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As offshore wind (OSW) energy expands globally, migratory songbirds are at risk of mortality from collisions with turbine blades, though the magnitude of this threat and which species are most vulnerable, remains poorly understood. Ecological vulnerability indices are commonly used to assess species' susceptibility to harmful factors, with results used to direct scarce research and monitoring resources to species showing relatively high vulnerability. These indices are based on the traits that elevate a species risk to adverse impacts (sensitivity), the overlap in occurrence between a species and the potentially harmful agent (exposure) and the influence of this exposure on the species' local or global persistence (resilience). We modified ecological vulnerability indices for seabirds to assess vulnerability of migratory songbirds to OSW related mortality. As a pertinent case study, we considered songbirds that fly across the Northwest Atlantic during their autumn migration. We utilized readily available information on each species' migratory behaviour, life history, and conservation status to calculate an index score that could range from 1 (lowest vulnerability) to 125 (highest vulnerability). We found scores of 3 to 55.2 for the 101 songbird species evaluated, with New World warblers (Parulidae) over‐represented among the highest scoring species. We found the scores to be sensitive to uncertainty in index components, highlighting the importance of considering scoring uncertainty when evaluating ecological vulnerability indices. Finally, we found that for seven of the top 10 highest scoring species, modest improvements in population trends had the potential to lower the scores substantially. Synthesis and applications. Our methodology is readily applicable to other regions where offshore wind (OSW) development is planned and songbird migration is common, allowing research and monitoring activities to be targeted to species most likely to be negatively affected by OSW facility encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration is a prevalent strategy among birds used to track seasonal resources throughout the year. Individual and population‐level migratory movements provide insight to life‐history variation, carry‐over effects, and impacts of climate change. Our understanding of how geographic variation in a species' breeding or wintering grounds can impact migration distances is limited. However, changes in migration distances can have important fitness consequences for individuals and conservation implications for populations, particularly if migratory connectivity is altered during the annual cycle. In this study, we use three decades of data from the United States Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory for six migratory species of Arctic and subarctic breeding geese. We employ a Bayesian hierarchical framework to test if the distance between breeding and wintering locations has changed over time, while accounting for the latitude of the breeding grounds. A model that included only a temporal trend estimated the average rate of change in migration distance, across all six species, at −3.0 km/year over the period 1990–2019. Five of the six species showed a significant decrease in migration distances. Including an interaction effect with breeding latitude revealed that the reduction in migration distance was strongest in the southernmost populations for four of the six species. For those species, migration distance in northern populations were all either relatively unchanged or increasing. This indicates that southern breeding populations of geese had a stronger association with the observed spatiotemporal changes in wintering ranges, potentially influenced by a combination of climatic and biotic factors (e.g. resource availability or competitive interactions) that uniquely impact these populations. Abundant, long‐term banding data shows promise for use in illuminating changes in migratory patterns under climate change, leading to improved management and conservation outcomes, from regional to continental scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anticipated effects of CO2-induced ocean acidification on marine calcifiers are generally negative, and include dissolution of calcified elements and reduced calcification rates. Such negative effects are not typical of crustaceans for which comparatively little ocean acidification research has been conducted. Crustaceans, however, depend on their calcified exoskeleton for many critical functions. Here, we conducted a short-term study on a common caridean shrimp, Lysmata californica, to determine the effect of CO2-driven reduction in seawater pH on exoskeleton growth, structure, and mineralization and animal cryptic coloration. Shrimp exposed to ambient (7.99 ± 0.04) and reduced pH (7.53 ± 0.06) for 21 days showed no differences in exoskeleton growth (percent increase in carapace length), but the calcium weight percent of their cuticle increased significantly in reduced pH conditions, resulting in a greater Ca:Mg ratio. Cuticle thickness did not change, indicating an increase in the mineral to matrix ratio, which may have mechanical consequences for exoskeleton function. Furthermore, there was a 5-fold decrease in animal transparency, but no change in overall shrimp coloration (red). These results suggest that even short-term exposure to CO2-induced pH reduction can significantly affect exoskeleton mineralization and shrimp biophotonics, with potential impacts on crypsis, physical defense, and predator avoidance.

