Resolving the SLOSS dilemma for biodiversity conservation: a research agenda.

The legacy of the 'SL > SS principle', that a single or a few large habitat patches (SL) conserve more species than several small patches (SS), is evident in decisions to protect large patches while down-weighting small ones. However, empirical support for this principle is lacking, and most studies find either no difference or the opposite pattern (SS > SL). To resolve this dilemma, we propose a research agenda by asking, 'are there consistent, empirically demonstrated conditions leading to SL > SS?' We first review and summarize 'single large or several small' (SLOSS) theory and predictions.

The function-dominance correlation drives the direction and strength of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships.

Community composition is a primary determinant of how biodiversity change influences ecosystem functioning and, therefore, the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF). We examine the consequences of community composition across six structurally realistic plant community models. We find that a positive correlation between species' functioning in monoculture versus their dominance in mixture with regard to a specific function (the "function-dominance correlation") generates a positive relationship between realised diversity and ecosystem functioning across species richness treatments.

While shoot herbivores reduce, root herbivores increase nutrient enrichment's impact on diversity in a grassland model.

Nutrient enrichment is widespread throughout grassland systems and expected to increase during the Anthropocene. Trophic interactions, like aboveground herbivory, have been shown to mitigate its effect on plant diversity. Belowground herbivory may also impact these habitats' response to nutrient enrichment, but its influence is much less understood, and likely to depend on factors such as the herbivores' preference for dominant species and the symmetry of belowground competition.

Attainment, attendance, and school difficulties in UK primary schoolchildren with probable ADHD.

Background: Among children aged 6-16, there is a clear association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and academic attainment. We wanted to know whether this association was replicated in younger children.

Aims: To explore the relationship between children aged 4-8 with probable ADHD and their academic attainment and school attendance.

Ecosystem decay exacerbates biodiversity loss with habitat loss.

Although habitat loss is the predominant factor leading to biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene, exactly how this loss manifests-and at which scales-remains a central debate. The 'passive sampling' hypothesis suggests that species are lost in proportion to their abundance and distribution in the natural habitat, whereas the 'ecosystem decay' hypothesis suggests that ecological processes change in smaller and more-isolated habitats such that more species are lost than would have been expected simply through loss of habitat alone. Generalizable tests of these hypotheses have been limited by heterogeneous sampling designs and a narrow focus on estimates of species richness that are strongly dependent on scale.

Hyponatraemia and cerebral oedema due to a modafinil overdose.

Modafinil is a non-amphetamine stimulant that is prescribed for narcolepsy-associated sleepiness as well as reported off-licence uses among university students looking to improve wakefulness and focus. There is limited information in the medical literature about supratherapeutic modafinil dosage, symptomatology and management of overdose. We report a case of a healthy 32-year-old man who was found unconscious, having vomited, with an empty modafinil blister strip.

Medical student education in sleep and its disorders is still meagre 20 years on: A cross-sectional survey of UK undergraduate medical education.

Sleep is a pillar of health, alongside adequate nutrition and exercise. Problems with sleep are common and often treatable. Twenty years ago, UK medical school education on sleep disorders had a median teaching time of 15 min; we investigate whether education on sleep disorders has improved.

Integrating the underlying structure of stochasticity into community ecology.

Stochasticity is a core component of ecology, as it underlies key processes that structure and create variability in nature. Despite its fundamental importance in ecological systems, the concept is often treated as synonymous with unpredictability in community ecology, and studies tend to focus on single forms of stochasticity rather than taking a more holistic view. This has led to multiple narratives for how stochasticity mediates community dynamics.

The geometry of habitat fragmentation: Effects of species distribution patterns on extinction risk due to habitat conversion.

Land-use changes, which cause loss, degradation, and fragmentation of natural habitats, are important anthropogenic drivers of biodiversity change. However, there is an ongoing debate about how fragmentation per se affects biodiversity in a given amount of habitat. Here, we illustrate why it is important to distinguish two different aspects of fragmentation to resolve this debate: (a) geometric fragmentation effects, which exclusively arise from the spatial distributions of species and habitat fragments, and (b) demographic fragmentation effects due to reduced fragment sizes, and/or changes in fragment isolation, edge effects, or species interactions.

E-referrals: improving the routine interspecialty inpatient referral system.

Interspecialty referrals are an essential part of most inpatient stays. With over 130 referrals occurring per week at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, the process must be efficient and safe. The current paper-based 'white card' system was felt to be inefficient, and a Trust incident highlighted patient safety concerns.

Embracing scale-dependence to achieve a deeper understanding of biodiversity and its change across communities.

Because biodiversity is multidimensional and scale-dependent, it is challenging to estimate its change. However, it is unclear (1) how much scale-dependence matters for empirical studies, and (2) if it does matter, how exactly we should quantify biodiversity change. To address the first question, we analysed studies with comparisons among multiple assemblages, and found that rarefaction curves frequently crossed, implying reversals in the ranking of species richness across spatial scales.

What drives the spatial distribution and dynamics of local species richness in tropical forest?

Understanding the structure and dynamics of highly diverse tropical forests is challenging. Here we investigate the factors that drive the spatio-temporal variation of local tree numbers and species richness in a tropical forest (including 1250 plots of 20 × 20 m). To this end, we use a series of dynamic models that are built around the local spatial variation of mortality and recruitment rates, and ask which combination of processes can explain the observed spatial and temporal variation in tree and species numbers.

Do abundance distributions and species aggregation correctly predict macroecological biodiversity patterns in tropical forests?

Aim: It has been recently suggested that different 'unified theories of biodiversity and biogeography' can be characterized by three common 'minimal sufficient rules': (1) species abundance distributions follow a hollow curve, (2) species show intraspecific aggregation, and (3) species are independently placed with respect to other species. Here, we translate these qualitative rules into a quantitative framework and assess if these minimal rules are indeed sufficient to predict multiple macroecological biodiversity patterns simultaneously.

Location: Tropical forest plots in Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, and in Sinharaja, Sri Lanka.

Monodominance in tropical forests: modelling reveals emerging clusters and phase transitions.

Tropical forests are highly diverse ecosystems, but within such forests there can be large patches dominated by a single tree species. The myriad presumed mechanisms that lead to the emergence of such monodominant areas is currently the subject of intensive research. We used the most generic of these mechanisms, large seed mass and low dispersal ability of the monodominant species, in a spatially explicit model.

Moving beyond abundance distributions: neutral theory and spatial patterns in a tropical forest.

Assessing the relative importance of different processes that determine the spatial distribution of species and the dynamics in highly diverse plant communities remains a challenging question in ecology. Previous modelling approaches often focused on single aggregated forest diversity patterns that convey limited information on the underlying dynamic processes. Here, we use recent advances in inference for stochastic simulation models to evaluate the ability of a spatially explicit and spatially continuous neutral model to quantitatively predict six spatial and non-spatial patterns observed at the 50 ha tropical forest plot on Barro Colorado Island, Panama.