Response of cetaceans to fluctuations of pelagic fish stocks and environmental conditions within the Celtic Sea ecosystem - Andrea Fariñas-Bermejo; Simon Berrow; Michaël Gras; Ciaran O’Donnell; Vasilis Valavanis; Dave Wall; Graham J. Pierce (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2023)
Inshore waters off the south coast of Ireland are an important foraging area for a range of cetacean species. Some of the main prey species of these cetaceans are herring and sprat, two economically valuable fish species in the region. The Celtic Sea herring stock suffered a marked decline in 2013. The present study aimed to investigate potential changes in the ecosystem associated to the herring decline and to determine the potential impacts on predators. Here we analyzed sightings information of common dolphins, fin, minke, humpback and unidentified whale species, acoustic data of herring and sprat, and a range of environmental variables mainly derived from satellites. Firstly, we characterized spatio-temporal patterns in the relative abundance of predator and prey species, and environmental variables, and compared periods before and since the herring decline. Since the 2013 herring decline, (i) the herring stock has mainly concentrated in south-eastern coastal waters and southern offshore Irish waters, (ii) sprat density has increased, (iii) chlorophyll concentration has decreased, (iv) sea surface temperature has risen, and (v) the euphotic layer has extended deeper. Secondly, we modelled the effects of prey density and environmental conditions on the relative abundance and distribution of cetaceans, as well as the effects of environmental conditions on prey density, between 2005-2018 by applying Hurdle Generalized Additive Models. The models for herring and sprat support the idea that these species have different environmental relationships, for example herring tended to be found in shallower waters than was the case for sprat. The presence and relative abundance of common dolphins were significantly affected by both environmental conditions and herring density, whereas whale species presence and relative abundance were found to be correlated with sea surface temperature and prey density. The model results suggest differences in prey choice among whale species. Understanding the dynamic relationships between predators, prey and the environment is important to inform an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management.

Heating greenhouses by light: A novel concept for intensive greenhouse production - David Katzin; Leo F.M. Marcelis; Eldert J. van Henten; Simon van Mourik (Biosystems Engineering, 2023)

Functional vulnerability and biogeography of reef fish assemblages in the Galapagos Archipelago - Simon J. McKinley; Benjamin J. Saunders; Etienne Rastoin-Laplane; Pelayo Salinas-de-León; Euan S. Harvey (Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 2023)

Recent advances in the production of emulsifying peptides with the aid of proteomics and bioinformatics - Pedro J García-Moreno; Betül Yesiltas; Simon Gregersen Echers; Paolo Marcatili; Michael T Overgaard; Egon B Hansen; Charlotte Jacobsen (Current Opinion in Food Science, 2023)

Inbreeding affects juvenile shoaling behaviour in sibling groups of a cichlid fish - Simon Vitt; Rieke F. Schons; Alexander J. R. Keller; Timo Thünken (Hydrobiologia, 2023)
Whilst the effects of inbreeding on growth and survival have been well studied, knowledge on the impact of inbreeding on the social behaviour is scarce. Animal groups are often composed of relatives, which can facilitate cooperation (due to kin selection) and improve group performance accordingly. Therefore, increased genetic relatedness in inbred kin groups could increase group performance, whilst the reduced genetic diversity could have negative effects (inbreeding depression). We compared the juvenile shoaling behaviour of inbred and outbred sibling groups in Pelvicachromis taeniatus (Boulenger 1901), a West-African cichlid fish with kin mating preferences. Activity (travelled distance), shoal density (inter-individual distance) and recovery from a disturbance (freezing time) in a novel environment were analysed using tracking software. Inbred individuals travelled shorter distances compared to outbred individuals, which may decrease conspicuousness and thus predation risk. Furthermore, inbred sibling groups recovered faster after the disturbance compared to outbred sibling groups suggesting improved coordination. In conclusion, our study revealed differences in shoaling between inbred and outbred sibling groups. The higher relatedness in inbred groups may have positive effects in the form of a reduced conspicuousness. The reduced activity may impair foraging success under natural conditions which might, however, be compensated by faster recovery from disturbances.

The Challenge of Global Aflatoxins Legislation with a Focus on Peanuts and Peanut Products: A Systematic Review - Julie P. Meneely; Oluwatobi Kolawole; Simon A. Haughey; Sarah J. Miller; Rudolf Krska; Christopher T. Elliott (Exposure and Health, 2023)
Globally, of all mycotoxins, aflatoxins present a significant threat to human and animal health and has resulted in the introduction of strict food regulatory limits to protect public health. A systematic review, was performed to elucidate the rationale applied in establishing aflatoxin standards and evaluate the economic impacts of these. The focus was peanuts, a principal trading commodity susceptible to aflatoxin contamination. Results revealed that although regulations are established in many countries, there is huge disparity in the maximum limits applied due to different methodologies used when considering exposure assessment. Moreover, in countries most affected by aflatoxin contamination in peanuts, few, if any standards exist. In the case of risk assessments, knowledge gaps identified include the impact of climate change on peanut aflatoxin contamination, the role of aflatoxins in child stunting, Kwashiorkor and immunomodulation and a lack of occurrence and exposure data in many developing countries from contaminated peanuts. Few quantitative studies evaluating the impact of aflatoxin regulations on trade exist and evidence is lacking in terms of what happens to exports that do not meet regulatory requirements. Evidence does suggest a lack of knowledge of the extent of the aflatoxin problem, associated health risks and mitigation strategies in developing countries. A hugely important factor that needs to be highlighted is that while there is a fundamental right for sufficient, safe, nutritious food, in many cases in low-income and lower middle-income countries there exists an incredibly difficult and complex trade-off between food security and food safety.

The role of irradiance in controlling coralline algal calcification - Erik C. Krieger; Wendy A. Nelson; Johan Grand; Eric C. Le Ru; Sarah J. Bury; Amelie Cossais; Simon K. Davy; Christopher E. Cornwall (Limnology and Oceanography, 2023)
Coralline algae are an essential element of benthic ecosystems throughout the ocean's photic zone. Yet, the role of light in shaping the physiology of coralline algae from cold‐water, low‐light habitats is poorly understood. Here, we assess the calcification physiology of five cool temperate coralline algae in response to different irradiance levels over 3 months. We show that in contrast to current models focused on warmer water species, previously observed enhancement of calcification rates by photosynthesis is largely limited to lower irradiances, and that the removal of CO 2 from the calcifying fluid is not the underlying mechanism of this enhancement. Instead, this most likely occurs via two processes: (1) increased ion pumping rates to elevate the calcium carbonate saturation state in the calcifying fluid; and (2) a higher daytime pH in the diffusion boundary layer that raises calcifying fluid pH. However, as irradiance increases, ion pumping becomes increasingly saturated limiting further enhancements. Our results also suggest the existence of two calcification strategies in coralline algae and indicate that magnesium incorporation is determined by the magnesium to calcium ratio in the calcifying fluid ([Mg] CF /[Ca] CF ). This study adds to our mechanistic understanding of calcification in coralline algae and fills in much needed knowledge about the role of light in controlling their physiology.

Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs - Sara E. Cannon; Simon D. Donner; Angela Liu; Pedro C. González Espinosa; Andrew H. Baird; Julia K. Baum; Andrew G. Bauman; Maria Beger; Cassandra E. Benkwitt; Matthew J. Birt; Yannick Chancerelle; Joshua E. Cinner; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2023)
Scientists and managers rely on indicator taxa such as coral and macroalgal cover to evaluate the effects of human disturbance on coral reefs, often assuming a universally positive relationship between local human disturbance and macroalgae. Despite evidence that macroalgae respond to local stressors in diverse ways, there have been few efforts to evaluate relationships between specific macroalgae taxa and local human‐driven disturbance. Using genus‐level monitoring data from 1205 sites in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, we assess whether macroalgae percent cover correlates with local human disturbance while accounting for factors that could obscure or confound relationships. Assessing macroalgae at genus level revealed that no genera were positively correlated with all human disturbance metrics. Instead, we found relationships between the division or genera of algae and specific human disturbances that were not detectable when pooling taxa into a single functional category, which is common to many analyses. The convention to use percent cover of macroalgae as an indication of local human disturbance therefore likely obscures signatures of local anthropogenic threats to reefs. Our limited understanding of relationships between human disturbance, macroalgae taxa, and their responses to human disturbances impedes the ability to diagnose and respond appropriately to these threats.

Retaining natural vegetation to safeguard biodiversity and humanity - Jeremy S. Simmonds; Andres Felipe Suarez‐Castro; April E. Reside; James E. M. Watson; James R. Allan; Scott C. Atkinson; Pasquale Borrelli; Nigel Dudley; Stephen Edwards; Richard A. Fuller; Edward T. Game; Simon Linke; et al. (Conservation Biology, 2023)
Global efforts to deliver internationally agreed goals to reduce carbon emissions, halt biodiversity loss, and retain essential ecosystem services have been poorly integrated. These goals rely in part on preserving natural (e.g., native, largely unmodified) and seminatural (e.g., low intensity or sustainable human use) forests, woodlands, and grasslands. To show how to unify these goals, we empirically derived spatially explicit, quantitative, area‐based targets for the retention of natural and seminatural (e.g., native) terrestrial vegetation worldwide. We used a 250‐m‐resolution map of natural and seminatural vegetation cover and, from this, selected areas identified under different international agreements as being important for achieving global biodiversity, carbon, soil, and water targets. At least 67 million km 2 of Earth's terrestrial vegetation (∼79% of the area of vegetation remaining) required retention to contribute to biodiversity, climate, soil, and freshwater conservation objectives under 4 United Nations’ resolutions. This equates to retaining natural and seminatural vegetation across at least 50% of the total terrestrial (excluding Antarctica) surface of Earth. Retention efforts could contribute to multiple goals simultaneously, especially where natural and seminatural vegetation can be managed to achieve cobenefits for biodiversity, carbon storage, and ecosystem service provision. Such management can and should co‐occur and be driven by people who live in and rely on places where natural and sustainably managed vegetation remains in situ and must be complemented by restoration and appropriate management of more human‐modified environments if global goals are to be realized.

Towards achieving circularity and sustainability in feeds for farmed blue foods - Stefanie M. Colombo; Koushik Roy; Jan Mraz; Alex H. L. Wan; Simon J. Davies; Sean M. Tibbetts; Margareth Øverland; David S. Francis; Melissa M. Rocker; Laura Gasco; Emma Spencer; Marc Metian; et al. (Reviews in Aquaculture, 2023)
The aims of this review are to describe the role of ‘blue‐food production’ (animals, plants and algae harvested from freshwater and marine environments) within a circular bioeconomy, discuss how such a framework can help the sustainability and resilience of aquaculture and to summarise key examples of novel nutrient sources that are emerging in the field of fed‐aquaculture species. Aquaculture now provides >50% of the global seafood supply, a share that is expected to increase to at least 60% within the next decade. Aquaculture is an important tool for reducing resource consumption in global protein production and increasing resilience to climate change and other global disruptions (i.e. pandemics, geo‐political instability). Importantly, blue foods also provide essential nutrition for a growing human population. Blue foods are helping to help the global goal of ‘zero hunger’ (United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 2) while reducing the dependency on finite natural resources but further refinement and new solutions are needed to make the industry more ‘circular’ and sustainable, particularly with respect to sourcing raw materials for aquafeeds. This review describes the feed resources that are available or may be created within a circular bioeconomy framework, their role within the framework and in aquaculture and ultimately, how these resources contribute to de‐risking and establishing a resilient aquaculture production chain.

Per-length biomass estimates of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) - Abigail J. R. Smith; Simon J. Wotherspoon; Martin J. Cox (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2023)
Total biomass and areal biomass density are often necessary to establish ecological relationships and enable informed management decisions, in particular setting fisheries catch limits. Further refining these estimates to sub-population biomass based on length informs ecological models of predator-prey dynamics, ecosystem energy transfer and biogeochemical cycles; however, measures of uncertainty in these per-length biomass estimates are needed. We present a statistical method to calculate the per-length biomass of Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba ) from conversion factors using acoustic and net sample data. Variability in krill length-frequency, and wetmass introduced by net sampling is also explored through non-parametric bootstrapping. We applied this method on a 1 mm length window to active acoustic and net sample data collected during an Antarctic krill biomass survey in CCAMLR Division 58.4.2 (62 – 67°S; 55 – 80°E, with a survey area of 775,732 km 2 ) performed between February – March 2021. We found that 77% of the total estimated biomass was attributable to krill of length 14 – 49 mm. The largest biomass of krill in a single length bin was estimated as 340,000 t (95% CI: 148,000 - 408,000 t) and was found in the 49 mm length bin (i.e., 48.5 to 49.5 mm). This method will allow future surveys (with sufficient data) to estimate biomass of krill on a per-length basis along with associated uncertainty (confidence intervals) derived from net sampling and so may be used to provision size-based ecosystem models with krill biomass.

Assignment of tracks from tagged Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus to potential stocks using behavioural differences and habitat partitioning - Simon Dedman; Emilius A. Aalto; Michael J. W. Stokesbury; Robert J. Schallert; Michael R. Castleton; Barbara A. Block (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2023)
Introduction Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABT) are large, migratory pelagic predators of high economic importance. ABT are currently managed as two independent stocks assigned to discrete spawning areas (Gulf of Mexico, and Mediterranean); however, stock overlap outside spawning areas makes accurate assignment of catch to stock-of-origin difficult. Methods Within this two-stock paradigm, we characterised stock-specific spatial distributions and behaviours by comparing habitat usage and vertical movement behaviours of 118 electronically tagged adult ABT spatially assigned to the GOM and Med spawning grounds. These spatial and behavioural differences were used in tests to probabilistically assign unknown individuals (which did not visit the GOM/Med spawning areas) to a stock. Results This new methodological approach using existing tag data, enables increased assignment of a track to a potential stock, to be achieved before genetic assignments. We identified certain markedly different movement patterns, range extents, depth use preferences (and associated area usage), migration directness and speeds, corresponding distance from shore, and mesopelagic-layer visitation. The probabilistic assignment approach had 97% in-bag testing accuracy, then assigned 190 individuals to a stock, doubling the number of assigned stock-of-origin tracks in our dataset, and potentially revealing novel movement and behaviour patterns among pre-spawning-age ABT. Discussion This approach can be easily adapted to other study species, more stocks, and different testing variables, hopefully serving as a useful addition to the fisheries management toolkit.

Comparative Study on Ginger Powder and Ginger Extract Nanoparticles: Effects on Growth, Immune–Antioxidant Status, Tissue Histoarchitecture, and Resistance to Aeromonas hydrophila and Pseudomonas putida Infection in Oreochromis niloticus - Shaimaa A. A. Ahmed; Abdelhakeem El-Murr; Yasser Abd Elhakim; Mohamed M. Metwally; Amany Abd El Aziz Gharib; Shimaa A. Amer; Elsayed M. Younis; Abdel-Wahab A. Abdel-Warith; Simon J. Davies; Enas N. M. Khalil (Fishes, 2023)
A 10 week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the potential effects of ginger powder (GP) and ginger extract nanoparticles (GNPs) on the growth parameters, digestive enzymes (lipase and amylase) activities, blood hematology, blood biochemical indices, immune indices (interleukin 10, immunoglobulin M, nitric oxide, and lysozymes), antioxidant activity, histological characteristics of kidney, spleen, liver, and intestine, and resistance to Aeromonas hydrophila or Pseudomonas putida infection in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Fish (n = 225, 27.01 ± 0.15 g) were stocked in 15 glass tanks (50 × 40 × 60 cm) and randomly allocated to five experimental treatments (TRTs) in triplicate (15 fish/replicate, 45 fish/TRT), consisting of five isocaloric–isonitrogenous diets. The treatments comprised the basal diet (1) without any additives (control group, CON), (2) with 0.5% GP (GP0.5), (3) with 1% GP (GP1), (4) with 0.5% GNPs (GNPs0.5), and (5) with 1% GNPs (GNPs1). Fish were manually fed to satiety three times a day (at 9 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m.). Fish were weighed at the start of the experiment, then the body weight, weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were determined at the end of the experiment. At the end of the feeding period, 15 fish/TRT were intraperitoneally inoculated with two pathogenic bacterial strains (A. hydrophila or P. putida) in two separate challenge tests. Blood samples were collected from each TRT at two aliquots for hematological and biochemical analysis at the end of the feeding period. A significant improvement in fish growth was observed in GP and GNPs TRTs compared to the control group. There were no significant changes in the total amount of feed intake/fish in response to the experimental diets. Diets enriched with GNPs, particularly the GNPs1 TRT, resulted in a significant increase (p

Prevalence of effective fisheries management in a developed nation and its link to stock sustainability - Nicholas J. Hill; Malcolm Haddon; Klaas Hartmann; L. Richard Little; Jeremy M. Lyle; Bradley R. Moore; Simon Nicol (Marine Policy, 2023)

Monitoring erosion in tropical savannas from C-band radar coherence - Pascal Castellazzi; Sana Khan; Simon J. Walker; Rebecca Bartley; Scott N. Wilkinson; Jonathan C.L. Normand (Remote Sensing of Environment, 2023)

Distal tephra reveal new MIS 5e Kos eruptions: Implications for the chronology and volcanic evolution histories in the Eastern Mediterranean region - Shuang Zhang; Simon Blockley; Simon J. Armitage; Chris Satow; Christina Manning; Omry Barzilai; Elisabetta Boaretto; Dustin White; Rhys Timms (Quaternary Science Reviews, 2023)

Ocean circulation and biological processes drive seasonal variations of dissolved Al, Cd, Ni, Cu, and Zn on the Northeast Atlantic continental margin - Xue-Gang Chen; Dagmara Rusiecka; Martha Gledhill; Angela Milne; Amber L. Annett; Antony J. Birchill; Maeve C. Lohan; Simon Ussher; E. Malcolm S. Woodward; Eric P. Achterberg (Marine Chemistry, 2023)

Processes and timescales of magmatic rejuvenation and residence prior to post-caldera rhyolitic eruptions: Ōkataina Volcanic Centre, Aotearoa New Zealand - Hannah C. Elms; Simon J. Barker; Daniel J. Morgan; Colin J.N. Wilson; Bruce L.A. Charlier (Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 2023)

Physical and biogeochemical controls on seasonal iron, manganese, and cobalt distributions in Northeast Atlantic shelf seas - Xue-Gang Chen; Dagmara Rusiecka; Martha Gledhill; Angela Milne; Amber L. Annett; Aaron Joseph Beck; Antony J. Birchill; Maeve C. Lohan; Simon Ussher; Eric P. Achterberg (Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2023)

Assessing the impact of aircraft arrival on ambient ultrafine particle number concentrations in near-airport communities in Boston, Massachusetts - Chloe S. Chung; Kevin J. Lane; Flannery Black-Ingersoll; Eric Kolaczyk; Claire Schollaert; Sijia Li; Matthew C. Simon; Jonathan I. Levy (Environmental Research, 2023)

Carrot genotypes differentially alter soil bacterial communities and decomposition of plant residue in soil - Narda J. Triviño; Alejandro Rodriguez-Sanchez; Timothy Filley; James J. Camberato; Micaela Colley; Phillip Simon; Lori Hoagland (Plant and Soil, 2023)
Purpose Farmers need alternative approaches to manage nitrogen (N) that meet crop needs while reducing loss to the environment. Identifying crop genotypes that promote decomposition of organic materials and understanding the potential mechanisms responsible could help address this challenge. Consequently, we aimed to 1) determine whether carrot genotypes differ in their potential to facilitate organic matter decomposition in soil, and 2) identify bacterial taxa that are stimulated by carrot roots, and thus could play a role in these processes. Methods We grew five genotypes expected to differ in N use efficiency in a nutrient-poor soil amended with 15 N-enriched corn residue, tracked changes in carbon (C) and N pools, quantified microbial activity and bacterial community composition, and predicted the potential expression of microbial genes involved in soil C and N cycles. Results Experimental genotype 8503 had the greatest capacity to promote decomposition of corn residues. This genotype had the highest % of N from the corn residue in its taproots and on average, promoted higher b-glucosidase activity in soils. Distinct bacterial communities from the families Micromonosporaceae , Chromatiaceae , and Rhodospirillaceae were also enriched in the soils of genotypes like 8503 that were most effective in obtaining N from the corn residue, and this was correlated with greater potential expression of genes responsible for β-glucosidase and nitrification activity. Conclusions Carrot genotypes do differ in their potential to alter soil bacterial communities and stimulate microbially-mediated decomposition of organic materials indicating that it may be possible to begin selecting for this important trait.

Correction: Textural and micro-analytical insights into mafic–felsic interactions during the Oruanui eruption, Taupo - Shane M. Rooyakkers; Colin J. N. Wilson; C. Ian Schipper; Simon J. Barker; Aidan S. R. Allan (Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 2023)

Synthetic Microfiber Material Influences Ingestion by Freshwater Worms - Sarah A. Martinez; Conner J. Simon; Risa A. Cohen (Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2023)

The Anthropocene as an epoch is distinct from all other concepts known by this term: a reply to Swindles et al. (2023) - Martin J. Head; Colin N. Waters; Jan A. Zalasiewicz; Anthony D. Barnosky; Simon D. Turner; Alejandro Cearreta; Reinhold Leinfelder; Francine M.G. McCarthy; Daniel de B. Richter; Neil L. Rose; Yoshiki Saito; Davor Vidas; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2023)

Neritic larval fish assemblages across the Texas shelf in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Harvey - Shannan McAskill; James M. Tolan; Glenn A. Zapfe; Simon J. Geist (Fisheries Oceanography, 2023)
Fall is an important time of year for fish recruitment in the Gulf of Mexico, with many commercially and recreationally important species spawning during this period. Changes in temperature and salinity regimes through seasonally abnormal freshwater input may change spawning patterns and displace larvae. Such an event occurred off the coast of Galveston Bay, Texas, when a freshwater flood plume formed from unprecedented rainfall related to Hurricane Harvey at the end of August 2017. This study investigated the effects of a large‐scale flood plume on larval fish assemblages, collected at nearshore and shelf zones 1 and 2 months after Hurricane Harvey. Samples from 2017 were compared to historical datasets collected by NOAA Fisheries in September (2000–2004 and 2006–2016) and October (2000–2012). Evidence of lowered water temperature and salinity was found in both September and October 2017. Larval community composition changed along cross‐shelf gradients and with increasing distance from shore. We also found evidence of 2017 assemblages differing from historical data, with the September 2017 assemblage more closely resembling those from October historical samples. Observed differences in 2017 assemblages were most likely explained by an earlier onset in fall sciaenid spawning, suggesting that decreases in water temperature occurring during hurricanes have the potential to alter fish spawning patterns.

Long‐term trajectories of non‐native vegetation on islands globally - Anna Walentowitz; Bernd Lenzner; Franz Essl; Nichola Strandberg; Alvaro Castilla‐Beltrán; José María Fernández‐Palacios; Svante Björck; Simon Connor; Simon G. Haberle; Karl Ljung; Matiu Prebble; Janet M. Wilmshurst; et al. (Ecology Letters, 2023)
Human‐mediated changes in island vegetation are, among others, largely caused by the introduction and establishment of non‐native species. However, data on past changes in non‐native plant species abundance that predate historical documentation and censuses are scarce. Islands are among the few places where we can track human arrival in natural systems allowing us to reveal changes in vegetation dynamics with the arrival of non‐native species. We matched fossil pollen data with botanical status information (native, non‐native), and quantified the timing, trajectories and magnitude of non‐native plant vegetational change on 29 islands over the past 5000 years. We recorded a proportional increase in pollen of non‐native plant taxa within the last 1000 years. Individual island trajectories are context‐dependent and linked to island settlement histories. Our data show that non‐native plant introductions have a longer and more dynamic history than is generally recognized, with critical implications for biodiversity baselines and invasion biology.

Exposure of wild Caspian seals (Pusa caspica) to parasites, bacterial and viral pathogens, evaluated via molecular and serological assays - Aidyn Kydyrmanov; Kobey Karamendin; Yermukhammet Kassymbekov; Marat Kumar; Shynar Mazkirat; Symbat Suleimenova; Mirgaliy Baimukanov; Ian M. Carr; Simon J. Goodman (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2023)
Disease surveillance of marine mammal populations is essential to understand the causes of strandings, identify potential threats to animal health, and to support development of conservation strategies. Here we report the first large multi-pathogen screening of prevalence for viruses, bacteria and parasites in a sample of 177 live, healthy, wild Caspian seals ( Pusa caspica ), captured and released during satellite telemetry studies 2007-2017. Employing molecular and serological assays we assess prevalence of pathogens known to be of significance for marine mammal health worldwide, and evaluate the results in relation to Caspian seal health and conservation. RT-PCR, and PCR assays find evidence for infection by Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), Phocine herpes virus, phocine adenovirus and Influenza A at prevalences of 5%, 6.4%, 21.7%, and 4% respectively. The genomes of CDV isolates collected in 2008 showed 99.59% identity with the 2000 Caspian seal CDV epizootic strain. A partial coding sequence for the Us2 gene from the Caspian seal herpes virus was identical to PhHV-1 isolate PB84, previously reported from a harbor seal ( Phoca vitulina ), while amplicon sequences for the adenovirus polymerase gene indicated a novel strain. ELISA assays detected exposure to Influenza A (55% of tested samples), adenovirus (25%), coronavirus (6%), CDV (8%), herpes virus (94%), Toxoplasma gondii (2.6%) and heartworm (1%). Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) tests detected exposure to Influenza B at a prevalence of 20%, and Leptospira microscopic agglutination tests detected suspected exposure to Leptospira serovars in 9% of tested samples. Overall, the risks, profile and prevalence of pathogens in Caspian seals appear comparable to other wild phocid seal populations. Our results suggest Caspian seals have exposure pathways to pathogens with epizootic potential or ability to cause significant morbidity, and that disease impacts could reduce the resilience of the population to other conservation threats. Caspian seals are listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and we recommend that resources are invested to support further surveillance programs and to understand how anthropogenic pressures may influence future disease risks. A translated version of this abstract is available in Russian and Kazakh in the Supplementary Material (Presentation 1 and Presentation 2)

Impact of Streptococcus agalactiae Challenge on Immune Response, Antioxidant Status and Hepatorenal Indices of Nile Tilapia: The Palliative Role of Chitosan White Poplar Nanocapsule - Afaf N. Abdel Rahman; Sameh H. Ismail; Moustafa M. S. Fouda; Abdelwahab A. Abdelwarith; Elsayed M. Younis; Samah S. Khalil; Mahmoud M. El-Saber; Ahmed E. Abdelhamid; Simon J. Davies; Rowida E. Ibrahim (Fishes, 2023)
A new insight into the synthesis of the herbal plant (White poplar, Poplus alba) leave extract using chitosan nanocapsule was studied. The in vitro antibacterial activity of chitosan white poplar nanocapsule (CWPNC) against Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) was determined. About 120 fish were categorized for 7 days into four groups. The first and second (CWPNC) groups were treated with 0 mg/L and 3 mg/L CWPNC in the water, respectively, without being challenged; the first group was a control. The third (S. agalactiae) and fourth (CWPNC + S. agalactiae) groups were treated with 0 and 3 mg/L CWPNC, respectively, and challenged with S. agalactiae (0.5 × 107 CFU/mL). The obtained results revealed that CWPNC had an in vitro antibacterial activity against S. agalactiae. Moreover, S. agalactiae infection caused a significant elevation (p

Isotopically labeled ozone: A new approach to elucidate the formation of ozonation products - Millaray Sierra-Olea; Simon Kölle; Emil Bein; Thorsten Reemtsma; Oliver J. Lechtenfeld; Uwe Hübner (Water Research, 2023)

Expanding the use of portable XRF to monitor lead exposure in an Australian duck species two decades after a ban on lead shot - Damien Nzabanita; Jordan O. Hampton; Simon D. Toop; Andrew J. Bengsen; Aaron J. Specht; Jason S. Flesch; Jasmin Hufschmid; Dayanthi Nugegoda (Science of The Total Environment, 2023)

Circadian rhythm of preferred temperature in fish: Behavioural thermoregulation linked to daily photocycles in zebrafish and Nile tilapia - Luisa M. Vera; Gonzalo de Alba; Silvere Santos; Tim M. Szewczyk; Simon A. Mackenzie; Francisco J. Sánchez-Vázquez; Sònia Rey Planellas (Journal of Thermal Biology, 2023)

Targeted hydrolysis of native potato protein: A novel workflow for obtaining hydrolysates with improved interfacial properties - Simon Gregersen Echers; Ali Jafarpour; Betül Yesiltas; Pedro J. García-Moreno; Mathias Greve-Poulsen; Dennis K. Hansen; Charlotte Jacobsen; Michael Toft Overgaard; Egon Bech Hansen (Food Hydrocolloids, 2023)

Towards detecting genotoxic chemicals in food packaging at thresholds of toxicological concern using bioassays with high-performance thin-layer chromatography - Alan J. Bergmann; Milena Breitenbach; Celine Muñoz; Eszter Simon; Gregor McCombie; Maurus Biedermann; Andreas Schönborn; Etiënne L.M. Vermeirssen (Food Packaging and Shelf Life, 2023)

Federated Analysis in COINSTAC Reveals Functional Network Connectivity and Spectral Links to Smoking and Alcohol Consumption in Nearly 2,000 Adolescent Brains - Harshvardhan Gazula; Kelly Rootes-Murdy; Bharath Holla; Sunitha Basodi; Zuo Zhang; Eric Verner; Ross Kelly; Pratima Murthy; Amit Chakrabarti; Debasish Basu; Subodh Bhagyalakshmi Nanjayya; Rajkumar Lenin Singh; et al. (Neuroinformatics, 2023)

Rapamycin not dietary restriction improves resilience against pathogens: a meta-analysis - Eleanor J. Phillips; Mirre J. P. Simons (GeroScience, 2023)
Dietary restriction (DR) and rapamycin both increase lifespan across a number of taxa. Despite this positive effect on lifespan and other aspects of health, reductions in some physiological functions have been reported for DR, and rapamycin has been used as an immunosuppressant. Perhaps surprisingly, both interventions have been suggested to improve immune function and delay immunosenescence. The immune system is complex and consists of many components. Therefore, arguably, the most holistic measurement of immune function is survival from an acute pathogenic infection. We reanalysed published post-infection short-term survival data of mice ( n = 1223 from 23 studies comprising 46 effect sizes involving DR ( n = 17) and rapamycin treatment ( n = 29) and analysed these results using meta-analysis. Rapamycin treatment significantly increased post infection survival rate (lnHR = − 0.72; CI = − 1.17, -0.28; p = 0.0015). In contrast, DR reduced post-infection survival (lnHR = 0.80; CI = 0.08, 1.52; p = 0.03). Importantly, the overall effect size of rapamycin treatment was significantly lower ( p < 0.001) than the estimate from DR studies, suggesting opposite effects on immune function. Our results show that immunomodulation caused by rapamycin treatment is beneficial to the survival from acute infection. For DR, our results are based on a smaller number of studies, but do warrant caution as they indicate possible immune costs of DR. Our quantitative synthesis suggests that the geroprotective effects of rapamycin extend to the immune system and warrants further clinical trials of rapamycin to boost immunity in humans.

