▪ Abstract Deer have expanded their range and increased dramatically in abundance worldwide in recent decades. They inflict major economic losses in forestry, agriculture, and transportation and contribute to the transmission of several animal and human diseases. Their impact on natural ecosystems is also dramatic but less quantified. By foraging selectively, deer affect the growth and survival of many herb, shrub, and tree species, modifying patterns of relative abundance and vegetation dynamics. Cascading effects on other species extend to insects, birds, and other mammals. In forests, sustained overbrowsing reduces plant cover and diversity, alters nutrient and carbon cycling, and redirects succession to shift future overstory composition. Many of these simplified alternative states appear to be stable and difficult to reverse. Given the influence of deer on other organisms and natural processes, ecologists should actively participate in efforts to understand, monitor, and reduce the impact of deer on ...

https://www.kora.ch/malme/05_library/5_1_publications/C/Cote_et_al_2004_Ecological_impacts_of_deer_overabundance.pdf

Ecological Impacts of Deer Overabundance

A growing number of studies quantify the impact of nonlethal human disturbance on the behavior and reproductive success of animals. Athough many are well designed and analytically sophisticated, most lack a theoretical framework for making predictions and for understanding why particular responses occur. Behavioral ecologists have recently begun to fill this theoretical vacuum by applying economic models of antipredator behavior to disturbance studies. In this emerging paradigm, predation and nonlethal disturbance stimuli create similar trade-offs between avoiding perceived risk and other fitness-enhancing activities, such as feeding, parental care, or mating. A vast literature supports the hypothesis that antipredator behavior has a cost to other activities, and that this trade-off is optimized when investment in antipredator behavior tracks short-term changes in predation risk. Prey have evolved antipredator responses to generalized threatening stimuli, such as loud noises and rapidly approaching objects. Thus, when encountering disturbance stimuli ranging from the dramatic, lowflying helicopter to the quiet wildlife photographer, animal responses are likely to follow the same economic principles used by prey encountering predators. Some authors have argued that, similar to predation risk, disturbance stimuli can indirectly affect fitness and population dynamics via the energetic and lost opportunity costs of risk avoidance. We elaborate on this argument by discussing why, from an evolutionary perspective, disturbance stimuli should be analogous to predation risk. We then consider disturbance effects on the behavior of individuals—vigilance, fleeing, habitat selection, mating displays, and parental investment—as well as indirect effects on populations and communities. A wider application of predation risk theory to disturbance studies should increase the generality of predictions and make mitigation more effective without over-regulating human activities.

/pdf/human-caused-disturbance-stimuli-as-a-form-of-predation-risk-ro9mekfw7k.pdf

Human-caused Disturbance Stimuli as a Form of Predation Risk

In this paper we review the empirical studies documenting trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMIIs) in food webs. Basic models and empirical approaches that form the foundation of our conceptualization of species interactions generally assume that interactions are an intrinsic property of the two interacting species and therefore are governed by their respective densities. However, if a species reacts to the presence of a second species by altering its phenotype, then the trait changes in the reacting species can alter the per capita effect of the reacting species on other species and, consequently, population density or fitness of the other species. Such trait-mediated indirect interactions can reinforce or oppose density-mediated effects and have been largely overlooked by community ecologists. We first briefly develop the case for the broad mechanistic basis for TMIIs and then review the direct evidence for TMIIs in various permutations of simple three- to four-species food webs. We find strong evid...

