The global population and status of Snowy Owls Bubo scandiacus are particularly challenging to assess because individuals are irruptive and nomadic, and the breeding range is restricted to the remote circumpolar Arctic tundra. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) uplisted the Snowy Owl to “Vulnerable” in 2017 because the suggested population estimates appeared considerably lower than historical estimates, and it recommended actions to clarify the population size, structure, and trends. Here we present a broad review and status assessment, an effort led by the International Snowy Owl Working Group (ISOWG) and researchers from around the world, to estimate population trends and the current global status of the Snowy Owl. We use long-term breeding data, genetic studies, satellite-GPS tracking, and survival estimates to assess current population trends at several monitoring sites in the Arctic and we review the ecology and threats throughout the Snowy Owl range. An assessment of the available data suggests that current estimates of a worldwide population of 14,000–28,000 breeding adults are plausible. Our assessment of population trends at five long-term monitoring sites suggests that breeding populations of Snowy Owls in the Arctic have decreased by more than 30% over the past three generations and the species should continue to be categorised as Vulnerable under the IUCN Red List Criterion A2. We offer research recommendations to improve our understanding of Snowy Owl biology and future population assessments in a changing world.

English as a second language (L2) has become the medium of instruction in numerous contexts even though many people may have difficulties to read and study in L2. According to the self-regulated framework, metacognitive strategies are essential to achieve successful learning, but they are resource-consuming and their use might be compromised in demanding contexts such as learning in L2. In Experiment 1, nonbalanced bilinguals read high- and low-cohesion texts in L1 and L2 and self-rated their learning using a judgment of learning (JOL). Then, they answered open-ended questions and responded a customized questionnaire regarding their strategies. In Experiment 2, we introduced two bilingual groups varying in L2 proficiency. Overall, participants could adjust their JOLs and detect the difficulty of the texts correctly in L1 and L2. However, results evidenced some nuances in learning strategies related to L2 proficiency. We discuss these findings within the context of the self-regulated learning.

The Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened biomes globally. Data from monitoring programs are necessary to evaluate the conservation status of species, prioritise conservation actions and to evaluate the effectiveness of these actions. Birds are particularly well represented in citizen-collected datasets that are used worldwide in ecological and conservation studies. Here, we analyse presence-only data from three online citizen science datasets of Atlantic Forest endemic bird species to evaluate whether the representation of these species was correlated with their global threat status, range and estimated abundance. We conclude that even though species are over- and under-represented with regard to their presumed abundance, data collected by citizen scientists can be used to infer species distribution and, to a lesser degree, species abundance. This pattern holds true for species across global threat status.

Warfarin is used as anticoagulation for children for a wide range of cardiac indications but carries the disadvantage of requiring international normalised ratio monitoring and dose adjustment. Management of warfarin therapy is challenging due to its narrow therapeutic window and is further complicated in children by dietary changes, frequent illnesses, and developing systems of metabolism and haemostasis.

A retrospective review was performed of patients’ medical records to assess the indication for warfarin use, percentage of international normalised ratio values in target range (%ITR), and frequency of phlebotomy.

Twenty-six patients were identified. The most common indication for warfarin use was in patients post-total cavo-pulmonary connection (n = 19, 73%). We demonstrated a variability in duration of warfarin therapy following total cavo-pulmonary connection (median of 11.1 months). Nineteen (73%) patients had used the CoaguChek machine for home measurement of international normalised ratio. The median frequency of phlebotomy for all indications was once every 10 days, and the median %ITR was 55.4 % (29.7–86.4%). Of note, the percentage under target range in the patients with mechanical mitral (n = 2) and aortic valves (n = 1) was found to be 23% and 33%, respectively.

These data demonstrate a high frequency of international normalised ratio values outside of the target range as seen in previous studies of warfarin in children. This necessitates frequent phlebotomy and dose changes, which can have a significant effect on the quality of life of these patients and their families highlighting the need to focus on quality improvement in the area of anticoagulation in paediatric cardiac patients.

