Interdisciplinary and participatory approaches: the key to effective groundwater management - Roland Barthel; Stephen Foster; Karen G. Villholth (Hydrogeology Journal, 2017)

“Internal tide pools” prolong kelp forest hypoxic events - Paul R. Leary; C. Brock Woodson; Michael E. Squibb; Mark W. Denny; Stephen G. Monismith; Fiorenza Micheli (Limnology and Oceanography, 2017)
This study uses field observations within a single kelp bed in southern Monterey Bay, California, to evaluate the retention of cold, hypoxic water within depressions in the rocky reef following relaxation of internal wave events. Just as tide pools in the rocky intertidal zone persist in depressions following the relaxation of surface waves and tides, “internal tide pools” persist in depressions in the subtidal reef following the relaxation of internal waves. When internal waves contain low dissolved oxygen (DO) water, the duration of hypoxic events can be extended for organisms within the pooling zone. Additionally, we suggest that internal wave run‐up can cause the early arrival of cold hypoxic water in these same areas, thereby extending hypoxic events further. Together, internal tide pools and wave run‐up extend event durations by 20% on average. However, some events are extended up to 160% of the regional‐scale event length, which may be more ecologically relevant than the mean extension. When internal waves contain other environmental covariates (e.g., low pH, nutrients), internal tide pools are expected to create a similar time extension and patchy landscape in these quantities. We attribute the slowing of the relaxation of sub‐thermocline water within pooling zones to retention within the reef itself rather than a drag effect of the kelp bed. Following hypoxic internal bores, internal tide pools cause a period of extreme spatial variability in the DO and temperature field which is likely to impact the distribution and behavior of local organisms.

Ecological regime shift drives declining growth rates of sea turtles throughout the West Atlantic - Karen A. Bjorndal; Alan B. Bolten; Milani Chaloupka; Vincent S. Saba; Cláudio Bellini; Maria A. G. Marcovaldi; Armando J. B. Santos; Luis Felipe Wurdig Bortolon; Anne B. Meylan; Peter A. Meylan; Jennifer Gray; Robert Hardy; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2017)
Somatic growth is an integrated, individual‐based response to environmental conditions, especially in ectotherms. Growth dynamics of large, mobile animals are particularly useful as bio‐indicators of environmental change at regional scales. We assembled growth rate data from throughout the West Atlantic for green turtles, Chelonia mydas , which are long‐lived, highly migratory, primarily herbivorous mega‐consumers that may migrate over hundreds to thousands of kilometers. Our dataset, the largest ever compiled for sea turtles, has 9690 growth increments from 30 sites from Bermuda to Uruguay from 1973 to 2015. Using generalized additive mixed models, we evaluated covariates that could affect growth rates; body size, diet, and year have significant effects on growth. Growth increases in early years until 1999, then declines by 26% to 2015. The temporal (year) effect is of particular interest because two carnivorous species of sea turtles—hawksbills, Eretmochelys imbricata, and loggerheads, Caretta caretta —exhibited similar significant declines in growth rates starting in 1997 in the West Atlantic, based on previous studies. These synchronous declines in productivity among three sea turtle species across a trophic spectrum provide strong evidence that an ecological regime shift ( ERS ) in the Atlantic is driving growth dynamics. The ERS resulted from a synergy of the 1997/1998 El Niño Southern Oscillation ( ENSO )—the strongest on record—combined with an unprecedented warming rate over the last two to three decades. Further support is provided by the strong correlations between annualized mean growth rates of green turtles and both sea surface temperatures ( SST ) in the West Atlantic for years of declining growth rates ( r = −.94) and the Multivariate ENSO Index ( MEI ) for all years ( r = .74). Granger‐causality analysis also supports the latter finding. We discuss multiple stressors that could reinforce and prolong the effect of the ERS . This study demonstrates the importance of region‐wide collaborations.

Defining a Safe Operating Space for inland recreational fisheries - Stephen R Carpenter; William A Brock; Gretchen J A Hansen; Jonathan F Hansen; Joseph M Hennessy; Daniel A Isermann; Eric J Pedersen; K Martin Perales; Andrew L Rypel; Greg G Sass; Tyler D Tunney; M Jake Vander Zanden (Fish and Fisheries, 2017)
The Safe Operating Space ( SOS ) of a recreational fishery is the multidimensional region defined by levels of harvest, angler effort, habitat, predation and other factors in which the fishery is sustainable into the future. SOS boundaries exhibit trade‐offs such that decreases in harvest can compensate to some degree for losses of habitat, increases in predation and increasing value of fishing time to anglers. Conversely, high levels of harvest can be sustained if habitat is intact, predation is low, and value of fishing effort is moderate. The SOS approach recognizes limits in several dimensions: at overly high levels of harvest, habitat loss, predation, or value of fishing effort, the stock falls to a low equilibrium biomass. Recreational fisheries managers can influence harvest and perhaps predation, but they must cope with trends that are beyond their control such as changes in climate, loss of aquatic habitat or social factors that affect the value of fishing effort for anglers. The SOS illustrates opportunities to manage harvest or predation to maintain quality fisheries in the presence of trends in climate, social preferences or other factors that are not manageable.

Microbial succession dynamics along glacier forefield chronosequences in Tierra del Fuego (Chile) - Miguel Angel Fernández-Martínez; Sergio Pérez-Ortega; Stephen B. Pointing; T. G. Allan Green; Ana Pintado; Ricardo Rozzi; Leopoldo G. Sancho; Asunción de los Ríos (Polar Biology, 2017)

A Novel Cold Active Esterase from a Deep Sea Sponge Stelletta normani Metagenomic Library - Erik Borchert; Joseph Selvin; Seghal G. Kiran; Stephen A. Jackson; Fergal O'Gara; Alan D. W. Dobson (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2017)

A measurement system for vertical seawater profiles close to the air–sea interface - Richard P. Sims; Ute Schuster; Andrew J. Watson; Ming Xi Yang; Frances E. Hopkins; John Stephens; Thomas G. Bell (Ocean Science, 2017)
This paper describes a near-surface ocean profiler, which has been designed to precisely measure vertical gradients in the top 10 m of the ocean. Variations in the depth of seawater collection are minimized when using the profiler compared to conventional CTD/rosette deployments. The profiler consists of a remotely operated winch mounted on a tethered yet free-floating buoy, which is used to raise and lower a small frame housing sensors and inlet tubing. Seawater at the inlet depth is pumped back to the ship for analysis. The profiler can be used to make continuous vertical profiles or to target a series of discrete depths. The profiler has been successfully deployed during wind speeds up to 10 m s−1 and significant wave heights up to 2 m. We demonstrate the potential of the profiler by presenting measured vertical profiles of the trace gases carbon dioxide and dimethylsulfide. Trace gas measurements use an efficient microporous membrane equilibrator to minimize the system response time. The example profiles show vertical gradients in the upper 5 m for temperature, carbon dioxide and dimethylsulfide of 0.15 °C, 4 µatm and 0.4 nM respectively.

Climate, Topography, and Canopy Chemistry Exert Hierarchical Control Over Soil N Cycling in a Neotropical Lowland Forest - Brooke B. Osborne; Megan K. Nasto; Gregory P. Asner; Christopher S. Balzotti; Cory C. Cleveland; Benjamin W. Sullivan; Philip G. Taylor; Alan R. Townsend; Stephen Porder (Ecosystems, 2017)

Imaging in Vascular Access - Eoin A. Murphy; Rose A. Ross; Robert G. Jones; Stephen J. Gandy; Nicolas Aristokleous; Marco Salsano; Jonathan R. Weir-McCall; Shona Matthew; John Graeme Houston (Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology, 2017)

Contrasting outcomes of species‐ and community‐level analyses of the temporal consistency of functional composition - Masatoshi Katabuchi; S. Joseph Wright; Nathan G. Swenson; Kenneth J. Feeley; Richard Condit; Stephen P. Hubbell; Stuart J. Davies (Ecology, 2017)
Multiple anthropogenic drivers affect every natural community, and there is broad interest in using functional traits to understand and predict the consequences for future biodiversity. There is, however, no consensus regarding the choice of analytical methods. We contrast species‐ and community‐level analyses of change in the functional composition for four traits related to drought tolerance using three decades of repeat censuses of trees in the 50‐ha Forest Dynamics Plot on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Community trait distributions shifted significantly through time, which may indicate a shift toward more drought tolerant species. However, at the species level, changes in abundance were unrelated to trait values. To reconcile these seemingly contrasting results, we evaluated species‐specific contributions to the directional shifts observed at the community level. Abundance changes of just one to six of 312 species were responsible for the community‐level shifts observed for each trait. Our results demonstrate that directional changes in community‐level functional composition can result from idiosyncratic change in a few species rather than widespread community‐wide changes associated with functional traits. Future analyses of directional change in natural communities should combine community‐, species‐, and possibly individual‐level analyses to uncover relationships with function that can improve understanding and enable prediction.

A Review of the Tools Used for Marine Monitoring in the UK: Combining Historic and Contemporary Methods with Modeling and Socioeconomics to Fulfill Legislative Needs and Scientific Ambitions - Tim P. Bean; Naomi Greenwood; Rachel Beckett; Lauren Biermann; John P. Bignell; Jan L. Brant; Gordon H. Copp; Michelle J. Devlin; Stephen Dye; Stephen W. Feist; Liam Fernand; Dean Foden; et al. (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2017)

Multifidelity Sparse-Grid-Based Uncertainty Quantification for the Hokkaido Nansei-oki Tsunami - Jouke H. S. de Baar; Stephen G. Roberts (Pure and Applied Geophysics, 2017)

CRISPRtools: a flexible computational platform for performing CRISPR/Cas9 experiments in the mouse - Kevin A. Peterson; Glen L. Beane; Leslie O. Goodwin; Peter M. Kutny; Laura G. Reinholdt; Stephen A. Murray (Mammalian Genome, 2017)

Erratum to: Design of optimal ecosystem monitoring networks: hotspot detection and biodiversity patterns - Matteo Convertino; Rafael Muñoz-Carpena; Gregory A. Kiker; Stephen G. Perz (Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 2017)

Resistin and NGAL are associated with inflammatory response, endothelial activation and clinical outcomes in sepsis - Stephen P. J. Macdonald; Erika Bosio; Claire Neil; Glenn Arendts; Sally Burrows; Lisa Smart; Simon G. A. Brown; Daniel M. Fatovich (Inflammation Research, 2017)

Tracking reveals limited interactions between Campbell Albatross and fisheries during the breeding season - Lisa A. Sztukowski; Mariëlle L. van Toor; Henri Weimerskirch; David R. Thompson; Leigh G. Torres; Paul M. Sagar; Peter A. Cotton; Stephen C. Votier (Journal of Ornithology, 2017)

CF3DODA-Me induces apoptosis, degrades Sp1, and blocks the transformation phase of the blebbishield emergency program - Rikiya Taoka; Goodwin G. Jinesh; Wenrui Xue; Stephen Safe; Ashish M. Kamat (Apoptosis, 2017)

Characterisation of the DAACS Family Escherichia coli Glutamate/Aspartate-Proton Symporter GltP Using Computational, Chemical, Biochemical and Biophysical Methods - Moazur Rahman; Fouzia Ismat; Li Jiao; Jocelyn M. Baldwin; David J. Sharples; Stephen A. Baldwin; Simon G. Patching (The Journal of Membrane Biology, 2017)

Application of novel analytical ultracentrifuge analysis to solutions of fungal mannans - Richard B. Gillis; Gary G. Adams; David T. M. Besong; Eva Machová; Anna Ebringerová; Arthur J. Rowe; Stephen E. Harding; Trushar R. Patel (European Biophysics Journal, 2017)

Transcriptomic responses to seawater acidification among sea urchin populations inhabiting a natural pH mosaic - Tyler G. Evans; Melissa H. Pespeni; Gretchen E. Hofmann; Stephen R. Palumbi; Eric Sanford (Molecular Ecology, 2017)
Increasing awareness of spatial and temporal variation in ocean pH suggests some marine populations may be adapted to local pH regimes and will therefore respond differently to present‐day pH variation and to long‐term ocean acidification. In the Northeast Pacific Ocean, differences in the strength of coastal upwelling cause latitudinal variation in prevailing pH regimes that are hypothesized to promote local adaptation and unequal pH tolerance among resident populations. In this study, responses to experimental seawater acidification were compared among embryos and larvae from six populations of purple sea urchins ( Strongylocentrotus purpuratus ) inhabiting areas that differ in their frequency of low pH exposure and that prior research suggests are locally adapted to seawater pH . Transcriptomic analyses demonstrate urchin populations most frequently exposed to low pH seawater responded to experimental acidification by expressing genes within major ATP ‐producing pathways at greater levels than populations encountering low pH less often. Multiple genes within the tricarboxylic acid cycle, electron transport chain and fatty acid beta oxidation pathways were upregulated in urchin populations experiencing low pH conditions most frequently. These same metabolic pathways were significantly over‐represented among genes both expressed in a population‐specific manner and putatively under selection to enhance low pH tolerance. Collectively, these data suggest natural selection is acting on metabolic gene networks to redirect ATP toward maintaining acid–base homeostasis and enhance tolerance of seawater acidification. As a trade‐off, marine populations more tolerant of low pH may have less energy to put towards other aspects of fitness and to respond to additional ocean change.

Global patterns in the divergence between phylogenetic diversity and species richness in terrestrial birds - Alke Voskamp; David J. Baker; Philip A. Stephens; Paul J. Valdes; Stephen G. Willis (Journal of Biogeography, 2017)
Aim The conservation value of sites is often based on species richness ( SR ). However, metrics of phylogenetic diversity ( PD ) reflect a community's evolutionary potential and reveal the potential for additional conservation value above that based purely on SR . Although PD is typically correlated with SR , localized differences in this relationship have been found in different taxa. Here, we explore geographical variation in global avian PD . We identify where PD is higher or lower than expected (from SR ) and explore correlates of those differences, to find communities with high irreplaceability, in terms of the uniqueness of evolutionary histories. Location Global terrestrial. Methods Using comprehensive avian phylogenies and global distributional data for all extant birds, we calculated SR and Faith's PD , a widely applied measure of community PD , across the terrestrial world. We modelled the relationship between avian PD for terrestrial birds and its potential environmental correlates. Analyses were conducted at a global scale and also for individual biogeographical realms. Potential explanatory variables of PD included SR , long‐term climate stability, climatic diversity (using altitudinal range as a proxy), habitat diversity and proximity to neighbouring realms. Results We identified areas of high and low relative PD ( rPD ; PD relative to that expected given SR ). Areas of high rPD were associated with deserts and islands, while areas of low rPD were associated with historical glaciation. Our results suggest that rPD is correlated with different environmental variables in different parts of the world. Main conclusions There is geographical variation in avian rPD , much of which can be explained by putative drivers. However, the importance of these drivers shows pronounced regional variation. Moreover, the variation in avian rPD differs substantially from patterns found for mammals and amphibians. We suggest that PD adds additional insights about the irreplaceability of communities to conventional metrics of biodiversity based on SR , and could be usefully included in assessments of site valuation and prioritization.

Nitrogen‐mediated effects of elevated CO 2 on intra‐aggregate soil pore structure - Joshua S. Caplan; Daniel Giménez; Vandana Subroy; Richard J. Heck; Stephen A. Prior; G. Brett Runion; H. Allen Torbert (Global Change Biology, 2017)
Soil pore structure has a strong influence on water retention, and is itself influenced by plant and microbial dynamics such as root proliferation and microbial exudation. Although increased nitrogen (N) availability and elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentrations (eCO 2 ) often have interacting effects on root and microbial dynamics, it is unclear whether these biotic effects can translate into altered soil pore structure and water retention. This study was based on a long‐term experiment (7 yr at the time of sampling) in which a C 4 pasture grass ( Paspalum notatum ) was grown on a sandy loam soil while provided factorial additions of N and CO 2 . Through an analysis of soil aggregate fractal properties supported by 3D microtomographic imagery, we found that N fertilization induced an increase in intra‐aggregate porosity and a simultaneous shift toward greater accumulation of pore space in larger aggregates. These effects were enhanced by eCO 2 and yielded an increase in water retention at pressure potentials near the wilting point of plants. However, eCO 2 alone induced changes in the opposite direction, with larger aggregates containing less pore space than under control conditions, and water retention decreasing accordingly. Results on biotic factors further suggested that organic matter gains or losses induced the observed structural changes. Based on our results, we postulate that the pore structure of many mineral soils could undergo N‐dependent changes as atmospheric CO 2 concentrations rise, having global‐scale implications for water balance, carbon storage, and related rhizosphere functions.

