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"Sacks, Benjamin"
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Cricket, kirikiti and imperialism in Samoa, 1879-1939
This book considers how Samoans embraced and reshaped the English game of cricket, recasting it as a distinctively Samoan pastime, kirikiti. Starting with cricket's introduction to the islands in 1879, it uses both cricket and kirikiti to trace six decades of contest between and within the categories of 'colonisers' and 'colonised.' How and why did Samoans adapt and appropriate the imperial game? How did officials, missionaries, colonists, soldiers and those with mixed foreign and Samoan heritage understand and respond to the real and symbolic challenges kirikiti presented? And how did Samoans use both games to navigate foreign colonialism(s)? By investigating these questions, Benjamin Sacks suggests alternative frameworks for conceptualising sporting transfer and adoption, and advances understandings of how power, politics and identity were manifested through sport, in Samoa and across the globe.
Book
Gray Wolf Diet Composition in California’s Human-Dominated Landscape
Gray wolves have successfully recolonized much of their historical range on multiple continents, now occupying landscapes substantially altered during their absence. Wolf ecological function in human-modified landscapes remains poorly understood, fueling conflict concerns among rural stakeholders and conservation advocates over predation on economically valuable livestock and wildlife. Dietary studies can facilitate prediction of ecological impacts and help avoid outcomes that undermine human-wolf coexistence and conservation objectives. This study addresses a critical gap in dietary research of a recolonizing population of wolves in California, USA, representing the first investigation employing genetic identification of species and individuals combined with DNA metabarcoding for diet determination in scat samples. Our findings indicate that cattle dominated wolf diet, occurring in 72% of samples during the study period, compared to mule deer, which occurred in 45% of samples and small mammals that appeared in 51% of samples. Dietary biomass estimates corroborated cattle as the principal dietary component accounting for an average of 55%, while mule deer and small mammals each contributed considerably smaller proportions, 12% and 15%, respectively. These results revealed that wolves in California’s human-modified landscape primarily satisfy their caloric requirements through livestock consumption, underscoring the considerable challenges posed by coexistence of wolves and humans within the state.
Journal Article
A case of flail limb amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with significant sensory loss on neurophysiological studies
IntroductionThis case describes a 42-year-old man where diagnosis of flail limb variant of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was complicated by poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus.Clinical PresentationA 42-year-old man with type 2 diabetes mellitus presented with a progressive, ascending weakness in his right upper limb. Within 6 weeks he had a complete monoparesis. Nerve conduction studies demonstrated demyelinating features and secondary axonal loss of all four limbs. Diabetic neuropathy was considered. MRI of the brachial plexus was unremarkable. After 5 months the patient presented to UCLH A&E with shortness of breath on exertion, dysphagia and dysarthria. When examined in Neurology SDEC, there was a lower motor neuron monoparesis affecting the right upper limb with tongue fasciculations. Hba1c was 106 mmol/mol (reference range 20-41 mmol/mol). Repeat neurophysiology fulfilled the Awaji lower motor neuron criteria of probable ALS1 consistent with a flail arm variant. There was an additional length dependent, sensory diabetic polyneuropathy.DiscussionCo-existent poorly controlled diabetes complicated the diagnostic pathway. This case high- lights the need for timely neurology assessment and discussion with neurophysiology when there is diag- nostic uncertainty. Clinicians should be aware of the potential impact of comorbidities on neurophysi- ological studies.Reference De Carvalho M, Dengler R, Eisen A, et al. Electrodiagnostic criteria for diagnosis of ALS. Clin Neurophysiol. 2008;119(3):497-50318164242
Journal Article
Acute onset vertigo: evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of referring clinicians to neuro-otology specialist service
Background and AimsAcute vertigo assessment is a diagnostic challenge for non-specialist clinicians.1 Here, we analyse and compare the assessment and diagnosis of referring clinicians with experienced neuro-otology physicians.MethodsThis is a single-centre, retrospective case note analysis of patients referred to an acute neu- ro-otology clinic over 12 months at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.Results112 patients were included in the study, referred to the neuro-otology specialist clinic from the emergency department (54%), primary care (8%) and specialist neurology clinics (38%).Referring clinicians assessed for nystagmus in 66% of patients, vestibulo-ocular reflex in 27% and performed a dix hall pike test in 15% compared to 95%, 81% and 73%, respectively in the neuro-otology clinic. 27% of all patients were diagnosed with vestibular migraine but this was correctly identified by non-specialists in 2 patients. Stroke presenting with vertigo was correctly identified in 43% of patients by non-specialists.ConclusionsThese findings cement the need for improved diagnostic tools for vertigo in the acute care setting. It highlights the importance of appropriate clinical examination, and the need for further clinician training and education. Vestibular migraine is a common and under-diagnosed cause of acute vertigo.Reference Cousins S, Kaski D, Cutfield N, et al. Predictors of clinical recovery from vestibular neuritis: a prospective study. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2017;4:340-6. 10.1002/acn3.386 28491901
Journal Article
Whole Genomes Inform Genetic Rescue Strategy for Montane Red Foxes in North America
Abstract
A few iconic examples have proven the value of facilitated gene flow for counteracting inbreeding depression and staving off extinction; yet, the practice is often not implemented for fear of causing outbreeding depression. Using genomic sequencing, climatic niche modeling, and demographic reconstruction, we sought to assess the risks and benefits of using translocations as a tool for recovery of endangered montane red fox (Vulpes vulpes) populations in the western United States. We demonstrated elevated inbreeding and homozygosity of deleterious alleles across all populations, but especially those isolated in the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges. Consequently, translocations would be expected to increase population growth by masking deleterious recessive alleles. Demographic reconstructions further indicated shallow divergences of less than a few thousand years among montane populations, suggesting low risk of outbreeding depression. These genomic-guided findings set the stage for future management, the documentation of which will provide a roadmap for recovery of other data-deficient taxa.