Knowledge of the life history traits, reproductive biology and demography of rare species is fundamental for their conservation, yet plant population monitoring is uncommon. The restricted ranges of the Limonium species endemic to the Mediterranean area, combined with the vulnerability of their specialized littoral habitats, indicate the need for appropriate conservation measures. We evaluate the conservation status and estimate the future extinction risk of three Limonium species endemic to Zakynthos Island in the Ionian Islands, Greece (Limonium korakonisicum, Limonium phitosianum and Limonium zacynthium) using 5 years of monitoring data. We compile information on their geographical distribution, population dynamics, reproductive biology and genetic diversity. Population sizes and survival rates of seedlings exhibited marked annual fluctuations, although fecundity and relative reproductive success remained high throughout the monitoring period. We observed a dominance of mature individuals in all three species, indicating their increased tolerance to salinity. Three subpopulations each of L. phitosianum and L. zacynthium were genotyped using five microsatellite loci. The observed number of alleles and the low gene flow value potentially indicate reduced genetic diversity, inbreeding, and limited gene flow within and among subpopulations of both species. Based on the IUCN categories and criteria, we assess L. korakonisicum as Critically Endangered, L. phitosianum as Near Threatened and L. zacynthium as Endangered. Population viability analyses predict that, among the three species, L. zacynthium will face the highest risk of extinction within the next 50 years. Knowledge of the biology of these species provides data essential for identifying critical factors for their survival and for proposing targeted conservation measures.

Harbour seals were extensively hunted in Denmark, but have only been driven to local extinction in one larger area, the South Funen Archipelago and Little Belt, where the species has been absent throughout the 20th century. Despite high growth rates of the Danish harbour seal populations after protection from hunting in 1976, seals have only been observed sporadically in the South Funen Archipelago and Little Belt until recent years, where recolonisation now causes conflicts with fisheries. Here, we review historical sources documenting the local extinction of harbour seals in the area during the 19th century and report the results of aerial surveys of haul-out sites during moulting seasons of 2021–2023 and pupping seasons of 2022 and 2023. Historical sources reveal that seal hunting was a common practice in southern Denmark, but catches dwindled to rarities during the 19th century. During recent surveys, seals were detected at six of the identified potential haul-out sites. Around Aarø Island, an average of 141 (range: 92–186) harbour seals were recorded over four moulting season surveys, constituting the majority (90%) of the total counts of the surveyed area. During the pupping seasons, a total of five pups was encountered at two different haulouts. As none of the haulouts are protected during the pupping and breeding seasons, protective measures may support this recolonisation of the historic harbour seal breeding range.

Lough Hyne (LH) Marine Nature Reserve in Ireland is a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot that hosts mesophotic-like communities in shallow water, however, major changes have occurred to most of the rocky cliff (>6 m) communities in one or more events between 2010 and 2015. To provide insights into these changes, we compared the sponge assemblage composition on the undersides of different sized, shallow (<1 m) subtidal boulders between 2000 and 2022 at two sites in LH. We also measured sponge species richness at seven sites in 2018. We found that unlike earlier reports from the deeper subtidal reef sponge assemblages, there was no evidence for changes in sponge assemblage composition on the undersides of boulders at either site. We also found high levels of sponge species richness at all seven sites sampled in 2018. We did find differences in sponge assemblages between sites and for different boulder sizes, which we propose is a result of site-specific environmental conditions and disturbance and size–area relationships. Since we found no changes in the shallow subtidal sponge assemblages between 2000 and 2022, our results support the hypothesis that changes to the deeper subtidal sponge assemblages at LH are driven by local processes associated with deeper water in LH, potentially related to the seasonal oxythermocline that forms within LH. Given the national and global importance of LH, understanding the drivers of change is critical to determine if management actions can prevent any future alterations to the LH sponge assemblages and support wider mesophotic community management.

Organizations supporting translational research and translational science, including Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs, provide a diverse and often changing array of resources, support, and services to a myriad of researchers and research efforts. While a wide-ranging scope of programs is essential to the advancement of translational research and science, it also complicates a systematic and unified process for tracking activities, studying research processes, and examining impact. To overcome these challenges, the Duke University School of Medicine’s CTSA hub created a data platform, Translational Research Accomplishment Cataloguer (TRACER), that provides capacity to enhance strategic decision-making, impact assessment, and equitable resource distribution. This article reviews TRACER development processes, provides an overview of the TRACER platform, addresses challenges in the development process, and describes avenues for addressing or overcoming these challenges. TRACER development allowed our hub to conceptually identify key processes and goals within programs and linkages between programs, and it sets the stage for advancing evidence-based improvement across our hub. This platform development provides key insight into facilitators that can inform other initiatives seeking to collect and align organizational data for strategic decision-making and impact assessment. TRACER or similar platforms are additionally well positioned to advance the study of translational science.

Using foresight methods such as scenarios, possible futures can be described and anticipated. Needs and requirements as well as product properties can be derived from that, which is necessary to plan successful products for future customers. Changes that occur in the future development can be identified with monitoring and the expected future can be adjusted. A consistent understanding of the use of monitoring for the product engineering process does not exist and is developed in this paper. Thereby, monitoring is considered in the context of validation and located in iPeM.