Three‐dimensional interstitial space mediates predator foraging success in different spatial arrangements - Stephen G. Hesterberg; C. Cole Duckett; Elizabeth A. Salewski; Susan S. Bell (Ecology, 2017)
Identifying and quantifying the relevant properties of habitat structure that mediate predator–prey interactions remains a persistent challenge. Most previous studies investigate effects of structural density on trophic interactions and typically quantify refuge quality using one or two‐dimensional metrics. Few consider spatial arrangement of components (i.e., orientation and shape) and often neglect to measure the total three‐dimensional (3D) space available as refuge. This study tests whether the three‐dimensionality of interstitial space, an attribute produced by the spatial arrangement of oyster ( Crassostrea virginica ) shells, impacts the foraging success of nektonic predators (primary blue crab, Callinectes sapidus ) on mud crab prey ( Eurypanopeus depressus ) in field and mesocosm experiments. Interstices of 3D‐printed shell mimics were manipulated by changing either their orientation (angle) or internal shape (crevice or channel). In both field and mesocosm experiments, under conditions of constant structural density, predator foraging success was influenced by 3D aspects of interstitial space. Proportional survivorship of tethered mud crabs differed significantly as 3D interstitial space varied by orientation, displaying decreasing prey survivorship as angle of orientation increased (0° = 0.76, 22.5° = 0.13, 45° = 0.0). Tethered prey survivorship was high when 3D interstitial space of mimics was modified by internal shape (crevice survivorship = 0.89, channel survivorship = 0.96) and these values did not differ significantly. In mesocosms, foraging success of blue crabs varied with 3D interstitial space as mean proportional survivorship (± SE ) of mud crabs was significantly lower in 45° (0.27 ± 0.06) vs. 0° (0.86 ± 0.04) orientations and for crevice (0.52 ± 0.11) vs. channel shapes (0.95 ± 0.02). These results suggest that 3D aspects of interstitial space, which have direct relevance to refuge quality, can strongly influence foraging success in our oyster reef habitat. Our findings highlight the importance of spatial arrangement in mediating consumptive pathways in hard‐structured habitats and demonstrate how quantifying the three‐dimensionality of living space captures aspects of habitat structure that have been missing from previous empirical studies of trophic interactions and structural complexity.

A survival guide to Landsat preprocessing - Nicholas E. Young; Ryan S. Anderson; Stephen M. Chignell; Anthony G. Vorster; Rick Lawrence; Paul H. Evangelista (Ecology, 2017)
Landsat data are increasingly used for ecological monitoring and research. These data often require preprocessing prior to analysis to account for sensor, solar, atmospheric, and topographic effects. However, ecologists using these data are faced with a literature containing inconsistent terminology, outdated methods, and a vast number of approaches with contradictory recommendations. These issues can, at best, make determining the correct preprocessing workflow a difficult and time‐consuming task and, at worst, lead to erroneous results. We address these problems by providing a concise overview of the Landsat missions and sensors and by clarifying frequently conflated terms and methods. Preprocessing steps commonly applied to Landsat data are differentiated and explained, including georeferencing and co‐registration, conversion to radiance, solar correction, atmospheric correction, topographic correction, and relative correction. We then synthesize this information by presenting workflows and a decision tree for determining the appropriate level of imagery preprocessing given an ecological research question, while emphasizing the need to tailor each workflow to the study site and question at hand. We recommend a parsimonious approach to Landsat preprocessing that avoids unnecessary steps and recommend approaches and data products that are well tested, easily available, and sufficiently documented. Our focus is specific to ecological applications of Landsat data, yet many of the concepts and recommendations discussed are also appropriate for other disciplines and remote sensing platforms.

The effect of mirtazapine on dopaminergic psychosis and dyskinesia in the parkinsonian marmoset - Adjia Hamadjida; Stephen G Nuara; Nicolas Veyres; Imane Frouni; Cynthia Kwan; Lamia Sid-Otmane; Mery-Jane Harraka; Jim C Gourdon; Philippe Huot (Psychopharmacology, 2017)

The Evolutionary Loss of RNAi Key Determinants in Kinetoplastids as a Multiple Sporadic Phenomenon - Andrey V. Matveyev; João M. P. Alves; Myrna G. Serrano; Vladimir Lee; Ana M. Lara; William A. Barton; André G. Costa-Martins; Stephen M. Beverley; Erney P. Camargo; Marta M. G. Teixeira; Gregory A. Buck (Journal of Molecular Evolution, 2017)

Ecosystem Modeling for the 21st Century - Monica G. Turner; Stephen R. Carpenter (Ecosystems, 2017)

Cross-continent comparisons reveal differing environmental drivers of growth of the coral reef fish, Lutjanus bohar - Joyce J. L. Ong; Adam N. Rountrey; Ross J. Marriott; Stephen J. Newman; Jessica J. Meeuwig; Mark G. Meekan (Coral Reefs, 2017)

Research priorities for managing the impacts and dependencies of business upon food, energy, water and the environment - Jonathan M. H. Green; Gemma R. Cranston; William J. Sutherland; Hannah R. Tranter; Sarah J. Bell; Tim G. Benton; Eva Blixt; Colm Bowe; Sarah Broadley; Andrew Brown; Chris Brown; Neil Burns; et al. (Sustainability Science, 2017)

The need for co-product allocation in the life cycle assessment of agricultural systems—is “biophysical” allocation progress? - Stephen G. Mackenzie; Ilkka Leinonen; Ilias Kyriazakis (The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2017)

Ecosystem fluxes of hydrogen in a mid‐latitude forest driven by soil microorganisms and plants - Laura K. Meredith; Róisín Commane; Trevor F. Keenan; Stephen T. Klosterman; J. William Munger; Pamela H. Templer; Jianwu Tang; Steven C. Wofsy; Ronald G. Prinn (Global Change Biology, 2017)
Molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) is an atmospheric trace gas with a large microbe‐mediated soil sink, yet cycling of this compound throughout ecosystems is poorly understood. Measurements of the sources and sinks of H 2 in various ecosystems are sparse, resulting in large uncertainties in the global H 2 budget. Constraining the H 2 cycle is critical to understanding its role in atmospheric chemistry and climate. We measured H 2 fluxes at high frequency in a temperate mixed deciduous forest for 15 months using a tower‐based flux‐gradient approach to determine both the soil‐atmosphere and the net ecosystem flux of H 2 . We found that Harvard Forest is a net H 2 sink (−1.4 ± 1.1 kg H 2 ha −1 ) with soils as the dominant H 2 sink (−2.0 ± 1.0 kg H 2 ha −1 ) and aboveground canopy emissions as the dominant H 2 source (+0.6 ± 0.8 kg H 2 ha −1 ). Aboveground emissions of H 2 were an unexpected and substantial component of the ecosystem H 2 flux, reducing net ecosystem uptake by 30% of that calculated from soil uptake alone. Soil uptake was highly seasonal (July maximum, February minimum), positively correlated with soil temperature and negatively correlated with environmental variables relevant to diffusion into soils (i.e., soil moisture, snow depth, snow density). Soil microbial H 2 uptake was correlated with rhizosphere respiration rates ( r = 0.8, P 2 metabolism yielded up to 2% of the energy gleaned by microbes from carbon substrate respiration. Here, we elucidate key processes controlling the biosphere–atmosphere exchange of H 2 and raise new questions regarding the role of aboveground biomass as a source of atmospheric H 2 and mechanisms linking soil H 2 and carbon cycling. Results from this study should be incorporated into modeling efforts to predict the response of the H 2 soil sink to changes in anthropogenic H 2 emissions and shifting soil conditions with climate and land‐use change.

Historical foundations and future directions in macrosystems ecology - Kevin C. Rose; Rose A. Graves; Winslow D. Hansen; Brian J. Harvey; Jiangxiao Qiu; Stephen A. Wood; Carly Ziter; Monica G. Turner (Ecology Letters, 2017)
Macrosystems ecology is an effort to understand ecological processes and interactions at the broadest spatial scales and has potential to help solve globally important social and ecological challenges. It is important to understand the intellectual legacies underpinning macrosystems ecology: How the subdiscipline fits within, builds upon, differs from and extends previous theories. We trace the rise of macrosystems ecology with respect to preceding theories and present a new hypothesis that integrates the multiple components of macrosystems theory. The spatio‐temporal anthropogenic rescaling ( STAR ) hypothesis suggests that human activities are altering the scales of ecological processes, resulting in interactions at novel space–time scale combinations that are diverse and predictable. We articulate four predictions about how human actions are “ expanding ”, “ shrinking ”, “ speeding up ” and “ slowing down ” ecological processes and interactions, and thereby generating new scaling relationships for ecological patterns and processes. We provide examples of these rescaling processes and describe ecological consequences across terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Rescaling depends in part on characteristics including connectivity, stability and heterogeneity. Our STAR hypothesis challenges traditional assumptions about how the spatial and temporal scales of processes and interactions operate in different types of ecosystems and provides a lens through which to understand macrosystem‐scale environmental change.

Twenty Years of Ecosystems: Emerging Questions and Challenges - Stephen R. Carpenter; Monica G. Turner (Ecosystems, 2017)

Decadal predictions with the HiGEM high resolution global coupled climate model: description and basic evaluation - L. C. Shaffrey; D. Hodson; J. Robson; D. P. Stevens; E. Hawkins; I. Polo; I. Stevens; R. T. Sutton; G. Lister; A. Iwi; D. Smith; A. Stephens (Climate Dynamics, 2017)

Occurrence of two novel actinospore types (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) in Brazilian fish farms, and the creation of a novel actinospore collective group, Seisactinomyxon - Tiago Milanin; Stephen D. Atkinson; Márcia R.M. Silva; Roberto G. Alves; Antônio A.M. Maia; Edson A. Adriano (Acta Parasitologica, 2017)
The involvement of oligochaetes in the life cycles of fresh water myxozoan parasites in Brazil was investigated. Of 333 oligochaetes collected in a fish farm in the State of São Paulo, three (0.9%) released Aurantiactinomyxon type spores. From 86 worms collected in a fish farm in Mato Grosso do Sul State, 1 (0.9%) released actinospores with a novel morphology for which we propose the name Seisactinomyxon. Infected oligochaetes were identified by morphology: all belonged to family Naididae, with

Genetically informed ecological niche models improve climate change predictions - Dana H. Ikeda; Tamara L. Max; Gerard J. Allan; Matthew K. Lau; Stephen M. Shuster; Thomas G. Whitham (Global Change Biology, 2017)
We examined the hypothesis that ecological niche models ( ENM s) more accurately predict species distributions when they incorporate information on population genetic structure, and concomitantly, local adaptation. Local adaptation is common in species that span a range of environmental gradients (e.g., soils and climate). Moreover, common garden studies have demonstrated a covariance between neutral markers and functional traits associated with a species’ ability to adapt to environmental change. We therefore predicted that genetically distinct populations would respond differently to climate change, resulting in predicted distributions with little overlap. To test whether genetic information improves our ability to predict a species’ niche space, we created genetically informed ecological niche models ( gENM s) using Populus fremontii (Salicaceae), a widespread tree species in which prior common garden experiments demonstrate strong evidence for local adaptation. Four major findings emerged: (i) gENM s predicted population occurrences with up to 12‐fold greater accuracy than models without genetic information; (ii) tests of niche similarity revealed that three ecotypes, identified on the basis of neutral genetic markers and locally adapted populations, are associated with differences in climate; (iii) our forecasts indicate that ongoing climate change will likely shift these ecotypes further apart in geographic space, resulting in greater niche divergence; (iv) ecotypes that currently exhibit the largest geographic distribution and niche breadth appear to be buffered the most from climate change. As diverse agents of selection shape genetic variability and structure within species, we argue that gENM s will lead to more accurate predictions of species distributions under climate change.

Ecology under lake ice - Stephanie E. Hampton; Aaron W. E. Galloway; Stephen M. Powers; Ted Ozersky; Kara H. Woo; Ryan D. Batt; Stephanie G. Labou; Catherine M. O'Reilly; Sapna Sharma; Noah R. Lottig; Emily H. Stanley; Rebecca L. North; et al. (Ecology Letters, 2017)
Winter conditions are rapidly changing in temperate ecosystems, particularly for those that experience periods of snow and ice cover. Relatively little is known of winter ecology in these systems, due to a historical research focus on summer ‘growing seasons’. We executed the first global quantitative synthesis on under‐ice lake ecology, including 36 abiotic and biotic variables from 42 research groups and 101 lakes, examining seasonal differences and connections as well as how seasonal differences vary with geophysical factors. Plankton were more abundant under ice than expected; mean winter values were 43.2% of summer values for chlorophyll a , 15.8% of summer phytoplankton biovolume and 25.3% of summer zooplankton density. Dissolved nitrogen concentrations were typically higher during winter, and these differences were exaggerated in smaller lakes. Lake size also influenced winter‐summer patterns for dissolved organic carbon ( DOC ), with higher winter DOC in smaller lakes. At coarse levels of taxonomic aggregation, phytoplankton and zooplankton community composition showed few systematic differences between seasons, although literature suggests that seasonal differences are frequently lake‐specific, species‐specific, or occur at the level of functional group. Within the subset of lakes that had longer time series, winter influenced the subsequent summer for some nutrient variables and zooplankton biomass.

Exposure Calls to U. S. Poison Centers Involving Electronic Cigarettes and Conventional Cigarettes—September 2010–December 2014 - Kevin Chatham-Stephens; Royal Law; Ethel Taylor; Stephanie Kieszak; Paul Melstrom; Rebecca Bunnell; Baoguang Wang; Hannah Day; Benjamin Apelberg; Lee Cantrell; Howell Foster; Joshua G. Schier (Journal of Medical Toxicology, 2016)

Do Men Receive Information Required for Shared Decision Making About PSA Testing? Results from a National Survey - Bryan Leyva; Alexander Persoskie; Allison Ottenbacher; Jada G. Hamilton; Jennifer D. Allen; Sarah C. Kobrin; Stephen H. Taplin (Journal of Cancer Education, 2016)

Assessing sedimentation equilibrium profiles in analytical ultracentrifugation experiments on macromolecules: from simple average molecular weight analysis to molecular weight distribution and interaction analysis - Stephen E. Harding; Richard B. Gillis; Gary G. Adams (Biophysical Reviews, 2016)

Aquatic food security: insights into challenges and solutions from an analysis of interactions between fisheries, aquaculture, food safety, human health, fish and human welfare, economy and environment - Simon Jennings; Grant D Stentiford; Ana M Leocadio; Keith R Jeffery; Julian D Metcalfe; Ioanna Katsiadaki; Neil A Auchterlonie; Stephen C Mangi; John K Pinnegar; Tim Ellis; Edmund J Peeler; Tiziana Luisetti; et al. (Fish and Fisheries, 2016)
Fisheries and aquaculture production, imports, exports and equitability of distribution determine the supply of aquatic food to people. Aquatic food security is achieved when a food supply is sufficient, safe, sustainable, shockproof and sound: sufficient, to meet needs and preferences of people; safe, to provide nutritional benefit while posing minimal health risks; sustainable, to provide food now and for future generations; shock‐proof, to provide resilience to shocks in production systems and supply chains; and sound, to meet legal and ethical standards for welfare of animals, people and environment. Here, we present an integrated assessment of these elements of the aquatic food system in the United Kingdom, a system linked to dynamic global networks of producers, processors and markets. Our assessment addresses sufficiency of supply from aquaculture, fisheries and trade; safety of supply given biological, chemical and radiation hazards; social, economic and environmental sustainability of production systems and supply chains; system resilience to social, economic and environmental shocks; welfare of fish, people and environment; and the authenticity of food. Conventionally, these aspects of the food system are not assessed collectively, so information supporting our assessment is widely dispersed. Our assessment reveals trade‐offs and challenges in the food system that are easily overlooked in sectoral analyses of fisheries, aquaculture, health, medicine, human and fish welfare, safety and environment. We highlight potential benefits of an integrated, systematic and ongoing process to assess security of the aquatic food system and to predict impacts of social, economic and environmental change on food supply and demand.

A high-density SNP genotyping array for Brassica napus and its ancestral diploid species based on optimised selection of single-locus markers in the allotetraploid genome - Wayne E. Clarke; Erin E. Higgins; Joerg Plieske; Ralf Wieseke; Christine Sidebottom; Yogendra Khedikar; Jacqueline Batley; Dave Edwards; Jinling Meng; Ruiyuan Li; Cynthia Taylor Lawley; Jérôme Pauquet; et al. (Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 2016)

Seed predators can increase nectar volumes in an alpine daisy: but do the insects benefit? - Junpeng Mu; Yan Chen; Yulian Yang; Ronghua Fu; Hui Wang; Stephen G. Compton (Plant Ecology, 2016)

Effects of experimentally elevated egg cortisol on offspring traits in two species of wild Pacific salmon - Natalie M. Sopinka; Scott G. Hinch; Stephen J. Healy; Graham D. Raby; David A. Patterson (Environmental Biology of Fishes, 2016)

A novel member of the Tombusviridae from a wild legume, Gompholobium preissii - Shu Hui Koh; Jamie W. L. Ong; Ryan Admiraal; Krishnapillai Sivasithamparam; Michael G. K. Jones; Stephen J. Wylie (Archives of Virology, 2016)

Microstructural shell strength of the Subantarctic pteropod Limacina helicina antarctica - Clara M. H. Teniswood; Donna Roberts; William R. Howard; Stephen G. Bray; Jodie E. Bradby (Polar Biology, 2016)

Ecosystem Water-Use Efficiency of Annual Corn and Perennial Grasslands: Contributions from Land-Use History and Species Composition - Michael Abraha; Ilya Gelfand; Stephen K. Hamilton; Changliang Shao; Yahn-Jauh Su; G. Philip Robertson; Jiquan Chen (Ecosystems, 2016)

A Phagostimulant Blend for the Asian Citrus Psyllid - Stephen L. Lapointe; David G. Hall; Justin George (Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2016)

Prioritization of knowledge‐needs to achieve best practices for bottom trawling in relation to seabed habitats - Michel J Kaiser; Ray Hilborn; Simon Jennings; Ricky Amaroso; Michael Andersen; Kris Balliet; Eric Barratt; Odd A Bergstad; Stephen Bishop; Jodi L Bostrom; Catherine Boyd; Eduardo A Bruce; et al. (Fish and Fisheries, 2016)
Management and technical approaches that achieve a sustainable level of fish production while at the same time minimizing or limiting the wider ecological effects caused through fishing gear contact with the seabed might be considered to be ‘best practice’. To identify future knowledge‐needs that would help to support a transition towards the adoption of best practices for trawling, a prioritization exercise was undertaken with a group of 39 practitioners from the seafood industry and management, and 13 research scientists who have an active research interest in bottom‐trawl and dredge fisheries. A list of 108 knowledge‐needs related to trawl and dredge fisheries was developed in conjunction with an ‘expert task force’. The long list was further refined through a three stage process of voting and scoring, including discussions of each knowledge‐need. The top 25 knowledge‐needs are presented, as scored separately by practitioners and scientists. There was considerable consistency in the priorities identified by these two groups. The top priority knowledge‐need to improve current understanding on the distribution and extent of different habitat types also reinforced the concomitant need for the provision and access to data on the spatial and temporal distribution of all forms of towed bottom‐fishing activities. Many of the other top 25 knowledge‐needs concerned the evaluation of different management approaches or implementation of different fishing practices, particularly those that explore trade‐offs between effects of bottom trawling on biodiversity and ecosystem services and the benefits of fish production as food.