Method development to characterise elephant tail hairs by LA-ICP-MS to reflect changes in elemental chemistry - Fiona Sach; Lorraine Fields; Simon Chenery; Lisa Yon; Michelle D. Henley; Peter Buss; Ellen S. Dierenfeld; Simon C. Langley-Evans; Michael J. Watts (Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 2023)
This paper evaluated analytical methods used to generate time-series data from elephant tail hairs, which can be used to reflect changing exposure to environmental geochemistry. Elephant tail hairs were analysed by three methods sequentially, each providing data to inform subsequent analysis. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Microanalysis visually showed the structure of the hair, specific structures such as tubules, and the mineral crusting around the edge of the hair, informing targeting of subsequent analysis by Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). LA-ICP-MS generated time-series data which informed sectioning of the tail hairs for subsequent quantitative analysis for potentially toxic elements and micronutrients using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) of dissolved tail hairs. This novel approach to characterise the tail hair enabled time-series analysis to reflect changes in environmental exposure which may result from seasonal or geochemical spatial variation and could inform elephant movement patterns. The seasonal change between wet and dry seasons was reflected down the length of the hair. Correlations were seen between LA-ICP-MS data and ICP-MS data in several elements including Mg, P, Ca, Fe, Na, Mn and U. This study provided time-series data for the analysis of elephant tail hairs by evaluating analytical challenges to obtaining quantitative data, such as improving protocols to ensure removal of extraneous material, determining where to section the tail hairs to best reflect environmental changes/exposure and ensuring representative analyses. A protocol was established to determine mineral status across a 12–18 month time period utilizing single elephant tail hairs.

A pilot study investigating feasibility of mainstreaming germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing in high-risk patients with breast and/or ovarian cancer in three tertiary Cancer Centres in Ireland - Terri Patricia McVeigh; Karl J. Sweeney; Donal J. Brennan; Una M. McVeigh; Simon Ward; Ann Strydom; Sheila Seal; Katherine Astbury; Paul Donnellan; Joanne Higgins; Maccon Keane; Michael J. Kerin; et al. (Familial Cancer, 2023)

When things get MESI: The Manipulation Experiments Synthesis Initiative—A coordinated effort to synthesize terrestrial global change experiments - Kevin Van Sundert; Sebastian Leuzinger; Martin K.‐F. Bader; Scott X. Chang; Martin G. De Kauwe; Jeffrey S. Dukes; J. Adam Langley; Zilong Ma; Bertold Mariën; Simon Reynaert; Jingyi Ru; Jian Song; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2023)
Responses of the terrestrial biosphere to rapidly changing environmental conditions are a major source of uncertainty in climate projections. In an effort to reduce this uncertainty, a wide range of global change experiments have been conducted that mimic future conditions in terrestrial ecosystems, manipulating CO 2 , temperature, and nutrient and water availability. Syntheses of results across experiments provide a more general sense of ecosystem responses to global change, and help to discern the influence of background conditions such as climate and vegetation type in determining global change responses. Several independent syntheses of published data have yielded distinct databases for specific objectives. Such parallel, uncoordinated initiatives carry the risk of producing redundant data collection efforts and have led to contrasting outcomes without clarifying the underlying reason for divergence. These problems could be avoided by creating a publicly available, updatable, curated database. Here, we report on a global effort to collect and curate 57,089 treatment responses across 3644 manipulation experiments at 1145 sites, simulating elevated CO 2 , warming, nutrient addition, and precipitation changes. In the resulting Manipulation Experiments Synthesis Initiative (MESI) database, effects of experimental global change drivers on carbon and nutrient cycles are included, as well as ancillary data such as background climate, vegetation type, treatment magnitude, duration, and, unique to our database, measured soil properties. Our analysis of the database indicates that most experiments are short term (one or few growing seasons), conducted in the USA, Europe, or China, and that the most abundantly reported variable is aboveground biomass. We provide the most comprehensive multifactor global change database to date, enabling the research community to tackle open research questions, vital to global policymaking. The MESI database, freely accessible at doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7153253 , opens new avenues for model evaluation and synthesis‐based understanding of how global change affects terrestrial biomes. We welcome contributions to the database on GitHub.

Five approaches to producing actionable science in conservation - Candice Carr Kelman; Chris J. Barton; Kyle Whitman; Simon Lhoest; Derrick M. Anderson; Leah R. Gerber (Conservation Biology, 2023)
The knowledge produced by conservation scientists must be actionable in order to address urgent conservation challenges. To understand the process of creating actionable science, we interviewed 71 conservation scientists who had participated in 1 of 3 fellowship programs focused on training scientists to become agents of change. Using a grounded theory approach, we identified 16 activities that these researchers employed to make their scientific products more actionable. Some activities were more common than others and, arguably, more foundational. We organized these activities into 3 nested categories (motivations, strategies, and tactics). Using a co‐occurrence matrix, we found that most activities were positively correlated. These correlations allowed us to identify 5 approaches, framed as profiles, to actionable science: the discloser, focused on open access; the educator, focused on science communication; the networker, focused on user needs and building relationships; the collaborator, focused on boundary spanning; and the pluralist, focused on knowledge coproduction resulting in valuable outcomes for all parties. These profiles build on one another in a hierarchy determined by their complexity and level of engagement, their potential to support actionable science, and their proximity to ideal coproduction with knowledge users. Our results provide clear guidance for conservation scientists to generate actionable science to address the global biodiversity conservation challenge.

Far UV-C radiation: An emerging tool for pandemic control - Ernest R. Blatchley; David J. Brenner; Holger Claus; Troy E. Cowan; Karl G. Linden; Yijing Liu; Ted Mao; Sung-Jin Park; Patrick J. Piper; Richard M. Simons; David H. Sliney (Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2023)

Pre-eruptive rhyolite magma ascent rate is rapid and independent of eruption size: a case study from Ōkataina Volcanic Centre, Aotearoa New Zealand - Hannah C. Elms; Madison L. Myers; Alexander R. L. Nichols; Paul J. Wallace; Colin J. N. Wilson; Simon J. Barker; Bruce L. A. Charlier (Bulletin of Volcanology, 2023)
Volatile measurements in mineral-hosted sealed melt inclusions, and open-ended embayments, have previously been used to study magma ascent dynamics in large rhyolitic eruptions. However, despite occurring more frequently, smaller-volume explosive events remain under-studied. We present magmatic volatile data from quartz-hosted melt inclusions and embayments for eight post-25.4 ka rhyolitic eruptions at Ōkataina Volcanic Centre, Aotearoa New Zealand. Seven originated from within the main caldera, and the other erupted from the associated Ōkareka Structural Embayment. Melt inclusions preserve volatile contents of 2.92–5.82 wt% H 2 O and 13–126 ppm CO 2 , indicating pre-eruptive storage depths of 4.5–7.4 km, with younger eruptions being more shallow. The lack of correlation between H 2 O, CO 2 , inclusion size or distance to the crystal rim suggests magma bodies experienced variable degrees of degassing during magma storage, with some amount of post-entrapment volatile modification prior to and concurrent with final magma ascent. Diffusion modelling of measured H 2 O gradients in melt embayments indicates ascent rates of 0.10–1.67 m.s −1 over time spans of 20–230 min for the intra-caldera events. In contrast, ascent rates for the eruption from the Ōkareka Structural Embayment may be more rapid, at 1.59–4.4 m.s −1 over a time span of 22–34 min. Our findings imply that the final, pre-eruptive magma movement towards the surface could be less than a few hours. Comparisons with published data for caldera-forming explosive events reveal no clear relationships between final ascent rate, eruption size or initial volatile content, implying that other factors besides eruption volume control rhyolite magma ascent.

Reflexive governance architectures: Considering the ethical implications of autonomous technology adoption in food supply chains - Louise Manning; Steve Brewer; Peter J. Craigon; Jeremy Frey; Anabel Gutierrez; Naomi Jacobs; Samantha Kanza; Samuel Munday; Justin Sacks; Simon Pearson (Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2023)

Nutraceutical and dietary resources for breast cancer prevention – Highlighting strategies for suppressing breast aromatase expression - Simon Bernard Iloki Assanga; Lidianys María Lewis Luján; Mark F. McCarty; James J. DiNicolantonio (PharmaNutrition, 2023)

The presence of wind turbines repels bats in boreal forests - Simon P. Gaultier; Thomas M. Lilley; Eero J. Vesterinen; Jon E. Brommer (Landscape and Urban Planning, 2023)

Response to Merritts et al. (2023): The Anthropocene is complex. Defining it is not - Colin N. Waters; Martin J. Head; Jan Zalasiewicz; Francine M.G. McCarthy; Scott L. Wing; Peter K. Haff; Mark Williams; Anthony D. Barnosky; Barbara Fiałkiewicz-Kozieł; Reinhold Leinfelder; J.R. McNeill; Neil L. Rose; et al. (Earth-Science Reviews, 2023)

Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis in low-seismicity regions: an investigation of sensitivity with a focus on Finland - Ludovic Fülöp; Päivi Mäntyniemi; Marianne Malm; Gabriel Toro; María J. Crespo; Timo Schmitt; Simon Burck; Pekka Välikangas (Natural Hazards, 2023)
We investigate probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) in low-seismicity regions in which epistemic uncertainties are largely due to the sparsity of data, with a focus on Finland, northern Europe. We investigate the sensitivity of site-specific PSHA outcomes to different choices of basic input parameters, starting from preexisting PSHA models of the nuclear licensees in the country, without producing a final hazard curve. The outcome shows that the parameters and models needed to estimate future seismicity rates from actual observations, in particular the b value, seismicity rates, and the largest possible magnitude, M max , as well as the median ground-motion prediction equation, play significant roles. The sensitivity also depends on the spectral frequency; for example, the effect of M max is significant especially for a low-frequency hazard at annual frequency of exceedance 10 −5 but more moderate for peak ground acceleration. The delineation of seismic source zones (SSZs) remains ambiguous in regions of low seismicity. This, combined with the dominance of the host SSZ and its seismicity parameters, may have a substantial impact on the outcome. Our results are quantitatively applicable to Finland, but may also be of relevance to other low-seismicity regions in Europe and elsewhere. For future work we recommend the exploration of PSHA sensitivity with focus on the host SSZ with its immediate vicinity and the b value around the site of interest.

Targeting de novo loss-of-function variants in constrained disease genes improves diagnostic rates in the 100,000 Genomes Project - Eleanor G. Seaby; N. Simon Thomas; Amy Webb; Helen Brittain; Ana Lisa Taylor Tavares; J. C. Ambrose; P Arumugam; R Bevers; M Bleda; F Boardman-Pretty; C. R. Boustred; H Brittain; et al. (Human Genetics, 2023)
Background Genome sequencing was first offered clinically in the UK through the 100,000 Genomes Project (100KGP). Analysis was restricted to predefined gene panels associated with the patient’s phenotype. However, panels rely on clearly characterised phenotypes and risk missing diagnoses outside of the panel(s) applied. We propose a complementary method to rapidly identify pathogenic variants, including those missed by 100KGP methods. Methods The Loss-of-function Observed/Expected Upper-bound Fraction (LOEUF) score quantifies gene constraint, with low scores correlated with haploinsufficiency. We applied DeNovoLOEUF, a filtering strategy to sequencing data from 13,949 rare disease trios in the 100KGP, by filtering for rare, de novo, loss-of-function variants in disease genes with a LOEUF score < 0.2. We compared our findings with the corresponding patient’s diagnostic reports. Results 324/332 (98%) of the variants identified using DeNovoLOEUF were diagnostic or partially diagnostic (whereby the variant was responsible for some of the phenotype). We identified 39 diagnoses that were “missed” by 100KGP standard analyses, which are now being returned to patients. Conclusion We have demonstrated a highly specific and rapid method with a 98% positive predictive value that has good concordance with standard analysis, low false-positive rate, and can identify additional diagnoses. Globally, as more patients are being offered genome sequencing, we anticipate that DeNovoLOEUF will rapidly identify new diagnoses and facilitate iterative analyses when new disease genes are discovered.

Seafloor Terrain Shapes the Three-dimensional Nursery Value of Mangrove and Seagrass Habitats - Hayden P. Borland; Ben L. Gilby; Christopher J. Henderson; Rod M. Connolly; Bob Gorissen; Nicholas L. Ortodossi; Ashley J. Rummell; Ivan Nagelkerken; Simon J. Pittman; Marcus Sheaves; Andrew D. Olds (Ecosystems, 2023)
Mangroves and seagrasses are important nurseries for many marine species, and this function is linked to the complexity and context of these habitats in coastal seascapes. It is also connected to bathymetric features that influence habitat availability, and the accessibility of refuge habitats, but the significance of terrain variation for nursery function is unknown. To test whether seafloor terrain influences nursery function, we surveyed fish assemblages from mangrove and seagrass habitats in 29 estuaries in eastern Australia with unbaited underwater cameras and quantified the surrounding three-dimensional terrain with a set of complementary surface metrics (that is, depth, aspect, curvature, slope, roughness) applied to sonar-derived bathymetric maps. Terrain metrics explained variability in assemblages in both mangroves and seagrasses, with differing effects for the entire fish assemblage and nursery species composition, and between habitats. Higher depth, plan curvature (concavity or convexity) and roughness (backscatter) were negatively correlated with abundance and diversity in mangroves and positively linked to abundance and diversity in seagrass. Mangrove nursery species (6 species) were most abundant in forests adjacent to flats with concave holes, rough substrates and low-moderate depths, whereas seagrass nursery species (3 species) were most abundant in meadows adjacent to deep channels with soft mounds and ledges. These findings indicate that seafloor terrain influences nursery function and demonstrate contrasting effects of terrain variation in mangroves and seagrass. We suggest that incorporating three-dimensional terrain into coastal conservation and restoration plans could help to improve outcomes for fisheries management, but contrasting strategies might be needed for different nursery habitats.

Instability of extrachromosomal DNA transformed into the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum - Andrew Diamond; Aracely Maribel Diaz-Garza; Jessica Li; Samuel S. Slattery; Natacha Merindol; Elisa Fantino; Fatma Meddeb-Mouelhi; Bogumil J. Karas; Simon Barnabé; Isabel Desgagné-Penix (Algal Research, 2023)

Density-impact functions for invasive house mouse (Mus musculus) effects on indigenous lizards and invertebrates - Grant Norbury; Deborah J. Wilson; Dean Clarke; Ella Hayman; James Smith; Simon Howard (Biological Invasions, 2023)
House mice are among the most widely distributed mammals in the world, and adversely affect a wide range of indigenous biota. Suppressing mouse populations, however, is difficult and expensive. Cost-effective suppression requires knowing how low to reduce mouse numbers to achieve biodiversity outcomes, but these targets are usually unknown or not based on evidence. We derived density-impact functions (DIFs) for mice and small indigenous fauna in a tussock grass/shrubland ecosystem. We related two indices of mouse abundance to five indices of indigenous lizard and invertebrate abundance measured inside and outside mammal-resistant fences. Eight of 22 DIFs were significantly non-linear, with positive responses of skinks ( Oligosoma maccanni , O. polychroma ) and ground wētā ( Hemiandrus spp.) only where mice were not detected or scarce ( Woodworthia spp.) were rarely detected where mice were present. A further 9 DIFs were not differentiated from null models, but patterns were consistent with impacts at 5% mouse abundance. This study suggests that unless mouse control programmes commit to very low abundances, they risk little return for effort. Impact studies of invasive house mice are largely restricted to island ecosystems. Studies need to be extended to other ecosystems and species to confirm the universality or otherwise of these highly non-linear DIFs.

Putting the fish into inland fisheries – A global allocation of historic inland fish catch - Rachel F. Ainsworth; Ian G. Cowx; Simon J. Funge‐Smith (Fish and Fisheries, 2023)
Inland waters support the livelihoods of up to 820 million people and provide fisheries that make an essential contribution towards food security, particularly in the developing world where 90% of inland fisheries catch is consumed. Despite their importance, inland fisheries are overlooked in favour of other water use sectors deemed more economically important. Inland fisheries are also driven by external factors such as climate change and habitat loss, which impedes our ability to manage them sustainably. Using a river basin approach to allocate fish catch, we have provided an integrated picture of how different inland water bodies contribute to global inland fisheries catches. There is a substantial amount of information available on inland fisheries, but it has never been synthesised to build this global picture. Fishery statistics from river basins, lakes, floodplains, hydrobasins, and countries covering a time span from 1960–2018 were analysed. Collation of basin‐scale fisheries statistics suggests a global inland catch of ≈17.4 million tonnes (PSE = ±3.93 million tonnes) in 2010, considerably more than the 10.8 million tonnes published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), but in line with estimates based on household consumption. The figure is considered a likely maximum due to recent reductions in catches because of closures, threats, and fisheries declines in the most productive fisheries. It is recommended that sentinel fisheries, which are important for food provision, employment, or where threats facing a fishery could cause a deterioration in catch, are identified to provide the baseline for a global monitoring programme.

The effect of salt dosing for chytrid mitigation on tadpoles of a threatened frog, Litoria aurea - Alex Callen; Ligia Pizzatto; Michelle P. Stockwell; Simon Clulow; John Clulow; Michael J. Mahony (Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 2023)
The novel fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (chytrid) is one of the greatest threats to amphibians worldwide. Small increases in water salinity (up to ca. 4 ppt) have been shown to limit chytrid transmission between frogs, potentially providing a way to create environmental refugia to reduce its impact at a landscape scale. However, the effect of increasing water salinity on tadpoles, a life stage confined to water, is highly variable. Increased water salinity can lead to reduced size and altered growth patterns in some species, with flow-on effects to vital rates such as survival and reproduction. It is thus important to assess potential trade-offs caused by increasing salinity as a tool to mitigate chytrid in susceptible frogs. We conducted laboratory experiments to examine the effects of salinity on the survival and development of tadpoles of a threatened frog ( Litoria aurea ), previously demonstrated as a suitable candidate for trialling landscape manipulations to mitigate chytrid. We exposed tadpoles to salinity ranging from 1 to 6 ppt and measured survival, time to metamorphosis, body mass and locomotor performance of post-metamorphic frogs as a measure of fitness. Survival and time to metamorphosis did not differ between salinity treatments or controls reared in rainwater. Body mass was positively associated with increasing salinity in the first 14 days. Juvenile frogs from three salinity treatments also showed the same or better locomotor performance compared to rainwater controls, confirming that environmental salinity may influence life history traits in the larval stage, potentially as a hormetic response. Our research suggests that salt concentrations in the range previously shown to improve survival of frogs in the presence of chytrid are unlikely to impact larval development of our candidate threatened species. Our study lends support to the idea of manipulating salinity to create environmental refugia from chytrid for at least some salt-tolerant species.

Lead contamination in Australian game meat - Jordan O. Hampton; Deborah J. Pain; Eric Buenz; Simon M. Firestone; Jon M. Arnemo (Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2023)
Lead-based ammunition (gunshot and bullets) frequently leaves small lead fragments embedded in the meat of wild-shot game animals. Australia produces several commercial game meat products from wild animals harvested with lead-based ammunition and has a growing population of recreational hunters. However, no studies have previously investigated the frequency of lead fragments or lead concentrations in Australian game meat. We examined 133 Australian minced game meat items of four types for evidence of lead contamination. Samples were meat from kangaroos ( Macropus and Osphranter spp.; n =36) and Bennett’s wallabies ( Notamacropus rufogriseus ; n =28) sold for human consumption, and deer (‘venison’; multiple spp.; n =32) and stubble quail ( Coturnix pectoralis ; n =37) harvested for private consumption by recreational hunters. All packages were studied by digital radiography to detect the presence of radio-dense fragments, assumed to be lead fragments from ammunition. Visible fragments were absent in commercially available kangaroo products, but were present in 4%, 28% and 35% of wallaby, venison and quail, respectively. Mean meat lead concentrations (mg/kg wet weight) were 0.01 ± 0.01 for kangaroo, 0.02 ± 0.01 for wallaby, 0.12 ± 0.07 for venison, and 1.76 ± 3.76 for quail. The Australian food standards threshold for livestock meat (0.1 mg/kg w.w.) was not exceeded by any kangaroo or wallaby products but was exceeded by 53% and 86% of venison and quail, respectively. Radiography only detected 35% of samples that were above the food safety threshold. While average lead concentrations in commercially available macropod (kangaroo and wallaby) meat were low, those in recreationally harvested game meat may pose health risks for hunters and associated consumers.

Sex-specific relationships between obesity, physical activity, and gray and white matter volume in cognitively unimpaired older adults - Brittany Intzandt; Safa Sanami; Julia Huck; Anne Labonté; Alexa Pichet Binette; Axel Mathieu; Cynthia Picard; Doris Dea; Claudio Cuello; Alan Evans; Christine Tardif; Gerhard Mulhaup; et al. (GeroScience, 2023)

Depth and temperature profiles reflect individual differences in the daytime diving behaviours of pelagic thresher sharks - Simon P. Oliver; Thomas M. Grothues; Zoe J. Mayo; Amie L. Williams; Medel Silvosa; Gary Cases (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2023)
We used acoustic telemetry to investigate the roles of depth and temperature in the daytime foraging behaviours of 13 tagged pelagic thresher sharks by monitoring their fine scale vertical movements in the Philippines. Cumulatively, pelagic thresher shark dives traversed the entire water column where they encountered temperatures that ranged from 33°C at the surface to 12°C at 250 m depths throughout the day, but the movements of individuals varied in the extent of both their deep and shallow water limits. Dives were not synchronized to diurnal cycles, and periodicity reflected cycles of similar dives, the dives themselves, deviations, cruising, and individuality. Pelagic thresher shark movements between the warm surface layer and cooler waters below the thermocline (155 – 175 m) may reflect a common Alopiid strategy that balances maintaining tolerable ambient water temperatures with opportunities to search for and forage on spatially patchy distributions of prey.

Planktic foraminifera iodine/calcium ratios from plankton tows - Helge A. Winkelbauer; Babette A. A. Hoogakker; Rosie J. Chance; Catherine V. Davis; Christopher J. Anthony; Juliane Bischoff; Lucy J. Carpenter; Simon R. N. Chenery; Elliott M. Hamilton; Philip Holdship; Victoria L. Peck; Alex J. Poulton; et al. (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2023)
Planktic foraminifera test iodine to calcium ratios represent an emerging proxy method to assess subsurface seawater oxygenation states. Several core-top studies show lower planktic foraminifera I/Ca in locations with oxygen depleted subsurface waters compared to well oxygenated environments. The reasoning behind this trend is that only the oxidized species of iodine, iodate, is incorporated in foraminiferal calcite. The I/Ca of foraminiferal calcite is thought to reflect iodate contents in seawater. To test this hypothesis, we compare planktic foraminifera I/Ca ratios, obtained from plankton tows, with published and new seawater iodate concentrations from 1) the Eastern North Pacific with extensive oxygen depletion, 2) the Benguela Current System with moderately depleted oxygen concentrations, and 3) the well oxygenated North and South Atlantic. We find the lowest I/Ca ratios (0.07 µmol/mol) in planktic foraminifera retrieved from the Eastern North Pacific, and higher values for samples (up to 0.72 µmol/mol) obtained from the Benguela Current System and North and South Atlantic. The I/Ca ratios of plankton tow foraminifera from environments with well oxygenated subsurface waters, however, are an order of magnitude lower compared to core-tops from similarly well-oxygenated regions. This would suggest that planktic foraminifera gain iodine post-mortem, either when sinking through the water column, or during burial.

