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Bacterial communities in animals are often necessary for hosts to survive, particularly for hosts with nutrient-limited diets. The composition, abundance, and richness of these bacterial communities may be shaped by host identity and external ecological factors. The turtle ants (genus Cephalotes) are predominantly herbivorous and known to rely on bacterial communities to enrich their diet. Cephalotes have a broad Neotropical distribution, with high diversity in the South American Cerrado, a geologically and biologically diverse savanna. Using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, we examined the bacterial communities of forty-one Cephalotes samples of sixteen different species collected from multiple locations across two sites in the Cerrado (MG, Brazil) and compared the bacterial communities according to elevation, locality, species, and species group, defined by host phylogeny. Beta diversity of bacterial communities differed with respect to all categories but particularly strongly when compared by geographic location, species, and species group. Differences seen in species and species groups can be partially explained by the high abundance of Mesorhizobium in Cephalotes pusillus and Cephalotes depressus species groups, when compared to other clades via the Analysis of Composition of Microbiome (ANCOM). Though the Cephalotes bacterial community is highly conserved, results from this study indicate that multiple external factors can affect and change bacterial community composition and abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity of specialized molecules produced by plants radiating along ecological gradients is thought to arise from plants' adaptations to local conditions. Therefore, closely related species growing in similar habitats should phylogenetically converge, or diverge, in response to similar climates, or similar interacting animal communities. We here asked whether closely related species in the genus Haplopappus (Asteraceae) growing within the same elevation bands in the Andes, converged to produce similar floral odors. To do so, we combine untargeted analysis of floral volatile organic compounds with insect olfactory bioassay in congeneric Haplopappus (Asteraceae) species growing within the same elevation bands along the Andean elevational gradient. We then asked whether the outcome of biotic interactions (i.e., pollination vs. seed predation) would also converge across species within the same elevation. We found that flower odors grouped according to their elevational band and that the main floral visitor preferred floral heads from low‐elevation band species. Furthermore, the cost–benefit ratio of predated versus fertilized seeds was consistent within elevation bands, but increased with elevation, from 6:1 at low to 8:1 at high elevations. In the light of our findings, we propose that climate and insect community changes along elevation molded a common floral odor blend, best adapted for the local conditions. Moreover, we suggest that at low elevation where floral resources are abundant, the per capita cost of attracting seed predators is diluted, while at high elevation, sparse plants incur a higher herbivory cost per capita. Together, our results suggest that phytochemical convergence may be an important factor driving plant–insect interactions and their ecological outcomes along ecological gradients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is the first report on ticks infesting domestic animals of the tribal communities and wildlife in Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala, India. Questing ticks in the sanctuary were collected through dragging methods and hand collection from domestic animals was used to collect feeding ticks. Among the total 3,081 ticks collected, 2,350 questing ticks were obtained from the forest floor, and 731 ticks were recorded from 40 different domestic animals belonging to four species. The present collection recorded eight Haemaphysalis species: Ha. spinigera, Ha. leachii, Ha. shimoga, Ha. kinneari, Ha. kyasanurensis, Ha. turturis, Ha. bispinosa, Ha. intermedia and one Amblyomma species: Am. integrum from the sanctuary. Whereas five Haemaphysalis species: Ha. bispinosa, Ha. intermedia, Ha. shimoga, Ha. spinigera, Ha. turturis and four Rhipicephalus species: Rh. sanguineus, Rh. haemaphysaloides, Rh. microplus and Rh. annulatus were reported from domestic animals. High abundance of Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) vectors, Ha. spinigera and Ha. turturis have been documented from the sanctuary. Relative abundance of Ha. bispinosa was significantly higher in all the domestic animals examined. Tick infestation rate was higher in goats followed by cows, dogs, and cats. Whereas the species richness of ticks was highest in cows and lowest in cats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal ecology and evolution are shaped by environmental perturbations, which are undergoing unprecedented alterations due to climate change. Fire is one such perturbation that causes significant disruption by causing mortality and altering habitats and resources for animals. Fire regimes are changing on a global scale, but the effects of these changes on animal communities are poorly understood. Arthropods are one of the most ubiquitous and diverse animal taxa on the planet and their populations are sensitive to environmental change. Given their wide‐ranging impacts on ecosystem functioning, a better understanding of arthropod responses to changing fire regimes is critical and may also provide more general insights into how other groups might respond to fire.Here, we provide a comprehensive meta‐analytical assessment of how fire influences the arthropod community across habitats and functional groups. Using data from 130 peer‐reviewed papers across the globe, we tested how a variety of fire characteristics, including management regime, severity and time‐since‐fire affect arthropod populations and communities across habitats.Our results show that arthropod communities display substantial variation in response to fire and that community‐level responses are most likely to be detected within the first year. Responses also vary depending on fire characteristics and habitat. Specifically, while community metrics such as diversity were increased by low severity fires, they were reduced by high severity fires. Likewise, evenness increased after prescribed burns but was reduced after wildfire. Measures of arthropod community structure decreased following fires in deserts and forests.Across the entire arthropod community, fire also had variable effects on community diversity. Fire tended to have a negative effect size on arthropods across life stages, but responses did vary among groups. Nearly all functional groups exhibited a negative response to fire with the exception of herbivores, for which abundance, diversity and richness increased after fire.Our results suggest that the increasing prevalence of high‐severity wildfires are changing the structure of arthropod communities. Given their ubiquitous presence and diverse roles in terrestrial ecosystems, these community changes are likely to affect ecosystem functioning in various ways, including through increased herbivory. