BACKGROUND Thermal gradients along changes in elevation in mountainous environments are reflected by different biotas. Although there have been studies of elevation variation in bat assemblages in summer, winter changes in the same gradients remain unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The objective of this study was to document changes in the species composition of bats hibernating in cave...

The UK has a wide variety of hypogenic caves, including transverse maze caves, relict hydrothermal caves, gypsum mazes and hypogenic karst associated with water rising up deep thrust faults. While few of these are particularly extensive, they offer insights into the mechanisms of speleogenesis and mineralisation. The best developed hypogenic caves in the UK are in the Carboniferous limestones o...

Lava caves are an understudied ecosystem in the subterranean world, particularly in regard to nitrogen cycling. The diversity of ammonia oxidation (amoA) and nitrogen fixation (nifH) genes in bacterial mats collected from lava cave walls on the island of Terceira (Azores, Portugal) was investigated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). A total of 55 samples were collected from 1...

Practical relevance: Dermatophytosis (ringworm) is the most important infectious and contagious skin disease of cats in shelters. Its importance relates to the fact that it can affect all cats, but tends to affect those which would otherwise have good chances for adoption. Although many diseases in shelters fit this description, dermatophytosis is of particular significance because of associate...

Understanding the distribution of landscape variables presents several advantages to researchers focusing on ecological studies. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a relatively common productivity variable used to assess, monitor, and compare landscapes. In this study, an NDVI layer was created using Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre 4 (SPOT 4) satellite imagery to comp...

Camptochaeta prolixasp. n. (Diptera, Sciaridae) is described from caves in Nevada, and three other congeneric species are recorded from caves in Nevada and Arkansas, United States. The new species shows some indication to a subterranean mode of life, including long antenna and legs, and in some specimens, reduction of the eye bridge.

This research framework, which competed successfully in the 2008 CIHR open operating grants competition, focuses on protocols to measure the impact of community-led interventions to reduce domestic violence in Aboriginal communities. The project develops and tests tools and procedures for a randomized controlled trial of prevention of family violence. Women's shelters mainly deal with victims o...

Many shelters euthanize or restrict adoptions for dogs that exhibit food guarding while in the animal shelter. However, previous research showed that only half the dogs exhibiting food guarding during an assessment food guard in the home. So, dogs are often misidentified as future food guarders during shelter assessments. We examined the impact of shelters omitting food guarding assessments. Ni...

An unusual case of bilateral intratentorial lipomas with extension into Meckel's caves and the cerebellopontine angle is described. Surgical and histopathologic correlation demonstrate that the lipoma encased the trigeminal nerve in Meckel's caves. The origin of the lipoma from the anteromedial margins of the tentorium is discussed and correlated with a recently proposed theory for the developm...