Resilience of ecosystem service delivery in grasslands in response to single and compound extreme weather events - Rosalind J. Dodd; David R. Chadwick; Paul W. Hill; Felicity Hayes; Antonio R. Sánchez-Rodríguez; Dylan Gwynn-Jones; Simon M. Smart; Davey L. Jones (Science of The Total Environment, 2023)

Can Ingoing Contact Chains and other cattle movement network metrics help predict herd-level bovine tuberculosis in Irish cattle herds? - Jamie A. Tratalos; Helen R. Fielding; Jamie M. Madden; Miriam Casey; Simon J. More (Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2023)

Uncertainty and error in SARS-CoV-2 epidemiological parameters inferred from population-level epidemic models - Dominic G. Whittaker; Alejandra D. Herrera-Reyes; Maurice Hendrix; Markus R. Owen; Leah R. Band; Gary R. Mirams; Kirsty J. Bolton; Simon P. Preston (Journal of Theoretical Biology, 2023)

Petrogenesis of Meso-Neoarchean granitoids from the Chitradurga Greenstone Belt: Implications on crustal growth and reworking of the Dharwar Craton, southern India - M. Ram Mohan; Neal J. McNaughton; D. Srinivasa Sarma; M. Rajamanickam; Ian R. Fletcher; Simon A. Wilde; Birger Rasmussen; Bryan Krapež; S. Balakrishnan (Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 2023)

Dissecting the impact of environment, season and genotype on blackcurrant fruit quality traits - Delphine M. Pott; Sara Durán-Soria; J. William Allwood; Simon Pont; Sandra L. Gordon; Nikki Jennings; Ceri Austin; Derek Stewart; Rex M. Brennan; Agnieszka Masny; Anita Sønsteby; Erika Krüger; et al. (Food Chemistry, 2023)

Immunostimulatory effect of mannan-oligosaccharides supplementation diet in milkfish (Chanos chanos) - Ramasamy Harikrishnan; Gunapathy Devi; Paramaraj Balamurugan; Abdel-Wahab A. Abdel-Warith; Elsayed M. Younis; Hien Van Doan; Chellam Balasundaram; Simon J. Davies; Ehab El-Haroun (Fish & Shellfish Immunology, 2023)

Using exterior housing conditions to predict elevated pediatric blood lead levels - Neal J. Wilson; Elizabeth Friedman; Kevin Kennedy; Panayiotis T. Manolakos; Lori Reierson; Amy Roberts; Steve Simon (Environmental Research, 2023)

A Novel Mitochondria-Targeting Iron Chelator Neuroprotects Multimodally via HIF-1 Modulation Against a Mitochondrial Toxin in a Dopaminergic Cell Model of Parkinson’s Disease - Belinda Fouché; Stephanie Turner; Rebecca Gorham; Eloise J. Stephenson; Simon Gutbier; Joanna L. Elson; Olimpo García-Beltrán; Francois H. Van Der Westhuizen; Ilse S. Pienaar (Molecular Neurobiology, 2023)

Time to retire the notion that local and whole-body exercise thresholds are mechanistically linked? - Richie P. Goulding; Simon Marwood; Tze-Huan Lei; Dai Okushima; David C. Poole; Thomas J. Barstow; Narihiko Kondo; Shunsaku Koga (European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2023)

Distribution of the reef manta ray Mobula alfredi and the oceanic manta ray Mobula birostris in the Philippines: a collaborative effort for conservation - Joshua Rambahiniarison; Ariana Agustines; Konstantinos Alexopoulos; Gonzalo Araujo; Asia O. Armstrong; Shannon Arnold; Aldrin Barruga; Titus Cañete; Segundo Conales; Kymry Delijero; Nonie P. Enolva; Anna L. Flam; et al. (Journal of Fish Biology, 2023)
Little is known about manta ray population size, structure and connectivity in the Philippines. In collaboration with dive operators, non‐governmental organizations and authorities, sightings of manta rays were collated into a single national database. Using in‐water photographs and videos gathered through citizen science and dedicated research efforts, this study compiled sightings between 2004 and 2020, showing 22 separate sites throughout the archipelago with manta rays present. A total of 392 individual reef manta rays ( Mobula alfredi ) and 107 oceanic manta rays ( Mobula birostris ) were identified from the collected footage. Four specific sites in the provinces of Masbate and Palawan together hosted 89% of all identified individuals and accounted for 95% of sightings, highlighting these areas are key aggregation sites. This study also reports the movements of M. birostris within the Philippines, based on photo‐identification of three individuals moving 150 km between Cebu and Masbate. Despite the growing number of recreational divers in Daanbantayan and San Jacinto, an 80% decline in M. birostris sightings was observed at these sites. To ensure effective future conservation, it is recommended that efforts focus on the identification and protection of manta ray hotspots and migratory corridors, the creation of a sustainable tourism framework and, most important, the implementation of mitigation strategies to reduce fisheries interactions.

Potential for redistribution of post‐moult habitat for Eudyptes penguins in the Southern Ocean under future climate conditions - Cara‐Paige Green; David B. Green; Norman Ratcliffe; David Thompson; Mary‐Anne Lea; Alastair M. M. Baylis; Alexander L. Bond; Charles‐André Bost; Sarah Crofts; Richard J. Cuthbert; Jacob González‐Solís; Kyle W. Morrison; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2023)
Anthropogenic climate change is resulting in spatial redistributions of many species. We assessed the potential effects of climate change on an abundant and widely distributed group of diving birds, Eudyptes penguins, which are the main avian consumers in the Southern Ocean in terms of biomass consumption. Despite their abundance, several of these species have undergone population declines over the past century, potentially due to changing oceanography and prey availability over the important winter months. We used light‐based geolocation tracking data for 485 individuals deployed between 2006 and 2020 across 10 of the major breeding locations for five taxa of Eudyptes penguins. We used boosted regression tree modelling to quantify post‐moult habitat preference for southern rockhopper ( E. chrysocome ), eastern rockhopper ( E. filholi ), northern rockhopper ( E. moseleyi ) and macaroni/royal ( E. chrysolophus and E. schlegeli ) penguins. We then modelled their redistribution under two climate change scenarios, representative concentration pathways RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 (for the end of the century, 2071–2100). As climate forcings differ regionally, we quantified redistribution in the Atlantic, Central Indian, East Indian, West Pacific and East Pacific regions. We found sea surface temperature and sea surface height to be the most important predictors of current habitat for these penguins; physical features that are changing rapidly in the Southern Ocean. Our results indicated that the less severe RCP4.5 would lead to less habitat loss than the more severe RCP8.5. The five taxa of penguin may experience a general poleward redistribution of their preferred habitat, but with contrasting effects in the (i) change in total area of preferred habitat under climate change (ii) according to geographic region and (iii) the species (macaroni/royal vs. rockhopper populations). Our results provide further understanding on the regional impacts and vulnerability of species to climate change.

Toward a forest biomass reference measurement system for remote sensing applications - Nicolas Labrière; Stuart J. Davies; Mathias I. Disney; Laura I. Duncanson; Martin Herold; Simon L. Lewis; Oliver L. Phillips; Shaun Quegan; Sassan S. Saatchi; Dmitry G. Schepaschenko; Klaus Scipal; Plinio Sist; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2023)
Forests contribute to climate change mitigation through carbon storage and uptake, but the extent to which this carbon pool varies in space and time is still poorly known. Several Earth Observation missions have been specifically designed to address this issue, for example, NASA's GEDI, NASA‐ISRO's NISAR and ESA's BIOMASS. Yet, all these missions' products require independent and consistent validation. A permanent, global, in situ, site‐based forest biomass reference measurement system relying on ground data of the highest possible quality is therefore needed. Here, we have assembled a list of almost 200 high‐quality sites through an in‐depth review of the literature and expert knowledge. In this study, we explore how representative these sites are in terms of their coverage of environmental conditions, geographical space and biomass‐related forest structure, compared to those experienced by forests worldwide. This work also aims at identifying which sites are the most representative, and where to invest to improve the representativeness of the proposed system. We show that the environmental coverage of the system does not seem to improve after at least the 175 most representative sites are included, but geographical and structural coverages continue to improve as more sites are added. We highlight the areas of poor environmental, geographical, or structural coverage, including, but not limited to, Canada, the western half of the USA, Mexico, Patagonia, Angola, Zambia, eastern Russia, and tropical and subtropical highlands (e.g. in Colombia, the Himalayas, Borneo, Papua). For the proposed system to succeed, we stress that (1) data must be collected and processed applying the same standards across all countries and continents; (2) system establishment and management must be inclusive and equitable, with careful consideration of working conditions; and (3) training and site partner involvement in downstream activities should be mandatory.

Mass falls of crustacean carcasses link surface waters and the deep seafloor - Erik Simon‐Lledó; Brian J. Bett; Noëlie M. A. Benoist; Henk‐Jan Hoving; Dmitry Aleynik; Tammy Horton; Daniel O. B. Jones (Ecology, 2023)

Spatial link between Adélie penguin foraging effort and krill swarm abundance and distribution - Javed Riaz; Sophie Bestley; Simon Wotherspoon; Martin J. Cox; Louise Emmerson (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2023)
Understanding how predator foraging behaviour is influenced by the distribution and abundance of prey is a fundamental challenge in marine foraging ecology. This is particularly relevant in Southern Ocean ecosystems where the relationships between select predator species and Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba ) can inform ecosystem conservation and precautionary fisheries management. In this study, we examine the spatial associations between krill swarm characteristics and Adélie penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae ) foraging effort at Béchervaise Island, a long-term monitoring site in East Antarctica. Spatially integrating two years of regional-scale krill acoustic data with contemporaneous horizontal and vertical movement information from chick-rearing adult Adélie penguins, we assessed how penguin foraging effort changed in relation to krill swarm abundance and distribution across the survey area. Our findings show that penguin diving effort was focused in areas with a high number of krill swarms, yet they did not focus their effort in areas with high krill biomass. These results suggest the spatial organisation of Adélie penguin foraging effort can provide an indication of krill presence (and/or availability) but may not reflect krill abundance. We discuss our results in the context of penguin foraging strategies, capturing single krill within the water column rather than the engulfment feeding strategy of larger marine mammals such as whales. Our work substantially improves understanding of penguin-krill dynamics in East Antarctica and provides a greater level of nuance regarding the utility of Adélie penguins as indicator species under CCAMLR’s Ecosystem Monitoring Programme (CEMP). Understanding these predator-prey linkages will become increasingly important for managing any expanding krill fisheries in the region or changes in the prey field under future climate change scenarios. Thus, our results can be interpreted alongside other ecological indicators to support management of the East Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean ecosystem.

Approaches for estimating natural mortality in tuna stock assessments: Application to global yellowfin tuna stocks - Simon D. Hoyle; Ashley J. Williams; Carolina V. Minte-Vera; Mark N. Maunder (Fisheries Research, 2023)

Abundance and sources of plastic debris on beaches in a plastic hotspot, Nha Trang, Viet Nam - Mikkel Fruergaard; Simon N. Laursen; Marianne N. Larsen; Nicole R. Posth; Kasper B. Niebe; Abeline Bentzon-Tarp; Sidsel K. Svenningsen; Laura I. Acevedo N.; Bao-Son Trinh; Phuong Thao Tran-Thi; Hai Doan-Nhu; Lam Nguyen-Ngoc; et al. (Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2023)

Corrigendum to “Priorities to inform research on marine plastic pollution in Southeast Asia” [Sci. Total Environ. volume 841 (2022) Article 156704] - Lucy C.M. Omeyer; Emily M. Duncan; Kornrawee Aiemsomboon; Nicola Beaumont; Sujaree Bureekul; Bin Cao; Luis R. Carrasco; Suchana Chavanich; James R. Clark; Muhammad R. Cordova; Fay Couceiro; Simon M. Cragg; et al. (Science of The Total Environment, 2023)

Embedded critical material flow: The case of niobium, the United States, and China - Dalton M. McCaffrey; Nedal T. Nassar; Simon M. Jowitt; Abraham J. Padilla; Laurence R. Bird (Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2023)

Within-region replication of late Holocene relative sea-level change: An example from southern New England, United States - Rachel B. Stearns; Simon E. Engelhart; Andrew C. Kemp; Troy D. Hill; Matthew J. Brain; D. Reide Corbett (Quaternary Science Reviews, 2023)

A near-complete species-level phylogeny of uropeltid snakes harnessing historical museum collections as a DNA source - Filipa L. Sampaio; Julia J. Day; L.J. Mendis Wickramasinghe; Vivek P. Cyriac; Anna Papadopoulou; Selina Brace; Albert Rajendran; Cornelia Simon-Nutbrown; Tomas Flouris; Paschalia Kapli; Dulan Ranga Vidanapathirana; Ramachandran Kotharambath; et al. (Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2023)

Artificial aeration of an overloaded constructed wetland improves hypoxia but does not ameliorate high nitrogen loads - Danielle J. Allen; Mark Farrell; Jianyin Huang; Simon Plush; Luke M. Mosley (Journal of Environmental Management, 2023)

Consequences of in vitro benzyl butyl phthalate exposure for blubber gene expression and insulin-induced Akt activation in juvenile grey seals - Alexandra Tranganida; Ailsa J. Hall; Holly C. Armstrong; Simon E.W. Moss; Kimberley A. Bennett (Environmental Pollution, 2023)

Shallow- and deep-ocean Fe cycling and redox evolution across the Pliensbachian–Toarcian boundary and Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event in Panthalassa - Wenhan Chen; David B. Kemp; Tianchen He; Robert J. Newton; Yijun Xiong; Hugh C. Jenkyns; Kentaro Izumi; Tenichi Cho; Chunju Huang; Simon W. Poulton (Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2023)

Metaldehyde Transport Processes in a Water Abstraction Catchment in Essex, Southeast England - Natalia Balashova; Kevin M. Hiscock; Brian J. Reid; Simon Ellis; Richard Reynolds (Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 2023)
This paper addresses the issue of pesticide loss from agriculture and its impact on the aquatic environment. Specifically, this study assesses the transport of the relatively water-soluble polar molluscicide compound metaldehyde in a small (14 km 2 ) water abstraction catchment in Essex, southeast England during a 14-month period (January 2019–February 2020). A rise in metaldehyde concentrations was observed at all monitoring points, to varying extents, in the months of seasonal metaldehyde applications. The highest increases in metaldehyde concentrations (up to 0.05 µg L –1 ) across the catchment were observed in the autumn months and in December. These findings reinforce the mobile nature of the pesticide, with surface and field drain runoff likely to be the predominant mode of transfer to surface waters. The scale of individual sources of metaldehyde influx to the Ardleigh surface storage reservoir in the catchment showed that the highest contribution to the total flux to the reservoir was from water transferred from the adjacent River Colne catchment. Atmospheric deposition of metaldehyde followed a similar seasonal pattern to that observed in metaldehyde levels in surface water and field drain runoff, and in certain months accounted for a higher input than influx from surface runoff (May, August–October 2019). Monthly values of metaldehyde mass in the reservoir ranged from 27.7 to 47.4 g. An increase in mass was associated with elevated levels of flux from individual sources. Relatively stable levels of metaldehyde total mass in the reservoir are probably due to the aqueous solubility and decreased degradation rates of metaldehyde in the aquatic environment.

The influence of tDCS on perceived bouncing/streaming - Maximilian A. Friehs; Marlena J. Stegemann; Simon Merz; Christoph Geißler; Hauke S. Meyerhoff; Christian Frings (Experimental Brain Research, 2023)
Processing ambiguous situations is a constant challenge in everyday life and sensory input from different modalities needs to be integrated to form a coherent mental representation on the environment. The bouncing/streaming illusion can be studied to provide insights into the ambiguous perception and processing of multi-modal environments. In short, the likelihood of reporting bouncing rather than streaming impressions increases when a sound coincides with the moment of overlap between two moving disks. Neuroimaging studies revealed that the right posterior parietal cortex is crucial in cross-modal integration and is active during the bouncing/streaming illusion. Consequently, in the present study, we used transcranial direct current stimulation to stimulate this brain area. In the active stimulation conditions, a 9 cm 2 electrode was positioned over the P4-EEG position and the 35 cm 2 reference positioned over the left upper arm. The stimulation lasted 15 min. Each participant did the bouncing/streaming task three times: before, during and after anodal or sham stimulation. In a sample of N = 60 healthy, young adults, we found no influence of anodal tDCS. Bayesian analysis showed strong evidence against tDCS effects. There are two possible explanations for the finding that anodal tDCS over perceptual areas did not modulate multimodal integration. First, upregulation of multimodal integration is not possible using tDCS over the PPC as the integration process already functions at maximum capacity. Second, prefrontal decision-making areas may have overruled any modulated input from the PPC as it may not have matched their decision-making criterion and compensated for the modulation.

Chronic Nitrogen Deposition Induces Phosphorus Limitation of Aquatic, But Not Terrestrial, Decomposition - Kevin S. Simon; Dennis S. Anderson; Ivan J. Fernandez; Stephen A. Norton (Ecosystems, 2023)
Elevated deposition of atmospheric nitrogen (N) has shifted nutrient availability in terrestrial and aquatic habitats of ecosystems, but rarely are ecosystem processes in those components examined simultaneously. We used a multi-decadal, whole, paired watershed experiment to determine how chronic N enrichment with (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 alters litter decomposition in terrestrial and stream systems. We also used short-term phosphorus (P) enrichment experiments within both watersheds to determine whether chronic N enrichment enhances P limitation of decomposition. Leaves from N-treated and reference watersheds were used in a reciprocal design to parse effects of altered nutrient availability in leaves and in the environment. We found divergent responses of terrestrial and stream decomposition to altered nutrient regimes. Chronic experimental N enrichment increased N and P concentrations in post-abscission leaves which decayed faster than leaves from the reference watershed in the terrestrial environment. Experimental N enrichment also did not induce P limitation of terrestrial decomposition. In contrast, litter decomposition rate in the two streams was not enhanced by elevated N in stream water or by altered leaf chemistry. Instead, chronic experimental N enrichment shifted decomposition in streams from co-limitation to strong P limitation. Microbial respiration and extracellular enzyme production responded to altered nutrient availability in a manner consistent with resource allocation models. Divergent responses of terrestrial and aquatic decomposition to elevated N deposition likely arise from differences in water bioavailability. Our work highlights the value of simultaneously considering ecosystem processes in terrestrial and aquatic systems to understand the consequences of integrated landscape processes operating on large spatial scales.

Mini Safe Havens for population recovery and reintroductions ‘beyond-the-fence’ - Kiarrah J. Smith; Maldwyn J. Evans; Iain J. Gordon; Jennifer C. Pierson; Simon Stratford; Adrian D. Manning (Biodiversity and Conservation, 2023)
In response to the ongoing decline of fauna worldwide, there has been growing interest in the rewilding of whole ecosystems outside of fenced sanctuaries or offshore islands. This interest will inevitably result in attempts to restore species where eliminating threats from predators and competitors is extremely challenging or impossible, or reintroductions of predators that will increase predation risk for extant prey (i.e., coexistence conservation). We propose ‘Mini Safe Havens’ (MSHs) as a potential tool for managing these threats. Mini Safe Havens are refuges that are permanently permeable to the focal species; allowing the emigration of individuals while maintaining gene flow through the boundary. Crucial to the effectiveness of the approach is the ongoing maintenance and monitoring required to preserve a low-to-zero risk of key threats within the MSH; facilitating in-situ learning and adaptation by focal species to these threats, at a rate and intensity of exposure determined by the animals themselves. We trialled the MSH approach for a pilot reintroduction of the Australian native New Holland mouse ( Pseudomys novaehollandiae ), in the context of a trophic rewilding project to address potential naïveté to a reintroduced native mammalian predator. We found that mice released into a MSH maintained their weight and continued to use the release site beyond 17 months (525 days) post-release. In contrast, individuals in temporary soft-release enclosures tended to lose weight and became undetectable approximately 1-month post-release. We discuss the broad applicability of MSHs for population recovery and reintroductions ‘beyond-the-fence’ and recommend avenues for further refinement of the approach.

Examining the diversity, stability and functioning of marine fish communities across a latitudinal gradient - Helen F. Yan; Jordan M. Casey; Nancy Knowlton; J. Emmett Duffy; Simon J. Brandl (Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2023)
Aim As anthropogenic stressors on the biosphere intensify, understanding how communities respond to disturbances is critical. Biodiversity is often thought to promote the stability of communities over time and enhance ecosystem functioning. However, results have been inconsistent, and the multifaceted linkages among diversity, stability and functioning under acute disturbances remain poorly understood. We experimentally tested the responses of marine fish communities to disturbance (i.e., acute habitat loss) across a diversity gradient spanning 35 degrees of latitude in the western Atlantic Ocean to assess the diversity–stability relationship and the interplay between diversity, stability, and fish biomass recovery (as a proxy for function) in marine fish communities. Location Western Atlantic Ocean [Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida (USA), Belize and Panama]. Time period 2016–2017. Major taxa studied Small, bottom‐dwelling (‘cryptobenthic’) fishes. Methods We experimentally tested the response of marine fish communities to disturbance across a diversity gradient on human‐made dock pilings. We holistically sampled cryptobenthic fish communities, then we imposed a severe disturbance by removing all benthic epifauna. We then compared the community stability, defined as the constancy in community composition, on disturbed and undisturbed pilings after one year. Results Diversity showed a negative effect on community stability at both the regional (across docks) and local (within docks) scales. Similarly, local diversity was negatively correlated with ecosystem function. These effects are exacerbated by the habitat loss imposed via our experimental treatment. Main conclusions Our results suggest that habitat loss may re‐shuffle diverse, tropical communities more intensively than species‐poor, temperate communities, which impacts biomass recovery, our proxy of functioning. Contrary to ecological theory, in small‐bodied, benthos‐associated vertebrate communities, biodiversity may neither promote stability nor functioning, suggesting that human disturbances may be particularly impactful in tropical, high‐diversity ecosystems.

Geographic patterns of tree dispersal modes in Amazonia and their ecological correlates - Diego F. Correa; Pablo R. Stevenson; Maria Natalia Umaña; Luiz de Souza Coelho; Diógenes de Andrade Lima Filho; Rafael P. Salomão; Iêda Leão do Amaral; Florian Wittmann; Francisca Dionízia de Almeida Matos; Carolina V. Castilho; Oliver L. Phillips; Juan Ernesto Guevara; et al. (Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2023)
Aim To investigate the geographic patterns and ecological correlates in the geographic distribution of the most common tree dispersal modes in Amazonia (endozoochory, synzoochory, anemochory and hydrochory). We examined if the proportional abundance of these dispersal modes could be explained by the availability of dispersal agents (disperser‐availability hypothesis) and/or the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits (resource‐availability hypothesis). Time period Tree‐inventory plots established between 1934 and 2019. Major taxa studied Trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 9.55 cm. Location Amazonia, here defined as the lowland rain forests of the Amazon River basin and the Guiana Shield. Methods We assigned dispersal modes to a total of 5433 species and morphospecies within 1877 tree‐inventory plots across terra‐firme, seasonally flooded, and permanently flooded forests. We investigated geographic patterns in the proportional abundance of dispersal modes. We performed an abundance‐weighted mean pairwise distance (MPD) test and fit generalized linear models (GLMs) to explain the geographic distribution of dispersal modes. Results Anemochory was significantly, positively associated with mean annual wind speed, and hydrochory was significantly higher in flooded forests. Dispersal modes did not consistently show significant associations with the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits. A lower dissimilarity in dispersal modes, resulting from a higher dominance of endozoochory, occurred in terra‐firme forests (excluding podzols) compared to flooded forests. Main conclusions The disperser‐availability hypothesis was well supported for abiotic dispersal modes (anemochory and hydrochory). The availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits seems an unlikely explanation for the distribution of dispersal modes in Amazonia. The association between frugivores and the proportional abundance of zoochory requires further research, as tree recruitment not only depends on dispersal vectors but also on conditions that favour or limit seedling recruitment across forest types.

Does deterministic coexistence theory matter in a finite world? - Sebastian J. Schreiber; Jonathan M. Levine; Oscar Godoy; Nathan J. B. Kraft; Simon P. Hart (Ecology, 2023)
Contemporary studies of species coexistence are underpinned by deterministic models that assume that competing species have continuous (i.e., noninteger) densities, live in infinitely large landscapes, and coexist over infinite time horizons. By contrast, in nature, species are composed of discrete individuals subject to demographic stochasticity and occur in habitats of finite size where extinctions occur in finite time. One consequence of these discrepancies is that metrics of species’ coexistence derived from deterministic theory may be unreliable predictors of the duration of species coexistence in nature. These coexistence metrics include invasion growth rates and niche and fitness differences, which are now commonly applied in theoretical and empirical studies of species coexistence. In this study, we tested the efficacy of deterministic coexistence metrics on the duration of species coexistence in a finite world. We introduce new theoretical and computational methods to estimate coexistence times in stochastic counterparts of classic deterministic models of competition. Importantly, we parameterized this model using experimental field data for 90 pairwise combinations of 18 species of annual plants, allowing us to derive biologically informed estimates of coexistence times for a natural system. Strikingly, we found that for species expected to deterministically coexist, community sizes containing only 10 individuals had predicted coexistence times of more than 1000 years. We also found that invasion growth rates explained 60% of the variation in intrinsic coexistence times, reinforcing their general usefulness in studies of coexistence. However, only by integrating information on both invasion growth rates and species' equilibrium population sizes could most (>99%) of the variation in species coexistence times be explained. This integration was achieved with demographically uncoupled single‐species models solely determined by the invasion growth rates and equilibrium population sizes. Moreover, because of a complex relationship between niche overlap/fitness differences and equilibrium population sizes, increasing niche overlap and increasing fitness differences did not always result in decreasing coexistence times, as deterministic theory would predict. Nevertheless, our results tend to support the informed use of deterministic theory for understanding the duration of species’ coexistence while highlighting the need to incorporate information on species' equilibrium population sizes in addition to invasion growth rates.

Species delimitation in the Trichocentrum cepula (Oncidiinae, Orchidaceae) complex: a multidisciplinary approach - Antonio E. Camelo-Júnior; Alessandro W. C. Ferreira; Ivanilza M. Andrade; Simon J. Mayo; Felipe Nollet; José L. Silva; Maria C. Barros; Elmary Fraga; Edlley M. Pessoa (Systematics and Biodiversity, 2022)

Wild boar visits to commercial pig farms in southwest England: implications for disease transmission - Sonny A. Bacigalupo; Linda K. Dixon; Simon Gubbins; Adam J. Kucharski; Julian A. Drewe (European Journal of Wildlife Research, 2022)
Contact between wild animals and farmed livestock may result in disease transmission with huge financial, welfare and ethical consequences. Conflicts between people and wildlife can also arise when species such as wild boar (Sus scrofa) consume crops or dig up pasture. This is a relatively recent problem in England where wild boar populations have become re-established in the last 20 years following a 500-year absence. The aim of this pilot study was to determine if and how often free-living wild boar visited two commercial pig farms near the Forest of Dean in southwest England. We placed 20 motion-sensitive camera traps at potential entry points to, and trails surrounding, the perimeter of two farmyards housing domestic pigs between August 2019 and February 2021, covering a total of 6030 trap nights. Forty wild boar detections were recorded on one farm spread across 27 nights, with a median (range) of 1 (0 to 7) night of wild boar activity per calendar month. Most of these wild boar detections occurred between ten and twenty metres of housed domestic pigs. No wild boar was detected at the other farm. These results confirm wild boar do visit commercial pig farms, and therefore, there is potential for contact and pathogen exchange between wild boar and domestic pigs. The visitation rates derived from this study could be used to parameterise disease transmission models of pathogens common to domestic pigs and wild boars, such as the African swine fever virus, and subsequently to develop mitigation strategies to reduce unwanted contacts.

Combination of close-range and aerial photogrammetry with terrestrial laser scanning to answer microbiological and climatological questions in connection with lava caves - Michael Kögel; Andreas Pflitsch; Diana E. Northup; Dirk Carstensen; Joseph J. Medley; Teresa Mansheim; Thomas Killing; Michael Buschbacher; Helena Angerer; Julian Falkner; Achilleas Kynatidis; Valentin Ott; et al. (Applied Geomatics, 2022)
Combining photogrammetric reconstruction (close-range photogrammetry, CRP) and airborne photogrammetry through the structure from motion method (SFM) with terrestrial three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning (TLS), Maelstrom Cave on Big Island, Hawaii (USA), was mapped in three dimensions. The complementary properties of the two methods generated an overall model that depicted significant features of the cave both spatially and visually. Through various processes, the complex geometric quantities were derived from the model that can be used to answer microbiological and climatological questions. In this report, the procedure for the three-dimensional acquisition of the terrain surface above Maelstrom Cave as well as the interior of the cave with TLS and SFM is described. It is shown how the different data sets were combined and contrasted, including a comparison of geometries from the different survey operations. Finally, the editing processes used to quantify and simplify the cave geometry are presented, as well as the analysis of the ellipses generated accordingly to determine the geometric quantities. Through the analysis of the cave geometry, important geometric properties of the Maelstrom Cave could be quantified and categorized. In this way, an effective tool was developed to directly correlate the structure of the cave system with climatological and microbiological parameters in order to answer the corresponding questions.

High heritability of telomere length and low heritability of telomere shortening in wild birds - Christina Bauch; Jelle J. Boonekamp; Peter Korsten; Ellis Mulder; Simon Verhulst (Molecular Ecology, 2022)
Telomere length and telomere shortening predict survival in many organisms. This raises the question of the contribution of genetic and environmental effects to variation in these traits, which is still poorly known, particularly for telomere shortening. We used experimental (cross‐fostering) and statistical (quantitative genetic “animal models”) means to disentangle and estimate genetic and environmental contributions to telomere length variation in pedigreed free‐living jackdaws ( Corvus monedula ). Telomere length was measured twice in nestlings, at ages 4 ( n = 715) and 29 days ( n = 474), using telomere restriction fragment (TRF) analysis, adapted to exclude interstitial telomeric sequences. Telomere length shortened significantly over the nestling period (10.4 ± 0.3 bp day –1 ) and was highly phenotypically ( r P = 0.95 ± 0.01) and genetically ( r G > 0.99 ± 0.01) correlated within individuals. Additive genetic effects explained a major part of telomere length variation among individuals, with its heritability estimated at h 2 = 0.74 on average. We note that TRF‐based studies reported higher heritabilities than qPCR‐based studies, and we discuss possible explanations. Parent–offspring regressions yielded similar heritability estimates for mothers and fathers when accounting for changes in paternal telomere length over life. Year effects explained a small but significant part of telomere length variation. Heritable variation for telomere shortening was low ( h 2 = 0.09 ± 0.11). The difference in heritability between telomere length (high) and telomere shortening (low) agrees with evolutionary theory, in that telomere shortening has stronger fitness consequences in this population. Despite the high heritability of telomere length, its evolvability, which scales the additive genetic variance by mean telomere length, was on average 0.48%. Hence, evolutionary change of telomere length due to selection is likely to be slow.

