Soil-dependent responses of bacterial communities, phosphorus and carbon turnover to uranium stress in different soil ecosystems

Uranium (U) can impact microbially driven soil phosphorus (P) and carbon (C) cycling. However, the response of microbial P and C turnover to U in different soils is not well understood. Through the quantitative assay of P pools and soil organic C (SOC) quantitative assay and sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons and metagenomes, we investigated the effect of U on P and C biotransformation in grassland (GL), paddy soil (PY), forest soil (FT). U (60 mg kg-1) impacted the diversity, interaction and stability of soil bacterial communities, leading to a decrease in available P (AP). Under U stress, organophosphate mineralization substantially contributed to the AP in GL and FT, whereas intracellular P metabolism dominated the AP in PY. Also, the reductive citrate cycle (rTCA cycle) promoted the content of SOC in GL, while the rTCA cycle and complex organic C degradation pathways enhanced the SOC in PY and FT, respectively. Notably, functional bacteria carrying organic C degradation genes could decompose SOC to enhance soil AP. Bacteria developed various resistance strategies to cope with U stress. This study reveals soil-dependent response of microbial P and C cycling and its ecological functions under the influence of radioactive contaminants in different soil systems.

Ocean acidification and elevated temperatures alter the behavior of a sub-Antarctic fish

The interaction of multiple climate change stressors can affect the behavior of marine fish. While these effects have been reported in tropical and temperate species, much less is known for fish inhabiting high latitudes. We analyzed the combined effects of ocean acidification and the highest and lowest seasonal temperatures on the activity level and boldness of Eleginops maclovinus, an ecologically and commercially important notothenioid fish from the subantarctic area. Juveniles were acclimated for one month to two temperatures (T = 4 and 10 °C) and two pCO2 levels (∼500 and ∼1800 μatm) in a full factorial design. In an open field test, the time spent active was significantly affected by temperature, with fish at 10 °C 1.63 times more active than those at 4 °C, but not by pCO2 or the interaction (T × pCO2). No differences were observed in the average swimming velocity measured when active, nor in the time spent in the inner zone of the tank. A refuge emergence test indicated increased boldness under near-future pCO2 levels with fish emerging 2.06 (4 °C) and 1.23 (10 °C) times faster than those acclimated to present-day pCO2 levels. The disruptions of these fundamental behaviors by these climate-driven stressors could have consequences for foraging and predator-prey interactions, with likely detrimental effects on the interactions among sympatric subantarctic fishes under projected climate change scenarios.

Outbreaks of Ulva prolifera green tides reduce the network complexity and stability of cooccurring planktonic microbial communities

Ulva prolifera green tides are becoming a worldwide environmental problem, especially in the Yellow Sea, China. However, the effects of the occurrence of U. prolifera green tides on the community organization and stability of surrounding microbiomes have still not been determined. Here, the prokaryotic microbial community network stability and assembly characteristics were systematically analyzed and compared between the green tide and non-green tide periods. U. prolifera blooms weaken the community complexity and robustness of surrounding microbiomes, increasing fragmentation and decreasing diversity. Bacteria and archaea exhibited distinct community distributions and assembly patterns under the influence of green tides, and bacterial communities were more sensitive to outbreaks of green tides. The bacterial communities exhibited a greater niche breadth and a lower phylogenetic distance during the occurrence of U. prolifera green tides compared to those during the non-green tide period while archaeal communities remained unchanged, suggesting that the bacterial communities underwent stronger homogeneous selection and more sensitive to green tide blooms than the archaeal communities. Piecewise structural equation model analysis revealed that the different responses of major prokaryotic microbial groups, such as Cyanobacteria, to environmental variables during green tides, were influenced by the variations in pH and nitrate during green tides and correlated with the salinity gradient during the non-green tide period. This study elucidates the response of the adaptability, associations, and stability of surrounding microbiomes to outbreaks of U. prolifera green tides.

Industrial air pollution and newborn hearing screening failure

Hearing loss in newborns is a prevalent issue that can hinder the growth of language skills and cognitive development. Given that hearing loss often co-occurs with other adverse birth outcomes and the recognized role of metals in causing such outcomes, it is conceivable that metals may also serve as a risk factor of hearing loss. This study examined the associations between maternal residential exposure to thirteen PM2.5-bound metals and failure in Newborn Hearing Screening (NHS) in offspring in New Mexico from 2008 to 2017 to ascertain possible implications of these environmental exposures. This retrospective cohort study included 141,406 births (7670 births in disease group and 133,736 births in non-diseased group) in New Mexico during 2008-2017. Thirteen PM2.5-bound metals released from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) facilities were investigated potentially as risk factors. The RSEI model estimated maternal residential exposure to PM2.5-bound metals during pregnancy, and spatial log-binomial regressions, adjusted for confounders, calculated adjusted relative risks (aRRs) for the association with NHS failure. Findings indicated that maternal residential exposure to PM2.5-bound metals - including antimony, barium, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, manganese, mercury, vanadium, and zinc - during pregnancy were positively associated with NHS failure in offspring, showing aRRs ranging from 1.07 to 2.18. A significant trend was observed when exposures were categorized as zero, low, medium, and high of these metals. Our findings indicate that maternal exposure to these PM2.5-bound metals may adversely affect newborn hearing, underscoring air pollution as a modifiable risk factor for improving hearing health outcomes.

Characteristics of microbial carbon pump in the sediment of kelp aquaculture zone and its contribution to recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon turnover: insights into metabolic patterns and ecological functions

The study delves into the microbial carbon pump (MCP) within the sediments of kelp aquaculture zones, focusing on its influence on the turnover of recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon (RDOC). Following kelp harvest, significant alterations in the microbial community structure were noted, with a decrease in complexity and heterogeneity within co-occurrence networks potentially impacting RDOC production efficiency. Metabolic models constructed identified four key microbial lineages crucial for RDOC turnover, with their abundance observed to decrease post-harvest. Analysis of metabolic complementarity revealed that RDOC-degrading microorganisms exhibit broad substrate diversity and are engaged in specific resource exchange patterns, with cross-feeding interactions possibly enhancing the ecological efficiency of the MCP. Notably, the degradation of RDOC was found not to deplete the RDOC pool; as aromatic compounds break down, new ones are released into the environment, thus supporting the renewal of the RDOC pool. The research highlights the pivotal role of microbial communities in RDOC turnover and offers fresh insights into their cross-feeding behavior related to RDOC cycling, providing valuable data to support the future development and application of MCP theory.

Global meta-analysis deciphering ecological restoration performance of dredging: Divergent variabilities of pollutants and hydrobiontes

Global "Sustainable Development Goals" propose ambitious targets to protect water resource and provide clean water, whereas comprehensive understanding of restoration performance and ecological mechanisms are lacking for dredging adopted for purifying polluted waterbodies and maintaining navigation channels. Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis to estimate ecological restoration consequence of dredging as pollution mitigation and navigation channel maintenance measures using a dataset compiled from 191 articles covering 696 studies and 84 environmental and ecological parameters (e.g., pollutants and hydrobiontes). We confirm that dredging shows negative influences on 77.50% pollutants in the BA model (before dredging vs. after dredging) and 84.21% pollutants in the CI model (control vs. impact) as well as on sediment nutrient fluxes. Additionally, 57.14% attributes (i.e., richness, diversity, biomass, and density) of hydrobiontes in the BA model and 89.47% attributes of hydrobiontes in the CI model responded negatively to dredging. As a result, 76.32% of the pollutants and 61.11% of the hydrobiont attributes responded uniformly to dredging in the BA and CI models. Our findings emphasize that dredging generally decreases pollutants and mitigates algal blooms, controlling phosphorus is easier than controlling nitrogen by dredging, and attributes (i.e., richness, diversity, and biomass) of hydrobiontes (i.e., zooplankton, phytoplankton, and zoobenthos) are density-dependent in dredging-disturbed environments. Our findings broaden our knowledge on ecological restoration performance of dredging as a mitigation measure in global aquatic ecosystems, and these findings might be helpful to use and optimize dredging to efficiently and sustainably purify polluted aquatic ecosystems.

