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Genetic studies have differentiated three subspecies of humpback whales: Megaptera novaeangliae novaeangliae in the North Atlantic, M. n. australis in the Southern Hemisphere and M. n. kuzira in the North Pacific. However, these analyses did not include samples from the Arabian Sea humpback whale population (ASHW). Historic, behavioural, and previously published genetic data suggested that ASHWs are a discrete, isolated and re...
Nutrient Enrichment Increases Grassland Biomass Sensitivity to Interannual Precipitation VariationNARA Subscribed
Primary production underpins much of ecosystem functioning and is often limited by nutrient and water availability. Ongoing global increases in nutrient inputs and interannual precipitation variability are thus likely to impact primary production, with unclear consequences for interannual variability in plant biomass. We used data from 35 grasslands in the Nutrient Network coordinated fertilization experiment to test if nutrie...
The Arabian Sea humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ; ASHW) is understood to be the only population of this species that does not undertake long-range seasonal migrations between high- and low-latitude waters. Until recently, understanding the movements and range of individual ASHWs has relied mainly on comparisons of dorsal fin and tail-fluke images archived in photo-identification catalogues and on observations made duri...
Length‐Based Spawning Potential Ratio Assessment of Key Species From a Remote Recreational Fishery at Diego Garcia, Indian OceanNARA Subscribed
Recreational fisheries in remote regions often operate under limited regulation and data availability, presenting challenges for sustainable management. Diego Garcia, located within the Chagos Marine Protected Area, hosts a unique recreational reef fishery embedded within a highly protected environment. We assessed the stock status of five key species— Lutjanus bohar , L. gibbus , L. monostigma , Caranx melampygus , and Variol...
SNAPSHOT USA 2024: Year 6 of the Coordinated National Camera Trap Survey of the United StatesNARA Subscribed
Motivation SNAPSHOT USA is an annual, multi‐contributor camera trap survey of mammals across the United States. The growing SNAPSHOT USA dataset is intended for tracking the spatial and temporal responses of mammal populations to changes in land use, land cover and climate. These data will be useful for exploring the drivers of spatial and temporal changes in relative abundance and distribution, as well as the impacts of speci...
Precipitation variability interacts with mean precipitation to restructure a semiarid grassland communityNARA Subscribed
Climate forecasts project change not only in the mean of climate variables but also in their variance. If these dual changes interact, then future ecological dynamics will be difficult to predict using current experimental approaches, which typically change the mean or impose a single extreme event, such as drought. We designed a new field experiment to factorially reduce mean precipitation and increase its interannual variabi...
Marine megafauna species are affected by a wide range of anthropogenic threats. To evaluate the risk of such threats, species’ vulnerability to each threat must first be determined. We build on the existing threats classification scheme and ranking system of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species by assessing the vulnerability of 256 marine megafauna species to 23 at‐sea threat...
Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine carbon cycle in a changing climate – Current understanding and future directionsNARA Subscribed
The marine system plays a critical role in the global climate cycle, as a major control of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Marine primary production (photosynthesis) and remineralisation of organic carbon (respiration, degradation) determine the amount of CO 2 sequestered in marine sediments and deep‐water environments on century to millennial timescales. The stocks and fluxes of the marine carbon cycle are susceptible to...
Integrating in‐situ (wild) and ex‐situ (captive) conservation efforts can mitigate genetic diversity loss and help prevent extinction of endangered wild populations. The whooping crane ( Grus americana ) experienced severe population declines in the 18th century, culminating in a collapse to ~20 individuals by 1944. Legal protections and conservation actions have since increased the census population from a stock of 16 individ...