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Movement Ecology May 2024The relationship between animal dispersal and conspecific density has been explored in various study systems but results in terms of both the magnitude and the direction...
The relationship between animal dispersal and conspecific density has been explored in various study systems but results in terms of both the magnitude and the direction of density dependence are inconsistent. We conducted a thorough review of the literature (2000-2023) and found k = 97 empirical studies of birds, fishes, herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles), invertebrates, or mammals that had tested for a correlation between conspecific density and animal dispersal. We extracted categorical variables for taxonomic group, sex, age, migratory behavior, study design, dispersal metric, density metric and variable type, as well as temporal and spatial scale, to test each of their correlation with the effect of density on dispersal (Pearson's r) using linear regressions and multilevel mixed-effect modelling. We found certain biases in the published literature, highlighting that the impact of conspecific density on dispersal is not as widespread as it is thought to be. We also found no predominant trend for density-dependent dispersal across taxonomic groups. Instead, results show that the scale and metrics of empirical observations significantly affected analytical results, and heterogeneity measures were high within taxonomic groups. Therefore, the direction and magnitude of the interaction between density and dispersal in empirical studies could partially be attributed to the data collection method involved. We suggest that the contradictory observations for density-dependent dispersal could be explained by dispersal-dependent density, where density is driven by movement instead, and urge researchers to either test this interaction when applicable or consider this perspective when reporting results.
PubMed: 38773669
DOI: 10.1186/s40462-024-00478-6 -
Toxins Nov 2023Colombia encompasses three mountain ranges that divide the country into five natural regions: Andes, Pacific, Caribbean, Amazon, and Orinoquia. These regions offer an... (Review)
Review
Colombia encompasses three mountain ranges that divide the country into five natural regions: Andes, Pacific, Caribbean, Amazon, and Orinoquia. These regions offer an impressive range of climates, altitudes, and landscapes, which lead to a high snake biodiversity. Of the almost 300 snake species reported in Colombia, nearly 50 are categorized as venomous. This high diversity of species contrasts with the small number of studies to characterize their venom compositions and natural history in the different ecoregions. This work reviews the available information about the venom composition, isolated toxins, and potential applications of snake species found in Colombia. Data compilation was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines, and the systematic literature search was carried out in Pubmed/MEDLINE. Venom proteomes from nine Viperidae and three Elapidae species have been described using quantitative analytical strategies. In addition, venoms of three Colubridae species have been studied. Bioactivities reported for some of the venoms or isolated components-such as antibacterial, cytotoxicity on tumoral cell lines, and antiplasmodial properties-may be of interest to develop potential applications. Overall, this review indicates that, despite recent progress in the characterization of venoms from several Colombian snakes, it is necessary to perform further studies on the many species whose venoms remain essentially unexplored, especially those of the poorly known genus .
Topics: Animals; Colombia; Snake Venoms; Elapidae; Toxins, Biological; Coral Snakes; Elapid Venoms
PubMed: 37999521
DOI: 10.3390/toxins15110658 -
Ecology and Evolution Nov 2023Seed dispersal is one of the most important ecosystem functions globally. It shapes plant populations, enhances forest succession, and has multiple, indirect benefits... (Review)
Review
Seed dispersal is one of the most important ecosystem functions globally. It shapes plant populations, enhances forest succession, and has multiple, indirect benefits for humans, yet it is one of the most threatened processes in plant regeneration, worldwide. Seed dispersal distances are determined by the diets, seed retention times and movements of frugivorous animals. Hence, understanding how we can most effectively describe frugivore movement and behaviour with rapidly developing animal tracking technology is key to quantifying seed dispersal. To assess the current use of animal tracking in frugivory studies and to provide a baseline for future studies, we provide a comprehensive review and synthesis on the existing primary literature of global tracking studies that monitor movement of frugivorous animals. Specifically, we identify studies that estimate dispersal distances and how they vary with body mass and environmental traits. We show that over the last two decades there has been a large increase in frugivore tracking studies that determine seed dispersal distances. However, some taxa (e.g. reptiles) and geographic locations (e.g. Africa and Central Asia) are poorly studied. Furthermore, we found that certain morphological and environmental traits can be used to predict seed dispersal distances. We demonstrate that flight ability and increased body mass both significantly increase estimated seed dispersal mean and maximum distances. Our results also suggest that protected areas have a positive effect on mean seed dispersal distances when compared to unprotected areas. We anticipate that this review will act as a reference for future frugivore tracking studies, specifically to target current taxonomic and geographic data gaps, and to further explore how seed dispersal relates to key frugivore and fruit traits.
PubMed: 37915807
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10638 -
PloS One 2023Cross-neutralizing strategy has been applied to improve access to antivenoms, a key to reducing mortality and disability of snakebite envenoming. However, preclinical...