Extinctions as a vestige of instability: The geometry of stability and feasibility

Species coexistence is a complex, multifaceted problem. At an equilibrium, coexistence requires two conditions: stability under small perturbations; and feasibility, meaning all species abundances are positive. Which of these two conditions is more restrictive has been debated for many years, with many works focusing on statistical arguments for systems with many species. Within the framework of the Lotka-Volterra equations, we examine the geometry of the region of coexistence in the space of interaction strengths, for symmetric competitive interactions and any finite number of species. We consider what happens when starting at a point within the coexistence region, and changing the interaction strengths continuously until one of the two conditions breaks. We find that coexistence generically breaks through the loss of feasibility, as the abundance of one species reaches zero. An exception to this rule - where stability breaks before feasibility - happens only at isolated points, or more generally on a lower dimensional subset of the boundary. The reason behind this is that as a stability boundary is approached, some of the abundances generally diverge towards minus infinity, and so go extinct at some earlier point, breaking the feasibility condition first. These results define a new sense in which feasibility is a more restrictive condition than stability, and show that these two requirements are closely interrelated. We then show how our results affect the changes in the set of coexisting species when interaction strengths are changed: a system of coexisting species loses a species by its abundance continuously going to zero, and this new fixed point is unique. As parameters are further changed, multiple alternative equilibria may be found. Finally, we discuss the extent to which our results apply to asymmetric interactions.

Environmental gradient changes shape multi-scale food web structures: Impact on antibiotics trophic transfer in a lake ecosystem

Environmental change can alter the multi-scale foodweb structure, thereby impacting the pollutants trophic transfer in aquatic ecosystems. However, a quantitative understanding of how environmental gradient changes affect pollutant trophic transfer in natural lake ecosystems remains limited. This study investigated temporal variations in environment change index (ECi), multi-scale foodweb structure, and trophic transfer of quinolones antibiotics (QNs) in Baiyangdian Lake, Northern China, from 2018 to 2023. Our results demonstrated that the interaction strength (IS) in detritus (DIS) and macrophyte (MIS) in 2023 were significantly lower than those in 2018, and diversity indices exhibited significant temporal differences between 2018 and 2023. ECi was significantly correlated with DIS/MIS between species at the population scale and with diversity indices (DH and H') at the ecosystem scale. The trophic magnification factors (TMFs) of QNs have higher values in 2023 compared to 2018, showing significant temporal differences. Through structural equation model, the results showed ECi directly impacted DIS, which in turn affected SEAc and H', while indirectly influencing TMFs. The TMFs of QNs was mainly regulated by environmental factors. These findings highlighted the influencing mechanism through multi-scale foodweb structures regulate pollutant trophic transfer under environmental change in natural lake.

Lead alters the tolerance of dominant woody plants in subtropical coastal zones to flash drought

Under the influence of climate change and human activities, drought and heavy metal pollution are increasingly threatening the stability of coastal regions. In this study, the ecophysiological responses of three representative coastal plant species (Hibiscus tiliaceus, Barringtonia racemosa, and Terminalia neotaliala) in subtropical regions to lead addition (Pb), drought stress (D), their co-existence (Pb + D), and control (CK) were investigated. The results showed that, compared to CK, Pb treatment alone did not significantly affect plant growth during the experiment, which lasted for 8 days. In contrast, both D and Pb + D treatment caused a notable negative impact, with significant increases in abscisic acid (ABA), proline (PRO), and superoxide anion (O2-) levels and a significant decrease in net photosynthetic rates (Pn). In addition to the comparison with CK, we also observed a distinction between the effects of Pb + D treatment and those of either Pb treatment or D treatment. With Pb + D treatment, Pb accumulation in the roots and leaves of H. tiliaceus and B. racemosa and in the roots of T. neotaliala was higher than those with Pb treatment alone. Other than that, the negative impacts in growth of Pb + D treatment appeared to be delayed compared to the D treatment alone. Moreover, B. racemosa demonstrated good tolerance to Pb, drought and their co-existence treatments, indicating its potential for use in coastal vegetation restoration to enhance ecosystem resilience and stability in subtropical regions.

Greening of grey and murky harbours: enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem functioning on artificial shorelines

Shoreline armouring in coastal cities can cause habitat degradation and biodiversity loss, often exacerbated by common anthropogenic stressors. Boulders are used as riprap to create revetments walls; but the homogenous surface and absence of shelter reduces intertidal biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Eco-engineering can mitigate habitat loss through the addition of water retention and other microhabitats. We deployed four eco-engineered designs in a degraded harbour riprap for 18 months. Two units with site-specific designs combined multiple microhabitat types, attracting the highest species diversity. All four designs generally increased within-site β diversity and fish diversity compared to nearby unmanipulated ripraps. Suspension-feeding species and more species within key functional groups colonised eco-engineered units at patch and site scale. Tailored, site-specific eco-engineering shows great potential to rehabilitate degraded ripraps into functional, novel ecosystems. Combining eco-engineering with anthropogenic stress reduction to enable recovery can enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in coastal cities.

Carbon metabolism and partitioning in citrus leaves is determined by hybrid, cultivar and leaf type

The partitioning and metabolism of carbohydrates and lignin in leaves are essential for numerous physiological functions, growth and development of plants. This study was aimed to characterize these processes in four leaf types (i.e., autumn-, summer-, spring- and current-year spring shoots) of two citrus hybrids (loose-skin mandarin cultivars OP (i.e., cultivars 'Orah' (OR) Citrus reticulata Blanco and 'Ponkan' (PO) Citrus reticulata Blanco and the sweet orange cultivars NT 'Newhall navel orange' (NO) Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck and 'Tarocco' (TA) Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) differing in fruit maturation under field conditions. For this purpose, we analyzed the levels of foliar structural, non-structural carbohydrates and lignin and the expression of related genes. Our results showed that the contents of structural, non-structural carbohydrates and lignin measured in the two hybrids and its partitioning were mostly determined by differences in gene expression recorded in hybrids, cultivars and leaf type. Particularly, differences between leaf types were largely attributed to up- and down-regulation of the expression of genes of cellulose synthesis, lignin precursor synthesis, the Calvin cycle, glycolysis, the tricarbonic acid and starch synthesis and degradation pathways. These differences between leaf types required more complex transcriptional regulation than differences between hybrids and cultivars. The present results indicated that the two citrus hybrids studied differed in the expression of structural, non-structural carbohydrates and lignin-related genes. Future studies have to show if the differences observed in foliar partitioning and metabolism of carbohydrates and lignin are translated into partitioning and metabolism of carbohydrates and lignin in the roots.

Coupling of sulfate reduction and dissolved organic carbon degradation accelerated by microplastics in blue carbon ecosystems

Microplastics have increasingly accumulated in sulfate- and organic matter-rich mangrove ecosystems, yet their effects on microbially mediated carbon and sulfur cycling in sediments remains poorly understood. In this study, we performed a 70-day anaerobic microcosm experiment to examine the effects of polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics with different sizes on sulfate reduction and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) degradation in mangrove sediments. Our results demonstrated that millimeter-scale PLA (mm-PLA) more effectively enhanced sulfate reduction, sulfur isotope fractionation, reduced sulfide production, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission compared to micrometer-scale PLA (m-PLA). These results suggested that mm-PLA had a more pronounced impact on the carbon and sulfur cycles. Integrated 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and metagenomic analyses revealed that mm-PLA preferentially enriched key functional microorganisms, including acetate-producing bacteria (e.g., Acetobacteroides), completely oxidizing sulfate-reducing bacteria (e.g., Desulfobacter), and incompletely oxidizing sulfate-reducing bacteria (e.g., Desulfobulbus). These microorganisms exhibited higher abundances and greater genetic potential for carbon metabolism and sulfate reduction under mm-PLA treatment. Their relative abundances showed positive correlations with sulfate reduction rates, sulfur isotope fractionation, and CO2 emission, identifying them as crucial drivers of coupled carbon-sulfur cycling. Furthermore, the synergistic interactions among Acetobacteroides, Desulfobacter, and Desulfobulbus facilitated the oxidation of sediment-derived DOC, highlighting significant implications for carbon sequestration in blue carbon ecosystems.

Environmental contaminants and insects: Genetic strategies for ecosystem and agricultural sustainability

Insects, with their vast biodiversity and essential ecological roles, are crucial to agriculture, textile production, and environmental stability. As pollinators, decomposers, and bioindicators, they support ecosystem functions and human industries. Their short generation time, high reproductive rates, and genetic adaptability make them valuable models for studying human diseases like cancer. However, contaminants pose significant threats to industrially important insects, impacting ecosystems and industries alike. Excessive pesticide use disrupts ecological balance, contributing to the global decline of insect populations. Understanding how contaminants affect insect physiology is critical for assessing their broader implications on agriculture, food security, and biodiversity. This interdisciplinary review integrates entomology, genetics, and environmental science to explore these impacts. Additionally, it examines the potential of genetic interventions to mitigate contaminant-induced harm, ensuring the sustainability of insect-mediated services. To safeguard these vital species, a comprehensive approach that integrates conservation and sustainable utilization strategies is essential.

