Elucidating the sustainability of 700 y of Inuvialuit beluga whale hunting in the Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada.

Beluga whales play a critical role in the subsistence economies and cultural heritage of Indigenous communities across the Arctic, yet the effects of Indigenous hunting on beluga whales remain unknown. Here, we integrate paleogenomics, genetic simulations, and stable C and N isotope analysis to investigate 700 y of beluga subsistence hunting in the Mackenzie Delta area of northwestern Canada. Genetic identification of the zooarchaeological remains, which is based on radiocarbon dating, span three time periods (1290 to 1440 CE; 1450 to 1650 CE; 1800 to 1870 CE), indicates shifts across time in the sex ratio of the harvested belugas.

Impact of Holocene environmental change on the evolutionary ecology of an Arctic top predator.

The Arctic is among the most climatically sensitive environments on Earth, and the disappearance of multiyear sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is predicted within decades. As apex predators, polar bears are sentinel species for addressing the impact of environmental variability on Arctic marine ecosystems. By integrating genomics, isotopic analysis, morphometrics, and ecological modeling, we investigate how Holocene environmental changes affected polar bears around Greenland.

The frequency of medial meniscal repairs in stable knees during one year of arthroscopic activity (2021-2022) - comparison with a retrospective study (prior to 2017).

Introduction: There has been a significant increase in the use of conservative treatment for meniscal lesions due to raised awareness around the need for meniscal preservation. However, sutures of the medial meniscus (MM) in stable knees remain less frequently used. The objective of this study was to, firstly, identify the MM suture rate over one year of activity; secondly, to identify and compare the distribution of MM sutures in stable, and stabilized, knees on this prospective series; and thirdly, to compare the evolution of practices with a retrospective series of more than 5 years follow-up.

How low can you go? Introducing SeXY: sex identification from low-quantity sequencing data despite lacking assembled sex chromosomes.

Accurate sex identification is crucial for elucidating the biology of a species. In the absence of directly observable sexual characteristics, sex identification of wild fauna can be challenging, if not impossible. Molecular sexing offers a powerful alternative to morphological sexing approaches.

Skull ecomorphological variation of narwhals (Monodon monoceros, Linnaeus 1758) and belugas (Delphinapterus leucas, Pallas 1776) reveals phenotype of their hybrids.

Narwhals and belugas are toothed whales belonging to the Monodontidae. Belugas have a circumpolar Arctic and sub-Artic distribution while narwhals are restricted to the Atlantic Arctic. Their geographical ranges overlap during winter migrations in the Baffin Bay area (Canada/West Greenland) and successful interbreeding may occur.

Population-specific sex and size variation in long-term foraging ecology of belugas and narwhals.

Intraspecific variation in resource use by individuals of different age, sex or size may reflect differing energetic requirements and physiological constraints. Males and females often show differences in diet owing to sexual size dimorphism, different life histories and/or habitat use. Here, we investigate how sex and size influence the long-term foraging ecology of belugas and narwhals in Greenland, using stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen from bone collagen.

Intra-Articular Injection of Autologous Microfat and Platelet-Rich Plasma in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis: A Double-Blind Randomized Comparative Study.

Purpose: To compare a single abdominal microfat (MF) injection mixed or not with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) Low Dose (LD) or High Dose (HD) in order to improve MRI parameters, alleviate pain and enhance functional capacity in knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Patients with symptomatic grade 2 to 4 knee osteoarthritis according to the International Cartilage Repair Society MRI classification were selected. They were prospectively assessed at baseline and at 3 and 6 months of follow-up.

Circumpolar phylogeography and demographic history of beluga whales reflect past climatic fluctuations.

Several Arctic marine mammal species are predicted to be negatively impacted by rapid sea ice loss associated with ongoing ocean warming. However, consequences for Arctic whales remain uncertain. To investigate how Arctic whales responded to past climatic fluctuations, we analysed 206 mitochondrial genomes from beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) sampled across their circumpolar range, and four nuclear genomes, covering both the Atlantic and the Pacific Arctic region.

Phytoplankton taxonomic and functional diversity patterns across a coastal tidal front.

Oceanic physics at fine scale; e.g. eddies, fronts, filaments; are notoriously difficult to sample.

Influence of past climate change on phylogeography and demographic history of narwhals, .

The Arctic is warming at an unprecedented rate, with unknown consequences for endemic fauna. However, Earth has experienced severe climatic oscillations in the past, and understanding how species responded to them might provide insight into their resilience to near-future climatic predictions. Little is known about the responses of Arctic marine mammals to past climatic shifts, but narwhals () are considered one of the endemic Arctic species most vulnerable to environmental change.

Postglacial Colonization of Northern Coastal Habitat by Bottlenose Dolphins: A Marine Leading-Edge Expansion?

Oscillations in the Earth's temperature and the subsequent retreating and advancing of ice-sheets around the polar regions are thought to have played an important role in shaping the distribution and genetic structuring of contemporary high-latitude populations. After the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), retreating of the ice-sheets would have enabled early colonizers to rapidly occupy suitable niches to the exclusion of other conspecifics, thereby reducing genetic diversity at the leading-edge. Bottlenose dolphins (genus Tursiops) form distinct coastal and pelagic ecotypes, with finer-scale genetic structuring observed within each ecotype.