Telomere dynamics in relation to experimentally increased locomotion costs and fitness in great tits - Els Atema; Arie J. van Noordwijk; Simon Verhulst (Molecular Ecology, 2022)
Evidence that telomere length (TL) and dynamics can be interpreted as proxy for ‘life stress’ experienced by individuals stems largely from correlational studies. We tested for effects of an experimental increase of workload on telomere dynamics by equipping male great tits (Parus major) with a 0.9 g backpack for a full year. In addition, we analysed associations between natural life‐history variation, TL and TL dynamics. Carrying 5% extra weight for a year did not significantly accelerate telomere attrition. This agrees with our earlier finding that this experiment did not affect survival or future reproduction. Apparently, great tit males were able to compensate behaviourally or physiologically for the increase in locomotion costs we imposed. We found no cross‐sectional association between reproductive success and TL, but individuals with higher reproductive success (number of recruits) lost fewer telomere base pairs in the subsequent year. We used the TRF method to measure TL, which method yields a TL distribution for each sample, and the association between reproductive success and telomere loss was more pronounced in the higher percentiles of the telomere distribution, in agreement with the higher impact of ageing on longer telomeres within individuals. Individuals with longer telomeres and less telomere shortening were more likely to survive to the next breeding season, but these patterns did not reach statistical significance. Whether successful individuals are characterized by losing fewer or more base pairs from their telomeres varies between species, and we discuss aspects of ecology and social organisation that may explain this variation.

Spatially explicit phylogeographical reconstruction sheds light on the history of the forest cover in the Congo Basin - Katarina Matvijev; Simon Dellicour; Esra Kaymak; Olivier J. Hardy (Journal of Biogeography, 2022)
Aim The impact of Pleistocene climatic oscillations on the biodiversity of African tropical rain forests remains poorly understood, and the Congo Basin is particularly understudied. We aim to elucidate how Pleistocene climatic oscillations shaped lowland tropical rain forests by investigating the intraspecific diversity and evolutionary history of a widespread tree species. Location Guineo‐Congolian rain forest, Central Africa. Taxon Staudtia kamerunensis Warb. (Myristicaceae). Methods We used genome skimming combined with maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference to infer the plastid phylogeny. We estimated the time of speciation and differentiation, genetic diversity, and we employed a continuous phylogeographical approach to infer the dispersal history of its plastid lineages. Results We sequenced an average of 5,827,783 reads per sample, and the reconstructed reference plastome had a mean depth of 73.3. We identified five plastid lineages that diverged during the Early or Middle Pleistocene and are parapatric, suggesting past population fragmentation. Four lineages are endemic to Lower Guinea, and one spans the Congo Basin. We found contrasting patterns of expansion in the two regions, with a rapid and recent range expansion of the Congolian lineage in the last 200,000 years, while the spread of the Lower Guinean lineages was substantially slower. Main conclusion The contrasting demographic histories between eastern and western lineages, associated with contrasted levels of plant species richness and rates of endemism, suggest that forest cover was more stable in Lower Guinea during the Late Pleistocene than in Congolia, where the biodiversity might have been eroded before the forest re‐expanded in the Congo basin. This study illustrates how a continuous phylogeographical inference approach, mostly applied so far for inferring the spread of fast‐evolving pathogens over months or years, can provide new insights to reconstruct the dispersal history of tropical tree species over thousands or millions of years.

Dispersal syndromes in challenging environments: A cross‐species experiment - Julien Cote; Maxime Dahirel; Nicolas Schtickzelle; Florian Altermatt; Armelle Ansart; Simon Blanchet; Alexis S. Chaine; Frederik De Laender; Jonathan De Raedt; Bart Haegeman; Staffan Jacob; Oliver Kaltz; et al. (Ecology Letters, 2022)
Dispersal is a central biological process tightly integrated into life‐histories, morphology, physiology and behaviour. Such associations, or syndromes, are anticipated to impact the eco‐evolutionary dynamics of spatially structured populations, and cascade into ecosystem processes. As for dispersal on its own, these syndromes are likely neither fixed nor random, but conditional on the experienced environment. We experimentally studied how dispersal propensity varies with individuals' phenotype and local environmental harshness using 15 species ranging from protists to vertebrates. We reveal a general phenotypic dispersal syndrome across studied species, with dispersers being larger, more active and having a marked locomotion‐oriented morphology and a strengthening of the link between dispersal and some phenotypic traits with environmental harshness. Our proof‐of‐concept metacommunity model further reveals cascading effects of context‐dependent syndromes on the local and regional organisation of functional diversity. Our study opens new avenues to advance our understanding of the functioning of spatially structured populations, communities and ecosystems.

Turning a lost reef ecosystem into a national restoration program - Dominic McAfee; Ian M. McLeod; Heidi K. Alleway; Melanie J. Bishop; Simon Branigan; Sean D. Connell; Craig Copeland; Christine M. Crawford; Ben K. Diggles; James A. Fitzsimons; Ben L. Gilby; Paul Hamer; et al. (Conservation Biology, 2022)
Achieving a sustainable socioecological future now requires large‐scale environmental repair across legislative borders. Yet, enabling large‐scale conservation is complicated by policy‐making processes that are disconnected from socioeconomic interests, multiple sources of knowledge, and differing applications of policy. We considered how a multidisciplinary approach to marine habitat restoration generated the scientific evidence base, community support, and funding needed to begin the restoration of a forgotten, functionally extinct shellfish reef ecosystem. The key actors came together as a multidisciplinary community of researchers, conservation practitioners, recreational fisher communities, and government bodies that collaborated across sectors to rediscover Australia's lost shellfish reefs and communicate the value of its restoration. Actions undertaken to build a case for large‐scale marine restoration included synthesizing current knowledge on Australian shellfish reefs and their historical decline, using this history to tell a compelling story to spark public and political interest, integrating restoration into government policy, and rallying local support through community engagement. Clearly articulating the social, economic, and environmental business case for restoration led to state and national funding for reef restoration to meet diverse sustainability goals (e.g., enhanced biodiversity and fisheries productivity) and socioeconomic goals (e.g., job creation and recreational opportunities). A key lesson learned was the importance of aligning project goals with public and industry interests so that projects could address multiple political obligations. This process culminated in Australia's largest marine restoration initiative and shows that solutions for large‐scale ecosystem repair can rapidly occur when socially valued science acts on political opportunities.

Funding evidence‐based conservation - Danni Parks; Nida Al‐Fulaij; Clare Brook; Stuart H. M. Butchart; Jean‐Gaël Collomb; David Cope; Simon Dowell; Becky Falkingham; Winifred F. Frick; Douglas Gibbs; Emily E. Gray; Nicolas Heard; et al. (Conservation Biology, 2022)

Reconstruction of short-term storm surge-driven increases in shallow coastal lake salinity using ostracod shell chemistry - Lucy R. Roberts; Jonathan A. Holmes; David J. Horne; Melanie J. Leng; Carl D. Sayer; Rhys G. O. Timms; Katy Flowers; Simon P. M. Blockley; Andrea Kelly (Natural Hazards, 2022)

Unusual early peaks of airborne ragweed (Ambrosia L.) pollen in the Pannonian Biogeographical Region - D. Magyar; R. Novák; O. Udvardy; A. Páldy; T. Szigeti; B. Stjepanović; I. Hrga; A. Večenaj; A. Vucić; D. Peroš Pucar; B. Šikoparija; P. Radišić; et al. (International Journal of Biometeorology, 2022)

Parallel evolution of semicircular canal form and sensitivity in subterranean mammals - Jana Goyens; Simon Baeckens; Ewan St. John Smith; Jasmine Pozzi; Matthew J. Mason (Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 2022)

Circles in the sea: annual courtship “torus” behaviour of basking sharks Cetorhinus maximus identified in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean - David W. Sims; Simon D. Berrow; Ken M. O'Sullivan; Nicholas J. Pfeiffer; Richard Collins; Kev L. Smith; Brianna M. Pfeiffer; Paul Connery; Shane Wasik; Lois Flounders; Nuno Queiroz; Nicolas E. Humphries; et al. (Journal of Fish Biology, 2022)
Groups of basking sharks engaged in circling behaviour are rarely observed, and their function remains enigmatic in the absence of detailed observations. Here, underwater and aerial video recordings of multiple circling groups of basking sharks during late summer (August and September 2016–2021) in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean showed groups numbering between 6 and 23 non‐feeding individuals of both sexes. Sharks swam slowly in a rotating “torus” (diameter range: 17–39 m), with individuals layered vertically from the surface to a maximum depth of 16 m. Within a torus, sharks engaged in close‐following, echelon, close‐flank approach or parallel‐swimming behaviours. Measured shark total body lengths were 5.4–9.5 m (mean L T : 7.3 m ± 0.9 s.d. ; median: 7.2 m, n = 27), overlapping known lengths of sexually mature males and females. Males possessed large claspers with abrasions that were also observed on female pectoral fins. Female body colouration was paler than that of males, similar to colour changes observed during courtship and mating in other shark species. Individuals associated with most other members rapidly (within minutes), indicating toroidal behaviours facilitate multiple interactions. Sharks interacted through fin–fin and fin–body contacts, rolling to expose the ventral surfaces to following sharks, and breaching behaviour. Toruses formed in late summer when feeding aggregations in zooplankton‐rich thermal fronts switched to non‐feeding following and circling behaviours. Collectively, the observations explain a courtship function for toruses. This study highlights northeast Atlantic coastal waters as a critical habitat supporting courtship reproductive behaviour of endangered basking sharks, the first such habitat identified for this species globally.

Can nitrogen input mapping from aerial imagery improve nitrous oxide emissions estimates from grazed grassland? - Juliette Maire; Simon Gibson-Poole; Nicholas Cowan; Dominika Krol; Cathal Somers; Dave S. Reay; Ute Skiba; Robert M. Rees; Gary J. Lanigan; Karl G. Richards (Precision Agriculture, 2022)
Most nitrogen (N) lost to the environment from grazed grassland is produced as a result of N excreted by livestock, released in the form of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions, nitrate leaching and ammonia volatilisation. In addition to the N fertiliser applied, excreta deposited by grazing livestock constitute a heterogeneous excess of N, creating spatial hotspots of N losses. This study presents a yearlong N 2 O emissions map from a typical intensively managed temperate grassland, grazed periodically by a dairy herd. The excreta deposition mapping was undertaken using high-resolution RGB images captured with a remotely piloted aircraft system combined with N 2 O emissions measurements using closed statics chambers. The annual N 2 O emissions were estimated to be 3.36 ± 0.30 kg N 2 O–N ha −1 after a total N applied from fertiliser and excreta of 608 ± 40 kg N ha −1 yr −1 . Emissions of N 2 O were 1.9, 3.6 and 4.4 times lower than that estimated using the default IPCC 2019, 2006 or country-specific emission factors, respectively. The spatial distribution and size of excreta deposits was non-uniform, and in each grazing period, an average of 15.1% of the field was covered by urine patches and 1.0% by dung deposits. Some areas of the field repeatedly received urine deposits, accounting for an estimated total of 2410 kg N ha −1 . The method reported in this study can provide better estimates of how management practices can mitigate N 2 O emissions, to develop more efficient selective approaches to fertiliser application, targeted nitrification inhibitor application and improvements in the current N 2 O inventory estimation.

How Machine Learning is Powering Neuroimaging to Improve Brain Health - Nalini M. Singh; Jordan B. Harrod; Sandya Subramanian; Mitchell Robinson; Ken Chang; Suheyla Cetin-Karayumak; Adrian Vasile Dalca; Simon Eickhoff; Michael Fox; Loraine Franke; Polina Golland; Daniel Haehn; et al. (Neuroinformatics, 2022)
This report presents an overview of how machine learning is rapidly advancing clinical translational imaging in ways that will aid in the early detection, prediction, and treatment of diseases that threaten brain health. Towards this goal, we aresharing the information presented at a symposium, “Neuroimaging Indicators of Brain Structure and Function - Closing the Gap Between Research and Clinical Application”, co-hosted by the McCance Center for Brain Health at Mass General Hospital and the MIT HST Neuroimaging Training Program on February 12, 2021. The symposium focused on the potential for machine learning approaches, applied to increasingly large-scale neuroimaging datasets, to transform healthcare delivery and change the trajectory of brain health by addressing brain care earlier in the lifespan. While not exhaustive, this overview uniquely addresses many of the technical challenges from image formation, to analysis and visualization, to synthesis and incorporation into the clinical workflow. Some of the ethical challenges inherent to this work are also explored, as are some of the regulatory requirements for implementation. We seek to educate, motivate, and inspire graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early career investigators to contribute to a future where neuroimaging meaningfully contributes to the maintenance of brain health.

A sulfur and halogen budget for the large magmatic system beneath Taupō volcano - Max S. Sharpe; Simon J. Barker; Shane M. Rooyakkers; Colin J. N. Wilson; Isabelle Chambefort; Michael C. Rowe; C. Ian Schipper; Bruce L. A. Charlier (Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 2022)
The transport and degassing pathways of volatiles through large silicic magmatic systems are central to understanding geothermal fluid compositions, ore deposit genesis, and volcanic eruption dynamics and impacts. Here, we document sulfur (S), chlorine (Cl), and fluorine (F) concentrations in a range of host materials in eruptive deposits from Taupō volcano (New Zealand). Materials analysed are groundmass glass, silicic melt inclusions, and microphenocrystic apatite that equilibrated in shallow melt-dominant magma bodies; silicic melt and apatite inclusions within crystal cores inferred to be sourced from deeper crystal mush; and olivine-hosted basaltic melt inclusions from mafic enclaves that represent the most primitive feedstock magmas. Sulfur and halogen concentrations each follow distinct concentration pathways during magma differentiation in response to changing pressures, temperatures, oxygen fugacities, crystallising mineral phases, the effects of volatile saturation, and the presence of an aqueous fluid phase. Sulfur contents in the basaltic melt inclusions (~ 2000 ppm) are typical for arc-type magmas, but drop to near detection limits by dacitic compositions, reflecting pyrrhotite crystallisation at ~ 60 wt. % SiO 2 during the onset of magnetite crystallisation. In contrast, Cl increases from ~ 500 ppm in basalts to ~ 2500 ppm in dacitic compositions, due to incompatibility in the crystallising phases. Fluorine contents are similar between mafic and silicic compositions (< 1200 ppm) and are primarily controlled by the onset of apatite and/or amphibole crystallisation and then destabilisation. Sulfur and Cl partition strongly into an aqueous fluid and/or vapour phase in the shallow silicic system. Sulfur contents in the rhyolite melts are low, yet the Oruanui supereruption is associated with a major sulfate peak in ice core records in Antarctica and Greenland, implying that excess S was derived from a pre-eruptive gas phase, mafic magma recharge, and/or disintegration of a hydrothermal system. We estimate that the 25.5 ka Oruanui eruption ejected > 130 Tg of S (390 Tg sulfate) and up to ~ 1800 Tg of Cl, with potentially global impacts on climate and stratospheric ozone.

Colony self-shading facilitates Symbiodiniaceae cohabitation in a South Pacific coral community - Robert E. Lewis; Simon K. Davy; Stephanie G. Gardner; Teina Rongo; David J. Suggett; Matthew R. Nitschke (Coral Reefs, 2022)
The ecological success of tropical corals is regulated by symbiotic dinoflagellate algae (Symbiodiniaceae). Corals can associate with multiple Symbiodiniaceae species simultaneously, yet the conditions that permit Symbiodiniaceae cohabitation are not understood. We examined how corals self-shade their own tissues causing within-colony light gradients that drive Symbiodiniaceae photoacclimatory processes and positional genetic disparity. Paired light ‘exposed’ and ‘shaded’ samples from 20 coral species were collected from a shallow coral reef (Rarotonga, Cook Islands). Through active chlorophyll fluorometry, rapid light curves revealed that exposed Symbiodiniaceae exhibited 50% higher values in minimum saturating irradiances and demonstrated a shift towards preferential nonphotochemical quenching [1 – Q], consistent with higher overall light exposure. High-throughput or targeted DNA sequencing of ITS2 and psbA ncr markers demonstrated that corals harboured distinct and/or differentially abundant Symbiodiniaceae ITS2 sequences (typically rare in relative abundance) or multiple ITS2 intragenomic variant profiles across shaded vs exposed regions. In Hydnophora cf. microconos , within-colony symbiont genetic disparity was positively correlated with the magnitude of difference in [1 – Q] utilisation. Together, these results suggest that within-colony light gradients produce distinct optical niches that enable symbiont cohabitation via photoadaptation, a phenomenon that is expected to increase the adaptive capacity of corals under future climates.

Ten years of dynamic co-management of a multi-species reef fishery - Patrick Smallhorn-West; Philippa J. Cohen; Elton Kukiti; Sheridan Rabbitt; Alik Rikio; Frederick Sori; Scotta Tapala; Regon Warren; Delvene Boso; Simon Foale (Coral Reefs, 2022)
Co-management, a governance process whereby management responsibility is shared between resource users and other collaborators, is a mainstream approach for governing social and ecological aspects of small-scale fisheries. While many assessments of co-management are available for single time periods, assessments across longer time-scales are rare–meaning the dynamic nature, and long-term outcomes, of co-management are insufficiently understood. In this study we analyse ten-years of catch and effort data from a co-managed, multi-species reef fishery in Solomon Islands. To further understand social, ecological and management dynamics we also draw on interviews with fishers and managers that had been conducted throughout the same decade. We aimed to answer (1) what are the temporal trends in fishing effort, harvesting efficiency, and catch composition within and beyond a periodically-harvested closure (i.e. a principal and preferred management tool in Pacific island reef fisheries), and, (2) what are the internal and external drivers that acted upon the fishery, and its management. Despite high fishing effort within the periodically-harvested closure, catch per unit effort remained stable throughout the ten years. Yet the taxonomic composition of catch changed substantially as species targeted early in the decade became locally depleted. These observations indicate that both the frequency of harvesting and the volumes harvested may have outpaced the turnover rates of target species. We argue that this reflects a form of hyperstability whereby declining abundance is not apparent through catch per unit effort since it is masked by a shift to alternate species. While the community sustained and adapted their management arrangements over the decade as a response to internal pressures and some signs of resource changes, some external social and ecological drivers were beyond their capabilities to govern. We argue the collaborative, knowledge exchange, and learning aspects of adaptive co-management may need even more attention to deal with this complexity, particularly as local and distal pressures on multi-species fisheries and community governance intensify. Graphical abstract

A regional (land–ocean) comparison of the seasonal to decadal variability of the Northern Hemisphere jet stream 1871–2011 - Samantha Hallam; Simon A. Josey; Gerard D. McCarthy; Joël J.-M. Hirschi (Climate Dynamics, 2022)
Seasonal to decadal variations in Northern Hemisphere jet stream latitude and speed over land (Eurasia, North America) and oceanic (North Atlantic, North Pacific) regions are presented for the period 1871–2011 from the Twentieth Century Reanalysis dataset. Significant regional differences are seen on seasonal to decadal timescales. Seasonally, the jet latitude range is lower over the oceans compared to land, reduced from 20° over Eurasia to 10° over the North Atlantic where the ocean meridional heat transport is greatest. The mean jet latitude range is at a minimum in winter (DJF), particularly along the western boundary of the North Pacific and North Atlantic, where the land-sea contrast and SST gradients are strongest. The 141-year trends in jet latitude and speed show differences on a regional basis. The North Atlantic has significant increasing jet latitude trends in all seasons, up to 3° in winter. Eurasia has significant increasing trends in winter and summer, however, no increase is seen across the North Pacific or North America. Jet speed shows significant increases evident in winter (up to 4.7 ms −1 ), spring and autumn over the North Atlantic, Eurasia and North America however, over the North Pacific no increase is observed. Long term trends are generally overlaid by multidecadal variability, particularly evident in the North Pacific, where 20-year variability in jet latitude and jet speed are seen, associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation which explains 50% of the winter variance in jet latitude since 1940. The results highlight that northern hemisphere jet variability and trends differ on a regional basis (North Atlantic, North Pacific, Eurasia and North America) on seasonal to decadal timescales, suggesting that different mechanisms are influencing the jet latitude and speed. This is important from a climate modelling perspective and for climate predictions in the near and longer term.

Classification of new morbillivirus and jeilongvirus sequences from bats sampled in Brazil and Malaysia - Heather L. Wells; Elizabeth Loh; Alessandra Nava; Mónica Romero Solorio; Mei Ho Lee; Jimmy Lee; Jum R. A. Sukor; Isamara Navarrete-Macias; Eliza Liang; Cadhla Firth; Jonathan H. Epstein; Melinda K. Rostal; et al. (Archives of Virology, 2022)
As part of a broad One Health surveillance effort to detect novel viruses in wildlife and people, we report several paramyxovirus sequences sampled primarily from bats during 2013 and 2014 in Brazil and Malaysia, including seven from which we recovered full-length genomes. Of these, six represent the first full-length paramyxovirid genomes sequenced from the Americas, including two that are the first full-length bat morbillivirus genome sequences published to date. Our findings add to the vast number of viral sequences in public repositories, which have been increasing considerably in recent years due to the rising accessibility of metagenomics. Taxonomic classification of these sequences in the absence of phenotypic data has been a significant challenge, particularly in the subfamily Orthoparamyxovirinae , where the rate of discovery of novel sequences has been substantial. Using pairwise amino acid sequence classification (PAASC), we propose that five of these sequences belong to members of the genus Jeilongvirus and two belong to members of the genus Morbillivirus . We also highlight inconsistencies in the classification of Tupaia virus and Mòjiāng virus using the same demarcation criteria and suggest reclassification of these viruses into new genera. Importantly, this study underscores the critical importance of sequence length in PAASC analysis as well as the importance of biological characteristics such as genome organization in the taxonomic classification of viral sequences.

The proposed Anthropocene Epoch/Series is underpinned by an extensive array of mid‐20 th century stratigraphic event signals - Martin J. Head; Jan A. Zalasiewicz; Colin N. Waters; Simon D. Turner; Mark Williams; Anthony D. Barnosky; Will Steffen; Michael Wagreich; Peter K. Haff; Jaia Syvitski; Reinhold Leinfelder; Francine M. G. Mccarthy; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2022)
The extensive array of mid‐20 th century stratigraphic event signals associated with the ‘Great Acceleration’ enables precise and unambiguous recognition of the Anthropocene as an epoch/series within the Geological Time Scale. A mid‐20 th century inception is consistent with Earth System science analysis in which the Anthropocene term and concept arose, and would reflect the reality that our planet has sharply exited the range of natural variability characterizing the Holocene Epoch/Series, which the Anthropocene would therefore terminate. An alternative, recently proposed ‘geological event’ approach to the Anthropocene is primarily an interdisciplinary concept, encompassing historical and socio‐cultural processes and their global environmental impacts over a diachronous timeframe that extends back at least many millennia. Resembling more closely a geological episode than an event , it would decouple the Anthropocene from its chronostratigraphic delineation and association with an abrupt planetary perturbation; but separately defined and differently named it might be usefully complementary. We recommend a clear separation of epochs , events and episodes . An epoch is a formal subdivision of the Geological Time Scale, and its correlation may be assisted by one or more events ; an event is usually, and particularly in the Quaternary, a brief incident or perturbation with a sedimentary expression; and an episode is a longer, internally complex time interval that may include several events and even extend across several epochs.

The Contribution of Forest Extraction to Income Diversification and Poverty Alleviation for Indonesian Smallholder Cattle Breeders - Eko Nugroho; Rico Ihle; Wim Heijman; Simon J. Oosting (Small-scale Forestry, 2022)
Smallholder farmers in developing countries often lack resources. They rely mostly on extensive production approaches, such as cattle keeping and resort more to extracting forest resources at no charge. Our objective is to assess the relationship between the diversification of income sources, poverty and livelihood capital for smallholder farm households which combine cattle farming with forest extraction. We collected 600 surveys from Indonesian farmers specialized along the cattle rearing supply chain (464 breeders, 66 feeders and 70 mixed breeder-feeders). We found no correlation between poverty and income diversification. Cattle breeders have been found to rely most on forest resources. Distance to cropland and forest correlated positively, whereas their education level correlated negatively with income diversification. Feeders who were owning other livestock, were a member of a forest user group and owned some modest capital like a motorbike showed increased income diversification. Crops are the most important source of income for farmers, whereas cattle keeping and forest extraction play a role in income diversification. Increasing ecological pressure caused by forest extraction due to expanding cattle production could be best avoided by extending those parts of the cattle sector that use forest resources in a sustainable manner, for instance, through silvopastural systems or agroforestry so that incomes of poor farmers get more diversified and, therefore stabilized.

Ecosystem transformation following the mid-nineteenth century cessation of Aboriginal fire management in Cape Pillar, Tasmania - Matthew Adesanya Adeleye; Simon Graeme Haberle; Stefania Ondei; David M. J. S. Bowman (Regional Environmental Change, 2022)
Ongoing European suppression of Aboriginal cultural land management since early-nineteenth century colonisation is widely thought to have caused major transformations across all Australian landscapes, including vegetation thickening, severe fires and biodiversity declines. However, these effects are often confounded in the densely settled southern Australia due to European land transformation. Landscapes currently under conservation and national park management in Tasmania are generally less disturbed, providing an opportunity to track ecosystem changes caused by the removal of Aboriginal peoples following colonisation in southern Australia. We use a multi-proxy palaeoecological technique and the analysis of historical aerial photography to investigate these changes in Cape Pillar, southeast Tasmania. Results reveal a major ecological shift following European colonisation, with the replacement of stable, open wet heathland characterised by minor fires (active cultural land use) with dense dry scrub characterised by major fires (cessation of cultural land use). We also discuss potential background role of regional climatic shifts in the observed ecological changes. Management programmes designed to restore open heathland pre-colonial cultural ecosystem would help reduce the risk of large fires in Cape Pillar.

DNA barcoding of traded shark fins in Peninsular Malaysia - Ying Giat Seah; Caroline Kibat; Simon Hew; Benjamin J. Wainwright (Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 2022)

Modulations of corticospinal excitability following rapid ankle dorsiflexion in skill- and endurance-trained athletes - Nijia Hu; Janne Avela; Dawson J. Kidgell; Jarmo M. Piirainen; Simon Walker (European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2022)
Purpose Long-term sports training, such as skill and endurance training, leads to specific neuroplasticity. However, it remains unclear if muscle stretch-induced proprioceptive feedback influences corticospinal facilitation/inhibition differently between skill- and endurance-trained athletes. This study investigated modulation of corticospinal excitability following rapid ankle dorsiflexion between well-trained skill and endurance athletes. Methods Ten skill- and ten endurance-trained athletes participated in the study. Corticospinal excitability was tested by single- and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulations (TMS) at three different latencies following passive rapid ankle dorsiflexion. Motor evoked potential (MEP), short-latency intracortical inhibition (SICI), intracortical facilitation (ICF), and long-latency intracortical inhibition (LICI) were recorded by surface electromyography from the soleus muscle. Results Compared to immediately before ankle dorsiflexion (Onset), TMS induced significantly greater MEPs during the supraspinal reaction period (~ 120 ms after short-latency reflex, SLR) in the skill group only (from 1.7 ± 1.0 to 2.7 ± 1.8%M-max, P = 0.005) despite both conditions being passive. ICF was significantly greater over all latencies in skill than endurance athletes ( F (3, 45) = 4.64, P = 0.007), although no between-group differences for stimulations at specific latencies (e.g., at SLR) were observed. Conclusion The skill group showed higher corticospinal excitability during the supraspinal reaction phase, which may indicate a “priming” of corticospinal excitability following rapid ankle dorsiflexion for a supraspinal reaction post-stretch, which appears absent in endurance-trained athletes.