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Rates of habitat destruction are increasing globally, and recent years have seen a growing focus on returning lands degraded through anthropogenic activities to functional and sustainable ecosystems. Animals provide a range of services critical to healthy ecosystems, yet in assessments of restoration progress they are often assumed to return passively following the reinstatement of native flora and vegetation. Aims and methods: We used remote sensing camera traps to assess the impact of early stage habitat restoration on the structure and diversity of fauna communities on a mine site in the Mid West region of Western Australia. We aimed to assess whether early stage habitat restoration supports animal communities with similar diversity and community structure (foraging guilds) to those found in reference, unmined vegetation. Key results: Although early stage habitat restoration facilitated the establishment of animal communities with similar diversity to that of the reference vegetation; the foraging guilds using restoration vegetation differed significantly from those in the reference vegetation. Early stage restoration was particularly attractive to herbivores but may lack some key resources, for example leaf litter, course woody debris, and appropriate refuge sites, necessary for the return of granivores, insectivores, and omnivores. Conclusions and implications: It is unlikely that early stage habitat restoration will support a similar species composition to established restoration, but it is crucial to monitor restoration along a trajectory to ensure efforts do not ultimately fail. Assessing the responses of fauna from a range of guilds and trophic levels is critical to determining whether habitat restoration is effectively returning functional and self-sustaining animal communities. Animals are critical to healthy and functional ecosystems, yet are broadly overlooked in assessments of habitat restoration success. We use camera trapping to highlight that early stage habitat restoration may facilitate an overabundance of some animal groups, e.g. herbivores, which may be detrimental to restoration efforts. Assessing the responses of animals to habitat restoration is critical to determining whether restoration is effectively returning functional and self-sustaining animal communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Protected areas are important in mitigating threats to biodiversity, including land conversion. Some of the largest protected areas are located in biodiverse savanna systems where a mosaic of land-uses exist beyond their borders. The protected areas located in such systems are often host to threatened species and diverse animal communities. In spite of the ecosystem services birds provide, we do not know how functionally and evolutionary diverse the community is in north-eastern South Africa, or what the drivers of such diversity are inside and outside one of the world's largest savanna protected areas: Kruger National Park (KNP). Objectives: Firstly, we aimed to investigate how bird species richness, functional richness, phylogenetic and beta diversity (including its components), and rarity differed across the KNP protected area and its adjacent mosaic. Secondly, we aimed to investigate the habitats and proximity to the KNP boundary that drove patterns across three biodiversity metrics. We also investigated whether differences in sample sizes of the citizen science data we employed, impacted results in a significant manner. Methods: To investigate our aims, we used bird species records from the Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2 (a citizen science project that collects data at a 5 min latitude by 5 min longitude resolution), and for elucidating drivers of community composition, we used a finer scale remotely sensed product. Results: Human infrastructure, water sources and tree cover were overall the most significant and strongest drivers of bird diversity in the region; however, the patterns were complex. Specifically, we found that species richness was strongly and positively influenced by seasonal water and infrastructure mostly inside the protected area (KNP). Most significantly and somewhat concerning, though, were the strong negative effects that infrastructure had on bird functional and phylogenetic diversity inside KNP and, to a lesser extent, inside the mosaic. Seasonal water had a similarly strong but positive effect on species richness in the protected area, a random sub-sample of the former and the mosaic. Tree cover also had a negative and significant effect across the region on phylogenetic diversity and was the strongest driver of this diversity metric. Conclusions: Our results displayed the significant but negative influence that relatively little infrastructure had on bird functional- and phylogenetic diversity inside the KNP protected area despite its positive effect on species richness. Water sources across the protected area-mosaic landscapes also significantly affected regional savanna bird community richness. An increase in tree cover negatively affected phylogenetic diversity inside and outside the protected area as well as the mosaic: a similar finding to other studies in South African savanna systems. We showed the importance of habitat heterogeneity, specifically its components such as infrastructure, freshwater systems and tree cover, and how these impact independently and differently on bird communities across a large biogeographical savanna region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 20st century, the Mediterranean landscape has been transformed by the appearance of pine plantations of considerable economic value. However, these plantations are highly flammable and, together with other factors (rural depopulation and climate change), they have altered the natural fire regime to an anthropogenic one where fires are now more frequent, larger, and more intense. The abundant literature focused on responses to fire reports widely varying results, indicating positive, negative or neutral responses depending on the taxonomic group or the region sampled. The lack of general trends challenges conservation actions to mitigate the effect of fire on biodiversity. Comparative studies among taxa at a single locality are needed in order to identify similar or opposing responses to fire. In this study, we examine the response of soil and vegetation arthropod communities to fire in four burnt pine plantations in western North Africa. According to our results, the response of arthropods to fire varied between the two structural layers sampled. Overall soil arthropod abundance excluding Formicidae decreased with fire, this effect being particularly negative for the abundance of Coleoptera, Blattodea, and Isopoda. By contrast, vegetation arthropod communities increased in abundance after fire, this pattern being especially pronounced for Coleoptera and Orthoptera. Implications for insect conservation: As a whole, our results imply that the response of arthropods 5–9 years since fire shows opposing results regarding the taxonomic group analyzed and the structural layer sampled. This finding is key for land managers to understand the impact of fire on animal communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accumulated ice has brought much damage to engineering and people's lives. The accumulation of ice can affect the flight safety of aircraft and lead to the failure of cables and power generation blades; it can even cause damage to human life. Traditional anti-icing and de-icing strategies have many disadvantages such as high energy consumption, low efficiency, or pollution of the environment. Therefore, inspired by animal communities, researchers have developed new passive anti-icing materials such as superhydrophobic material. In this paper, the solid surface wetting phenomenon and superhydrophobic anti-icing and de-icing mechanism were introduced. The methods of fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces were summarized. The research progress of wear-resistant superhydrophobic coatings, self-healing/self-repairing superhydrophobic coatings, photothermal superhydrophobic coatings, and electrothermal superhydrophobic coatings in the field of anti-icing and de-icing was reviewed. The