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Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of cancer in children (age 0–14 years); however, the etiology remains incompletely understood. Several environmental exposures have been linked to risk of childhood ALL, including air pollution. Closely related to air pollution and human development is artificial light at night (ALAN), which is believed to disrupt circadian rhythm and impact health. We sought to evaluate outdoor ALAN and air pollution on risk of childhood ALL. The California Linkage Study of Early-Onset Cancers is a large population-based case–control in California that identifies and links cancer diagnoses from the California Cancer Registry to birth records. For each case, 50 controls with the same year of birth were obtained from birth records. A total of 2,782 ALL cases and 139,100 controls were identified during 2000–2015. ALAN was assessed with the New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness and air pollution with an ensemble-based air pollution model of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5). After adjusting for known and suspected risk factors, the highest tertile of ALAN was associated with an increased risk of ALL in Hispanic children (odds ratio [OR] = 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.32). There also appeared to be a borderline association between PM2.5 level and risk of ALL among non-Hispanic White children (OR per 10 µg/m3 = 1.24, 95% CI 0.98–1.56). We observed elevated risk of ALL in Hispanic children residing in areas of greater ALAN. Further work is needed to understand the role of ALAN and air pollution in the etiology of childhood ALL in different racial/ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free-roaming domestic cats (i.e., cats that are owned or unowned and are considered 'at large') are globally distributed non-native species that have marked impacts on biodiversity and human health. Despite clear scientific evidence of these impacts, free-roaming cats are either unmanaged or managed using scientifically unsupported and ineffective approaches (e.g., trap-neuter-release [TNR]) in many jurisdictions around the world. A critical first initiative for effective, science-driven management of cats must be broader political and legislative recognition of free-roaming cats as a non-native, invasive species. Designating cats as invasive is important for developing and implementing science-based management plans, which should include efforts to prevent cats from becoming free-roaming, policies focused on responsible pet ownership and banning outdoor cat feeding, and better enforcement of existing laws. Using a science-based approach is necessary for responding effectively to the politically charged and increasingly urgent issue of managing free-roaming cat populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One Health is a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort that seeks optimal health for people, animals, plants, and the environment. Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is an intracellular protozoan infection distributed worldwide, with a heteroxenous life cycle that practically affects all homeotherms and in which felines act as definitive reservoirs. Herein, we review the natural history of T. gondii, its transmission and impacts in humans, domestic animals, wildlife both terrestrial and aquatic, and ecosystems. The epidemiology, prevention, and control strategies are reviewed, with the objective of facilitating awareness of this disease and promoting transdisciplinary collaborations, integrative research, and capacity building among universities, government agencies, NGOs, policy makers, practicing physicians, veterinarians, and the general public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Misinformation (or denialism), the disingenuous assertion of information contradicting overwhelming scientific consensus, increasingly poses a challenge for invasion biology. The issue of free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) provides an example of this misinformation: overwhelming consensus shows that cats are invasive species that impact wildlife and human health yet free-ranging cat advocates propagate misinformation about such impacts to support policies keeping cats on the landscape. These advocates also attempt to discredit peer-reviewed scientific research on cat impacts, as exemplified by the response to a high-profile paper estimating cats annually kill billions of U.S. birds and mammals (Loss et al. in Nat Commun 4:1396, 2013). Although favorably received by scientific and invasive species management communities, an effort was launched to discredit this paper by criticizing its methods, including a report commissioned by a feral cat advocacy group and a post by a feral cat blogger. These same organizations and individuals have made similar criticisms at scientific conferences and policy roundtables. Given the realized effects of this campaign in influencing invasive species policy, we here respond to these criticisms and show they are characterized by numerous errors and misrepresentations. We conclude that the criticisms are part of the broader campaign to fabricate doubt about outdoor cat impacts and stymie policies favoring removal of cats from the landscape. Because misinformation surrounding cats is emblematic of the broader issue of misinformation and denialism, this response will not only facilitate evidence-based policy for managing cats but also stimulate research and discussion into causes and impacts of misinformation in invasion biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation geneticists have argued that evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) must be both