| 1. |
- Hudson, Lawrence N., et al.
(författare)
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The PREDICTS database : a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 4:24, s. 4701-4735
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species' threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project - and avert - future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups - including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems - ). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.
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| 2. |
- Sigmund, G., et al.
(författare)
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Addressing chemical pollution in biodiversity research
- 2023
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 29:12, s. 3240-3255
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution are planetary-scale emergencies requiring urgent mitigation actions. As these "triple crises" are deeply interlinked, they need to be tackled in an integrative manner. However, while climate change and biodiversity are often studied together, chemical pollution as a global change factor contributing to worldwide biodiversity loss has received much less attention in biodiversity research so far. Here, we review evidence showing that the multifaceted effects of anthropogenic chemicals in the environment are posing a growing threat to biodiversity and ecosystems. Therefore, failure to account for pollution effects may significantly undermine the success of biodiversity protection efforts. We argue that progress in understanding and counteracting the negative impact of chemical pollution on biodiversity requires collective efforts of scientists from different disciplines, including but not limited to ecology, ecotoxicology, and environmental chemistry. Importantly, recent developments in these fields have now enabled comprehensive studies that could efficiently address the manifold interactions between chemicals and ecosystems. Based on their experience with intricate studies of biodiversity, ecologists are well equipped to embrace the additional challenge of chemical complexity through interdisciplinary collaborations. This offers a unique opportunity to jointly advance a seminal frontier in pollution ecology and facilitate the development of innovative solutions for environmental protection.
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| 3. |
- Wendin, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Introducing mealworm as an ingredient in crisps and pâtés – sensory characterization and consumer liking
- 2021
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Ingår i: Future Foods. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 2666-8335. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The objective of this study was to evaluate sensory perception and consumers’ attitude and liking of products with different textures, crisps and pâtés, with added mealworm ingredient in different amounts. By addition of mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) in the crisps, the brittleness increased. However, an increase in mealworm also increased the darkness. Adding mealworms to pâté reduced the odour and flavour of vegetable and increased the flavour of cinnamon and pepper as well as the oily texture. There was no significant difference in total liking between 10 and 30% addition of mealworm, nor between 0 and 10% addition, in any of the two products. The crisps received higher liking score than the pâtés. Thus, there is also a much higher probability that a customer would buy insect crisps than insect pâté. Environmental sustainability and sensory properties were shown to be the main reasons for buying foods with added insect ingredients. © 2021 The Authors
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Osbjer, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Influenza A Virus in Backyard Pigs and Poultry in Rural Cambodia
- 2017
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Ingår i: Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. - : WILEY. - 1865-1674 .- 1865-1682. ; 64:5, s. 1557-1568
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Surveillance of influenza virus in humans and livestock is critical, given the worldwide public health threats and livestock production losses. Livestock farming involving close proximity between humans, pigs and poultry is often practised by smallholders in low-income countries and is considered an important driver of influenza virus evolution. This study determined the prevalence and genetic characteristics of influenza A virus (IAV) in backyard pigs and poultry in Cambodia. A total of 751 animals were tested by matrix gene-based rRT-PCR, and influenza virus was detected in 1.5% of sampled pigs, 1.4% of chickens and 1.0% of ducks, but not in pigeons. Full-length genome sequencing confirmed triple reassortant H3N2 in all IAV-positive pigs and various low pathogenic avian influenza subtypes in poultry. Phylogenetic analysis of the swine influenza viruses revealed that these had haemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes originating from human H3N2 viruses previously isolated in South-East Asia. Phylogenetic analysis also revealed that several of the avian influenza subtypes detected were closely related to internal viral genes from highly pathogenic H5N1 and H9N2 formerly sequenced in the region. High sequence homology was likewise found with influenza A viruses circulating in pigs, poultry and wild birds in China and Vietnam, suggesting transboundary introduction and cocirculation of the various influenza subtypes. In conclusion, highly pathogenic subtypes of influenza virus seem rare in backyard poultry, but virus reassortment, involving potentially zoonotic and pandemic subtypes, appears to occur frequently in smallholder pigs and poultry. Increased targeted surveillance and monitoring of influenza circulation on smallholdings would further improve understanding of the transmission dynamics and evolution of influenza viruses in humans, pigs and poultry in the Mekong subregion and could contribute to limit the influenza burden.
