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Human interventions have a great potential of spatially cornering and limiting species, therefore investigating the species distribution is one of the most crucial issues for managing wildlife populations and suggesting robust conservation strategies. Water deer (Hydropotes inermis) are widespread in China throughout history and are endemic to East Asia. However, they disappeared from Northeast China for years. We rediscovered the water deer in a previous study in Jilin Province, China. Then, we conducted further research in Northeast China to determine their distribution status, supplying fundamental data for the recovery and expansion of their population. An interview survey, line transect survey and infrared camera monitoring were carried out in some counties/cities in Northeast China from June to December 2021. The results showed that the water deer were distributed in Wuchang city of Heilongjiang Province, Changbai Korean Autonomous County, Baishan Municipal District, Ji’an city, Hunchun city, Huadian city, Antu County and Helong County of Jilin Province, Benxi Manchu Autonomous County, Huanren Manchu Autonomous County, Kuandian Manchu Autonomous County, Fengcheng city and Donggang city of Liaoning Province. The ensemble species distribution model constructed by sdm within the TSS of various models that were set as weight revealed that the potential distribution area of the water deer in the study area was 8764.66 km2 (28.77% of the study area). Combining recent studies concerning the distribution of water deer and the current study, we updated the distribution of wild water deer in Northeast China, which is vital for their conservation worldwide.

IntroductionGlobal warming has led to frequent heat waves, causing global organisms to face severe survival challenges. However, the way in which heat waves threaten the fitness and survival of animals remains largely unclear. Oxidative damage and immunity are widely considered the link between heat waves and threats to animals.MethodsTo evaluate the oxidative damage caused by heat waves and to reveal the physiological resistance to heat waves by the antioxidant defense of animals from different latitudes, we exposed both high-latitude (Zhejiang) and low-latitude (Hainan) populations of Chinese pond turtle (Mauremys reevesii) to simulate heat waves and a moderate thermal environment for 1 week, respectively. Next, we compared the oxidative damage by malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant capacity by superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in the liver tissues and evaluated the innate immunity by serum complement protein levels (C3, C4) and lysozyme activity in plasma of turtles.Results and discussionWe found that heat waves significantly increased the content of MDA and the activity of CAT, whereas it decreased the activity of SOD, T-AOC, and GSH/GSSG in turtles from low latitudes. Furthermore, heat waves increased CAT activity but decreased GSH/GSSG in turtles from high latitudes. Although the turtles from high latitudes had higher levels of innate immunity, the heat waves did not affect the innate immunity of C3, C4, or lysozyme in either population. These results indicate that the low-latitude population suffered higher oxidative damage with lower antioxidant capacities. Therefore, we predict that Chinese pond turtles from low latitudes may be more vulnerable to heat waves caused by climate warming. This study reveals the physiological and biochemical resistance to heat waves in Chinese pond turtles from different latitudes and highlights the importance of integrative determination of fitness-related responses in evaluating the vulnerability of ectotherms from different latitudes to climate warming.

Recently, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represented by programmed cell death 1(PD-1) monoclonal antibody (mAb) have revolutionized the treatment mode of malignant tumors, and have achieved long-lasting antitumor effects in a variety of solid tumors. However, this antitumor effect is limited to a small subset of specific colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore, screening and identifying new immune checkpoint molecules are key points and hotspots in the research field of anti-tumor immunotherapy. The signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) family is mainly expressed by and regulates the functions of immune cells. Recent studies have shown that several SLAM family members are involved in the regulation of the tumor immune microenvironment, which are promising targets for anti-tumor immunotherapy. The signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family member 8 (SLAMF8) (B-lymphocyte activator macrophage expressed/CD353) is a type I cell surface glycoprotein and clusters on chromosome 1q21. Our previous studies have shown that SLAMF8 is a potential marker for predicting the efficacy of anti-PD1 immunotherapy in gastrointestinal tumors. To further illustrate the clinical value of SLAMF8 in CRC, we retrospectively analyzed the relationship between SLAMF8 expression and prognosis of CRC patients (CRCs), the associations of the expression levels of SLAMF8 and SLAM family other members and other classical immune checkpoint molecules, using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset, RNA sequencing dataset, tissue immunohistochemical staining, and systematic follow-up. In the present study, high SLAMF8 expression is associated with poor OS in CRCs. and the mRNA expression of SLAMF8 was positively correlated with the expression of multiple classical immune checkpoints (PDL1 PDL2, CTLA4, and LILRB4) and other SLAM family members. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis suggested that high SLAMF8 expression CRC tissues were significantly enriched in signaling pathways related to tumor and immune signal regulation

Studying the coexistence mechanisms of sympatric wildlife helps to shed light on why the earth has so many different species. When ungulates share ranges, food and habitat requirements may partially or fully overlap. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine how sympatric ungulates share limited resources. Carcasses of 27 adult blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and three adult red deer (Cervus elaphus alxaicus) were collected in the Helan Mountains, China. Nutritive indices of plant species foraged and morphometric measurements of the digestive system of the two sympatric ungulates were determined. In addition, 120 passive, infrared motion-triggered cameras recorded spatial overlap and temporal overlap between the two species. Camera trapping revealed relatively limited spatial overlap and significantly different activity rhythms between blue sheep and red deer. Differences were also observed in stomach weight, surface enlargement factor of the rumen, and intestine length between the two species. However, the combined relative weight of the stomach and intestine was not different between species. The low spatiotemporal overlap decreased opportunities for encounters between sympatric blue sheep and red deer, and significant differences in digestive systems allowed the two species to consume different plant species or different parts of the same species. Thus, the two sympatric ungulates coexist harmoniously in the Helan Mountains because of long-term evolutionary behavioral and physiological adaptations that eliminate negative effects on the survival of the other species.

