The Lodge

About: The Lodge is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Biodiversity. The organization has 258 authors who have published 394 publications receiving 17100 citations.

Threatened species surveys in the Gola Forest Reserves, Sierra Leone: Reports from BOU-funded projects

Abstract: The White-necked Picathartes Picathartes gymnocephalus is endemic to the Upper Guinea rainforests and is classified as Vulnerable by BirdLife International on the 2007 IUCN Red List. There have been detailed studies of White-necked Picathartes nesting colonies in the Gola Forest in the late 1980s and early 1990s (Allport et al. 1989, Thompson 1997). Allport et al. (1989) recorded 116 active nests at 21 colonies, and 81 old nests. A further nine colonies were visited that were no longer active, and a minimum of 28 old nests were recorded. Thompson (1997) visited 15 active and two abandoned colonies in Gola, and found 36 active nests and 30 broken nests. The aim of this project was to visit as many of the known colonies as possible and count the numbers of active nests, unused but intact nests, and broken, old nests. Active nests were those where the following were noted: fresh lining in nest; young in nest; adults at nest; fresh mud on nest; faecal remains; feathers ⁄ eggshell pieces below nest; eggs in nests. A nest under construction, with fresh mud, was classified as an active nest although recorded separately from the complete active nests. Where present, the numbers of young or eggs within each nest were recorded. As far as we are aware, ecologists have not visited most of the sites surveyed since the studies mentioned above. A total of 47 White-necked Picathartes breeding sites were surveyed between 21 October 2006 and 21 January 2007 within the Gola Forest Reserve and in surrounding community forest. Twenty sites were visited within the Forest Reserve, 18 in Gola North and two in Gola East. A total of 109 active nests were counted at 35 active sites. There were 17 active sites inside the Forest Reserve, 15 in Gola North and two in Gola East. These 17 sites contained 64 active nests (a mean of 3.8 nests per colony, range 1–16). The 18 active sites located in community forest, outside the Forest Reserve boundaries, and therefore having no formal protection status, contained 45 active nests (a mean of 2.5 nests per colony, range 1–13). Twelve sites were visited that were no longer active, and of these only three were in the Forest Reserve. It is possible that a number of nest colonies exist at remote locations inside the reserve, which are unknown to local people and therefore missed during the survey.

Diuretic usage in heart failure: a continuing conundrum in 2005.

Abstract: Notwithstanding the fact that the use of low-dose diuretics (overwhelmingly thiazides) in anti-hypertensive regimes has been associated with a risk reduction of the order of 0.51 (95% confidence interval 0.42–0.62) in the incidence of congestive …