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| 6. |
- Potapov, Anton M., et al.
(författare)
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Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail diversity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown. Here, using a global dataset representing 2470 sites, we estimate the total soil springtail biomass at 27.5 megatons carbon, which is threefold higher than wild terrestrial vertebrates, and record peak densities up to 2 million individuals per square meter in the tundra. Despite a 20-fold biomass difference between the tundra and the tropics, springtail energy use (community metabolism) remains similar across the latitudinal gradient, owing to the changes in temperature with latitude. Neither springtail density nor community metabolism is predicted by local species richness, which is high in the tropics, but comparably high in some temperate forests and even tundra. Changes in springtail activity may emerge from latitudinal gradients in temperature, predation and resource limitation in soil communities. Contrasting relationships of biomass, diversity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil biodiversity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning.
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| 7. |
- van den Berg, L, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of the serotonergic genes htr1A, htr1B, htr2A, and slc6A4 in aggressive behavior of golden retriever dogs
- 2008
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Ingår i: Behavior Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0001-8244 .- 1573-3297. ; 38:1, s. 55-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aggressive behavior displays a high heritability in our study group of Golden Retriever dogs. Alterations in brain serotonin metabolism have been described in aggressive dogs before. Here, we evaluate whether four genes of the canine serotonergic system, coding for the serotonin receptors 1A, 1B, and 2A, and the serotonin transporter, could play a major role in aggression in Golden Retrievers. We performed mutation screens, linkage analysis, an association study, and a quantitative genetic analysis. There was no systematic difference between the coding DNA sequence of the candidate genes in aggressive and non-aggressive Golden Retrievers. An affecteds-only parametric linkage analysis revealed no strong major locus effect on human-directed aggression related to the candidate genes. An analysis of 41 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 1 Mb regions flanking the genes in 49 unrelated human-directed aggressive and 49 unrelated non-aggressive dogs did not show association of SNP alleles, genotypes, or haplotypes with aggression at the candidate loci. We completed our analyses with a study of the effect of variation in the candidate genes on a collection of aggression-related phenotypic measures. The effects of the candidate gene haplotypes were estimated using the Restricted Maximum Likelihood method, with the haplotypes included as fixed effects in a linear animal model. We observed no effect of the candidate gene haplotypes on a range of aggression-related phenotypes, thus extending our conclusions to several types of aggressive behavior. We conclude that it is unlikely that these genes play a major role in the variation in aggression in the Golden Retrievers that we studied. Smaller phenotypic effects of these loci could not be ruled out with our sample size.
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| 8. |
- Berg, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Äta insekter : finns det några hälsorisker?
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nutritionsfakta. ; december
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- En tidigare publicerad artikel i Nutritionsfakta har visat på hälso- och hållbarhetsfördelar med att äta insekter. Finns det då några hälsorisker med att äta insekter? När det gäller kemiska risker är dessa små, förutsatt att producenten har kontroll på fodrets tungmetallinnehåll. Bakterier och andra mikroorganismer behöver kontrolleras noga, men inga tydliga risker finns här heller. Personer med skaldjursallergier bör dock vara försiktiga med insekter. Generellt motsvarar riskerna de som gäller för andra animaliska livsmedel, och samma typ av kontrollprogram bör finnas. Dock behövs mer forskning inom området. Kött från nöt, svin och fjäderfä har studerats under lång tid; det är dags att låta forskningen kring insekter som mat börja ta igen det försprånget.
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