Climate change poses different threats to animals across latitudes. Tropical species have been proposed to be more vulnerable to climate change. However, the responses of animals from tropical mountains to thermal variation and climate change have been scarcely studied. Here, we investigated the thermal biology traits of a tropical lizard (Takydromus kuehnei) distributed at high elevations (>950 m) and evaluated the vulnerabilities of T. kuehnei by thermal biology traits, thermal safety margin, and thermoregulatory effectiveness. The average active body temperatures of T. kuehnei in the field were 26.28°C and 30.65°C in April and June, respectively. The selected body temperature was 33.23°C, and the optimal temperature for locomotion was 30.60°C. The critical thermal minimum and critical thermal maximum temperatures were 4.79°C and 43.37°C, respectively. Accordingly, the thermal safety margin (1.23°C) and thermoregulatory effectiveness (1.23°C) predicted that T. kuehnei distributed in tropical mountains were not significantly depressed by environmental temperatures. This study implies that high-elevation species in tropical regions may not be severely threatened by ongoing climate change and highlights the importance of thermal biology traits in evaluating the vulnerability of species to climate change.

As postulated by life-history theory, not all life-history traits can be maximized simultaneously. In ectothermic animals, climate warming is predicted to increase growth rates, but at a cost to overall life span. Maternal effects are expected to mediate this life-history trade-off, but such effects have not yet been explicitly elucidated. To understand maternal effects on the life-history responses to climate warming in lizard offspring, we conducted a manipulative field experiment on a desert-dwelling viviparous lacertid lizard Eremias multiocellata, using open-top chambers in a factorial design (maternal warm climate and maternal present climate treatments × offspring warm climate and offspring present climate treatments). We found that the maternal warm climate treatment had little impact on the physiological and life-history traits of adult females (i.e. metabolic rate, reproductive output, growth and survival). However, the offspring warm climate treatment significantly affected offspring growth, and both maternal and offspring warm climate treatments interacted to affect offspring survival. Offspring from the warm climate treatment grew faster than those from the present climate treatment. However, the offspring warm climate treatment significantly decreased the survival rate of offspring from maternal present climate treatment, but not for those from the maternal warm climate treatment. Our study demonstrates that maternal effects mediate the trade-off between growth and survival of offspring lizards, allowing them to grow fast without a concurrent cost of low survival rate (short life span). These findings stress the importance of adaptive maternal effects in buffering the impact of climate warming on organisms, which may help us to accurately predict the vulnerability of populations and species to future warming climates.

Reptiles are especially vulnerable to climate warming because their behavior, physiology, and life history are highly dependent on environmental temperature. In this study, we envisaged new probable mechanisms underlying the high vulnerability of lizards, wherein heat exposure induces oxidative stress and leads to immunosuppression. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a warming experiment on a lizard (Eremias multiocellata) from a desert steppe in Inner Mongolia from May to September using open-top chambers set up in their natural habitat and compared the components of oxidative stress (antioxidant ability [Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity], extent of oxidative damage [malondialdehyde (MDA) content]), and immunocompetence (white blood cells [WBC] counts and immunoglobulin M [IgM] expression) between the warming and control groups. At the end of the experiment, the warming treatment did not affect the survival rate of the lizards. However, MDA content, but not SOD activity, was significantly higher in the warming group than in the control group. The WBC counts and IgM expression were significantly lower in the warming group than in the control group. Our results verified our hypothesis and provided novel cues and methods for the investigation of the mechanisms behind the high probability of extinction of other ectotherms under warming conditions.

Understanding how organisms respond to warming contributes important information to the conservation of biodiversity that is threatened by climate warming. Here, we conducted experiments on a desert agama (Phrynocephalus przewalskii) to test the hypothesis that climate warming (an increase in both mean temperature and heat waves) would induce oxidative stress, shortening telomere length, and thereby decreasing survival. Our results demonstrated that one week of exposure to a simulated heat wave significantly shortened telomere length, and decreased the overwinter survival of lizards, but mean temperature increase did not affect the survival of lizards. However, the antioxidant capacity (anti-oxidative enzyme) was not affected by the warming treatments. Therefore, heat waves might have negative impacts on the desert agama, with shortened telomeres likely causing the lifespan of lizards to decrease under climate warming.

We mimic unique honeycomb structure as well as its functions of storing honey and pollen to assemble Au nanoparticle pattern on honeycomb-like Al nanobowl array by utilizing solid state dewetting process. Patterned Au nanoarrays of ‘one particle per bowl’ with tunable plasmonic bands ranging from the visible to the near-infrared region are fabricated by finely selecting the initial thickness of Au film, the geometry of Al nanobowl array and the thermal treatment parameters. This work presents a powerful approach to assemble Au nanoparticles into high density nanoarrays with superior spatial resolution, offering highly concentrated electromagnetic fields for plasmonic sensor applications.