Particulate and dissolved organic carbon losses in high latitude seaweed farms

The role of macroalgae as natural sinks for carbon dioxide (CO2) has long been recognized, and interest for climate mitigating solutions from seaweed cultivation is quickly rising. Erosion of biomass provides natural avenues for carbon sequestration at sea, yet data is still lacking for important European cultivars, particularly combining particulate (POC) and dissolved (DOC) organic carbon losses. In this study, data is provided on carbon uptake, lamina growth and erosion over two consecutive seasons for the kelp Saccharina latissima (Phaeophyceae) deployed in Autumn and Winter in Hitra, Norway. A short-term carbon exudation experiment was performed with the same kelp in 2023. By April, the typical harvest time for food applications, average losses to POC and DOC pools amounted to 15 and 34 g C m-2 yr-1, respectively, or 9 % and 19 % of the carbon net primary production (C-NPP) of the farm. Combined POC and DOC losses reached 101-247 g C m-2 yr-1 (40-47 % of C-NPP) by June. DOC exudation rates reached 4.1-7.6 mg C g-1 h-1 after 4 h incubation, reducing significantly after 24 h. On average, 29 % and 12 % of the carbon fixed by S. latissima was released as DOC from Autumn and Winter deployments, respectively, before the progression of bryozoan biofouling. POC and DOC losses provide a continuous source for carbon deposition, burial or further breakdown into RDOC, crucial for environmental impact assessments and carbon accounting methodologies. The study provides valuable data for future research on macroalgae cultivation and its contribution to global carbon mitigation efforts.

Multiple metrics of trichome diversity support independent evolutionary hypotheses in blazingstars (Mentzelia: Loasaceae)

Trichomes are diverse and functionally important plant structures that vary in response to selection pressures across ecological gradients and evolutionary timescales. Classic hypotheses predict higher investment in trichomes in arid environments, at lower latitudes, and in long-lived species, as well as shifts in trichome production to reduce conflict between defense traits and mutualisms. However, tests of these hypotheses often rely on aggregate trichome metrics and neglect the rich diversity of trichome phenotypes. Here, we collected data on fine-scale patterns of trichome length, density, and type in 52 species of blazingstars (Mentzelia: Loasaceae) and tested whether individual trichome traits were consistent with existing adaptive hypotheses. Contrary to longstanding hypotheses, we found that Mentzelia species tend to display greater trichome investment in less arid environments and at higher latitudes. Barbed trichomes are significantly less common on the upper surface of the leaf, possibly reducing defense-pollination conflict. Species with larger petals (a proxy for reliance on insect pollinators) also shift investment away from insect-trapping hairs on the underside of the leaf. Examining trichome types separately revealed that different morphologies show distinct responses to abiotic and biotic factors, demonstrating the need to consider multiple axes of diversity when testing adaptive hypotheses for complex traits.

Plastic mechanisms for unraveling a universal trade-off between water loss and respiration

Phenotypic expression is often constrained by functional conflicts between traits, and the resulting trade-offs impose limits on phenotypic and taxonomic diversity. However, the underlying mechanisms that maintain trade-offs or allow organisms to resolve them via phenotypic plasticity are often challenging to detect. The trade-off between gas exchange and water loss across respiratory surfaces represents a fundamental trade-off that constrains phenotypic diversity in terrestrial life. Here, we investigate plastic mechanisms that mitigate this trade-off in lungless salamanders that breathe exclusively across their skin. Our field and laboratory experiments identified plastic responses to environmental variation in water loss and oxygen uptake, and gene expression analyses identified putative pathways that regulate this trade-off. Although the trade-off was generally strong, its strength covaried with environmental conditions. At the molecular level, antagonistic pleiotropy in multiple biological pathways (e.g., vasoconstriction and upregulation of aerobic respiration) putatively produce the trade-off, while other pathways mitigate the trade-off by affecting a single trait (e.g., oxygen binding affinity, melanin synthesis). However, organisms are likely to encounter novel trade-offs in the process of bypassing another. Our study provides evidence that alternative pathways allow organisms to mitigate pleiotropic conflicts, which ultimately may allow greater phenotypic diversity and persistence in novel environments.

The archaeology of climate change: a blueprint for integrating environmental and cultural systems

Cultural systems play an important role in shaping the interactions between humans and the environment, and are in turn shaped by these interactions. However, at present, cultural systems are poorly integrated into the models used by climate scientists to study the interaction of natural and anthropogenic processes (i.e. Earth systems models) due to pragmatic and conceptual barriers. In this Perspective, we demonstrate how the archaeology of climate change, an interdisciplinary field that uses the archaeological record to explore human-environment interactions, is uniquely placed to overcome these barriers. We use concepts drawn from climate science and evolutionary anthropology to show how complex systems modeling that focuses on the spatial structure of the environment and its impact on demographic variables, social networks and cultural evolution, can bridge the gap between large-scale climate processes and local-scale social processes. The result is a blueprint for the design of integrative models that produce testable hypotheses about the impact of climate change on human systems.

Is it all about timing? Identifying the symbiosis critical points that govern interactions among bacteria, ectomycorrhizal fungi, and land trees

Tree health and fitness depend on the interactions among soil microbiota across space and time. Recent evidence, for instance, has shown that understanding the individual and interactive lifestyles of bacteria and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EcMF)-two of the most dominant and influential soil microbes in tree microbiomes-enhances our predictions of plant responses and ecosystem functions. The spatial features that shape the coexistence and plasticity of bacteria-EcMF interactions have long been a primary research interest and have therefore revealed key insights in the field. The temporal features of these interactions, however, have received considerably less attention, yet emerging evidence suggests that interactions at a particular time in space may have a disproportionate impact on the stability and outcome of relationships. In light of these observations, I outline bacteria-EcMF-tree interactions across the life cycle of EcMF and highlight the importance of 'symbiosis critical points' across developmental time, providing testable hypotheses and experimental frameworks that aim to advance the field moving forward. Though this viewpoint article focuses on the symbioses among these three organisms, the concepts, hypotheses, and frameworks presented herein extend to diverse multispecies systems.

Switching to marine prey leads to unprecedented mercury concentrations in a population of coastal Alaska wolves

Methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulates in organisms and biomagnifies in food webs, resulting in elevated concentrations in tissues of apex predators that may negatively impact health. As MeHg is mainly produced by aquatic microbes, predators feeding in aquatic food webs tend to have higher mercury (Hg) concentrations in their tissues than those feeding in terrestrial food webs. In a region of coastal Southeast Alaska, wolves switched from a terrestrial to marine-based diet specializing on recently recovered sea otters. We hypothesized that this prey switch would lead to higher Hg concentrations in wolf tissues. Therefore, we quantified total Hg (THg) concentrations in wolf hair (n = 25) and THg and MeHg in wolf liver (n = 7), muscle (n = 3), kidney (n = 2), and brain (n = 2) tissues from two wolf packs - a marine foraging island pack (located on Pleasant Island), and an adjacent mainland pack (located on the Gustavus Forelands) with a predominantly terrestrial diet. We paired this information with carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope analyses of wolves (n = 65) collected from 2000 to 2023 to determine the proportional contribution of marine subsidies and infer trophic positions of wolves in the two packs. For comparison to wolves with a completely terrestrial prey diet, we quantified THg and MeHg in tissues from Interior Alaska wolves. Liver THg concentrations in the Pleasant Island wolves (mean = 17.59 ppm; range = 0.63-64.30) categorized individuals at 'high risk' and 'severe risk' and were 7 and 278 times higher than other coastal and Interior Alaska wolves, respectively, and 11 to >2000 times higher than concentrations reported in wolves globally. THg concentrations in wolf hair increased with both δ13C and δ15N indicating that foraging for marine and higher trophic position species exposes wolves to a level of Hg which may have health consequences.

Relationships between ambient temperature and diurnal variation in physiological responses to acute handling and restraint stress in the house sparrow, Passer domesticus

Climate change is altering the frequency and intensity of environmental extremes, and the diurnal rates of environmental change. The daily reaction norms of wild animals show spatial and temporal plasticity to allow appropriate physiological responses to predictable environmental challenges, but these responses have rarely been quantified in wild birds. We addressed this by determining whether physiological stress indices (corticosterone [CORT], glucose [GLU], and circulating heat shock proteins [Hsp]) vary with ambient temperature (Ta) or time of day across a 60 latitudinal gradient (320-380 S). We sampled house sparrows, Passer domesticus, at three locations with varying daily rates of Ta increases in 2015 and in 2019-2020 to determine whether physiological responses to capture and handling stress change diurnally. As predicted, plasma CORT and GLU increased during stress. Baseline CORT and GLU levels did not change during the day, but the amplitude of plasma CORT increase (delta CORT) in response to capture decreased as Ta increased, as was the case for GLU, in birds with initially high baseline CORT. Neither baseline nor stress-related plasma CORT or GLU differed consistently across sampling locations. Heat-shock cognate 70 (Hsc70) and heat-shock protein 90α (Hsp90) showed clear temporal dynamics across the day. Thus, the reaction norms of heat shock proteins are temporally plastic during the day and in response to daily Ta changes, as are the reaction norms of CORT and GLU in response to acute stress. However, the study provides little evidence for such plasticity in reaction norms as a function of average local thermal conditions.

