Explore the vast range of titles available.

Large carnivores promote crucial ecosystem processes but are increasingly threatened by human persecution and habitat destruction. Successful conservation of this guild requires information on long-term population dynamics obtained through demographic surveys. We used camera traps to monitor Eurasian lynx between 2009 and 2018 in a strictly protected area in the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem, located in the core of the distribution of the Bohemian–Bavarian–Austrian lynx population. Thereby, we estimated sex-specific demographic parameters using spatial capture–recapture (SCR) models. Over 48,677 trap nights, we detected 65 unique lynx individuals. Density increased from 0.69 to 1.33 and from 1.09 to 2.35 individuals/100 km 2 for open and closed population SCR models, respectively, with corresponding positive population growth rates (mean = 1.06). Estimated yearly sex-specific survival probabilities for the entire monitoring period were high (females 82%, males 90%) and per capita recruitment rate was low (females 12%, males 9%), indicating a low yearly population turnover. We ascertained an average number of recruits of 1.97 and a generation time of 2.64 years when considering resident reproducing females. We confirmed that reproduction in the study area took place successfully every year. Despite the overall increase in local lynx densities, the number of detected family groups remained constant throughout the study period. These results indicated that the strictly protected study area acts as a source for the multi-use landscapes in its surroundings. In this first open population SCR study on lynx, we provide sex-specific demographic parameters that are fundamental information for lynx management in the study area as well as in similar contexts Europe-wide.

High human‐caused mortality due to wildlife‐vehicle‐collisions and illegal killing leads to frequent cases of orphaned Eurasian lynx juveniles. Under natural conditions, this would result in starvation of the young. To avoid this, wildlife managers conventionally rear animals in captivity and release them later. However, this measure is an undesirable outcome for species conservation, managers, and animals alike. Increased awareness of Eurasian lynx orphaned by human‐caused mortality means managers must often intervene in endangered populations. In this study, we report for the first time a successful case of in situ feeding designed to avoid captivity of two orphaned Eurasian lynx. We exposed 13 roe deer and 7 red deer carcasses in the field to successfully support two orphans to the age of independence and confirm dispersal from the natal range. We present this management approach as a feasible and complimentary tool that can be considered in small or isolated large carnivore populations where every individual counts toward population viability. The topic of orphaned juvenile Eurasian lynx is one of growing importance. Given the high rates of human‐caused mortality of Eurasian lynx, especially in Central Europe's anthropogenic landscapes, large carnivore managers must frequently deal with orphans. It is necessary to intervene in order to conserve individuals but the options available to managers besides conventional captive rearing have been relatively unexplored. We describe how two juvenile Eurasian lynx became orphaned and could be supported for 5 months to independence age via in situ provisioning of deer carcasses, thus avoiding human contact and captivity. We also confirmed dispersal from the natal range and the success of this method.

The Eurasian lynx is a large carnivore widely distributed across Eurasia. However, our understanding of population status is heterogeneous across their range, with some populations isolated that are at risk of reduced genetic variation and a complete lack of information about others. In many European countries, Eurasian lynx are monitored through demographic studies crucial for their conservation and management. Even so, there are only rough and fragmented population assessments from Ukraine and Belarus, despite strict protection in both countries and their importance for lynx connectivity across Europe. We monitored lynx from October 2020 to March 2021 and used camera trapping in combination with spatial capture–recapture (SCR) methods in a Bayesian framework to provide the first SCR density estimation of three lynx populations across Ukraine and Belarus, including the Ukrainian Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, southern Belarus and the Ukrainian Carpathians. Our density estimates varied within our study areas ranging from 0.45 to 1.54 individuals/100 km2. This work provides a substantial scientific component to the overall understanding of lynx conservation for a region where only broad information is available and opens the doors for further large-scale monitoring and trend assessments. The crucial information we provide can greatly enhance the range-wide assessments of the status of this protected species. We also discuss the implications for Eurasian lynx conservation, despite the geopolitical realities impacting species monitoring in the region. Our work serves as a baseline, not only for future conservation interventions but also to evaluate the effects of disturbance and threats to these protected populations.