Journal Article
Anticoagulant Rodenticides on our Public and Community Lands: Spatial Distribution of Exposure and Poisoning of a Rare Forest Carnivore
Anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) poisoning has emerged as a significant concern for conservation and management of non-target wildlife. The purpose for these toxicants is to suppress pest populations in agricultural or urban settings. The potential of direct and indirect exposures and illicit use of ARs on public and community forest lands have recently raised concern for fishers (Martes pennanti), a candidate for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act in the Pacific states. In an investigation of threats to fisher population persistence in the two isolated California populations, we investigate the magnitude of this previously undocumented threat to fishers, we tested 58 carcasses for the presence and quantification of ARs, conducted spatial analysis of exposed fishers in an effort to identify potential point sources of AR, and identified fishers that died directly due to AR poisoning. We found 46 of 58 (79%) fishers exposed to an AR with 96% of those individuals having been exposed to one or more second-generation AR compounds. No spatial clustering of AR exposure was detected and the spatial distribution of exposure suggests that AR contamination is widespread within the fisher's range in California, which encompasses mostly public forest and park lands Additionally, we diagnosed four fisher deaths, including a lactating female, that were directly attributed to AR toxicosis and documented the first neonatal or milk transfer of an AR to an altricial fisher kit. These ARs, which some are acutely toxic, pose both a direct mortality or fitness risk to fishers, and a significant indirect risk to these isolated populations. Future research should be directed towards investigating risks to prey populations fishers are dependent on, exposure in other rare forest carnivores, and potential AR point sources such as illegal marijuana cultivation in the range of fishers on California public lands.
Journal Article
Integrated Modeling to Estimate Population Size and Composition of Mule Deer
Estimating population size, age composition, and sex ratio of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is important to conservation and managed hunting of this species in the western United States. Increasingly, wildlife agencies are estimating abundance of deer using fecal DNA (fDNA), especially in forested habitats where aerial surveys are not feasible. These same data can be used to estimate overall sex ratio but require additional data on age structure to quantify adult- and fawn-specific sex ratios, which are expected to differ substantially. We demonstrate an integrated modeling approach to estimating population sizes of adult females, adult males, and fawns from 3 sources of data: fDNA, camera stations, and global positioning system (GPS) telemetry. We conducted the study on an 11,500-km² forested region in northern California, USA, corresponding to 3 hunt management zones. Within a Bayesian framework, we used spatial capture–recapture (SCR) modeling of fDNA samples and prior information on home range sizes from telemetry to estimate sex-specific densities, and N-mixture modeling of camera detections to separate adult and fawn densities. We estimated 29,317 adult females (90% CI = 24,550–34,592), 10,845 adult males (90% CI = 7,778–14,858), and 19,587 fawns (90% CI = 15,340–24,430) within the study area. The inclusion of telemetry increased precision of our results, and cameras provided comparable estimates of density when we calibrated them on the SCR results. Based on these results, we recommend a monitoring program of fDNA transects repeated once every 5 years, camera stations repeated at half of transects every year, and telemetry data from 1 deer for every 2 transects on average. We estimated an average annual cost of $1,316 (U.S.) per transect to sustain this endeavor. The integration of cameras with fDNA to combine age structure data with sex-specific abundance data represents a novel and significant step forward in the capacity to estimate deer population parameters.