current problems and challenges were analyzed, and the development trend of superhydrophobic materials was also prospected in the field of anti-icing and de-icing. The practicality of current superhydrophobic materials should continue to be explored in depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Mastitis is a prevalent issue worldwide among lactating animals. It continues to be a serious problem since it has an economic impact on farmers due to direct and indirect losses. The multifactorial nature of this disease, coupled with the limitations of classical culture-based methods to identify uncultivable bacteria under normal laboratory conditions, exacerbates the situation. In the current study, milk samples from the well-known buffalo breed (Nili Ravi) were tested to explore bacterial communities associated with different udder health statuses using the 16S rRNA gene-based metagenomics technique. The bacterial communities in buffaloes with different udder health statuses, such as healthy, clinical mastitis, and subclinical mastitis, exhibited varied abundance at different taxonomic levels. Additionally, the study concluded that bacterial diversity in milk samples decreases in animals suffering from clinical mastitis compared to those with a healthy or subclinical mastitis status. These findings will contribute to our understanding of bacterial diversity's role in mastitis development. The Nili Ravi, a buffalo breed from Pakistan, significantly contributes to the dairy industry. Mastitis is one of the major challenges affecting milk production in this breed. The objective of the current study was to identify the bacterial communities and diversity in healthy and mastitic milk of this breed. Milk samples (n = 14) were collected from Nili Ravi buffaloes with different udder health statuses, i.e., healthy (5), subclinical mastitis (4), and clinical mastitis (5). The DNAs were extracted, subjected to partial amplification of 16S rDNA (V3 and V4 regions), and sequenced using the Illumina platform. The results revealed variations in the bacterial communities in the milk of animals with different udder health statuses. Proteobacteria was the predominant phylum in the healthy group, while clinical and subclinical mastitis milk had a higher abundance of Firmicutes. Dominant bacterial genera in the healthy group were Streptococcus (11.60%), Herbaspirillum (7.65%), and Staphylococcus (4.70%), whereas the clinical mastitis group was dominated by Streptococcus (33.96%), Staphylococcus (7.87%), and Corynebacterium (2.68%), and the subclinical mastitis group was dominated by Bacillus (15.70%), Corynebacterium (6.70%), and Staphylococcus (6.58%). Assignment of operational taxonomic units at the species level resulted in most species being assigned to uncultured or unknown bacteria or remaining unassigned. Alpha diversity indices indicated lower microbial diversity in the clinical mastitis group, while beta diversity indices showed a scattered pattern of sample clustering in PCA plots among different groups. It is concluded that bacterial diversity in the milk of Nili Ravi buffaloes suffering from clinical mastitis is lower compared to healthy and subclinical mastitis cases. It is concluded that the variations in the microbiota of healthy and mastitic milk may be further investigated and exploited as signature microbes associated with the udder health status of Nili Ravi buffalo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) can cause illness, morbidity, and occasional mortality in children. Agro-pastoralist and pastoralist children in the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia (ESRS) are especially at risk for IPIs, as access to safe water, sanitation, and health services is lacking. Minimal data on the prevalence of IPIs and associated risk factors exists in this region. Methodology: We assessed the prevalence of IPIs and associated risk factors during the wet season from May-June 2021 in 366 children aged 2 to 5 years in four agro-pastoralist and four pastoralist kebeles (wards) in Adadle woreda (district) of the Shebelle zone, ESRS. Household information, anthropometric measurements, and stool samples were obtained from included children. Parasites were identified microscopically using Kato-Katz and direct smear methods. Risk factors were assessed using general estimating equation models accounting for clustering. Principal findings: Overall prevalence of IPIs was 35%: 30.6% for single infections and 4.4% for poly-parasitic infections. Intestinal protozoan prevalence was 24.9%: 21.9% Giardia intestinalis, and 3.0% Entamoeba spp.. Intestinal helminth prevalence was 14.5%: 12.8% Ascaris lumbricoides, 1.4% hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale /Necator americanus.), and 0.3% Hymenolepis nana. G. intestinalis infection was associated with drinking water sourced from the river (aOR 15.6, 95%CI 6.84, 35.4) and from collected rainwater (aOR 9.48, 95%CI 3.39, 26.5), with toilet sharing (aOR 2.93, 95%CI 1.36, 6.31) and with household ownership of cattle (1–5 cattle: aOR 1.65, 95%CI 1.13, 2.41; 6+ cattle: aOR 2.07, 95%CI 1.33, 3.21) and chickens (aOR 3.80, 95%CI 1.77, 8.17). A. lumbricoides infection was associated with children 36 to 47 months old (aOR 1.92, 95%CI 1.03, 3.58). Conclusions/Significance: Improving access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services in Adadle and employing a One Health approach would likely improve the health of children living in (agro-) pastoralist communities in Adadle and the ESRS; however, further studies are required. Author summary: Intestinal parasitic infections remain a silent threat to the health and life-trajectories of children living in areas with inadequate access to clean water, proper sanitation, and hygiene facilities, including the Somali region of Ethiopia. A large majority in this region live as pastoralists (semi-mobile animal herders), in close contact with their animals and nature, at risk for climate-related threats like drought and flooding, and at risk for infectious agents like intestinal parasites. We assessed the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in pastoralist children in the Adadle district of the Somali region of Ethiopia (ESRS), and the individual and household-level factors associated with these infections. We found that locally collected water, shared toilets, along with ownership of cows and chickens increased the risk for having an intestinal parasitic infection with Giardia intestinalis, which can cause diarrhea and is transmitted through water, food, and soil that have been contaminated by the feces of infected humans and animals. If access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure is not improved, these infections remain recurrent in these communities and their animals, continually affecting the health of children. This study is one of few involving pastoralists in this region, hopefully lending guidance to regional public health policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing disconnect between children and nature has led to concerns around the loss of ecological knowledge and reduced nature connection. Understanding children's perceptions of nature is vital for engaging them with local wildlife and mitigating this growing disconnect. This study investigated children's perceptions of nature by analysing 401 drawings made by children (aged 7–11) of their local green spaces, collected from 12 different English schools, including state-funded and privately funded. We assessed which animal and plant groups were drawn the most and least often, quantified each drawing's species richness and community composition, and identified all terms used in the drawings to the highest taxonomic resolution possible. The most commonly drawn groups were mammals (80.5% of drawings) and