP) groups. Contrary to the original study, there were no gender effects. Positive moods led to increased ratings of both sexual and commitment intent across genders. Further, negative to positive mood-change was associated with significantly increased ratings. Both males and females attributed significantly higher sexual intent to same-sex rivals than themselves, but only males assessed themselves as having significantly higher commitment intent than same-sex rivals. The EMT model may require adaptation to acknowledge effects of variables such as mood on its predictions of gender-specific biases.

Pictorial cues and sexual desire : an experimental approach

The cognitive processing of sexual and non-sexual pictorial stimuli was examined to see whether picture rating and recognition tasks have potential utility as a means of assessing levels of sexual desire. Previous research has revealed slower responding to sexual compared to neutral semantic cues in persons with lower self-reported sexual desire. The present study investigated whether sexual pictorial cues evoked a similarly slower responding in people reporting low sexual desire compared to other individuals. A total of 136 participants completed two self-report measures of sexual desire (the Hurlbert Index of Sexual Desire and the Sexual Desire Inventory) before carrying out tasks involving affective ratings and recognition memory for pictorial stimuli. Participants were classified into relatively low, average, and higher groups on the basis of their scores on the desire measures. The stimuli were selected from the International Affective Picture System, and the tasks included (1) rating the valence, arousal, and sense of dominance or control for each picture, (2) recognition of previously seen images, and (3) a second rating of pictures viewed earlier. Level of sexual desire did not influence responding in the male participants. Female participants with lower sexual desire rated sexual images less pleasant and less arousing than the other participants, and completed picture recognition tasks more quickly. Sexual desire levels significantly influenced the interest ratings women gave to sexual pictures. We also found sexual content induced delays. These delays were not significantly different among desire groups. The variation in responding linked to levels of sexual desire in women suggests that more investigation of this methodology in a clinically diagnosed population might contribute to an understanding of low desire, and help design interventions addressing distress due to lack of sexual desire.

Sexual selection and the evolution of complex color patterns in dragon lizards

Many species have elaborate and complex coloration and patterning, which often differ between the sexes. Sexual selection may increase the size or intensity of color patches (elaboration) in one sex or drive the evolution of novel signal elements (innovation). The latter potentially increases color pattern complexity. Color pattern complexity may also be influenced by ecological factors related to predation and environment; however, very few studies have investigated the effects of both sexual and natural selection on color pattern complexity across species. We used a phylogenetic comparative approach to examine these effects in 85 species and subspecies of Australian dragon lizards (family Agamidae). We quantified color pattern complexity by adapting the Shannon–Wiener diversity index. There were clear sex differences in color pattern complexity, which were positively correlated with both sexual dichromatism and sexual size dimorphism, consistent with the idea that sexual selection plays a significant role in the evolution of color pattern complexity. By contrast, we found little evidence of a link between environmental factors and color pattern complexity on body regions exposed to predators. Our results suggest that sexual selection rather than natural selection has led to increased color pattern complexity in males.

Body mass index, sexual difficulties and sexual satisfaction among people in regular heterosexual relationships : a population-based study

Background/Aims:  The aims of this study were to clarify the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and sexual difficulties and to investigate if BMI influenced sexual satisfaction, over and above the effects of sexual difficulties.

Methods:  Cross-sectional analyses of a nationally representative computer-assisted telephone interview. Eight thousand, six hundred and fifty-six respondents were recruited by random digit dialling in 2004–2005. Only those in a sexually active, heterosexual relationship were included in the current analyses.

Results:  After adjustments for demographic factors, both overweight and obese male and female participants were more likely to report worrying during sex about whether their body was unattractive. Among women, associations were also found between higher BMI and lack of interest in sex. No other significant associations between BMI and sexual difficulties were evident. There was an association between BMI and extreme physical pleasure for women but not men over and above the effects of sexual difficulties, with obese women being more likely than normal weight women to report extreme physical pleasure. No associations were found for either men or women between BMI and whether or not they reported extreme emotional or sexual satisfaction with their relationship.

Conclusions:  With the exception of body image difficulties, there is little association between BMI and self-reported sexual difficulties. Furthermore, extreme sexual and emotional satisfaction appeared to be associated with the presence or absence of sexual difficulties and not overly influenced by BMI. Overall, clinicians and patients should be aware that being overweight is not necessarily detrimental to sexual functioning.

Sexual niche segregation and gender-specific individual specialisation in a highly dimorphic marine mammal

While sexual segregation is expected in highly dimorphic species, the local environment is a major factor driving the degree of resource partitioning within a population. Sexual and individual niche segregation was investigated in the Australian fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus), which is a benthic foraging species restricted to the shallow continental shelf region of south-eastern Australia. Tracking data and the isotopic values of plasma, red blood cells and whiskers were combined to document spatial and dietary niche segregation throughout the year. Tracking data indicated that, in winter, males and females overlapped in their foraging habitat. All individuals stayed within central Bass Strait, relatively close (< 220 km) to the breeding colony. Accordingly, both genders exhibited similar plasma and red cell δ13C values. However, males exhibited greater δ13C intra-individual variation along the length of their whisker than females. This suggests that males exploited a greater diversity of foraging habitats throughout the year than their female counterparts, which are restricted in their foraging grounds by the need to regularly return to the breeding colony to suckle their pup. The degree of dietary sexual segregation was also surprisingly low, both sexes exhibiting a great overlap in their δ15N values. Yet, males displayed higher δ15N values than females, suggesting they fed upon a higher proportion of higher trophic level prey. Given that males and females exploit different resources (mainly foraging habitats), the degree of individual specialisation might differ between the sexes. Higher degrees of individual specialisation would be expected in males which exploit a greater range of resources. However, comparable levels of inter-individual variation in δ15N whisker values were found in the sampled males and females, and, surprisingly, all males exhibited similar seasonal and inter-annual variation in their δ13C whisker values, suggesting they all followed the same general dispersion pattern throughout the year.