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Many occupations, including military and industrial, cannot benefit from large-scale cooling strategies; therefore, personal cooling strategies may be more appropriate. We assessed the efficacy of a ventilated vest (Vest) based on participant' autonomic and cognitive responses during military-related activities in the heat. Male soldiers conducted 90-min trials in 35 °C ambient temperature and 40% relative humidity: i) March with/without Vest (N = 10), ii) Guard duty with/without Vest (N = 8). During each trial, we monitored their physiological (gastrointestinal temperature, T gi ; skin temperature, T skin ; torso microclimate temperature/humidity, M T /M RH ; oxygen uptake, VO 2 ; Heart rate, HR) and cognitive (reaction time, number of errors) and subjective responses. While some elements of T gi , T skin , M T , and HR reduction in the Vest trial were observed, these decrements were small and persisted only for a short period of time. VO 2 was significantly affected by the exercise but unaffected by the Vest (with vs. without) (p > 0.05). Cognitive performance did not improve significantly with the use of the Vest. However, reaction time improved after both trials. Sweat accumulation in the near-to-skin clothing layer was 2x (March) and 9x (Guard) higher (p < 0.001) without the vest, and participants reported feeling more comfortable and cooler when wearing the vest. The significantly lower sweat accumulation in the next-to-skin clothing layers when wearing the Vest improved thermal comfort and sensation, which was not reflected in the autonomic and cognitive response under the prevailing conditions. Possibly, a more powerful and upgraded concept of the vest could result in improved physiological and cognitive performance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Wolverine distribution contracted along the southern periphery of its range in North America during the 19th and 20th centuries due primarily to human influences. This history, along with low densities, sensitivity to climate change, and concerns about connectivity among fragmented habitats spurred the recent US federal listing of threatened status and special concern status in Canada. To help inform large scale landscape connectivity, we collected 882 genetic samples genotyped at 19 microsatellite loci. We employed multiple statistical models to assess the landscape factors (terrain complexity, human disturbance, forest configuration, and climate) associated with wolverine genetic connectivity across 2.2 million km 2  of southwestern Canada and the northwestern contiguous United States. Genetic similarity (positive spatial autocorrelation) of wolverines was detected up to 555 km and a high-to-low gradient of genetic diversity occurred from north-to-south. Landscape genetics analyses confirmed that wolverine genetic connectivity has been negatively influenced by human disturbance at broad scales and positively influenced by forest cover and snow persistence at fine- and broad-scales, respectively. This information applied across large landscapes can be used to guide management actions with the goal of maintaining or restoring population connectivity., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Compound effects of anthropogenic disturbances on wildlife emerge through a complex network of direct responses and species interactions. Land-use changes driven by energy and forestry industries are known to disrupt predator-prey dynamics in boreal ecosystems, yet how these disturbance effects propagate across mammal communities remains uncertain. Using structural equation modeling, we tested disturbance-mediated pathways governing the spatial structure of multipredator multiprey boreal mammal networks across a landscape-scale disturbance gradient within Canada's Athabasca oil sands region. Linear disturbances had pervasive direct effects, increasing site use for all focal species, except black bears and threatened caribou, in at least one landscape. Conversely, block (polygonal) disturbance effects were negative but less common. Indirect disturbance effects were widespread and mediated by caribou avoidance of wolves, tracking of primary prey by subordinate predators, and intraguild dependencies among predators and large prey. Context-dependent responses to linear disturbances were most common among prey and within the landscape with intermediate disturbance. Our research suggests that industrial disturbances directly affect a suite of boreal mammals by altering forage availability and movement, leading to indirect effects across a range of interacting predators and prey, including the keystone snowshoe hare. The complexity of network-level direct and indirect disturbance effects reinforces calls for increased investment in addressing habitat degradation as the root cause of threatened species declines and broader ecosystem change., (© 2024 The Author(s). Ecological Applications published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.)

Introduction: During heatwaves, it is important to monitor workers' cardiovascular health since 35% of those working in hot environments experience symptoms of heat strain. Wearable technology has been popularized for monitoring heart rate (HR) during recreational activities, but it can also be used to monitor occupational heat strain based on core and skin temperatures and HR. To our knowledge, no devices estimate the cardiovascular strain directly based on stroke volume (SV) or cardiac output (CO). In addition to the hardware, there are limitations regarding the lack of suitable algorithms that would provide such an index based on relevant physiological responses. The validation of the formulae already existing in literature was the principle aim of the present study., Methods: We monitored the cardiovascular responses of our participants to a supine and 60° head-up tilt at the same time each day. During the test, we measured blood pressure derived by finger photoplethysmography, which also provided beat-by-beat measures of SV and CO. Afterwards, we compared the SV derived from the photoplethysmography with the one calculated with the different equations that already exist in literature., Results: The evaluation of the formulae was based on comparing the error of prediction. This residual analysis compared the sum of the squared residuals generated by each formula using the same data set., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that estimating SV with existing formulae is feasible, showing a good correlation and a relatively small bias. Thus, simply measuring workers' blood pressure during breaks could estimate their cardiac strain., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Tsoutsoubi, Ioannou, Ciuha, Fisher, Possnig, Simpson, Flouris, Lawley and Mekjavic.)