Cropland restricts occurrence and alters spatial ecology near the mule deer geographical range limit

BACKGROUND

Habitat fragmentation can influence the spatial ecology of wildlife populations, with downstream effects on population dynamics and sustainability. Row-crop farming is a common anthropogenic landscape alteration, yet the effects on animal movement and space use is understudied in some species. Cropland can benefit wildlife nutritionally but may result in habitat loss because of changes in landscape composition and human disturbance.

METHODS

We quantified the influence of cropland presence and coverage on mule deer spatial ecology in the southern Great Plains. We GPS-collared 146 adult mule deer in four regions of the Texas Panhandle and monitored movement relative to spatio-temporal fluctuations in cropland and particular crop species availability for 2 years. We modeled the effects of cropland on space use and resource selection at multiple spatio-temporal scales to characterize population and individual habitat components of mule deer.

RESULTS

We observed a functional response in cropland use, where at low coverage, use was proportional to availability but decreased with > 20% cropland coverage at the home range and within-home range scales. Few mule deer exhibited long-distance movements towards cropland. Individuals within 1.6 km of cropland exhibited greater cropland use, whereas deer > 4.2 km from cropland rarely used these areas. At the population level, mule deer selected cropland during the winter and late summer, probably for nutritional benefit when rangeland nutrients are low. At a finer scale, step-selection functions identified individual heterogeneity in crop species selection. Winter wheat, alfalfa, and fallow fields had greater use relative to other crop types. Generally, 15-60% of mule deer with access to cropland selected alfalfa year-round, and up to 63% of deer selected winter wheat post-reproduction.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that at a low spatial coverage, cropland alters the spatial ecology of mule deer at several spatio-temporal scales and may provide nutritional benefits, but at a cost of lost habitat when cropland exceeds 20% of the landscape. Declining groundwater resources and an exponentially growing human population will alter future farming practices. Understanding how species occupying these environments, such as mule deer, are influenced by human-induced landscape changes can enhance mitigation of human-wildlife interactions and aid conservation actions as policy and social pressures shape future agricultural practices.

Severe drought impacts tree traits and associated soil microbial communities of clonal oaks

BACKGROUND

Biotic and abiotic factors, including plant age, soil pH, soil organic matter concentration, and especially water availability, significantly influence soil microbial populations and plant characteristics. While many ecosystems are adapted to occasional droughts, climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of drought events, which negatively impacts plant productivity and survival. Long-lived, drought-sensitive tree species such as Quercus robur are particularly vulnerable to water shortages. Drought also alters soil microbial communities, reducing and reshaping microbial diversity, biomass, and activity, which can in turn disrupt key ecosystem functions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of natural drought conditions on soil physicochemical variables, plant traits and microbial communities of the oak clone DF159 in Central Germany. Our research focuses on two study sites, Bad Lauchstädt and Kreinitz, which differ in soil water retention capacity. Data collection spans two periods: before and after a severe drought in 2018. Oak traits and environmental data was collected from 2011 to 2023 covering two oak time series with trees planted annually between 2010 and 2019. Microbial communities were analyzed every second year between 2015 and 2021 around trees representing five different ages.

RESULTS

We found that plant traits, including apical growth, branch elongation and number of shoot flushes, were positively correlated with precipitation and relative humidity. Although the study sites differed in oak leaf number per shoot flush and number of shoot flushes, the 2018 drought negatively impacted all measured plant traits, regardless of sites. Soil bacterial richness and diversity declined at both study sites, independent of plant age, while fungal richness specifically increased in Bad Lauchstädt, which has a higher water-holding capacity, following the drought event. Bacterial community composition was more strongly affected by drought than fungal communities, whereas the latter was more responsive to plant age than bacterial communities.

CONCLUSIONS

Given their strong functional links during drought, interactions among vegetation, microbial communities, and soil functioning may ultimately influence major ecosystem services. Bacterial communities were particularly sensitive to drought, while fungal communities exhibited greater resistance, suggesting their potential role in supporting plant survival under drought stress. These findings highlight the risk that prolonged drought may cause irreversible shifts in microbial communities, with significant implications for soil functions and plant-microbe interactions.

Breeding performance of an aerial insectivorous bird under contrasting farming systems

Over the past decades, intensive agriculture has expanded worldwide in response to the rising human demand for food. Intensive farming practices commonly involve the application of pesticides and other agrochemical compounds, contributing to the global decline in farmland bird populations, particularly aerial insectivores. Moreover, the increased mechanization of agricultural operations (e.g., grass cutting, tree pruning, and brush chipping) may destroy nests and reduce the breeding success of ground-nesting bird species. Here, we used a ground-nesting insectivorous bird, the Red-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus ruficollis), as a model to test for the effects of organic vs. intensive farming practices on breeding performance. We used data from 191 nightjar nests monitored over a 4-year period in a highly cultivated landscape of SE Spain. Four breeding parameters (clutch size, hatching success, fledging success, and overall breeding success) were compared between two adjacent farms under organic and conventional intensive management. Additionally, we compared four population-level attributes (breeding phenology, breeding density, age structure of breeders, and foraging range size) considered to be important determinants of breeding performance. Nightjars breeding in the organic and in the intensive farms had a moderate breeding performance comparable to that reported in other, more extensive agricultural landscapes (e.g., vineyards). All breeding parameters and two out of the four measured population-level attributes were statistically not different between the organic and the intensive farm. However, nest aggregation was higher in the organic farm, and space use analyses revealed that GPS-tracked nightjars nesting within the intensive farm traveled to foraging areas outside the farm more often than those from the organic farm. This suggests that plasticity in foraging behavior (e.g., the use of alternative foraging sites) may buffer the potential negative effects of intensive farming practices (e.g., decreased prey availability) on the breeding performance of nightjars. Our study underlines the potential role of landscape complementation and ecological plasticity in space-use behaviors as determinants of breeding performance in farmland birds, enabling these species to (partly) compensate for the impacts of intensive agriculture.

Closing the air gap: the use of drones for studying wildlife ecophysiology

Techniques for non-invasive sampling of ecophysiological data in wild animals have been developed in response to challenges associated with studying captive animals or using invasive methods. Of these, drones, also known as Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and their associated sensors, have emerged as a promising tool in the ecophysiology toolkit. In this review, we synthesise research in a scoping review on the use of drones for studying wildlife ecophysiology using the PRISMA-SCr checklist and identify where efforts have been focused and where knowledge gaps remain. We use these results to explore current best practices and challenges and provide recommendations for future use. In 136 studies published since 2010, drones aided studies on wild animal body condition and morphometrics, kinematics and biomechanics, bioenergetics, and wildlife health (e.g. microbiomes, endocrinology, and disease) in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. Focal taxa are biased towards marine mammals, particularly cetaceans. While conducted globally, research is primarily led by institutions based in North America, Oceania, and Europe. The use of drones to obtain body condition and morphometric data through standard colour sensors and single camera photogrammetry predominates. Techniques such as video tracking and thermal imaging have also allowed insights into other aspects of wildlife ecophysiology, particularly when combined with external sampling techniques such as biologgers. While most studies have used commercially available multirotor platforms and standard colour sensors, the modification of drones to collect samples, and integration with external sampling techniques, have allowed multidisciplinary studies to integrate a suite of remote sensing methods more fully. We outline how technological advances for drones will play a key role in the delivery of both novel and improved wildlife ecophysiological data. We recommend that researchers prepare for the influx of drone-assisted advancements in wildlife ecophysiology through multidisciplinary and cross-institutional collaborations. We describe best practices to diversify across species and environments and use current data sources and technologies for more comprehensive results.

