Several Arctic marine mammal species are predicted to be negatively impacted by rapid sea ice loss associated with ongoing ocean warming. However, consequences for Arctic whales remain uncertain. To investigate how Arctic whales responded to past climatic fluctuations, we analysed 206 mitochondrial genomes from beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) sampled across their circumpolar range, and four nuclear genomes, covering bo...

Coastal waterways can be significant sources of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N 2 O) due to nitrogen inputs and eutrophication. Here, we quantify groundwater derived N 2 O inputs and atmospheric emissions within a modified urban embayment (Sydney Harbour, Australia). Overall, we found low N 2 O saturation (91–171%) and air–water fluxes (−2.2 to 24.6 μ mol m −2 d −1 ). Concentrations were highest in upstream brackish...

Effective management and conservation of biodiversity requires understanding of predator–prey relationships to ensure the continued existence of both predator and prey populations. Gathering dietary data from predatory species, such as insectivorous bats, often presents logistical challenges, further exacerbated in biodiversity hot spots because prey items are highly speciose, yet their taxonomy is largely undescribed. We used...

Plant and animal biodiversity can be studied by obtaining DNA directly from the environment. This new approach in combination with the use of generic barcoding primers (metabarcoding) has been suggested as complementary or alternative to traditional biodiversity monitoring in ancient soil sediments. However, the extent to which metabarcoding truly reflects plant composition remains unclear, as does its power to identify specie...

Metabarcoding approaches use total and typically degraded DNA from environmental samples to analyse biotic assemblages and can potentially be carried out for any kinds of organisms in an ecosystem. These analyses rely on specific markers, here called metabarcodes, which should be optimized for taxonomic resolution, minimal bias in amplification of the target organism group and short sequence length. Using bioinformatic tools,...

DNA molecules originating from animals and plants can be retrieved directly from sediments and have been used for reconstructing both contemporary and past ecosystems. However, the extent to which such ‘dirt’ DNA reflects taxonomic richness and structural diversity remains contentious. Here, we couple second generation high‐throughput sequencing with 16S mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) meta‐barcoding, to explore the accuracy and sen...

Nunataks are isolated bedrocks protruding through ice sheets. They vary in age, but represent island environments in ‘oceans’ of ice through which organism dispersals and replacements can be studied over time. The J.A.D. Jensen’s Nunataks at the southern Greenland ice sheet are the most isolated nunataks on the northern hemisphere – some 30 km from the nearest biological source. They constitute around 2 km 2 of ice‐free land t...

Analyses of degraded DNA are typically hampered by contamination, especially when employing universal primers such as commonly used in environmental DNA studies. In addition to false‐positive results, the amplification of contaminant DNA may cause false‐negative results because of competition, or bias, during the PCR. In this study, we test the utility of human‐specific blocking primers in mammal diversity analyses of ancient...

Although ancient DNA from sediments ( sed aDNA) has been used to investigate past ecosystems, the approach has never been directly compared with the traditional methods of pollen and macrofossil analysis. We conducted a comparative survey of 18 ancient permafrost samples spanning the Late Pleistocene (46–12.5 thousand years ago), from the Taymyr Peninsula in northern Siberia. The results show that pollen, macrofossils and sed...

172Business clusters are geographic concentrations of companies that provide mutual advantages for their participants. Clusters can include diverse members including competitors, customers, partners, and/or suppliers. In Alaska, wood products business clusters can have unique challenges associated with remote locations, high raw material costs, limited local markets, and potentially long transportation distances. Further, mult...