Genome-wide association of familial prostate cancer cases identifies evidence for a rare segregating haplotype at 8q24.21 - Craig C. Teerlink; Daniel Leongamornlert; Tokhir Dadaev; Alun Thomas; James Farnham; Robert A. Stephenson; Shaun Riska; Shannon K. McDonnell; Daniel J. Schaid; William J. Catalona; S. Lilly Zheng; Kathleen A. Cooney; et al. (Human Genetics, 2016)

Indices based on silicoflagellate assemblages offer potential for paleo-reconstructions of the main oceanographic zones of the Southern Ocean - Andrés S. Rigual-Hernández; Thomas W. Trull; Kevin McCartney; Anne-Marie Ballegeer; Kelly-Anne Lawler; Stephen G. Bray; Leanne K. Armand (Geo-Marine Letters, 2016)

Evidence for climate‐driven synchrony of marine and terrestrial ecosystems in northwest Australia - Joyce J.L. Ong; Adam N. Rountrey; Jens Zinke; Jessica J. Meeuwig; Pauline F. Grierson; Alison J. O'Donnell; Stephen J. Newman; Janice M. Lough; Mélissa Trougan; Mark G. Meekan (Global Change Biology, 2016)
The effects of climate change are difficult to predict for many marine species because little is known of their response to climate variations in the past. However, long‐term chronologies of growth, a variable that integrates multiple physical and biological factors, are now available for several marine taxa. These allow us to search for climate‐driven synchrony in growth across multiple taxa and ecosystems, identifying the key processes driving biological responses at very large spatial scales. We hypothesized that in northwest ( NW ) Australia, a region that is predicted to be strongly influenced by climate change, the El Niño Southern Oscillation ( ENSO ) phenomenon would be an important factor influencing the growth patterns of organisms in both marine and terrestrial environments. To test this idea, we analyzed existing growth chronologies of the marine fish Lutjanus argentimaculatus , the coral Porites spp. and the tree Callitris columellaris and developed a new chronology for another marine fish, Lethrinus nebulosus . Principal components analysis and linear model selection showed evidence of ENSO ‐driven synchrony in growth among all four taxa at interannual time scales, the first such result for the Southern Hemisphere. Rainfall, sea surface temperatures, and sea surface salinities, which are linked to the ENSO system, influenced the annual growth of fishes, trees, and corals. All four taxa had negative relationships with the Niño‐4 index (a measure of ENSO status), with positive growth patterns occurring during strong La Niña years. This finding implies that future changes in the strength and frequency of ENSO events are likely to have major consequences for both marine and terrestrial taxa. Strong similarities in the growth patterns of fish and trees offer the possibility of using tree‐ring chronologies, which span longer time periods than those of fish, to aid understanding of both historical and future responses of fish populations to climate variation.

Harold Edwin Hurst: the Nile and Egypt, past and future - John Sutcliffe; Stephen Hurst; Ayman G. Awadallah; Emma Brown; Khaled Hamed (Hydrological Sciences Journal, 2016)

Food begging and sharing in wild bonobos (Pan paniscus): assessing relationship quality? - Lucas G. Goldstone; Volker Sommer; Niina Nurmi; Colleen Stephens; Barbara Fruth (Primates, 2016)

Choice of baseline climate data impacts projected species' responses to climate change - David J. Baker; Andrew J. Hartley; Stuart H. M. Butchart; Stephen G. Willis (Global Change Biology, 2016)
Climate data created from historic climate observations are integral to most assessments of potential climate change impacts, and frequently comprise the baseline period used to infer species‐climate relationships. They are often also central to downscaling coarse resolution climate simulations from General Circulation Models ( GCM s) to project future climate scenarios at ecologically relevant spatial scales. Uncertainty in these baseline data can be large, particularly where weather observations are sparse and climate dynamics are complex (e.g. over mountainous or coastal regions). Yet, importantly, this uncertainty is almost universally overlooked when assessing potential responses of species to climate change. Here, we assessed the importance of historic baseline climate uncertainty for projections of species' responses to future climate change. We built species distribution models ( SDM s) for 895 African bird species of conservation concern, using six different climate baselines. We projected these models to two future periods (2040–2069, 2070–2099), using downscaled climate projections, and calculated species turnover and changes in species‐specific climate suitability. We found that the choice of baseline climate data constituted an important source of uncertainty in projections of both species turnover and species‐specific climate suitability, often comparable with, or more important than, uncertainty arising from the choice of GCM . Importantly, the relative contribution of these factors to projection uncertainty varied spatially. Moreover, when projecting SDM s to sites of biodiversity importance (Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas), these uncertainties altered site‐level impacts, which could affect conservation prioritization. Our results highlight that projections of species' responses to climate change are sensitive to uncertainty in the baseline climatology. We recommend that this should be considered routinely in such analyses.

High-temperature acclimation strategies within the thermally tolerant endosymbiont Symbiodinium trenchii and its coral host, Turbinaria reniformis, differ with changing pCO 2 and nutrients - Kenneth D. Hoadley; D. Tye Pettay; Andréa G. Grottoli; Wei-Jun Cai; Todd F. Melman; Stephen Levas; Verena Schoepf; Qian Ding; Xiangchen Yuan; Yongchen Wang; Yohei Matsui; Justin H. Baumann; et al. (Marine Biology, 2016)

QTL and major genes influencing grain yield potential in soft red winter wheat adapted to the southern United States - Christopher K. Addison; R. Esten Mason; Gina Brown-Guedira; Mohammed Guedira; Yuanfeng Hao; Randall G. Miller; Nithya Subramanian; Dennis N. Lozada; Andrea Acuna; Maria N. Arguello; Jerry W. Johnson; Amir M. H. Ibrahim; et al. (Euphytica, 2016)

Can heterotrophic uptake of dissolved organic carbon and zooplankton mitigate carbon budget deficits in annually bleached corals? - Stephen Levas; Andréa G. Grottoli; Verena Schoepf; Matthew Aschaffenburg; Justin Baumann; James E. Bauer; Mark E. Warner (Coral Reefs, 2016)

Testing the generality of above‐ground biomass allometry across plant functional types at the continent scale - Keryn I. Paul; Stephen H. Roxburgh; Jerome Chave; Jacqueline R. England; Ayalsew Zerihun; Alison Specht; Tom Lewis; Lauren T. Bennett; Thomas G. Baker; Mark A. Adams; Dan Huxtable; Kelvin D. Montagu; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2016)
Accurate ground‐based estimation of the carbon stored in terrestrial ecosystems is critical to quantifying the global carbon budget. Allometric models provide cost‐effective methods for biomass prediction. But do such models vary with ecoregion or plant functional type? We compiled 15 054 measurements of individual tree or shrub biomass from across Australia to examine the generality of allometric models for above‐ground biomass prediction. This provided a robust case study because Australia includes ecoregions ranging from arid shrublands to tropical rainforests, and has a rich history of biomass research, particularly in planted forests. Regardless of ecoregion, for five broad categories of plant functional type (shrubs; multistemmed trees; trees of the genus Eucalyptus and closely related genera; other trees of high wood density; and other trees of low wood density), relationships between biomass and stem diameter were generic. Simple power‐law models explained 84–95% of the variation in biomass, with little improvement in model performance when other plant variables (height, bole wood density), or site characteristics (climate, age, management) were included. Predictions of stand‐based biomass from allometric models of varying levels of generalization (species‐specific, plant functional type) were validated using whole‐plot harvest data from 17 contrasting stands (range: 9–356 Mg ha −1 ). Losses in efficiency of prediction were stand ‐level biomass prediction was 99%, with a mean absolute prediction error of only 13%. Hence, for cost‐effective prediction of biomass across a wide range of stands, we recommend use of generic allometric models based on plant functional types. Development of new species‐specific models is only warranted when gains in accuracy of stand‐based predictions are relatively high (e.g. high‐value monocultures).

The Population Pharmacokinetics of d-β-hydroxybutyrate Following Administration of (R)-3-Hydroxybutyl (R)-3-Hydroxybutyrate - Vittal Shivva; Pete J. Cox; Kieran Clarke; Richard L. Veech; Ian G. Tucker; Stephen B. Duffull (The AAPS Journal, 2016)

Natural isoforms of the Photosystem II D1 subunit differ in photoassembly efficiency of the water-oxidizing complex - David J. Vinyard; Jennifer S. Sun; Javier Gimpel; Gennady M. Ananyev; Stephen P. Mayfield; G. Charles Dismukes (Photosynthesis Research, 2016)

Effects of Salinity and Inundation on Microbial Community Structure and Function in a Mangrove Peat Soil - Lisa G. Chambers; Rafael Guevara; Joseph N. Boyer; Tiffany G. Troxler; Stephen E. Davis (Wetlands, 2016)

Role of Nrf2 and Autophagy in Acute Lung Injury - Montserrat Rojo de la Vega; Matthew Dodson; Christine Gross; Heidi M. Mansour; R. Clark Lantz; Eli Chapman; Ting Wang; Stephen M. Black; Joe G. N. Garcia; Donna D. Zhang (Current Pharmacology Reports, 2016)

Advancing Product Quality: a Summary of the Second FDA/PQRI Conference - Lawrence X. Yu; Ilgaz Akseli; Barbara Allen; Gregory Amidon; Tara Gooen Bizjak; Ashley Boam; Margaret Caulk; David Doleski; Joseph Famulare; Adam C. Fisher; Scott Furness; Brian Hasselbalch; et al. (The AAPS Journal, 2016)

Biology of the electric eel, Electrophorus electricus, Linnaeus, 1766 (Gymnotiformes: Gymnotidae) on the floodplain of the Curiaú River, eastern Amazonia - Raimundo Nonato G. Mendes-Junior; Júlio César Sá-Oliveira; Stephen F. Ferrari (Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 2016)

Toxic metal enrichment and boating intensity: sediment records of antifoulant copper in shallow lakes of eastern England - John F. Boyle; Carl D. Sayer; Dan Hoare; Helen Bennion; Kate Heppel; Stephen J. Lambert; Peter G. Appleby; Neil L. Rose; Anthony J. Davy (Journal of Paleolimnology, 2016)

Primary cumulus platinum minerals in the Monts de Cristal Complex, Gabon: magmatic microenvironments inferred from high-definition X-ray fluorescence microscopy - Stephen J. Barnes; Louise A. Fisher; Bélinda Godel; Mark A. Pearce; Wolfgang D. Maier; David Paterson; Daryl L. Howard; Christopher G. Ryan; Jamie S. Laird (Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 2016)

Genotypic variation in foundation species generates network structure that may drive community dynamics and evolution - Matthew K. Lau; Arthur R. Keith; Stuart R. Borrett; Stephen M. Shuster; Thomas G. Whitham (Ecology, 2016)
Although genetics in a single species is known to impact whole communities, little is known about how genetic variation influences species interaction networks in complex ecosystems. Here, we examine the interactions in a community of arthropod species on replicated genotypes (clones) of a foundation tree species, Populus angustifolia James (narrowleaf cottonwood), in a long‐term, common garden experiment using a bipartite “genotype–species” network perspective. We combine this empirical work with a simulation experiment designed to further investigate how variation among individual tree genotypes can impact network structure. Three findings emerged: (1) the empirical “genotype–species network” exhibited significant network structure with modularity being greater than the highly conservative null model; (2) as would be expected given a modular network structure, the empirical network displayed significant positive arthropod co‐occurrence patterns; and (3) furthermore, the simulations of “genotype–species” networks displayed variation in network structure, with modularity in particular clearly increasing, as genotypic variation increased. These results support the conclusion that genetic variation in a single species contributes to the structure of ecological interaction networks, which could influence ecological dynamics (e.g., assembly and stability) and evolution in a community context.

Estimating genomic heritabilities at the level of family-pool samples of perennial ryegrass using genotyping-by-sequencing - Bilal Hassan Ashraf; Stephen Byrne; Dario Fé; Adrian Czaban; Torben Asp; Morten G. Pedersen; Ingo Lenk; Niels Roulund; Thomas Didion; Christian S. Jensen; Just Jensen; Luc L. Janss (Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 2016)

A mitochondrial redox oxygen sensor in the pulmonary vasculature and ductus arteriosus - Kimberly J. Dunham-Snary; Zhigang G. Hong; Ping Y. Xiong; Joseph C. Del Paggio; Julia E. Herr; Amer M. Johri; Stephen L. Archer (Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology, 2016)

Application of recent advances in hydrodynamic methods for characterising mucins in solution - Fahad M. Almutairi; Jose-Gines Hernandez Cifre; Gary G. Adams; M. Samil Kök; Alan R. Mackie; Jose Garcia de la Torre; Stephen E. Harding (European Biophysics Journal, 2016)

Interpretation of umbrella cloud growth and morphology: implications for flow regimes of short-lived and long-lived eruptions - Solène Pouget; Marcus Bursik; Christopher G. Johnson; Andrew J. Hogg; Jeremy C. Phillips; R. Stephen J. Sparks (Bulletin of Volcanology, 2016)

Institutional factors and opportunities for adapting European forest management to climate change - Laura Bouriaud; Mariella Marzano; Manfred Lexer; Liviu Nichiforel; Christopher Reyer; Christian Temperli; Heli Peltola; Ché Elkin; Gabriel Duduman; Philip Taylor; Stephen Bathgate; Jose G. Borges; et al. (Regional Environmental Change, 2015)

Sustainability spaces for complex agri-food systems - Stephen Whitfield; Tim G. Benton; Martin Dallimer; Les G. Firbank; Guy M. Poppy; Susannah M. Sallu; Lindsay C. Stringer (Food Security, 2015)

POLE mutations in families predisposed to cutaneous melanoma - Lauren G. Aoude; Ellen Heitzer; Peter Johansson; Michael Gartside; Karin Wadt; Antonia L. Pritchard; Jane M. Palmer; Judith Symmons; Anne-Marie Gerdes; Grant W. Montgomery; Nicholas G. Martin; Ian Tomlinson; et al. (Familial Cancer, 2015)

Risk of colorectal cancer for people with a mutation in both a MUTYH and a DNA mismatch repair gene - Aung Ko Win; Jeanette C. Reece; Daniel D. Buchanan; Mark Clendenning; Joanne P. Young; Sean P. Cleary; Hyeja Kim; Michelle Cotterchio; James G. Dowty; Robert J. MacInnis; Katherine M. Tucker; Ingrid M. Winship; et al. (Familial Cancer, 2015)

Exploring, exploiting and evolving diversity of aquatic ecosystem models: a community perspective - Annette B. G. Janssen; George B. Arhonditsis; Arthur Beusen; Karsten Bolding; Louise Bruce; Jorn Bruggeman; Raoul-Marie Couture; Andrea S. Downing; J. Alex Elliott; Marieke A. Frassl; Gideon Gal; Daan J. Gerla; et al. (Aquatic Ecology, 2015)

Prioritization of knowledge needs for sustainable aquaculture: a national and global perspective - Aisla C Jones; Angela Mead; Michel J Kaiser; Melanie C V Austen; Alex W Adrian; Neil A Auchterlonie; Kenneth D Black; Lucy R Blow; Charlotte Bury; Janet H Brown; Gavin M Burnell; Elaine Connolly; et al. (Fish and Fisheries, 2015)
Aquaculture is currently the fastest expanding global animal food production sector and is a key future contributor to food security. An increase in food security will be dependent upon the development and improvement of sustainable practices. A prioritization exercise was undertaken, focusing on the future knowledge needs to underpin UK sustainable aquaculture (both domestic and imported products) using a ‘task force’ group of 36 ‘practitioners’ and 12 ‘research scientists’ who have an active interest in sustainable aquaculture. A long list of 264 knowledge needs related to sustainable aquaculture was developed in conjunction with the task force. The long list was further refined through a three stage process of voting and scoring, including discussions of each knowledge need. The top 25 knowledge needs are presented, as scored separately by ‘practitioners’ or ‘research scientists’. There was similar agreement in priorities identified by these two groups. The priority knowledge needs will provide guidance to structure ongoing work to make science accessible to practitioners and help to prioritize future science policy needs and funding. The process of knowledge exchange, and the mechanisms by which this can be achieved, effectively emerged as the top priority for sustainable aquaculture. Viable alternatives to wild fish‐based aquaculture feeds, resource constraints that will potentially limit expansion of aquaculture, sustainable offshore aquaculture and the treatment of sea lice also emerged as strong priorities. Although the exercise was focused on UK needs for sustainable aquaculture, many of the emergent issues are considered to have global application.

