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- Pellissier, V., et al.
(author)
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Effects of Natura 2000 on nontarget bird and butterfly species based on citizen science data
- 2020
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In: Conservation Biology. - : Wiley. - 0888-8892 .- 1523-1739. ; 34:3, s. 666-676
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The European Union's Natura 2000 (N2000) is among the largest international networks of protected areas. One of its aims is to secure the status of a predetermined set of (targeted) bird and butterfly species. However, nontarget species may also benefit from N2000. We evaluated how the terrestrial component of this network affects the abundance of nontargeted, more common bird and butterfly species based on data from long-term volunteer-based monitoring programs in 9602 sites for birds and 2001 sites for butterflies. In almost half of the 155 bird species assessed, and particularly among woodland specialists, abundance increased (slope estimates ranged from 0.101 [SD 0.042] to 3.51 [SD 1.30]) as the proportion of landscape covered by N2000 sites increased. This positive relationship existed for 27 of the 104 butterfly species (estimates ranged from 0.382 [SD 0.163] to 4.28 [SD 0.768]), although most butterflies were generalists. For most species, when land-cover covariates were accounted for these positive relationships were not evident, meaning land cover may be a determinant of positive effects of the N2000 network. The increase in abundance as N2000 coverage increased correlated with the specialization index for birds, but not for butterflies. Although the N2000 network supports high abundance of a large spectrum of species, the low number of specialist butterflies with a positive association with the N2000 network shows the need to improve the habitat quality of N2000 sites that could harbor open-land butterfly specialists. For a better understanding of the processes involved, we advocate for standardized collection of data at N2000 sites.
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3. |
- Morrison, C. A., et al.
(author)
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Bird population declines and species turnover are changing the acoustic properties of spring soundscapes
- 2021
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Natural sounds, and bird song in particular, play a key role in building and maintaining our connection with nature, but widespread declines in bird populations mean that the acoustic properties of natural soundscapes may be changing. Using data-driven reconstructions of soundscapes in lieu of historical recordings, here we quantify changes in soundscape characteristics at more than 200,000 sites across North America and Europe. We integrate citizen science bird monitoring data with recordings of individual species to reveal a pervasive loss of acoustic diversity and intensity of soundscapes across both continents over the past 25 years, driven by changes in species richness and abundance. These results suggest that one of the fundamental pathways through which humans engage with nature is in chronic decline, with potentially widespread implications for human health and well-being.
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4. |
- McMahon, Colin J, et al.
(author)
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Paediatric and adult congenital cardiology education and training in Europe.
- 2022
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In: Cardiology in the young. - 1467-1107. ; 32:12, s. 1966-1983
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Limited data exist on training of European paediatric and adult congenital cardiologists.A structured and approved questionnaire was circulated to national delegates of Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology in 33 European countries.Delegates from 30 countries (91%) responded. Paediatric cardiology was not recognised as a distinct speciality by the respective ministry of Health in seven countries (23%). Twenty countries (67%) have formally accredited paediatric cardiology training programmes, seven (23%) have substantial informal (not accredited or certified) training, and three (10%) have very limited or no programme. Twenty-two countries have a curriculum. Twelve countries have a national training director. There was one paediatric cardiology centre per 2.66 million population (range 0.87-9.64 million), one cardiac surgical centre per 4.73 million population (range 1.63-10.72 million), and one training centre per 4.29 million population (range 1.63-10.72 million population). The median number of paediatric cardiology fellows per training programme was 4 (range 1-17), and duration of training was 3 years (range 2-5 years). An exit examination in paediatric cardiology was conducted in 16 countries (53%) and certification provided by 20 countries (67%). Paediatric cardiologist number is affected by gross domestic product (R2 = 0.41).Training varies markedly across European countries. Although formal fellowship programmes exist in many countries, several countries have informal training or no training. Only a minority of countries provide both exit examination and certification. Harmonisation of training and standardisation of exit examination and certification could reduce variation in training thereby promoting high-quality care by European congenital cardiologists.
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6. |
- Lehikoinen, Aleksi, et al.
(author)
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Wintering bird communities are tracking climate change faster than breeding communities
- 2021
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In: Journal of Animal Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0021-8790 .- 1365-2656. ; 90:5, s. 1085-1095
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Global climate change is driving species' distributions towards the poles and mountain tops during both non-breeding and breeding seasons, leading to changes in the composition of natural communities. However, the degree of season differences in climate-driven community shifts has not been thoroughly investigated at large spatial scales. We compared the rates of change in the community composition during both winter (non-breeding season) and summer (breeding) and their relation to temperature changes. Based on continental-scale data from Europe and North America, we examined changes in bird community composition using the community temperature index (CTI) approach and compared the changes with observed regional temperature changes during 1980–2016. CTI increased faster in winter than in summer. This seasonal discrepancy is probably because individuals are less site-faithful in winter, and can more readily shift their wintering sites in response to weather in comparison to the breeding season. Regional long-term changes in community composition were positively associated with regional temperature changes during both seasons, but the pattern was only significant during summer due to high annual variability in winter communities. Annual changes in community composition were positively associated with the annual temperature changes during both seasons. Our results were broadly consistent across continents, suggesting some climate-driven restructuring in both European and North American avian communities. Because community composition has changed much faster during the winter than during the breeding season, it is important to increase our knowledge about climate-driven impacts during the less-studied non-breeding season.
