Considerations for the Safe Operation of Schools During the Coronavirus Pandemic.

During the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, providing safe in-person schooling has been a dynamic process balancing evolving community disease burden, scientific information, and local regulatory requirements with the mandate for education. Considerations include the health risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its post-acute sequelae, the impact of remote learning or periods of quarantine on education and well-being of children, and the contribution of schools to viral circulation in the community. The risk for infections that may occur within schools is related to the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections within the local community.

Thermal energetics and behaviour of a small, insectivorous marsupial in response to the interacting risks of starvation and predation.

Central to understanding animal ecology is how prey cope with the interacting risks of starvation and predation. This trade-off is modulated by the energy requirements of prey, yet relatively few studies have incorporated physiological mechanisms for energy savings when considering the behavioural response of prey to predation risk. In our study, we aimed to determine individual variation in behaviour, resting metabolism, body temperature and response to 24-h starvation within a captive population of fat-tailed dunnarts (Sminthopsis crassicaudata; 15-g insectivorous marsupials), and then, using semi-outdoor enclosures, test whether foraging effort and thermal energetics are adjusted in response to manipulation of ground cover, which for small mammals can simulate predation risk.