The recovery and expansion of formerly isolated wolf populations in Europe raise questions about the nature of their interactions and future consequences for population viability and conservation. Will fragmented populations fuse or maintain a certain level of isolation with migration? Central Europe is suitable for obtaining empirical data in this field as it represents a ‘crossroad' with the potential for contact among several phylogeographic lineages. In this study, non‐invasive genetic samples obtained during population monitoring in the Bohemian and Bavarian Forest (BBF) mountain ranges in the Czech Republic and Germany (Bohemian Massif) were analysed at different neutral markers including mitochondrial sequence, nuclear autosomal microsatellites and gonosomal sex markers. Resultant genetic profiles were compared with reference data to study population ancestry. Both cluster analyses of microsatellite genotypes and syntopic occurrence of haplotypes HW01 and HW22 showed genetic admixture between Central European and Alpine populations. This represents secondary contact and interbreeding of formerly allopatric populations with different phylogeographic histories and distant expansion centres in different biomes in the Baltic region versus the Apennine peninsula and Alps. Moreover, the study describes the founding event and genealogy of this admixed deme, inhabiting intermediate environmental conditions compared to parental forms, and emphasises the role of protected areas as stepping stones in the range recolonization process in endangered large mammals.

The UK has no shortage of house price indices, and there is probably no other country in the world that produces such a wealth of information on the housing market. Yet while the UK may look oversupplied compared with others, I suspect that, if asked, policymakers, academics, business economists and everyday citizens of other countries would say they envy the depth of information available here. Luckily, this does not mean that prices cannot be measured accurately. At Nationwide we collect a wide range of information on property characteristics for the mortgages we approve, allowing us to use rigorous and well-established statistical procedures to adjust for potential biases thrown up by the mix of our lending. And the decades-long history of the index allows a more accurate calculation of seasonal influences than some of the \"younger\" indices available.

An Englishman's home is his castle-- it's an old phrase and probably one that needs to be updated, as the obsession with property is very definitely a British one. One moment we are delighted at how \"rich\" we have become as a result of the shuttle-like rise in our property price, the next we are fretting...

\"Nonetheless, the improvement in house price trends is consistent with signs of stabilisation in several other economic indicators and suggests that any further price declines may occur at a less rapid pace than in 2008.\" The availability of properties for sale may have also made an impact. \"The latter is certainly the case, as builders have retrenched and housing starts have reached all-time record lows. Second, unsold stock levels could fall if existing sellers give up and withdraw their properties from the sales market, either by letting them out or choosing not to move for the time being.\" Recent anecdotal evidence suggests that there has been a large rise in sellers choosing to let their properties instead of holding out for a buyer, which could explain at least part of the fall in stock levels. \"This has left estate agents with little fresh stock to offer potential purchasers who have flocked to the market in recent months. Even though house prices do appear to be rising in some particularly desirable locations at the present time, it would be premature to assume a more general reversal of the slide in house prices in the near term.\"The improvement in house price trends is consistent with signs of stabilisation in several other economic indicators and suggests that any further price declines may occur at a less rapid pace than in 2008 [Martin Gahbauer]

The SARS-CoV-2 macrodomain (Mac1) within the non-structural protein 3 (Nsp3) counteracts host-mediated antiviral ADP-ribosylation signalling. This enzyme is a promising antiviral target because catalytic mutations render viruses non-pathogenic. Here, we report a massive crystallographic screening and computational docking effort, identifying new chemical matter primarily targeting the active site of the macrodomain. Crystallographic screening of diverse fragment libraries resulted in 214 unique macrodomain-binding fragments, out of 2,683 screened. An additional 60 molecules were selected from docking over 20 million fragments, of which 20 were crystallographically confirmed. X-ray data collection to ultra-high resolution and at physiological temperature enabled assessment of the conformational heterogeneity around the active site. Several crystallographic and docking fragment hits were validated for solution binding using three biophysical techniques (DSF, HTRF, ITC). Overall, the 234 fragment structures presented explore a wide range of chemotypes and provide starting points for development of potent SARS-CoV-2 macrodomain inhibitors.