Under simultaneous ambient temperature and postural stressors, integrated regional blood flow responses are required to maintain blood pressure and thermoregulatory homeostasis. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of ambient temperature and body posture on regional regulation of microvascular blood flow, specifically in the arms and legs. Participants (N = 11) attended two sessions in which they experienced transient ambient conditions, in a climatic chamber. During each 60-min trial, ambient temperature increased from 15.7 (0.6) °C to 38.9 (0.6) °C followed by a linear decrease, and the participants were either standing or in a supine position throughout the trial; relative humidity in the chamber was maintained at 25.9 (6.6) %. Laser doppler flowmetry of the forearm (SkBF arm ) and calf (SkBF calf ), and haemodynamic responses (heart rate, HR; stroke volume, SV; cardiac output, CO; blood pressure, BP), were measured continuously. Analyses of heart rate variability and wavelet transform were also conducted. SkBF arm increased significantly at higher ambient temperatures (p = 0.003), but not SkBF calf . The standing posture caused lower overall SkBF in both regions throughout the protocol, regardless of temperature (p < 0.001). HR and BP were significantly elevated, and SV significantly lowered, in response to separate and combined effects of higher ambient temperatures and a standing position (all p < 0.05); CO remained unchanged. Mechanistic analyses identified greater sympathetic nerve activation, and higher calf myogenic activation at peak temperatures, in the standing condition. Mechanistically and functionally, arm vasculature responds to modulation from both thermoregulation and baroreceptor activity. The legs, meanwhile, are more sensitive to baroreflex regulatory mechanisms., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Grassy ecosystems cover more than 40% of the world's terrestrial surface, supporting crucial ecosystem services and unique biodiversity. These ecosystems have experienced major losses from conversion to agriculture with the remaining fragments threatened by global change. Woody plant encroachment, the increase in woody cover threatening grassy ecosystems, is a major global change symptom, shifting the composition, structure, and function of plant communities with concomitant effects on all biodiversity. To identify generalisable impacts of encroachment on biodiversity, we urgently need broad-scale studies on how species respond to woody cover change. Here, we make use of bird atlas, woody cover change data (between 2007 and 2016) and species traits, to assess: (1) population trends and woody cover responses using dynamic occupancy models; (2) how outcomes relate to habitat, diet and nesting traits; and (3) predictions of future occupancy trends, for 191 abundant, southern African bird species. We found that: (1) 63% (121) of species showed a decline in occupancy, with 18% (34) of species' declines correlated with increasing woody cover (i.e. losers). Only 2% (4) of species showed increasing population trends linked with increased woody cover (i.e. winners); (2) Open habitat specialist, invertivorous, ground nesting birds were the most frequent losers, however, we found no definitive evidence that the selected traits could predict outcomes; and (3) We predict open habitat loser species will take on average 52 years to experience 50% population declines with current rates of encroachment. Our results bring attention to concerning region-wide declining bird population trends and highlight woody plant encroachment as an important driver of bird population dynamics. Importantly, these findings should encourage improved management and restoration of our remaining grassy ecosystems. Furthermore, our findings show the importance of lands beyond protected areas for biodiversity, and the urgent need to mitigate the impacts of woody plant encroachment on bird biodiversity., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Reliable maps of species distributions are fundamental for biodiversity research and conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) range maps are widely recognized as authoritative representations of species' geographic limits, yet they might not always align with actual occurrence data. In recent area of habitat (AOH) maps, areas that are not habitat have been removed from IUCN ranges to reduce commission errors, but their concordance with actual species occurrence also remains untested. We tested concordance between occurrences recorded in camera trap surveys and predicted occurrences from the IUCN and AOH maps for 510 medium- to large-bodied mammalian species in 80 camera trap sampling areas. Across all areas, cameras detected only 39% of species expected to occur based on IUCN ranges and AOH maps; 85% of the IUCN only mismatches occurred within 200 km of range edges. Only 4% of species occurrences were detected by cameras outside IUCN ranges. The probability of mismatches between cameras and the IUCN range was significantly higher for smaller-bodied mammals and habitat specialists in the Neotropics and Indomalaya and in areas with shorter canopy forests. Our findings suggest that range and AOH maps rarely underrepresent areas where species occur, but they may more often overrepresent ranges by including areas where a species may be absent, particularly at range edges. We suggest that combining range maps with data from ground-based biodiversity sensors, such as camera traps, provides a richer knowledge base for conservation mapping and planning., (© 2024 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.)

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human-wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Punishment of moral norm violators is instrumental for human cooperation. Yet, social and affective neuroscience research has primarily focused on second- and third-party norm enforcement, neglecting the neural architecture underlying observed (vicarious) punishment of moral wrongdoers. We used naturalistic television drama as a sampling space for observing outcomes of morally-relevant behaviors to assess how individuals cognitively process dynamically evolving moral actions and their consequences. Drawing on Affective Disposition Theory, we derived hypotheses linking character morality with viewers' neural processing of characters' rewards and punishments. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neural responses of 28 female participants while free-viewing 15 short story summary video clips of episodes from a popular US television soap opera. Each summary included a complete narrative structure, fully crossing main character behaviors (moral/immoral) and the consequences (reward/punishment) characters faced for their actions. Narrative engagement was examined via intersubject correlation and representational similarity analysis. Highest cortical synchronization in 9 specifically selected regions previously implicated in processing moral information was observed when characters who act immorally are punished for their actions with participants' empathy as an important moderator. The results advance our understanding of the moral brain and the role of normative considerations and character outcomes in viewers' engagement with popular narratives., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None, (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Many large carnivores, despite widespread habitat alteration, are rebounding in parts of their former ranges after decades of persecution and exploitation. Cougars ( Puma concolor ) are apex predator with their remaining northern core range constricted to mountain landscapes and areas of western North America; however, cougar populations have recently started rebounding in several locations across North America, including northward in boreal forest landscapes. A camera-trap survey of multiple landscapes across Alberta, Canada, delineated a range edge; within this region, we deployed an array of 47 camera traps in a random stratified design across a landscape spanning a gradient of anthropogenic development relative to the predicted expansion front. We completed multiple hypotheses in an information-theoretic framework to determine if cougar occurrence is best explained by natural land cover features, anthropogenic development features, or competitor and prey activity. We predicted that anthropogenic development features from resource extraction and invading white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virgianius ) explain cougar distribution at this boreal range edge. Counter to our predictions, the relative activity of native prey, predominantly snowshoe hare ( Lepus americanus ), was the best predictor of cougar occurrence at this range edge. Small-bodied prey items are particularly important for female and sub-adult cougars and may support breeding individuals in the northeast boreal forest. Also, counter to our predictions, there was not a strong relationship detected between cougar occurrence and gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) activity at this range edge. However, further investigation is recommended as the possibility of cougar expansion into areas of the multi-prey boreal system, where wolves have recently been controlled, could have negative consequences for conservation goals in this region (e.g. the recovery of woodland caribou [ Rangifer tarandus caribou ]). Our study highlights the need to monitor contemporary distributions to inform conservation management objectives as large carnivores recover across North America., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing statement of interest to declare., (© 2024 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Understanding mammalian responses to anthropogenic disturbance is challenging, as ecological processes and the patterns arising therefrom notoriously change across spatial and temporal scales, and among different landscape contexts. Responses to local scale disturbances are likely influenced by landscape context (e.g., overall landscape-level disturbance, landscape-level productivity). Hierarchical approaches considering small-scale sampling sites as nested holons within larger-scale landscapes, which constrain processes in lower-level holons, can potentially explain differences in ecological processes between multiple locations. We tested hypotheses about mammal responses to disturbance and interactions among holons using collected images from 957 camera sites across 9 landscapes in Alberta from 2007 to 2020 and examined occurrence for 11 mammal species using generalized linear mixed models. White-tailed deer occurred more in higher disturbed sites within lower disturbed landscapes (β = -0.30 [-0.4 to -0.15]), whereas occurrence was greater in highly disturbed sites within highly disturbed landscapes for moose (β = 0.20 [0.09-0.31]), coyote (β = 0.20 [0.08-0.26]), and lynx (β = 0.20 [0.07-0.26]). High disturbance sites in high productivity landscapes had higher occurrence of black bears (β = -0.20 [-0.46 to -0.01]), lynx (β = -0.70 [-0.97 to -0.34]), and wolves (β = -0.50 [-0.73 to -0.21]). Conversely, we found higher probability of occurrence in low productivity landscapes with increasing site disturbance for mule deer (β = 0.80 [0.39-1.14]), and white-tailed deer (β = 0.20 [0.01-0.47]). We found the ecological context created by aggregate sums (high overall landscape disturbance), and by subcontinental hydrogeological processes in which that landscape is embedded (high landscape productivity), alter mammalian responses to anthropogenic disturbance at local scales. These responses also vary by species, which has implications for large-scale conservation planning. Management interventions must consider large-scale geoclimatic processes and geographic location of a landscape when assessing wildlife responses to disturbance., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Funding for this synthesis was provided by the Oil Sands Monitoring Program; this does not represent the views of the program., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder associated with suboptimal outcomes throughout the life-span. Extant work suggests that ADHD-related deficits in task performance may be magnified under high cognitive load and minimized under high perceptual load, but these effects have yet to be systematically examined, and the neural mechanisms that undergird these effects are as yet unknown. Herein, we report results from three experiments investigating how performance in ADHD is modulated by cognitive load and perceptual load during a naturalistic task. Results indicate that cognitive load and perceptual load influence task performance, reaction time variability (RTV), and brain network topology in an ADHD-specific fashion. Increasing cognitive load resulted in reduced performance, greater RTV, and reduced brain network efficiency in individuals with ADHD relative to those without. In contrast, increased perceptual load led to relatively greater performance, reduced RTV, and greater brain network efficiency in ADHD. These results provide converging evidence that brain network efficiency and intraindividual variability in ADHD are modulated by both cognitive and perceptual load during naturalistic task performance., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (© 2023 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.)