genetically distinct and adaptively significant to be recognized for conservation protection. High-throughput DNA approaches can greatly increase the power to identify genetic distinctiveness, even if inferring adaptive significance remains a challenge. Here we present the first genomic evaluation of Lange’s metalmark, Apodemia mormo langei (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae), a U.S. federally endangered subspecies restricted to sand dune habitats in a single National Wildlife Refuge in California. Previous work based on very few genetic markers detected little genetic distinction for Lange’s metalmark. We use several thousand genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms to characterize the population structure of the A. mormo complex across California and determine if Lange’s metalmark qualifies as an ESU. We found that Lange’s metalmark is genetically identifiable, but is no more distinct than many other isolated populations across the study area. It remains unclear whether this genetic variation is adaptive, and so conservation efforts would benefit from more ecological characterization to determine conservation priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global economic and population growth increase the extent and intensity of artificial night lighting. From an ecological perspective, this is light pollution, which causes changes in reproductive physiology, migration and foraging of many species and ultimately leads to loss of biodiversity. Some seabirds are intimately linked with the light features of their environments because they are nocturnally active. We report light-induced groundings of Cory's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) during a 2-year study (2008 and 2009) in São Miguel Island, in the Azores archipelago, and investigate the spatial correlation of locations of grounded birds with an annual composite of remotely sensed stable lights. Results indicate that 16.7% of fledglings are attracted to lights. The exposure of shearwater colonies in the study area to artificial night lighting is low overall. Four colonies account for 87% of the grounded birds. The distance each bird was found from the closest colony was best explained by the ratio of the satellite-measured light levels at the grounding spot to the light levels at the assigned colony of origin. These results demonstrate that satellite-observed nighttime lights are sufficient to assess risk to marine birds at the scale of oceanic islands and indicate their utility for monitoring the effectiveness of programs to manage lighting to reduce risk for these species and conducting global assessments of species vulnerability. To minimize the impact on Cory's shearwater and other marine birds, we recommend measures such as reduction and control of lighting intensity near colony locations, while continuing and re-enforcing rescue campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managers surveyed for sensitive butterfly species in the San Bruno Mountain Habitat Conservation Plan area between 1982 and 2000 using an opportunistic “wandering transect” method. To extract as much valuable information as possible from the data collected by this method we analyzed patterns of surveys and butterfly presence and absence within 250 m square cells gridded across the area within a Geographic Information System. While estimates of butterfly abundance were not possible, the data could be tested for trends in butterfly occupancy. For those cells surveyed during at least 10 years, no trends in the total number of occupied cells was evident for either Callippe silverspot or mission blue butterfly. There were cells, however, that showed positive or negative trends ( P < 0.20) in occupancy for each species (Callippe silverspot: 14 positive, 15 negative, 6 cells occupied all years; mission blue butterfly: 40 positive, 40 negative, 2 cells occupied all years). We conclude that for the period 1982–2000 the population of each species was stable in overall total distribution, but indicate geographic areas of concern for each, specifically the edges of the northeast ridge for Callippe silverspot butterfly and the northwest of the study area for mission blue butterfly. Vegetation composition analysis using orthophotography with field corroboration indicates that those areas with declines in occupancy for these species experienced native coastal scrub succession and a corresponding loss in grassland butterfly habitat, while positive trending and stable cells had stable grassland proportions. Habitat managers at San Bruno Mountain should therefore incorporate programs for protecting grassland butterfly habitat not only from invasive weeds but also from succession to native coastal scrub. This approach illustrates the feasibility of using occupancy as an indicator to track butterfly status in a protected area even when suboptimal data collection methods are used, but the difficulties of using these data also reinforces the need for managers to devise monitoring schemes appropriate for their objectives before implementing them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vast resources are devoted annually to watershed management and wetland restoration. Historical wetland losses are often cited as a motivation for prioritizing ambitious wetland restoration efforts. However, analysis of historical conditions is often underutilized in the planning process. In this paper we demonstrate historical ecological analysis of the San Gabriel River watershed in southern California. We integrate multiple disparate data sources collected at different spatial and temporal scales to describe historical wetland extent and distribution. We compare historic wetlands to contemporary conditions to calculate wetland losses. From