Biodiversity decline alters species interaction networks and can destabilise ecosystem functions. Fungal consumption by mammals supports ectomycorrhizal (ECM) spore dispersal, contributing to fungi-plant symbioses. The ecological impacts of losing mycophagous mammals and to what extent species roles are redundant or complementary remains poorly quantified. Using fungal ITS2 metabarcoding, we explore the fungal community in sca...

Gelatinous zooplankton are abundant in marine ecosystems, yet their trophic roles and functional diversity in food webs have only recently gained attention. Gelatinous zooplankton taxa including hydromedusae, ctenophores, siphonophores, chaetognaths, and pelagic tunicates span multiple phyla and are often grouped taxonomically, but trait‐based categorizations have emerged as an ecologically meaningful alternative. Considering...

Restoring ecosystem functions via conserving and translocating threatened species is an increasingly common conservation action and priority. Monitoring how a translocated species interacts with the recipient ecosystem and co-occurring species is rarely the focus of strategic management plans. Digging, mycophagous mammals play critical ecosystem roles including bioturbation and fungal spore dispersal. The fungal diets of trans...

Effective conservation practice requires decisions based on reliable and relevant evidence, but significant gaps in the evidence base exist. Incorporating well‐designed tests of the effectiveness of interventions for biodiversity in conservation projects is one of the best ways to scale up the rate of evidence generation. Funders of conservation projects are uniquely positioned to support and incentivize such tests as part of...

Hydromedusae are often overlooked in pelagic trophic ecology compared to large scyphozoans. We investigated the diet, prey selectivity, ingestion rates, digestion times, and predation impacts of the native Liriope tetraphylla and non‐indigenous species Cnidostoma fallax and Moerisia inkermanica in a subtropical estuary of the southwestern Atlantic. While all three species predominantly consumed copepods, L. tetraphylla exhibit...

Introduction Neonatal hypoxia ischemia (HI) causes injury to the blood brain barrier (BBB), which in turn is associated with widespread cell loss. Cell therapies are currently being investigated for use in perinatal neuroprotection and umbilical cord blood (UCB) endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs; CD133+) have been previously shown to reduce gross neuropathology associated with HI; however, no study has investigated the effect...

Seagrass beds provide important ecosystem services and are valued, in part, for their potential to mediate stressors such as ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH) for sensitive species. However, the susceptibility of seagrasses to anthropogenic impacts and recent declines motivate the need to better understand the drivers of seagrass and the water quality consequences that occur with variation in seagrass abundance. To meet th...

Cell surface properties can strongly mediate microbial interactions with predators in soil and host‐pathogen systems. Yet, the role of microbial surface properties in avoiding or enhancing predation in the ocean is less well known. Appendicularians are globally abundant marine suspension feeders that capture marine microorganisms in a complex mucous filtration system. We used artificial microspheres to test whether the surface...

The international spread of the myrtle rust pathogen, Austropuccinia psidii , can be largely attributed to the “pandemic” biotype that has more than 450 host species. However, within South America, the putative native range of A. psidii , multiple biotypes have been characterised, each with a restricted known number of hosts. These biotypes may pose a significant biosecurity threat to countries already affected by the pandemic...

There is mounting evidence that invasive alien species (IAS) have adverse effects on plant health and the global economy, posing a significant threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Identifying and assessing emerging IAS, such as plant pathogens, is a proactive approach that might assist in prioritising potential pathogen threats before they become established or widespread, negatively affecting plant health, crop p...

Doliolids have a unique ability to impact the marine microbial community through bloom events and filter feeding. Their predation on large eukaryotic microorganisms is established and evidence of predation on smaller prokaryotic microorganisms is beginning to emerge. We studied the association between microorganisms and wild‐caught doliolids in the Northern California Current system. Doliolids were collected during bloom event...

Trade represents a significant threat to many wild species and is often clandestine and poorly monitored. Information on which species are most prevalent in trade and potentially threatened by it therefore remains fragmentary. We used 7 global data sets on birds in trade to identify species or groups of species at particular risk and assessed the extent to which they were congruent in terms of the species recorded in trade. We...

High mortality rates of cultured Pacific oysters ( Crassostrea gigas ) during the summer months have regularly occurred on oyster farms in British Columbia, Canada over the last 10 years, but little is known about the microbial and environmental conditions that contribute to such mortality events. The objective of the study was to determine correlative factors associated with the onset of a summer mortality event in oysters (m...