birds (68.6% of drawings), while herpetofauna were the least commonly drawn (15.7% of drawings). Despite not explicitly being asked about plants, 91.3% of drawings contained a plant. Taxonomic resolution was highest for mammals and birds, with 90% of domestic mammals and 69.6% of garden birds identifiable to species, compared to 18.5% of insects and 14.3% of herpetofauna. No invertebrates other than insects were identifiable to species. Within plants, trees and crops were the most identifiable to species, at 52.6% and 25% of terms respectively. Drawings from state-school children had higher plant richness than those from private-school children. Animal community composition differed between school funding types, with more types of garden birds drawn by private-school than state-school children, and more types of invertebrates drawn by state-school than private-school children. Our findings indicate that children's perceptions of local wildlife are focused on mammals and birds. While plants feature prominently, plant knowledge is less specific than animal knowledge. We suggest that this skew in children's ecological awareness be addressed through better integration of ecology within national curricula and more funding for green space within schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevention and control of invasive of alien species is an important work for nature reserves. This study analyzes the development trend of the alien species sika deer in Liancheng National Nature Reserve. From October 2019 to June 2020, 3523 valid photos and videos of terrestrial animals were acquired from 130 camera traps, and sika deer were recorded in 21 photos from 13 traps. The survival of the sika deer population was investigated by means of morphological identification, population structure analysis, species relative abundance indices, and species spatial association analysis. A total of 13 sika deer individuals were identified by camera trapping, including two kids and three subadults representing the reproductive capacity of the population. Spatially, sika deer is not associated with any local species and was outside the spatial association network of terrestrial animals in Liancheng National Nature Reserve, indicating that the sika deer population has not been integrated into the local community and has failed to perform its ecological function. It is worth noting that the reserve provides habitat suitable for sika deer and that the population has adequate reproductive capacity. Due to the lack of large apex predators in the reserve, the population size of ungulates such as sika deer, red deer, and Siberian roe deer may expand and lead to population outbreaks and the associated problems for the ecosystem. To restore large‐ and medium‐sized carnivores and avoid the population outbreak of the species, the present challenges require immediate attention in Liancheng National Nature Reserve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early naturalists such as Humboldt observed that changes in topography and anthropogenic disturbances influenced vegetation structure and the composition of animal communities. This holistic view of community assembly continues to shape conservation and restoration strategies in an era of landscape degradation and biodiversity loss. Today, remote sensing affords ecologists the tools for obtaining rapid and precise measures of topography, disturbance history and vegetation structure. Nonetheless, the capacity of such measures to predict the structure of diverse and functionally important insect communities has not been fully explored.We sampled ground‐dwelling ant assemblages with pitfall traps along a successional gradient (15 grasslands, 21 shrublands and 44 forests) in subtropical Asia, and measured the taxonomic (TD) and functional diversity (FD). We used airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and aerial photography—to measure topography, anthropogenic‐fire history and vegetation structure at each site. Using structural equation models, we tested the hypothesis that vegetation structure mediated the effects of topography and anthropogenic‐fire history on ant assemblage TD and FD, with stronger effects on the latter.We found that low elevation and anthropogenic‐fire history promoted ant TD, and by mediating vegetation structure, these factors further controlled ant FD. Specifically, assemblages of ant species occupying more similar niches—as indicated by their lower FD—were found in secondary forests that had more structurally homogeneous vegetation. These sites also had low insolation and high water moisture content, and were not recently burned as revealed by LiDAR‐derived metrics and aerial images. Furthermore, remotely sensed vegetation structures were closely associated with individual ant traits, such as body size and eye length, which reflect species' preferences for habitat structure.Synthesis. Our study uncovers the interactive effects of topography, disturbance history and vegetation structure in determining the TD and FD of ant assemblages in subtropical landscapes. Moreover, it demonstrates that remote sensed data can be leveraged to efficiently elucidate the complex effects of environmental change and disturbances on vegetation structure and consequently insect biodiversity, representing ecological proxies to refine ground investigation plans and support appropriate conservation and restoration measures for degraded landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mangroves often support rich fish and crustacean communities, although faunal abundance and diversity show strong spatiotemporal variability. Consistent patterns in mangrove animal communities might be dictated by forest characteristics, by seascape context or by some combination of these factors. Predicting drivers of spatial heterogeneity in mangrove faunal communities can better support the zoning of forests for management purposes, for example by identifying sites important for fisheries nursery provision.We sampled 14 sites within a large (4000 ha) mangrove forest in Kenya, quarterly over a period of 2 years. There were clear and consistent differences in the quality of sites for fish and crustacean abundance and diversity.Forest characteristics (as summarised by the complexity index, CI) and seascape metrics (the presence, area and configuration of contiguous seagrass) were strong predictors of site differences. However, they showed opposite influences on dominant members of the fish and crustacean faunas, with CI correlated negatively with fishes and positively with crustaceans, and seagrass area correlated positively with fishes and negatively with crustaceans.Synthesis and applications. Sites within the same mangrove forest exhibit consistent differences in fish and crustacean abundance. However, the fish and crustacean communities (and particularly dominant species within them) act differently in response to forest and seascape characteristics. Old growth, mature forest, set in a seascape of seagrass patches with bare sediment, was associated with highest crustacean abundance. In contrast, denser smaller trees and seascapes with larger, continuous areas of seagrass correlated better with fish abundance. Zoning for management, as mandated in new Kenyan policy, will need to consider these differences in seascape use between fish and crustaceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Ecological theory has predicted that species richness should stabilize communities, with mechanisms including species synchrony and population variability determining the net impacts. While these theories have been supported empirically, results can be sensitive to taxonomic bias as studies are often focussed on plants. Trophic differences between consumers and primary producers can lead to