the results of this analysis, we conclude that the widely held view of southern California as naturally dry and desert-like with mainly ephemeral and intermittent streams may be an over generalization. Historically, the San Gabriel watershed has supported complex expanses of channels, ponds, sloughs, seeps, marshes, and seasonal wetlands that alternated between wet and dry conditions on multi-year to decadal cycles. We estimate that >86% of historical wetlands have been lost since ca. 1870, with the greatest losses occurring to palustrine alkali meadows in the lower floodplain. Despite the extensive losses, the analysis reveals areas of the watershed conducive to wetland re-establishment and provides insight into the most appropriate wetland types to prioritize for specific watershed settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of ecological reserve lands should rely on the best available science to achieve the goal of biodiversity conservation. “Adaptive Resource Management” is the current template to ensure that management decisions are reasoned and that decisions increase understanding of the system being managed. In systems with little human disturbance, certain management decisions are clear; steps to protect native species usually include the removal of invasive species. In highly modified systems, however, appropriate management steps to conserve biodiversity are not as readily evident. Managers must, more than ever, rely upon the development and testing of hypotheses to make rational management decisions. We present a case study of modern reserve management wherein beavers ( Castor canadensis) were suspected of destroying habitat for endangered songbirds (least Bell’s vireo, Vireo bellii pusillus, and southwestern willow flycatcher, Empidonax traillii extimus) and for promoting the invasion of an exotic plant (tamarisk, Tamarix spp.) at an artificial reservoir in southern California. This case study documents the consequences of failing to follow the process of Adaptive Resource Management. Managers made decisions that were unsupported by the scientific literature, and actions taken were likely counterproductive. The opportunity to increase knowledge of the ecosystem was lost. Uninformed management decisions, essentially “management by assertion,” undermine the long-term prospects for biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before, during and after habitat restoration from 1984 to 1994, we monitored population size of the federally listed endangered El Segundo blue butterfly, Euphilotes bernardino allyni (Shields). In the subsequent formalization of a recovery plan for the species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established several recovery criteria, including a requirement of ‘a scientifically credible monitoring plan’ to track population size annually. To avoid detrimental effects of the extensively used mark-release-recapture method on the delicate El Segundo blue butterfly, which would conflict with protection afforded by the Endangered Species Act, we chose instead to perform transect counts to estimate relative population size. Herein, we analyze the results of our transect counts by three different methods, developed by or modified from Pollard, Watt et al. and Zonneveld. Qualitatively, the three methods, which have different assumptions, produced similar results when applied to the same data. Zonneveld's model estimates death rate in addition to an index of population size, thus providing more information than the other two methods. The El Segundo blue butterfly's sedentary nature and the close relationship of its adult and early stages to one foodplant permits extrapolation of the index of population size based on transect counts, to an estimate of actual population size. Our data document butterfly numbers increasing from 1984 to 1989, but then declining until the end of our observations in 1994. Based on analysis of our El Segundo blue butterfly data, we propose an implementation of a scientifically credible monitoring plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT / Arthropod communities from several habitats on and adjacent to the El Segundo dunes (Los Angeles County, CA) were sampled using pitfall and yellow pan traps to evaluate their possible use as indicators of restoration success. Communities were ordinated and clustered using correspondence analysis, detrended correspondence analysis, two-way indicator species analysis, and Ward's method of agglomerative clustering. The results showed high repeatability among replicates within any sampling arena that permits discrimination of (1) degraded and relatively undisturbed habitat, (2) different dune habitat types, and (3) annual change. Canonical correspondence analysis showed a significant effect of disturbance history on community composition that explained 5–20% of the variation. Replicates of pitfall and yellow pan traps on single sites clustered together reliably when species abundance was considered, whereas clusters using only species incidence did not group replicates as consistently. The broad taxonomic approach seems appropriate for habitat evaluation and monitoring of restoration projects as an alternative to assessments geared to single species or even single families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on April 3, 2019 without open access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article Responding to misinformation and criticisms regarding United States cat predation estimates, written by Scott R. Loss, Tom Will, Travis Longcore, Peter P. Marra was originally published electronically on the publisher's Internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 13 July 2018 without open access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]