Moral foundations theory (MFT) holds that moral judgements are driven by modular and ideologically variable moral foundations but where and how these foundations are represented in the brain and shaped by political beliefs remains an open question. Using a moral vignette judgement task (n = 64), we probed the neural (dis)unity of moral foundations. Univariate analyses revealed that moral judgement of moral foundations, versus conventional norms, reliably recruits core areas implicated in theory of mind. Yet, multivariate pattern analysis demonstrated that each moral foundation elicits dissociable neural representations distributed throughout the cortex. As predicted by MFT, individuals' liberal or conservative orientation modulated neural responses to moral foundations. Our results confirm that each moral foundation recruits domain-general mechanisms of social cognition but also has a dissociable neural signature malleable by sociomoral experience. We discuss these findings in view of unified versus dissociable accounts of morality and their neurological support for MFT., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Outdoor recreation is widespread, with uncertain effects on wildlife. The human shield hypothesis (HSH) suggests that recreation could have differential effects on predators and prey, with predator avoidance of humans creating a spatial refuge 'shielding' prey from people. The generality of the HSH remains to be tested across larger scales, wherein human shielding may prove generalizable, or diminish with variability in ecological contexts. We combined data from 446 camera traps and 79,279 sampling days across 10 landscapes spanning 15,840 km 2 in western Canada. We used hierarchical models to quantify the influence of recreation and landscape disturbance (roads, logging) on ungulate prey (moose, mule deer and elk) and carnivore (wolf, grizzly bear, cougar and black bear) site use. We found limited support for the HSH and strong responses to recreation at local but not larger spatial scales. Only mule deer showed positive but weak landscape-level responses to recreation. Elk were positively associated with local recreation while moose and mule deer responses were negative, contrary to HSH predictions. Mule deer showed a more complex interaction between recreation and land-use disturbance, with more negative responses to recreation at lower road density or higher logged areas. Contrary to HSH predictions, carnivores did not avoid recreation and grizzly bear site use was positively associated. We also tested the effects of roads and logging on temporal activity overlap between mule deer and recreation, expecting deer to minimize interaction with humans by partitioning time in areas subject to more habitat disturbance. However, temporal overlap between people and deer increased with road density. Our findings highlight the complex ecological patterns that emerge at macroecological scales. There is a need for expanded monitoring of human and wildlife use of recreation areas, particularly multi-scale and -species approaches to studying the interacting effects of recreation and land-use change on wildlife., Competing Interests: None to declare., (© 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

In seasonal environments, the ability of mustelid species to acquire carrion-a dietary resource heavily depended upon-is driven by a collection local habitat characteristics and competition dynamics. In resource-scarce winter, sympatric mesocarnivores must balance energetic rewards of carrion with avoiding antagonistic interactions with conspecifics. We examined scavenging interactions among three mustelid species in the northern Canadian Rocky Mountains. Camera traps (n = 59) were baited with carrion during winter between 2006 to 2008. Spatial and temporal dimensions of scavenger behaviour (i.e., carcass use) were evaluated using a multi-model approach, which enabled us to recognize potentially adaptive behavioural mechanisms for mitigating competition at carcass sites. Best performing models indicated that carrion site use is governed by a combination of competition threats and environmental factors. A decrease in scavenging with increasing snow depth was observed across all species. Mustelids adopted a host of adaptive behavioural strategies to access shared scavenging opportunities. We found evidence that wolverine (Gulo gulo) and American marten (Martes americana) segregate in space but temporally tracked one another. Short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea) scavenging decreased with greater site use by marten. Carcass availability across a spatially complex environment, as well as spatial-temporal avoidance strategies, can facilitate carrion resource partitioning., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Increasing resource extraction and human activity are reshaping species' spatial distributions in human-altered landscape and consequently shaping the dynamics of interspecific interactions, such as between predators and prey. To evaluate the effects of industrial features and human activity on the occurrence of wolves ( Canis lupus ), we used wildlife detection data collected in 2014 from an array of 122 remote wildlife camera traps in Alberta's Rocky Mountains and foothills near Hinton, Canada. Using generalized linear models, we compared the occurrence frequency of wolves at camera sites to natural land cover, industrial disturbance (forestry and oil/gas exploration), human activity (motorized and non-motorized), and prey availability (moose, Alces alces ; elk, Cervus elaphus ; mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus ; and white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus ). Industrial block features (well sites and cutblocks) and prey (elk or mule deer) availability interacted to influence wolf occurrence, but models including motorized and non-motorized human activity were not strongly supported. Wolves occurred infrequently at sites with high densities of well sites and cutblocks, except when elk or mule deer were frequently detected. Our results suggest that wolves risk using industrial block features when prey occur frequently to increase predation opportunities, but otherwise avoid them due to risk of human encounters. Effective management of wolves in anthropogenically altered landscapes thus requires the simultaneous consideration of industrial block features and populations of elk and mule deer., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Under the changing climate, the persistence of Afrotemperate taxa may be threatened as suitable habitat availability decreases. The unique disjunct ranges of podocarps in southern Africa raise questions about the persistence of these species under climate change. Here, we identified likely environmental drivers of these distributions, characterized the current and future (2070) environmental niches, and projected distributions of four podocarp species in South Africa. Species distribution models were conducted using species locality data for Afrocarpus falcatus , Podocarpus latifolius , Pseudotropheus elongatus and Podocarpus henkelii and both historical climate data (1970-2000) and future climate scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathway [RCP] 4.5 and 8.5, 2061-2080) to estimate the current and future distributions. We also used this opportunity to identify the most important climatic variables that likely govern each species' distribution. Using niche overlap estimates, a similarity test, and indices of niche expansion, stability and unfilling, we explored how niches change under different climate scenarios. The distribution of the study species was governed by the maximum temperature of the warmest month, temperature annual range, mean temperature of the wettest quarter, and precipitation of the wettest, driest and warmest quarters. The current distribution of A. falcatus was predicted to expand to higher elevations under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5. Podocarpus henkelii was predicted to lose most of its suitable habitat under RCP 4.5 and expand under RCP 8.5; however, this was the opposite for P. elongatus and P. latifolius . Interestingly, P. elongatus, which had the smallest geographic distribution, showed the most vulnerability to climate change in comparison to the other podocarps. Mapping the distribution of podocarps and understanding the differences in their current and future climate niches provide insight into potential climate drivers of podocarp persistence and the potential for adaptation of these species. Overall, these results suggest that P. elongatus and P. henkelii may expand to novel environmental niches., Competing Interests: The corresponding author confirms on behalf of all authors that there have been no involvements that might raise the question of bias in the work reported or in the conclusions, implications or opinions stated., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company.)

