Ecological connectivity as a planning tool for the conservation of wildlife in cities.

The application of ecological theory in urban planning is becoming more important as land managers focus on increasing biodiversity to improve human welfare in cities. Authorities must decide not only what types of biodiversity-focused infrastructure should be prioritized, but also where new resources should be positioned and existing resources protected or enhanced. Measuring the contribution of green infrastructure to landscape connectivity can maximise the successful return and conservation of urban nature. By using ecological connectivity theory as a planning tool, the effect of different interventions (both positive and negative) on the ease with which wildlife can move across the landscape can be compared. Here we outline an approach to a) quantify ecological connectivity for different urban wildlife species and b) use this to test different urban planning scenarios using QGIS. We demonstrate extensions which improve the application of this method as a planning tool:•Conversion of the effective mesh size value ( m eff ) to a "probability of connectedness" ( P c , for easier interpretation by local government and comparisons between planning scenarios).•An approach for measuring species-specific connectivity, including how to decide what spatial information should be included and which types of species might be most responsive to connectivity planning.•Guidance for using the method to compare different urban planning scenarios.

Benign Metastasizing Leiomyoma of the Uterus: Rare Manifestation of a Frequent Pathology.

Benign Metastasizing Leiomyoma (BML) is a rare condition with few cases reported in the literature. It is usually incidentally diagnosed several years after a primary gynecological surgery for uterine leiomyoma. Differential diagnosis of BML is complex requiring an extensive work-up and exclusion of malignancy. Here, we report two cases of BML based on similarity of histopathological, immunohistochemical, and genetic patterns between lung nodules and uterine leiomyoma previously resected, evidencing the variability of clinical and radiological features of BML. We highlight the importance of 19q and 22q deletions as highly suggestive of BML. These findings are particularly relevant when there is no uterine sample for review.

Demographic and genetic viability of a medium-sized ground-dwelling mammal in a fire prone, rapidly urbanizing landscape.

The rapid and large-scale urbanization of peri-urban areas poses major and complex challenges for wildlife conservation. We used population viability analysis (PVA) to evaluate the influence of urban encroachment, fire, and fauna crossing structures, with and without accounting for inbreeding effects, on the metapopulation viability of a medium-sized ground-dwelling mammal, the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus), in the rapidly expanding city of Perth, Australia. We surveyed two metapopulations over one and a half years, and parameterized the PVA models using largely field-collected data. The models revealed that spatial isolation imposed by housing and road encroachment has major impacts on I. obesulus. Although the species is known to persist in small metapopulations at moderate levels of habitat fragmentation, the models indicate that these populations become highly vulnerable to demographic decline, genetic deterioration, and local extinction under increasing habitat connectivity loss. Isolated metapopulations were also predicted to be highly sensitive to fire, with large-scale fires having greater negative impacts on population abundance than small-scale ones. To reduce the risk of decline and local extirpation of I. obesulus and other small- to medium-sized ground-dwelling mammals in urbanizing, fire prone landscapes, we recommend that remnant vegetation and vegetated, structurally-complex corridors between habitat patches be retained. Well-designed road underpasses can be effective to connect habitat patches and reduce the probability of inbreeding and genetic differentiation; however, adjustment of fire management practices to limit the size of unplanned fires and ensure the retention of long unburnt vegetation will also be required to ensure persistence. Our study supports the evidence that in rapidly urbanizing landscapes, a pro-active conservation approach is required that manages species at the metapopulation level and that prioritizes metapopulations and habitat with greater long-term probability of persistence and conservation capacity, respectively. This strategy may help us prevent future declines and local extirpations, and currently relatively common species from becoming rare.

A climate change context for the decline of a foundation tree species in south-western Australia: insights from phylogeography and species distribution modelling.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A worldwide increase in tree decline and mortality has been linked to climate change and, where these represent foundation species, this can have important implications for ecosystem functions. This study tests a combined approach of phylogeographic analysis and species distribution modelling to provide a climate change context for an observed decline in crown health and an increase in mortality in Eucalyptus wandoo, an endemic tree of south-western Australia. METHODS: Phylogeographic analyses were undertaken using restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of chloroplast DNA in 26 populations across the species distribution. Parsimony analysis of haplotype relationships was conducted, a haplotype network was prepared, and haplotype and nucleotide diversity were calculated. Species distribution modelling was undertaken using Maxent models based on extant species occurrences and projected to climate models of the last glacial maximum (LGM). KEY RESULTS: A structured pattern of diversity was identified, with the presence of two groups that followed a climatic gradient from mesic to semi-arid regions. Most populations were represented by a single haplotype, but many haplotypes were shared among populations, with some having widespread distributions. A putative refugial area with high haplotype diversity was identified at the centre of the species distribution. Species distribution modelling showed high climatic suitability at the LGM and high climatic stability in the central region where higher genetic diversity was found, and low suitability elsewhere, consistent with a pattern of range contraction. CONCLUSIONS: Combination of phylogeography and paleo-distribution modelling can provide an evolutionary context for climate-driven tree decline, as both can be used to cross-validate evidence for refugia and contraction under harsh climatic conditions. This approach identified a central refugial area in the test species E. wandoo, with more recent expansion into peripheral areas from where it had contracted at the LGM. This signature of contraction from lower rainfall areas is consistent with current observations of decline on the semi-arid margin of the range, and indicates low capacity to tolerate forecast climatic change. Identification of a paleo-historical context for current tree decline enables conservation interventions to focus on maintaining genetic diversity, which provides the evolutionary potential for adaptation to climate change.

Time for a change: dynamic urban ecology.

Contemporary cities are expanding rapidly in a spatially complex, non-linear manner. However, this form of expansion is rarely taken into account in the way that urbanization is classically assessed in ecological studies. An explicit consideration of the temporal dynamics, although frequently missing, is crucial in order to understand the effects of urbanization on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in rapidly urbanizing landscapes. In particular, a temporal perspective highlights the importance of land-use legacies and transient dynamics in the response of biodiversity to environmental change. Here, we outline the essential elements of an emerging framework for urban ecology that incorporates the characteristics of contemporary urbanization and thus empowers ecologists to understand and intervene in the planning and management of cities.

[Self-esteem in formal care providers and quality of life indexes in users of support facilities for the institutionalized elderly, in Portalegre]. / Auto conceito em Cuidadores Formais e indices de Qualidade de VIDA em utilizadores de Instituições de apoio a terceira idade em regime de internamento, em Portalegre.

It is a transversal and descriptive study, and the main meaning was to measure the Self-concept of formal caregivers in elderly institutions, and also the life quality of internally users in the same institutions. To the development of the study were selected two of the elderly institutions of Portalegre, Portugal. The population was composed by internally users (N=113) and formal caregivers (N=81) of both elderly institutions, being used respectively the WOHQOL-bref Questionnaire and the Self-concept Inventory (Vaz Serra, 1986). Based on the distribution of the self-concept of formal caregivers by mean point, we verify that 97.67% (n=42) have a high self-concept and 2.33% (n=1) have a low self-concept. We can conclude that generally formal caregivers have a high self-concept. About life quality value, we verify that most of internally users have values above the average point that identify the life quality. That suggests the internally users have a life quality above the medium point.