varying stabilizing effects of species richness. Here, we compared the impact of species richness on community variability in four taxonomic groups: terrestrial birds, mammals, invertebrates and plants. Location: Global. Method: Using data from 6763 time series globally (BioTIME) for four terrestrial taxa, we quantified community and population variability and species synchrony based on abundance fluctuations over time. Results: Species richness destabilized communities through increasing synchrony and stabilized communities through reducing population variability in all taxa. Such opposing effects weakened the net impacts of species richness on communities. Population variability had higher importance relative to synchrony in plant communities. By contrast, synchrony had more comparable (or even higher) importance compared with population variability in animal communities. When synchrony and population variability were not controlled, stabilizing impacts of species richness were detected in plant communities only. Main Conclusions: Our results highlight how species richness drives stabilizing and destabilizing mechanisms simultaneously across all taxa, with strong taxonomic variation in the relative importance of these mechanisms in regulating community variability. This questions the generality of previous findings on stabilizing impacts of species richness based on limited taxonomic coverage. Additionally, our results indicate the need to understand how the importance of stabilizing and destabilizing mechanisms differs in determining community variability across organisms and environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential for animals to modify spatial patterns of nutrient limitation for autotrophs and habitat availability for other members of their communities is increasingly recognized. However, net trophic effects of consumers acting as ecosystem engineers remain poorly known. The American Alligator Alligator mississippiensis is an abundant predator capable of dramatic modifications of physical habitat through the creation and maintenance of pond‐like basins, but its role in influencing community structure and nutrient dynamics is less appreciated.We investigated if alligators engineer differences in nutrient availability and changes to community structure by their creation of 'alligator ponds' compared to the surrounding phosphorus (P)‐limited oligotrophic marsh.We used a halo sampling design of three distinct habitats extending outward from 10 active alligator ponds across a hydrological gradient in the Everglades, USA. We performed nutrient analysis on basal food‐web resources and quantitative community analyses, and stoichiometric analyses on plants and animals.Our findings demonstrate that alligators act as ecosystem engineers and enhance food‐web heterogeneity by increasing nutrient availability, manipulating physical structure and altering algal, plant and animal communities. Flocculent detritus, an unconsolidated layer of particulate organic matter and soil, showed strong patterns of P enrichment in ponds. Higher P availability in alligator ponds also resulted in bottom‐up trophic transfer of nutrients as evidenced by higher growth rates (lower N:P) for plants and aquatic consumers. Edge habitats surrounding alligator ponds contained the most diverse communities of invertebrates and plants, but low total abundance of fishes, likely driven by high densities of emergent macrophytes. Pond communities exhibited higher abundance of fish compared to edge habitat and were dominated by compositions of small invertebrates that track high nutrient availability in the water column. Marshes contained high numbers of animals that are closely tied to periphyton mats, which were absent from other habitats.Alligator‐engineered habitats are ecologically important by providing nutrient‐enriched 'hotspots' in an oligotrophic system, habitat heterogeneity to marshes, and refuges for other fauna during seasonal disturbances. This work adds to growing evidence that efforts to model community dynamics should routinely consider animal‐mediated bottom‐up processes like ecosystem engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Tell me a little about yourself and why you became interested in promoting sustainable agriculture. b I grew up in an Italian family where food played a huge part of family gatherings and everyday life. B FAO also says: "The global transition to sustainable food and agriculture will require major improvements in the efficiency of resource use, in environmental protection and in systems resilience." When I was asked to join the Pew commission to look at industrial animal agriculture (factory farms) it was a way to promote sustainable agriculture for future generations. One of its experts, Arohi Sharma, water and agriculture policy analyst at NRDC, has been quoted as saying: "The regenerative agriculture movement is the dawning realization among more people that an Indigenous approach to agriculture can help restore ecologies, fight climate change, rebuild relationships, spark economic development, and bring joy.". [Extracted from the article]

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To ensure effective acoustic communication, signals should reach receivers in the least distorted form possible. Animals use various short- and long-term strategies to avoid signal degradation and masking. However, we still have an insufficient understanding of how animals' vocal behaviour is impacted by the vocalisations of other animals in their acoustic communities. We experimentally examined how two tropical, sedentary, territorial songbirds in Western Uganda—the scaly-breasted illadopsis (Illadopsis albipectus) and the green-backed camaroptera (Camaroptera brachyura)—modify their singing behaviour after the simulated appearance of new, unfamiliar acoustic competitors, whose songs vary in similarity to those of the species studied. We found that scaly-breasted illadopsis sang significantly less during the playback of songs of acoustically similar species than of acoustically different species or silence and avoided song overlapping with acoustically similar species but not with acoustically different species. Green-backed camaroptera sang significantly more during the playback of both acoustically similar and different simulated intruders than during the control containing silence, and patterns of overlap with the songs of both the acoustically similar and different species were random. Our results show that even a single-point noise source present within a territory can modify a bird's singing behaviour. The new sound may affect species differently, depending in part on the level of acoustic similarity with the species' song. To mitigate the effect of song masking, different species may use different strategies, such as temporal avoidance or signal redundancy. Studies examining the adaptive abilities of species in natural and modified habitats are needed to predict the consequences of changes in acoustic community structure. Significance statement: To ensure effective communication, birds may use different strategies to avoid signal masking in common acoustic space, particularly in the complex acoustic environment of a tropical forest. While multiple studies have focused on responses to interference caused by anthropogenic noise, the effect of new individual species on the acoustic community structure has received little attention. We simulated intrusions by unfamiliar species with different levels of song similarity into the territories of two tropical songbird species. The appearance of new simulated acoustic intruders modified the birds' singing behaviour, but the two study species responded differently. These results suggest that the level of acoustic similarity, as well as the species