A review of trait-mediated indirect interactions in ecological communities

Ecosystem services are the benefits obtained from the environment that increase human well-being. Economic valuation is conducted by measuring the human welfare gains or losses that result from changes in the provision of ecosystem services. Bats have long been postulated to play important roles in arthropod suppression, seed dispersal, and pollination; however, only recently have these ecosystem services begun to be thoroughly evaluated. Here, we review the available literature on the ecological and economic impact of ecosystem services provided by bats. We describe dietary preferences, foraging behaviors, adaptations, and phylogenetic histories of insectivorous, frugivorous, and nectarivorous bats worldwide in the context of their respective ecosystem services. For each trophic ensemble, we discuss the consequences of these ecological interactions on both natural and agricultural systems. Throughout this review, we highlight the research needed to fully determine the ecosystem services in question. Finally, we provide a comprehensive overview of economic valuation of ecosystem services. Unfortunately, few studies estimating the economic value of ecosystem services provided by bats have been conducted to date; however, we outline a framework that could be used in future studies to more fully address this question. Consumptive goods provided by bats, such as food and guano, are often exchanged in markets where the market price indicates an economic value. Nonmarket valuation methods can be used to estimate the economic value of nonconsumptive services, including inputs to agricultural production and recreational activities. Information on the ecological and economic value of ecosystem services provided by bats can be used to inform decisions regarding where and when to protect or restore bat populations and associated habitats, as well as to improve public perception of bats.

/pdf/ecosystem-services-provided-by-bats-2clwslocl0.pdf

Ecosystem services provided by bats

Ecosystem services are natural processes that benefit humans. Birds contribute the four types of services recognized by the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment-provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. In this review, we concentrate primarily on supporting services, and to a lesser extent, provisioning and regulating services. As members of ecosystems, birds play many roles, including as predators, pollinators, scavengers, seed dispersers, seed predators, and ecosystem engineers. These ecosystem services fall into two subcategories: those that arise via behavior (like consumption of agricultural pests) and those that arise via bird products (like nests and guano). Characteristics of most birds make them quite special from the perspective of ecosystem services. Because most birds fly, they can respond to irruptive or pulsed resources in ways generally not possible for other vertebrates. Migratory species link ecosystem processes and fluxes that are separated by great distances and times. Although the economic value to humans contributed by most, if not all, of the supporting services has yet to be quantified, we believe they are important to humans. Our goals for this review are 1) to lay the groundwork on these services to facilitate future efforts to estimate their economic value, 2) to highlight gaps in our knowledge, and 3) to point to future directions for additional research.

Ecosystem Services Provided by Birds

Mammalian predator-prey systems are behaviorally sophisticated games of stealth and fear. But, traditional mass-action models of predator prey dynamics treat individuals as behaviorally unresponsive “molecules” in Brownian motion. Foraging theory should provide the conceptual framework to envision the interaction. But, current models of predator feeding behavior generally envision a clever predator consuming large numbers of sessile and behaviorally inert prey (e.g., kangaroo rats, Dipodomys , collecting seeds from food patches). Here, we extend foraging theory to consider a predator-prey game of stealth and fear and then embed this game into the modeling of predator-prey population dynamics. The melding of the prey and predator's optimal behaviors with their population and community-level consequences constitutes the ecology of fear. The ecology of fear identifies the endpoints of a continuum of N-driven (population size) versus μ-driven (fear) systems. In N-driven systems, the major direct dynamical feedback involves predators killing prey, whereas μ-driven systems involve the indirect effects from changes in fear levels and prey catchability. In μ-driven systems, prey respond to predators by becoming more vigilant or by moving away from suspected predators. In this way, a predator (e.g., mountain lion, Puma concolor ) depletes a food patch (e.g., local herd of mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus ) by frightening prey rather than by actually killing prey. Behavior buffers the system: a reduction in predator numbers should rapidly engender less vigilant and more catchable prey. The ecology of fear explains why big fierce carnivores should be and can be rare. In carnivore systems, ignore the behavioral game at one's peril.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1383287.pdf