Landscape change is a driver of global biodiversity loss. In the western Nearctic, petroleum exploration and extraction is a major contributor to landscape change, with concomitant effects on large mammal populations. One of those effects is the continued expansion of invasive white-tailed deer populations into the boreal forest, with ramifications for the whole ecosystem. We explored deer resource selection within the oil sands region of the boreal forest using a novel application of aerial ungulate survey (AUS) data. Deer locations from AUS were "used" points and together with randomly allocated "available" points informed deer resource selection in relation to landscape variables in the boreal forest. We created a candidate set of generalized linear models representing competing hypotheses about the role of natural landscape features, forest harvesting, cultivation, roads, and petroleum features. We ranked these in an information-theoretic framework. A combination of natural and anthropogenic landscape features best explained deer resource selection. Deer strongly selected seismic lines and other linear features associated with petroleum exploration and extraction, likely as movement corridors and resource subsidies. Forest harvesting and cultivation, important contributors to expansion in other parts of the white-tailed deer range, were not as important here. Stemming deer expansion to conserve native ungulates and maintain key predator-prey processes will likely require landscape management to restore the widespread linear features crossing the vast oil sands region., (© 2022 The Ecological Society of America.)

Objectives: Haemoglobin mass (Hbmass) assessment with the carbon monoxide rebreathing method is a more accurate estimate than other measures of oxygen-carrying capacity. Blood may be collected by several means and differences in the measured variables may exist as a result. The present study assessed the validity and reliability of calculated Hbmass and intravascular volumes obtained from capillary blood (CAP) when compared to venous blood (VEN) draws. Methods: Twenty-two adults performed a carbon monoxide rebreathing procedure with paired VEN and CAP draws at baseline, pre-rebreathing and post-rebreathing (POST). Thirteen of these participants performed this protocol on two occasions to assess the data reliability from both blood sampling sites. In a second experiment, 14 adults performed a 20-min seated and a 20-min supine rest to assess for the effect of posture on haematological parameters. Results: Haemoglobin mass (CAP = 948.8 ± 156.8 g; VEN = 943.4 ± 157.3 g, p = 0.108) and intravascular volume (CAP = 6.5 ± 1 L; VEN = 6.5 ± 0.9 L, p = 0.752) were statistically indifferent, had low bias (Hbmass bias = 14.45 ± 40.42 g, LoA -64.78 g-93.67 g) and were highly correlated between sampling techniques. Reliability analysis demonstrated no difference in the mean change in variables calculated from both sampling sites and good to excellent intraclass correlation coefficients (>0.700), however, typical measurement error was larger in variables measured using CAP (VEN Hbmass TE% = 2.1%, CAP Hbmass TE% = 5.5%). The results indicate that a supine rest prior to the rebreathing protocol would have a significant effect on haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit values compared to a seated rest, with no effect on carboxyhaemoglobin %. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that CAP and VEN were comparable for the calculation of Hbmass and intravascular volumes in terms of accuracy. However, reduced reliability and increased error in the CAP variables indicates that there are methodological considerations to address when deciding which blood drawing technique to utilise. To reduce this CAP error, increased replicate analyses are required., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Royal, Fisher, Mlinar, Mekjavic and McDonnell.)