The effects of height and BMI on prostate cancer incidence and mortality: a Mendelian randomization study in 20,848 cases and 20,214 controls from the PRACTICAL consortium - Neil M. Davies; Tom R. Gaunt; Sarah J. Lewis; Jeff Holly; Jenny L. Donovan; Freddie C. Hamdy; John P. Kemp; Rosalind Eeles; Doug Easton; Zsofia Kote-Jarai; Ali Amin Al Olama; Sara Benlloch; et al. (Cancer Causes & Control, 2015)

The drivers of avian abundance: patterns in the relative importance of climate and land use - Christine Howard; Philip A. Stephens; James W. Pearce‐Higgins; Richard D. Gregory; Stephen G. Willis (Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2015)
Aim Climate and land use can have important effects on the local abundances of species, but few studies have investigated the relative impacts of these factors. Here, we quantify the relative importance of climate, land use and surrounding population size in determining the abundances of birds across a continent. Location E urope. Methods We used species abundance models to identify the relative importance of different environmental predictors for estimating the local abundances of 342 species of E uropean breeding birds. Models controlling for phylogeny were used to relate species life history and ecological traits to the climate:land use importance ratio. The mean of this ratio, across all species occurring in a given area, was mapped to explore spatial variation in the major drivers of abundance. Results At the scale examined, climate is generally more important than land use in determining species abundances. However, the abundance of species in neighbouring areas is also a major correlate. Among climate variables, temperature is of greater importance than moisture availability in determining abundances. The relative importance of these variables varies with latitude, with temperature being most important in the north, and moisture availability in the south. Differences in the importance of specific drivers are related to species ecological traits: climate is more important for determining the abundance of species that have larger global ranges or a smaller body mass. Main conclusions Abundances of species occurring in northern E urope, an area predicted to experience climatic changes of high magnitude, are most sensitive to climate, particularly temperature. Given the greater confidence in future projections of temperature than precipitation, this increases confidence in projections of the impacts of climate change on species in the north, whilst attempts to predict future populations in central and southern E urope may be dependent on less predictable changes in land use and precipitation.

Rapid plant evolution in the presence of an introduced species alters community composition - David Solance Smith; Matthew K. Lau; Ryan Jacobs; Jenna A. Monroy; Stephen M. Shuster; Thomas G. Whitham (Oecologia, 2015)

Ecosystem‐scale volatile organic compound fluxes during an extreme drought in a broadleaf temperate forest of the Missouri Ozarks (central USA ) - Roger Seco; Thomas Karl; Alex Guenther; Kevin P. Hosman; Stephen G. Pallardy; Lianhong Gu; Chris Geron; Peter Harley; Saewung Kim (Global Change Biology, 2015)
Considerable amounts and varieties of biogenic volatile organic compounds ( BVOC s) are exchanged between vegetation and the surrounding air. These BVOC s play key ecological and atmospheric roles that must be adequately represented for accurately modeling the coupled biosphere–atmosphere–climate earth system. One key uncertainty in existing models is the response of BVOC fluxes to an important global change process: drought. We describe the diurnal and seasonal variation in isoprene, monoterpene, and methanol fluxes from a temperate forest ecosystem before, during, and after an extreme 2012 drought event in the Ozark region of the central USA . BVOC fluxes were dominated by isoprene, which attained high emission rates of up to 35.4 mg m −2 h −1 at midday. Methanol fluxes were characterized by net deposition in the morning, changing to a net emission flux through the rest of the daylight hours. Net flux of CO 2 reached its seasonal maximum approximately a month earlier than isoprenoid fluxes, which highlights the differential response of photosynthesis and isoprenoid emissions to progressing drought conditions. Nevertheless, both processes were strongly suppressed under extreme drought, although isoprene fluxes remained relatively high compared to reported fluxes from other ecosystems. Methanol exchange was less affected by drought throughout the season, confirming the complex processes driving biogenic methanol fluxes. The fraction of daytime (7–17 h) assimilated carbon released back to the atmosphere combining the three BVOC s measured was 2% of gross primary productivity ( GPP ) and 4.9% of net ecosystem exchange ( NEE ) on average for our whole measurement campaign, while exceeding 5% of GPP and 10% of NEE just before the strongest drought phase. The megan v2.1 model correctly predicted diurnal variations in fluxes driven mainly by light and temperature, although further research is needed to address model BVOC fluxes during drought events.

Are Molecules Involved in Neuritogenesis and Axon Guidance Related to Autism Pathogenesis? - Jan Bakos; Zuzana Bacova; Stephen G. Grant; Ana M. Castejon; Daniela Ostatnikova (NeuroMolecular Medicine, 2015)

High-resolution physical and biogeochemical variability from a shallow back reef on Ofu, American Samoa: an end-member perspective - David A. Koweek; Robert B. Dunbar; Stephen G. Monismith; David A. Mucciarone; C. Brock Woodson; Lianna Samuel (Coral Reefs, 2015)

Genetic analysis and phenotypic characterization of leaf photosynthetic capacity in a sorghum (Sorghum spp.) diversity panel - Maria G. Salas Fernandez; Katie Strand; Martha T. Hamblin; Mark Westgate; Emily Heaton; Stephen Kresovich (Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 2015)

Geographic and temporal dynamics of a global radiation and diversification in the killer whale - Phillip A. Morin; Kim M. Parsons; Frederick I. Archer; María C. Ávila‐Arcos; Lance G. Barrett‐Lennard; Luciano Dalla Rosa; Sebastián Duchêne; John W. Durban; Graeme M. Ellis; Steven H. Ferguson; John K. Ford; Michael J. Ford; et al. (Molecular Ecology, 2015)
Global climate change during the Late Pleistocene periodically encroached and then released habitat during the glacial cycles, causing range expansions and contractions in some species. These dynamics have played a major role in geographic radiations, diversification and speciation. We investigate these dynamics in the most widely distributed of marine mammals, the killer whale ( Orcinus orca ), using a global data set of over 450 samples. This marine top predator inhabits coastal and pelagic ecosystems ranging from the ice edge to the tropics, often exhibiting ecological, behavioural and morphological variation suggestive of local adaptation accompanied by reproductive isolation. Results suggest a rapid global radiation occurred over the last 350 000 years. Based on habitat models, we estimated there was only a 15% global contraction of core suitable habitat during the last glacial maximum, and the resources appeared to sustain a constant global effective female population size throughout the Late Pleistocene. Reconstruction of the ancestral phylogeography highlighted the high mobility of this species, identifying 22 strongly supported long‐range dispersal events including interoceanic and interhemispheric movement. Despite this propensity for geographic dispersal, the increased sampling of this study uncovered very few potential examples of ancestral dispersal among ecotypes. Concordance of nuclear and mitochondrial data further confirms genetic cohesiveness, with little or no current gene flow among sympatric ecotypes. Taken as a whole, our data suggest that the glacial cycles influenced local populations in different ways, with no clear global pattern, but with secondary contact among lineages following long‐range dispersal as a potential mechanism driving ecological diversification.

A multiproxy (micro‐XRF, pollen, chironomid and stable isotope) lake sediment record for the Lateglacial to Holocene transition from Thomastown Bog, Ireland - JONATHAN N. TURNER; NAOMI HOLMES; STEPHEN R. DAVIS; MELANIE J. LENG; CATHERINE LANGDON; ROBERT G. SCAIFE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
A multiproxy Lateglacial environmental record is presented for a ca. 3.5‐m lacustrine sequence retrieved from a small basin (ca. 2 km 2 ) at Thomastown Bog in County Meath, Ireland. Sediment chemistry, pollen, chironomid and stable isotope data provide a detailed picture of catchment and lake system changes from the end of the last glacial (GS‐2a) to the early Holocene that correspond closely to existing local and regional models of climate change. Concomitant adjustments in independent proxy records are matched to the NGRIP oxygen isotope curve giving 12 event‐episodes ranging from major climatic shifts to lower amplitude, centennial‐ to sub‐centennial‐scale adjustments, including a previously unreported regressive period of landscape instability during the north‐west European ‘Rammelbeek Phase’. The study emphasizes the potential of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction from sediment chemistry where the sediment mixing system reflects autochthonous versus allochthonous inputs. The investigation also indicates problems of interpreting isotope data derived from bulk marl due to possible lag effects controlling the delivery of soil and groundwater and multiple sources of HCO 3– (aq.). These research findings have implications for core site selection and for studies attempting to use stable isotopes for correlation purposes.

Advancing Product Quality: a Summary of the Inaugural FDA/PQRI Conference - Lawrence X. Yu; Jeffrey Baker; Susan C. Berlam; Ashley Boam; E. J. Brandreth; Lucinda Buhse; Thomas Cosgrove; David Doleski; Lynne Ensor; Joseph Famulare; Mohan Ganapathy; Gustavo Grampp; et al. (The AAPS Journal, 2015)

In Vitro, Pharmacokinetic, Pharmacodynamic, and Safety Comparisons of Single and Combined Administration of Tiotropium and Salmeterol in COPD Patients Using Different Dry Powder Inhalers - Stephen T. Horhota; Jan A. van Noord; Cynthia B. Verkleij; Loek J. Bour; Ashish Sharma; Michael Trunk; Piet J. G. Cornelissen (The AAPS Journal, 2015)

The Domain II S4-S5 Linker in Nav1.9: A Missense Mutation Enhances Activation, Impairs Fast Inactivation, and Produces Human Painful Neuropathy - Chongyang Han; Yang Yang; Bianca T. A. de Greef; Janneke G. J. Hoeijmakers; Monique M. Gerrits; Camiel Verhamme; Jian Qu; Giuseppe Lauria; Ingemar S. J. Merkies; Catharina G. Faber; Sulayman D. Dib-Hajj; Stephen G. Waxman (NeuroMolecular Medicine, 2015)

The effect of long-term regional pumping on hydrochemistry and dissolved gas content in an undeveloped shale-gas-bearing aquifer in southwestern Ontario, Canada - Stewart M. Hamilton; Stephen E. Grasby; Jennifer C. McIntosh; Stephen G. Osborn (Hydrogeology Journal, 2015)

Gray & white matter tissue contrast differentiates Mild Cognitive Impairment converters from non-converters - Angela L. Jefferson; Katherine A. Gifford; Stephen Damon; G. William Chapman; Dandan Liu; Jamie Sparling; Vitaly Dobromyslin; David Salat (Brain Imaging and Behavior, 2015)

Topographic controls on soil nitrogen availability in a lowland tropical forest - Samantha R. Weintraub; Philip G. Taylor; Stephen Porder; Cory C. Cleveland; Gregory P. Asner; Alan R. Townsend (Ecology, 2015)
Geomorphic position often correlates with nutrient cycling across landscapes. In tropical forests, topography is known to influence phosphorus (P) availability, but its effect on nitrogen (N) cycling has received less exploration, especially in lowland forests where widespread N richness is frequently assumed. Here, we report significant effects of topographic slope and landscape position on multiple aspects of the N cycle across a highly dissected lowland tropical forest on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. A suite of N cycle metrics measured along a topographic sequence revealed a distinct gradient in N availability. Values of soil δ 15 N, inorganic N pools, net nitrification rates, and nitrification potentials were all substantially lower on a flanking steep hillslope (~28°) compared to a relatively flat ridge top (~6°), indicating lower N availability and a less open N cycle in steep parts of the landscape. Slope soils also hosted smaller total carbon and nitrogen stocks and notably less weathered soil minerals than did ridge soils. These latter findings suggest that elevated N loss resulting from high rates of soil and particulate organic matter erosion could underpin the spatial variation in N cycling and availability. Expanding our analysis to the larger study landscape, a strong negative linear relationship between soil δ 15 N values and surface slope angles was observed. N isotope mass balance models suggest that this pattern is most plausibly explained by an increase in N loss via erosive, non‐fractioning pathways from steep zones, as most other variables commonly assumed to affect soil δ 15 N values (such as temperature, precipitation, and vegetation type) did not vary across the sampled region. Together, these results reveal notable hillslope‐scale variation in N richness and suggest an important role for non‐fractionating N loss in the maintenance of this pattern. Such findings highlight the importance of geomorphology and the significant capacity of erosion to influence N availability in steepland ecosystems.

Design of optimal ecosystem monitoring networks: hotspot detection and biodiversity patterns - Matteo Convertino; Rafael Muñoz-Carpena; Gregory A. Kiker; Stephen G. Perz (Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment, 2015)

Spatial heterogeneity and host repression in fig-fig wasp mutualism - RuiWu Wang; XiaoLan Wen; Chun Chen; Lei Shi; Stephen G. Compton (Science China Life Sciences, 2015)

Two-pore domain potassium channels enable action potential generation in the absence of voltage-gated potassium channels - Georgina MacKenzie; Nicholas P. Franks; Stephen G. Brickley (Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology, 2015)

Diversity and bioprospection of fungal community present in oligotrophic soil of continental Antarctica - Valéria M. Godinho; Vívian N. Gonçalves; Iara F. Santiago; Hebert M. Figueredo; Gislaine A. Vitoreli; Carlos E. G. R. Schaefer; Emerson C. Barbosa; Jaquelline G. Oliveira; Tânia M. A. Alves; Carlos L. Zani; Policarpo A. S. Junior; Silvane M. F. Murta; et al. (Extremophiles, 2015)

BAAD: a Biomass And Allometry Database for woody plants - Daniel S. Falster; Remko A. Duursma; Masae I. Ishihara; Diego R. Barneche; Richard G. FitzJohn; Angelica Vårhammar; Masahiro Aiba; Makoto Ando; Niels Anten; Michael J. Aspinwall; Jennifer L. Baltzer; Christopher Baraloto; et al. (Ecology, 2015)
Understanding how plants are constructed—i.e., how key size dimensions and the amount of mass invested in different tissues varies among individuals—is essential for modeling plant growth, carbon stocks, and energy fluxes in the terrestrial biosphere. Allocation patterns can differ through ontogeny, but also among coexisting species and among species adapted to different environments. While a variety of models dealing with biomass allocation exist, we lack a synthetic understanding of the underlying processes. This is partly due to the lack of suitable data sets for validating and parameterizing models. To that end, we present the Biomass And Allometry Database (BAAD) for woody plants. The BAAD contains 259 634 measurements collected in 176 different studies, from 21 084 individuals across 678 species. Most of these data come from existing publications. However, raw data were rarely made public at the time of publication. Thus, the BAAD contains data from different studies, transformed into standard units and variable names. The transformations were achieved using a common workflow for all raw data files. Other features that distinguish the BAAD are: (i) measurements were for individual plants rather than stand averages; (ii) individuals spanning a range of sizes were measured; (iii) plants from 0.01–100 m in height were included; and (iv) biomass was estimated directly, i.e., not indirectly via allometric equations (except in very large trees where biomass was estimated from detailed sub‐sampling). We included both wild and artificially grown plants. The data set contains the following size metrics: total leaf area; area of stem cross‐section including sapwood, heartwood, and bark; height of plant and crown base, crown area, and surface area; and the dry mass of leaf, stem, branches, sapwood, heartwood, bark, coarse roots, and fine root tissues. We also report other properties of individuals (age, leaf size, leaf mass per area, wood density, nitrogen content of leaves and wood), as well as information about the growing environment (location, light, experimental treatment, vegetation type) where available. It is our hope that making these data available will improve our ability to understand plant growth, ecosystem dynamics, and carbon cycling in the world's vegetation.

Demographic heterogeneity and the dynamics of open populations - Erik G. Noonburg; Adam Chen; Jeffrey S. Shima; Stephen E. Swearer (Ecology, 2015)
Individuals vary in their phenotype and propensity for growth and survival, but the demographic consequences of this remain poorly understood. We extend previous theoretical work on benthic marine populations and formulate a new model to evaluate how demographic heterogeneity among newly settled reef fish affects population stability. We simulated settlement, growth, and mortality of a small reef fish, the common triplefin ( Forsterygion lapillum ) in an open “subpopulation” using a delay‐differential equation model framework. We modeled demographic heterogeneity with a discrete number of “quality” types, motivated by our previous empirical observations: individuals were either “high quality” (immigrants from nearby subpopulations) or “low quality” (immigrants from distant subpopulations); in our model, quality influences how quickly individuals develop at a given competitor density. Our results demonstrate how demographic heterogeneity and juvenile competition interact to qualitatively alter the effects of settlement on population stability. Specifically, our model suggests that a mixture of quality types can stabilize the equilibrium even when equal settlement of either type alone would result in an unstable equilibrium. These results highlight the importance of among‐individual variation in a metapopulation context, and suggest that in systems where dispersal influences individual quality, connectivity may serve to stabilize local populations.

Effect of Simvastatin on MMPs and TIMPs in Human Brain Endothelial Cells and Experimental Stroke - Björn Reuter; Claus Rodemer; Saskia Grudzenski; Stephen Meairs; Peter Bugert; Michael G. Hennerici; Marc Fatar (Translational Stroke Research, 2015)

Application of life cycle assessment to sheep production systems: investigating co-production of wool and meat using case studies from major global producers - Stephen G. Wiedemann; Stewart F. Ledgard; Beverley K. Henry; Ming-Jia Yan; Ningtao Mao; Stephen J. Russell (The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2015)

Heterologous expression of a Volvox cell adhesion molecule causes flocculation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - Levi G. Lowder; Stephen K. Herbert (Journal of Applied Phycology, 2015)

BioEarth: Envisioning and developing a new regional earth system model to inform natural and agricultural resource management - Jennifer C. Adam; Jennie C. Stephens; Serena H. Chung; Michael P. Brady; R. David Evans; Chad E. Kruger; Brian K. Lamb; Mingliang Liu; Claudio O. Stöckle; Joseph K. Vaughan; Kirti Rajagopalan; John A. Harrison; et al. (Climatic Change, 2015)

Benefits of integrating complementarity into priority threat management - Iadine Chadés; Sam Nicol; Stephen van Leeuwen; Belinda Walters; Jennifer Firn; Andrew Reeson; Tara G. Martin; Josie Carwardine (Conservation Biology, 2015)
Conservation decision tools based on cost‐effectiveness analysis are used to assess threat management strategies for improving species persistence. These approaches rank alternative strategies by their benefit to cost ratio but may fail to identify the optimal sets of strategies to implement under limited budgets because they do not account for redundancies. We devised a multiobjective optimization approach in which the complementarity principle is applied to identify the sets of threat management strategies that protect the most species for any budget. We used our approach to prioritize threat management strategies for 53 species of conservation concern in the Pilbara, Australia. We followed a structured elicitation approach to collect information on the benefits and costs of implementing 17 different conservation strategies during a 3‐day workshop with 49 stakeholders and experts in the biodiversity, conservation, and management of the Pilbara. We compared the performance of our complementarity priority threat management approach with a current cost‐effectiveness ranking approach. A complementary set of 3 strategies: domestic herbivore management, fire management and research, and sanctuaries provided all species with >50% chance of persistence for $4.7 million/year over 20 years. Achieving the same result cost almost twice as much ($9.71 million/year) when strategies were selected by their cost‐effectiveness ranks alone. Our results show that complementarity of management benefits has the potential to double the impact of priority threat management approaches.