ecology, may affect the species response, which may be particularly important when predicting the effects of new species appearance as a result of changes in habitat and climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of article Jan Gawińskis animal epitaphs in view of the ecocriticism was to use the optics of human-animal studies shaped as a part of that titular modern methodology, to verify previous interpretations of Jan Gawiński's baroque epitaph, devoted to animals. The thesis focuses on polemic with the opinions that Jan Gawiński's animal epitaphs are the expression of nihilism, grotesque or variations of the animal's fable. The chapter also accents the importance of composition of that poems collection for the lecture of each respective piece. Using the ecocritical view made an opportunity to demonstrate that in spite of the pre-modern's vision of nature (hierarchical chain of being) writers has found an interstice which has allowed them express the sense of community with animals, feeling of mortal togetherness, empathy, sensitivity of conscience and responsibility for friars minor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brucellosis, Rift Valley fever (RVF) and Q fever are zoonoses prevalent in many developing countries, causing a high burden on human and animal health. Only a few studies are available on these among agro-pastoralist communities and their livestock in Chad. The objective of our study was to estimate brucellosis, RVF and Q fever seroprevalence among Chadian agro-pastoralist communities and their livestock, and to investigate risk factors for seropositivity. We conducted a multi-stage cross-sectional serological survey in two rural health districts, Yao and Danamadji (966 human and 1041 livestock (cattle, sheep, goat and equine) samples)). The true seroprevalence were calculated applying a Bayesian framework to adjust for imperfect diagnostic test characteristics and accounting for clustering in the study design. Risk factors for each of the zoonotic diseases were estimated using mixed effects logistic regression models. The overall prevalence for brucellosis, Q fever and RVF combined for both regions was estimated at 0.2% [95% credibility Interval: 0–1.1], 49.1% [%CI: 38.9–58.8] and 28.1% [%CI: 23.4–33.3] in humans, and 0.3% [%CI: 0–1.5], 12.8% [%CI: 9.7–16.4] and 10.2% [%CI: 7.6–13.4] in animals. Risk factors correlating significantly with the respective disease seropositivity were sex for human brucellosis, sex and Q fever co-infection for animal brucellosis, age for human Q fever, species and brucellosis co-infection for animal Q fever, age and herd-level animal RVF seroprevalence within the same cluster for human RVF, and cluster-level human RVF seroprevalence within the same cluster for animal RVF. In Danamadji and Yao, Q fever and RVF are notably seroprevalent among agro-pastoralist human and animal communities, while brucellosis appears to have a low prevalence. Correlation between the seroprevalence between humans and animals living in the same communities was detected for RVF, highlighting the interlinkage of human and animal transmissible diseases and of their health, highlighting the importance of a One Health approach. Author summary: Infectious diseases transmitted between humans and animals, called zoonotic diseases, pose a global threat to human and animal health. Furthermore, diseased animals, especially livestock, can compromise the financial resources and livelihood of their owners as these depend on healthy animals for milk or meat production, or for agricultural work purposes. Brucellosis, Q fever and Rift Valley fever are two bacterial and one viral zoonotic disease that were found to be prevalent among many human-animal communities living in close contact, such as it is the case among Chadian agro-pastoralists. Limited data are available on the current status of these diseases in Chad. In this study, the authors investigated the prevalence of these three diseases among humans and their livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, horses and donkeys) by collecting blood samples and conducting serological analyses in two rural regions of Chad, Danamadji and Yao. Results point towards high Q fever and Rift Valley fever seroprevalences (13–49% and 10–28%, respectively), and low prevalence of brucellosis (< 1%), and towards a positive association between human and animal Rift Valley fever seroprevalence. With these findings, the study hopes to support current and future zoonotic disease surveillance and control efforts within the regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests canopy gaps play an important role in forest ecology by driving the forest mosaic cycle and creating conditions for rapid plant reproduction and growth. The availability of young plants, which represent resources for herbivores, and modified environmental conditions with greater availability of light and higher temperatures, promote the colonization of animals. Remarkably, the role of gaps on insect communities has received little attention and the source of insects colonizing gaps has not been studied comprehensively. Using a replicated full-factorial forest experiment (treatments: Gap; Gap + Deadwood; Deadwood; Control), we show that following gap creation, there is a rapid change in the true bug (Heteroptera) community structure, with an increase in species that are mainly recruited from open lands. Compared with closed-canopy treatments (Deadwood and Control), open canopy treatments (Gap and Gap + Deadwood) promoted an overall increase in species (+ 59.4%, estimated as number of species per plot) and individuals (+ 76.3%) of true bugs, mainly herbivores and species associated to herbaceous vegetation. Community composition also differed among treatments, and all 17 significant indicator species (out of 117 species in total) were associated with the open canopy treatments. Based on insect data collected in grasslands and forests over an 11-year period, we found that the species colonizing experimental gaps had greater body size and a greater preference for open vegetation. Our results indicate that animal communities that assemble following gap creation contain a high proportion of habitat generalists that not occurred in closed forests, contributing significantly to overall diversity in forest mosaics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report tetrapod traces and associated ichnofauna from two stratigraphic, dominantly terrestrial levels of the Tiout Formation (Valanginian-latest Albian to lower Cenomanian) in Laghouat and Brezina areas, Central Saharan Atlas (Djebel Amour), northwestern Algeria and discuss their paleoecological implications. The assemblages display abundant footprints that show similarities with crocodylian swim traces assigned to Hatcherichnus known from Jurassic–Cretaceous deposits of North America and Morocco. However, there is also some similarity in shape with traces attributed to swimming pterosaurs by different authors. Because of the isolated materials from Algeria and the lack of distinct trackways, we leave the decision on the tracemaker open. The majority of the traces are tridactyl to tetradactyl imprints consisting of parallel furrows left by the claws of swimming or buoyant individuals. Tetrapod swim traces are identified, described, and figured herein for the first time from the Mesozoic of Algeria. These vertebrate fossil traces are associated with a low-diversity invertebrate marine ichnofauna, including cf. Bergaueria isp., Phycodes isp., Sinusichnus cf. seilacheri, and Thalassinoides suevicus. Together with body fossil data, including abundant fishes and non-avian dinosaurs, they indicate a diverse animal community populating a fluvial system environment with marine influence. Paleoecological and paleoenvironmental