Displaying publications 61 - 80 of 226 in total

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  1. Prevention is better than cure: Persian Gulf biodiversity vulnerability to the impacts of desalination plants
    Sharifinia M, Afshari Bahmanbeigloo Z, Smith WO, Yap CK, Keshavarzifard M
    Glob Chang Biol, 2019 Dec;25(12):4022-4033.
    PMID: 31436851 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14808
    Due to extremely high rates of evaporation and low precipitation in the Persian Gulf, discharges from desalination plants (DPs) can lead to ecological stresses by increasing water temperatures, salinities, and heavy metal concentrations, as well as decreasing dissolved oxygen levels. We discuss the potential ecological impacts of DPs on marine organisms and propose mitigating measures to reduce the problems induced by DPs discharges. The daily capacity of DPs in the Persian Gulf exceeds 11 million m3 per day, which is approximately half of global daily freshwater production; multistage flash distillation (MSF) is the dominant desalination process. Results from field and laboratory studies indicate that there are potentially serious and chronic threats to marine communities following exposure to DP discharges, especially within the zoobenthos, echinodermata, seagrasses, and coral reefs. DP discharges can lead to decreases in sensitive species, plankton abundance, hard substrate epifauna, and growth rates of seagrasses. However, the broad applicability of any one of these impacts is currently hard to scale because of the limited number of studies that have been conducted to assess the ecological impacts of DP discharge on Persian Gulf organisms. Even so, available data suggest that appropriately sited, designed, and operated DPs combined with current developments in impingement and entrainment reduction technology can mitigate many of the negative environmental impacts of DPs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  2. On the radioactivity in the marine environment of the Straits of Malacca
    Martin PH
    Health Phys, 1978 Oct;35(4):574-5.
    PMID: 748266
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  3. Fulltext Social sciences research in neglected tropical diseases 1: the ongoing neglect in the neglected tropical diseases
    Allotey P, Reidpath DD, Pokhrel S
    Health Res Policy Syst, 2010 Oct 21;8:32.
    PMID: 20961461 DOI: 10.1186/1478-4505-8-32
    Centuries of scientific advances and developments in biomedical sciences have brought us a long way to understanding and managing disease processes, by reducing them to simplified cause-effect models. For most of the infectious diseases known today, we have the methods and technology to identify the causative agent, understand the mechanism by which pathology is induced and develop the treatment (drugs, vaccines, medical or surgical procedures) to cure, manage or control.Disease, however, occurs within a context of lives fraught with complexity. For any given infectious disease, who gets it, when, why, the duration, the severity, the outcome, the sequelae, are bound by a complex interplay of factors related as much to the individual as it is to the physical, social, cultural, political and economic environments. Furthermore each of these factors is in a dynamic state of change, evolving over time as they interact with each other. Simple solutions to infectious diseases are therefore rarely sustainable solutions. Sustainability would require the development of interdisciplinary sciences that allow us to acknowledge, understand and address these complexities as they occur, rather than rely solely on a form of science based on reducing the management of disease to simple paradigms.In this review we examine the current global health responses to the 'neglected' tropical diseases, which have been prioritised on the basis of an acknowledgment of the complexity of the poverty-disease cycle. However research and interventions for neglected tropical diseases, largely neglect the social and ecological contextual, factors that make these diseases persist in the target populations, continuing instead to focus on the simple biomedical interventions. We highlight the gaps in the approaches and explore the potential of enhanced interdisciplinary work in the development of long term solutions to disease control.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  4. Fulltext Hiding in the dark: Local ecological knowledge about slow loris in Sarawak sheds light on relationships between human populations and wild animals
    Miard P, Nekaris KAI, Ramlee H
    Hum Ecol Interdiscip J, 2017 11 07;45(6):823-831.
