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Wind energy generation has become an important means to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and mitigate against human‐induced climate change, but could also represent a significant human–wildlife conflict. Airborne taxa such as birds may be particularly sensitive to collision mortality with wind turbines, yet the relative vulnerability of species' populations across their annual life cycles has not been evaluated.Using GPS telemetry, we studied the movements of lesser black‐backed gulls Larus fuscus from three UK breeding colonies through their annual cycle. We modelled the distance travelled by birds at altitudes between the minimum and maximum rotor sweep zone of turbines, combined with the probability of collision, to estimate sensitivity to collision. Sensitivity was then combined with turbine density (exposure) to evaluate spatio‐temporal vulnerability.Sensitivity was highest near to colonies during the breeding season, where a greater distance travelled by birds was in concentrated areas where they were exposed to turbines.Consequently, vulnerability was high near to colonies but was also high at some migration bottlenecks and wintering sites where, despite a reduced sensitivity, exposure to turbines was greatest.Synthesis and applications. Our framework combines bird‐borne telemetry and spatial data on the location of wind turbines to identify potential areas of conflict for migratory populations throughout their annual cycle. This approach can aid the wind farm planning process by: (a) providing sensitivity maps to inform wind farm placement, helping minimize impacts; (b) identifying areas of high vulnerability where mitigation warrants exploration; (c) highlighting potential cumulative impacts of developments over international boundaries and (d) informing the conservation status of species at protected sites. Our methods can identify pressures and linkages for populations using effect‐specific metrics that are transferable and could help resolve other human–wildlife conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Conflicts in resource use between humans and wildlife populations are increasingly determined through quantitative approaches. To better understand interactions between birds and human activities in the marine environment, telemetry is routinely used to characterize the area use of species, but evaluations are often based on a small number of individuals taken as representative of a local population studied. Furthermore, the relative importance of the number of animals required and for what duration they should be tracked has received little attention. We examined the central-place foraging movements of 24 lesser black-backed gulls ( Larus fuscus) from a protected population from 1 March to 31 August during 2010-2013. Using bootstrapping and non-linear modeling, we investigated whether sample sizes were sufficient to characterize offshore area use by considering the cumulative area use for an increasing number of birds and duration of tracking. Box-and-whisker analysis suggested a minimum of 13 birds and a precautionary upper maximum of 41 birds were needed to describe 95% of the estimated area use of the population (defined by 100% occupancy). Tracking fewer birds for longer was more important than tracking more birds for less time. A period of 145 days was required to characterize area use for 13-41 birds; however, offshore areas were used primarily after May, meaning that a 97-day tracking period from May onwards was also representative. Predicted and observed areas were strongly correlated, and the predicted area of 15 birds for 151 days was 91% of the total estimated for the population. These findings suggest that the data were suitable for determining interaction with offshore developments, and were characteristic of the population. This study has revealed the power of a long-term tracking dataset, and has uncovered further complexities surrounding study design and analysis that may shape conclusions drawn. The method and considerations raised have wider applicability for other datasets where human-wildlife resource use conflicts need to be assessed. © 2017 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind energy generation is increasing globally, and associated environmental impacts must be considered. The risk of seabirds colliding with offshore wind turbines is influenced by flight height, and flight height data usually come from observers on boats, making estimates in daylight in fine weather. GPS tracking provides an alternative and generates flight height information in a range of conditions, but the raw data have associated error., Here, we present a novel analytical solution for accommodating GPS error. We use Bayesian state-space models to describe the flight height distributions and the error in altitude measured by GPS for lesser black-backed gulls and great skuas, tracked throughout the breeding season. We also examine how location and light levels influence flight height., Lesser black-backed gulls flew lower by night than by day, indicating that this species would be less likely to encounter turbine blades at night, when birds' ability to detect and avoid them might be reduced. Gulls flew highest over land and lowest near the coast. For great skuas, no significant relationships were found between flight height, time of day and location., We consider four 'collision risk windows', corresponding to the airspace swept by rotor blades for different offshore wind turbine designs. We found the highest proportion of birds at risk for a 22-250 m turbine (up to 9% for great skuas and 34% for lesser black-backed gulls) and the lowest for a 30-258 m turbine. Our results suggest lesser black-backed gulls are at greater risk of collision than great skuas, especially by day., Synthesis and applications. Our novel modelling approach is an effective way of resolving the error associated with GPS tracking data. We demonstrate its use on GPS measurements of altitude, generating important information on how breeding seabirds use their environment. This approach and the associated data also provide information to improve avian collision risk assessments for offshore wind farms. Our modelling approach could be applied to other GPS data sets to help manage the ecological needs of seabirds and other species at a time when the pressures on the marine environment are growing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telemetry has become an important method for studying the biology and ecology of animals. However, the impact of tracking devices and their method of attachment on different species across multiple temporal scales has seldom been assessed. We compared the behavioural and demographic responses of two species of