Time Reversal Imaging of the Tsunami Source - M. Jakir Hossen; Phil R. Cummins; Stephen G. Roberts; Sebastien Allgeyer (Pure and Applied Geophysics, 2015)

A whole-lake experiment to control invasive rainbow smelt (Actinoperygii, Osmeridae) via overharvest and a food web manipulation - Jereme W. Gaeta; Thomas R. Hrabik; Greg G. Sass; Brian M. Roth; Stephen J. Gilbert; M. Jake Vander Zanden (Hydrobiologia, 2015)

Synthesis: climate effects on biodiversity, abundance and distribution of marine organisms in the B enguela - Astrid Jarre; Laurence Hutchings; Stephen P. Kirkman; Anja Kreiner; Pedro C.M. Tchipalanga; Paulus Kainge; Uatjavi Uanivi; Anja K. van der Plas; Laura K. Blamey; Janet C. Coetzee; Tarron Lamont; Toufiek Samaai; et al. (Fisheries Oceanography, 2015)
The N ans C lim project (2010–2013) represented a regional collaboration to assess the effects of climate on B enguela dynamics. Based on in situ (since the 1960s in N amibia and S outh A frica and 1985 in A ngola) and satellite (since the 1980s) observations, the project focussed on four subsystems, namely the A ngola subtropical, northern B enguela upwelling, southern B enguela upwelling and A gulhas B ank. This contribution summarizes the findings for selected key questions, ranging from changes in the physico‐chemical habitats, plankton, pelagic and demersal fish communities, to cross‐cutting evaluation at subsystem and regional scales. The results underline the overriding importance to of considering the combined effects of climate and fishing as drivers of the dynamics of the ecosystem components. Each subsystem currently continues to function largely as a separate entity as described in earlier reviews. However, some changes have been observed across several subsystems, e.g., a coherent shift from one relatively stable period to another occurred in the northern and southern B enguela in the mid‐1990s. Future climate change could weaken the boundaries between the four subystems. The findings underline the need for continued regional research collaboration and regional surveys focussed at ecosystem, rather than resource, assessment. Our conclusions include implications for ecosystem‐based fisheries management, and recommendations for future regional research.

CTFS ‐Forest GEO : a worldwide network monitoring forests in an era of global change - Kristina J. Anderson‐Teixeira; Stuart J. Davies; Amy C. Bennett; Erika B. Gonzalez‐Akre; Helene C. Muller‐Landau; S. Joseph Wright; Kamariah Abu Salim; Angélica M. Almeyda Zambrano; Alfonso Alonso; Jennifer L. Baltzer; Yves Basset; Norman A. Bourg; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2015)
Global change is impacting forests worldwide, threatening biodiversity and ecosystem services including climate regulation. Understanding how forests respond is critical to forest conservation and climate protection. This review describes an international network of 59 long‐term forest dynamics research sites ( CTFS ‐Forest GEO ) useful for characterizing forest responses to global change. Within very large plots (median size 25 ha), all stems ≥1 cm diameter are identified to species, mapped, and regularly recensused according to standardized protocols. CTFS ‐Forest GEO spans 25°S–61°N latitude, is generally representative of the range of bioclimatic, edaphic, and topographic conditions experienced by forests worldwide, and is the only forest monitoring network that applies a standardized protocol to each of the world's major forest biomes. Supplementary standardized measurements at subsets of the sites provide additional information on plants, animals, and ecosystem and environmental variables. CTFS ‐Forest GEO sites are experiencing multifaceted anthropogenic global change pressures including warming (average 0.61 °C), changes in precipitation (up to ±30% change), atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfur compounds (up to 3.8 g N m −2 yr −1 and 3.1 g S m −2 yr −1 ), and forest fragmentation in the surrounding landscape (up to 88% reduced tree cover within 5 km). The broad suite of measurements made at CTFS ‐Forest GEO sites makes it possible to investigate the complex ways in which global change is impacting forest dynamics. Ongoing research across the CTFS ‐Forest GEO network is yielding insights into how and why the forests are changing, and continued monitoring will provide vital contributions to understanding worldwide forest diversity and dynamics in an era of global change.

Species–area relationships are modulated by trophic rank, habitat affinity, and dispersal ability - C. G. E. (Toos) van Noordwijk; Wilco C. E. P. Verberk; Hans Turin; Theodoor Heijerman; Kees Alders; Wouter Dekoninck; Karsten Hannig; Eugenie Regan; Stephen McCormack; Mark J. F. Brown; Eva Remke; Henk Siepel; et al. (Ecology, 2015)
In the face of ongoing habitat fragmentation, species–area relationships (SARs) have gained renewed interest and are increasingly used to set conservation priorities. An important question is how large habitat areas need to be to optimize biodiversity conservation. The relationship between area and species richness is explained by colonization–extinction dynamics, whereby smaller sites harbor smaller populations, which are more prone to extinction than the larger populations sustained by larger sites. These colonization–extinction dynamics are predicted to vary with trophic rank, habitat affinity, and dispersal ability of the species. However, empirical evidence for the effect of these species characteristics on SARs remains inconclusive. In this study we used carabid beetle data from 58 calcareous grassland sites to investigate how calcareous grassland area affects species richness and activity density for species differing in trophic rank, habitat affinity, and dispersal ability. In addition, we investigated how SARs are affected by the availability of additional calcareous grassland in the surrounding landscape. Beetle species richness and activity density increased with calcareous grassland area for zoophagous species that are specialists for dry grasslands and, to a lesser extent, for zoophagous habitat generalists. Phytophagous species and zoophagous forest and wet‐grassland specialists were not affected by calcareous grassland area. The dependence of species on large single sites increased with decreasing dispersal ability for species already vulnerable to calcareous grassland area. Additional calcareous grassland in the landscape had a positive effect on local species richness of both dry‐grassland specialists and generalists, but this effect was restricted to a few hundred meters. Our results demonstrate that SARs are affected by trophic rank, habitat affinity, and dispersal ability. These species characteristics do not operate independently, but should be viewed in concert. In addition, species' responses depend on the landscape context. Our study suggests that the impact of habitat area on trophic interactions may be larger than previously anticipated. In small habitat fragments surrounded by a hostile matrix, food chains may be strongly disrupted. This highlights the need to conserve continuous calcareous grassland patches of at least several hectares in size.

Applying the Value-Belief-Norm Theory to Marine Contexts: Implications for Encouraging Pro-Environmental Behavior - Christopher J. Wynveen; Brooklynn J. Wynveen; Stephen G. Sutton (Coastal Management, 2015)

Plasmopara sphagneticolae sp. nov. (Peronosporales) on Sphagneticola (Asteraceae) in Australia - Alistair R. McTaggart; Louise S. Shuey; Stephen G. McKenna; Richard I. Davis; Roger G. Shivas (Australasian Plant Pathology, 2015)

Extreme daily loads: role in annual phosphorus input to a north temperate lake - Stephen R. Carpenter; Eric G. Booth; Christopher J. Kucharik; Richard C. Lathrop (Aquatic Sciences, 2015)

Light-absorbing particles in snow and ice: Measurement and modeling of climatic and hydrological impact - Yun Qian; Teppei J. Yasunari; Sarah J. Doherty; Mark G. Flanner; William K. M. Lau; Jing Ming; Hailong Wang; Mo Wang; Stephen G. Warren; Rudong Zhang (Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 2015)

Fire in Australian savannas: from leaf to landscape - Jason Beringer; Lindsay B. Hutley; David Abramson; Stefan K. Arndt; Peter Briggs; Mila Bristow; Josep G. Canadell; Lucas A. Cernusak; Derek Eamus; Andrew C. Edwards; Bradley J. Evans; Benedikt Fest; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2015)
Savanna ecosystems comprise 22% of the global terrestrial surface and 25% of Australia (almost 1.9 million km 2 ) and provide significant ecosystem services through carbon and water cycles and the maintenance of biodiversity. The current structure, composition and distribution of Australian savannas have coevolved with fire, yet remain driven by the dynamic constraints of their bioclimatic niche. Fire in Australian savannas influences both the biophysical and biogeochemical processes at multiple scales from leaf to landscape. Here, we present the latest emission estimates from Australian savanna biomass burning and their contribution to global greenhouse gas budgets. We then review our understanding of the impacts of fire on ecosystem function and local surface water and heat balances, which in turn influence regional climate. We show how savanna fires are coupled to the global climate through the carbon cycle and fire regimes. We present new research that climate change is likely to alter the structure and function of savannas through shifts in moisture availability and increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, in turn altering fire regimes with further feedbacks to climate. We explore opportunities to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from savanna ecosystems through changes in savanna fire management.

Overexpression of AtDREB1D transcription factor improves drought tolerance in soybean - Satish K. Guttikonda; Babu Valliyodan; Anjanasree K. Neelakandan; Lam-Son Phan Tran; Rajesh Kumar; Truyen N. Quach; Priyamvada Voothuluru; Juan J. Gutierrez-Gonzalez; Donavan L. Aldrich; Stephen G. Pallardy; Robert E. Sharp; Tuan-Hua David Ho; et al. (Molecular Biology Reports, 2014)

The 1997 Mount Munday landslide (British Columbia) and the behaviour of rock avalanches on glacier surfaces - Keith B. Delaney; Stephen G. Evans (Landslides, 2014)

Predicting potential responses to future climate in an alpine ungulate: interspecific interactions exceed climate effects - Tom H.E. Mason; Philip A. Stephens; Marco Apollonio; Stephen G. Willis (Global Change Biology, 2014)
The altitudinal shifts of many montane populations are lagging behind climate change. Understanding habitual, daily behavioural rhythms, and their climatic and environmental influences, could shed light on the constraints on long‐term upslope range‐shifts. In addition, behavioural rhythms can be affected by interspecific interactions, which can ameliorate or exacerbate climate‐driven effects on ecology. Here, we investigate the relative influences of ambient temperature and an interaction with domestic sheep ( Ovis aries ) on the altitude use and activity budgets of a mountain ungulate, the Alpine chamois ( Rupicapra rupicapra ). Chamois moved upslope when it was hotter but this effect was modest compared to that of the presence of sheep, to which they reacted by moving 89–103 m upslope, into an entirely novel altitudinal range. Across the European Alps, a range‐shift of this magnitude corresponds to a 46% decrease in the availability of suitable foraging habitat. This highlights the importance of understanding how factors such as competition and disturbance shape a given species’ realised niche when predicting potential future responses to change. Furthermore, it exposes the potential for manipulations of species interactions to ameliorate the impacts of climate change, in this case by the careful management of livestock. Such manipulations could be particularly appropriate for species where competition or disturbance already strongly restricts their available niche. Our results also reveal the potential role of behavioural flexibility in responses to climate change. Chamois reduced their activity when it was warmer, which could explain their modest altitudinal migrations. Considering this behavioural flexibility, our model predicts a small 15–30 m upslope shift by 2100 in response to climate change, less than 4% of the altitudinal shift that would be predicted using a traditional species distribution model‐type approach ( SDM ), which assumes that species’ behaviour remains unchanged as climate changes. Behavioural modifications could strongly affect how species respond to a changing climate.

The cumulative impact of annual coral bleaching can turn some coral species winners into losers - Andréa G. Grottoli; Mark E. Warner; Stephen J. Levas; Matthew D. Aschaffenburg; Verena Schoepf; Michael McGinley; Justin Baumann; Yohei Matsui (Global Change Biology, 2014)
Mass coral bleaching events caused by elevated seawater temperatures result in extensive coral loss throughout the tropics, and are projected to increase in frequency and severity. If bleaching becomes an annual event later in this century, more than 90% of coral reefs worldwide may be at risk of long‐term degradation. While corals can recover from single isolated bleaching and can acclimate to recurring bleaching events that are separated by multiple years, it is currently unknown if and how they will survive and possibly acclimatize to annual coral bleaching. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that annual coral bleaching can dramatically alter thermal tolerance in Caribbean corals. We found that high coral energy reserves and changes in the dominant algal endosymbiont type ( Symbiodinium spp.) facilitated rapid acclimation in Porites divaricata , whereas low energy reserves and a lack of algal phenotypic plasticity significantly increased susceptibility in Porites astreoides to bleaching the following year. Phenotypic plasticity in the dominant endosymbiont type of Orbicella faveolata did not prevent repeat bleaching, but may have facilitated rapid recovery. Thus, coral holobiont response to an isolated single bleaching event is not an accurate predictor of its response to bleaching the following year. Rather, the cumulative impact of annual coral bleaching can turn some coral species ‘winners’ into ‘losers’, and can also facilitate acclimation and turn some coral species ‘losers’ into ‘winners’. Overall, these findings indicate that cumulative impact of annual coral bleaching could result in some species becoming increasingly susceptible to bleaching and face a long‐term decline, while phenotypically plastic coral species will acclimatize and persist. Thus, annual coral bleaching and recovery could contribute to the selective loss of coral diversity as well as the overall decline of coral reefs in the Caribbean.

Foundress Fig Wasps are More Likely to Re-emerge From Older Figs - Shazia Raja; Nazia Suleman; Stephen G. Compton (Journal of Insect Behavior, 2014)

Prolonged isolation and persistence of a common endemic on granite outcrops in both mesic and semi‐arid environments in south‐western Australia - Sarah‐Louise Tapper; Margaret Byrne; Colin J. Yates; Gunnar Keppel; Stephen D. Hopper; Kimberly Van Niel; Antonius G. T. Schut; Laco Mucina; Grant W. Wardell‐Johnson (Journal of Biogeography, 2014)
Aim Granite outcrops may be able to act as refugia for species during adverse climate change, owing to their topographic complexity. We assessed this hypothesis by examining phylogeographical patterns in a common, geographically widespread granite endemic, Stypandra glauca (Hemerocallidaceae). Location Granite outcrops of the Southwest Australian Floristic Region, Western Australia. Methods Twenty‐four tetraploid individuals of the granite endemic Stypandra glauca were sampled from each of 12 granite outcrops: 7 from a mesic environment and 5 from the semi‐arid region. Phylogenetic reconstruction and divergence‐dating was achieved using Bayesian and parsimony analyses of chloroplast haplotypes from 90 individuals. Nuclear diversity and population differentiation were analysed across all individuals using 10 microsatellite loci. Results Stypandra glauca exhibited high (chloroplast) or moderate (nuclear) levels of divergence among, and low diversity within, outcrops. Haplotype diversity was high in both sampling regions, and each haplotype was unique to one outcrop. There was little correlation between geographical and genetic distance. Both nuclear and chloroplast diversity were higher in southern (mesic) outcrops than in northern (semi‐arid) outcrops, although the level of chloroplast divergence among outcrops was similar for both climatic regions. Main conclusions The levels of divergence and low diversity revealed in S. glauca support a scenario of prolonged isolation and persistence on granite outcrops in both mesic and semi‐arid climatic regions, with no evidence of contraction–expansion dynamics across the outcrop network. The higher levels of diversity in the southern populations may result from the maintenance of a larger effective population size in southern regions, which retained more mesic climates during drier glacial periods. Although the climatic conditions differ between outcrops in this study, our results indicate that outcrops in both regions have harboured S. glauca throughout climatic changes, accentuating the value of these habitats to biodiversity conservation under future changing climate.

Microscale sulfur cycling in the phototrophic pink berry consortia of the S ippewissett S alt M arsh - Elizabeth G. Wilbanks; Ulrike Jaekel; Verena Salman; Parris T. Humphrey; Jonathan A. Eisen; Marc T. Facciotti; Daniel H. Buckley; Stephen H. Zinder; Gregory K. Druschel; David A. Fike; Victoria J. Orphan (Environmental Microbiology, 2014)
Summary Microbial metabolism is the engine that drives global biogeochemical cycles, yet many key transformations are carried out by microbial consortia over short spatiotemporal scales that elude detection by traditional analytical approaches. We investigate syntrophic sulfur cycling in the ‘pink berry’ consortia of the S ippewissett S alt M arsh through an integrative study at the microbial scale. The pink berries are macroscopic, photosynthetic microbial aggregates composed primarily of two closely associated species: sulfide‐oxidizing purple sulfur bacteria ( PB ‐ PSB 1) and sulfate‐reducing bacteria ( PB ‐ SRB 1). Using metagenomic sequencing and 34 S ‐enriched sulfate stable isotope probing coupled with nanoSIMS , we demonstrate interspecies transfer of reduced sulfur metabolites from PB ‐ SRB 1 to PB ‐ PSB 1. The pink berries catalyse net sulfide oxidation and maintain internal sulfide concentrations of 0–500 μ m . Sulfide within the berries, captured on silver wires and analysed using secondary ion mass spectrometer, increased in abundance towards the berry interior, while δ 34 S‐ sulfide decreased from 6‰ to −31‰ from the exterior to interior of the berry. These values correspond to sulfate–sulfide isotopic fractionations (15–53‰) consistent with either sulfate reduction or a mixture of reductive and oxidative metabolisms. Together this combined metagenomic and high‐resolution isotopic analysis demonstrates active sulfur cycling at the microscale within well‐structured macroscopic consortia consisting of sulfide‐oxidizing anoxygenic phototrophs and sulfate‐reducing bacteria.