Global warming has caused an increase in the frequency, duration, and intensity of summer heatwaves (HWs). Prolonged exposure to hot environments and orthostasis may cause conflicting demands of thermoregulation and blood pressure regulation on the vasomotor system, potentially contributing to cardiovascular complications and occupational heat strain. This study assessed cardiovascular and skin blood flow (SkBF) responses to orthostasis before, during and after a 3-day simulated HW. Seven male participants maintained a standard work/rest schedule for nine consecutive days split into three 3-day parts; thermoneutral pre-HW (25.4 °C), simulated HW (35.4 °C), thermoneutral post-HW. Gastrointestinal (T gi ) and skin (T sk ) temperatures, cardiovascular responses, and SkBF were monitored during 10-min supine and 10-min 60° head-up tilt (HUT). SkBF, indexed using proximal-distal skin temperature gradient (∆Tsk P-D ), was validated using Laser-Doppler Flowmetry (LDF). The HW significantly increased heart rate, cardiac output and SkBF of the leg in supine; HUT increased SkBF of the arm and leg, and significantly affected all cardiovascular variables besides cardiac output. Significant regional differences in SkBF presented between the arm and leg in all conditions; the arm displaying vasodilation throughout, while the leg vasoconstricted in non-HW before shifting to vasodilation in the HW. Additionally, ∆Tsk P-D strongly correlated with LDF (r = -.78, p < 0.001). Prolonged HW exposure and orthostasis, individually, elicited significant changes in cardiovascular and SkBF variables. Additionally, varying regional blood flow responses were observed, suggesting the upper and lower vasculature receives differing vasomotor control. Combined cardiovascular alterations and shifts towards vasodilation indicate an increased challenge to industrial workers during HWs., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Aim: Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert-based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert-based information with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert-based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS-tracking data of 1,498 individuals from 49 mammal species., Location: Worldwide., Time Period: 1998-2021., Major Taxa Studied: Forty-nine terrestrial mammal species., Methods: Using GPS data, we estimated two measures of habitat suitability for each individual animal: proportional habitat use (proportion of GPS locations within a habitat type), and selection ratio (habitat use relative to its availability). For each individual we then evaluated whether the GPS-based habitat suitability measures were in agreement with the IUCN data. To that end, we calculated the probability that the ranking of empirical habitat suitability measures was in agreement with IUCN's classification into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat types., Results: IUCN habitat suitability data were in accordance with the GPS data (> 95% probability of agreement) for 33 out of 49 species based on proportional habitat use estimates and for 25 out of 49 species based on selection ratios. In addition, 37 and 34 species had a > 50% probability of agreement based on proportional habitat use and selection ratios, respectively., Main Conclusions: We show how GPS-tracking data can be used to evaluate IUCN habitat suitability data. Our findings indicate that for the majority of species included in this study, it is appropriate to use IUCN habitat suitability data in macroecological studies. Furthermore, we show that GPS-tracking data can be used to identify and prioritize species and habitat types for re-evaluation of IUCN habitat suitability data., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (© 2022 The Authors. Global Ecology and Biogeography published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Human disturbance directly affects animal populations and communities, but indirect effects of disturbance on species behaviors are less well understood. For instance, disturbance may alter predator activity and cause knock-on effects to predator-sensitive foraging in prey. Camera traps provide an emerging opportunity to investigate such disturbance-mediated impacts to animal behaviors across multiple scales. We used camera trap data to test predictions about predator-sensitive behavior in three ungulate species (caribou Rangifer tarandus ; white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus ; moose, Alces alces ) across two western boreal forest landscapes varying in disturbance. We quantified behavior as the number of camera trap photos per detection event and tested its relationship to inferred human-mediated predation risk between a landscape with greater industrial disturbance and predator activity and a "control" landscape with lower human and predator activity. We also assessed the finer-scale influence on behavior of variation in predation risk (relative to habitat variation) across camera sites within the more disturbed landscape. We predicted that animals in areas with greater predation risk (e.g., more wolf activity, less cover) would travel faster past cameras and generate fewer photos per detection event, while animals in areas with less predation risk would linger (rest, forage, investigate), generating more photos per event. Our predictions were supported at the landscape-level, as caribou and moose had more photos per event in the control landscape where disturbance-mediated predation risk was lower. At a finer-scale within the disturbed landscape, no prey species showed a significant behavioral response to wolf activity, but the number of photos per event decreased for white-tailed deer with increasing line of sight (m) along seismic lines (i.e., decreasing visual cover), consistent with a predator-sensitive response. The presence of juveniles was associated with shorter behavioral events for caribou and moose, suggesting greater predator sensitivity for females with calves. Only moose demonstrated a positive behavioral association (i.e., longer events) with vegetation productivity (16-day NDVI), suggesting that for other species bottom-up influences of forage availability were generally weaker than top-down influences from predation risk. Behavioral insights can be gleaned from camera trap surveys and provide complementary information about animal responses to predation risk, and thus about the indirect impacts of human disturbances on predator-prey interactions., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (© 2022 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Predator search efficiency can be enhanced by anthropogenic landscape change, leading to increased predator-prey encounters and subsequent prey population declines. Logging increases early successional vegetation, providing ungulate forage. This increased forage, however, is accompanied by linear feature networks that increase predator hunting efficiency by facilitating predator movement and increasing prey vulnerability. We used integrated step selection analyses to weigh support for multiple hypotheses representing the combined impact of logging features (cutblocks and linear features) on wolf (Canis lupus) movement and habitat selection in interior British Columbia. Further, we examine the relationship between logging and wolf kill-sites of moose (Alces alces) identified using spatiotemporal wolf location cluster analysis. Wolves selected for linear features, which increased their movement rates. New (0-8 years since harvest) cutblocks were selected by wolves. Moose kill-sites had a higher probability of occurring in areas with higher proportions of new and regenerating (9-24 years since harvest) cutblocks. The combined selection and movement responses by wolves to logging features, coupled with increased moose mortality sites associated with cutblocks, indicate that landscape change increases risk for moose. Cumulative effects of landscape change contribute to moose population declines, stressing the importance of cohesive management and restoration of anthropogenic features., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Due to the methodological challenges inherent in studying social media use (SMU), as well as the methodological choices that have shaped research into the effects of SMU on well-being, clear conclusions regarding relationships between SMU and well-being remain elusive. We provide a review of five methodological developments poised to provide increased understanding in this domain: (a) increased use of longitudinal and experimental designs; (b) the adoption of behavioural (rather than self-report) measures of SMU; (c) focusing on more nuanced aspects of SMU; (d) embracing effect heterogeneity; and (e) the use of formal modelling and machine learning. We focus on how these advances stand to bring us closer to understanding relations between SMU and well-being, as well as the challenges associated with these developments., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement Nothing declared., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Landscape change alters species' distributions, and understanding these changes is a key ecological and conservation goal. Species-habitat relationships are often modelled in the absence of syntopic species, but niche theory and emerging empirical research suggests heterospecifics should entrain (and statistically explain) variability in distribution, perhaps synergistically by interacting with landscape features. We examined the effects of syntopic species in boreal mammals' relationship to landscape change, using three years of camera-trap data in the western Nearctic boreal forest. Using an information-theoretic framework, we weighed evidence for additive and interactive variables measuring heterospecifics' co-occurrence in species distribution models built on natural and anthropogenic landscape features. We competed multiple hypotheses about the roles of natural features, anthropogenic features, predators, competitors, and species-habitat interaction terms in explaining relative abundance of carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores/scavengers. For most species, models including heterospecifics explained occurrence frequency better than landscape features alone. Dominant predator (wolf) occurrence was best explained by prey, while prey species were explained by apparent competitors and subdominant predators. Evidence for interactions between landscape features and heterospecifics was strong for coyotes and wolves but variable for other species. Boreal mammals' spatial distribution is a function of heterospecific co-occurrence as well as landscape features, with synergistic effects observed for most species. Understanding species' responses to anthropogenic landscape change thus requires a multi-taxa approach that incorporates interspecific relationships, enabling better inference into underlying processes from observed patterns., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In the past decade, a large volume of peer-reviewed papers has examined the potential impacts of oil and gas resource extraction in the Canadian oil sands (OS). A large proportion focuses on terrestrial biology: wildlife, birds, and vegetation. We provide a qualitative synthesis of the condition of the environment in the oil sands region (OSR) from 2009 to 2020 to identify gaps and progress cumulative effects assessments. Our objectives were to (1) qualitatively synthesize and critically review knowledge from the OSR; (2) identify consistent trends and generalizable conclusions; and (3) pinpoint gaps in need of greater monitoring or research effort. We visualize knowledge and terrestrial monitoring foci by allocating papers to a conceptual model for the OS. Despite a recent increase in publications, focus has remained concentrated on a few key stressors, especially landscape disturbance, and a few taxa of interest. Stressor and response monitoring is well represented, but direct monitoring of pathways (linkages between stressors and responses) is limited. Important knowledge gaps include understanding effects at multiple spatial scales, mammal health effects monitoring, focused monitoring of local resources important to Indigenous communities, and geospatial coverage and availability, including higher attribute resolution in human footprint, comprehensive land cover mapping, and up-to-date LiDAR coverage. Causal attribution based on spatial proximity to operations or spatial orientation of monitoring in the region is common but may be limited in the strength of inference that it provides. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:388-406. © 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC)., (© 2021 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).)

