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 con...

Key message We demonstrate genetic variation for quantitative resistance against important fungal pathogens in lettuce and its wild relatives, map loci conferring resistance and predict key molecular mechanisms using transcriptome profiling. Abstract Lactuca sativa L. (lettuce) is an important leafy vegetable crop grown and consumed globally. Chemicals are routinely used to control major pathogens, including the causal agents...

Summary Azole‐resistant environmental Aspergillus fumigatus presents a threat to public health but the extent of this threat in Southeast Asia is poorly described. We conducted environmental surveillance in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, collecting air and ground samples across key land‐use types, and determined antifungal susceptibilities of Aspergillus section Fumigati (ASF) isolates and azole concentrations in soils. O...

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...

When considering relationships between genotype and phenotype we frequently ignore the fact that the genome of a typical animal, notably including that of a fish and a human, harbours a huge amount of foreign DNA. Such DNA, in the form of transposable elements, can affect genome function in a major way, and transgene biology needs to be included in our understanding of the genome. Here we examine an unexpected phenotypic effec...

Zooplankton are the key trophic link between primary producers and fish in pelagic ecosystems. Historically, there are few zooplankton time series in Australia, with no data sets longer than two years prior to 2008. Here we compile 98 676 abundance records of more than 1000 zooplankton taxa from unpublished research cruises, student projects, published literature, and the recent Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS). This...

Controls on the fate of ~277 Pg of soil organic carbon (C) stored in permafrost peatland soils remain poorly understood despite the potential for a significant positive feedback to climate change. Our objective was to quantify the temperature, moisture, organic matter, and microbial controls on soil organic carbon (SOC) losses following permafrost thaw in peat soils across Alaska. We compared the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and met...

The optimum path to follow when subjected to cross flows was first considered over 80 years ago by the G erman mathematician E rnst Z ermelo, in the context of a boat being displaced by ocean currents, and has become known as the ‘ Z ermelo navigation problem’. However, the ability of migrating animals to solve this problem has received limited consideration, even though wind and ocean currents cause the lateral displacement o...