seabird, Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus and Great Skua Stercorarius skua, to a GPS device attached using a crossover wing harness. We used telemetry information and monitoring of breeding colonies to compare birds equipped with a device and harness, and control birds without an attachment. We assessed whether tagged birds have lower short-term breeding productivity or lower longer term overwinter return rates (indicative of overwinter survival) than controls. For Great Skua, we also assessed whether territory attendance within the breeding season differed between tagged and control birds. As with previous studies on Lesser Black-backed Gull, we found no short-term impacts on breeding productivity or long-term impacts on overwinter return rates. For Great Skua, there was no evidence for impacts of the device and harness on territory attendance or breeding productivity. However, as found by a previous study of Great Skuas using a different (body) harness design, there was strong evidence of reduced overwinter return rates. Consequently, a device attached using a wing harness was considered suitable for long-term deployment on Lesser Black-backed Gulls, but not on Great Skuas. These findings will inform the planning of future tracking studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate (PtdIns5P) is present in many cell types and its biogenesis is increased by diverse stimuli, its precise cellular function remains elusive. Here we show that PtdIns5P levels increase when cells are stimulated to move and we find PtdIns5P to promote cell migration in tissue culture and in a Drosophila in vivo model. First, class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, which produces PtdIns3P, was shown to be involved in migration of fibroblasts. In a cell migration screen for proteins containing PtdIns3P-binding motifs, we identified the phosphoinositide 5-kinase PIKfyve and the phosphoinositide 3-phosphatase MTMR3, which together constitute a phosphoinositide loop that produces PtdIns5P via PtdIns(3,5)P2. The ability of PtdIns5P to stimulate cell migration was demonstrated directly with exogenous PtdIns5P and a PtdIns5P-producing bacterial enzyme. Thus, the identified phosphoinositide loop defines a new role for PtdIns5P in cell migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rats exposed to a novel environment just prior to or 1-2 h, but not 4 or 6 h, before retention testing exhibited an enhanced retrieval of a one-trial inhibitory avoidance training. The bilateral intrahippocampal infusion of PD098059, an inhibitor of mitogenactivated protein kinase (MAPK), the specific upstream activator of p42 and p44 MAPKs, given 10 min before the exposure to the novel environment, blocked the enhancing effect of novelty on memory retrieval. In addition, prenovelty infusion of DL-2amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV), an antagonist of glutamate NMDA receptors, produced similar effects. The exposure to the novel environment is associated with an activation of p42 and p44 MAPKs and an increase in the phosphorylation state of the transcription factor cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). No changes were observed in cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity or in α-CAMKII activation. Taken together, our results indicate that novelty activates hippocampal MAPKs, which are necessary, along with glutamate NMDA receptors, for the enhancing effect of novelty on retrieval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavioral tagging (BT) hypothesis postulates that a weak learning experience, which only induces short-term memory, may benefit from another event that provides plasticity-related proteins (PRPs) to establish a long-lasting memory. According to BT, the weak experience sets a transient learning tag at specific activated sites, and its temporal and spatial convergence with the PRPs allows the long-term memory (LTM) formation. In this work, rats were subjected to a weak inhibitory avoidance (IAw) training and we observed that acute stress (elevated platform, EP) experienced 1 hr before IAw promoted IA-LTM formation. This effect was dependent on glucocorticoid-receptor activity as well as protein synthesis in the dorsal hippocampus. However, the same stress has negative effects on IA-LTM formation when training is strong, probably by competing for necessary PRPs. Furthermore, our experiments showed that EP immediately after training did not impair the setting of the learning tag and even facilitated IA-LTM formation. These findings reveal different impacts of a given acute stressful experience on the formation of an aversive memory that could be explained by BT processes., (© 2021 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

It has been recently demonstrated that ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated proteolysis is required for long-term synaptic facilitation in Aplysia. Here we show that the hippocampal blockade of this proteolytic pathway is also required for the formation of long-term memory in the rat. Bilateral infusion of lactacystin, a specific proteasome inhibitor, to the CA1 region caused full retrograde amnesia for a one-trial inhibitory avoidance learning when given 1, 4 or 7h, but not 10 h, after training. Proteasome inhibitor I produced similar effects. In addition, inhibitory avoidance training resulted in an increased ubiquitination and 26S proteasome proteolytic activity and a decrease in the levels of IkappaB, a substrate of the ubiquitin-proteasome cascade, in hippocampus 4 h after training. Together, these findings indicate that the ubiquitin-proteasome cascade is crucial for the establishment of LTM in the behaving animal.

Rats exposed to a novel environment just prior to or 1-2 h, but not 4 or 6 h, before retention testing exhibited an enhanced retrieval of a one-trial inhibitory avoidance training. The bilateral intrahippocampal infusion of PD098059, an inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), the specific upstream activator of p42 and p44 MAPKs, given 10 min before the exposure to the novel environment, blocked the enhancing effect of novelty on memory retrieval. In addition, prenovelty infusion of DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV), an antagonist of glutamate NMDA receptors, produced similar effects. The exposure to the novel environment is associated with an activation of p42 and p44 MAPKs and an increase in the phosphorylation state of the transcription factor cAMP response element binding protein (CREB). No changes were observed in cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity or in alpha-CAMKII activation. Taken together, our results indicate that novelty activates hippocampal MAPKs, which are necessary, along with glutamate NMDA receptors, for the enhancing effect of novelty on retrieval.