Killer whale genomes reveal a complex history of recurrent admixture and vicariance.

Reconstruction of the demographic and evolutionary history of populations assuming a consensus tree-like relationship can mask more complex scenarios, which are prevalent in nature. An emerging genomic toolset, which has been most comprehensively harnessed in the reconstruction of human evolutionary history, enables molecular ecologists to elucidate complex population histories. Killer whales have limited extrinsic barriers to dispersal and have radiated globally, and are therefore a good candidate model for the application of such tools.

Quantifying dispersal between marine protected areas by a highly mobile species, the bottlenose dolphin, .

The functioning of marine protected areas (MPAs) designated for marine megafauna has been criticized due to the high mobility and dispersal potential of these taxa. However, dispersal within a network of small MPAs can be beneficial as connectivity can result in increased effective population size, maintain genetic diversity, and increase robustness to ecological and environmental changes making populations less susceptible to stochastic genetic and demographic effects (i.e.

Growth Factors Levels Determine Efficacy of Platelets Rich Plasma Injection in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Double Blind Noninferiority Trial Compared With Viscosupplementation.

Purpose: To assess the noninferiority of a single platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection compared with hyaluronic acid (HA), to alleviate pain and enhance functional capacity in knee osteoarthritis, and identify biological characteristics of PRP that may affect their efficacy.

Methods: Fifty-four patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis received a single injection of either PRP (26 patients) or HA (28 patients). They were assessed at baseline and at 1, 3, and 6 months.

SNP Discovery from Single and Multiplex Genome Assemblies of Non-model Organisms.

Population genetic studies of non-model organisms often rely on initial ascertainment of genetic markers from a single individual or a small pool of individuals. This initial screening has been a significant barrier to beginning population studies on non-model organisms (Aitken et al., Mol Ecol 13:1423-1431, 2004; Morin et al.

Software for the Integration of Multiomics Experiments in Bioconductor.

Multiomics experiments are increasingly commonplace in biomedical research and add layers of complexity to experimental design, data integration, and analysis. R and Bioconductor provide a generic framework for statistical analysis and visualization, as well as specialized data classes for a variety of high-throughput data types, but methods are lacking for integrative analysis of multiomics experiments. The MultiAssayExperiment software package, implemented in R and leveraging Bioconductor software and design principles, provides for the coordinated representation of, storage of, and operation on multiple diverse genomics data.

Live with the Disease Like You Used to Before You Knew You Were Infected: A Qualitative Study Among 10-Year Survivors Living with HIV in Haiti.

In 2003, the Haitian Study Group on Kaposi's Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections (GHESKIO), a nonprofit organization, began administering antiretroviral therapy (ART) to its patients. This practice transformed HIV from a fatal disease to a more manageable chronic condition. However, relatively few studies focus on the experiences of survivors.

Genomic Methods Take the Plunge: Recent Advances in High-Throughput Sequencing of Marine Mammals.

The dramatic increase in the application of genomic techniques to non-model organisms (NMOs) over the past decade has yielded numerous valuable contributions to evolutionary biology and ecology, many of which would not have been possible with traditional genetic markers. We review this recent progression with a particular focus on genomic studies of marine mammals, a group of taxa that represent key macroevolutionary transitions from terrestrial to marine environments and for which available genomic resources have recently undergone notable rapid growth. Genomic studies of NMOs utilize an expanding range of approaches, including whole genome sequencing, restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, array-based sequencing of single nucleotide polymorphisms and target sequence probes (e.

Ecological opportunities and specializations shaped genetic divergence in a highly mobile marine top predator.

Environmental conditions can shape genetic and morphological divergence. Release of new habitats during historical environmental changes was a major driver of evolutionary diversification. Here, forces shaping population structure and ecotype differentiation ('pelagic' and 'coastal') of bottlenose dolphins in the North-east Atlantic were investigated using complementary evolutionary and ecological approaches.

Biophysical interactions control the size and abundance of large phytoplankton chains at the Ushant tidal front.

Phytoplankton blooms are usually dominated by chain-forming diatom species that can alter food pathways from primary producers to predators by reducing the interactions between intermediate trophic levels. The food-web modifications are determined by the length of the chains; however, the estimation is biased because traditional sampling strategies damage the chains and, therefore, change the phytoplankton size structure. Sedimentological studies around oceanic fronts have shown high concentrations of giant diatom mats (>1 cm in length), suggesting that the size of diatom chains is underestimated in the pelagic realm.

Habitat-driven population structure of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in the North-East Atlantic.

Despite no obvious barrier to gene flow, historical environmental processes and ecological specializations can lead to genetic differentiation in highly mobile animals. Ecotypes emerged in several large mammal species as a result of niche specializations and/or social organization. In the North-West Atlantic, two distinct bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) ecotypes (i.

A numerical model for ocean ultra-low frequency noise: wave-generated acoustic-gravity and Rayleigh modes.

The generation of ultra-low frequency acoustic noise (0.1 to 1 Hz) by the nonlinear interaction of ocean surface gravity waves is well established. More controversial are the quantitative theories that attempt to predict the recorded noise levels and their variability.