Murine slowly adapting receptors (SARs) within airway smooth muscle provide volume-related feedback; however, their mechanosensitivity and morphology are incompletely characterized. We explored two aspects of SAR physiology: their inherent static mechanosensitivity and a potential link to pulmonary neuroepithelial bodies (NEBs). SAR mechanosensitivity displays a rate sensitivity linked to speed of inflation; however, to what extent static SAR mechanosensitivity is tuned for the very rapid breathing frequency (B f ) of small mammals (e.g., mouse) is unclear. NEB-associated, morphologically described smooth muscle-associated receptors (SMARs) may be a structural analog for functionally characterized SARs, suggesting functional linkages between SARs and NEBs. We addressed the hypotheses that: (1) rapid murine B f is associated with enhanced in vivo SAR static sensitivity; (2) if SARs and NEBs are functionally linked, stimuli reported to impact NEB function would alter SAR mechanosensitivity. We measured SAR action potential discharge frequency (AP f , action potentials/s) during quasi-static inflation [0-20 cmH 2 O trans-respiratory pressure (P TR )] in NEB-relevant conditions of hypoxia (F I O 2  = 0.1), hypercarbia (F I CO 2  = 0.1), and pharmacologic intervention (serotonergic 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist, Tropisetron, 4.5 mg/kg; P2 purinergic receptor antagonist, Suramin, 50 mg/kg). In all protocols, we obtained: (1) AP f vs. P TR ; (2) P TR threshold; and (3) AP f onset at P TR threshold. The murine AP f vs. P TR response comprises high AP f (average maximum AP f : 236.1 ± 11.1 AP/s at 20 cmH 2 O), a low P TR threshold (mean 2.0 ± 0.1 cmH 2 O), and a plateau in AP f between 15 and 20 cmH 2 O. Murine SAR mechanosensitivity (AP f vs. P TR ) is up to 60% greater than that reported for larger mammals. Even the maximum difference between intervention and control conditions was minimally impacted by NEB-related alterations: Tropisetron -7.6 ± 1.8% ( p  = 0.005); Suramin -10.6 ± 1.5% ( p  = 0.01); hypoxia +9.3 ± 1.9% ( p  < 0.001); and hypercarbia -6.2 ± 0.9% ( p  < 0.001). We conclude that the high sensitivity of murine SARs to inflation provides enhanced resolution of operating lung volume, which is aligned with the rapid B f of the mouse. We found minimal evidence supporting a functional link between SARs and NEBs and speculate that the <10% change in SAR mechanosensitivity during altered NEB-related stimuli is not consistent with a meaningful physiologic role., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Domnik, Vincent and Fisher.)

There is a need to rapidly screen individuals for heat strain and fever using skin temperature (T sk ) as an index of deep body temperature (T b ). This study's aim was to assess whether T sk could serve as an accurate and valid index of T b during a simulated heatwave. Seven participants maintained a continuous schedule over 9-days, in 3-day parts; pre-/post-HW (25.4 °C), simulated-HW (35.4 °C). Contact thermistors measured T sk (T forehead , T finger ); radio pills measured gastrointestinal temperature (T gi ). Proximal-distal temperature gradients (ΔT forehead-finger ) were also measured. Measurements were grouped into ambient conditions: 22, 25, and 35 °C. T gi and T forehead only displayed a significant relationship in 22 °C (r: 0.591; p < 0.001) and 25 °C (r: 0.408; p < 0.001) conditions. A linear regression of all conditions identified T forehead and ΔT forehead-finger as significant predictors of T gi (r 2 : 0.588; F: 125.771; p < 0.001), producing a root mean square error of 0.26 °C. Additional residual analysis identified T forehead to be responsible for a plateau in T gi prediction above 37 °C. Contact T forehead was shown to be a statistically suitable indicator of T gi in non-HW conditions; however, an error of ~1 °C makes this physiologically redundant. The measurement of multiple sites may improve T b prediction, though it is still physiologically unsuitable, especially at higher ambient temperatures.

Land modified for human use alters matrix shape and composition and is a leading contributor to global biodiversity loss. It can also play a key role in facilitating range expansion and ecosystem invasion by anthrophilic species, as it can alter food abundance and distribution while also influencing predation risk; the relative roles of these processes are key to habitat selection theory. We researched these relative influences by examining human footprint, natural habitat, and predator occurrence on seasonal habitat selection by range-expanding boreal white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the oil sands of western Canada. We hypothesized that polygonal industrial features (e.g. cutblocks, well sites) drive deer distributions as sources of early seral forage, while linear features (e.g. roads, trails, and seismic lines) and habitat associated with predators are avoided by deer. We developed seasonal 2nd -order resource selection models from three years of deer GPS-telemetry data, a camera-trap-based model of predator occurrence, and landscape spatial data to weigh evidence for six competing hypotheses. Deer habitat selection was best explained by the combination of polygonal and linear features, intact deciduous forest, and wolf (Canis lupus) occurrence. Deer strongly selected for linear features such as roads and trails, despite a potential increased risk of wolf encounters. Linear features may attract deer by providing high density forage opportunity in heavily exploited landscapes, facilitating expansion into the boreal north., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

There is widespread public and academic interest in understanding the uses and effects of digital media. Scholars primarily use self-report measures of the quantity or duration of media use as proxies for more objective measures, but the validity of these self-reports remains unclear. Advancements in data collection techniques have produced a collection of studies indexing both self-reported and log-based measures. To assess the alignment between these measures, we conducted a pre-registered meta-analysis of this research. Based on 106 effect sizes, we found that self-reported media use correlates only moderately with logged measurements, that self-reports were rarely an accurate reflection of logged media use and that measures of problematic media use show an even weaker association with usage logs. These findings raise concerns about the validity of findings relying solely on self-reported measures of media use., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