Diverse trends in shell weight of three Southern Ocean pteropod taxa collected with Polar Frontal Zone sediment traps from 1997 to 2007 - Donna Roberts; William R. Howard; Jason L. Roberts; Stephen G. Bray; Andrew D. Moy; Thomas W. Trull; Russell R. Hopcroft (Polar Biology, 2014)

Increased air velocity during exercise in the heat leads to equal reductions in hydration shifts and interleukin-6 with age - Heather E. Wright-Beatty; Stephen G. Hardcastle; Pierre Boulay; Joanie Larose; Glen P. Kenny (European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2014)

Huckleberry Gold: A Specialty Market Potato Cultivar with Purple-Skin, Yellow-Flesh, High Tuber Antioxidants, and Resistance to Potato Cyst Nematode (H1) and Potato virus X (Nb and Rx1) - Jonathan L. Whitworth; Richard G. Novy; Jeffrey C. Stark; Stephen L. Love; Michael K. Thornton; Brian A. Charlton; Solomon Yilma; N. Richard Knowles; Mark J. Pavek; Xiaohong Wang; Joseph J. Pavek (American Journal of Potato Research, 2014)

Changing forest water yields in response to climate warming: results from long‐term experimental watershed sites across North America - Irena F. Creed; Adam T. Spargo; Julia A. Jones; Jim M. Buttle; Mary B. Adams; Fred D. Beall; Eric G. Booth; John L. Campbell; Dave Clow; Kelly Elder; Mark B. Green; Nancy B. Grimm; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2014)
Climate warming is projected to affect forest water yields but the effects are expected to vary. We investigated how forest type and age affect water yield resilience to climate warming. To answer this question, we examined the variability in historical water yields at long‐term experimental catchments across Canada and the United States over 5‐year cool and warm periods. Using the theoretical framework of the Budyko curve, we calculated the effects of climate warming on the annual partitioning of precipitation ( P ) into evapotranspiration ( ET ) and water yield. Deviation ( d ) was defined as a catchment's change in actual ET divided by P [ AET / P ; evaporative index ( EI )] coincident with a shift from a cool to a warm period – a positive d indicates an upward shift in EI and smaller than expected water yields, and a negative d indicates a downward shift in EI and larger than expected water yields. Elasticity was defined as the ratio of interannual variation in potential ET divided by P ( PET / P ; dryness index) to interannual variation in the EI – high elasticity indicates low d despite large range in drying index (i.e., resilient water yields), low elasticity indicates high d despite small range in drying index (i.e., nonresilient water yields). Although the data needed to fully evaluate ecosystems based on these metrics are limited, we were able to identify some characteristics of response among forest types. Alpine sites showed the greatest sensitivity to climate warming with any warming leading to increased water yields. Conifer forests included catchments with lowest elasticity and stable to larger water yields. Deciduous forests included catchments with intermediate elasticity and stable to smaller water yields. Mixed coniferous/deciduous forests included catchments with highest elasticity and stable water yields. Forest type appeared to influence the resilience of catchment water yields to climate warming, with conifer and deciduous catchments more susceptible to climate warming than the more diverse mixed forest catchments.

A genetic association study detects haplotypes associated with obstructive heart defects - Ming Li; Mario A. Cleves; Himel Mallick; Stephen W. Erickson; Xinyu Tang; Todd G. Nick; Stewart L. Macleod; Charlotte A. Hobbs (Human Genetics, 2014)

Potential Applicability of Persuasive Communication to Light-Glow Reduction Efforts: A Case Study of Marine Turtle Conservation - Ruth L. Kamrowski; Stephen G. Sutton; Renae C. Tobin; Mark Hamann (Environmental Management, 2014)

Isolation via 454 sequencing, and characterisation of microsatellite markers for the Pilbara endemic Acacia atkinsiana (Fabaceae) - Esther Levy; Margaret Byrne; David J. Coates; Stephen J. van Leeuwen; Shelley McArthur; Bronwyn Macdonald; Michael G. Gardner (Conservation Genetics Resources, 2014)

A cautionary note on the discrete uniform prior for the binomial N : comment - Cristiano Villa; Stephen G. Walker (Ecology, 2014)

Characterization of a New Model of Thromboembolic Stroke in C57 black/6J mice - Saema Ansar; Eva Chatzikonstantinou; Anja Wistuba-Schier; Silvia Mirau-Weber; Marc Fatar; Michael G. Hennerici; Stephen Meairs (Translational Stroke Research, 2014)

The association between race and prostate cancer risk on initial biopsy in an equal access, multiethnic cohort - Alexis R. Gaines; Elizabeth L. Turner; Patricia G. Moorman; Stephen J. Freedland; Christopher J. Keto; Megan E. McPhail; Delores J. Grant; Adriana C. Vidal; Cathrine Hoyo (Cancer Causes & Control, 2014)

A newly discovered role of evolution in previously published consumer–resource dynamics - Teppo Hiltunen; Nelson G. Hairston; Giles Hooker; Laura E. Jones; Stephen P. Ellner (Ecology Letters, 2014)
Consumer–resource interactions are fundamental components of ecological communities. Classic features of consumer–resource models are that temporal dynamics are often cyclic, with a ¼‐period lag between resource and consumer population peaks. However, there are few published empirical examples of this pattern. Here, we show that many published examples of consumer–resource cycling show instead patterns indicating eco‐evolutionary dynamics. When prey evolve along a trade‐off between defence and competitive ability, two‐species consumer–resource cycles become longer and antiphase (half‐period lag, so consumer maxima coincide with minima of the resource species). Using stringent criteria, we identified 21 two‐species consumer–resource time series, published between 1934 and 1997, suitable to investigate for eco‐evolutionary dynamics. We developed a statistical method to probe for a transition from classic to eco‐evolutionary cycles, and find evidence for eco‐evolutionary type cycles in about half of the studies. We show that rapid prey evolution is the most likely explanation for the observed patterns.

Use of Multispecies Occupancy Models to Evaluate the Response of Bird Communities to Forest Degradation Associated with Logging - EDUARDO CARRILLO‐RUBIO; MARC KÉRY; STEPHEN J. MORREALE; PATRICK J. SULLIVAN; BETH GARDNER; EVAN G. COOCH; JAMES P. LASSOIE (Conservation Biology, 2014)
Forest degradation is arguably the greatest threat to biodiversity, ecosystem services, and rural livelihoods. Therefore, increasing understanding of how organisms respond to degradation is essential for management and conservation planning. We were motivated by the need for rapid and practical analytical tools to assess the influence of management and degradation on biodiversity and system state in areas subject to rapid environmental change. We compared bird community composition and size in managed (ejido, i.e., communally owned lands) and unmanaged (national park) forests in the Sierra Tarahumara region, Mexico, using multispecies occupancy models and data from a 2‐year breeding bird survey. Unmanaged sites had on average higher species occupancy and richness than managed sites. Most species were present in low numbers as indicated by lower values of detection and occupancy associated with logging‐induced degradation. Less than 10% of species had occupancy probabilities >0.5, and degradation had no positive effects on occupancy. The estimated metacommunity size of 125 exceeded previous estimates for the region, and sites with mature trees and uneven‐aged forest stand characteristics contained the highest species richness. Higher estimation uncertainty and decreases in richness and occupancy for all species, including habitat generalists, were associated with degraded young, even‐aged stands. Our findings show that multispecies occupancy methods provide tractable measures of biodiversity and system state and valuable decision support for landholders and managers. These techniques can be used to rapidly address gaps in biodiversity information, threats to biodiversity, and vulnerabilities of species of interest on a landscape level, even in degraded or fast‐changing environments. Moreover, such tools may be particularly relevant in the assessment of species richness and distribution in a wide array of habitats. Uso de Modelos de Ocupación para Múltiples Especies para Evaluar la Respuesta de las Comunidades de Aves a la Degradación de Bosques Asociada con la Tala

Understanding Pharmaceutical Quality by Design - Lawrence X. Yu; Gregory Amidon; Mansoor A. Khan; Stephen W. Hoag; James Polli; G. K. Raju; Janet Woodcock (The AAPS Journal, 2014)

Maternal and birth characteristics and childhood rhabdomyosarcoma: a report from the Children’s Oncology Group - Philip J. Lupo; Heather E. Danysh; Stephen X. Skapek; Douglas S. Hawkins; Logan G. Spector; Renke Zhou; M. Fatih Okcu; Karin Papworth; Erik B. Erhardt; Seymour Grufferman (Cancer Causes & Control, 2014)

Gestational hypertension and the developmental origins of cardiac hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction - David W. J. Armstrong; M. Yat Tse; Philip G. Wong; Nicole M. Ventura; Jalna A. Meens; Amer M. Johri; Murray F. Matangi; Stephen C. Pang (Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 2014)

Post-transcriptional regulation of ITGB6 protein levels in damaged skeletal muscle - Melissa Ducceschi; Lisa G. Clifton; Stephen A. Stimpson; Andrew N. Billin (Journal of Molecular Histology, 2014)

The ENIGMA Consortium: large-scale collaborative analyses of neuroimaging and genetic data - Paul M. Thompson; Jason L. Stein; Sarah E. Medland; Derrek P. Hibar; Alejandro Arias Vasquez; Miguel E. Renteria; Roberto Toro; Neda Jahanshad; Gunter Schumann; Barbara Franke; Margaret J. Wright; Nicholas G. Martin; et al. (Brain Imaging and Behavior, 2014)

Complete genome analysis of three isolates of narcissus late season yellows virus and two of narcissus yellow stripe virus: three species or one? - Stephen J. Wylie; Hua Li; Krishnapillai Sivasithamparam; Michael G. K. Jones (Archives of Virology, 2014)

The Achilles heel for spiny lobsters: the energetics of the non‐feeding post‐larval stage - Quinn P Fitzgibbon; Andrew G Jeffs; Stephen C Battaglene (Fish and Fisheries, 2014)
Spiny lobsters are highly valuable seafood species that are captured and marketed in more than 90 countries. After more than 30 years of stable catches, spiny lobster fisheries in many parts of the world are declining due to decreased recruitment. The planktonic larvae spend up to 2 years in offshore waters, accumulating energy stores to fuel the non‐feeding post‐larva, or puerulus, to actively migrate onshore and settle. The total energy required by spiny lobster pueruli for cross‐shelf migration has not been accurately determined. Recent advances in larval culture have provided the opportunity for the first detailed examination of the swimming performance, respiratory metabolism and nitrogen excretion of spiny lobster ( Sagmariasus verreauxi ) throughout the puerulus stage. The routine and active metabolic rates of pueruli were lower than for most other decapod larvae, probably to provide greater energy efficiency. However, pueruli were found to have limited time, swimming ability and fuel for active cross‐shelf migration. It is estimated that S. verreauxi pueruli require at least 13.8 mg of stored lipid to provide sufficient energy (18.4% DW ) to complete the puerulus stage and recruit to coastal habitats. The ability of the preceding phyllosoma larvae to accumulate these reserves, and the presence of favourable oceanographic conditions during the limited time available to the migrating puerulus, are both crucial to subsequent successful recruitment. Spiny lobster recruitment processes appear to be particularly vulnerable to changes in oceanic climate which is likely to contribute to the recent large‐scale declines in recruitment to valuable fished populations.

Seed germination and phytochemical evaluation in seedlings of Aloe arborescens Mill. - Manoj G. Kulkarni; Stephen O. Amoo; Laxman S. Kandari; Johannes Van Staden (Plant Biosystems, 2014)

Assessing climate-change risks to cultural and natural resources in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA - James R. Hatten; Stephen M. Waste; Alec G. Maule (Climatic Change, 2014)

Carbon storage in tropical forests correlates with taxonomic diversity and functional dominance on a global scale - Kyle C. Cavanaugh; J. Stephen Gosnell; Samantha L. Davis; Jorge Ahumada; Patrick Boundja; David B. Clark; Badru Mugerwa; Patrick A. Jansen; Timothy G. O'Brien; Francesco Rovero; Douglas Sheil; Rodolfo Vasquez; et al. (Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2014)
Aim We examined (1) the relationships between aboveground tropical forest C storage, biodiversity and environmental drivers and (2) how these relationships inform theory concerning ecosystem function and biodiversity. Experiments have shown that there is a positive relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but intense debate exists on the underlying mechanisms. While some argue that mechanisms such as niche complementarity increase ecosystem function, others argue that these relationships are a selection effect. Location Eleven tropical forests in the A mericas, A frica and A sia. Methods We analysed the correlates of biodiversity and carbon storage in tropical forests using data from 59 1‐ha tree plots from a standardized global tropical forest biodiversity‐monitoring network. We examined taxonomic and functional diversity, aboveground C storage and environmental variables in order to determine the relationships between biodiversity and carbon storage in natural (non‐plantation) tropical forests. Results We found that aboveground C storage in tropical forests increased with both taxonomic diversity and functional dominance, specifically the dominance of genera with large maximum diameters, after potential environmental drivers were accounted for (final model R 2 = 0.38, P Main conclusions Our results suggest that niche complementarity and the selection effect are not mutually exclusive: they both play a role in structuring tropical forests. While previous studies have documented relationships between diversity and C storage, these have largely been conducted on small scales in biomes that are relatively species poor compared with tropical forests (e.g. grasslands and temperate or boreal forests). Our results demonstrate that these positive biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships are also present in hyperdiverse systems on spatial scales relevant to conservation and management. This insight can be used to inform the conservation and management of tropical forests, which play a critical role in the global carbon cycle and are some of the biologically richest ecosystems on the planet.

Surveillance of Disease and Injury in Wisconsin Dairy Farmers and Workers - Matthew C. Keifer; Scott Sandberg; Iris Anne Reyes; Stephen C. Waring; Bruce H. Alexander; Susan G. Gerberich (Journal of Agromedicine, 2014)

Yellow tailflower mild mottle virus: a new tobamovirus described from Anthocercis littorea (Solanaceae) in Western Australia - Stephen J. Wylie; Hua Li; Michael G. K. Jones (Archives of Virology, 2014)

Sex‐Biased Inbreeding Effects on Reproductive Success and Home Range Size of the Critically Endangered Black Rhinoceros - BRADLEY CAIN; ANTONY B. WANDERA; SUSAN G. SHAWCROSS; W. EDWIN HARRIS; BARRY STEVENS‐WOOD; STEPHEN J. KEMP; BENSON OKITA‐OUMA; PHILLIP C. WATTS (Conservation Biology, 2014)
A central premise of conservation biology is that small populations suffer reduced viability through loss of genetic diversity and inbreeding. However, there is little evidence that variation in inbreeding impacts individual reproductive success within remnant populations of threatened taxa, largely due to problems associated with obtaining comprehensive pedigree information to estimate inbreeding. In the critically endangered black rhinoceros, a species that experienced severe demographic reductions, we used model selection to identify factors associated with variation in reproductive success (number of offspring). Factors examined as predictors of reproductive success were age, home range size, number of nearby mates, reserve location, and multilocus heterozygosity (a proxy for inbreeding). Multilocus heterozygosity predicted male reproductive success (p 58%) and correlated with male home range size ( p r 2 > 44%). Such effects were not apparent in females, where reproductive success was determined by age ( p Efectos de la Endogamia Sesgada por el Sexo sobre el Éxito Reproductivo y el Rango del Tamaño de Hábitat del Rinoceronte Negro, Especie en Peligro Crítico

Using Changes in Agricultural Utility to Quantify Future Climate‐Induced Risk to Conservation - LYNDON D. ESTES; LYDIE‐LINE PAROZ; BETHANY A. BRADLEY; JONATHAN M.H. GREEN; DAVID G. HOLE; STEPHEN HOLNESS; GUY ZIV; MICHAEL G. OPPENHEIMER; DAVID S. WILCOVE (Conservation Biology, 2014)
Much of the biodiversity‐related climate change impacts research has focused on the direct effects to species and ecosystems. Far less attention has been paid to the potential ecological consequences of human efforts to address the effects of climate change, which may equal or exceed the direct effects of climate change on biodiversity. One of the most significant human responses is likely to be mediated through changes in the agricultural utility of land. As farmers adapt their practices to changing climates, they may increase pressure on some areas that are important to conserve (conservation lands) whereas lessening it on others. We quantified how the agricultural utility of South African conservation lands may be altered by climate change. We assumed that the probability of an area being farmed is linked to the economic benefits of doing so, using land productivity values to represent production benefit and topographic ruggedness as a proxy for costs associated with mechanical workability. We computed current and future values of maize and wheat production in key conservation lands using the DSSAT4.5 model and 36 crop‐climate response scenarios. Most conservation lands had, and were predicted to continue to have, low agricultural utility because of their location in rugged terrain. However, several areas were predicted to maintain or gain high agricultural utility and may therefore be at risk of near‐term or future conversion to cropland. Conversely, some areas were predicted to decrease in agricultural utility and may therefore prove easier to protect from conversion. Our study provides an approximate but readily transferable method for incorporating potential human responses to climate change into conservation planning. Uso de Cambios en la Utilidad Agrícola para Cuantificar Riesgos Futuros para la Conservación Inducidos por el Clima