Sea to the mountains: quantifying freshwater eel and trout diet reliance on marine subsidies from upstream migrating fish - Simon D. Stewart; Robin Holmes; Yvonne Vadeboncoeur; Sarah J. Bury; Sarah Crump (New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 2022)
Despite the Southern Hemisphere's high proportion of endemic diadromous fish, the trophic role of upstream migrating forage fish in freshwater ecosystems remains unquantified. We combined food web δ 13 C and δ 15 N analyses with fish biomass estimates to quantify estuarine resource contribution (from the ecologically significant Waituna lagoon) to the diet and growth of the apex predators, longfin eels ( Anguilla dieffenbachii ) and brown trout ( Salmo trutta ) in Waituna Creek, Southland, Aotearoa (New Zealand) during 2019 and 2021. Our results demonstrated that exceptionally high biomasses of large predatory fishes (610–830 kg km −1 ) were maintained in a degraded agricultural catchment through connectivity to a near‐pristine estuarine lagoon. Īnanga ( Galaxias maculatus ) migrating upstream from the lagoon supported 60%–80% of longfin eel and 40%–90% of brown trout biomass over the two years sampled. Mass‐balance modelling suggested that large predatory fish in the Waituna Creek consume about two tonnes of migrating whitebait annually. These findings highlight the wider role of estuarine/marine subsidies in structuring New Zealand freshwater food webs and challenge the orthodoxy of ‘restoring streams from the headwaters down’. Estuarine ecosystems may be more important than headwater areas for sustaining large predatory fish, such as longfin eels, when they are food limited.

Lineage and role in integrative taxonomy of a heterotrophic orchid complex - Craig F. Barrett; Mathilda V. Santee; Nicole M. Fama; John V. Freudenstein; Sandra J. Simon; Brandon T. Sinn (Molecular Ecology, 2022)
Lineage‐based species definitions applying coalescent approaches to species delimitation have become increasingly popular. Yet, the application of these methods and the recognition of lineage‐only definitions have recently been questioned. Species delimitation criteria that explicitly consider both lineages and evidence for ecological role shifts provide an opportunity to incorporate ecologically meaningful data from multiple sources in studies of species boundaries. Here, such criteria were applied to a problematic group of mycoheterotrophic orchids, the Corallorhiza striata complex, analysing genomic, morphological, phenological, reproductive‐mode, niche, and fungal host data. A recently developed method for generating genomic polymorphism data–ISSRseq–demonstrates evidence for four distinct lineages, including a previously unidentified lineage in the Coast Ranges and Cascades of California and Oregon, USA. There is divergence in morphology, phenology, reproductive mode, and fungal associates among the four lineages. Integrative analyses, conducted in population assignment and redundancy analysis frameworks, provide evidence of distinct genomic lineages and a similar pattern of divergence in the extended data, albeit with weaker signal. However, none of the extended data sets fully satisfy the condition of a significant role shift, which requires evidence of fixed differences. The four lineages identified in the current study are recognized at the level of variety, short of comprising different species. This study represents the most comprehensive application of lineage + role to date and illustrates the advantages of such an approach.

Citizen science reveals the population structure and seasonal presence of whale sharks in the Gulf of Thailand - Kirsty Magson; Emily Monacella; Chad Scott; Noémie Buffat; Sirachai Arunrugstichai; Metavee Chuangcharoendee; Simon J. Pierce; Jason Holmberg; Gonzalo Araujo (Journal of Fish Biology, 2022)
The whale shark Rhincodon typus is a broadly distributed and highly mobile planktivorous shark species. The sharks form predictable aggregations in many areas, providing the opportunity for cost‐effective scientific monitoring through divers and other marine resource users. Sightings of individuals outside of these aggregate zones elsewhere in their range are typically rare. We used a citizen science‐based approach to shed light on occurrence and seasonality in the waters around Koh Tao, Thailand and neighbouring islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Although there is a paucity of quantitative data, anecdotal reports suggest substantial declines in sightings in the early 2000s. We identified a total of 178 individual whale sharks (from 249 sightings) between 2004 and 2019, with most of these (84%) from the 2015–2019 time period due to an increase in sighting reports facilitated by social media and direct marketing. Size estimates were reported for 102 of the sightings, with a range of 2–6 m and mean of 3.7 m overall. Sex was reported for 27% of sightings, with a 2:1 female‐to‐male ratio. Modified maximum likelihood methods suggest whale sharks are transient to Koh Tao and surrounding areas, with whale shark sightings following the regional monsoon cycle. One international resighting was obtained from Malaysian waters (~700 km away). Encouraging citizen science participation is particularly useful in data‐poor regions like the Gulf of Thailand, despite limitations in size and sex estimation reliability, which can play an important complementary role in dedicated research programs.

Methanogenic archaea in subsurface coal seams are biogeographically distinct: an analysis of metagenomically‐derived mcrA sequences - Bronwyn C. Campbell; Paul Greenfield; Se Gong; Elliott P. Barnhart; David J. Midgley; Ian T. Paulsen; Simon C. George (Environmental Microbiology, 2022)
Summary The production of methane as an end‐product of organic matter degradation in the absence of other terminal electron acceptors is common, and has often been studied in environments such as animal guts, soils and wetlands due to its potency as a greenhouse gas. To date, however, the study of the biogeographic distribution of methanogens across coal seam environments has been minimal. Here, we show that coal seams are host to a diverse range of methanogens, which are distinctive to each geological basin. Based on comparisons to close relatives from other methanogenic environments, the dominant methanogenic pathway in these basins is hydrogenotrophic, with acetoclastic being a second major pathway in the Surat Basin. Finally, mcrA and 16S rRNA gene primer biases were predominantly seen to affect the detection of Methanocellales, Methanomicrobiales and Methanosarcinales taxa in this study. Subsurface coal methanogenic community distributions and pathways presented here provide insights into important metabolites and bacterial partners for in situ coal biodegradation.

Barriers in European spiny lobster ( Palinurus elephas ) aquaculture: What we know so far? - Adam L. K. Yeap; Cecília de Souza Valente; Finnian Hartnett; Ellie‐Ann Conneely; Majbritt Bolton‐Warberg; Simon J. Davies; Mark P. Johnson; Alex H. L. Wan (Reviews in Aquaculture, 2022)
Palinurids, also known as spiny lobsters, are high‐value seafood, which is economically important for many European and Asian seafood trades. However, the reduction of wild European spiny lobster populations produces a need for developing alternative renewable strategies to meet current and future demands. Aquaculture of spiny lobsters has the potential to become of major economic importance in the coming years with growing markets in Asia, Europe, and America, with Palinurus elephas being a promising candidate species for use in the commercial culture and stock enhancement of natural fisheries. This is due to its shorter larval periods and rapid growth to the critical puerulus stage compared with other spiny lobster species. While we have a basic understanding of the lifecycle and biology of P. elephas , much of this is based on work undertaken on similar species globally. There are many gaps in our knowledge that need to be addressed to make its aquaculture viable with appropriate feeds being an immediate issue as well as many other husbandry‐related factors. Previous studies act as a platform providing a baseline for further research and highlighting constraints. Developments in the use of P. elephas are promising due to realistically bridgeable knowledge gaps, the likelihood of producing sustainable food and the high commercial value of spiny lobsters. This review identifies our present state of knowledge and outlines the scope for further research and necessary technological developments to make it a viable contribution towards crustacean aquaculture in Europe.

Krill biomass estimation: Sampling and measurement variability - Fiona Bairstow; Sven Gastauer; Simon Wotherspoon; C. Tom A. Brown; So Kawaguchi; Tom Edwards; Martin J. Cox (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022)
Krill are the subject of growing commercial fisheries and therefore fisheries management is necessary to ensure long-term sustainability. Krill catch limits, set by Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, are based on absolute krill biomass, estimated from acoustic-trawl surveys. In this work, we develop a method for determining an error budget for acoustic-trawl surveys of krill which includes sampling and measurement variability. We use our error budget method to examine the sensitivity of biomass estimates to parameters in acoustic target strength (TS) models, length frequency distribution and length to wetmass relationships derived from net data. We determined that the average coefficient of variation ( CV ) of estimated biomass was 17.7% and the average CV due from scaling acoustic observations to biomass density was 5.3%. We found that a large proportion of the variability of biomass estimates is due to the krill orientation distribution, a parameter in the TS model. Orientation distributions with narrow standard deviations were found to emphasise the results of nulls in the TS to length relationship, which has to potential to lead to biologically implausible results.

Phylotype and sequevar analysis of a Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum causing wilt in marigold (Tagetes erecta) - Laoongdao Soongnern; Jutharat Chuapong; Hatthaya Arunothayanan; Mongkol Sratongjun; Cherry Relevante; Simon J. de Hoop; Angsana Akarapisan (Journal of Plant Pathology, 2022)

Barriers to coastal planning and policy use of environmental research in Aotearoa-New Zealand - Judi E. Hewitt; Carolyn J. Lundquist; Conrad A. Pilditch; Simon F. Thrush; Stephen C. Urlich (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022)
Identifying barriers to the effective use of science in coastal management of Aotearoa-New Zealand is easy, due to the present lack of complicated governance and management structures, coupled with an emphasis on funding science that includes pathways to implementation. This opinion piece discusses four areas that still hinder effective use of science, all of which are likely to be problematic for other countries. We initially focus on why the science may not be used related to: misunderstandings (linguistic and conceptual differences including indigenous world views); timing of information delivery; uncertainty surrounding the information (knowledge limitations and funding); and top-down constraints (legal systems, politics and institutional objectives). We use Aotearoa-New Zealand examples to demonstrate the barriers operating within each area and discuss three potential solutions. Importantly our analysis indicates that researchers alone cannot transcend these barriers; rather, we need to work as part of an ecosystem, requiring commitment from all society, extending beyond the usual suspects (management agencies). We believe that ecological and systems education from junior school levels through to universities have an important role to play in setting the context to overcome current barriers.

Association patterns and community structure among female bottlenose dolphins: environmental, genetic and cultural factors - Svenja M. Marfurt; Simon J. Allen; Manuela R. Bizzozzero; Erik P. Willems; Stephanie L. King; Richard C. Connor; Anna M. Kopps; Sonja Wild; Livia Gerber; Samuel Wittwer; Michael Krützen (Mammalian Biology, 2022)
Social structuring from assortative associations may affect individual fitness, as well as population-level processes. Gaining a broader understanding of social structure can improve our knowledge of social evolution and inform wildlife conservation. We investigated association patterns and community structure of female Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops aduncus ) in Shark Bay, Western Australia, assessing the role of kinship, shared culturally transmitted foraging techniques, and habitat similarity based on water depth. Our results indicated that associations are influenced by a combination of uni- and biparental relatedness, cultural behaviour and habitat similarity, as these were positively correlated with a measure of dyadic association. These findings were matched in a community level analysis. Members of the same communities overwhelmingly shared the same habitat and foraging techniques, demonstrating a strong homophilic tendency. Both uni- and biparental relatedness between dyads were higher within than between communities. Our results illustrate that intraspecific variation in sociality in bottlenose dolphins is influenced by a complex combination of genetic, cultural, and environmental aspects.

Evidence of male alliance formation in a small dolphin community - Delphine B. H. Chabanne; Michael Krützen; Hugh Finn; Simon J. Allen (Mammalian Biology, 2022)
The photo-identification of uniquely marked individuals has revealed much about mammalian behaviour and social structure in recent decades. In bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops spp.), for example, the long-term tracking of individuals has unveiled considerable variation in social structure among populations and various spatio-temporal aspects of group formation. In this study, we investigated associations among individual males in a small community of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins ( T. aduncus ) residing in an urbanized estuary in southwestern Australia. Given the relative proximity of our study area to other populations in which complex male alliances form for the purpose of mate acquisition, we used long-term photo-identification records and social analyses to assess whether such alliances also occur in smaller and more isolated settings. Our work revealed strong social bonds and long-term, non-random associations among individual males, suggesting the occurrence of male alliances. Behavioural observations of alliances interacting with potentially receptive adult females from the estuary community and from adjacent communities, and exhibiting sexual display behaviours near females, suggest that these alliances occur in a reproductive context. As the first formal analysis indicating the occurrence of male alliances outside Shark Bay along the vast western coastline of Australia, this study complements previous research and extends our understanding of the evolutionary and ecological processes that drive alliance formation.

Coralline Hills: high complexity reef habitats on seamount summits of the Vitória-Trindade Chain - Helder Coelho Guabiroba; Luiz A. Rocha; Jean-Christophe Joyeux; Caio R. Pimentel; João Batista Teixeira; Raphael M. Macieira; João Luiz Gasparini; Ronaldo Bastos Francini-Filho; Ryan Andrades; Eric Mazzei; Thiony Simon; Marina Sissini; et al. (Coral Reefs, 2022)

The influence of native populations’ genetic history on the reconstruction of invasion routes: the case of a highly invasive aquatic species - Thomas Brazier; Emira Cherif; Jean-François Martin; André Gilles; Simon Blanchet; Yahui Zhao; Marine Combe; R. J. Scott McCairns; Rodolphe E. Gozlan (Biological Invasions, 2022)

Geographical contrasts of Y‐chromosomal haplogroups from wild and domestic goats reveal ancient migrations and recent introgressions - Isaäc J. Nijman; Benjamin D. Rosen; Philippe Bardou; Thomas Faraut; Tristan Cumer; Kevin G. Daly; Zhuqing Zheng; Yudong Cai; Hojjat Asadollahpour; Bengi Çınar Kul; Wei‐Yi Zhang; Guangxin E.; et al. (Molecular Ecology, 2022)
By their paternal transmission, Y‐chromosomal haplotypes are sensitive markers of population history and male‐mediated introgression. Previous studies identified biallelic single‐nucleotide variants in the SRY , ZFY and DDX3Y genes, which in domestic goats identified four major Y‐chromosomal haplotypes, Y1A, Y1B, Y2A and Y2B, with a marked geographical partitioning. Here, we extracted goat Y‐chromosomal variants from whole‐genome sequences of 386 domestic goats (75 breeds) and seven wild goat species, which were generated by the VarGoats goat genome project. Phylogenetic analyses indicated domestic haplogroups corresponding to Y1B, Y2A and Y2B, respectively, whereas Y1A is split into Y1AA and Y1AB. All five haplogroups were detected in 26 ancient DNA samples from southeast Europe or Asia. Haplotypes from present‐day bezoars are not shared with domestic goats and are attached to deep nodes of the trees and networks. Haplogroup distributions for 186 domestic breeds indicate ancient paternal population bottlenecks and expansions during migrations into northern Europe, eastern and southern Asia, and Africa south of the Sahara. In addition, sharing of haplogroups indicates male‐mediated introgressions, most notably an early gene flow from Asian goats into Madagascar and the crossbreeding that in the 19th century resulted in the popular Boer and Anglo‐Nubian breeds. More recent introgressions are those from European goats into the native Korean goat population and from Boer goat into Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe. This study illustrates the power of the Y‐chromosomal variants for reconstructing the history of domestic species with a wide geographical range.

Water table depth modulates productivity and biomass across Amazonian forests - Thaiane R. Sousa; Juliana Schietti; Igor O. Ribeiro; Thaise Emílio; Rafael Herrera Fernández; Hans ter Steege; Carolina V. Castilho; Adriane Esquivel‐Muelbert; Timothy Baker; Aline Pontes‐Lopes; Camila V. J. Silva; Juliana M. Silveira; et al. (Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2022)
Aim Water availability is the major driver of tropical forest structure and dynamics. Most research has focused on the impacts of climatic water availability, whereas remarkably little is known about the influence of water table depth and excess soil water on forest processes. Nevertheless, given that plants take up water from the soil, the impacts of climatic water supply on plants are likely to be modulated by soil water conditions. Location Lowland Amazonian forests. Time period 1971–2019. Methods We used 344 long‐term inventory plots distributed across Amazonia to analyse the effects of long‐term climatic and edaphic water supply on forest functioning. We modelled forest structure and dynamics as a function of climatic, soil‐water and edaphic properties. Results Water supplied by both precipitation and groundwater affects forest structure and dynamics, but in different ways. Forests with a shallow water table (depth Main conclusions We show that the two extremes of water availability (excess and deficit) both reduce productivity in Amazon upland ( terra‐firme ) forests. Biomass and productivity across Amazonia respond not simply to regional climate, but rather to its interaction with water table conditions, exhibiting high local differentiation. Our study disentangles the relative contribution of those factors, helping to improve understanding of the functioning of tropical ecosystems and how they are likely to respond to climate change.

Evaluating expert‐based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS‐ tracking data - Maarten J. E. Broekman; Jelle P. Hilbers; Mark A. J. Huijbregts; Thomas Mueller; Abdullahi H. Ali; Henrik Andrén; Jeanne Altmann; Malin Aronsson; Nina Attias; Hattie L. A. Bartlam‐Brooks; Floris M. van Beest; Jerrold L. Belant; et al. (Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2022)
Aim Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert‐based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert‐based information with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert‐based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS‐tracking data of 1,498 individuals from 49 mammal species. Location Worldwide. Time period 1998–2021. Major taxa studied Forty‐nine terrestrial mammal species. Methods Using GPS data, we estimated two measures of habitat suitability for each individual animal: proportional habitat use (proportion of GPS locations within a habitat type), and selection ratio (habitat use relative to its availability). For each individual we then evaluated whether the GPS‐based habitat suitability measures were in agreement with the IUCN data. To that end, we calculated the probability that the ranking of empirical habitat suitability measures was in agreement with IUCN's classification into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat types. Results IUCN habitat suitability data were in accordance with the GPS data (> 95% probability of agreement) for 33 out of 49 species based on proportional habitat use estimates and for 25 out of 49 species based on selection ratios. In addition, 37 and 34 species had a > 50% probability of agreement based on proportional habitat use and selection ratios, respectively. Main conclusions We show how GPS‐tracking data can be used to evaluate IUCN habitat suitability data. Our findings indicate that for the majority of species included in this study, it is appropriate to use IUCN habitat suitability data in macroecological studies. Furthermore, we show that GPS‐tracking data can be used to identify and prioritize species and habitat types for re‐evaluation of IUCN habitat suitability data.

Rapid assessment of insect pollination services to inform decision‐making - Fabrizia Ratto; Tom D. Breeze; Lorna J. Cole; Michael P. D. Garratt; David Kleijn; Bill Kunin; Denis Michez; Rory O'Connor; Jeff Ollerton; Robert J. Paxton; Guy M. Poppy; Simon G. Potts; et al. (Conservation Biology, 2022)
Pollinator declines have prompted efforts to assess how land‐use change affects insect pollinators and pollination services in agricultural landscapes. Yet many tools to measure insect pollination services require substantial landscape‐scale data and technical expertise. In expert workshops, 3 straightforward methods (desk‐based method, field survey, and empirical manipulation with exclusion experiments) for rapid insect pollination assessment at site scale were developed to provide an adaptable framework that is accessible to nonspecialist with limited resources. These methods were designed for TESSA (Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site‐Based Assessment) and allow comparative assessment of pollination services at a site of conservation interest and in its most plausible alternative state (e.g., converted to agricultural land). We applied the methods at a nature reserve in the United Kingdom to estimate the value of insect pollination services provided by the reserve. The economic value of pollination services provided by the reserve ranged from US$6163 to US$11,546/year. The conversion of the reserve to arable land would provide no insect pollination services and a net annual benefit from insect‐pollinated crop production of approximately $1542/year (US$24∙ha –1 ∙year –1 ). The methods had wide applicability and were readily adapted to different insect‐pollinated crops: rape ( Brassica napus ) and beans ( Vicia faba ) crops. All methods were rapidly employed under a low budget. The relatively less robust methods that required fewer resources yielded higher estimates of annual insect pollination benefit.

Genomic erosion in a demographically recovered bird species during conservation rescue - Hazel A. Jackson; Lawrence Percival‐Alwyn; Camilla Ryan; Mohammed F. Albeshr; Luca Venturi; Hernán E. Morales; Thomas C. Mathers; Jonathan Cocker; Samuel A. Speak; Gonzalo G. Accinelli; Tom Barker; Darren Heavens; et al. (Conservation Biology, 2022)
The pink pigeon ( Nesoenas mayeri ) is an endemic species of Mauritius that has made a remarkable recovery after a severe population bottleneck in the 1970s to early 1990s. Prior to this bottleneck, an ex situ population was established from which captive‐bred individuals were released into free‐living subpopulations to increase population size and genetic variation. This conservation rescue led to rapid population recovery to 400–480 individuals, and the species was twice downlisted on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. We analyzed the impacts of the bottleneck and genetic rescue on neutral genetic variation during and after population recovery (1993–2008) with restriction site‐associated sequencing, microsatellite analyses, and quantitative genetic analysis of studbook data of 1112 birds from zoos in Europe and the United States. We used computer simulations to study the predicted changes in genetic variation and population viability from the past into the future. Genetic variation declined rapidly, despite the population rebound, and the effective population size was approximately an order of magnitude smaller than census size. The species carried a high genetic load of circa 15 lethal equivalents for longevity. Our computer simulations predicted continued inbreeding will likely result in increased expression of deleterious mutations (i.e., a high realized load) and severe inbreeding depression. Without continued conservation actions, it is likely that the pink pigeon will go extinct in the wild within 100 years. Conservation rescue of the pink pigeon has been instrumental in the recovery of the free‐living population. However, further genetic rescue with captive‐bred birds from zoos is required to recover lost variation, reduce expression of harmful deleterious variation, and prevent extinction. The use of genomics and modeling data can inform IUCN assessments of the viability and extinction risk of species, and it helps in assessments of the conservation dependency of populations.

A stochastic model for estimating sustainable limits to wildlife mortality in a changing world - Oliver Manlik; Robert C. Lacy; William B. Sherwin; Hugh Finn; Neil R. Loneragan; Simon J. Allen (Conservation Biology, 2022)
Human‐caused mortality of wildlife is a pervasive threat to biodiversity. Assessing the population‐level impact of fisheries bycatch and other human‐caused mortality of wildlife has typically relied upon deterministic methods. However, population declines are often accelerated by stochastic factors that are not accounted for in such conventional methods. Building on the widely applied potential biological removal (PBR) equation, we devised a new population modeling approach for estimating sustainable limits to human‐caused mortality and applied it in a case study of bottlenose dolphins affected by capture in an Australian demersal otter trawl fishery. Our approach, termed sustainable anthropogenic mortality in stochastic environments (SAMSE), incorporates environmental and demographic stochasticity, including the dependency of offspring on their mothers. The SAMSE limit is the maximum number of individuals that can be removed without causing negative stochastic population growth. We calculated a PBR of 16.2 dolphins per year based on the best abundance estimate available. In contrast, the SAMSE model indicated that only 2.3–8.0 dolphins could be removed annually without causing a population decline in a stochastic environment. These results suggest that reported bycatch rates are unsustainable in the long term, unless reproductive rates are consistently higher than average. The difference between the deterministic PBR calculation and the SAMSE limits showed that deterministic approaches may underestimate the true impact of human‐caused mortality of wildlife. This highlights the importance of integrating stochasticity when evaluating the impact of bycatch or other human‐caused mortality on wildlife, such as hunting, lethal control measures, and wind turbine collisions. Although population viability analysis (PVA) has been used to evaluate the impact of human‐caused mortality, SAMSE represents a novel PVA framework that incorporates stochasticity for estimating acceptable levels of human‐caused mortality. It offers a broadly applicable, stochastic addition to the demographic toolbox to evaluate the impact of human‐caused mortality on wildlife.

Improving sightings-derived residency estimation for whale shark aggregations: A novel metric applied to a global data set - Gonzalo Araujo; Ariana Agustines; Steffen S. Bach; Jesse E. M. Cochran; Emilio de la Parra-Galván; Rafael de la Parra-Venegas; Stella Diamant; Alistair Dove; Steve Fox; Rachel T. Graham; Sofia M. Green; Jonathan R. Green; et al. (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022)
The world’s largest extant fish, the whale shark Rhincodon typus , is one of the most-studied species of sharks globally. The discovery of predictable aggregation sites where these animals gather seasonally or are sighted year-round – most of which are coastal and juvenile-dominated – has allowed for a rapid expansion of research on this species. The most common method for studying whale sharks at these sites is photographic identification (photo-ID). This technique allows for long-term individual-based data to be collected which can, in turn, be used to evaluate population structure, build population models, identify long-distance movements, and assess philopatry and other population dynamics. Lagged identification rate (LIR) models have fewer underlying assumptions than more traditional capture mark recapture approaches, making them more broadly applicable to marine taxa, especially far-ranging megafauna species like whale sharks. However, the increased flexibility comes at a cost. Parameter estimations based on LIR can be difficult to interpret and may not be comparable between areas with different sampling regimes. Using a unique data-set from the Philippines with ~8 years of nearly continuous survey effort, we were able to derive a metric for converting LIR residency estimates into more intuitive days-per-year units. We applied this metric to 25 different sites allowing for the first quantitatively-meaningful comparison of sightings-derived residence among the world’s whale shark aggregations. We validated these results against the only three published acoustic residence metrics (falling within the ranges established by these earlier works in all cases). The results were then used to understand residency behaviours exhibited by the sharks at each site. The adjusted residency metric is an improvement to LIR-based population modelling, already one of the most widely used tools for describing whale shark aggregations. The standardised methods presented here can serve as a valuable tool for assessing residency patterns of whale sharks, which is crucial for tailored conservation action, and can cautiously be tested in other taxa.

New haplotypes found in stranded long‐finned pilot whales ( Globicephala melas ) in the eastern North Atlantic and adjacent waters - Rachel J. Ball; Ashleigh Kitchiner; Nicholas J. Davison; Andrew Brownlow; Simon Berrow; Niall J. McKeown; Lonneke L. IJsseldijk; Matthew Geary; Ian McDowall; Anna P. Muir (Marine Mammal Science, 2022)
Long‐finned pilot whale ( Globicephala melas ) mitochondrial (mtDNA) genetic diversity is considered low, especially in the North Atlantic, where only seven haplotypes have been recorded in previous studies using a 345 bp control region fragment. Such studies have not included samples from Ireland or the Netherlands. In this study we analyzed a longer sequence of the mtDNA control region (631 bp) from individuals stranded around Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands between 1995 and 2019 ( n = 180). Nine haplotypes were identified, of which five were newly described (haplotype diversity h = 0.511). Pairwise tests revealed significant differentiation between the Irish and Scottish samples. Potential confounding factors are discussed but given that failure to recognize population structure may compromise conservation efforts, the findings show the need for further investigation using nuclear markers. Six mass stranding events were included, of which one event reported two haplotypes among individuals confirming a mixing of matrilineal groups. Although the permanence of this combination cannot be determined, this is the first record of such an occurrence within the North Atlantic. This study shows that stranding sample databases are a useful resource for genetic studies and provides new insights into genetic diversity of long‐finned pilot whales in the eastern North Atlantic and adjacent waters.

Sympatric Seals, Satellite Tracking and Protected Areas: Habitat-Based Distribution Estimates for Conservation and Management - Matt I. D. Carter; Lars Boehme; Michelle A. Cronin; Callan D. Duck; W. James Grecian; Gordon D. Hastie; Mark Jessopp; Jason Matthiopoulos; Bernie J. McConnell; David L. Miller; Chris D. Morris; Simon E. W. Moss; et al. (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022)
Marine predator populations are crucial to the structure and functioning of ecosystems. Like many predator taxa, pinnipeds face an increasingly complex array of natural and anthropogenic threats. Understanding the relationship between at-sea processes and trends in abundance at land-based monitoring sites requires robust estimates of at-sea distribution, often on multi-region scales. Such an understanding is critical for effective conservation management, but estimates are often limited in spatial extent by spatial coverage of animal-borne tracking data. Grey ( Halichoerus grypus ) and harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina ) are sympatric predators in North Atlantic shelf seas. The United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland represents an important population centre for both species, and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are designated for their monitoring and protection. Here we use an extensive high-resolution GPS tracking dataset, unprecedented in both size (114 grey and 239 harbour seals) and spatial coverage, to model habitat preference and generate at-sea distribution estimates for the entire UK and Ireland populations of both species. We found regional differences in environmental drivers of distribution for both species which likely relate to regional variation in diet and population trends. Moreover, we provide SAC-specific estimates of at-sea distribution for use in marine spatial planning, demonstrating that hotspots of at-sea density in UK and Ireland-wide maps cannot always be apportioned to the nearest SAC. We show that for grey seals, colonial capital breeders, there is a mismatch between SACs (where impacts are likely to be detected) and areas where impacts are most likely to occur (at sea). We highlight an urgent need for further research to elucidate the links between at-sea distribution during the foraging season and population trends observed in SACs. More generally, we highlight that the potential for such a disconnect needs to be considered when designating and managing protected sites, particularly for species that aggregate to breed and exhibit partial migration (e.g. grey seals), or spatial variation in migration strategies. We demonstrate the use of strategic tracking efforts to predict distribution across multiple regions, but caution that such efforts should be mindful of the potential for differences in species-environment relationships despite similar accessible habitats.