Strong scale-dependent relationships between fine-root function and soil properties uncovered with spatially coupled sampling

Substantial fine-root trait variation is found at fine spatial scales but rarely linked to edaphic variation. We assessed the spatial scales of variation in fine-root traits and adjacent soils using a spatially coupled, nested sampling scheme along a fertility gradient in a seasonally dry tropical forest tree, Handroanthus ochraceus. We examined relationships among fine-root traits and identified edaphic drivers of fine-root function. We collected fine-root samples at three scales: multiple samples within individual trees (separated by > 1 m), among trees in a site (3-60 m) and across three sites (15-60 km). We quantified physiological, symbiotic, morphological, chemical and architectural traits, and paired soil physical and chemical properties. Fine-root traits and soils often varied most at fine spatial scales. Root arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization and phosphomonoesterase activity were coordinated and driven by coarse-scale heterogeneity in bulk density, magnesium and phosphate. The trade-off between large diameter and high specific root length, respiration rate and nitrogen concentration was driven by fine-scale heterogeneity in ammonium. The role of base cations was notable, with nitrogen and phosphorus being less influential than expected. Intraspecific fine-root responses to edaphic properties can occur at multiple spatial scales simultaneously and be detected when variation in both is properly captured and spatially matched.

Spillovers and legacies of land management on temperate woodland biodiversity

Species distributions are a product of both current spatial configuration of habitats and legacies of historical land use. Here we explore current and historical drivers of species distributions, considering combined effects of spatial spillovers and temporal legacies, both within and between habitat types. We fit Bayesian hierarchical occupancy models to data on 373 species from four taxa (ground beetles, birds, vascular plants and small terrestrial mammals) from a chronosequence of 134 woodlands (10 to >250 years old) in temperate agricultural landscapes in the UK. Both spillovers and legacies affect species richness and community composition and, critically, these effects interact. Real-world combinations of spillovers and legacies result in different biodiversity responses compared with the individual factors in isolation. Woodland patches in landscapes with more old woodland and lower amounts of historical woodland loss tend to host more bird and plant but fewer beetle species. Failing to account for these drivers (in particular, legacy effects) gives a distorted view of habitat suitability. In consequence, the same management actions may result in unexpectedly different outcomes depending on the spatial and historical context within the landscape. A better understanding of spillovers and legacy effects on species distributions is required to design biodiversity-friendly, cost-effective land management.

Cotton production areas are at high risk of invasion by Amrasca biguttula (Ishida) (Cicadellidae: Hemiptera): potential distribution under climate change

BACKGROUND

The cotton jassid, Amrasca biguttula, a dangerous and polyphagous pest, has recently invaded the Middle East, Africa and South America, raising concerns about the future of cotton and other food crops including okra, eggplant and potato. However, its potential distribution remains largely unknown, posing a challenge in developing effective phytosanitary strategies. We used an ensemble model of six machine-learning algorithms including random forest, maxent, support vector machines, classification and regression tree, generalized linear model and boosted regression trees to forecast the potential distribution of A. biguttula in the present and future using presence records of the pest and bioclimatic predictors. The accuracy of these algorithms was assessed based on the area under the curve (AUC), correlation (COR), deviance and true skill statistic (TSS).

RESULTS

All algorithms showed good performance in forecasting the distribution of A. biguttula (AUC ≥ 0.91, COR ≥ 0.72, TSS ≥ 0.77 and deviance ≤ 0.65). Mean temperature of wettest quarter, mean temperature of driest quarter and precipitation of the wettest month were the key variables that contributed to predicting A. biguttula occurrence. Projection of the model showed that cotton production areas in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America are at threat of invasion by A. biguttula under the current climatic scenario. Additionally, range expansion for A. biguttula is projected in the future in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and China, indicating a suitable ecological niche for A. biguttula to thrive.

CONCLUSION

Our results provide early warning and decision-making information that can guide efforts to prevent this pest's further spread and invasion into new areas. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

Unexpected soundscape response to insecticide application in oak forests

Rachel Carson's warning of a silent spring directed attention to unwanted side effects of pesticide application. Though her work led to policies restricting insecticide use, various insecticides currently in use affect nontarget organisms and may contribute to population declines. The insecticide tebufenozide is used to control defoliating Lepidoptera in oak forests harboring rich insect faunas. Over 3 years, we tested the effect of its aerial application on bird populations with autonomous sound recorders in a large, replicated, full factorial field experiment during a spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) outbreak. The soundscape analysis combined automated aggregation of recordings into sound indices with species identification by experts. After pesticide application in the year of the outbreak, acoustic complexity in early summer was significantly reduced. The soundscape analysis showed that the reduction was not related to birds, but instead to the large reduction in caterpillar feeding and frass dropping. Effects on the vocal activity of birds were smaller than originally expected from a related study demonstrating tebufenozide's negative effect on bird breeding success. The legacy of the pesticide treatment, in terms of soundscape variation, was not present in the second year when the outbreak had ended. Our results showed a dimension of insecticide-induced acoustic variation not immediately accessible to the human ear. It also illustrated how a multifaceted soundscape analysis can be used as a generic approach to quantify the impact of anthropogenic stressors in novel ways by providing an example of remote and continuous sound monitoring not possible in conventional field surveys.

Tree root nutrient uptake kinetics vary with nutrient availability, environmental conditions, and root traits: a global analysis

Root nutrient uptake by trees is a critical process that couples carbon and nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. Yet, root nutrient uptake traits are poorly constrained, and the dynamics of this process are often not represented in models reflecting sparse measurements and understanding of root nutrient uptake physiology that lags those of aboveground physiology in forest ecosystems. Here, we present a global dataset of published nutrient uptake capacity and affinity values for tree species, with the goal of describing global patterns and evaluating responses to environmental drivers and associations with root traits. The dataset contains observations for ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate uptake spanning 77 tree species. Nutrient uptake capacity and affinity varied by more than an order of magnitude for each nutrient. Notably, tropical forests are underrepresented in these observations. Nutrient uptake capacity was generally diminished under nutrient enrichment but enhanced with soil warming and root-mycorrhizal colonization. The magnitude and direction of these effects can depend on the duration of exposure to a given treatment. Species with thinner roots had a tendency toward greater uptake capacity and affinity. Overall, root nutrient uptake traits are highly variable across tree species, yet they depend on environmental drivers and life-history strategies.

Nocturnal sucrose does not reflect the hydrogen isotope composition of transitory starch in leaves as expected

The hydrogen isotope composition (δ2H) of cellulose is inherently linked to that of sucrose synthesized in leaves. Daytime sucrose is synthesized from triose phosphates produced by the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle, while nighttime sucrose is synthesized from remobilized transitory starch in leaves. Photosynthetic metabolism causes starch to be naturally 2H-depleted relative to triose phosphates. Thus, sucrose δ2H values should vary diurnally. However, this has not been tested. We made diel measurements of sucrose and starch δ2H in three species differing in their sucrose/starch dynamics (bean, radish and sunflower) under climate controlled and steady-state isotopic conditions. Leaf starch was degraded at night and 2H-depleted by around 90‰ compared with daytime sucrose. However, in all tested species we surprisingly observed no effect on nighttime sucrose δ2H and, instead, only species-specific differences. Consequently, the apparent isotope fractionation associated with sucrose biosynthesis (εsucrose) was indistinguishable between day and night and within -140‰ to -180‰ across the three species. The lack of day/night variation in εsucrose could originate from cytosolic sugar metabolism and 2H-enrichment at H-atom positions counteracting the 2H-depletion in starch. Using a simplified steady-state isotopic model of metabolism, we show that differences in day/night fluxes can reduce the expected differences between day/night εsucrose. From a practical perspective, this suggests that: (i) estimating εsucrose at a single time point might be sufficient to capture δ2H variation under steady-state conditions; and (ii) to extract more than one metabolically sensitive isotope signals from a given compound, position-specific isotope analysis will be required.

Unveiling growth and carbon composition of macroalgae with different strategies under global change

Marine macroalgae ecosystems are increasingly recognized as potential contributors to carbon sequestration within blue carbon strategies. This study investigates how the carbon storage capacity of two macroalgal species with different living strategies, Fucus vesiculosus (k-strategy, slow-growing) and Ulva lactuca (r-strategy, fast-growing), respond to the individual or combined impacts of two drivers of global change, eutrophication and marine heatwaves. Differences in growth, biomass and carbon accumulation were assessed after 7 and 14 days in two experiments (field and laboratory) that tested different combinations of nutrient enrichment (increase nutrient/surface area of 1 g/cm2 in the field experiment and a concentration of 10 ml/l of Provasoli solution in the laboratory) and warming (5 °C increase) treatments. Results revealed that nutrient addition treatments had significant effects, reducing carbon incorporation by up to 22.5 % in F. vesiculosus compared to control. This reduction was particularly evident in the field experiment, suggesting that eutrophication negatively impacts the carbon storage potential of this slow-growing species. However, F. vesiculosus demonstrated greater resilience in maintaining biomass stability, whereas U. lactuca exhibited reduced growth and carbon accumulation under natural conditions. These findings highlight species-specific differences in carbon assimilation and biomass composition among macroalgae, which can influence their potential contribution to carbon cycling and storage in marine ecosystems, shaped by their ecological and physiological traits, and emphasize the importance of nutrient management for optimizing blue carbon storage. This research contributes to our understanding of macroalgae's role in climate mitigation and underscores the need for targeted conservation strategies to enhance their ecosystem services.

