Understanding crop genetic diversity is essential for conservation and breeding, yet farmer‐maintained germplasm remains largely underrepresented in genomic studies. Theobroma cacao L. has a complex domestication history, extensive global diversity, and is currently cultivated in Central America. Costa Rican cacao has been understudied compared to South American and Mexican cultivars despite cultural and historical importance....

Fresh groundwater resources in coastal regions are vital for modern society, but are under considerable pressure due to population growth, seasonal peaks in demand, pollution and climate change. In recent years, interest in offshore freshened groundwater (OFG) has surged, as potential resource for addressing these challenges. Recent studies have documented OFG occurrences on many continental margins and islands, with global vo...

Managing and reducing the impacts of climate change depends on efficient actions from all societal scales. Yet, the household component is often missing from climate research, debate, and policies. This is problematic because households have been found to significantly contribute to of global greenhouse gas emissions and therefore have the potential to be part of a solution to climate change by mitigating climate change. This...

The vaquita ( Phocoena sinus ) is the world's most endangered cetacean and has experienced a 60% reduction in the size of its population in the past decade. Knowledge of its basic ecology is essential for developing successful management plans to protect and conserve this species. In this study, we identified vaquita foraging areas by creating an isoscape of the Upper Gulf of California (UGC) based on sediment and zooplankton...

Pathogens, which have recently colonized a new host species or new populations of the same host, are interesting models for understanding how populations may evolve in response to novel environments. During its colonization of South America from Africa, P lasmodium falciparum , the main agent of malaria, has been exposed to new conditions in distinctive new human populations (Amerindian and populations of mixed origins) that l...

Understanding the spatial structure of a population is critical for effective assessment and management. However, direct observation of spatial dynamics is generally difficult, particularly for marine mammals. California sea lions ( Zalophus californianus ) are polygynous pinnipeds distributed along the Pacific coast of North America. The species’ range has been subdivided into three management stocks based on differences in m...

We examine the utility of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope variations to characterize the length of the nursing/lactation period and age at weaning for two northern Pacific otariid species, the northern fur seal ( Callorhinus ursinus ) and California sea lion ( Zalophus californianus ). We used two sampling strategies to measure ontogenetic trends in isotope value, and compared our results to observational data on the reprod...