    PMID: 29213178 DOI: 10.1007/s10745-017-9954-x
    Local ecological knowledge (LEK) increases understanding of certain species and the threats they face, especially little-studied taxa for which data on distribution and conservation are often lacking. We conducted 111 semi-structured interviews in Sarawak, Malaysia, to collect local knowledge about the behavior and distribution of the Philippine slow loris (Nycticebus menagensis) from two ethnic groups, the Iban and the Penan. Our study revealed that male Penan respondents, generally hunters, who frequently go into the forest were better at identifying animals from pictures. Overall, the Penan have a more detailed knowledge of slow loris behaviors, habitat, and distribution than the Iban. The two ethnic groups have different attitudes towards slow loris as the Penan hunt, eat, or keep them as pets while the Iban consider them sacred and signifiers of good luck. We advocate the use of LEK for providing complementary information to scientific methods in the study of cryptic animals.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  5. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Jah Hut peoples in Malaysia
    Lin KW
    Indian J Med Sci, 2005 Apr;59(4):156-61.
    PMID: 15876780
    CONTEXT: An ethnobotanical study was carried out among the Jah Hut people who live in the central part of peninsular Malaysia.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: The information on the medicinal plants was obtained from interview with a traditional medicinal man. The traditional uses and remedies were documented. The literature searches were carried out for the evaluation on the current status of investigations on these plants.

    RESULTS: In this study, we present 16 species of plants, which are commonly used among the Jah Hut people to cure some common diseases.

    DISCUSSION: This study is important to preserve the knowledge of medicinal plants used by Jah Hut people. The surveys of phytopharmacological literatures of these plants have great pharmacological and ethnobotanical significance.

    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  6. Navigating parasite webs and parasite flow: emerging and re-emerging parasitic zoonoses of wildlife origin
    Polley L
    Int J Parasitol, 2005 Oct;35(11-12):1279-94.
    PMID: 16168994
    Wildlife are now recognised as an important source of emerging human pathogens, including parasites. This paper discusses the linkages between wildlife, people, zoonotic parasites and the ecosystems in which they co-exist, revisits definitions for 'emerging' and 're-emerging', and lists zoonotic parasites that can be acquired from wildlife including, for some, estimates of the associated global human health burdens. The paper also introduces the concepts of 'parasite webs' and 'parasite flow', provides a context for parasites, relative to other infectious agents, as causes of emerging human disease, and discusses drivers of disease emergence and re-emergence, especially changes in biodiversity and climate. Angiostrongylus cantonensis in the Caribbean and the southern United States, Baylisascaris procyonis in California and Georgia, Plasmodium knowlesi in Sarawak, Malaysia, Human African Trypanosomiasis, Sarcoptes scabiei in carnivores, and Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Toxoplasma in marine ecosystems are presented as examples of wildlife-derived zoonotic parasites of particular recent interest. An ecological approach to disease is promoted, as is a need for an increased profile for this approach in undergraduate and graduate education in the health sciences. Synergy among scientists and disciplines is identified as critical for the study of parasites and parasitic disease in wildlife populations. Recent advances in techniques for the investigation of parasite fauna of wildlife are presented and monitoring and surveillance systems for wildlife disease are discussed. Some of the limitations inherent in predictions for the emergence and re-emergence of infection and disease associated with zoonotic parasites of wildlife are identified. The importance of public awareness and public education in the prevention and control of emerging and re-emerging zoonotic infection and disease are emphasised. Finally, some thoughts for the future are presented.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology*
  7. Fulltext Lurking in the dark: Cryptic Strongyloides in a Bornean slow loris
    Frias L, Stark DJ, Lynn MS, Nathan SK, Goossens B, Okamoto M, et al.
    Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl, 2018 Aug;7(2):141-146.