BACKGROUND
Cross-neutralizing strategy has been applied to improve access to antivenoms, a key to reducing mortality and disability of snakebite envenoming. However, preclinical studies have been conducted to identify antivenoms' cross-neutralizing ability when clinical studies may not be considered ethical. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and summarize scattered evidence regarding the preclinical efficacy of antivenoms against Asian snakes.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPLE FINDINGS
In this systematic review, we searched for articles published until May 30, 2022, in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase. Preclinical studies that reported the available antivenoms' neutralizing ability against Asian snake lethality were included. Quality assessment was performed using the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation's risk of bias tool and the adapted the Animal Research Reporting In Vivo Experiments guidelines. The availability of effective antivenoms against Asian snakes was analyzed by comparing data from included studies with snakebite-information and data platforms developed by the World Health Organization. Fifty-two studies were included. Most studies assessed the antivenom efficacy against snakes from Southeast Asia (58%), followed by South Asia (35%) and East Asia (19%). Twenty-two (49%) medically important snakes had antivenom(s) with confirmed neutralizing ability. Situation analyses of the availability of effective antivenoms in Asia demonstrated that locally produced antivenoms did not cover all medically important snakes in each country. Among countries without local antivenom production, preclinical studies were conducted only in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. Risk of bias assessment was limited in some domains because of unreported data.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE
Cross-neutralizing of antivenoms against some medically important snakes in Asia was confirmed. This strategy may improve access to geographically effective antivenoms and bypass investment in novel antivenom development, especially in countries without local antivenom production. A database should be developed to aid the development of a snakebite-information system.
Topics: Animals; Antivenins; Snake Bites; Snakes; Sri Lanka; Asia, Eastern
PubMed: 37467278
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288723 -
Journal of Ethnobiology and... Jul 2023Human societies have food taboos as social rules that restrict access to a particular animal. Taboos are pointed out as tools for the conservation of animals,... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Human societies have food taboos as social rules that restrict access to a particular animal. Taboos are pointed out as tools for the conservation of animals, considering that the presence of this social rule prevents the consumption of animals. This work consists of a systematic review that aimed to verify how food taboos vary between different animal species, and how this relationship has influenced their conservation.
METHODS
For this systematic review, the search for articles by keywords took place in the databases "Science Direct," Scopus," "SciELo" and "Web of Science," associating the term "taboo" with the taxa "amphibians," "birds," "mammals," "fish" and "reptiles." From this search, 3959 titles were found related to the key terms of the research. After the entire screening process carried out by paired reviewers, only 25 articles were included in the search.
RESULTS
It was identified that 100 species of animals are related to some type of taboo, and segmental taboos and specific taboos were predominant, with 93 and 31 citations, respectively. In addition, the taxon with the most taboos recorded was fish, followed by mammals. Our findings indicate that the taboo protects 99% of the animal species mentioned, being a crucial tool for the conservation of these species.
CONCLUSIONS
The present study covered the status of current knowledge about food taboos associated with wildlife in the world. It is noticeable that taboos have a considerable effect on animal conservation, as the social restrictions imposed by taboos effectively contribute to the local conservation of species.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Animals, Wild; Food; Taboo; Mammals
PubMed: 37454092
DOI: 10.1186/s13002-023-00600-9 -
Toxins Apr 2023Envenomation caused by venomous animals may trigger significant local complications such as pain, edema, localized hemorrhage, and tissue necrosis, in addition to... (Review)
Review
Envenomation caused by venomous animals may trigger significant local complications such as pain, edema, localized hemorrhage, and tissue necrosis, in addition to complications such as dermonecrosis, myonecrosis, and even amputations. This systematic review aims to evaluate scientific evidence on therapies used to target local effects caused by envenomation. The PubMed, MEDLINE, and LILACS databases were used to perform a literature search on the topic. The review was based on studies that cited procedures performed on local injuries following envenomation with the aim of being an adjuvant therapeutic strategy. The literature regarding local treatments used following envenomation reports the use of several alternative methods and/or therapies. The venomous animals found in the search were snakes (82.05%), insects (2.56%), spiders (2.56%), scorpions (2.56%), and others (jellyfish, centipede, sea urchin-10.26%). In regard to the treatments, the use of tourniquets, corticosteroids, antihistamines, and cryotherapy is questionable, as well as the use of plants and oils. Low-intensity lasers stand out as a possible therapeutic tool for these injuries. Local complications can progress to serious conditions and may result in physical disabilities and sequelae. This study compiled information on adjuvant therapeutic measures and underscores the importance of more robust scientific evidence for recommendations that act on local effects together with the antivenom.