The muscarinic M 3 receptor (M 3 R) is implicated in cardiopulmonary control and many other peripheral physiologic functions. Previous observations report mortality in mice expressing a Gq-linked designer G-protein coupled receptor (Dq) selectively in striated muscle, while M 3 Dq DREADD (Designer Receptor Exclusively Activated by Designer Drug), selectively expressed in skeletal muscle (SKM) impacts glucose metabolism. We investigated whether activation of SKM M 3 Dq impacts cardiopulmonary function. Heart rate (HR), body temperature (Tb) and locomotor activity (ACT) were measured in 4 conscious, chronically instrumented M 3 Dq DREADD mice and 4 wildtype controls. Circadian values of HR, BT and ACT were not different between genotypes (p > 0.05). Activation of the M 3 Dq DREADD by clozapine N-oxide (CNO; 0.1 mg/kg) resulted in: a significant drop in heart rate, 2 h after injection, compared with a time-matched baseline control period from the same animals (460 ± 28 vs. 532 ± 6, p < 0.05), significantly lower ACT compared to the baseline control (p < 0.05) and reduced pulmonary minute ventilation compared to pre-CNO control (p < 0.05). M 3 Dq DREADD activation did not cause bronchoconstriction (separate protocol), however, there was a concomitant reduction in HR, Tb and ventilation, accompanied by cardiac arrhythmias. We speculate that reductions in Tb, HR and ventilation reflect a mechanistic link between SKM Gq signaling and the metabolic responses associated with the initiation of torpor. Supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR MOP-81211)., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Advances in implantable radio-telemetry or diverse biologging devices capable of acquiring high-resolution ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG) or heart rate recordings facilitate comparative physiological investigations by enabling detailed analysis of cardiopulmonary phenotypes and responses in vivo. Two priorities guiding the meaningful adoption of such technologies are: (1) automation, to streamline and standardize large dataset analysis, and (2) flexibility in quality-control. The latter is especially relevant when considering the tendency of some fully automated software solutions to significantly underestimate heart rate when raw signals contain high-amplitude noise. We present herein moving average and standard deviation thresholding (MAST), a novel, open-access algorithm developed to perform automated, accurate, and noise-robust single-channel R-wave detection from ECG obtained in chronically instrumented mice. MAST additionally and automatically excludes and annotates segments where R-wave detection is not possible due to artefact levels exceeding signal levels. Customizable settings (e.g. window width of moving average) allow for MAST to be scaled for use in non-murine species. Two expert reviewers compared MAST's performance (true/false positive and false negative detections) with that of a commercial ECG analysis program. Both approaches were applied blindly to the same random selection of 270 3-min ECG recordings from a dataset containing varying amounts of signal artefact. MAST exhibited roughly one quarter the error rate of the commercial software and accurately detected R-waves with greater consistency and virtually no false positives (sensitivity, Se: 98.48% ± 4.32% vs. 94.59% ± 17.52%, positive predictivity, +P: 99.99% ± 0.06% vs. 99.57% ± 3.91%, P < 0.001 and P = 0.0274 respectively, Wilcoxon signed rank; values are mean ± SD). Our novel, open-access approach for automated single-channel R-wave detection enables investigators to study murine heart rate indices with greater accuracy and less effort. It also provides a foundational code for translation to other mammals, ectothermic vertebrates, and birds., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Bioprocess optimization for cell-based therapies is a resource heavy activity. To reduce the associated cost and time, process development may be carried out in small volume systems, with the caveat that such systems be predictive for process scale-up. The transport of oxygen from the gas phase into the culture medium, characterized using the volumetric mass transfer coefficient, k L a, has been identified as a critical parameter for predictive process scale-up. Here, we describe the development of a 96-well microplate with integrated Redbud Posts to provide mixing and enhanced k L a. Mixing in the microplate is characterized by observation of dyes and analyzed using the relative mixing index (RMI). The k L a is measured via dynamic gassing out method. Actuating Redbud Posts are shown to increase rate of planar homogeneity (2 min) verse diffusion alone (120 min) and increase oxygenation, with increasing stirrer speed (3500-9000 rpm) and decreasing fill volume (150-350 μL) leading to an increase in k L a (4-88 h -1 ). Significant increase in Chinese Hamster Ovary growth in Redbud Labs vessel (580,000 cells mL -1 ) versus the control (420,000 cells mL -1 ); t(12.814) = 8.3678, p ≤ .001), and CD4 + Naïve cell growth in the microbioreactor indicates the potential for this technology in early stage bioprocess development and optimization., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Anthropogenic landscape disturbances are known to alter, destroy, and fragment habitat, which typically leads to biodiversity loss. The effects of landscape disturbance generally vary among species and depend on the nature of the disturbances, which may interact and result in synergistic effects. Western Canada's oil sands region experiences disturbances from forestry and energy sector activities as well as municipal and transportation infrastructure. The effects of those disturbances on single species have been studied and have been implicated in declines of the boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). Yet, the specific responses of the mammal community, and of functional groups such as prey and predators, to those interacting disturbances are still poorly known. We investigated the responses of black bear, grey wolf, coyote, fisher, lynx, red fox, American red squirrel, white-tailed deer, moose, caribou, and snowshoe hare to both natural habitat and disturbance associated with anthropogenic features within Alberta's northeast boreal forest. We used a novel community-level modelling framework on three years of camera-trap data collected in an oil sands landscape. This framework allowed us to identify the natural and anthropogenic features which explained the most variation in occurrence frequency among functional groups, as well as compare responses to linear and non-linear anthropogenic disturbance. Occurrence frequency by predators was better explained by anthropogenic features than by natural habitat. Both linear and non-linear anthropogenic features helped explain occurrence frequency by prey and predators, although the effects differed in magnitude and spatial scale. To better conserve boreal biodiversity, management actions should extend beyond a focus on caribou and wolves and aim to restore habitat across a diversity of anthropogenic disturbances and monitor the dynamics of the entire mammal community., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Moral intuitions are a central motivator in human behavior. Recent work highlights the importance of moral intuitions for understanding a wide range of issues ranging from online radicalization to vaccine hesitancy. Extracting and analyzing moral content in messages, narratives, and other forms of public discourse is a critical step toward understanding how the psychological influence of moral judgments unfolds at a global scale. Extant approaches for extracting moral content are limited in their ability to capture the intuitive nature of moral sensibilities, constraining their usefulness for understanding and predicting human moral behavior. Here we introduce the extended Moral Foundations Dictionary (eMFD), a dictionary-based tool for extracting moral content from textual corpora. The eMFD, unlike previous methods, is constructed from text annotations generated by a large sample of human coders. We demonstrate that the eMFD outperforms existing approaches in a variety of domains. We anticipate that the eMFD will contribute to advance the study of moral intuitions and their influence on social, psychological, and communicative processes.

Landscape change is a key driver of biodiversity declines due to habitat loss and fragmentation, but spatially shifting resources can also facilitate range expansion and invasion. Invasive populations are reproductively successful, and landscape change may buoy this success.We show how modeling the spatial structure of reproductive success can elucidate the mechanisms of range shifts and sustained invasions for mammalian species with attendant young. We use an example of white-tailed deer (deer; Odocoileus virginianus ) expansion in the Nearctic boreal forest, a North American phenomenon implicated in severe declines of threatened woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ).We hypothesized that deer reproductive success is linked to forage subsidies provided by extensive landscape change via resource extraction. We measured deer occurrence using data from 62 camera traps in northern Alberta, Canada, over three years. We weighed support for multiple competing hypotheses about deer reproductive success using multistate occupancy models and generalized linear models in an AIC-based model selection framework.Spatial patterns of reproductive success were best explained by features associated with petroleum exploration and extraction, which offer early-seral vegetation resource subsidies. Effect sizes of anthropogenic features eclipsed natural heterogeneity by two orders of magnitude. We conclude that anthropogenic early-seral forage subsidies support high springtime reproductive success, mitigating or exceeding winter losses, maintaining populations. Synthesis and Applications . Modeling spatial structuring in reproductive success can become a key goal of remote camera-based global networks, yielding ecological insights into mechanisms of invasion and range shifts to inform effective decision-making for global biodiversity conservation., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests or conflict of interest to declare., (© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: The pathophysiologic differences between methacholine-induced cough but normal airway sensitivity (COUGH) and healthy individuals (CONTROL) are incompletely understood and may be due to differences in the bronchodilating effect of deep inspirations (DIs). The purpose of this study is to compare the bronchodilating effect of DIs in individuals with classic asthma (CA), cough variant asthma (CVA), and COUGH with CONTROL and to assess impulse oscillometry (IOS) measures as predictors of the bronchodilating effect of DIs., Methods: A total of 43 adults [18 female; 44.8 ± 12.3 years (mean ± SD); n = 11 CA, n = 10 CVA, n = 7 COUGH, n = 15 CONTROL] underwent modified high-dose methacholine challenge, with IOS and partial/maximal expiratory flow volume (PEFV/MEFV) maneuvers (used to calculate DI Index) to a maximum change (Δ) in FEV 1 of 50% from baseline (MAX). Cough count and dyspnea were measured at each dose. The relation between IOS parameters and DI Index was assessed at baseline and MAX using multivariable linear regression analysis., Results: Cough frequency, dyspnea intensity, and baseline peripheral resistance (R5-R20) were significantly greater in COUGH compared with CONTROL ( p = 0.006, p = 0.029, and p = 0.035, respectively). At MAX, the DI Index was significantly lower in COUGH (0.01 ± 0.36) compared with CA (0.67 ± 0.97, p = 0.008), CVA (0.51 ± 0.73, p = 0.012), and CONTROL (0.68 ± 0.45, p = 0.005). Fres and R5-R20 were independent IOS predictors of the DI Index., Conclusion: The bronchodilating effect is impaired in COUGH and preserved in mild CA, CVA, and CONTROL. Increased peripheral airway resistance and decreased resonant frequency are associated with a decreased DI Index. COUGH is a clinical phenotype distinct from healthy normals and asthma., (Copyright © 2020 Sood, Wasilewski, Day, Wall, Fisher, Fisher and Lougheed.)