    PMID: 29988792 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2018.03.003
    Within host communities, related species are more likely to share common parasitic agents, and as a result, morphological similarities have led researchers to conclude that parasites infecting closely related hosts within a community represent a single species. However, genetic diversity within parasite genera and host range remain poorly investigated in most systems. Strongyloides is a genus of soil-transmitted nematode that has been reported from several primate species in Africa and Asia, and has been estimated to infect hundreds of millions of people worldwide, although no precise estimates are available. Here we describe a case of infection with a cryptic species of Strongyloides in a Bornean (Philippine) slow loris (Nycticebus menagensis) living within a diverse community of several primate species in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, Malaysian Borneo. Fresh fecal samples were collected from five primate species and nematode larvae cultured from these samples were selected for phylogenetic analyses. Sequences obtained for most larvae were identified as S. fuelleborni, grouping into three different clusters and showing no aggregation within specific hosts or geographic location. In contrast, a set of parasite sequences obtained from a slow loris clustered closely with S. stercoralis into a different group, being genetically distinct to sequences reported from other primate hosts, humans included. Our results suggest that although S. fuelleborni infects all haplorrhines sampled in this primate community, a different species might be infecting the slow loris, the only strepsirrhine in Borneo and one of the least studied primates in the region. Although more data are needed to support this conclusion, we propose that Strongyloides species in primates might be more diverse than previously thought, with potential implications for ecological and evolutionary host-parasite associations, as well as epidemiological dynamics.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  8. Fulltext Fractional Multi-Step Differential Transformed Method for Approximating a Fractional Stochastic SIS Epidemic Model with Imperfect Vaccination
    Abuasad S, Yildirim A, Hashim I, Abdul Karim SA, Gómez-Aguilar JF
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2019 03 18;16(6).
    PMID: 30889889 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16060973
    In this paper, we applied a fractional multi-step differential transformed method, which is a generalization of the multi-step differential transformed method, to find approximate solutions to one of the most important epidemiology and mathematical ecology, fractional stochastic SIS epidemic model with imperfect vaccination, subject to appropriate initial conditions. The fractional derivatives are described in the Caputo sense. Numerical results coupled with graphical representations indicate that the proposed method is robust and precise which can give new interpretations for various types of dynamical systems.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  9. Some aspects of the nonhuman primates of West Malaysia: captivity to the laboratory
    Retnasabapathy A
    Jikken Dobutsu, 1973;22 Suppl(0):343-50.
    PMID: 4213539
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  10. Nipah virus outbreak in Malaysia
    Chua KB
    J Clin Virol, 2003 Apr;26(3):265-75.
    PMID: 12637075
    Nipah virus, a novel paramyxovirus, closely related to Hendra virus emerged in northern part of Peninsular Malaysia in 1998. The virus caused an outbreak of severe febrile encephalitis in humans with a high mortality rate, whereas, in pigs, encephalitis and respiratory diseases but with a relatively low mortality rate. The outbreak subsequently spread to various regions of the country and Singapore in the south due to the movement of infected pigs. Nipah virus caused systemic infections in humans, pigs and other mammals. Histopathological and radiological findings were characteristic of the disease. Fruitbats of Pteropid species were identified as the natural reservoir hosts. Evidence suggested that climatic and anthropogenic driven ecological changes coupled with the location of piggeries in orchard and the design of pigsties allowed the spill-over of this novel paramyxovirus from its reservoir host into the domestic pigs and ultimately to humans and other animals.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  11. Planning for sustainable tourism in southern Pulau Banggi: an assessment of biophysical conditions and their implications for future tourism development
    Teh L, Cabanban AS
    J Environ Manage, 2007 Dec;85(4):999-1008.