Fine-tuning mast seeding: as resources accumulate, plants become more sensitive to weather cues

Interannual variability of seed production, masting, has far-reaching ecological impacts, including effects on forest regeneration and the population dynamics of seed consumers. It is important to understand the mechanisms driving masting to predict how plant populations and ecosystem dynamics may change into the future, and for short-term forecasting of seed production to aid management. We used long-term observations of individual flowering effort in snow tussocks (Chionochloa pallens) and seed production in European beech (Fagus sylvatica) to test how endogenous resource levels and weather variation interact in driving masting. In both species, there was an interaction between the weather cue and plant resources. If resource reserves were high, even weak temperature cues triggered relatively high reproductive effort, and depleted resources suppressed reproduction even in the presence of strong cues. Resource dynamics played dual roles of both suppressant and prompter of reproduction, allowing plants to fine-tune the length of intervals between large seeding years regardless of variable cue frequency. The strong interaction between resource reserves and weather cues has immediate application in mast forecasting models increasingly important for global afforestation efforts. Moreover, the important role of resource reserves in the plant response to weather cues will dictate the masting responses to climate change.

Trade-Offs Between Growth, Longevity, and Storage Carbohydrates in Herbs and Shrubs: Evidence for Active Carbon Allocation Strategies

Plants store nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) like starch, fructans and soluble sugars to support metabolism, stress tolerance and defence during low photosynthesis, ultimately influencing their growth and longevity. However, the relationship between NSC composition and growth or persistence in wild plants remains unclear. This study explores trade-offs between growth, longevity and NSCs in 201 plant species across diverse climates in the Western USA, spanning 500-4300 m in elevation and 80-1000 mm in precipitation. Annual growth rates and plant ages were derived from the ring widths of semidesert, steppe and alpine herbs and shrubs, along with NSC profiles in their roots and rhizomes. Results showed an inverse relationship between growth and age, with total NSC, starch and fructan levels negatively correlated with growth, supporting the growth-longevity and growth-storage trade-off hypotheses. Conversely, higher growth rates were linked to soluble sugars, suggesting that climate-driven growth limitations alone do not explain increased NSCs. Fructans were positively associated with longevity, especially in long-lived desert shrubs and alpine herbs, underscoring NSCs' active role in survival strategies. These findings challenge the carbon surplus hypothesis, suggesting that plants actively use specific NSCs to balance growth and persistence, with energy-rich sugars promoting growth and osmoprotective fructans enhancing longevity.

Harpagifer bispinis, but not Patagonotothen tessellata, appears robust to interactive effects of ocean warming and acidification in southern Patagonia

Ocean warming and acidification challenge marine ectotherms with rapid, multiple and simultaneous environmental changes. As knowledge of these impacts on fish from the sub-Antarctic is scarce, this study seeks to explore the combined effects of warming and acidification on the thermal and metabolic responses of Patagonotothen tessellata and Harpagifer bispinis, two sympatric notothenioid fish from the Beagle Channel. Juveniles were exposed to present-day and near-future summer temperatures (∼10 and 13 °C) and pCO2 levels (∼500 and 1300 μatm) in a full factorial design. Their critical thermal minimum/maximum (CTmin/CTmax) were assessed and their partial thermal tolerance polygons were estimated. Oxygen consumption rates allowed us to calculate fish' aerobic scope (AS) as the difference between the standard and maximum metabolic rates (SMR and MMR). The CTmin of both species were affected by temperature, pCO2 level and their interaction, while the CTmax of P. tessellata was affected by both factors and that of H. bispinis, only by temperature. The partial thermal tolerance polygon of P. tessellata significantly decreased with future pCO2 levels, while no changes were observed for H. bispinis. In P. tessellata, SMR and MMR were affected by temperature and pCO2 levels and the AS by their interaction. Conversely, H. bispinis showed no differences in SMR, MMR and AS under different conditions. The increase in SMR and decrease in AS of P. tessellata with future temperatures and pCO2 levels may explain the changes in its thermal tolerance, while for H. bispinis, either the species has a greater capacity to adapt its metabolic response to warming and acidification, or different physiological processes are responsible for the observed changes in its thermal tolerance. Overall, present information could be a valuable tool for forecasting shifts in habitat suitability across the distribution range of both species and other similar fish in the context of climate change.

A mathematical framework for time-variant multi-state kinship modelling

Recent research on kinship modelling in demography has extended age-structured models (i) to include additional characteristics, or "stages" (multi-state kinship), and (ii) to time-variant situations. A wide variety of population structures can affect kinship networks. However, only one prior model has comprehensively considered such effects, and under specific assumptions relating to the nature of individuals' stages. As such, the leading multi-state framework for kin is theoretically limited in scope, and moreover, has yet to be implemented under time-variant demographic rates. Generalising kinship models to encompass arbitrary population characteristics and extending them to time-dependent processes remain open challenges in demography. This research proposes a methodology to extend multi-state kinship. We present a model which theoretically accounts for any stage, both in time-variant and time-invariant environments. Drawing from Markov processes, a concise mathematical alternative to existing theory is developed. The benefits of our model are illustrated by an application where we define stages as spatial locations, exemplified by clusters of local authority districts (LADs) in England and Wales. Our results elucidate how spatial distribution - a demographic characteristic ubiquitous across (and between) societies - can affect an individual's network of relatives.

Comparison of Large Language Model with Aphasia

Large language models (LLMs) respond fluently but often inaccurately, which resembles aphasia in humans. Does this behavioral similarity indicate any resemblance in internal information processing between LLMs and aphasic humans? Here, we address this question by comparing the network dynamics between LLMs-ALBERT, GPT-2, Llama-3.1 and one Japanese variant of Llama-and various aphasic brains. Using energy landscape analysis, we quantify how frequently the network activity pattern is likely to move from one state to another (transition frequency) and how long it tends to dwell in each state (dwelling time). First, by investigating the frequency spectrums of these two indices for brain dynamics, we find that the degrees of the polarization of the transition frequency and dwelling time enable accurate classification of receptive aphasia, expressive aphasia and controls: receptive aphasia shows the bimodal distributions for both indices, whereas expressive aphasia exhibits the most uniform distributions. In parallel, we identify highly polarized distributions in both transition frequency and dwelling time in the network dynamics in the four LLMs. These findings indicate the similarity in internal information processing between LLMs and receptive aphasia, and the current approach can provide a novel diagnosis and classification tool for LLMs and help their performance improve.

How urban proximity shapes agricultural pest dynamics: a review

Agricultural landscapes adjacent to human settlements are subject to unique ecological dynamics that influence pest populations, yet the complexity of these relationships remains relatively underexplored. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the impacts of urban proximity on agricultural plant pathogen pest dynamics, focusing on spatial distribution patterns, theoretical frameworks from landscape ecology, and the specific mechanisms driving these interactions. The urban heat island effect, habitat fragmentation, and human activities contribute to altered microclimates, reduced natural predator populations, and increased pest proliferation near settlements. Additionally, regulatory constraints on pest control near human communities further complicate management efforts. The role of urban environments as potential sources of agricultural pests is analyzed through empirical case studies, highlighting both predictable patterns and varying outcomes depending on specific local conditions. Gaps in understanding the movement of pests across urban-agricultural boundaries are discussed, alongside recommendations for future research aimed at enhancing pest control strategies in these complex landscapes. © 2025 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Blue Light Sonata: Dynamic variation of red:blue ratio during the photoperiod differentially affects leaf photosynthesis, pigments, and growth in lettuce

Vertical farming (VF) has unparalleled capacity to highly customize plant growth environments. In VF, red and blue LED lights are predominantly used as the two main wavelengths for photosynthesis. For many plants, red light increases biomass, and blue light can increase nutritional content. Because red light is more cost- and energy-efficient to produce than blue light, refined growth recipes are imperative to mutualistically improve efficiency with crop yield and quality. This study's aim was to balance lighting energy-use with growth and nutritional quality by using "dynamic lighting" recipes to reduce durations of high-intensity blue light. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) was grown for 21 days at 220 μmol m-2 s-1, receiving one of five R:B ratios (R:B100:0, R:B95:5, R:B89:11, R:B50:50, and R:B0:100) for either the whole 18-h photoperiod (Whole Day), the first 6 h of the photoperiod (Morning), or the last 6 h of the photoperiod (Evening). Morning and Evening treatments received low blue (R:B89:11) for the remaining 12 h of the day. The Morning and Evening high blue treatments had greater fresh weight and leaf area than their respective Whole Day treatments, attributed to reduced instantaneous leaf photosynthesis under high blue. High blue reduced photosynthesis during only the 6 h of Morning and Evening treatments, compared to the full impact of static high blue for 18-h Whole Day treatments. Intriguingly, with only 6 h of R:B0:100, Morning and Evening treatments had the same high anthocyanin content as lettuce grown for 18 h under R:B0:100. Therefore, daily blue light fraction can be reduced by using dynamic treatments to more efficiently promote growth and nutritional quality.