Objective classification of extreme rainfall regions for the UK and updated estimates of trends in regional extreme rainfall - Mari R. Jones; Stephen Blenkinsop; Hayley J. Fowler; Christopher G. Kilsby (International Journal of Climatology, 2014)
Extreme rainfall events pose considerable threats to society and critical infrastructure yet, by definitions, these events are rare. Reliable estimates of the likelihood of such events are required to assist with impact quantification and risk management. Regional frequency analysis of pooled extreme rainfall to estimate the likely impacts of a changing climate is a well established method to assess the probability of these extremes. Previous analyses of country‐wide changes to UK extreme daily rainfall have used the 9 Hadley UK Precipitation ( HadUKP ) regions (Alexander and Jones, 2000), which are not appropriate for use with extremes. While these characterize well the mean daily intensity and frequency within each region, extreme rainfall climatology differs from that of the mean characteristics. As a result the existing HadUKP regions do not represent extreme rainfall behaviour adequately, with regard to the frequency, intensity or timing of extreme events. Focussing on many extreme rainfall characteristics, such as the seasonal timing and magnitude of maxima, this article presents a formal representation of extreme regions which specifically describe extreme spatial and temporal characteristics. The article concludes with a brief exploration of improved event estimation using these extreme rainfall regions. The new regional definitions provide clearer upward trends in annual maxima over the period 1961–2010 than those estimated using the HadUKP regional pools. © 2013 Royal Meteorological Society

Biogeochemical effects of simulated sea level rise on carbon loss in an Everglades mangrove peat soil - Lisa G. Chambers; Stephen E. Davis; Tiffany Troxler; Joseph N. Boyer; Alan Downey-Wall; Leonard J. Scinto (Hydrobiologia, 2014)

Association analysis of 9,560 prostate cancer cases from the International Consortium of Prostate Cancer Genetics confirms the role of reported prostate cancer associated SNPs for familial disease - Craig C. Teerlink; Stephen N. Thibodeau; Shannon K. McDonnell; Daniel J. Schaid; Antje Rinckleb; Christiane Maier; Walther Vogel; Geraldine Cancel-Tassin; Christophe Egrot; Olivier Cussenot; William D. Foulkes; Graham G. Giles; et al. (Human Genetics, 2014)

Next generation sequencing-based molecular diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa: identification of a novel genotype-phenotype correlation and clinical refinements - Feng Wang; Hui Wang; Han-Fang Tuan; Duy H. Nguyen; Vincent Sun; Vafa Keser; Sara J. Bowne; Lori S. Sullivan; Hongrong Luo; Ling Zhao; Xia Wang; Jacques E. Zaneveld; et al. (Human Genetics, 2014)

Fortnightly Tidal Modulations Affect Net Community Production in a Mesotidal Estuary - Nicholas J. Nidzieko; Joseph A. Needoba; Stephen G. Monismith; Kenneth S. Johnson (Estuaries and Coasts, 2014)

Flow through a rough, shallow reef - Stephen G. Monismith (Coral Reefs, 2014)

The Use of Fluid Mechanics to Predict Regions of Microscopic Thrombus Formation in Pulsatile VADs - Stephen R. Topper; Michael A. Navitsky; Richard B. Medvitz; Eric G. Paterson; Christopher A. Siedlecki; Margaret J. Slattery; Steven Deutsch; Gerson Rosenberg; Keefe B. Manning (Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology, 2014)

Nitrogen Fertilization Does Significantly Increase Yields of Stands of Miscanthus × giganteus and Panicum virgatum in Multiyear Trials in Illinois - Rebecca A. Arundale; Frank G. Dohleman; Thomas B. Voigt; Stephen P. Long (BioEnergy Research, 2014)

Dissolved cadmium in the Southern Ocean: Distribution, speciation, and relation to phosphate - Oliver Baars; Wafa Abouchami; Stephen J. G. Galer; Marie Boye; Peter L. Croot (Limnology and Oceanography, 2014)
We report isotope dilution analyses of dissolved cadmium (Cd) and electrochemical Cd speciation measurements in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Bioavailable inorganic Cd is > 100 times higher in near‐surface waters south of the Polar Front compared to the Subantarctic Zone because of upwelling and reduced complexation by organic Cd ligands. To trace local changes in the relation between Cd and P, we examine the deviations from a linear deep‐water Cd vs. P relation (Cd*), and find that changes in Cd* coincide with the position of frontal systems and covary with primary productivity and total dissolved Mn and Fe concentrations. These covariations agree with potential local changes in phytoplankton Cd uptake rates, resulting from differences in the availability of Cd, Zn, Mn, and Fe. A band of negative Cd* values is associated with formation of Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW). In contrast to SAMW, which may export low Cd : P ratios from the Southern Ocean, the Cd : P ratios in AAIW increase by mixing with underlying Upper Circumpolar Deep Water before being exported from the Southern Ocean. Deep waters show constant Cd : P ratios, and both elements behave conservatively with end‐member mixing between deep waters of the Weddell Gyre, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, and inflowing North Atlantic Deep Water. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that the kink in the global Cd vs. P relation is largely caused by high Cd : P uptake ratios in the trace‐nutrient—limited Southern Ocean.

The evaluation and adoption of annual legumes by smallholder maize farmers for soil fertility maintenance and food diversity in central Malawi - Bernard C. G. Kamanga; George Y. Kanyama-Phiri; Stephen R. Waddington; Cornelia J. M. Almekinders; Ken E. Giller (Food Security, 2014)

Inbreeding and strong population subdivision in an endangered salamander - Andrew Storfer; Stephen G. Mech; Matthew W. Reudink; Kristen Lew (Conservation Genetics, 2014)

The value of multiple earthquake missions: the EEFIT L’Aquila Earthquake experience - T. Rossetto; D. D’Ayala; F. Gori; R. Persio; J. Han; V. Novelli; S. M. Wilkinson; D. Alexander; M. Hill; S. Stephens; S. Kontoe; G. Elia; et al. (Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 2014)

Parameterisation affects identifiability of population models - Vittal Shivva; Julia Korell; Ian G. Tucker; Stephen B. Duffull (Journal of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics, 2014)

The Hypoglycemic Effect of Pumpkin Seeds, Trigonelline (TRG), Nicotinic Acid (NA), and D-Chiro-inositol (DCI) in Controlling Glycemic Levels in Diabetes Mellitus - Gary G. Adams; Shahwar Imran; Sheng Wang; Abubaker Mohammad; M. Samil Kok; David A. Gray; Guy A. Channell; Stephen E. Harding (Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 2014)

Photosynthetic assimilation of 14C into amino acids in potato (Solanum tuberosum) and asparagine in the tubers - Nira Muttucumaru; Alfred J. Keys; Martin A. J. Parry; Stephen J. Powers; Nigel G. Halford (Planta, 2014)

The equine CD1 gene family is the largest and most diverse yet identified - Robson G. Dossa; Debra C. Alperin; Melissa T. Hines; Stephen A. Hines (Immunogenetics, 2014)

Thermal structure and variability of a shallow tropical reservoir - Zikun Xing; Derek A. Fong; Edmond Yat-Man Lo; Stephen G. Monismith (Limnology and Oceanography, 2014)
The structure and mixing dynamics of shallow tropical reservoirs was investigated using data collected in the Kranji Reservoir in Singapore. Water temperature data spanning a 2 month period in 2007 shows that diurnal cycles of stratification and destratification were formed in various locations in the reservoir. Temperature stratification of 0.5°C to 3.5°C was formed during the daylight hours and reduced nightly when cooling occurred. Substantial horizontal redistribution of heat was also observed between the side arms and the main body of the reservoir. The Kranji's dynamics can be summarized in terms of three physical forcing regimes: a solar radiation—dominated regime, a windy regime, and a cold inflow regime. We delineate the three physical forcing regimes by two potentially useful dimensionless numbers that quantify the relative influences of surface heating, wind stirring, and inflow buoyancy fluxes. For most of the measurement period (88% of the data record), the solar radiation—dominated regime characterized the hydrodynamics. In spite of the dominance of solar radiation in setting local stratification, it is shown that Kranji Reservoir is a three‐dimensional system in which there can be significant variations in temperature in the vertical and along‐reservoir directions, as determined by cold inflow events, differential heating, and reservoir releases. Moreover, the data suggest that the dynamical balance of the Kranji system is sensitive to small forcing events, with the timescales of stratification and mixing as short as a day or less.

Association of prediagnostic physical activity with survival following breast cancer diagnosis: influence of TP53 mutation status - Meng-Hua Tao; Pierre Hainaut; Catalin Marian; Jing Nie; Christine Ambrosone; Stephen B. Edge; Maurizio Trevisan; Joan Dorn; Peter G. Shields; Jo L. Freudenheim (Cancer Causes & Control, 2013)

Testing the Effects of Constraints on Climate Change–Friendly Behavior among Groups of Australian Residents - Jee In Yoon; Gerard T. Kyle; Carena J. van Riper; Stephen G. Sutton (Coastal Management, 2013)

Erratum to: The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) project - Basil A. S. Davis; Marco Zanon; Pamella Collins; Achille Mauri; Johan Bakker; Doris Barboni; Alexandra Barthelmes; Celia Beaudouin; H. John B. Birks; Anne E. Bjune; Elissaveta Bozilova; Richard H. W. Bradshaw; et al. (Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2013)

The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) project - Basil A. S. Davis; Marco Zanon; Pamella Collins; Achille Mauri; Johan Bakker; Doris Barboni; Alexandra Barthelmes; Celia Beaudouin; Anne E. Bjune; Elissaveta Bozilova; Richard H. W. Bradshaw; Barbara A. Brayshay; et al. (Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2013)

Top‐down control of soil fungal community composition by a globally distributed keystone consumer - Thomas W. Crowther; David W. G. Stanton; Stephen M. Thomas; A. Donald A'Bear; Jennifer Hiscox; T. Hefin Jones; Jana Voříšková; Petr Baldrian; Lynne Boddy (Ecology, 2013)
The relative contribution of top‐down and bottom‐up processes regulating primary decomposers can influence the strength of the link between the soil animal community and ecosystem functioning. Although soil bacterial communities are regulated by bottom‐up and top‐down processes, the latter are considered to be less important in structuring the diversity and functioning of fungal‐dominated ecosystems. Despite the huge diversity of mycophagous (fungal‐feeding) soil fauna, and their potential to reverse the outcomes of competitive fungal interactions, top‐down grazing effects have never been found to translate to community‐level changes. We constructed soil mesocosms to investigate the potential of isopods grazing on cord‐forming basidiomycete fungi to influence the community composition and functioning of a complex woodland soil microbial community. Using metagenomic sequencing we provide conclusive evidence of direct top‐down control at the community scale in fungal‐dominated woodland soil. By suppressing the dominant cord‐forming basidiomycete fungi, isopods prevented the competitive exclusion of surrounding litter fungi, increasing diversity in a community containing several hundred fungal species. This isopod‐induced modification of community composition drove a shift in the soil enzyme profile, and led to a restructuring of the wider mycophagous invertebrate community. We highlight characteristics of different soil ecosystems that will give rise to such top‐down control. Given the ubiquity of isopods and basidiomycete fungi in temperate and boreal woodland ecosystems, such top‐down community control could be of widespread significance for global carbon and nutrient cycling.

A combined geological, hydrochemical, and geophysical approach to understanding a disease contamination hazard in groundwaters at a state fish hatchery - Alan L. Mayo; Stephen T. Nelson; John H. McBride; Camille Durrant Mease; David G. Tingey; Dan Aubrey (Natural Hazards, 2013)

Priority research questions for the UK food system - John S. I. Ingram; Hugh L. Wright; Lucy Foster; Timothy Aldred; David Barling; Tim G. Benton; Paul M. Berryman; Charles S. Bestwick; Alice Bows-Larkin; Tim F. Brocklehurst; Judith Buttriss; John Casey; et al. (Food Security, 2013)
The rise of food security up international political, societal and academic agendas has led to increasing interest in novel means of improving primary food production and reducing waste. There are however, also many ‘post-farm gate’ activities that are critical to food security, including processing, packaging, distributing, retailing, cooking and consuming. These activities all affect a range of important food security elements, notably availability, affordability and other aspects of access, nutrition and safety. Addressing the challenge of universal food security, in the context of a number of other policy goals (e.g. social, economic and environmental sustainability), is of keen interest to a range of UK stakeholders but requires an up-to-date evidence base and continuous innovation. An exercise was therefore conducted, under the auspices of the UK Global Food Security Programme, to identify priority research questions with a focus on the UK food system (though the outcomes may be broadly applicable to other developed nations). Emphasis was placed on incorporating a wide range of perspectives (‘world views’) from different stakeholder groups: policy, private sector, non-governmental organisations, advocacy groups and academia. A total of 456 individuals submitted 820 questions from which 100 were selected by a process of online voting and a three-stage workshop voting exercise. These 100 final questions were sorted into 10 themes and the ‘top’ question for each theme identified by a further voting exercise. This step also allowed four different stakeholder groups to select the top 7–8 questions from their perspectives. Results of these voting exercises are presented. It is clear from the wide range of questions prioritised in this exercise that the different stakeholder groups identified specific research needs on a range of post-farm gate activities and food security outcomes. Evidence needs related to food affordability, nutrition and food safety (all key elements of food security) featured highly in the exercise. While there were some questions relating to climate impacts on production, other important topics for food security (e.g. trade, transport, preference and cultural needs) were not viewed as strongly by the participants.

MultiSig: a new high-precision approach to the analysis of complex biomolecular systems - Richard B. Gillis; Gary G. Adams; Thomas Heinze; Melanie Nikolajski; Stephen E. Harding; Arthur J. Rowe (European Biophysics Journal, 2013)

Acrylamide concentrations in potato crisps in Europe from 2002 to 2011 - Stephen J. Powers; Donald S. Mottram; Andrew Curtis; Nigel G. Halford (Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, 2013)

Pregnancy-related characteristics and breast cancer risk - Theodore M. Brasky; Yanli Li; David J. Jaworowicz; Nancy Potischman; Christine B. Ambrosone; Alan D. Hutson; Jing Nie; Peter G. Shields; Maurizio Trevisan; Carole B. Rudra; Stephen B. Edge; Jo L. Freudenheim (Cancer Causes & Control, 2013)

Contrasting genetic responses to population fragmentation in a coevolving fig and fig wasp across a mainland–island archipelago - Min Liu; Jian Zhang; Yan Chen; Stephen G. Compton; Xiao‐Yong Chen (Molecular Ecology, 2013)
Interacting species of pollinator–host systems, especially the obligate ones, are sensitive to habitat fragmentation, due to the nature of mutual dependence. Comparative studies of genetic structure can provide insights into how habitat fragmentation contributes to patterns of genetic divergence among populations of the interacting species. In this study, we used microsatellites to analyse genetic variation in C hinese populations of a typical mutualistic system – F icus pumila and its obligate pollinator W iebesia sp. 1 – in a naturally fragmented landscape. The plants and wasps showed discordant patterns of genetic variation and geographical divergence. There was no significant positive relationship in genetic diversity between the two species. Significant isolation‐by‐distance ( IBD ) patterns occurred across the populations of F . pumila and W iebesia sp. 1 as whole, and IBD also occurred among island populations of the wasps, but not the plants. However, there was no significant positive relationship in genetic differentiation between them. The pollinator populations had significantly lower genetic variation in small habitat patches than in larger patches, and three island pollinator populations showed evidence of a recent bottleneck event. No effects of patch size or genetic bottlenecks were evident in the plant populations. Collectively, the results indicate that, in more fragmented habitats, the pollinators, but not the plants, have experienced reduced genetic variation. The contrasting patterns have multiple potential causes, including differences in longevity and hence number of generations experiencing fragmentation; different dispersal patterns, with the host's genes dispersed as seeds as well as a result of pollen dispersal via the pollinator; asymmetrical responses to fluctuations in partner populations; and co‐existence of a rare second pollinating wasp on some islands. These results indicate that strongly interdependent species may respond in markedly different ways to habitat fragmentation.