    PMID: 17204361
    A priori assessments of a site's biophysical and socio-economic capacity for accommodating tourism are less common than tourism impact studies. A priori evaluations can provide a contextual understanding of ecological, economic and socio-cultural forces, which shape the prospects for sustainable tourism development at the host destination, and can avert adverse impacts of tourism. We conduct an a priori assessment of the biophysical environment of Pulau Banggi, in the Malaysian state of Sabah for sustainable tourism development. We characterise baseline conditions of the island's marine biodiversity, seasonality, and infrastructure. We then evaluate how existing biophysical conditions will influence options for sustainable tourism development. In particular, we suggest conditions, if there are any, which constitute a limit to future tourism development in terms of compatibility for recreation and resilience to visitor impacts. We find that the biggest constraint is the lack of adequate water and sanitation infrastructure. Blast fishing, although occurring less than once per hour, can potentially destroy the major attraction for tourists. We conclude that while Pulau Banggi possesses natural qualities that are attractive for ecotourism, financial and institutional support must be made available to provide facilities and services that will enable local participation in environmental protection and enhance prospects for future sustainable tourism.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  12. Spatiotemporal nexus between vegetation change and extreme climatic indices and their possible causes of change
    Islam ARMT, Islam HMT, Shahid S, Khatun MK, Ali MM, Rahman MS, et al.
    J Environ Manage, 2021 Jul 01;289:112505.
    PMID: 33819656 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112505
    Climate extremes have a significant impact on vegetation. However, little is known about vegetation response to climatic extremes in Bangladesh. The association of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) with nine extreme precipitation and temperature indices was evaluated to identify the nexus between vegetation and climatic extremes and their associations in Bangladesh for the period 1986-2017. Moreover, detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and Morlet wavelet analysis (MWA) were employed to evaluate the possible future trends and decipher the existing periodic cycles, respectively in the time series of NDVI and climate extremes. Besides, atmospheric variables of ECMWF ERA5 were used to examine the casual circulation mechanism responsible for climatic extremes of Bangladesh. The results revealed that the monthly NDVI is positively associated with extreme rainfall with spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Warm temperature indices showed a significant negative association with NDVI on the seasonal scale, while precipitation and cold temperature extremes showed a positive association with yearly NDVI. The DEA revealed a continuous increase in temperature extreme in the future, while no change in precipitation extremes. NDVI also revealed a significant association with extreme temperature indices with a time lag of one month and with precipitation extreme without time lag. Spatial analysis indicated insensitivity of marshy vegetation type to climate extremes in winter. The study revealed that elevated summer geopotential height, no visible anticyclonic center, reduced high cloud cover, and low solar radiation with higher humidity contributed to climatic extremes in Bangladesh. The nexus between NDVI and climatic extremes established in this study indicated that increasing warm temperature extremes due to global warming might have severe implications on Bangladesh's ecology and the environment in the future.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology*
  13. Ecological carrying capacity assessment of diving site: A case study of Mabul Island, Malaysia
    Zhang LY, Chung SS, Qiu JW
    J Environ Manage, 2016 Dec 01;183:253-9.
    PMID: 27596939 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.08.075
    Despite considered a non-consumptive use of the marine environment, diving-related activities can cause damages to coral reefs. It is imminent to assess the maximum numbers of divers that can be accommodated by a diving site before it is subject to irreversible deterioration. This study aimed to assess the ecological carrying capacity of a diving site in Mabul Island, Malaysia. Photo-quadrat line transect method was used in the benthic survey. The ecological carrying capacity was assessed based on the relationship between the number of divers and the proportion of diver damaged hard corals in Mabul Island. The results indicated that the proportion of diver damaged hard corals occurred exponentially with increasing use. The ecological carrying capacity of Mabul Island is 15,600-16,800 divers per diving site per year at current levels of diver education and training with a quarterly threshold of 3900-4200 per site. Our calculation shows that management intervention (e.g. limiting diving) is justified at 8-14% of hard coral damage. In addition, the use of coral reef dominated diving sites should be managed according to their sensitivity to diver damage and the depth of the reefs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology*
  14. Fulltext Food taboos: their origins and purposes
    Meyer-Rochow VB
    J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 2009;5:18.