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7. |
- McMahon, Colin J, et al.
(author)
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Adult congenital heart disease training in Europe: current status, disparities and potential solutions.
- 2023
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In: Open heart. - 2053-3624. ; 10:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study aimed to determine the status of training of adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) cardiologists in Europe.A questionnaire was sent to ACHD cardiologists from 34 European countries.Representatives from 31 of 34 countries (91%) responded. ACHD cardiology was recognised by the respective ministry of Health in two countries (7%) as a subspecialty. Two countries (7%) have formally recognised ACHD training programmes, 15 (48%) have informal (neither accredited nor certified) training and 14 (45%) have very limited or no programme. Twenty-five countries (81%) described training ACHD doctors 'on the job'. The median number of ACHD centres per country was 4 (range 0-28), median number of ACHD surgical centres was 3 (0-26) and the median number of ACHD training centres was 2 (range 0-28). An established exit examination in ACHD was conducted in only one country (3%) and formal certification provided by two countries (7%). ACHD cardiologist number versus gross domestic product Pearson correlation coefficient=0.789 (p<0.001).Formal or accredited training in ACHD is rare among European countries. Many countries have very limited or no training and resort to 'train people on the job'. Few countries provide either an exit examination or certification. Efforts to harmonise training and establish standards in exit examination and certification may improve training and consequently promote the alignment of high-quality patient care.
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8. |
- Pérez-Granados, Cristian, et al.
(author)
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European scenarios for future biological invasions
- 2024
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In: People and Nature. - 2575-8314. ; 6:1, s. 245-259
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Invasive alien species are one of the major threats to global biodiversity, ecosystem integrity, nature's contributions to people and human health. While scenarios about potential future developments have been available for other global change drivers for quite some time, we largely lack an understanding of how biological invasions might unfold in the future across spatial scales.Based on previous work on global invasion scenarios, we developed a workflow to downscale global scenarios to a regional and policy-relevant context. We applied this workflow at the European scale to create four European scenarios of biological invasions until 2050 that consider different environmental, socio-economic and socio-cultural trajectories, namely the European Alien Species Narratives (Eur-ASNs).We compared the Eur-ASNs with their previously published global counterparts (Global-ASNs), assessing changes in 26 scenario variables. This assessment showed a high consistency between global and European scenarios in the logic and assumptions of the scenario variables. However, several discrepancies in scenario variable trends were detected that could be attributed to scale differences. This suggests that the workflow is able to capture scale-dependent differences across scenarios.We also compared the Global- and Eur-ASNs with the widely used Global and European Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), a set of scenarios developed in the context of climate change to capture different future socio-economic trends. Our comparison showed considerable divergences in the scenario space occupied by the different scenarios, with overall larger differences between the ASNs and SSPs than across scales (global vs. European) within the scenario initiatives.Given the differences between the ASNs and SSPs, it seems that the SSPs do not adequately capture the scenario space relevant to understanding the complex future of biological invasions. This underlines the importance of developing independent but complementary scenarios focussed on biological invasions. The downscaling workflow we implemented and presented here provides a tool to develop such scenarios across different regions and contexts. This is a major step towards an improved understanding of all major drivers of global change, including biological invasions.
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- Roura-Pascual, Nuria, et al.
(author)
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A scenario-guided strategy for the future management of biological invasions
- 2024
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In: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. - 1540-9295 .- 1540-9309.
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Future dynamics of biological invasions are highly uncertain because they depend on multiple social-ecological drivers. We used a scenario-based approach to explore potential management options for invasive species in Europe. During two workshops involving a multidisciplinary team of experts, we developed a management strategy arranged into 19 goals relating to policy, research, public awareness, and biosecurity. We conceived solutions for achieving these goals under different plausible future scenarios, and identified four interrelated recommendations around which any long-term strategy for managing invasive species can be structured: (1) a European biosecurity regime, (2) a dedicated communication strategy, (3) data standardization and management tools, and (4) a monitoring and assessment system. Finally, we assessed the feasibility of the management strategy and found substantial differences among scenarios. Collectively, our results indicate that it is time for a new strategy for managing biological invasions in Europe, one that is based on a more integrative approach across socioeconomic sectors and countries.
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10. |
- Sánchez Brotons, Alejandro, et al.
(author)
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Pipelines and Systems for Threshold-Avoiding Quantification of LC-MS/MS Data
- 2021
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In: Analytical Chemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0003-2700 .- 1520-6882. ; 93:32, s. 11215-11224
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The accurate processing of complex liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) data from biological samples is a major challenge for metabolomics, proteomics, and related approaches. Here, we present the pipelines and systems for threshold-avoiding quantification (PASTAQ) LC-MS/MS preprocessing toolset, which allows highly accurate quantification of data-dependent acquisition LC-MS/MS datasets. PASTAQ performs compound quantification using single-stage (MS1) data and implements novel algorithms for high-performance and accurate quantification, retention time alignment, feature detection, and linking annotations from multiple identification engines. PASTAQ offers straightforward parameterization and automatic generation of quality control plots for data and preprocessing assessment. This design results in smaller variance when analyzing replicates of proteomes mixed with known ratios and allows the detection of peptides over a larger dynamic concentration range compared to widely used proteomics preprocessing tools. The performance of the pipeline is also demonstrated in a biological human serum dataset for the identification of gender-related proteins.
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