Journal Article
Robustness of fecal DNA spatial capture-recapture to clustered space-use by tule elk
Spatially explicit capture-recapture (SCR) approaches using noninvasive fecal DNA (fDNA) are applied increasingly to obtain statistically robust abundance estimates for various wildlife species. But SCR has not been widely used for more gregarious species, such as elk (Cervus canadensis). Because of their heterogeneous use of the landscape and grouping behavior, elk present novel challenges to sampling efficiency and statistical assumptions. We employed fDNA SCR and a stratified random sampling approach to estimate abundance in 3 northern California tule elk (C. c. nannodes) populations concurrent with global positioning system (GPS)-telemetry monitoring of 66 elk (32 male, 34 female) in Colusa and Lake counties, California, USA, during June–August 2017–2019. We collected 1,616 fecal pellet groups from the 3 populations, resulting in 1,002 fDNA genotypes (≥19 microsatellite loci, 1 sex marker) of 425 unique individuals. Based on SCR estimates from a model incorporating both sexes, elk density ranged from 0.31 (95% CI = 0.17–0.55) elk/km² to 1.7 (95% CI = 1.3–2.2) elk/km², translating approximately to 650 individuals (evenly split between sexes) among the 3 populations. Independent telemetry data from concurrently tracked individuals indicated that activity centers of females, but not males, were clustered on the landscape. This finding was corroborated using fDNA to infer activity centers. Comparison of SCR estimates to non-spatial estimates using physically captured individuals suggested that combined-sex SCR models were robust to spatial clustering of females in all 3 populations. Additionally, single-sex models were robust to female clustering in the 2 populations with multiple female groups, but not in Lake Pillsbury, where all females effectively shared a single activity center. In that case, the estimate of female abundance was deemed an overestimate. Thus, results indicate that SCR was robust to gregariousness in elk in all but the most extreme cases of clustering (single-sex female estimation when all individuals share a single activity center), and that the inclusion of both sexes was sufficient to offset biases stemming from aggregation of females in all cases. Altogether, our findings suggest that SCR methods can be gainfully applied to socially gregarious ungulates such as elk.
Journal Article
Phylogenetic Distinctiveness of Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian Village Dog Y Chromosomes Illuminates Dog Origins
Modern genetic samples are commonly used to trace dog origins, which entails untested assumptions that village dogs reflect indigenous ancestry or that breed origins can be reliably traced to particular regions. We used high-resolution Y chromosome markers (SNP and STR) and mitochondrial DNA to analyze 495 village dogs/dingoes from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, along with 138 dogs from >35 modern breeds to 1) assess genetic divergence between Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian village dogs and their phylogenetic affinities to Australian dingoes and gray wolves (Canis lupus) and 2) compare the genetic affinities of modern breeds to regional indigenous village dog populations. The Y chromosome markers indicated that village dogs in the two regions corresponded to reciprocally monophyletic clades, reflecting several to many thousand years divergence, predating the Neolithic ages, and indicating long-indigenous roots to those regions. As expected, breeds of the Middle East and East Asia clustered within the respective regional village dog clade. Australian dingoes also clustered in the Southeast Asian clade. However, the European and American breeds clustered almost entirely within the Southeast Asian clade, even sharing many haplotypes, suggesting a substantial and recent influence of East Asian dogs in the creation of European breeds. Comparison to 818 published breed dog Y STR haplotypes confirmed this conclusion and indicated that some African breeds reflect another distinct patrilineal origin. The lower-resolution mtDNA marker consistently supported Y-chromosome results. Both marker types confirmed previous findings of higher genetic diversity in dogs from Southeast Asia than the Middle East. Our findings demonstrate the importance of village dogs as windows into the past and provide a reference against which ancient DNA can be used to further elucidate origins and spread of the domestic dog.
Journal Article
Patterns of Natural and Human-Caused Mortality Factors of a Rare Forest Carnivore, the Fisher (Pekania pennanti) in California
Wildlife populations of conservation concern are limited in distribution, population size and persistence by various factors, including mortality. The fisher (Pekania pennanti), a North American mid-sized carnivore whose range in the western Pacific United States has retracted considerably in the past century, was proposed for threatened status protection in late 2014 under the United States Endangered Species Act by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in its West Coast Distinct Population Segment. We investigated mortality in 167 fishers from two genetically and geographically distinct sub-populations in California within this West Coast Distinct Population Segment using a combination of gross necropsy, histology, toxicology and molecular methods. Overall, predation (70%), natural disease (16%), toxicant poisoning (10%) and, less commonly, vehicular strike (2%) and other anthropogenic causes (2%) were causes of mortality observed. We documented both an increase in mortality to (57% increase) and exposure (6%) from pesticides in fishers in just the past three years, highlighting further that toxicants from marijuana cultivation still pose a threat. Additionally, exposure to multiple rodenticides significantly increased the likelihood of mortality from rodenticide poisoning. Poisoning was significantly more common in male than female fishers and was 7 times more likely than disease to kill males. Based on necropsy findings, suspected causes of mortality based on field evidence alone tended to underestimate the frequency of disease-related mortalities. This study is the first comprehensive investigation of mortality causes of fishers and provides essential information to assist in the conservation of this species.
Journal Article