Multi-response phylogenetic mixed models: concepts and application

The scale and resolution of trait databases and molecular phylogenies is increasing rapidly. These resources permit many open questions in comparative biology to be addressed with the right statistical tools. Multi-response (MR) phylogenetic mixed models (PMMs) offer great potential for multivariate analyses of trait evolution. While flexible and powerful, these methods are not often employed by researchers in ecology and evolution, reflecting a specialised and technical literature that creates barriers to usage for many biologists. Here we present a practical and accessible guide to MR-PMMs. We begin with a review of single-response (SR) PMMs to introduce key concepts and outline the limitations of this approach for characterising patterns of trait coevolution. We emphasise MR-PMMs as a preferable approach for analyses involving multiple species traits, due to the explicit decomposition of trait covariances. We discuss multilevel models, multivariate models of evolution, and extensions to non-Gaussian response traits. We highlight techniques for causal inference using graphical models, as well as advanced topics including prior specification and latent factor models. Using simulated data and visual examples, we discuss interpretation, prediction, and model validation. We implement many of the techniques discussed in example analyses of plant functional traits to demonstrate the general utility of MR-PMMs in handling complex real-world data sets. Finally, we discuss the emerging synthesis of comparative techniques made possible by MR-PMMs, highlight strengths and weaknesses, and offer practical recommendations to analysts. To complement this material, we provide online tutorials including side-by-side model implementations in two popular R packages, MCMCglmm and brms.

Protected area coverage of the full annual cycle of migratory butterflies

Effective conservation of migratory species relies on habitat protection throughout their annual cycle. Although protected areas (PAs) play a central role in conservation, their effectiveness at conserving habitats across the annual cycle of migratory species has rarely been assessed. We developed seasonal ecological niche models for 418 migratory butterfly species across their global distribution to assess whether they were adequately represented in the PAs across their full annual cycle. PA coverage was inadequate in at least one season for 84% of migratory butterflies, adequate for only 17% of species in one season, and inadequate for 45% of species in all seasons. There was marked geographic variation in PA coverage: 77% of species met representation targets in Sri Lanka, for example, but only 32% met targets in Italy. Our results suggest that coordinated efforts across multiple countries will be needed to develop international networks of PAs that cover the full annual cycle of migratory insects and that conservation measures, in addition to the establishment and maintenance of PAs, are likely to be needed to effectively conserve these species.

Protected areas as hotspots of wildfire activity in fire-prone Temperate and Mediterranean biomes

The European Union has recently passed the Nature Restoration Law which, among others, seeks to increase the cover of forest reserves protected for biodiversity and, globally, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework similarly seeks to expand protected areas. Here we test whether a trade-off exists between protected areas expansion and fire activity, leading to a higher exposure to fire for the population in protected areas, because they often harbor more biomass and occur in remote areas. We analyzed forest fires affecting 14,892,174 ha, and intersecting 10,999 protected areas, across fire-prone European Temperate and Mediterranean forest biomes, and in similar ecosystems within California, Chile and Australia. Protected areas were being disproportionally affected by fire within most Temperate biomes, and fire severity was 20 % higher within protected areas also in Mediterranean biomes. Population in the periphery of forest areas was up to 16 times more likely to be exposed to large wildfires when their environment was within, or near, protected areas. Differences in manageable factors such as fuel loads and road density were primary drivers of the divergence in burned area across protection status, with abiotic factors playing also significant roles. The importance of fuel loads indicates that current plans for expanding strictly protected areas, where no human intervention is allowed, may be particularly problematic from a fire perspective. Wildfire prevention and mitigation must be central goals in the development of conservation/restoration programs to diminish population exposure and fire severity.

Potential distribution projections of mangrove forests and invasive plants under climate change: case insights from mangrove management in Guangdong Province, China

Mangrove ecosystems are vital for maintaining biodiversity, purifying water, sequestering carbon, and mitigating climate change in coastal regions. The geographical distribution of mangrove forests has been severely affected by global warming; therefore, it must be predicted under future climate scenarios to provide a scientific basis for conservation and restoration. In this study, we employed the MaxEnt model to predict the potential distribution of suitable mangrove areas in Guangdong Province under current conditions and two future climate scenarios (2030s and 2090s): SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5. The potential distributions of introduced mangrove plants (Laguncularia racemosa and Sonneratia apetala) were assessed to evaluate their suitability for mangrove restoration. Furthermore, we investigated the invasive potential of Spartina alterniflora, a biologically invasive species in mangrove ecosystems, under different climate scenarios. Finally, a conservation gap analysis was conducted to identify priority areas for mangrove protection. We observed the following: i) main environmental factors affecting the distribution pattern of mangroves in Guangdong Province were temperature and water quality; ii) hotspots of mangrove distribution are mainly concentrated in the Beibu Gulf coastline, Leizhou Gulf coastline, Zhenhai Bay-Dongping Harbor-Beijin Bay coastline, Zhuhai Harbor-Guangzhou Bay-Humen-Mawan Bay, Shuangyue Bay, and Rongjiang River estuary; iii) optimal zone of mangroves was the largest under the SSP5-8.5 scenario, and the potential suitable zone and geometric center of mangroves gradually shifted to higher latitudes; iv) the protection and restoration of mangroves should be prioritized in the future in the zones of Anpu Harbor, Leizhou Bay, Zhenhai Bay, and Huangmaohai and coastline of Pearl River Estuary.

A systematic review of marine macroalgal degradation: Toward a better understanding of macroalgal carbon sequestration potential

Although macroalgae are gaining recognition for their potential role in marine carbon sequestration, critical knowledge gaps related to the fate of macroalgal carbon limit our capacity to quantify rates of macroalgal carbon sequestration. Understanding the degradation dynamics of macroalgal-derived biomaterials-including tissue/wrack, particulate organic matter/carbon (POM/POC), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)-as well as the environmental drivers of decomposition are critical for assessing the longevity of macroalgal carbon and the potential storage capacity of macroalgae. Thus, a systematic literature review of macroalgal degradation studies was conducted to compile data, estimate the relative recalcitrance (i.e., relative stability) of macroalgal biomaterials, and elucidate key drivers of macroalgal decomposition dynamics. We found that macroalgal decay trajectories are highly variable and not always best described by the often-cited exponential decay models. Our analysis demonstrated that temperature was a notable driver of decomposition, with higher temperatures eliciting faster rates of decomposition. Furthermore, we found that brown algae had significantly higher proportions of recalcitrant biomaterials when compared to red algae. The impact of other factors, including biomaterial type, degradation environment, and tissue carbon and nitrogen content on macroalgal degradation, is variable across contexts, warranting further study. These results help to provide a foundation from which to plan and assess future studies on macroalgal degradation, which will improve our understanding of how macroalgae contribute to marine carbon cycles, trophic subsidies, and, potentially, marine carbon sequestration.

Uncovering the reciprocal effects of plant polyploidy and the microbiome: implications for understanding of polyploid success

Polyploidy plays a major role in diversification and speciation of almost all plants. Separately, the microbiome is recognized for its ubiquitous role in plant functioning. Despite the importance of both processes, we lack a synthetic picture of their reciprocal relationship. I forge this missing linkage by presenting the ways in which plant polyploidy can shape the microbiome and how the microbiome in turn can affect polyploid phenotype and fitness. I illustrate these interactions by drawing on the small, but compelling, set of comparisons of the plant-microbial community interaction with taxa representing different stages of the polyploid continuum and thereby shed light on how the advantages of polyploidy may be influenced by microbes. I use findings from a range of studies to build the case for plant-microbiome reciprocal interactions in both key pathways for polyploid persistence: overcoming their minority cytotype disadvantage and increasing competitive ability and/or niche shifts relative to diploids. I put forward how the microbiome likely plays a role in polyploid stress tolerance, abiotic niche breadth, range limits and coexistence. I conclude by identifying the research needed to test these hypotheses and how doing so could transform our understanding of polyploidy as a driver of plant ecology and evolution.