Climate and landscape change are drivers of species range shifts and biodiversity loss; understanding how they facilitate and sustain invasions has been empirically challenging. Winter severity is decreasing with climate change and is a predicted mechanism of contemporary and future range shifts. For example, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) expansion is a continental phenomenon across the Nearctic with ecological consequences for entire biotic communities. We capitalized on recent temporal variation in winter severity to examine spatial and temporal dynamics of invasive deer distribution in the Nearctic boreal forest. We hypothesized deer distribution would decrease in severe winters reflecting historical climate constraints, and remain more static in moderate winters reflecting recent climate. Further, we predicted that regardless of winter severity, deer distribution would persist and be best explained by early seral forage subsidies from extensive landscape change via resource extraction. We applied dynamic occupancy models in time, and species distribution models in space, to data from 62 camera traps sampled over 3 years in northeastern Alberta, Canada. Deer distribution shrank more markedly in severe winters but rebounded each spring regardless of winter severity. Deer distribution was best explained by anthropogenic landscape features assumed to provide early seral vegetation subsidy, accounting for natural landcover. We conclude that deer dynamics in the northern boreal forest are influenced both by landscape change across space and winter severity through time, the latter expected to further decrease with climate change. We contend that the combined influence of these two drivers is likely pervasive for many species, with changing resources offsetting or augmenting physiological limitations.

Interspecific interactions are an integral aspect of ecosystem functioning that may be disrupted in an increasingly anthropocentric world. Industrial landscape change creates a novel playing field on which these interactions take place, and a key question for wildlife managers is whether and how species are able to coexist in such working landscapes. Using camera traps deployed in northern Alberta, we surveyed boreal predators to determine whether interspecific interactions affected occurrences of black bears ( Ursus americanus ), coyotes ( Canis latrans ), and lynx ( Lynx canadensis ) within a landscape disturbed by networks of seismic lines (corridors cut for seismic exploration of oil and gas reserves). We tested hypotheses of species interactions across one spatial-only and two spatiotemporal (daily and weekly) scales. Specifically, we hypothesized that (1) predators avoid competition with the apex predator, gray wolf ( Canis lupus ), (2) they avoid competition with each other as intraguild competitors, and (3) they overlap with their prey. All three predators overlapped with wolves on at least one scale, although models at the daily and weekly scale had substantial unexplained variance. None of the predators showed avoidance of intraguild competitors or overlap with prey. These results show patterns in predator space use that are consistent with both facilitative interactions or shared responses to unmeasured ecological cues. Our study provides insight into how predator species use the working boreal landscape in relation to each other, and highlights that predator management may indirectly influence multiple species through their interactions., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Human-made marine habitats such as artificial reefs are used to mitigate marine habitat degradation and aid conservation of species at risk. We used ROV and sonar to survey threatened rockfish (Sebastes spp.) and other groundfish species associated with 18 artificial and natural reefs along the south coast of BC, Canada. Using an information-theoretic approach, we found that community composition significantly differed between natural and artificial reefs. Artificial reefs had high variability in rockfish abundance, some supporting very high or low relative abundance. Natural reefs consistently supported intermediate rockfish abundances. Groundfish diversity was significantly greater on natural reefs than artificial reefs. Depth and relief were significant predictors for both abundance and species richness. Interestingly, rockfish abundance was negatively associated with proximity to nearest rockfish conservation area. This research is a first step in understanding causal mechanisms leading to differences between fish communities on artificial reefs in our study system, and which reef attributes may facilitate successful contributions to conservation. Though artificial reefs show promise in the conservation of some threatened species, the maintenance of diverse fish communities depends on protection of heterogenous natural reef communities., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Biologging data allow animal ecologists to directly measure species' fine-scale spatiotemporal responses to environments, such as movement - critical for our understanding of biodiversity declines in the Anthropocene. Animal movement between resource patches is a behavioral expression of multiple ecological processes that affect individual fitness. Protected area (PA) networks are a tool used to conserve biodiversity by sustaining habitat patches across vast heterogeneous landscapes. However, our ability to design PA networks that conserve biodiversity relies on our accurate understanding of animal movement and functional connectivity; this understanding is rarely tested in real-world situations due to the large geographic expanse of most PA networks. Using a tractable PA network mesocosm, we employ cutting-edge biologging technology to analyze animal movement decisions in response to a highly heterogeneous landscape. We analyze these data to test, in a novel way, three common hypotheses about functional connectivity - structural corridors, least cost paths, and stepping stones. Consistently, animals moved along structurally self-similar corridors. In reference to the Aichi 2020 Biodiversity Targets, relying on species to "stepping stone" across habitat remnants may not achieve protected area network conservation objectives.

Conservation of species at risk of extinction is complex and multifaceted. However, mitigation strategies are typically narrow in scope, an artifact of conservation research that is often limited to a single species or stressor. Knowledge of an entire community of strongly interacting species would greatly enhance the comprehensiveness and effectiveness of conservation decisions. We investigated how camera trapping and spatial count models, an extension of spatial-recapture models for unmarked populations, can accomplish this through a case study of threatened boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). Population declines in caribou are precipitous and well documented, but recovery strategies focus heavily on control of wolves (Canis lupus) and pay less attention to other known predators and apparent competitors. Obtaining necessary data on multispecies densities has been difficult. We used spatial count models to concurrently estimate densities of caribou, their predators (wolf, black bear [Ursus americanus], and coyote [Canis latrans]), and alternative prey (moose [Alces alces] and white-tailed deer [Odocoileus virginianus]) from a camera-trap array in a highly disturbed landscape within northern Alberta's Oil Sands Region. Median densities were 0.22 caribous (95% Bayesian credible interval [BCI] = 0.08-0.65), 0.77 wolves (95% BCI = 0.26-2.67), 2.39 moose (95% BCI = 0.56-7.00), 2.64 coyotes (95% BCI = 0.45-6.68), and 3.63 black bears (95% BCI = 1.25-8.52) per 100 km 2 . (The white-tailed deer model did not converge.) Although wolf densities were higher than densities recommended for caribou conservation, we suggest the markedly higher black bear and coyote densities may be of greater concern, especially if government wolf control further releases these species. Caribou conservation with a singular focus on wolf control may leave caribou vulnerable to other predators. We recommend a broader focus on the interacting species within a community when conserving species., (© 2018 Society for Conservation Biology.)