Enhancing plant N uptake with biochar-based fertilizers: limitation of sorption and prospects - Daniel P. Rasse; Simon Weldon; Erik J. Joner; Stephen Joseph; Claudia I. Kammann; Xiaoyu Liu; Adam O’Toole; Genxing Pan; N. Pelin Kocatürk-Schumacher (Plant and Soil, 2022)
Background Biochar-based fertilizer products (BCF) have been reported to increase both crop yield and N-use efficiency. Such positive effects are often assumed to result from the slow-release of N adsorbed on BCF structures. However, a careful review of the literature suggests that actual mechanisms remain uncertain, which hampers the development of efficient BCF products. Scope Here, we aim at reviewing BCF mechanisms responsible for enhanced N uptake by plants, and evaluate the potential for further improvement. We review the capacity of biochar structures to adsorb and release N forms, the biochar properties supporting this effect, and the methods that have been proposed to enhance this effect. Conclusions Current biochar products show insufficient sorption capacity for the retention of N forms to support the production of slow-release BCFs of high enough N concentration. Substantial slow-release effects appear to require conventional coating technology. Sorption capacity can be improved through activation and additives, but currently not to the extent needed for concentrated BCFs. Positive effects of commercial BCFs containing small amount of biochar appear to result from pyrolysis-derived biostimulants. Our review highlights three prospects for improving N retention: 1) sorption of NH 3 gas on specifically activated biochar, 2) synergies between biochar and clay porosities, which might provide economical sorption enhancement, and 3) physical loading of solid N forms within biochar. Beyond proof of concept, quantitative nutrient studies are needed to ascertain that potential future BCFs deliver expected effects on both slow-release and N use efficiency.

Characterisation of carapace composition in developing and adult ostracods (Skogsbergia lerneri) and its potential for biomaterials - Benjamin M. Rumney; Siân R. Morgan; J. Frederick W. Mosselmans; F. Tegwen Malik; Simon J. Holden; Andrew R. Parker; Nick White; Philip N. Lewis; Julie Albon; Keith M. Meek (Marine Biology, 2022)
The protective carapace of Skogsbergia lerneri, a marine ostracod, is scratch-resistant and transparent. The compositional and structural organisation of the carapace that underlies these properties is unknown. In this study, we aimed to quantify and determine the distribution of chemical elements and chitin within the carapace of adult ostracods, as well as at different stages of ostracod development, to gain insight into its composition. Elemental analyses included X-ray absorption near-edge structure, X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction. Nonlinear microscopy and spectral imaging were performed to determine chitin distribution within the carapace. High levels of calcium (20.3%) and substantial levels of magnesium (1.89%) were identified throughout development. Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) was detected in carapaces of all developmental stages, with the polymorph, aragonite, identified in A-1 and adult carapaces. Novel chitin-derived second harmonic generation signals (430/5 nm) were detected. Quantification of relative chitin content within the developing and adult carapaces identified negligible differences in chitin content between developmental stages and adult carapaces, except for the lower chitin contribution in A-2 (66.8 ± 7.6%) compared to A-5 (85.5 ± 10%) ( p = 0.03). Skogsbergia lerneri carapace calcium carbonate composition was distinct to other myodocopid ostracods. These calcium polymorphs and ACC are described in other biological transparent materials, and with the consistent chitin distribution throughout S. lerneri development, may imply a biological adaptation to preserve carapace physical properties. Realisation of S. lerneri carapace synthesis and structural organisation will enable exploitation to manufacture biomaterials and biomimetics with huge potential in industrial and military applications.

Expression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transactivator of Transcription (HIV-Tat1-86) Protein Alters Nociceptive Processing that is Sensitive to Anti-Oxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Interventions - Thomas J. Cirino; Amy R. Alleyne; Vinicius Duarte; Ariana Figueroa; Chloe A. Simons; Emet M. Anceaume; Justin Kendrick; Olivia Wallman; Shainnel O. Eans; Heather M. Stacy; Jessica M. Medina; Jay P. McLaughlin (Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 2022)

Comprehensive analysis of epigenetic clocks reveals associations between disproportionate biological ageing and hippocampal volume - Lidija Milicic; Michael Vacher; Tenielle Porter; Vincent Doré; Samantha C. Burnham; Pierrick Bourgeat; Rosita Shishegar; James Doecke; Nicola J. Armstrong; Rick Tankard; Paul Maruff; Colin L. Masters; et al. (GeroScience, 2022)
The concept of age acceleration, the difference between biological age and chronological age, is of growing interest, particularly with respect to age-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Whilst studies have reported associations with AD risk and related phenotypes, there remains a lack of consensus on these associations. Here we aimed to comprehensively investigate the relationship between five recognised measures of age acceleration, based on DNA methylation patterns (DNAm age), and cross-sectional and longitudinal cognition and AD-related neuroimaging phenotypes (volumetric MRI and Amyloid-β PET) in the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Significant associations were observed between age acceleration using the Hannum epigenetic clock and cross-sectional hippocampal volume in AIBL and replicated in ADNI. In AIBL, several other findings were observed cross-sectionally, including a significant association between hippocampal volume and the Hannum and Phenoage epigenetic clocks. Further, significant associations were also observed between hippocampal volume and the Zhang and Phenoage epigenetic clocks within Amyloid-β positive individuals. However, these were not validated within the ADNI cohort. No associations between age acceleration and other Alzheimer’s disease-related phenotypes, including measures of cognition or brain Amyloid-β burden, were observed, and there was no association with longitudinal change in any phenotype. This study presents a link between age acceleration, as determined using DNA methylation, and hippocampal volume that was statistically significant across two highly characterised cohorts. The results presented in this study contribute to a growing literature that supports the role of epigenetic modifications in ageing and AD-related phenotypes.

Prediction of disability-free survival in healthy older people - Johannes Tobias Neumann; Le T. P. Thao; Anne M. Murray; Emily Callander; Prudence R. Carr; Mark R. Nelson; Rory Wolfe; Robyn L. Woods; Christopher M. Reid; Raj C. Shah; Anne B. Newman; Jeff D. Williamson; et al. (GeroScience, 2022)
Prolonging survival in good health is a fundamental societal goal. However, the leading determinants of disability-free survival in healthy older people have not been well established. Data from ASPREE, a bi-national placebo-controlled trial of aspirin with 4.7 years median follow-up, was analysed. At enrolment, participants were healthy and without prior cardiovascular events, dementia or persistent physical disability. Disability-free survival outcome was defined as absence of dementia, persistent disability or death. Selection of potential predictors from amongst 25 biomedical, psychosocial and lifestyle variables including recognized geriatric risk factors, utilizing a machine-learning approach. Separate models were developed for men and women. The selected predictors were evaluated in a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model and validated internally by bootstrapping. We included 19,114 Australian and US participants aged ≥65 years (median 74 years, IQR 71.6–77.7). Common predictors of a worse prognosis in both sexes included higher age, lower Modified Mini-Mental State Examination score, lower gait speed, lower grip strength and abnormal (low or elevated) body mass index. Additional risk factors for men included current smoking, and abnormal eGFR. In women, diabetes and depression were additional predictors. The biased-corrected areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the final prognostic models at 5 years were 0.72 for men and 0.75 for women. Final models showed good calibration between the observed and predicted risks. We developed a prediction model in which age, cognitive function and gait speed were the strongest predictors of disability-free survival in healthy older people. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01038583)

Successful storage of Trichomonas gallinae on Whatman FTA cards following culture - Rebecca C. Thomas; Jenny C. Dunn; Chris J. Orsman; Antony J. Morris; Helen Hipperson; Philip V. Grice; Keith C. Hamer; Simon J. Goodman (Conservation Genetics Resources, 2022)
Logistical constraints concerning parasite sample storage can hinder progress with the discovery of genetic variation on a global scale. New storage methods are being developed to address this, but require testing in order to understand how widely applicable these methods are. Whatman FTA cards have been tested previously under laboratory conditions for storing low-concentration Trichomonas gallinae isolates with the conclusion that they are not suitable, but have not been tested under field conditions. Here, we conducted a field-test, comparing FTA cards with storage in ethanol for T. gallinae samples collected and cultured from wild Columbiformes in Africa using standard field methods, before transportation to the UK. After 6 months storage, both methods resulted in an overall prevalence of 100% following PCR amplification (n = 59), suggesting that FTA cards are suitable for estimation of T. gallinae prevalence. However, samples stored in ethanol produced more, and longer, sequences than those stored on FTA cards. These data suggest storage in ethanol is preferable for the acquisition of high quality genetic strain data, but that FTA cards can be used successfully to ascertain infection prevalence and identify parasite strains under field conditions.

Tropical and subtropical Asia's valued tree species under threat - Hannes Gaisberger; Tobias Fremout; Chris J. Kettle; Barbara Vinceti; Della Kemalasari; Tania Kanchanarak; Evert Thomas; Josep M. Serra‐Diaz; Jens‐Christian Svenning; Ferry Slik; Wichan Eiadthong; Kandasamy Palanisamy; et al. (Conservation Biology, 2022)
Tree diversity in Asia's tropical and subtropical forests is central to nature‐based solutions. Species vulnerability to multiple threats, which affect provision of ecosystem services, is poorly understood. We conducted a region‐wide, spatially explicit assessment of the vulnerability of 63 socioeconomically important tree species to overexploitation, fire, overgrazing, habitat conversion, and climate change. Trees were selected for assessment from national priority lists, and selections were validated by an expert network representing 20 countries. We used Maxent suitability modeling to predict species distribution ranges, freely accessible spatial data sets to map threat exposures, and functional traits to estimate threat sensitivities. Species‐specific vulnerability maps were created as the product of exposure maps and sensitivity estimates. Based on vulnerability to current threats and climate change, we identified priority areas for conservation and restoration. Overall, 74% of the most important areas for conservation of these trees fell outside protected areas, and all species were severely threatened across an average of 47% of their native ranges. The most imminent threats were overexploitation and habitat conversion; populations were severely threatened by these factors in an average of 24% and 16% of their ranges, respectively. Our model predicted limited overall climate change impacts, although some study species were likely to lose over 15% of their habitat by 2050 due to climate change. We pinpointed specific natural areas in Borneo rain forests as hotspots for in situ conservation of forest genetic resources, more than 82% of which fell outside designated protected areas. We also identified degraded areas in Western Ghats, Indochina dry forests, and Sumatran rain forests as hotspots for restoration, where planting or assisted natural regeneration will help conserve these species, and croplands in southern India and Thailand as potentially important agroforestry options. Our results highlight the need for regionally coordinated action for effective conservation and restoration.

The utilisation of European processed animal proteins as safe, sustainable and circular ingredients for global aquafeeds - Stephen L. Woodgate; Alex H. L. Wan; Finnian Hartnett; Robert G. Wilkinson; Simon J. Davies (Reviews in Aquaculture, 2022)
The global increase in seafood demand has resulted in significant growth in aquaculture production in a wide range of aquatic species. Consequently, this has led to an industry‐wide need to find sustainable feed ingredients that would meet the nutritional requirements used in aquafeeds. The associated dependency on plant by‐products as the major alternatives has brought concerns to aquaculture through associated carbon footprint, increase deforestation and arable land use to meet the demands of plant proteins and oils, and the constraining effects of plant by‐products has on farmed aquatic animal growth and health. Animal by‐products (ABPs) are produced as a direct consequence of terrestrial animal production and the associated meat processing industries. The link between feeding meat and bone meal (MBM) and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak in Europe during the 1980s resulted in a ban of its use animal feeds. This led to a radical overhaul of the rendering industry, including the use of only low‐risk ABP and the development of rendering processes to reduce the risk of prions that causes BSE to enter the food chain. The resulting processed animal proteins (PAPs) are considered safe to be used in farmed animal feeds. This review examines how ABP production has changed due to the BSE outbreak, leading to the current commercially available PAP products for aquafeed use. We evaluated how these products can be effectively used as viable protein sources in aquaculture and examine their limitations and the potential advancements that could lead to a more circular food production system.

Understanding the possible influence of Pumilio RNA binding proteins on terpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthesis in Catharanthus roseus - M. J. Nishanth; Bindu Simon (Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, 2022)

Assessing rates of parasite coinfection and spatiotemporal strain variation via metabarcoding: Insights for the conservation of European turtle doves Streptopelia turtur - Rebecca C. Thomas; Jenny C. Dunn; Deborah A. Dawson; Helen Hipperson; Gavin J. Horsburgh; Antony J. Morris; Chris Orsman; John Mallord; Philip V. Grice; Keith C. Hamer; Cyril Eraud; Lormée Hervé; et al. (Molecular Ecology, 2022)
Understanding the frequency, spatiotemporal dynamics and impacts of parasite coinfections is fundamental to developing control measures and predicting disease impacts. The European turtle dove ( Streptopelia turtur ) is one of Europe's most threatened bird species. High prevalence of infection by the protozoan parasite Trichomonas gallinae has previously been identified, but the role of this and other coinfecting parasites in turtle dove declines remains unclear. Using a high‐throughput sequencing approach, we identified seven strains of T . gallinae , including two novel strains, from ITS1/5.8S/ITS2 ribosomal sequences in turtle doves on breeding and wintering grounds, with further intrastrain variation and four novel subtypes revealed by the iron‐hydrogenase gene. High spatiotemporal turnover was observed in T . gallinae strain composition, and infection was prevalent in all populations (89%–100%). Coinfection by multiple Trichomonas strains was rarer than expected (1% observed compared to 38.6% expected), suggesting either within‐host competition, or high mortality of coinfected individuals. In contrast, coinfection by multiple haemosporidians was common (43%), as was coinfection by haemosporidians and T . gallinae (90%), with positive associations between strains of T . gallinae and Leucocytozoon suggesting a mechanism such as parasite‐induced immune modulation. We found no evidence for negative associations between coinfections and host body condition. We suggest that longitudinal studies involving the recapture and investigation of infection status of individuals over their lifespan are crucial to understand the epidemiology of coinfections in natural populations.

Urbanization comprehensively impairs biological rhythms in coral holobionts - Yaeli Rosenberg; Noa Simon‐Blecher; Maya Lalzar; Ruth Yam; Aldo Shemesh; Shahar Alon; Gabriela Perna; Anny Cárdenas; Christian R. Voolstra; David J. Miller; Oren Levy (Global Change Biology, 2022)
Coral reefs are in global decline due to climate change and anthropogenic influences (Hughes et al., Conservation Biology , 27: 261–269, 2013). Near coastal cities or other densely populated areas, coral reefs face a range of additional challenges. While considerable progress has been made in understanding coral responses to acute individual stressors (Dominoni et al., Nature Ecology & Evolution , 4: 502–511, 2020), the impacts of chronic exposure to varying combinations of sensory pollutants are largely unknown. To investigate the impacts of urban proximity on corals, we conducted a year‐long in‐natura study—incorporating sampling at diel, monthly, and seasonal time points—in which we compared corals from an urban area to corals from a proximal non‐urban area. Here we reveal that despite appearing relatively healthy, natural biorhythms and environmental sensory systems were extensively disturbed in corals from the urban environment. Transcriptomic data indicated poor symbiont performance, disturbance to gametogenic cycles, and loss or shifted seasonality of vital biological processes. Altered seasonality patterns were also observed in the microbiomes of the urban coral population, signifying the impact of urbanization on the holobiont, rather than the coral host alone. These results should raise alarm regarding the largely unknown long‐term impacts of sensory pollution on the resilience and survival of coral reefs close to coastal communities.

Demographic consequences of mutualism disruption: Browsing and big‐headed ant invasion drive acacia population declines - Brandon R. Hays; Corinna Riginos; Todd M. Palmer; Daniel F. Doak; Benard C. Gituku; Nelly J. Maiyo; Samuel Mutisya; Simon Musila; Jacob R. Goheen (Ecology, 2022)
Across the globe, biological invasions have disrupted mutualisms, producing reverberating consequences for ecosystems. Although invasive species frequently trigger mutualism disruptions, few studies have quantified the demographic mechanisms by which mutualism breakdown may generate population effects. In a Kenyan savanna, the invasive big‐headed ant ( Pheidole megacephala ) has disrupted a foundational mutualism between the monodominant whistling‐thorn tree ( Acacia drepanolobium ) and native ants ( Crematogaster spp.) that deter browsing by large mammalian herbivores. We conducted experiments to quantify the demographic consequences of this mutualism disruption in the presence and absence of large mammalian herbivores. Invasion by P. megacephala exacerbated population declines of A. drepanolobium , primarily through decreased survival and reproduction of adult trees. However, these fitness reductions were small compared to those resulting from the presence of large mammalian herbivores, which negatively impacted growth and survival. Contrary to expectation, the expulsion of metabolically costly Crematogaster mutualists by P. megacephala did not result in higher population growth rates for trees protected from large mammalian herbivores. Our results suggest that invasive P. megacephala may impose a direct metabolic cost to trees exceeding that of native mutualists while providing no protection from browsing by large mammalian herbivores. Across landscapes, we expect that invasion by P. megacephala will reduce A. drepanolobium populations, but that the magnitude and demographic pathways of this effect will hinge on the presence and abundance of browsers.

Chemistry of surface water, precipitation, throughfall, leaves, sediment, soil, and air near a gold mining region in P eru - Jacqueline R. Gerson; Natalie Szponar; Arianna Agostini; Rand Alotaibi; Bridget Bergquist; Arabella Chen; Luis E. Fernandez; Kelsey N. Lansdale; Anne H. Lee; Maria F. Machicao; Melissa J. Marchese; Simon N. Topp; et al. (Ecology, 2022)
Artisanal and small‐scale gold mining (ASGM) is the primary global source of anthropogenic mercury (Hg) emissions and a large source of landscape change. ASGM occurs throughout the world, including in the Peruvian Amazon. This data set contains measurements of surface water, precipitation, throughfall, leaves, sediment, soil, and air samples from across the Madre de Dios region of Peru, in locations near and remote from ASGM. These data were collected to determine the fate and transport of Hg across the landscape. Samples were collected in 2018 and 2019. Data predominantly included total Hg and methyl Hg concentrations in surface water, precipitation, throughfall, leaves, sediment, soil, and air. Additional water and soil parameters were also measured to better characterize their chemistry. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publication.

Rapid Site Selection to Prioritize Coastal Seascapes for Nature-Based Solutions With Multiple Benefits - Simon J. Pittman; Kostantinos A. Stamoulis; Marina Antonopoulou; Himansu S. Das; Mohammad Shahid; Jade M. S. Delevaux; Lisa M. Wedding; Daniel Mateos-Molina (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022)
Coastal seascapes are productive and diverse land-sea systems that provide many valuable benefits yet are increasingly threatened by human activity. Scaling up of nature-based solutions (NbS) to effectively protect, sustainably manage, and restore coastal seascapes is urgently required for mitigation of climate change and biodiversity loss while also providing socio-economic benefits. Evidence-based site selection is an important first step to improve the outcomes and avoid negative impacts when prioritizing NbS investments at national level. We developed a spatially explicit, integrative and culturally relevant ecosystem-based site selection process to identify a portfolio of seascapes for NbS consideration in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The primary goal was to rank planning units based on potential for climate change mitigation action, positive impact to biodiversity and socio-economic benefits to people. The multi-criteria site-selection framework provided a rapid, transparent, repeatable and scalable tool. The highest weightings were assigned to blue carbon storage value, biodiversity conservation features, and local stakeholder preferred areas. Spatial proxies for benefits to people were represented by population density and accessibility to coastal seascapes, relative tourism and recreation potential, and importance of fish habitat and fishing grounds for food security. Participatory mapping of local knowledge and review of existing data ensured that both qualitative and quantitative criteria were reliable, up-to-date and locally relevant. Two distinct clusters of high suitability planning units were identified in the Abu Dhabi region and four along the north-western coast of the UAE. Most high suitability sites were located outside of existing marine protected areas. Alternative spatial scenarios without stakeholder bias underscored the suitability of sites identified through participatory mapping and highlighted additional priority sites for future scaling-up of NbS. A spatial corridor of medium and high suitability planning units across the region offers potential for designing well-connected NbS investments to accelerate and boost synergistic outcomes and increase resilience. The site selection framework provides a rapid tool that integrates local and global open access data at a range of scales with great potential for transferability to other regions worldwide.

B cell repertoire in patients with a novel BTK mutation: expanding the spectrum of atypical X-linked agammaglobulinemia - Ori Toker; Arnon Broides; Atar Lev; Amos J. Simon; Orli Megged; Oded Shamriz; Yuval Tal; Raz Somech; Yu Nee Lee; Amit Nahum (Immunologic Research, 2022)

Comparative associations of baseline frailty status and age with postoperative mortality and duration of hospital stay following metastatic brain tumor resection - Alis J. Dicpinigaitis; Simon Hanft; Jared B. Cooper; Chirag D. Gandhi; Syed Faraz Kazim; Meic H. Schmidt; Fawaz Al-Mufti; Christian A. Bowers (Clinical & Experimental Metastasis, 2022)

Long‐term decline in abundance of male sperm whales visiting Kaikōura, New Zealand - Tamlyn R. Somerford; Stephen M. Dawson; Elisabeth Slooten; Marta Guerra; Simon J. Childerhouse; Christoph F. Richter; Miranda L. van der Linde; William J. Rayment (Marine Mammal Science, 2022)
Kaikōura, New Zealand, is one of the few places worldwide where sperm whales can be routinely found close to the coast. Although whales are present nearly all year round, no individuals are truly resident. In this study, we analyzed photo‐identification data collected over 27 years to investigate long‐term trends in inshore abundance. We contrasted two analytical approaches: Cormack‐Jolly‐Seber (CJS) mark‐recapture models, and the “Robust Design,” which can incorporate temporary emigration of individuals. CJS models for open populations showed a significant decline in the annual number of individual males, from 89, 95% CI [60, 133] in 1991, to 40, 95% CI [33–49] in 2017. The Robust Design models indicated that the trend was driven by a decline in abundance of whales using Kaikōura during summer, from 54, 95% CI [18, 156] in 1990, to 23, 95% CI [16, 33] in 2017. In contrast, there was no evidence for change in the numbers of whales using Kaikōura during winter. Incorporating temporary emigration had the most support, indicating Robust Design was more appropriate for estimating abundance. The results of Pradel recruitment models suggest that recruitment to the population using the study area during summer declined during the late 1990s/early 2000s, potentially explaining the decline in abundance.

Variation in δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of mothers and their calves across southern right whale nursery grounds: The effects of nutritional stress? - Emma L. Carroll; Glenn Dunshea; Paulo H. Ott; Luciano O. Valenzuela; C. Scott Baker; Simon J. Childerhouse; Oscar E. Gaggiotti; Paulo A. C. Flores; Karina Groch; Darren R. Gröcke; Mark A. Hindell; David Lundquist; et al. (Marine Mammal Science, 2022)
Southern right whales (SRW) are capital breeders that use stored energy reserves to sustain themselves and their calves on nursery areas. With successful calving events declining in some SRW populations, it has been hypothesized that nutritional stress in adult females causes reproductive failure or death of calves shortly after birth. Here we compared offsets in carbon and nitrogen isotope values of mothers and their offspring (Δ 13 C calf‐cow and Δ 15 N calf‐cow ) among three SRW populations. SRW from Aotearoa New Zealand, with high population growth rates and body conditions scores, have negative Δ 13 C calf‐cow suggesting calves are utilizing 13 C‐depleted lipid carbon in milk to fuel the synthesis of nonessential amino acids used to build new tissues and rapidly grow. In contrast, a significantly positive Δ 13 C calf‐cow offset previously reported for SRW from Argentina during a mass die‐off event was hypothesized to be due to calves consuming milk with low lipid content. Patterns in Δ 15 N calf‐cow were more difficult to interpret and highlight the complexity in nitrogen transfer between mother and offspring. When combined with similar data collected from Brazil and during a low mortality year in Argentina, we hypothesize this approach provides a way to retrospectively compare nutritional condition of breeding adult female SRW across nursery areas.

First satellite‐tracked movements of pygmy blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda ) in New Zealand waters - Kimberly T. Goetz; Simon J. Childerhouse; David Paton; Mike Ogle; Krista van der Linde; Rochelle Constantine; Michael C. Double; Virginia Andrews‐Goff; Alexandre N. Zerbini; Paula A. Olson (Marine Mammal Science, 2022)

Strong and lasting impacts of past global warming on baleen whales and their prey - Andrea A. Cabrera; Elena Schall; Martine Bérubé; Pia Anderwald; Lutz Bachmann; Simon Berrow; Peter B. Best; Phillip J. Clapham; Haydée A. Cunha; Luciano Dalla Rosa; Carolina Dias; Kenneth P. Findlay; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2022)
Global warming is affecting the population dynamics and trophic interactions across a wide range of ecosystems and habitats. Translating these real‐time effects into their long‐term consequences remains a challenge. The rapid and extreme warming period that occurred after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition (7–12 thousand years ago) provides an opportunity to gain insights into the long‐term responses of natural populations to periods with global warming. The effects of this post‐LGM warming period have been assessed in many terrestrial taxa, whereas insights into the impacts of rapid global warming on marine taxa remain limited, especially for megafauna. In order to understand how large‐scale climate fluctuations during the post‐LGM affected baleen whales and their prey, we conducted an extensive, large‐scale analysis of the long‐term effects of the post‐LGM warming on abundance and inter‐ocean connectivity in eight baleen whale and seven prey (fish and invertebrates) species across the Southern and the North Atlantic Ocean; two ocean basins that differ in key oceanographic features. The analysis was based upon 7032 mitochondrial DNA sequences as well as genome‐wide DNA sequence variation in 100 individuals. The estimated temporal changes in genetic diversity during the last 30,000 years indicated that most baleen whale populations underwent post‐LGM expansions in both ocean basins. The increase in baleen whale abundance during the Holocene was associated with simultaneous changes in their prey and climate. Highly correlated, synchronized and exponential increases in abundance in both baleen whales and their prey in the Southern Ocean were indicative of a dramatic increase in ocean productivity. In contrast, the demographic fluctuations observed in baleen whales and their prey in the North Atlantic Ocean were subtle, varying across taxa and time. Perhaps most important was the observation that the ocean‐wide expansions and decreases in abundance that were initiated by the post‐LGM global warming, continued for millennia after global temperatures stabilized, reflecting persistent, long‐lasting impacts of global warming on marine fauna.

Prediction of glomerular filtration rate maturation across preterm and term neonates and young infants using inulin as marker - Yunjiao Wu; Karel Allegaert; Robert B. Flint; Sinno H. P. Simons; Elke H. J. Krekels; Catherijne A. J. Knibbe; Swantje Völler (The AAPS Journal, 2022)
Describing glomerular filtration rate (GFR) maturation across the heterogeneous population of preterm and term neonates and infants is important to predict the clearance of renally cleared drugs. This study aims to describe the GFR maturation in (pre)term neonates and young infants (PNA < 90 days) using individual inulin clearance data (CL inulin ). To this end, published GFR maturation models were evaluated by comparing their predicted GFR with CL inulin retrieved from literature. The best model was subsequently optimized in NONMEM V7.4.3 to better fit the CL inulin values. Our study evaluated seven models and collected 381 individual CL inulin values from 333 subjects with median (range) birthweight (BWb) 1880 g (580–4950), gestational age (GA) 34 weeks (25–43), current weight (CW) 1890 g (480–6200), postnatal age (PNA) 3 days (0–75), and CL inulin 2.20 ml/min (0.43–17.90). The De Cock 2014 model (covariates: BWb and PNA) performed the best in predicting CL inulin , followed by the Rhodin 2009 model (covariates: CW and postmenstrual age). The final optimized model shows that GFR at birth is determined by BWb, thereafter the maturation rate of GFR is dependent on PNA and GA, with a higher GA showing an overall faster maturation. To conclude, using individual CL inulin data, we found that a model for neonatal GFR requires a distinction between prenatal maturation quantified by BWb and postnatal maturation. To capture postnatal GFR maturation in (pre)term neonates and young infants, we developed an optimized model in which PNA-related maturation was dependent on GA. Graphical abstract

Operationalizing and empirically identifying populations trapped in place by climate and environmental stressors in Mexico - Jack DeWaard; Lori M. Hunter; Mason C. Mathews; Esteban J. Quiñones; Fernando Riosmena; Daniel H. Simon (Regional Environmental Change, 2022)

Comparison of thermochemical treatment of sewage sludge ash with sodium sulphate in laboratory-scale and pilot-scale experiments - H. Herzel; J. Stemann; S. Simon; C. Adam (International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2022)
There is an ongoing debate on European scale concerning the criticality of phosphorus. In Switzerland and Germany, phosphorus recovery from phosphorus-rich waste streams will become obligatory. Sewage sludge ash is rich in phosphorus and may become an important secondary feedstock. Thermochemical treatment of sewage sludge ash with sodium sulphate under reducing conditions was shown to remove heavy metals from the solid product and produce the fully plant available crystalline phase CaNaPO 4 . Pilot-scale experiments in a rotary kiln were carried out at temperatures between 750 and 1000 °C and were compared to laboratory-scale experiments with crucibles. Process upscaling was successfully demonstrated but a series of differences were noticed: In comparison to laboratory-scale, solubility of phosphorus in samples from pilot-scale experiments was lower at all chosen treatment temperatures because of shorter retention time and incomplete decomposition of sodium sulphate. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed remaining phase fractions of whitlockite (Ca 3-x (Mg,Fe) x (PO 4 ) 2 ) and sodium sulphate from the starting materials in products and thus indicated incomplete reaction. In contrast to the results of laboratory-scale experiments, the crystalline phase CaNaPO 4 was clearly absent in the products from the rotary kiln but instead a Mg-bearing phase (Ca,Mg)NaPO 4 was formed. Laboratory-scale experiments confirmed (Ca,Mg)NaPO 4 is an intermediate phase between whitlockite and CaNaPO 4 . However, both crystalline phases are characterized by high plant availability. It was shown that heavy metal removal increased at higher temperatures whereas solubility and thus plant availability of phosphorus already reached its maxima at temperatures of 950 °C in pilot-scale and 875 °C in laboratory-scale experiments.