Individual Mechanical Energy Expenditure Regimens Vary Seasonally with Weather, Sex, Age and Body Condition in a Generalist Carnivore Population: Support for Inter-Individual Tactical Diversity

Diverse individual energy-budgeting tactics within wild populations provide resilience to natural fluctuations in food availability and expenditure costs. Although substantial heterogeneity in activity-related energy expenditure has been documented, few studies differentiate between responses to the environment and inter-individual differences stemming from life history, allometry, or somatic stores. Using tri-axial accelerometry, complemented by diet analysis, we investigated inter-individual within-season variation in overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA; activity intensity measure) and "Activity" (above an ODBA threshold) in a high-density population of European badgers (Meles meles). Weather (including wind speed) affected ODBA and activity according to predictors of earthworm (food) availability and cooling potential. In spring, maximal ODBA expenditure at intermediate rainfall and temperature values suggested that badgers traded foraging success against thermoregulatory losses, where lower-condition badgers maintained higher spring ODBA irrespective of temperature while badgers in better body condition reduced ODBA at colder temperatures. Conversely, in summer, lower-condition badgers modulated ODBA according to temperature, likely in response to super-abundant food supply. Between 35% (spring, summer) and 57% (autumn) of residual total daily ODBA variance related to inter-individual differences unexplained by seasonal predictors, suggesting within-season tactical activity typologies. We propose that this heterogeneity among individual energy-expenditure profiles may contribute to population resilience under rapid environmental change.

The evolution of thermal performance curves in response to rising temperatures across the model genus yeast

The maintenance of biodiversity crucially depends on the evolutionary potential of populations to adapt to environmental change. Accelerating climate change and extreme temperature events urge us to better understand and forecast evolutionary responses. Here, we harnessed the power of experimental evolution with the microbial model system yeast (Saccharomyces spp.) to measure the evolutionary potential of populations to adapt to future warming, in real-time and across the entire phylogenetic diversity of the genus. We tracked the evolution of thermal performance curves (TPCs) in populations of eight genetically and ecologically diverse species under gradually increasing temperature conditions, from 25 to 40 °C, for up to 600 generations. We found that evolving toward higher critical thermal limits generally came at a cost, causing a decrease in both thermal tolerance and maximum growth performance. The evolution of TPCs varied significantly between species with strong genotype-by-environment interactions, revealing two main trajectories: i) Warm-tolerant species showed an increase in both optimum growth temperature and thermal tolerance, consistent with the "hotter is wider" hypothesis. ii) Cold-tolerant species on the other hand evolved larger thermal breadth and higher thermal limits, but suffered from reduced maximum performance overall, consistent with the generalist or "a jack of all temperatures is a master of none" hypothesis. In addition, cold-tolerant species never reached the warm-tolerant species' upper thermal limits. Our results show that adaptive strategies to increasing temperatures are complex, highlighting the need to consider both within and between species diversity when predicting and managing the impacts of climate change on populations.

Silicon supplementation via carriers to enhance diatom competition with cyanobacterial blooms and remediate eutrophic waters

The proliferation of cyanobacteria due to eutrophication has become a critical environmental issue, adversely affecting aquatic ecosystems and water quality. This study explores the potential of silicon carriers to promote diatom growth as a strategy to outcompete harmful cyanobacteria, utilizing both continuous flow reactors and in-situ enclosures in a eutrophic lake. The carriers effectively supplemented metasilicates, increasing diatom biomass by 6.3 times while suppressing cyanobacterial densities by 50 %. Diatoms completely covering the carriers absorbed phosphorus from the water for their proliferation, thereby securing a competitive advantage over cyanobacteria in phosphorus utilization. This led to an 84 % reduction in total phosphorus (TP) concentrations, higher dissolved oxygen levels, and increased water transparency. The resource-based competition model demonstrated the competitive dynamics between diatoms and cyanobacteria mediated by carrier systems, while establishing the critical silicon-to-phosphorus ratio threshold (≥ max[566, 251 + 6.88/TP]) required for diatom dominance under a dilution rate of 0.1 per day. These findings highlight the potential of silicon carriers as an innovative approach for controlling cyanobacterial blooms while simultaneously improving water quality through silicon supplementation and enhancing the competitiveness of diatoms.

Projecting the effect of climate change on multiple Geomorphological hazard using machine learning data driven approaches

Land subsidence (LS) and collapsed pipes (CP) pose environmental and socio-economic threats in arid and semi-arid regions. This study assesses the effect of climate change to address these problems in Khorasan-Razavi province, Iran. Thus, we mapped soil landforms susceptible to LS and CP based on climatic, geolocic, topoghraphic, hydrologic and edaphic variables using an ensemble forecasting approach. Additionally, we predicted the future susceptibility of CP and LS based on two future emission scenario pathways (SSP 5-8.5 and SSP 1-2.6), in 2030, 2050, 2070, and 2090. The assessment showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) indicated that the ensemble model accurately predicted the distribution of CP and LS (AUC > 0.8). Slope and clay content proved to be the most important factors affecting CP, whereas distance from faults and precipitation seasonality played more roles in LS susceptibility. The classification results indicated varying susceptibility levels to CP and LS in Khorasan-Razavi province, with approximately 31.58% categorized as low and 15.24% as very high LS susceptibility, while 42.71% were in the low CP susceptibility class. Overall, 57.16% of the area is safe from both hazards; however, 6.16% is vulnerable to both hazards, with more than 35% at risk for at least one hazard. Future prediction models suggest that up to approximately 4% of the area will consist susceptible to both hazards under both scenario emissions and less than 1% of the study area will reduce susceptibility for both studied hazards in future. The majority of regions that remain susceptible are in the southern province. These results guide for soil management to protect soil and water from the effects of humans and climate alternation in poor areas worldwide.

Warmer and brighter winters than before: Ecological and public health challenges from the expansion of the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa)

Assessing the species ecological responses to ongoing climate change is a critical challenge in environmental science. Rising temperatures, particularly in winter, are altering the distribution patterns of many species, including the pine processionary moth (PPM), Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775). This Mediterranean species, a significant defoliator of conifers, is expanding its range northward as winter temperatures increase. The larvae of PPM also pose serious public health risks due to their ability to induce allergic reactions in humans, pets, and livestock. To better understand these ecological shifts, we calibrated three distribution models (Bayesian Additive Regression Trees, Boosted Regression Trees, and Random Forest) based on historical and modern occurrence data compiling of 1769 points, and assessed climate suitability under historical, current and future conditions. Our results show that winter minimum temperatures, summer maximum temperatures, and solar radiation significantly influence the life cycle, and shape the geographical distribution of PPM. Under current conditions, PPM could extend its range further north, but its limited flight capabilities hinder its ability to keep up with the pace of climate change. Future projections suggest continued northward expansion, although solar radiation is expected to limit the northernmost range of PPM. Certain host tree species of PPM are frequently used as ornamental plants, particularly in urban areas, which makes the careful selection of these species a potentially valuable tool for management. Our findings identify regions that are likely to become suitable for PPM colonization, where proactive measures could be implemented.

Global relationship between upwelling intensities and mangrove distribution and area

Mangroves are essential coastal ecosystems distributed across tropical and subtropical regions, typically found at the confluence of river systems and the sea. Although air temperature has long been recognised as a key determinant of mangrove distribution, upwelling systems that transport cold, nutrient-rich waters from the deep ocean to the surface can also impede mangrove propagule dispersion. However, global studies that examine the influence of upwelling on mangrove distribution remain scarce. In this study, our objective was to investigate the relationship between upwelling systems and global mangrove distribution, with an emphasis on range limits and area extent. We adopted a novel multi-scale approach by analysing mangrove areas at several minimum size thresholds (≥5 ha, ≥50 ha, ≥100 ha, ≥200 ha, and ≥ 300 ha) to evaluate the scale dependence of upwelling effects. Our regression models revealed a clear trend: the coefficient of determination (R2) increased from 0.20 for patches ≥5 ha to 0.37 for ≥50 ha, 0.43 for ≥100 ha, 0.49 for ≥200 ha, and reached 0.53 for patches ≥300 ha. Furthermore, low-upwelling regions harbour 47.7 % of the total mangrove area (66,763 km2), whereas high-upwelling regions account for only 0.5 % (2642 km2). We also found that the highest upwelling intensities occur exclusively in the Atlantic East Pacific mangrove region, a key environmental contrast to the Indo-West Pacific. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that upwelling systems are one factor shaping global mangrove distribution in a strongly scale-dependent manner, with larger, contiguous patches exhibiting a markedly stronger response. These insights emphasise the need to incorporate upwelling intensity and spatial scale into global mangrove conservation and management strategies. This integration is essential to address the complex interplay of environmental factors under shifting oceanographic and climatic conditions.