features of the Tiout Formation add new information to the ichnoassemblages previously reported from the 'mid'-Cretaceous of North Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bats are nocturnal mammals which lives in large aggregations as colonies, hang their feet to twig of tree upward side, provide widespread ecological and monetary services via pollination, seed dispersal, rejuvenation of forests, guano as nutrient rich fertilizer and agricultural pest control. Different factors like exposure to heavy metals, pesticides, hunting, diminishing food supply, habitat destruction, forest fires and diseases are responsible for decreasing bat population, but urbanization greatly affects the composition and structure of inhabiting animal communities by transforming the natural habitats into environments dominated by human constructions. Micro bats feed on insect pests and help to reduce pesticide application in agricultural crops, whereas fruit bats feed on horticultural orchards like guava, ber and litchi thus act as pest. Bats are reservoirs of many pathogens like hendra, nipah, tioman, European lyssa and ebola viruses which cause several epidemic diseases among humans and domestic animals. Among 60 countries around the world, more than 200 bat species are considered to be threatened (critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable) by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Using different eco-friendly methods like artificial lights and netting we can save our orchards and conserve fruit bats which will be helpful in the maintenance of ecological balance of nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous groups in the American South relied on local resources including adapted neo-tropical and regionally domesticated crops and native fauna. Arrival of missionaries and non-native animal species (chickens, pigs, and cattle) led to changing subsistence strategies and settlement patterns. The mission communities needed to be self-sustaining and generate surpluses to supply the capital of La Florida (St. Augustine). Zooarchaeological data from sites in La Florida show how mission communities adopted these animals into their subsistence systems. Data shows adoption of domesticates varied across the provinces, and some food items became profitable market commodities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild animals have been implicated as reservoirs and even "melting pots" of pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria of concern to human health. Though Escherichia coli is common among vertebrate guts and plays a role in the propagation of such genetic information, few studies have explored its diversity beyond humans nor the ecological factors that influence its diversity and distribution in wild animals. We characterized an average of 20 E. coli isolates per scat sample (n = 84) from a community of 14 wild and 3 domestic species. The phylogeny of E. coli comprises 8 phylogroups that are differentially associated with pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance, and we uncovered all of them in one small biological preserve surrounded by intense human activity. Challenging previous assumptions that a single isolate is representative of within-host phylogroup diversity, 57% of individual animals sampled carried multiple phylogroups simultaneously. Host species' phylogroup richness saturated at different levels across species and encapsulated vast within-sample and within-species variation, indicating that distribution patterns are influenced both by isolation source and laboratory sampling depth. Using ecological methods that ensure statistical relevance, we identify trends in phylogroup prevalence associated with host and environmental factors. The vast genetic diversity and broad distribution of E. coli in wildlife populations has implications for biodiversity conservation, agriculture, and public health, as well as for gauging unknown risks at the urban-wildland interface. We propose critical directions for future studies of the "wild side" of E. coli that will expand our understanding of its ecology and evolution beyond the human environment. IMPORTANCE To our knowledge, neither the phylogroup diversity of E. coli within individual wild animals nor that within an interacting multispecies community have previously been assessed. In doing so, we uncovered the globally known phylogroup diversity from an animal community on a preserve imbedded in a human-dominated landscape. We revealed that the phylogroup composition in domestic animals differed greatly from that in their wild counterparts, implying potential human impacts on the domestic animal gut. Significantly, many wild individuals hosted multiple phylogroups simultaneously, indicating the potential for strain-mixing and zoonotic spillback, especially as human encroachment into wildlands increases in the Anthropocene. We reason that due to extensive anthropogenic environmental contamination, wildlife is increasingly exposed to our waste, including E. coli and antibiotics. The gaps in the ecological and evolutionary understanding of E. coli thus necessitate a significant uptick in research to better understand human impacts on wildlife and the risk for zoonotic pathogen emergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

He published over 200 peer-reviewed papers, and his research contributed conceptually to ecology, marine biology, environmental sciences, fisheries ecology, restoration ecology, and conservation biology. Pete was an exceptionally creative and productive scientist, who made key contributions to many aspects, or subdisciplines, in ecology and marine science. Introduction: Honoring the contribution of Charles H. Peterson (1946-2020) to the field of marine ecology Pete examined how habitat created by seagrass beds, salt marshes, oyster reefs, beaches, deep-sea hydrothermal vent organisms, and Antarctic crustaceans influences marine communities and produces ecosystem services. [Extracted from the article]

Ecosystem engineers (e.g., seagrasses) have profound effects on biodiversity and community structure. Sponges possess traits (e.g., providing structure) that suggest they may act as ecosystem engineers, but we know little about their relationships with the animal communities that inhabit seagrass beds. This study explored the effects of the marine sponge, Ircinia felix, on fish and invertebrate taxa richness, abundance, turnover, and community composition in a seagrass bed through a 1-year field experiment performed in The Bahamas. We recorded the fish and invertebrate communities present in 5 × 5 m plots with the addition of either a live sponge, a polypropylene sponge replica (structure), or no additional structure (control). Both taxonomic groups responded to the addition of a live sponge. Taxa richness and abundance increased at least fourfold over a year in the presence of I. felix, but decreased twofold or more in the other plot types. Live sponge presence increased the number of new taxa gained by at least 24%, and reduced the number of taxa lost compared to other plot types. Finally, we found that the fish community composition shifted in a more consistent direction in the presence of a live sponge than in the other plots. Our study shows that sponges can act as ecosystem engineers in subtropical seagrass systems and additional research is needed to determine the full extent and implications of their ecological effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on shallow warm water coral reefs of the tropics and subtropics. Topics include cracks and crevices of reefs producing space and microenvironments harbouring multitudes of diverse organisms; and diversity of the reef-building scleractinian corals due to the skeletal structures and the numerous features.