The Ecology of Fear: Optimal Foraging, Game Theory, and Trophic Interactions

Previous work indicated that automated camera traps may be useful in estimating preda- tion risk among different microhabitats for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). We tested the prediction that the number of photographs taken by automated camera traps was inversely related to the amount of food left by deer in feeding boxes or giving up densi- ties (GUDs). We positioned camera traps adjacent to standard mule deer feeding boxes placed in open and edge microhabitats of 3 forest types: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga men- ziesii), juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), and mountain mahongany (Cercocarpus ledi- folius). We compared number of photographs taken with daily GUDs for the boxes for the 2 microhabitats. We found that GUD data of our study coincided with the previous work of lower GUDs in open versus edge microhabitats for Douglas-fir (288.6±17.1 g vs. 389.6±19.4 g; P<0.001) and juniper (218.9±26.3 g vs. 251.9±29.6 g, P=0.027) but not for mountain mahogany (272.4±29.5 g vs. 287.0±32.3 g, P=0.414). We also found sig- nificantly more total photos/camera taken in open microhabitat versus edge microhabitat in Douglas-fir (16.2±2.2 vs. 7.4±1.5; P=0.004). More photos/camera were taken in the open versus edge in the juniper forest type (15.6 ±3.9 vs. 11.5 ±3.9), but the difference was not significant. There was no difference in photos/camera between the 2 microhab- itats in the mountain mahogany (18.4 ± 3.4 vs. 19.3 ± 1.9). Total number of photos/ day/box also was significantly related to the GUDs for the 3 forest types (P = 0.002- 0.008). The amount of variability explained by regression equations (r 2 adjusted) ranged from 22% for Douglas-fir to 29% for juniper. We concluded that the total number of pho- tographs taken does reflect the results of GUD analysis and that automated camera traps could be used to assess predation risk among different microhabitats.

https://bioone.org/journals/wildlife-society-bulletin/volume-33/issue-1/0091-7648(2005)33[353:FTFUOC]2.0.CO;2/Use-of-camera-traps-to-measure-predation-risk-in-a/10.2193/0091-7648(2005)33[353:FTFUOC]2.0.CO;2.pdf

From the Field: Use of camera traps to measure predation risk in a puma‐mule deer system

Objective: The prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in Thai police officers is unknown. This study aims to accurately determine the prevalence of MetS in this population compared to the Thai general population.
Materials and Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of 107,933 Thai police officers during the 2012 annual Police Health Care Center check-up. Metabolic syndrome was defined using the harmonized criteria of six international expert groups.
Results: The prevalence of MetS among Thai police officers was 39.24%, with a higher prevalence among males compared to female police officers (40.9% male and 14.3% female).  The prevalence was higher in male police officers (40.65% versus 23.80%, P<0.001), whereas it was lower in female officers (16.30% versus 31.59%, P<0.001) when compared to the general population. High blood pressure was the most common abnormal metabolic component in both genders (male 67.4 % female 33.3%).  Whereas observation of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) in males (11.6%) and high fasting plasma glucose (FG) in females (16.3%). The adjusted odds ratio for MetS increased with age, wide pulse pressure, male gender, lower rank, alcohol drinking, and being in a non-metropolitan city. 
Conclusion: The prevalence of MetS is higher among Thai police officers compared to the general Thai population. These findings underscore the need for effective preventive measures and continuous monitoring to reduce the risk and burden of cardiovascular diseases.

/pdf/prevalence-of-metabolic-syndrome-and-its-associated-factors-2te84slo.pdf

Prevalence Of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Associated Factors Among Thai Police Officers – A Population-Based Study

TCTAP A-017 Periprocedural Myocardial Infarction or Injury in Novel Low-Speed Following High-Speed and Conventional High-Speed Rotational Atherectomy Technique for Heavily Calcified Coronary Artery Lesions – The PRIMO-ROTA Pilot Study

Mahesh Gurung

Papers

The Ecology of Fear: Optimal Foraging, Game Theory, and Trophic Interactions

From the Field: Use of camera traps to measure predation risk in a puma‐mule deer system

Prevalence Of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Associated Factors Among Thai Police Officers – A Population-Based Study

TCTAP A-017 Periprocedural Myocardial Infarction or Injury in Novel Low-Speed Following High-Speed and Conventional High-Speed Rotational Atherectomy Technique for Heavily Calcified Coronary Artery Lesions – The PRIMO-ROTA Pilot Study