Temporal and spatial variability of the internal wave field in a lake with complex morphometry - Javier Vidal; Sally MacIntyre; Erika E. McPhee-Shaw; William J. Shaw; Stephen G. Monismith (Limnology and Oceanography, 2013)
To quantify the effect of basin morphometry on internal wave dynamics, we installed thermistor arrays around the perimeter of Mono Lake, California. The lake's complex bathymetry includes alongshore bottom slopes ranging from

Comparison of screening methods for high-throughput determination of oil yields in micro-algal biofuel strains - Stephen P. Slocombe; QianYi Zhang; Kenneth D. Black; John G. Day; Michele S. Stanley (Journal of Applied Phycology, 2013)

Combined walking exercise and alkali therapy in patients with CKD4–5 regulates intramuscular free amino acid pools and ubiquitin E3 ligase expression - Emma L. Watson; George C. Kosmadakis; Alice C. Smith; Joao L. Viana; Jeremy R. Brown; Karen Molyneux; Izabella Z. A. Pawluczyk; Michael Mulheran; Nicolette C. Bishop; Susan Shirreffs; Ronald J. Maughan; Paul J. Owen; et al. (European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2013)

Plant functional types and traits as biodiversity indicators for tropical forests: two biogeographically separated case studies including birds, mammals and termites - Andrew N. Gillison; David E. Bignell; Kenneth R. W. Brewer; Erick C. M. Fernandes; David T. Jones; Douglas Sheil; Peter H. May; Allan D. Watt; Reginaldo Constantino; Eduardo G. Couto; Kurniatun Hairiah; Paul Jepson; et al. (Biodiversity and Conservation, 2013)

Fractal Fluctuations in Quiet Standing Predict the Use of Mechanical Information for Haptic Perception - Zsolt Palatinus; James A. Dixon; Damian G. Kelty-Stephen (Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2013)

Phylogeography and postglacial recolonization of Europe by Rhinolophus hipposideros : evidence from multiple genetic markers - Serena E. Dool; Sébastien J. Puechmaille; Christian Dietz; Javier Juste; Carlos Ibáñez; Pavel Hulva; Stéphane G. Roué; Eric J. Petit; Gareth Jones; Danilo Russo; Roberto Toffoli; Andrea Viglino; et al. (Molecular Ecology, 2013)
The demographic history of Rhinolophus hipposideros (lesser horseshoe bat) was reconstructed across its European, North African and Middle‐Eastern distribution prior to, during and following the most recent glaciations by generating and analysing a multimarker data set. This data set consisted of an X‐linked nuclear intron (Bgn; 543 bp), mitochondrial DNA (cytb‐ tRNA ‐control region; 1630 bp) and eight variable microsatellite loci for up to 373 individuals from 86 localities. Using this data set of diverse markers, it was possible to determine the species’ demography at three temporal stages. Nuclear intron data revealed early colonization into Europe from the east, which pre‐dates the Quaternary glaciations. The mtDNA data supported multiple glacial refugia across the Mediterranean, the largest of which were found in the Ibero‐Maghreb region and an eastern location (Anatolia/Middle East)–that were used by R. hipposideros during the most recent glacial cycles. Finally, microsatellites provided the most recent information on these species’ movements since the Last Glacial Maximum and suggested that lineages that had diverged into glacial refugia, such as in the Ibero‐Maghreb region, have remained isolated. These findings should be used to inform future conservation management strategies for R. hipposideros and show the power of using a multimarker data set for phylogeographic studies.

Assessing the Potential to Restore Historic Grazing Ecosystems with Tortoise Ecological Replacements - CHRISTINE J. GRIFFITHS; NICOLAS ZUËL; CARL G. JONES; ZAIRABEE AHAMUD; STEPHEN HARRIS (Conservation Biology, 2013)
The extinction of large herbivores, often keystone species, can dramatically modify plant communities and impose key biotic thresholds that may prevent an ecosystem returning to its previous state and threaten native biodiversity. A potentially innovative, yet controversial, landscape‐based long‐term restoration approach is to replace missing plant‐herbivore interactions with non‐native herbivores. Aldabran giant (Aldabrachelys gigantea) and Madagascan radiated (Astrochelys radiata) tortoises, taxonomically and functionally similar to the extinct Mauritian giant tortoises (Cylindraspis spp.), were introduced to Round Island, Mauritius, in 2007 to control the non‐native plants that were threatening persistence of native species. We monitored the response of the plant community to tortoise grazing for 11 months in enclosures before the tortoises were released and, compared the cost of using tortoises as weeders with the cost of using manual labor. At the end of this period, plant biomass; vegetation height and cover; and adult, seedling, flower, and seed abundance were 3–136 times greater in adjacent control plots than in the tortoise enclosures. After their release, the free‐roaming tortoises grazed on most non‐native plants and significantly reduced vegetation cover, height, and seed production, reflecting findings from the enclosure study. The tortoises generally did not eat native species, although they consumed those native species that increased in abundance following the eradication of mammalian herbivores. Our results suggest that introduced non‐native tortoises are a more cost‐effective approach to control non‐native vegetation than manual weeding. Numerous long‐term outcomes (e.g., change in species composition and soil seed bank) are possible following tortoise releases. Monitoring and adaptive management are needed to ensure that the replacement herbivores promote the recovery of native plants. Estudiando el Potencial para Restaurar Ecosistemas Históricos de Forrajeo con Reemplazos Ecológicos de Tortugas Terrestres

A Review of Health and Safety Leadership and Managerial Practices on Modern Dairy Farms - G. Robert Hagevoort; David I. Douphrate; Stephen J. Reynolds (Journal of Agromedicine, 2013)

Work-Related Injuries and Fatalities on Dairy Farm Operations—A Global Perspective - David I. Douphrate; Lorann Stallones; Christina Lunner Kolstrup; Matthew W. Nonnenmann; Stefan Pinzke; G. Robert Hagevoort; Peter Lundqvist; Martina Jakob; Huiyun Xiang; Ling Xue; Paul Jarvie; Stephen A. McCurdy; et al. (Journal of Agromedicine, 2013)

The Dairy Industry: A Brief Description of Production Practices, Trends, and Farm Characteristics Around the World - David I. Douphrate; G. Robert Hagevoort; Matthew W. Nonnenmann; Christina Lunner Kolstrup; Stephen J. Reynolds; Martina Jakob; Mark Kinsel (Journal of Agromedicine, 2013)

The population pharmacokinetics of allopurinol and oxypurinol in patients with gout - Daniel F. B. Wright; Lisa K. Stamp; Tony R. Merriman; Murray L. Barclay; Stephen B. Duffull; Nicholas H. G. Holford (European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2013)

Evaluation of terrestrial carbon cycle models for their response to climate variability and to CO 2 trends - Shilong Piao; Stephen Sitch; Philippe Ciais; Pierre Friedlingstein; Philippe Peylin; Xuhui Wang; Anders Ahlström; Alessandro Anav; Josep G. Canadell; Nan Cong; Chris Huntingford; Martin Jung; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2013)
The purpose of this study was to evaluate 10 process‐based terrestrial biosphere models that were used for the IPCC fifth Assessment Report. The simulated gross primary productivity ( GPP ) is compared with flux‐tower‐based estimates by Jung et al . [ Journal of Geophysical Research 116 (2011) G00J07] ( JU 11). The net primary productivity ( NPP ) apparent sensitivity to climate variability and atmospheric CO 2 trends is diagnosed from each model output, using statistical functions. The temperature sensitivity is compared against ecosystem field warming experiments results. The CO 2 sensitivity of NPP is compared to the results from four Free‐Air CO 2 Enrichment ( FACE ) experiments. The simulated global net biome productivity ( NBP ) is compared with the residual land sink ( RLS ) of the global carbon budget from Friedlingstein et al . [ Nature Geoscience 3 (2010) 811] ( FR 10). We found that models produce a higher GPP (133 ± 15 Pg C yr −1 ) than JU 11 (118 ± 6 Pg C yr −1 ). In response to rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration, modeled NPP increases on average by 16% (5–20%) per 100 ppm, a slightly larger apparent sensitivity of NPP to CO 2 than that measured at the FACE experiment locations (13% per 100 ppm). Global NBP differs markedly among individual models, although the mean value of 2.0 ± 0.8 Pg C yr −1 is remarkably close to the mean value of RLS (2.1 ± 1.2 Pg C yr −1 ). The interannual variability in modeled NBP is significantly correlated with that of RLS for the period 1980–2009. Both model‐to‐model and interannual variation in model GPP is larger than that in model NBP due to the strong coupling causing a positive correlation between ecosystem respiration and GPP in the model. The average linear regression slope of global NBP vs. temperature across the 10 models is −3.0 ± 1.5 Pg C yr −1 °C −1 , within the uncertainty of what derived from RLS (−3.9 ± 1.1 Pg C yr −1 °C −1 ). However, 9 of 10 models overestimate the regression slope of NBP vs. precipitation, compared with the slope of the observed RLS vs. precipitation. With most models lacking processes that control GPP and NBP in addition to CO 2 and climate, the agreement between modeled and observation‐based GPP and NBP can be fortuitous. Carbon–nitrogen interactions (only separable in one model) significantly influence the simulated response of carbon cycle to temperature and atmospheric CO 2 concentration, suggesting that nutrients limitations should be included in the next generation of terrestrial biosphere models.

A Design Space Verification Protocol for a Small Molecule Drug Substance - Timothy J. N. Watson; Holly Bonsignore; Eileen A. Callaghan-Manning; Stephen T. Colgan; Paul Fitzsimons; Thomas P. Garcia; John G. Groskoph; Michael P. Lynch; Roger Nosal; Megan E. McMahon; Robert A. Singer; Nicholas M. Thomson; et al. (Journal of Pharmaceutical Innovation, 2013)

Competition and succession between the oily alga Botryococcus braunii and two green algae Chlorella vulgaris and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - Liang Song; Jian G. Qin; Stephen Clarke; Yan Li (Journal of Applied Phycology, 2013)

Variation in inflorescence size in a dioecious fig tree and its consequences for the plant and its pollinator fig wasp - Nazia Suleman; Rupert J. Quinnell; Stephen G. Compton (Plant Systematics and Evolution, 2013)

Human temperature regulation when given the opportunity to behave - Zachary J. Schlader; Blake G. Perry; M. Rahimi Che Jusoh; Lynette D. Hodges; Stephen R. Stannard; Toby Mündel (European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2013)

Interaction of waves and currents with kelp forests ( Macrocystis pyrifera ): Insights from a dynamically scaled laboratory model - Johanna H. Rosman; Mark W. Denny; Robert B. Zeller; Stephen G. Monismith; Jeffrey R. Koseff (Limnology and Oceanography, 2013)
The interaction of surface waves and currents with kelp forests was examined under controlled conditions using a dynamically matched 1/25‐scale physical model in a laboratory flume. In experiments with kelp mimics, waves increased the time‐averaged drag by a factor of 2 and altered the shape of current profiles. Relative motion between model kelp and water under waves increased wake generation of turbulence, resulting in turbulent kinetic energies 2–5 times larger, and eddy viscosities 20–50% larger, than for experiments without waves. Because mixing lengths were reduced to wake‐scales in the model kelp forest, eddy viscosities were 25–50% smaller than when kelp was absent. In the model kelp‐forest surface canopy where solid obstacles were most densely spaced, wave orbital velocities were reduced by ∼ 10% from linear wave theory predictions. This decrease in wave orbital velocities is thought to result primarily from inertial forces exerted on water by model kelp. Stokes drift was reduced by ∼ 20% as a result of the change in wave orbital velocities. Although hydrodynamics within kelp forests are more complex than in the laboratory experiments and a wide range of flow conditions can occur, laboratory results suggest that (1) kelp forest drag is increased by waves; (2) wave properties can be altered by drag and inertial forces; and (3) wake production of turbulence caused by waves may be the main source of turbulence in dense kelp stands. Interactions between kelp and waves must therefore be taken into account when developing models for drag and mixing in these systems.

Invertebrate Community Patterns in Seasonal Ponds in Minnesota, USA: Response to Hydrologic and Environmental Variability - Matthew M. Bischof; Mark A. Hanson; Mark R. Fulton; Randy K. Kolka; Stephen D. Sebestyen; Malcolm G. Butler (Wetlands, 2013)

A physical map of the Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima) genome and its integration with the genetic map - Guang-Chen Fang; Barbara P. Blackmon; Margaret E. Staton; C. Dana Nelson; Thomas L. Kubisiak; Bode A. Olukolu; David Henry; Tatyana Zhebentyayeva; Christopher A. Saski; Chun-Huai Cheng; Megan Monsanto; Stephen Ficklin; et al. (Tree Genetics & Genomes, 2013)

Influence of dietary nitrate supplementation on human skeletal muscle metabolism and force production during maximum voluntary contractions - Jonathan Fulford; Paul G. Winyard; Anni Vanhatalo; Stephen J. Bailey; Jamie R. Blackwell; Andrew M. Jones (Pflügers Archiv - European Journal of Physiology, 2013)

Aggregation and dispersal based on social cues as a nest-site selection strategy in a resource-defence polygynandry mating system - Stephen Heap; Phillip G. Byrne (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2013)

Cryptic species and phylogeographical structure in the tree Cedrela odorata L. throughout the Neotropics - Stephen Cavers; A. Telford; F. Arenal Cruz; A. J. Pérez Castañeda; R. Valencia; C. Navarro; A. Buonamici; A. J. Lowe; G. G. Vendramin (Journal of Biogeography, 2013)
Aim The origins of much Neotropical biodiversity remain a topic of debate, with both palaeogeographical and more recent climatic drivers playing a role in diversification both among and within species. Here we use a combination of molecular data to assess genetic variation within and among species in the Neotropical tree genus Cedrela , with a focus on Cedrela odorata , to test hypotheses on the drivers of diversification, to place known ecotypic variation in context and to detect intraspecific phylogeographical structure. Location Central and South America, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Guadeloupe. Methods Samples were collected from the field, existing collections and herbaria from across the geographical range, including a total of 528 individuals from 72 sites. A phylogenetic framework was constructed using internal transcribed spacer ( ITS ) sequence data (intergenic spacers plus flanking 18S and 26S regions), and genetic structure was analysed using a combination of chloroplast DNA sequences ( trn C– ycf 6, trn H– psb A) and chloroplast and nuclear microsatellite (single sequence repeat, SSR ) loci. Phylogenetic reconstruction was undertaken using a combination of Bayesian and parsimony‐based approaches; divergence times were estimated for major nodes. Geographical structure in chloroplast SSR data was analysed using SAMOVA , while that in nuclear SSR data was assessed using a combination of Bayesian clustering and principal coordinates analysis. Results ITS sequence data supported phylogenetic distinctiveness of four morphologically cryptic species within C. odorata . Chloroplast sequence and microsatellite data showed geographical structuring both among and within species, suggesting the influence of climatic and geographical drivers. Intraspecific genetic divergence was also present in nuclear microsatellite data, suggesting contemporary gene flow limitation across sea and mountain barriers. Main conclusions The data support diversification of the genus Cedrela in South America with subsequent recolonization into Central America prior to the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. At least four morphologically cryptic taxa were evident within C. odorata and within‐species phylogeographical divergence across the Andes and within Central America was present, the latter suggestive of Pleistocene climatic influence. Previously recognized ecotypes in Central America should be elevated to species level. The new molecular data support the recent reclassification and will support the monitoring of exploitation in the genus.

An assessment of changes in seasonal and annual extreme rainfall in the UK between 1961 and 2009 - Mari R. Jones; Hayley J. Fowler; Christopher G. Kilsby; Stephen Blenkinsop (International Journal of Climatology, 2013)
There is a growing body of evidence supporting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's contestation that changes to hydrological extremes as a result of anthropogenic climate change are likely. There is also a growing level of concern among water resource managers about the nature of these changes and how we might adapt our behaviour to accommodate them. In particular, extreme multi‐day rainfall events have been a significant contributing factor to the severe flood events of recent years. Here we provide an updated study of extreme rainfall in the UK, focussing on changes to seasonal and annual maxima over the period 1961‐2009. We employ regional frequency analysis to examine changes in the magnitude of estimated return periods obtained from generalized extreme value distribution curves. Return period estimates are analysed using both the full record and using 10 year intervals to determine the relative importance of natural variability and long‐term changes in extreme rainfall distribution. The magnitude of changes in estimated return periods are spatially varied, and dominated in northern and western parts of the UK by a periodic forcing such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), superimposed on normal seasonal fluctuations. In contrast, seasonality has the greatest influence on event magnitude in the south and east. We confirm that previously reported increases in spring and autumn extreme rainfall events have continued. Similarly, longer duration winter events have continued to increase in intensity, with a decrease in return period estimate from a 25‐year to around a 5‐year event over the full 50 years of record in parts of Scotland and Southwest England. In contrast, short‐duration summer rainfall events have continued to decline in intensity, whereas longer duration events appear to be increasing in intensity. These results may have significant implications for flood defence design and planning, as well as to agricultural practices which may be sensitive to extreme rainfall. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society

Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation site networks under climate change: accounting for uncertainty - Robert Bagchi; Mike Crosby; Brian Huntley; David G. Hole; Stuart H. M. Butchart; Yvonne Collingham; Mohit Kalra; Jagadish Rajkumar; Asad Rahmani; Mitra Pandey; Hum Gurung; Le Trong Trai; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2013)
We forecasted potential impacts of climate change on the ability of a network of key sites for bird conservation (Important Bird Areas; IBA s) to provide suitable climate for 370 bird species of current conservation concern in two Asian biodiversity hotspots: the Eastern Himalaya and Lower Mekong. Comparable studies have largely not accounted for uncertainty, which may lead to inappropriate conclusions. We quantified the contribution of four sources of variation (choice of general circulation models, emission scenarios and species distribution modelling methods and variation in species distribution data) to uncertainty in forecasts and tested if our projections were robust to these uncertainties. Declines in the availability of suitable climate within the IBA network by 2100 were forecast as ‘extremely likely’ for 45% of species, whereas increases were projected for only 2%. Thus, we predict almost 24 times as many ‘losers’ as ‘winners’. However, for no species was suitable climate ‘extremely likely’ to be completely lost from the network. Considerable turnover (median = 43%, 95% CI = 35–69%) in species compositions of most IBA s were projected by 2100. Climatic conditions in 47% of IBA s were projected as ‘extremely likely’ to become suitable for fewer priority species. However, no IBA was forecast to become suitable for more species. Variation among General Circulation Models and Species Distribution Models contributed most to uncertainty among forecasts. This uncertainty precluded firm conclusions for 53% of species and IBA s because 95% confidence intervals included projections of no change. Considering this uncertainty, however, allows robust recommendations concerning the remaining species and IBA s. Overall, while the IBA network will continue to sustain bird conservation, climate change will modify which species each site will be suitable for. Thus, adaptive management of the network, including modified site conservation strategies and facilitating species' movement among sites, is critical to ensure effective future conservation.

Tree growth-competition relationships in thinned Eucalyptus plantations vary with stand structure and site quality - David I. Forrester; Stephen R. Elms; Thomas G. Baker (European Journal of Forest Research, 2013)