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Interpretable deep learning reveals spatiotemporal MRI features of brain aging that align with neurodegenerationNARA Subscribed
Cortical thinning and atrophy are hallmarks of brain aging that have been characterized using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Brain aging involves many neuroanatomic features whose effects on brain structure remain unexplored. To address this challenge, we trained interpretable deep neural networks (DNNs) to estimate brain age (BA) from T 1 -weighted ( T 1 w) MRI. By identifying MRI features unapparent to humans, DNNs can fi...
Integrated Reanalysis of Global Riverine Fish eDNA Datasets Shows Robustness and Congruence of Biodiversity ConclusionsNARA Subscribed
The analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) has revolutionized biodiversity assessments in aquatic ecosystems, enabling non‐invasive monitoring of fish communities across diverse regions. However, the global comparability of these eDNA datasets remains ambiguous due to heterogeneous sampling protocols and bioinformatic workflows across studies, making it difficult to assess how robust and comparable the biodiversity patterns infe...
SNAPSHOT USA 2024: Year 6 of the Coordinated National Camera Trap Survey of the United StatesNARA Subscribed
Motivation SNAPSHOT USA is an annual, multi‐contributor camera trap survey of mammals across the United States. The growing SNAPSHOT USA dataset is intended for tracking the spatial and temporal responses of mammal populations to changes in land use, land cover and climate. These data will be useful for exploring the drivers of spatial and temporal changes in relative abundance and distribution, as well as the impacts of speci...
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) disproportionately affects women and carriers of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele (APOE4), yet little is known about how sex and APOE interact to influence white matter (WM) integrity during disease progression. We integrated diffusion MRI and matched blood transcriptomic data to investigate these interactions and their underlying biological mechanisms. WM microstructure was quantified using diffusion te...
Cross‐Continental Analysis Shows That Disturbance Effects on Reptile Body Condition Do Not Predict Abundance ResponsesNARA Subscribed
Ecological disturbances are discrete events that alter or transform the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of ecosystems. Disturbance can cause animal populations to decline and, according to the risk‐disturbance hypothesis and population collapse framework, these declines can be predicted by declines in animal body condition. However, no research has empirically examined the general relationship between body co...
Predicting the progression of MCI and Alzheimer’s disease on structural brain integrity and other features with machine learningNARA Subscribed
Machine learning (ML) on structural MRI data shows high potential for classifying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression, but the specific contribution of brain regions, demographics, and proteinopathy remains unclear. Using Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) data, we applied an extreme gradient-boosting algorithm and SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) values to classify cognitively normal (CN) older adults, th...
A Transcriptomic Comparative Study of Cranial VasculatureNARA Subscribed
Increasing rates of hybridization and introgression in managed populations of freshwater fish are a major threat to the long-term viability of native species. The conservation challenge begins with identifying native gene pools. For brown trout ( Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758) in the Upper Danube drainage, this task is complicated by the presence of both naturally and anthropogenically induced admixture of highly divergent linea...
A multi-tissue de novo transcriptome assembly and relative gene expression of the vulnerable freshwater salmonid Thymallus ligericusNARA Subscribed
Freshwater ecosystems are among the most endangered ecosystems worldwide. While numerous taxa are on the verge of extinction as a result of global changes and direct or indirect anthropogenic activity, genomic and transcriptomic resources represent a key tool for comprehending species' adaptability and serve as the foundation for conservation initiatives. The Loire grayling, Thymallus ligericus , is a freshwater European salmo...
Global climatic changes are altering ecosystem structure and functioning, yet detecting and forecasting such change is difficult. In this study, we use the concept of a phytoclime—a region where climate favours the growth of similar combinations of plant types—to examine how changes in climate forcing may impact on regional vegetation. We use species distribution data to estimate the parameters of a physiological plant growth...
Presence of spraint at bridges as an effective monitoring tool to assess current Eurasian fish otter distribution in AustriaNARA Subscribed
Monitoring carnivore populations requires sensitive and trustworthy assessment methods to make reasonable and effective management decisions. The Eurasian fish otter Lutra lutra experienced a dramatic population decline throughout Europe during the twentieth century but is currently recovering in both distribution range and population size. In Austria, most assessments on otter distribution have applied a modified version of t...
SNAPSHOT USA 2020: A second coordinated national camera trap survey of the United States during the COVID ‐19 pandemicNARA Subscribed
Managing wildlife populations in the face of global change requires regular data on the abundance and distribution of wild animals, but acquiring these over appropriate spatial scales in a sustainable way has proven challenging. Here we present the data from Snapshot USA 2020, a second annual national mammal survey of the USA. This project involved 152 scientists setting camera traps in a standardized protocol at 1485 location...
General patterns of sexual dimorphism in graylings (Thymallus), with a comparison to other salmonid speciesNARA Subscribed
Among fishes, salmonids (family Salmonidae) have attracted a great deal of research attention focused on sexual dimorphism and associated selective forces. Most of this research has been directed toward anadromous and mostly semelparous salmon and trout ( Oncorhynchus , Salmo ), and comparatively little is known about intersexual variability in strictly iteroparous freshwater salmonids. We examined a comprehensive data set of...
Low elevation coastal zones (LECZ) are extensive throughout the southeastern United States. LECZ communities are threatened by inundation from sea level rise, storm surge, wetland degradation, land subsidence, and hydrological flooding. Communication among scientists, stakeholders, policy makers and minority and poor residents must improve. We must predict processes spanning the ecological, physical, social, and health science...
Human-predator conflicts are frequently caused by livestock and/or game depredation. The golden jackal’s ( Canis aureus ) range expansion in Europe, as well as the recent re-expansion of several gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) populations, might increase risk of such conflicts. In Austria, golden jackal presence has been increasing since the 1990s including reports of wildlife and livestock kills, frequently occurring in the provinc...
With the accelerating pace of global change, it is imperative that we obtain rapid inventories of the status and distribution of wildlife for ecological inferences and conservation planning. To address this challenge, we launched the SNAPSHOT USA project, a collaborative survey of terrestrial wildlife populations using camera traps across the United States. For our first annual survey, we compiled data across all 50 states dur...
Graylings ( Thymallus ) are among the less well-studied groups of salmonid fishes, especially across their Asian distribution range. Here we perform a comprehensive global review of their phylogeography, systematic diversity and range distributions, including biogeographic reconstruction and assessment of both conservation and taxonomic status of each species. Based on a mitogenomic phylogenetic analysis, three approaches to t...
Development of a TaqMan qPCR protocol for detecting Acipenser ruthenus in the Volga headwaters from eDNA samplesNARA Subscribed
A recent eDNA-metabarcoding study assessing fish diversity in the Upper Volga catchment did not detect sterlet at any of the sampled stretches, despite recent sightings that suggest its presence. We designed a TaqMan qPCR protocol to test for sterlet in selected eDNA samples from that study. In-silico and in-vitro tests confirm the protocol’s high sensitivity and specificity to sturgeon taxa and potentially paddlefishes. Using...