On inferring population trends of mobile waterbirds from aerial transect surveys in variable environments - Peter Caley; Julian R. W. Reid; Matthew J. Colloff; Simon C. Barry (Environmental and Ecological Statistics, 2022)
Monitoring waterbird populations in Australia is challenging for reasons of counting logistics, and because population aggregation and dispersion can shift rapidly in response to large spatio-temporal variations in resource availability. The East Australian Waterbird survey has conducted annual, aerial, systematic counts of waterbirds over eastern Australia for almost 40 years. It was designed to monitor waterbird populations using design-based inference though for many species this form of inference appears inadequate in the face of these challenges. Here we develop a state-space model-based Bayesian approach that, in addition to explicitly incorporating process noise and observation uncertainty, uses random effects and rainfall-derived covariates to model the year-to-year variation in the proportion of the total (super) population that is present on surveyed wetlands, and available to be counted. We use this model-based approach to estimate the superpopulation size of 45 waterbird species annually, and model the rate of population increase as a function of antecedent rainfall. The results confirm the strong positive effect of antecedent rainfall on population growth rates for nearly all species, and illustrate that species respond to rainfall differently in terms of habitat use, which influences whether they are present on surveyed wetlands. For many species, the year-to-year variation in the estimated proportion of the population on surveyed wetlands is very high. The results have implications for making inferences on population trends from these data, with the ability to model the year-to-year sampling variation a key requirement before the rate of population increase can be estimated with any precision. This study illustrates how to progress this approach, and infers that under average rainfall conditions, the general trend is for estimated superpopulation rates of increase to be negative, though for only a few species is this occurring with strong belief.

Rifting and recharge as triggers of the mixed basalt–rhyolite Halarauður ignimbrite eruption (Krafla, Iceland) - Shane M. Rooyakkers; John Stix; Kim Berlo; Daniele Morgavi; Maurizio Petrelli; Monika K. Rusiecka; Simon J. Barker; Bruce L. A. Charlier; David A. Neave; Francesco P. Vetere; Diego Perugini (Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 2022)

Origin and expansion of the world’s most widespread pinniped: Range‐wide population genomics of the harbour seal ( Phoca vitulina ) - Xiaodong Liu; Suzanne Rønhøj Schjøtt; Sandra M. Granquist; Aqqalu Rosing‐Asvid; Rune Dietz; Jonas Teilmann; Anders Galatius; Kristina Cammen; Greg O’Corry‐Crowe; Karin Harding; Tero Härkönen; Ailsa Hall; et al. (Molecular Ecology, 2022)
The harbour seal ( Phoca vitulina ) is the most widely distributed pinniped, occupying a wide variety of habitats and climatic zones across the Northern Hemisphere. Intriguingly, the harbour seal is also one of the most philopatric seals, raising questions as to how it colonized its current range. To shed light on the origin, remarkable range expansion, population structure and genetic diversity of this species, we used genotyping‐by‐sequencing to analyse ~13,500 biallelic single nucleotide polymorphisms from 286 individuals sampled from 22 localities across the species’ range. Our results point to a Northeast Pacific origin of the harbour seal, colonization of the North Atlantic via the Canadian Arctic, and subsequent stepping‐stone range expansions across the North Atlantic from North America to Europe, accompanied by a successive loss of genetic diversity. Our analyses further revealed a deep divergence between modern North Pacific and North Atlantic harbour seals, with finer‐scale genetic structure at regional and local scales consistent with strong philopatry. The study provides new insights into the harbour seal's remarkable ability to colonize and adapt to a wide range of habitats. Furthermore, it has implications for current harbour seal subspecies delineations and highlights the need for international and national red lists and management plans to ensure the protection of genetically and demographically isolated populations.

Evaluating methods for estimating shark natural mortality rate and management reference points using life‐history parameters - Shijie Zhou; Roy A. Deng; Matthew R. Dunn; Simon D. Hoyle; Yeming Lei; Ashley J. Williams (Fish and Fisheries, 2022)
Sharks (class Chondrichthyes, subclass Elasmobranchii) typically have a long lifespan, slow growth rate and low fecundity, leading to low productivity and hence relatively high vulnerability to fishing. Information for managing fisheries catches of elasmobranchs is often lacking, because elasmobranchs are usually non‐target species, often with low abundance. It is more feasible to develop management reference points for elasmobranchs based on their life‐history information than through traditional stock assessments. The natural mortality rate ( M ) is the leading life‐history parameter (LHP) required by many methods for developing reference points and is itself often derived indirectly from other LHPs. In this paper, we evaluate nine M estimators, using 15 shark stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean as examples. We then compare four methods for developing fishing mortality reference points F msy , including empirical modelling, the Euler‐Lotka equation, an M ‐productivity‐based method and the spawning potential rate converted method. Our analyses show that popular M estimators developed mainly from teleost data resulted in large deviations from the average and were not suitable for elasmobranchs. All four methods for estimating F msy performed similarly. However, the empirical method is very simple and cost‐effective and tended to produce smaller deviations from the average than the other three methods. Nonetheless, it is recommended that multiple methods should be used to minimize possible bias and reflect uncertainty, if the required LHPs are available.

CropPol : A dynamic, open and global database on crop pollination - Alfonso Allen‐Perkins; Ainhoa Magrach; Matteo Dainese; Lucas A. Garibaldi; David Kleijn; Romina Rader; James R. Reilly; Rachael Winfree; Ola Lundin; Carley M. McGrady; Claire Brittain; David J. Biddinger; et al. (Ecology, 2022)
Seventy five percent of the world's food crops benefit from insect pollination. Hence, there has been increased interest in how global change drivers impact this critical ecosystem service. Because standardized data on crop pollination are rarely available, we are limited in our capacity to understand the variation in pollination benefits to crop yield, as well as to anticipate changes in this service, develop predictions, and inform management actions. Here, we present CropPol, a dynamic, open, and global database on crop pollination. It contains measurements recorded from 202 crop studies, covering 3,394 field observations, 2,552 yield measurements (i.e., berry mass, number of fruits, and fruit density [kg/ha], among others), and 47,752 insect records from 48 commercial crops distributed around the globe. CropPol comprises 32 of the 87 leading global crops and commodities that are pollinator dependent. Malus domestica is the most represented crop (32 studies), followed by Brassica napus (22 studies), Vaccinium corymbosum (13 studies), and Citrullus lanatus (12 studies). The most abundant pollinator guilds recorded are honey bees (34.22% counts), bumblebees (19.19%), flies other than Syrphidae and Bombyliidae (13.18%), other wild bees (13.13%), beetles (10.97%), Syrphidae (4.87%), and Bombyliidae (0.05%). Locations comprise 34 countries distributed among Europe (76 studies), North America (60), Latin America and the Caribbean (29), Asia (20), Oceania (10), and Africa (7). Sampling spans three decades and is concentrated on 2001–2005 (21 studies), 2006–2010 (40), 2011–2015 (88), and 2016–2020 (50). This is the most comprehensive open global data set on measurements of crop flower visitors, crop pollinators and pollination to date, and we encourage researchers to add more datasets to this database in the future. This data set is released for non‐commercial use only. Credits should be given to this paper (i.e., proper citation), and the products generated with this database should be shared under the same license terms (CC BY‐NC‐SA).

FLOCponics: The integration of biofloc technology with plant production - Sara M Pinho; Jéssica P de Lima; Luiz H David; Maurício G C Emerenciano; Simon Goddek; Marc C J Verdegem; Karel J Keesman; Maria Célia Portella (Reviews in Aquaculture, 2022)
FLOCponics is an alternative type of aquaponics that integrates biofloc technology (BFT) with soilless plant production. The aims of this paper are to present a detailed overview of the FLOCponics system's designs and performance, discuss their sustainability, highlight the current challenges, and give directions for future research. Data sources include papers containing the keywords bioflocs and hydroponics, aquaponics and/or plant production. In view of the small number of publications and the lack of standardization in experimental design and system setup, it was concluded that FLOCponics is still in its initial research stage. With respect to the animal and plant yields in FLOCponics, inconsistent results were found. Some investigations presented better or similar yield results in this system compared to traditional cultures, while others found the opposite. One of the key challenges of using FLOCponics is the effective control of solids. Refining the system's design was the main recommended improvement. Moreover, this paper highlights that the commercial application of FLOCponics will require extensive research that clarifies its technical and economic aspects, originating from experimental or pilot‐scale setups with characteristics similar to commercial production. This review provides and discusses information that can be useful for the effective development of FLOCponics, guiding further research to make FLOCponics commercially feasible and thus contributing to sustainable aquaculture production.

The Extremes of Disturbance Reduce Functional Redundancy: Functional Trait Assessment of the Shallow Antarctic Benthos - Ben J. O. Robinson; David K. A. Barnes; Laura J. Grange; Simon A. Morley (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022)
Climate-driven changes in disturbance are a major threat to ecosystem Functional diversity. The selective mechanisms underlying ecosystem response to disturbance are far from universal and remain the subject of scientific debate. Ice scouring of the shallow Antarctic benthos is one of the largest disturbance gradients in the natural environment and thus provides an opportunity to investigate how disturbance gradients influence functional structure of a biological assemblage. The Western Antarctic Peninsula, in particular, is a hotspot of climate-driven environmental change. Addressing how this system might respond to species loss is critical. Previous surveys across the shallowest 100 m of the seabed, detected unimodal changes in diversity and a shift in assemblage composition in response to disturbance gradients. This study investigated how functional traits and associated functional diversity change across the depth gradient. Our results revealed that selective mechanisms, such as disturbance filtering and inter-species competition, reduce functional redundancy at the extremes of the disturbance gradient. Our study highlights areas of potential vulnerability to future environmental change due to low functional redundancy. Threatening the important negative (mitigating) feedbacks on climate change, through blue carbon, currently provided by Antarctic continental shelf benthic assemblages.

Assessment of Australian Sea Lion Bycatch Mortality in a Gillnet Fishery, and Implementation and Evaluation of an Effective Mitigation Strategy - Simon D. Goldsworthy; Brad Page; Derek J. Hamer; Andrew D. Lowther; Peter D. Shaughnessy; Mark A. Hindell; Paul Burch; Daniel P. Costa; Shannon L. Fowler; Kristian Peters; Rebecca R. McIntosh; Frederic Bailleul; et al. (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022)
Globally, the bycatch of marine mammals in fisheries represents the greatest source of human-caused mortality that threatens the sustainability of many populations and species. The Australian sea lion ( Neophoca cinerea ) is an endangered species, whose populations off South Australia (SA) have been subject to bycatch in a demersal gillnet fishery targeting sharks since the 1960s. A comprehensive assessment was undertaken of sea lion bycatch mortality that combined independent fishery observer data with species distribution models (underpinned by satellite tracking, abundance data and population modeling) to model the relationship between at-sea foraging effort and bycatch rate. Combined with the distribution of fishing effort, these models enabled the overall level of bycatch mortality to be estimated by age, sex and subpopulation, facilitating population viability analyses that indicated most subpopulations were declining, and subject to unsustainable levels of bycatch mortality. To reduce this mortality, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority implemented an Australian Sea Lion Management Strategy that included an independent observer program (ultimately 100% electronic monitoring of gillnet fishing off SA), permanent spatial gillnet closures around all sea lion breeding sites, bycatch mortality limits that triggered temporal (18 months) spatial closures when zone-specific bycatch trigger limits were reached, and incentives for gillnet fishers to switch to an alternate fishing method (longlines). The Strategy had immediate impacts on the fishery: it resulted in significant reductions in gillnet fishing effort and on the reported bycatch of sea lions. In the next decade, there was an estimated 98% reduction in sea lion bycatch mortality from gillnet interactions and an apparent stabilization of the decline in sea lion pup abundances at some impacted breeding sites. There was an almost complete transition in the fishery from gillnets to longlines, and fishing catches returned to pre-management levels. The successful implementation of management measures to mitigate sea lion bycatch mortality in the gillnet fishery off SA was rapid, science informed, adaptive, comprehensive, and backed by strong compliance and monitoring of the fishery. It provides an important case study which demonstrates how management measures can be effectively applied to mitigate bycatch mortality of marine mammals and other marine protected species.

Carbon dynamics and sequestration by urban mangrove forests of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Grace J. Maseta; Simon Mwansasu; Marco A. Njana (Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science, 2022)
This study intended to 1) determine spatial and temporal changes of mangrove forests, 2) identify drivers of mangrove deforestation and forest degradation, 3) determine historical carbon storage, sequestration and deforestation emissions by mangrove forests, and 4) determine whether mangrove forests are a source or sink of CO2 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Mangrove forests have decreased from 4,813 hectares in 1986 to 1961 hectares in 2016. The following were prominent drivers of deforestation in descending order: clearing mangrove forests for salt pans; hotel construction; settlement; and charcoal making. Tree removals for firewood and building poles were also prominent drivers of mangrove forest degradation. Similarly, carbon stored in mangrove forests has decreased from 1,131,055 tonnes CO2e in 1986 to 460,835 tonnes CO2e in 2016. Sequestration of CO2 by mangrove forests is estimated at 133,516 (1986-1995); 106,110 (1995-2006) and 69,616 (2006-2016) tonnes CO2e year-1. Conversely, mangrove deforestation has resulted in emissions of about 27,400, 16,500 and 24,000 tonnes CO2e year-1 in 1986-1995, 1995- 2006 and 2006-2016, respectively. Urban mangrove forests play an important environmental role in mitigating climate change and amelioration of local weather through the large carbon stocks they store and sequester. Mangrove forests in the study area remain a net carbon sink, however, the sink role played by mangrove forests in the study area is decreasing rapidly. The declining spatial and temporal trends of urban mangrove forest cover has resulted in a systematic decrease in the total carbon stored and sequestered by mangrove forests. In the absence of timely measures of preserving and rehabilitating degraded mangrove areas, the mangrove forests of Dar es Salaam may become the source of CO2. The study recommends effective urban land use planning and effective law enforcement to ensure a win-win situation through sustained ecosystem services offered by urban mangrove forests to support economic growth.

Range expansion and complete mitochondrial genome of the highfin blenny (Lupinoblennius nicholsi) - Logan Turner; Nathan J. C. Backenstose; Simon Brandl; Moisés A. Bernal (Molecular Biology Reports, 2022)

Correction to: Evaluation of a new 12 km regional perturbed parameter ensemble over Europe - Simon O. Tucker; Elizabeth J. Kendon; Nicolas Bellouin; Erasmo Buonomo; Ben Johnson; James M. Murphy (Climate Dynamics, 2022)

Evaluation of a new 12 km regional perturbed parameter ensemble over Europe - Simon O. Tucker; Elizabeth J. Kendon; Nicolas Bellouin; Erasmo Buonomo; Ben Johnson; James M. Murphy (Climate Dynamics, 2022)
We evaluate a 12-member perturbed parameter ensemble of regional climate simulations over Europe at 12 km resolution, carried out as part of the UK Climate Projections (UKCP) project. This ensemble is formed by varying uncertain parameters within the model physics, allowing uncertainty in future projections due to climate modelling uncertainty to be explored in a systematic way. We focus on present day performance both compared to observations, and consistency with the driving global ensemble. Daily and seasonal temperature and precipitation are evaluated as two variables commonly used in impacts assessments. For precipitation we find that downscaling, even whilst within the convection-parameterised regime, generally improves daily precipitation, but not everywhere. In summer, the underestimation of dry day frequency is worse in the regional ensemble than in the driving simulations. For temperature we find that the regional ensemble inherits a large wintertime cold bias from the global model, however downscaling reduces this bias. The largest bias reduction is in daily winter cold temperature extremes. In summer the regional ensemble is cooler and wetter than the driving global models, and we examine cloud and radiation diagnostics to understand the causes of the differences. We also use a low-resolution regional simulation to determine whether the differences are a consequence of resolution, or due to other configuration differences, with the predominant configuration difference being the treatment of aerosols. We find that use of the EasyAerosol scheme in the regional model, which aims to approximate the aerosol effects in the driving model, causes reduced temperatures by around 0.5 K over Eastern Europe in Summer, and warming of a similar magnitude over France and Germany in Winter, relative to the impact of interactive aerosol in the global runs. Precipitation is also increased in these regions. Overall, we find that the regional model is consistent with the global model, but with a typically better representation of daily extremes and consequently we have higher confidence in its projections of their future change.

Cholinergic basal forebrain and hippocampal structure influence visuospatial memory in Parkinson’s disease - Rok Berlot; Zvezdan Pirtošek; Simon Brezovar; Blaž Koritnik; Stefan J. Teipel; Michel J. Grothe; Nicola J. Ray (Brain Imaging and Behavior, 2022)

Prevalence and polymorphism of a mussel transmissible cancer in Europe - Maurine Hammel; Alexis Simon; Christine Arbiol; Antonio Villalba; Erika A. V. Burioli; Jean‐François Pépin; Jean‐Baptiste Lamy; Abdellah Benabdelmouna; Ismael Bernard; Maryline Houssin; Guillaume M. Charrière; Delphine Destoumieux‐Garzon; et al. (Molecular Ecology, 2022)
Transmissible cancers are parasitic malignant cell lineages that have acquired the ability to infect new hosts from the same species, or sometimes related species. First described in dogs and Tasmanian devils, transmissible cancers were later discovered in some marine bivalves affected by a leukaemia‐like disease. In Mytilus mussels, two lineages of bivalve transmissible neoplasia (BTN) have been described to date (MtrBTN1 and MtrBTN2), both of which emerged in a Mytilus trossulus founder individual. Here, we performed extensive screening of genetic chimerism, a hallmark of transmissible cancer, by genotyping 106 single nucleotide polymorphisms of 5,907 European Mytilus mussels. Genetic analysis allowed us to simultaneously obtain the genotype of hosts – Mytilus edulis , M . galloprovincialis or hybrids – and the genotype of tumours of heavily infected individuals. In addition, a subset of 222 individuals were systematically genotyped and analysed by histology to screen for possible nontransmissible cancers. We detected MtrBTN2 at low prevalence in M . edulis , and also in M . galloprovincialis and hybrids although at a much lower prevalence. No MtrBTN1 or new BTN were found, but eight individuals with nontransmissible neoplasia were observed at a single polluted site on the same sampling date. We observed a diversity of MtrBTN2 genotypes that appeared more introgressed or more ancestral than MtrBTN1 and reference healthy M . trossulus individuals. The observed polymorphism is probably due to somatic null alleles caused by structural variations or point mutations in primer‐binding sites leading to enhanced detection of the host alleles. Despite low prevalence, two sublineages divergent by 10% fixed somatic null alleles and one nonsynonymous mtCOI (mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I) substitution are cospreading in the same geographical area, suggesting a complex diversification of MtrBTN2 since its emergence and host species shift.

Trophic mediation and ecosystem stability: An assessment using qualitative network models - Delphi F. L. Ward; Jessica Melbourne‐Thomas; Craig R. Johnson; Simon J. Wotherspoon (Limnology and Oceanography, 2022)
Nontrophic interactions can contribute to negative and positive feedbacks within a community, thus affecting likelihood of regime shifts; however, assessing the nature and importance of these effects in a network remains challenging, especially for pelagic ecosystems. Here, we present a qualitative modeling approach for assessing the importance of different effects and resultant feedbacks for community stability, using a Southern Ocean example. A potentially important positive feedback in the Southern Ocean ecosystem involves production of a chemical cue, dimethyl sulfide (DMS), by some phytoplankton. Production of DMS can promote phytoplankton growth by attracting predators of phytoplankton‐grazers, and nutrients released as feces from those predators help fertilize the water column. We explored how uncertainties in the nature of this feedback affect community stability in a set of small, community models. We found that stability varied substantially depending on how the community was modeled, but that the interactions most important for determining stability were consistent across all models. Model stability was sensitive to the strength of phytoplankton competition, controls on phytoplankton, DMS production and release, and predator attraction to DMS, suggesting that the community could be destabilized by perturbation affecting these interactions. Incorporating DMS‐mediated feedbacks into a larger Southern Ocean network had a moderate impact on stability characteristics and altered the trophic level at which the system would be most vulnerable to perturbation.

Changes in tree drought sensitivity provided early warning signals to the California drought and forest mortality event - Rachel M. Keen; Steven L. Voelker; S.‐Y. Simon Wang; Barbara J. Bentz; Michael L. Goulden; Cody R. Dangerfield; Charlotte C. Reed; Sharon M. Hood; Adam Z. Csank; Todd E. Dawson; Andrew G. Merschel; Christopher J. Still (Global Change Biology, 2022)
Climate warming in recent decades has negatively impacted forest health in the western United States. Here, we report on potential early warning signals (EWS) for drought‐related mortality derived from measurements of tree‐ring growth (ring width index; RWI) and carbon isotope discrimination (∆ 13 C), primarily focused on ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa ). Sampling was conducted in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, near the epicenter of drought severity and mortality associated with the 2012–2015 California drought and concurrent outbreak of western pine beetle ( Dendroctonus brevicomis ). At this site, we found that widespread mortality was presaged by five decades of increasing sensitivity (i.e., increased explained variation) of both tree growth and ∆ 13 C to Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). We hypothesized that increasing sensitivity of tree growth and ∆ 13 C to hydroclimate constitute EWS that indicate an increased likelihood of widespread forest mortality caused by direct and indirect effects of drought. We then tested these EWS in additional ponderosa pine‐dominated forests that experienced varying mortality rates associated with the same California drought event. In general, drier sites showed increasing sensitivity of RWI to PDSI over the last century, as well as higher mortality following the California drought event compared to wetter sites. Two sites displayed evidence that thinning or fire events that reduced stand basal area effectively reversed the trend of increasing hydroclimate sensitivity. These comparisons indicate that reducing competition for soil water and/or decreasing bark beetle host tree density via forest management—particularly in drier regions—may buffer these forests against drought stress and associated mortality risk. EWS such as these could provide land managers more time to mitigate the extent or severity of forest mortality in advance of droughts. Substantial efforts at deploying additional dendrochronological research in concert with remote sensing and forest modeling will aid in forecasting of forest responses to continued climate warming.

Plant community responses to experimental climate manipulation in a Welsh ombrotrophic peatland and their palaeoenvironmental context - Luke O. Andrews; James G. Rowson; Simon J. M. Caporn; Nancy B. Dise; Eleanor Barton; Ed Garrett; W. Roland Gehrels; Maria Gehrels; Martin Kay; Richard J. Payne (Global Change Biology, 2022)
We test whether vegetation community composition from a 10‐year climate manipulation experiment on a Welsh peat bog resembles vegetation communities during periods of climate change inferred from a peat core. Experimentally warmed and combined warmed and droughted treatments drove significant increases in ericaceous shrubs but Sphagnum was unaffected. Similarly, Calluna vulgaris seeds increase during inferred warmer periods in the palaeoecological record. Experimental short‐term episodic drought (four 4‐week drought treatments) did not affect vegetation. Plant community composition has undergone several abrupt changes throughout the past c. 1500 years, often in response to human disturbance. Only slight changes occurred during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (c. 950–1250 Common Era [CE]) in vegetation and hydrology, while abrupt changes occurred during the Little Ice Age (c. 1300–1850 CE) when water tables were highest, suggesting that these shifts were driven by changes in water table, modulated by climate. A period of water table drawdown c. 1800, synchronous with historical records of increased drainage, corresponds with the development of the present‐day vegetation community. Modern analogues for fossil material, characterized by abundant Rhynchospora alba and Sphagnum pulchrum , are more common after this event. Vegetation changes due to climate inferred from the palaeo record differ from those observed in the experiments, possibly relating to differences in the importance of drivers of vegetation change over varying timescales. Whereas temperature is frequently identified as the dominant driver of plant community change in experiments, sustained changes in water table appear to be more important in the long‐term record. We find evidence that recent climate change and other anthropogenic stressors (e.g. drainage, heavy metal and nitrogen pollution) may promote the development of novel plant communities without analogues in the fossil record. These communities may be poorer at sequestering carbon and may respond differently to future climate change.

Small Blubber Samples (50 mg) Sufficient for Analyses of 10 Stress and Reproductive Steroid Hormones in Gray and Fin Whales via Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry - Christiana Wittmaack; Jorge Urbán Ramírez; Daniela Bernot-Simon; Sergio Martínez-Aguilar; Seenivasan Subbiah; James G. Surles; Mary Looney; Naveen Kumar; Barbie Halaska; Pádraig J. Duignan; Madelyn Knauss; Kristen Burns; et al. (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022)
Information on stress, reproductive fitness, and health is difficult to obtain in wild cetaceans but critical for conservation and management. The goal of this study was to develop a methodology requiring minimal blubber mass for analysis of reproductive and stress steroid hormones and, hence, suitable for cetacean biopsies. Blubber biopsies and samples were collected from free-ranging and stranded gray and fin whales. Steroid hormones were extracted from blubber samples as small as 50 mg using liquid-liquid extraction methodology developed to handle the high fat content of blubber. Samples were analyzed via liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for 10 hormones: aldosterone, androstenedione, cortisol, cortisone, corticosterone, 17β-estradiol, estrone, 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, progesterone, and testosterone. As part of the optimization, homogenization via bead beating and blade dispersion were compared, and the former found superior. To investigate optimal yet minimal tissue mass required, hormone panels were compared among paired 50, 150, and 400 mg samples, the latter two being commonly reported masses for hormone blubber analysis. Results indicated that 50 mg of blubber was suitable and sometimes superior. Additionally, significant differences in precision values were observed between species, possibly stemming from differences in blubber composition, and relevant to homogenization technique selection and calibration methods that use blubber matrix matches obtained from a species other than the study species. Based on recovery and precision values, our methodology was accurate and precise in the measurement of spiked known quantities for all 10 hormones, confirming the methodology capabilities in 50 mg blubber mass in both species. Altogether, and in our specific sample sets, all endogenous hormones, except corticosterone, were identified above the detection limit in 50 mg gray whale blubber samples while all endogenous hormones, except aldosterone, cortisone, estrone, and progesterone, were detected in 50 mg fin whale blubber samples. We present a robust methodology for the analysis of multiple reproductive and stress steroid hormones in minimal masses of cetacean blubber compatible with small biopsies. Finally, we identified statistically significant differences in corticosteroid concentrations between stranded and free ranging animals.