    PMID: 19563636 DOI: 10.1186/1746-4269-5-18
    Food taboos are known from virtually all human societies. Most religions declare certain food items fit and others unfit for human consumption. Dietary rules and regulations may govern particular phases of the human life cycle and may be associated with special events such as menstrual period, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and -- in traditional societies -- preparation for the hunt, battle, wedding, funeral, etc. On a comparative basis many food taboos seem to make no sense at all, as to what may be declared unfit by one group may be perfectly acceptable to another. On the other hand, food taboos have a long history and one ought to expect a sound explanation for the existence (and persistence) of certain dietary customs in a given culture. Yet, this is a highly debated view and no single theory may explain why people employ special food taboos. This paper wants to revive interest in food taboo research and attempts a functionalist's explanation. However, to illustrate some of the complexity of possible reasons for food taboo five examples have been chosen, namely traditional food taboos in orthodox Jewish and Hindu societies as well as reports on aspects of dietary restrictions in communities with traditional lifestyles of Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and Nigeria. An ecological or medical background is apparent for many, including some that are seen as religious or spiritual in origin. On the one hand food taboos can help utilizing a resource more efficiently; on the other food taboos can lead to the protection of a resource. Food taboos, whether scientifically correct or not, are often meant to protect the human individual and the observation, for example, that certain allergies and depression are associated with each other could have led to declaring food items taboo that were identified as causal agents for the allergies. Moreover, any food taboo, acknowledged by a particular group of people as part of its ways, aids in the cohesion of this group, helps that particular group maintain its identity in the face of others, and therefore creates a feeling of "belonging".
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  15. Fulltext Ready for phase 5 - current status of ethnobiology in Southeast Asia
    Hidayati S, Franco FM, Bussmann RW
    J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 2015;11:17.
    PMID: 25888877 DOI: 10.1186/s13002-015-0005-7
    Southeast Asia is known for its rich linguistic, cultural and biological diversity. While ethnobiology in the west has benefitted greatly from intellectual and methodological advances over the last decades, the status of Southeast Asian ethnobiology is largely unknown. This study aims to provide an analysis of the current status of ethnobiology in Southeast Asia and outlines possibilities for future advancements.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  16. Brain size evolution in pipefishes and seahorses: the role of feeding ecology, life history and sexual selection
    Tsuboi M, Lim AC, Ooi BL, Yip MY, Chong VC, Ahnesjö I, et al.
    J Evol Biol, 2017 Jan;30(1):150-160.
    PMID: 27748990 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12995
    Brain size varies greatly at all taxonomic levels. Feeding ecology, life history and sexual selection have been proposed as key components in generating contemporary diversity in brain size across vertebrates. Analyses of brain size evolution have, however, been limited to lineages where males predominantly compete for mating and females choose mates. Here, we present the first original data set of brain sizes in pipefishes and seahorses (Syngnathidae) a group in which intense female mating competition occurs in many species. After controlling for the effect of shared ancestry and overall body size, brain size was positively correlated with relative snout length. Moreover, we found that females, on average, had 4.3% heavier brains than males and that polyandrous species demonstrated more pronounced (11.7%) female-biased brain size dimorphism. Our results suggest that adaptations for feeding on mobile prey items and sexual selection in females are important factors in brain size evolution of pipefishes and seahorses. Most importantly, our study supports the idea that sexual selection plays a major role in brain size evolution, regardless of on which sex sexual selection acts stronger.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology*
  17. River flow, zooplankton and dominant zooplanktivorous fish dynamics in a warm-temperate South African estuary
    Mbandzi N, Wasserman RJ, Deyzel SHP, Vine NG, Whitfield AK
    J Fish Biol, 2018 Jun;92(6):1747-1767.
