Background/Objective: There is increasing use of computed tomography (CT) in sarcopenia research using a wide variety of techniques. We performed a systematic review of the CT literature to identify the differences between approaches used. Methods: A comprehensive search of PubMed from 1983 to 2017 was performed to identify studies that used CT muscle measurements to assess muscle mass and myosteatosis. The CT protocols were evaluated based on anatomic landmark(s), thresholding, muscle(s) segmented, key measurement (ie, muscle attenuation, cross-sectional area, volume), derived variables, and analysis software. From the described search, 657 articles were identified and 388 studies met inclusion criteria for this systematic review. Results: Muscle mass was more commonly assessed than myosteatosis (330 vs. 125). The most commonly assessed muscle or muscle groups were total abdominal wall musculature (142/330 and 49/125 for muscle mass and myosteatosis, respectively) and total thigh musculature (90/330 and 48/125). The most commonly used landmark in the abdomen was the L3 vertebra (123/142 and 45/49 for muscle mass and myosteatosis, respectively). Skeletal muscle index and intermuscular adipose tissue were the most commonly used measures of abdominal wall muscle mass (114/142) and myosteatosis (27/49), respectively. Cut points varied across studies. A significant majority of studies failed to report important CT technical parameters, such as use of intravenous contrast and slice thickness (94% and 63%, respectively). Conclusions: There is considerable variation in the CT approaches used for the assessment of muscle mass and myosteatosis. There is a need to develop consensus for CT-based evaluation of sarcopenia and myosteatosis.

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Freshwater turtles are one of the most imperilled groups of vertebrates globally, and roads have been associated with their decline. Although roads are typically viewed as an imminent threat to population persistence, because of direct mortality and increased landscape fragmentation, we argue that they are an important sampling tool for collecting a wide variety of data that can inform conservation efforts. Road surveys can yield important presence data when conducting species inventories, particularly for cryptic species, and can also indicate where to implement road mitigation measures. Our research examined three road survey methods from two previous studies (walking versus bicycling and walking versus driving) to test their relative effectiveness at locating turtles. We found that walking surveys yielded the highest number of turtles per kilometre; however, bicycling and driving surveys also presented advantages (specifically, the ability to survey longer lengths of road more quickly). We recommend using walking surveys in areas of specific interest (e.g. to investigate suitable habitat for imperilled species or to investigate the presence of cryptic species), and bicycling or driving surveys between sections of specific interest. Road survey methods could be used in addition to more traditional sampling approaches (e.g. trapping and visual surveys), and do not need to be restricted to areas where roadwork projects are in progress or being planned. Road surveys could also be used during general environmental assessments and ecological research, to effectively incorporate turtle presence data into conservation efforts.

Significant advances have been made to minimize the detrimental effects of roads on wildlife, but little is known about unintended negative consequences of mitigation strategies. Here, we present observations of adverse effects on herpetofauna of exclusion fencing at Presqu’ile Provincial Park, Ontario. A total of 15 individuals (one salamander, nine anurans, and five snakes) were found dead on unburied fencing, apparent victims of desiccation and/or heat exposure. Air temperatures did not differ between days when dead herpetofauna were and were not found on the fence; however, the fence surface was significantly warmer than the air. Our study shows that fence temperature and design may hinder animals escaping from the road to cooler refugia, and we discuss possible solutions.

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