Introduction Small marine carnivores inhabiting fragmented rocky coastlines are increasingly exposed to anthropogenic pressures, yet mortality drivers in these systems remain poorly quantified. Methods We analyzed 22 years of carcass records (2003–2024) and standardized necropsies to evaluate the contribution of anthropogenic causes and their spatial and temporal patterns in marine otters ( Lontra felina ) from north-central C...

Purpose: There is a debate whether microplastic particles released into soils can modify phosphorus bioavailability by altering the soil surface properties. Here, we aim to explore the impact of polyethylene microplastics (PE–MPs) on the adsorption–desorption of inorganic phosphate anions (P) on a volcanic ash soil (VAS). Methods: Batch P adsorption-desorption experiments were conducted in a Chilean VAS with and without 1% (w/...

Sex chromosomes have evolved repeatedly across eukaryotes. The emergence of a sex‐determining (SD) locus is expected to progressively restrict recombination, driving convergent molecular differentiation. However, evidence from taxa like teleost fishes, representing over half of vertebrate species with unmatched diversity in SD systems, challenges this model. Teleost sex chromosomes are often difficult to detect as they experie...

Cytogenetic analyses of Lachnaia hirta , Lachnaia tristigma , and Lachnaia vicina have revealed that all species show a similar karyotype with 2 n = 24 and a meioformula of 11 + Xy + . Despite this, their sex chromosomes show certain differences in morphology. All species exhibit pericentromeric heterochromatin on all autosomes and X chromosomes, with the Y chromosome being heterochromatic. The X and Y chromosomes carry the nu...

This study investigates the practicality and potential impact of three-dimensional (3D) scanning technology to assess marine mammal strandings. Mobile phones were used to evaluate the technology and its capability to accurately reconstruct topographic features of 11 distinct marine mammal species, across diverse environmental conditions. This process was validated by initially measuring an inflatable whale to an accuracy of gr...

Sex chromosomes play an outsized role in adaptation and speciation, and thus deserve particular attention in evolutionary genomics. In particular, fusions between sex chromosomes and autosomes can produce neo‐sex chromosomes, which offer important insights into the evolutionary dynamics of sex chromosomes. Here, we investigate the evolutionary origin of the previously reported Danaus neo‐sex chromosome within the tribe Danaini...

Repetitive elements can cause large‐scale chromosomal rearrangements, for example through ectopic recombination, potentially promoting reproductive isolation and speciation. Species with holocentric chromosomes, that lack a localized centromere, might be more likely to retain chromosomal rearrangements that lead to karyotype changes such as fusions and fissions. This is because chromosome segregation during cell division shoul...

Rotational mechanics is a fundamental determinant of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The coding system currently employed in clinical practice does not distinguish between rotational patterns. We propose an alternative coding system that makes possible to identify the rotational pattern of the LV and relate it to myocardial function. Echocardiographic images were used to generate speckle tracking-derived transmural...

Aim Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types. Location Amazonia. Taxon A...