Topics: Animals; Antivenins; Snakes; Scorpions; Insecta; Spiders; Snake Bites
PubMed: 37235348
DOI: 10.3390/toxins15050313 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Apr 2023spp. are important zoonotic pathogens and can cause one of the main bacterial diarrheal diseases worldwide. Research in the context of infection arising from... (Review)
Review
spp. are important zoonotic pathogens and can cause one of the main bacterial diarrheal diseases worldwide. Research in the context of infection arising from transmission from other humans and other vertebrates has been extensive. A large fraction of these investigations has focused on domestic animals; however, there are also a number of publications which either totally, or at least in part, consider the role of wild or feral animals as carriers or spreaders of spp. Here, we carry out a systematic review to explore the role played by wild vertebrates as sources of spp. with a compilation of prevalence data for more than 150 species including reptiles, mammals and birds. We found that numerous vertebrate species can act as carriers of species, but we also found that some host specificity may exist, reducing the risk of spread from wildlife to domestic animals or humans.
PubMed: 37106897
DOI: 10.3390/ani13081334 -
The Journal of Heredity Aug 2023In 2011, the first high-quality genome assembly of a squamate reptile (lizard or snake) was published for the green anole. Dozens of genome assemblies were subsequently...
In 2011, the first high-quality genome assembly of a squamate reptile (lizard or snake) was published for the green anole. Dozens of genome assemblies were subsequently published over the next decade, yet these assemblies were largely inadequate for answering fundamental questions regarding genome evolution in squamates due to their lack of contiguity or annotation. As the "genomics age" was beginning to hit its stride in many organismal study systems, progress in squamates was largely stagnant following the publication of the green anole genome. In fact, zero high-quality (chromosome-level) squamate genomes were published between the years 2012 and 2017. However, since 2018, an exponential increase in high-quality genome assemblies has materialized with 24 additional high-quality genomes published for species across the squamate tree of life. As the field of squamate genomics is rapidly evolving, we provide a systematic review from an evolutionary genomics perspective. We collated a near-complete list of publicly available squamate genome assemblies from more than half-a-dozen international and third-party repositories and systematically evaluated them with regard to their overall quality, phylogenetic breadth, and usefulness for continuing to provide accurate and efficient insights into genome evolution across squamate reptiles. This review both highlights and catalogs the currently available genomic resources in squamates and their ability to address broader questions in vertebrates, specifically sex chromosome and microchromosome evolution, while addressing why squamates may have received less historical focus and has caused their progress in genomics to lag behind peer taxa.
Topics: Animals; Lizards; Phylogeny; Genomics; Genome; Sex Chromosomes
PubMed: 37018459
DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esad023 -
PeerJ 2023Thoroughly documenting prey items and diet composition is crucial for understanding a predator's role in the ecosystem. In gape restricted predators, such as snakes,...
Thoroughly documenting prey items and diet composition is crucial for understanding a predator's role in the ecosystem. In gape restricted predators, such as snakes, documenting and analyzing the type and size of the prey is important to interpret their ecological role. We describe the diet patterns of a species of venomous snake, the Terciopelo pit viper (), from its Ecuadorian populations. Examining the gastrointestinal contents of museum specimens collected over an extensive area of the Pacific lowlands of Ecuador, we encountered 69 identifiable prey items from four major taxonomic groups (amphibians, centipedes, mammals, and reptiles). We evaluated the observed composition of prey to check for differences between sexes and size-classes. To complement our observations of the Terciopelo species complex throughout their distribution, we carried out a systematic literature review. Our data show an ontogenetic shift in diet, with a transition from more diverse diet in juveniles towards a mammal-specialized diet in adults, and distinct proportion of prey taxa between the sexes in the juvenile size class.
Topics: Animals; Bothrops; Crotalinae; Ecosystem; Ecuador; Snakes; Mammals
PubMed: 36785705
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14817 -
Gastroenterology and Hepatology From... 2022This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the subtyped sp. isolated from humans in Iran. (Review)
Review
AIM
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the subtyped sp. isolated from humans in Iran.
BACKGROUND
sp. is an anaerobic intestinal protozoan that infects humans as well as domestic and wild animals, i.e. mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and arthropods.
METHODS
A comprehensive search for papers published before April 2022 was undertaken utilizing English and Persian databases. The following MeSH keywords were used in the electronic search: ( sp.) AND (molecular OR subtype) AND (prevalence OR epidemiology) AND Iran. The quality of the included studies was evaluated. Thereafter, a random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled prevalence and odds ratios regarding the included studies.
RESULTS
A total of 32 studies comprised of five case-control studies and 27 cross-sectional studies met the eligibility criteria. The overall pooled prevalence of subtyped sp. in Iran was estimated to be 10% (95% confidence interval: 6 to 15%). Eight subtypes of sp. (ST1- ST7 and ST9) were identified in our study, of which ST3 was the most common subtype (0.04); 0.02-0.07). The difference in subtypes between two case and control groups in reported studies was not significant, but the odds ratio of infection by ST3 (0.98; 95% CI, 0.30 to 3.20) was higher in cases.
CONCLUSION
The current systematic review showed that with the exception of ST8 and ST12, all human sp. subtypes reported in the world are found in different parts of Iran.
PubMed: 36762220
DOI: 10.22037/ghfbb.v15i4.2475