Revisiting ‘ A monograph on the Polychaeta of southern Africa ’: establishing taxonomic research priorities in southern Africa - CA Simon; J Kara; DT Clarke; S Sedick (African Journal of Marine Science, 2022)

Wheat genetic loci conferring resistance to stripe rust in the face of genetically diverse races of the fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici - Laura Bouvet; Lawrence Percival-Alwyn; Simon Berry; Paul Fenwick; Camila Campos Mantello; Rajiv Sharma; Sarah Holdgate; Ian J. Mackay; James Cockram (Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 2022)
Key message Analysis of a wheat multi-founder population identified 14 yellow rust resistance QTL. For three of the four most significant QTL, haplotype analysis indicated resistance alleles were rare in European wheat. Abstract Stripe rust, or yellow rust (YR), is a major fungal disease of wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend f. sp. tritici ( Pst ). Since 2011, the historically clonal European Pst races have been superseded by the rapid incursion of genetically diverse lineages, reducing the resistance of varieties previously showing durable resistance. Identification of sources of genetic resistance to such races is a high priority for wheat breeding. Here we use a wheat eight-founder multi-parent population genotyped with a 90,000 feature single nucleotide polymorphism array to genetically map YR resistance to such new Pst races. Genetic analysis of five field trials at three UK sites identified 14 quantitative trait loci (QTL) conferring resistance. Of these, four highly significant loci were consistently identified across all test environments, located on chromosomes 1A ( QYr.niab-1A.1 ), 2A ( QYr.niab-2A.1 ), 2B ( QYr.niab-2B.1 ) and 2D ( QYr.niab-2D.1 ), together explaining ~ 50% of the phenotypic variation. Analysis of these four QTL in two-way and three-way combinations showed combinations conferred greater resistance than single QTL, and genetic markers were developed that distinguished resistant and susceptible alleles. Haplotype analysis in a collection of wheat varieties found that the haplotypes associated with YR resistance at three of these four major loci were rare (≤ 7%) in European wheat, highlighting their potential utility for future targeted improvement of disease resistance. Notably, the physical interval for QTL QYr.niab-2B.1 contained five nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat candidate genes with integrated BED domains, of which two corresponded to the cloned resistance genes Yr7 and Yr5/YrSp . Graphical abstract

Targeting Tau Mitigates Mitochondrial Fragmentation and Oxidative Stress in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis - Tiziana Petrozziello; Evan A. Bordt; Alexandra N. Mills; Spencer E. Kim; Ellen Sapp; Benjamin A. Devlin; Abigail A. Obeng-Marnu; Sali M. K. Farhan; Ana C. Amaral; Simon Dujardin; Patrick M. Dooley; Christopher Henstridge; et al. (Molecular Neurobiology, 2022)

Common, low-frequency, rare, and ultra-rare coding variants contribute to COVID-19 severity - Chiara Fallerini; Nicola Picchiotti; Margherita Baldassarri; Kristina Zguro; Sergio Daga; Francesca Fava; Elisa Benetti; Sara Amitrano; Mirella Bruttini; Maria Palmieri; Susanna Croci; Mirjam Lista; et al. (Human Genetics, 2022)
The combined impact of common and rare exonic variants in COVID-19 host genetics is currently insufficiently understood. Here, common and rare variants from whole-exome sequencing data of about 4000 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals were used to define an interpretable machine-learning model for predicting COVID-19 severity. First, variants were converted into separate sets of Boolean features, depending on the absence or the presence of variants in each gene. An ensemble of LASSO logistic regression models was used to identify the most informative Boolean features with respect to the genetic bases of severity. The Boolean features selected by these logistic models were combined into an Integrated PolyGenic Score that offers a synthetic and interpretable index for describing the contribution of host genetics in COVID-19 severity, as demonstrated through testing in several independent cohorts. Selected features belong to ultra-rare, rare, low-frequency, and common variants, including those in linkage disequilibrium with known GWAS loci. Noteworthily, around one quarter of the selected genes are sex-specific. Pathway analysis of the selected genes associated with COVID-19 severity reflected the multi-organ nature of the disease. The proposed model might provide useful information for developing diagnostics and therapeutics, while also being able to guide bedside disease management.

Bringing seascape ecology to the deep seabed: A review and framework for its application - Denise J.B. Swanborn; Veerle A.I. Huvenne; Simon J. Pittman; Lucy C. Woodall (Limnology and Oceanography, 2022)
Seascape ecology is an emerging pattern‐oriented and integrative science conceptually linked to landscape ecology. It aims to quantify multidimensional spatial structure in the sea and reveal its ecological consequences. The seascape ecology approach has made important advances in shallow coastal environments, and increasing exploration and mapping of the deep seabed provides opportunities for application in the deep ocean. We argue that seascape ecology, with its integrative and multiscale perspective, can generate new scientific insights at spatial and temporal scales relevant to ecosystem‐based management. Seascape ecology provides a conceptual and operational framework that integrates and builds on existing benthic ecology and habitat mapping research by providing additional pattern‐oriented concepts, tools and techniques to (1) quantify complex ecological patterns across multiple scales; (2) link spatial patterns to biodiversity and ecological processes; and (3) provide ecologically meaningful information that is operationally relevant to spatial management. This review introduces seascape ecology and provides a framework for its application to deep‐seabed environments. Research areas are highlighted where seascape ecology can advance the ecological understanding of deep benthic environments.

Middle Pleistocene environments, landscapes and tephrostratigraphy of the Armenian Highlands: evidence from Bird Farm 1, Hrazdan Valley - Jenni E. Sherriff; Keith N. Wilkinson; Poppy Harding; Hayley Hawkins; Rhys G. O. Timms; Daniel S. Adler; Emily J. Beverly; Simon P. E. Blockley; Boris Gasparyan; Christina J. Manning; Darren Mark; Samvel Nahapetyan; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2022)
The significance of the southern Caucasus in understanding Pleistocene hominin expansions is well established. However, the palaeoenvironments in which Palaeolithic occupation of the region took place are presently poorly defined. The Hrazdan river valley, Armenian Highlands, contains a rich Palaeolithic record alongside Middle Pleistocene volcanic, fluvial and lacustrine strata, and thus offer exciting potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. We present the first results of sedimentological, geochemical, tephrostratigraphical and biological (diatoms) study of the sequence of Bird Farm 1, located in the central part of the valley. These data show six phases of landscape development during the interval 440–200 ka. The sequence represents the first quantitative Pleistocene diatom record from the Armenian Highlands and the southern Caucasus, and indicates the persistence of a deep, stratified lacustrine system, with evidence for changing lake productivity that is tentatively linked to climate. Furthermore, major element chemical characterization of visible and crypto‐tephra horizons in the sequence enables the first stages of the development of a regional tephrostratigraphy. Together, the evidence from Bird Farm 1 demonstrates the importance of lacustrine archives in the region for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and highlights the potential for linkages between archives on both a local and regional scale.

The aquaponic principle—It is all about coupling - Gösta F. M. Baganz; Ranka Junge; Maria C. Portella; Simon Goddek; Karel J. Keesman; Daniela Baganz; Georg Staaks; Christopher Shaw; Frank Lohrberg; Werner Kloas (Reviews in Aquaculture, 2022)
The aquaponic principle is the coupling of animal aquaculture (e.g. fish) with plant production (e.g. vegetables) for saving resources. At present, various definitions of aquaponics exist, some bearing the risk of misinterpretation by dismissing the original meaning or being contradictory. In addition, there is no standard terminology for the aspects of coupling between the aquaponic subsystems. In this study, we addressed both issues. (1) We developed new or revised definitions that are summarised by: Aquaponic farming comprises aquaponics (which couples tank‐based animal aquaculture with hydroponics) and trans‐aquaponics, which extends aquaponics to tankless aquaculture as well as non‐hydroponics plant cultivation methods. Within our conceptual system, the term aquaponics corresponds to the definitions of FAO and EU. (2) A system analysis approach was utilised to explore different aquaponic setups aiming to better describe the way aquaponic subsystems are connected. We introduced the new terms ‘coupling type’ and ‘coupling degree’, where the former qualitatively characterises the water‐mediated connections of aquaponic subsystems. A system with on‐demand nutrient water supply for the independent operating plant cultivation is an ‘on‐demand coupled system’ and we propose to deprecate the counterintuitive term ‘decoupled system’ for this coupling type. The coupling degree comprises a set of parameters to quantitatively determine the coupling's efficiency of internal streams, for example, water and nutrients. This new framework forms a basis for improved communication, provides a uniform metric for comparing aquaponic facilities, and offers criteria for facility optimisation. In future system descriptions, it will simplify evaluation of the coupling's contribution to sustainability of aquaponics.

Street-level green spaces support a key urban population of the threatened Hispaniolan parakeet Psittacara chloropterus - Matthew Geary; Celia J. Brailsford; Laura I. Hough; Fraser Baker; Simon Guerrero; Yolanda M. Leon; Nigel J. Collar; Stuart J. Marsden (Urban Ecosystems, 2021)
While urbanisation remains a major threat to biodiversity, urban areas can sometimes play an important role in protecting threatened species, especially exploited taxa such as parrots. The Hispaniolan Parakeet Psittacara chloropterus has been extirpated across much of Hispaniola, including from most protected areas, yet Santo Domingo (capital city of the Dominican Republic) has recently been found to support the island’s densest remaining population. In 2019, we used repeated transects and point-counts across 60 1 km 2 squares of Santo Domingo to examine the distribution of parakeets, identify factors that might drive local presence and abundance, and investigate breeding ecology. Occupancy models indicate that parakeet presence was positively related to tree species richness across the city. N-Mixture models show parakeet encounter rates were correlated positively with species richness of trees and number of discrete ‘green’ patches (> 100 m 2 ) within the survey squares. Hispaniolan Woodpecker Melanerpes striatus , the main tree-cavity-producing species on Hispaniola, occurs throughout the city, but few parakeet nests are known to involve the secondary use of its or other cavities in trees/palms. Most parakeet breeding (perhaps 50–100 pairs) appears to occur at two colonies in old buildings, and possibly only a small proportion of the city’s 1500+ parakeets that occupy a single roost in street trees breed in any year. Our models emphasise the importance of parks and gardens in providing feeding resources for this IUCN Vulnerable species. Hispaniola’s urban centres may be strongholds for populations of parakeets and may even represent sources for birds to recolonise formerly occupied areas on the island.

The environmental consequences of a change in Australian cotton lint production - Quan V. Nguyen; Stephen G. Wiedemann; Aaron Simmons; Simon J. Clarke (The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2021)

The ten steps to responsible Inland fisheries in practice: reflections from diverse regional case studies around the globe - Steven J. Cooke; Elizabeth Nyboer; Abigail Bennett; Abigail J. Lynch; Dana M. Infante; Ian G. Cowx; T. Douglas Beard; Devin Bartley; Craig P. Paukert; Andrea J. Reid; Simon Funge-Smith; Edith Gondwe; et al. (Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 2021)

Fusing strategic risk and futures methods to inform long-term strategic planning: case of water utilities - Ana Luís; Kenisha Garnett; Simon J. T. Pollard; Fiona Lickorish; Simon Jude; Paul Leinster (Environment Systems and Decisions, 2021)
Risks and futures methods have complementary strengths as tools for managing strategic decisions under uncertainty. When combined, these tools increase organisational competency to evaluate and manage long-term risks, improving the flexibility and agility of the organisation to deal with gross uncertainties. Here, we set out a framework to guide the assessment of strategic risks for long-term business planning, based on its application at Portugal’s largest water utility, Empresa Portuguesa das Águas Livres. Our approach extends strategic risk assessment by incorporating scenario planning—a futures approach used to help the utility move beyond single point forecast of risks to focus on critical dimensions of uncertainty that are fundamental to the resilience of corporate objectives and their vulnerability to external pressures. We demonstrate how we combine two complementary approaches—risk and futures—and use them to assess (i) how a set of baseline strategic risks for a water utility evolves under alternative futures, (ii) the aggregate corporate-level risk exposure, and (iii) the process and responses needed to manage multiple, interdependent strategic risks. The framework offers a corporate approach to evolving strategic risks and improves a utility’s (i) knowledge of uncertainties, (ii) ability to assess the impacts of external developments over long time horizons and the consequences of actions and (iii) degree of flexibility to adapt to possible future challenges. The framework supports risk managers in their long-term strategic planning, through the appraisal and management of multiple, interdependent long-term strategic risks and can be replicated in other organisational contexts to bridge operational and corporate perspectives of enterprise risk.

Navigation of Microrobots by MRI: Impact of Gravitational, Friction and Thrust Forces on Steering Success - Cyril Tous; Ning Li; Ivan P. Dimov; Samuel Kadoury; An Tang; Urs O. Häfeli; Zeynab Nosrati; Katayoun Saatchi; Gerald Moran; Marcus J. Couch; Sylvain Martel; Simon Lessard; et al. (Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2021)

Climate cascades affect coastal Antarctic seafloor ecosystem functioning - Andrew M. Lohrer; Alf M. Norkko; Simon F. Thrush; Vonda J. Cummings (Global Change Biology, 2021)
Polar seafloor ecosystems are changing rapidly and dramatically, challenging previously held paradigms of extreme dynamical stability. Warming‐related declines in polar sea ice are expected to alter fluxes of phytoplankton and under‐ice algae to the seafloor. Yet, how changes in food flux cascade through to seafloor communities and functions remains unclear. We leveraged natural spatial and temporal gradients in summertime sea ice extent to better understand the trajectories and implications of climate‐related change in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. McMurdo Sound was expected to be one of the last coastal marine environments on Earth to be affected by planetary warming, but the situation may be changing. Comparing satellite observations of selected coastal sites in McMurdo Sound between 2010–2017 and 2002–2009 revealed more ice‐free days per year, and shorter distances to open water during the warmest months each year, in the more recent period. Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) and Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) climate indices peaked concurrently between 2014 and 2017 when sea ice breakouts in McMurdo Sound were most spatially and temporally extensive. Increases in sediment chlorophyll a and phaeophytin content (indicating increased deposition of detrital algal food material) were recorded during 2014–2017 at three coastal study sites in McMurdo Sound following the major sea ice breakouts. Soft‐sediment seafloor ecosystem metabolism (measured in benthic incubation chambers as dissolved oxygen and inorganic nutrient fluxes) was correlated with sediment algal pigment concentration. Epifaunal invertebrate density, particularly opportunistic sessile suspension feeders, and infaunal community composition also shifted with increased food supply. The ecological characteristics and functions measured at the food‐poor sites shifted towards those observed at richer sites at a surprisingly fast pace. These results indicate the sensitivity of the benthos and shed light on Antarctic marine trophic cascades and trajectories of response of iconic high‐latitude seafloor habitats to a warming climate.

Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impact - Molly K. Grace; H. Resit Akçakaya; Elizabeth L. Bennett; Thomas M. Brooks; Anna Heath; Simon Hedges; Craig Hilton‐Taylor; Michael Hoffmann; Axel Hochkirch; Richard Jenkins; David A. Keith; Barney Long; et al. (Conservation Biology, 2021)
Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a “Green List of Species” (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species’ progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement against benchmarks of species’ viability, functionality, and preimpact distribution) to determine current species recovery status (herein species recovery score ) and application of that method to estimate past and potential future impacts of conservation based on 4 metrics ( conservation legacy, conservation dependence , conservation gain , and recovery potential ). We tested the framework with 181 species representing diverse taxa, life histories, biomes, and IUCN Red List categories (extinction risk). Based on the observed distribution of species’ recovery scores, we propose the following species recovery categories : fully recovered, slightly depleted, moderately depleted, largely depleted, critically depleted, extinct in the wild, and indeterminate. Fifty‐nine percent of tested species were considered largely or critically depleted. Although there was a negative relationship between extinction risk and species recovery score, variation was considerable. Some species in lower risk categories were assessed as farther from recovery than those at higher risk. This emphasizes that species recovery is conceptually different from extinction risk and reinforces the utility of the IUCN Green Status of Species to more fully understand species conservation status. Although extinction risk did not predict conservation legacy, conservation dependence, or conservation gain, it was positively correlated with recovery potential. Only 1.7% of tested species were categorized as zero across all 4 of these conservation impact metrics , indicating that conservation has, or will, play a role in improving or maintaining species status for the vast majority of these species. Based on our results, we devised an updated assessment framework that introduces the option of using a dynamic baseline to assess future impacts of conservation over the short term to avoid misleading results which were generated in a small number of cases, and redefines short term as 10 years to better align with conservation planning. These changes are reflected in the IUCN Green Status of Species Standard.

The Role of Climate, Oceanography, and Prey in Driving Decadal Spatio-Temporal Patterns of a Highly Mobile Top Predator - Amaia Astarloa; Maite Louzao; Joana Andrade; Lucy Babey; Simon Berrow; Oliver Boisseau; Tom Brereton; Ghislain Dorémus; Peter G. H. Evans; Nicola K. Hodgins; Mark Lewis; Jose Martinez-Cedeira; et al. (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2021)
Marine mammals have been proposed as ecosystem sentinels due to their conspicuous nature, wide ranging distribution, and capacity to respond to changes in ecosystem structure and functioning. In southern European Atlantic waters, their response to climate variability has been little explored, partly because of the inherent difficulty of investigating higher trophic levels and long lifespan animals. Here, we analyzed spatio-temporal patterns from 1994 to 2018 of one of the most abundant cetaceans in the area, the common dolphin ( Delphinus delphis ), in order to (1) explore changes in its abundance and distribution, and (2) identify the underlying drivers. For that, we estimated the density of the species and the center of gravity of its distribution in the Bay of Biscay (BoB) and tested the effect of three sets of potential drivers (climate indices, oceanographic conditions, and prey biomasses) with a Vector Autoregressive Spatio Temporal (VAST) model that accounts for changes in sampling effort resulting from the combination of multiple datasets. Our results showed that the common dolphin significantly increased in abundance in the BoB during the study period. These changes were best explained by climate indices such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and by prey species biomass. Oceanographic variables such as chlorophyll a concentration and temperature were less useful or not related. In addition, we found high variability in the geographic center of gravity of the species within the study region, with shifts between the inner (southeast) and the outer (northwest) part of the BoB, although the majority of this variability could not be attributed to the drivers considered in the study. Overall, these findings indicate that considering temperature alone for projecting spatio-temporal patterns of highly mobile predators is insufficient in this region and suggest important influences from prey and climate indices that integrate multiple ecological influences. Further integration of existing observational datasets to understand the causes of past shifts will be important for making accurate projections into the future.

Ambrein: a minor, but common constituent of mammalian faeces? - Steven J. Rowland; Paul A. Sutton; Barbara von der Lühe; John K. Volkman; Christopher H. Vane; Simon N. Ingram; Charlotte Dunn; Diane Claridge (Natural Product Research, 2021)

Genomic prediction and training set optimization in a structured Mediterranean oat population - Simon Rio; Luis Gallego-Sánchez; Gracia Montilla-Bascón; Francisco J. Canales; Julio Isidro y Sánchez; Elena Prats (Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 2021)

Floods in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and lessons for French flood risk governance - Ioannis Kougkoulos; Myriam Merad; Simon J. Cook; Ioannis Andredakis (Natural Hazards, 2021)
France experiences catastrophic floods on a yearly basis, with significant societal impacts. In this study, we use multiple sources (insurance datasets, scientific articles, satellite data, and grey literature) to (1) analyze modern flood disasters in the PACA Region; (2) discuss the efficiency of French public policy instruments; (3) perform a SWOT analysis of French flood risk governance (FRG); and (4) suggest improvements to the FRG framework. Despite persistent government efforts, the impacts of flood events in the region have not lessened over time. Identical losses in the same locations are observed after repeated catastrophic events. Relative exposure to flooding has increased in France, apparently due to intense urbanization of flood-prone land. We suggest that the French FRG could benefit from the following improvements: (1) regular updates of risk prevention plans and tools; (2) the adoption of a build back better logic; (3) taking undeclared damages into account in flood risk models; (4) better communication between the actors at the different steps of each cycle (preparation, control, organization, etc.); (5) better communication between those responsible for risk prevention, emergency management, and disaster recovery; (6) an approach that extends the risk analysis outside the borders of the drainage basin; and (7) increased participation in FRG from local populations.

Tropical macrophytes promote phytoplankton community shifts in lake mesocosms: relevance for lake restoration in warm climates - Darren Z. H. Sim; Maxine A. D. Mowe; Yiluan Song; Joy Lu; Hugh T. W. Tan; Simon M. Mitrovic; Daniel L. Roelke; Darren C. J. Yeo (Hydrobiologia, 2021)

Sustain GEOBIM—a New Method to Simulate Sustainable Development Scenarios for Urban Areas - Heinz J. Bernegger; Patrick Laube; Pascal Ochsner; Mihaela Meslec; Hanno Rahn; Johann Junghardt; Isabella Aurich; Simon Ashworth (Circular Economy and Sustainability, 2021)
In 2015, 193 member states of the United Nations (UN) signed the 2030 Agenda, entitled “Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,”. The planned implementation by 2030, leaves only a decade to realize the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Municipalities and cities constitute important stakeholders, who are obliged under SDG 11, to find ways to develop realistic solutions. Implementation and strategic planning require, among other things, new instruments to digitally model various sustainable development scenarios. Currently, however, it is still unclear what has to be modelled and how. What is clear is that sustainability and digitalization have to come together to deliver results. Several key challenges need to be overcome. First, is the heterogeneity of existing data and documents used in the built environment. Future solutions will depend on a combination of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographic Information System (GIS). Second, is the merging of different existing data on an adequate level of abstraction which allows practical use of GIS and BIM data in a common model. Third, is the development of functioning, cost-effective workflows that will enable broad applications which adequately simulate specific sustainability aspects using spatial and temporal scenarios. This paper shows how these challenges can be systematically addressed in practice. It demonstrates which aspects of sustainability can be made visible and comprehensible for all stakeholders using only one single BIM- and GIS based data model. The proposed workflow could thus be considered as the basis for planning the next generation of smart and sustainable cities.

Wealth and urbanization shape medium and large terrestrial mammal communities - Seth B. Magle; Mason Fidino; Heather A. Sander; Adam T. Rohnke; Kelli L. Larson; Travis Gallo; Cria A. M. Kay; Elizabeth W. Lehrer; Maureen H. Murray; Solny A. Adalsteinsson; Adam A. Ahlers; Whitney J. B. Anthonysamy; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2021)
Urban biodiversity provides critical ecosystem services and is a key component to environmentally and socially sustainable cities. However, biodiversity varies greatly within and among cities, leading to human communities with changing and unequal experiences with nature. The “luxury effect,” a hypothesis that predicts a positive correlation between wealth, typically measured by per capita income, and species richness may be one indication of these inequities. While the luxury effect is well studied for some taxa, it has rarely been investigated for mammals, which provide unique ecosystem services (e.g., biological pest control) and exhibit significant potential for negative human–wildlife interactions (e.g., nuisances or conflicts). We analyzed a large dataset of mammal detections across 20 North American cities to test whether the luxury effect is consistent for medium‐ to large‐sized terrestrial mammals across diverse urban contexts. Overall, support for the luxury effect, as indicated by per capita income, was inconsistent; we found evidence of a luxury effect in approximately half of our study cities. Species richness was, however, highly and negatively correlated with urban intensity in most cities. We thus suggest that economic factors play an important role in shaping urban mammal communities for some cities and species, but that the strongest driver of urban mammal diversity is urban intensity. To better understand the complexity of urban ecosystems, ecologists and social scientists must consider the social and political factors that drive inequitable human experiences with nature in cities.

Bright spots as climate‐smart marine spatial planning tools for conservation and blue growth - Ana M. Queirós; Elizabeth Talbot; Nicola J. Beaumont; Paul J. Somerfield; Susan Kay; Christine Pascoe; Simon Dedman; Jose A. Fernandes; Alexander Jueterbock; Peter I. Miller; Sevrine F. Sailley; Gianluca Sará; et al. (Global Change Biology, 2021)
Marine spatial planning that addresses ocean climate‐driven change (‘climate‐smart MSP’) is a global aspiration to support economic growth, food security and ecosystem sustainability. Ocean climate change (‘CC’) modelling may become a key decision‐support tool for MSP, but traditional modelling analysis and communication challenges prevent their broad uptake. We employed MSP‐specific ocean climate modelling analyses to inform a real‐life MSP process; addressing how nature conservation and fisheries could be adapted to CC. We found that the currently planned distribution of these activities may become unsustainable during the policy's implementation due to CC, leading to a shortfall in its sustainability and blue growth targets. Significant, climate‐driven ecosystem‐level shifts in ocean components underpinning designated sites and fishing activity were estimated, reflecting different magnitudes of shifts in benthic versus pelagic, and inshore versus offshore habitats. Supporting adaptation, we then identified: CC refugia (areas where the ecosystem remains within the boundaries of its present state); CC hotspots (where climate drives the ecosystem towards a new state, inconsistent with each sectors’ present use distribution); and for the first time, identified bright spots (areas where oceanographic processes drive range expansion opportunities that may support sustainable growth in the medium term). We thus create the means to: identify where sector‐relevant ecosystem change is attributable to CC; incorporate resilient delivery of conservation and sustainable ecosystem management aims into MSP; and to harness opportunities for blue growth where they exist. Capturing CC bright spots alongside refugia within protected areas may present important opportunities to meet sustainability targets while helping support the fishing sector in a changing climate. By capitalizing on the natural distribution of climate resilience within ocean ecosystems, such climate‐adaptive spatial management strategies could be seen as nature‐based solutions to limit the impact of CC on ocean ecosystems and dependent blue economy sectors, paving the way for climate‐smart MSP.

First Assessment of the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Marine Recreational Fisheries - Pablo Pita; Gillian B. Ainsworth; Bernardino Alba; Antônio B. Anderson; Manel Antelo; Josep Alós; Iñaki Artetxe; Jérôme Baudrier; José J. Castro; Belén Chicharro; Karim Erzini; Keno Ferter; et al. (Frontiers in Marine Science, 2021)
This work is the result of an international research effort to determine the main impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on marine recreational fishing. Changes were assessed on (1) access to fishing, derived from lockdowns and other mobility restrictions; (2) ecosystems, because of alterations in fishing intensity and human presence; (3) the blue economy, derived from alterations in the investments and expenses of the fishers; and (4) society, in relation to variations in fishers’ health and well-being. For this, a consultation with experts from 16 countries was carried out, as well as an international online survey aimed at recreational fishers, that included specific questions designed to capture fishers’ heterogeneity in relation to behavior, skills and know-how, and vital involvement. Fishers’ participation in the online survey (5,998 recreational fishers in 15 countries) was promoted through a marketing campaign. The sensitivity of the fishers’ clustering procedure, based on the captured heterogeneity, was evaluated by SIMPER analysis and by generalized linear models. Results from the expert consultation highlighted a worldwide reduction in marine recreational fishing activity. Lower human-driven pressures are expected to generate some benefits for marine ecosystems. However, experts also identified high negative impacts on the blue economy, as well as on fisher health and well-being because of the loss of recreational fishing opportunities. Most (98%) of the fishers who participated in the online survey were identified as advanced , showing a much higher degree of commitment to recreational fishing than basic fishers (2%). Advanced fishers were, in general, more pessimistic about the impacts of COVID-19, reporting higher reductions in physical activity and fish consumption, as well as poorer quality of night rest, foul mood, and raised more concerns about their health status. Controlled and safe access to marine recreational fisheries during pandemics would provide benefits to the health and well-being of people and reduce negative socioeconomic impacts, especially for vulnerable social groups.

Status of health and conservation classification of tropical coral reefs in Lakshadweep archipelago - M. Gopi; J. Joyson Joe Jeevamani; S. Goutham; Nina Tabitha Simon; V. Deepak Samuel; K. R. Abhilash; R. S. Robin; G. Hariharan; R. Muruganandam; P. Krishnan; R. Purvaja; R. Ramesh (Wetlands Ecology and Management, 2021)

Premarital genetic screening and care of Tanzanian children with sickle cell disease: a qualitative study on parents’ views and experiences - Esther Kisanga; Ritah Mutagonda; David T. Myemba; Belinda J. Njiro; Franklin Simon; Alphonce I. Marealle; Wigilya P. Mikomangwa; Manase Kilonzi; Godfrey Sambayi; George M. Bwire (Journal of Community Genetics, 2021)

A comment on: magma residence and eruption at the Taupō Volcanic Center (Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand)—insights from rhyolite-MELTS geobarometry, diffusion chronometry, and crystal textures, by AS Pamukçu et al., Contrib Mineral Petrol 175:48 (2020) - Colin J. N. Wilson; Simon J. Barker; Bruce L. A. Charlier; Madison L. Myers; Kristian F. Hansen (Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 2021)

Abundance- and biomass-based metrics of functional composition of macroinvertebrates as surrogates of ecosystem attributes in Afrotropical streams - Augustine Sitati; Frank O. Masese; Mourine J. Yegon; Alfred O. Achieng; Simon W. Agembe (Aquatic Sciences, 2021)