    PMID: 29696653 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13617
    The possible links between river flow, zooplankton abundance and the responses of zooplanktivorous fishes to physico-chemical and food resource changes are assessed. To this end, the seasonal abundance, distribution and diet of the estuarine round-herring Gilchristella aestuaria and Cape silverside Atherina breviceps were studied in the Kariega Estuary. Spatio-temporal differences were determined for selected physico-chemical variables, zooplankton abundance and zooplanktivorous fish abundance and distribution. Results indicated that, following a river flood event in winter (>30 m3  s-1 ), altered physico-chemical conditions occurred throughout the estuary and depressed zooplankton stocks. Abundance of G. aestuaria was highest in spring, with this species dominant in the upper and middle zones of the estuary, while A. breviceps was dominant in summer and preferred the middle and lower zones. The catch per unit of effort of both zooplanktivores also declined significantly following the flooding, thus suggesting that these fishes are reliant on zooplankton as a primary food source for healthy populations. Copepods dominated the stomach contents of both fish species, indicating a potential for strong interspecific competition for food, particularly in the middle reaches. Temporal differences were evident in dietary overlap between the two zooplanktivorous fish species and were correlated with river flow, zooplankton availability and fish distribution. The findings of this study emphasize the close trophic linkages between zooplankton and zooplanktivorous fishes under changing estuarine environmental conditions, particularly river flow and provide important baseline information for similar studies elsewhere in South Africa and the rest of the world.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  18. Comparative genetic stock structure in three species of commercially exploited Indo-Malay Carangidae (Teleosteii, Perciformes)
    Mat Jaafar TNA, Taylor MI, Mohd Nor SA, Bruyn M, Carvalho GR
    J Fish Biol, 2020 Feb;96(2):337-349.
    PMID: 31721192 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14202
    We examine genetic structuring in three commercially important species of the teleost family Carangidae from Malaysian waters: yellowtail scad Atule mate, bigeye scad Selar crumenophthalmus and yellowstripe scad Selaroides leptolepis, from the Indo-Malay Archipelago. In view of their distribution across contrasting habitats, we tested the hypothesis that pelagic species display less genetic divergence compared with demersal species, due to their potential to undertake long-distance migrations in oceanic waters. To evaluate population genetic structure, we sequenced two mitochondrial (mt)DNA [650 bp of cytochrome oxidase I (coI), 450 bp of control region (CR)] and one nuclear gene (910 bp of rag1) in each species. One hundred and eighty samples from four geographical regions within the Indo-Malay Archipelago including a population of yellowtail from Kuwait were examined. Findings revealed that the extent of genetic structuring among populations in the semi-pelagic and pelagic, yellowtail and bigeye were lower than demersal yellowstripe, consistent with the hypothesis that pelagic species display less genetic divergence compared with demersal species. The yellowtail phylogeny identified three distinct clades with bootstrap values of 86%-99% in mtDNA and 63%-67% in rag1. However, in bigeye, three clades were also observed from mtDNA data while only one clade was identified in rag1 dataset. In yellowstripe, the mtDNA tree was split into three closely related clades and two clades in rag1 tree with bootstraps value of 73%-99% and 56% respectively. However, no geographic structure appears in both mtDNA and rag1 datasets. Hierarchical molecular variance analysis (AMOVA), pair wise FST comparisons and the nearest-neighbour statistic (Snn ) showed significant genetic differences among Kuwait and Indo-Malay yellowtail. Within the Indo-Malay Archipelago itself, two distinct mitochondrial lineages were detected in yellowtail suggesting potential cryptic species. Findings suggests varying degrees of genetic structuring, key information relevant to management of exploited stocks, though more rapidly evolving genetic markers should be used in future to better delimit the nature and dynamics of putative stock boundaries.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology/methods
  19. Observations on the development of a new filaria (Breinlia booliati, Singh and Ho, 1973) of a rat Rattus sabanus in the mosquito Aedes togoi
    Ho BC, Singh M, Lim BL
    J Helminthol, 1973;47(2):135-40.
    PMID: 4724313
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
  20. Studies on the nematode parasites of Malaysian rodents. I. The Rhabdiasidea, Trichuridea and Oxyuridea
    Ow-Yang CK
    J Helminthol, 1971;45(2):93-109.
    PMID: 5123705
    Matched MeSH terms: Ecology
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