Domestic European Rabbits : A Super-Highway for the Spread of Emergent Viral Diseases to Other Lagomorphs?

We propose that the worldwide spread of several viral diseases in European rabbits () is facilitated by domestic rabbit meat production and associated international trade. This view is based on published records of the transfer of rabbit haemorrhagic disease viruses (RHDV/RHDV2) between countries and supported by data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS) correlating the amount of rabbit meat produced and the number of rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) outbreaks reported. Although RHDV was mainly confined to European rabbits, outbreak reporting rose after RDHV2 emerged and spread into many other lagomorph species.

Using species ranges and macroeconomic data to fill the gap in costs of biological invasions.

Biological invasions threaten global biodiversity, human well-being and economies. Many regional and taxonomic syntheses of monetary costs have been produced recently but with important knowledge gaps owing to uneven geographic and taxonomic research intensity. Here we combine species distribution models, macroeconomic data and the InvaCost database to produce the highest resolution spatio-temporal cost estimates currently available to bridge these gaps.

Prevalence of Ethical Issues in Patients with Advanced Cancer: Secondary Analysis of Pooled Data from the Development and Validation Cohorts of the PALCOM Scale for the Complexity of Palliative Care Needs.

Introduction: The life experience of patients with advanced cancer and limited life expectancy is unique and profoundly complex, often leading to moral discrepancies among the various individuals involved in decision making. There are no data in the literature on the prevalence of ethical issues in the end-of-life care of patients with advanced cancer.

Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to identify the overall and specific prevalence of ethical issues in the end-of-life care process for patients with advanced cancer.

Predicting the global economic costs of biological invasions by tetrapods.

Globalisation has accelerated rates of biological invasions worldwide, leading to widespread environmental perturbations that often translate into rapidly expanding socio-economic costs. Although such monetary costs can be estimated from the observed effects of invasions, the pathways that lead invasive species to become economically impactful remain poorly understood. Here, we implement the first global-scale test of the hypothesis that adaptive traits that influence demographic resilience predict economic costs, using invasive terrestrial vertebrates as models given their well-catalogued impacts and characteristics.

The economic costs of invasive aquatic plants: A global perspective on ecology and management gaps.

Safeguarding aquatic ecosystems from invasive species requires a comprehensive understanding and quantification of their impacts, as this information is crucial for developing effective management strategies. In particular, aquatic invasive plants cause profound alterations to aquatic ecosystem composition, structure and productivity. Monetary cost assessments have, however, lacked at large scales for this group.

Global economic costs of alien birds.

The adverse impacts of alien birds are widespread and diverse, and associated with costs due to the damage caused and actions required to manage them. We synthesised global cost data to identify variation across regions, types of impact, and alien bird species. Costs amount to US$3.

Recent advances in availability and synthesis of the economic costs of biological invasions.

Biological invasions are a global challenge that has received insufficient attention. Recently available cost syntheses have provided policy- and decision makers with reliable and up-to-date information on the economic impacts of biological invasions, aiming to motivate effective management. The resultant database is now publicly and freely accessible and enables rapid extraction of monetary cost information.

Unveiling the hidden economic toll of biological invasions in the European Union.

Background: Biological invasions threaten the functioning of ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being by degrading ecosystem services and eliciting massive economic costs. The European Union has historically been a hub for cultural development and global trade, and thus, has extensive opportunities for the introduction and spread of alien species. While reported costs of biological invasions to some member states have been recently assessed, ongoing knowledge gaps in taxonomic and spatio-temporal data suggest that these costs were considerably underestimated.

Long-term recovery of Mediterranean ant and bee communities after fire in southern Spain.

Wildfires play a determinant role in the composition and structure of animal communities, especially for groups closely associated with the vegetation and soil, such as bees or ants. The effects of fire on animal communities depend on the functional traits of each group. Here, we assessed the impacts of fire and time since fire on the taxonomic and functional responses of ant and bee communities.