Xie et al. ([27]) presented two modifications to standard CTAB DNA extraction protocols that increase DNA yield: a strategy to prevent DNA shearing and a nuclei isolation approach that results in substantially larger quantities of extracted DNA. Many fern lineages have notoriously large genomes, which necessitates modifications to DNA extraction protocols to ensure sufficient quantities of high-molecular-weight DNA to complete long-read sequencing. Analyses of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) have become a staple tool for botanists to answer questions across a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from population genetics to biogeography, ecology, development, microbiology, physiology, and phylogenetics. [Extracted from the article]

Belowground life relies on plant litter, while its linkage to living roots had long been understudied, and remains unknown in the tropics. Here, we analysed the response of 30 soil animal groups to root trenching and litter removal in rainforest and plantations in Sumatra, and found that roots are similarly important to soil fauna as litter. Trenching effects were stronger in soil than in litter, with an overall decrease in animal abundance in rainforest by 42% and in plantations by 30%. Litter removal little affected animals in soil, but decreased the total abundance by 60% in rainforest and rubber plantations but not in oil palm plantations. Litter and root effects on animal group abundances were explained by body size or vertical distribution. Our study quantifies principle carbon pathways in soil food webs under tropical land use, providing the basis for mechanistic modelling and ecosystem‐friendly management of tropical soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stream‐dwelling communities are expected to show a gradual replacement of the dominant feeding types following the type of resources found along the river continuum. Yet, the underlying longitudinal gradients in food web structure and energy flow‐paths remain poorly understood.Here, I synthesise novel research on the River Continuum Concept (RCC) and identify promising areas for future research linked to longitudinal changes in food‐chain length and energy mobilisation routes. For example, feeding links and connectance should reach maximum values in mid‐order rivers and then decrease to river mouths following uncovered longitudinal diversity patterns. Regarding energy mobilisation routes, a gradual replacement in the food web fuelling between allochthonous (leaf litter) and autochthonous (periphyton) resources should be expected.Beyond longitudinal changes in primary basal resource to consumer paths, other allochthonous (e.g. riparian arthropod inputs) and autochthonous (e.g. fish prey) inputs subsidising higher level consumers may show longitudinal changes, that is, terrestrial invertebrates decreasing but piscivory increasing downstream. However, the role of these inputs, that can alter predator niche variation and have indirect community‐based effects, on both food web structure and energy flow‐paths along the river continuum is not clear yet.Incorporating energy mobilisation and food web structure into RCC principles is necessary for a broad understanding of ecosystem functioning and trophic diversity in riverine systems, driving the emergence of novel insights. How function and structure of riverine food webs adapt to longitudinal changes in physical and biological environments represent a challenge for next generation of stream ecologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological restoration is crucial to mitigate climate change and conserve biodiversity, and accurately monitoring responses to restoration is imperative to guide current and future efforts. This study examines the impact of ecological restoration of a tropical dry forest in Central India. Here, the state forest department and a nongovernmental organization work with local communities to remove an invasive shrub, Lantana camara, in the forest, to assist natural regeneration, primarily for the purpose of improving access to forest resources for forest‐dependent people. We used acoustic technology to examine the bird community composition and the acoustic space used (ASU) across comparable restored, unrestored (with L. camara), and naturally low L. camara density (LLD) sites. We found no significant difference in the cumulative number of bird species detected between the site types (median in restored and LLD = 38, unrestored = 41). We found a significant difference in bird community composition across sites (r2 = 0.049, p ≤ 0.001). ASU differs between site types (r2 = 0.023, p ≤ 0.10), with restored sites positively associated with ASU compared to unrestored and LLD sites, which could represent a temporary increase in ASU as animal communities are reorganized after the complete removal of L. camara. Our results suggest that small‐scale restoration efforts that aim to help meet livelihood needs have the potential to contribute to ecological goals in this landscape. However, it is necessary to continue to monitor the regeneration trajectory in restored sites and the possible changes in the ASU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

But to sustain such socio-ecological systems, people need to see themselves not as conservators of wildlife and ecosystems, nor as managers of wildlife and ecosystems, but as stewards of wildlife and ecosystems. The search for negative emissions solutions is now looking to nature, where instead of searchers merely viewing species and ecosystems needing protection from climate change, species and ecosystems are increasingly being viewed as playing a hand in mitigating it. SP 6, sp [10],[11],[12] This makes good sense. Complex multitrophic ecosystems, with ACC species present, are also more likely to create resilience of ecosystem processes to environmental change because of greater redundancy in trophic pathways and a mixture of top-down and bottom-up controls of ecosystem composition and function. Such stewardship holds that humans have ethical obligations to one another that are mediated through their mutual relationships with nonhuman species and ecosystems.[92] Unlike conservation, which aims to protect species and ecosystems from people, or management, which aims to maximize natural resource extraction for people while minimizing damages from exploitation and ecosystem transformation, a stewardship ethic promotes the continuous improvement of ecosystem functioning and resilience everywhere by simultaneously creating the conditions that allow for the autonomous existences of species, and promoting the production of natural resources and ecosystem services.[92] This ethic can help to expand opportunities for humans to remain on the landscapes and make a living there, including through stewardship of wildlife and ecosystems for the purposes of sustaining and enhancing the ecosystem service provided by ACC. [Extracted from the article]

Aquatic plant invasions are primarily caused by human activities, such as the release of aquarium plants, the dumping of garden waste, and the use of aquatic plants in aquaculture and ornamental pond systems. Biological invasions are considered one of the most significant causes of ecosystem disruption, which results in a significant loss of biodiversity at broad geographical scales and concurrent alterations to the function and supply of ecosystem services (Vilà et al. [89]; Ehrenfeld [30]; Murphy and Romanuk [59]; Bohan et al. [9]; Xie et al. [95]). Preventing the introduction and spread of invasive aquatic plant species requires a combination of measures, including early detection and rapid response to new invasions, increased regulation of the trade in aquatic plants, and public education and outreach to prevent the accidental release of non-native species (McGavigan [57]). Plant communities with the dominance of I Elaeagnus angustifolia i typically have low species diversity and are dominated by this invasive species. [Extracted from the article]

The COVID-19 pandemic is intricately linked to biodiversity loss and ecosystem health. Conversely, loss of biodiversity disrupts ecological functioning and undermines the ability of ecosystems to support humankind.[6] 1 Box Biodiversity, ecosystems and associated definitions HT