Learning competence of the temperate facultative cleaner wrasse Thalassoma pavo (Labridae).

Cleaner fishes remove parasites from other fishes called "clients," thereby contributing to a healthier ecosystem. Although the behavior and learning abilities of dedicated and tropical cleaner fishes have been broadly studied, a limited number of studies investigated the behavior of facultative and temperate cleaner fishes and, to the best of our knowledge, none focused on their cognitive abilities. Here, we tested the learning abilities of a species of temperate facultative cleaner, the ornate wrasse Thalassoma pavo in laboratory conditions, based on two problems.

Linking vertical movements of large pelagic predators with distribution patterns of biomass in the open ocean.

Many predator species make regular excursions from near-surface waters to the twilight (200 to 1,000 m) and midnight (1,000 to 3,000 m) zones of the deep pelagic ocean. While the occurrence of significant vertical movements into the deep ocean has evolved independently across taxonomic groups, the functional role(s) and ecological significance of these movements remain poorly understood. Here, we integrate results from satellite tagging efforts with model predictions of deep prey layers in the North Atlantic Ocean to determine whether prey distributions are correlated with vertical habitat use across 12 species of predators.

Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world's largest fish, the whale shark.

Marine traffic is increasing globally yet collisions with endangered megafauna such as whales, sea turtles, and planktivorous sharks go largely undetected or unreported. Collisions leading to mortality can have population-level consequences for endangered species. Hence, identifying simultaneous space use of megafauna and shipping throughout ranges may reveal as-yet-unknown spatial targets requiring conservation.

Global COVID-19 lockdown highlights humans as both threats and custodians of the environment.

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundreds of reports of unusual species observations from around the world suggest that animals quickly responded to the reductions in human presence.

Long term outcomes of balloon sinuplasty for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with and without nasal polyps.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the 4-year outcomes and effectiveness of balloon sinuplasty in the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).

Material And Methods: We evaluated the long-term outcomes in terms of symptoms, nasal endoscopy and computed tomography of 110 patients with CRS submitted to balloon sinuplasty in Centro Hospitalar do Funchal retrospectively. Sinus symptoms were determined by the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22), endoscopic examination determined by Modified Lund Kennedy score (MLK) and computerized tomography scan of paranasal sinuses (CT-PNS) was evaluated through Lund Mackay scores (LM).