Testing the Novel Weapons Hypothesis of the Argentine Ant Venom on Amphibians.

The globally invasive Argentine ant () possesses a venom lethal to some amphibian species in the invaded range. To test the novel weapons hypothesis (NWH), the effects of the toxin on the cohabiting amphibian species in the ant's native range need to be investigated. The invader should benefit from the novel chemical in the invaded range, because the species are not adapted, but the venom should not be effective in the native range.

Economic costs of invasive rodents worldwide: the tip of the iceberg.

Background: Rodents are among the most notorious invasive alien species worldwide. These invaders have substantially impacted native ecosystems, food production and storage, local infrastructures, human health and well-being. However, the lack of standardized and understandable estimation of their impacts is a serious barrier to raising societal awareness, and hampers effective management interventions at relevant scales.

The economic costs, management and regulation of biological invasions in the Nordic countries.

A collective understanding of economic impacts and in particular of monetary costs of biological invasions is lacking for the Nordic region. This paper synthesizes findings from the literature on costs of invasions in the Nordic countries together with expert elicitation. The analysis of cost data has been made possible through the InvaCost database, a globally open repository of monetary costs that allows for the use of temporal, spatial, and taxonomic descriptors facilitating a better understanding of how costs are distributed.

Economic costs of protecting islands from invasive alien species.

Biological invasions represent a key threat to insular systems and have pronounced impacts across environments and economies. The ecological impacts have received substantial focus, but the socioeconomic impacts are poorly synthesized across spatial and temporal scales. We used the InvaCost database, the most comprehensive assessment of published economic costs of invasive species, to assess economic impacts on islands worldwide.

Highlighting the positive aspects of being a PhD student.

Articles about doing a PhD tend to focus on the difficulties faced by research students. Here we argue that the scientific community should also highlight the positive elements of the PhD experience.

Temperature or competition: Which has more influence on Mediterranean ant communities?

Temperature and competition are two of the main factors determining ant community assemblages. Temperature may allow species to forage more or less efficiently throughout the day (in accordance with the maximum activity temperature of each species). Competition can be observed and quantified from species replacements occurring during resource exploitation.

The magnitude, diversity, and distribution of the economic costs of invasive terrestrial invertebrates worldwide.

Invasive alien species (IAS) are a major driver of global biodiversity loss, hampering conservation efforts and disrupting ecosystem functions and services. While accumulating evidence documented ecological impacts of IAS across major geographic regions, habitat types and taxonomic groups, appraisals for economic costs remained relatively sparse. This has hindered effective cost-benefit analyses that inform expenditure on management interventions to prevent, control, and eradicate IAS.

Non-English languages enrich scientific knowledge: The example of economic costs of biological invasions.

We contend that the exclusive focus on the English language in scientific research might hinder effective communication between scientists and practitioners or policy makers whose mother tongue is non-English. This barrier in scientific knowledge and data transfer likely leads to significant knowledge gaps and may create biases when providing global patterns in many fields of science. To demonstrate this, we compiled data on the global economic costs of invasive alien species reported in 15 non-English languages.

The Native Ant Can Limit the Access to Resources of the Invasive Argentine Ant.

Within ant communities, the biotic resistance of native species against invasive ones is expected to be rare, because invasive species are often highly dominant competitors. The invasive Argentine ant ( (Mayr)) often demonstrated numerical dominance against its opponents, increased aggressiveness, and ability to quickly recruit to food. The present study aimed to assess the behavioral mechanisms involved in the interspecific competition between , facing either an invasive species ( Van Loon, Boomsma and Andrásfalvy) or a native dominant species ( (Linnaeus)).

Effects of the Argentine ant venom on terrestrial amphibians.

Invasive species have major impacts on biodiversity and are one of the primary causes of amphibian decline and extinction. Unlike other top ant invaders that negatively affect larger fauna via chemical defensive compounds, the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) does not have a functional sting. Nonetheless, it deploys defensive compounds against competitors and adversaries.