Invasive wood-boring insects are a major economic and ecological concern worldwide as they impact native woody plant populations. These pest species are increasing in prevalence, with devastating impact, as global trade leads to higher rates of introduction and establishment. The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis; EAB) is one such species, which has caused widespread damage across much of the United States and is now spreading across Europe. Non-indigenous woodborers such as EAB are difficult to detect at early stages of invasion, which is when management and eradication efforts are most effective and cost efficient. Environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys have demonstrated power in detecting invasive species when rare in the landscape due to their ability to detect trace amounts of DNA and identify to species. Here, we trialled a novel eDNA method for collecting environmental samples within host trees where invasive pest larvae are feeding, using EAB as a case study. We extracted tree cores approximately 1 cm in length using an increment hammer to assess detectability of eDNA from larvae feeding under the bark. In trees visibly infested with EAB, we observed a seasonal peak in EAB DNA detection probability (~ 64%; towards the end of the growing season), indicating a potential impact of ash tree phenology or EAB phenology on detection. When we trialled the method in a site with ash trees of low or uncertain EAB abundance, we did not record positive EAB eDNA detections. This outcome may have resulted from differing EAB phenology at the northern latitude of this survey site or because larval galleries were less numerous causing EAB DNA to be scarcer within the tree. Our results, however, provide preliminary evidence that increment hammer tree cores can be used to detect eDNA of EAB and, perhaps, other wood-boring pests. Further work is needed to clarify false negative survey detections at ash trees showing little to no signs or symptoms of infestation, as well as investigating the deposition, transport and persistence dynamics of EAB eDNA within trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Reversible phosphorylation is a fundamental mechanism for controlling protein function. Despite the critical roles phosphorylated proteins play in physiology and disease, our ability to study individual phospho-proteoforms has been hindered by a lack of versatile methods to efficiently generate homogeneous proteins with site-specific phosphoamino acids or with functional mimics that are resistant to phosphatases. Genetic code expansion (GCE) is emerging as a transformative approach to tackle this challenge, allowing direct incorporation of phosphoamino acids into proteins during translation in response to amber stop codons. This genetic programming of phospho-protein synthesis eliminates the reliance on kinase-based or chemical semisynthesis approaches, making it broadly applicable to diverse phospho-proteoforms. In this comprehensive review, we provide a brief introduction to GCE and trace the development of existing GCE technologies for installing phosphoserine, phosphothreonine, phosphotyrosine, and their mimics, discussing both their advantages as well as their limitations. While some of the technologies are still early in their development, others are already robust enough to greatly expand the range of biologically relevant questions that can be addressed. We highlight new discoveries enabled by these GCE approaches, provide practical considerations for the application of technologies by non-GCE experts, and also identify avenues ripe for further development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Restoration of many populations of anadromous American Shad Alosa sapidissima and river herring (Alewife A. pseudoharengus and Blueback Herring A. aestivalis) has been hampered by the presence of barriers to their spawning migrations and insufficient monitoring of run size. Here, we describe results of a 10‐year (2012–2021) study of American Shad and river herring passage at the Island Farm Weir (IFW), the downstream‐most migration barrier on the Raritan River, New Jersey, United States. Methods: We used passive integrated transponder tags applied to fish that were captured and released downstream of the IFW to estimate passage rates and migration delays associated with upstream movements through an antenna array on a vertical slot fishway within the weir. By combining estimated passage rates with video monitoring of the total numbers of American Shad and river herring transiting the fishway, we estimated the annual run size below the weir. Result: Results suggest that the fishway on the IFW is moderately effective for American Shad (passage rate = 41%; 95% credible interval [CI] = 21–61%) but ineffective for the smaller‐bodied river herring (passage rate = 0.5%, 95% CI = 0–2%; fallback‐adjusted passage rate = 1.1%, 95% CI = 0.0–4.5%). The IFW may have also delayed the spawning migrations of those fish that did pass, with total passage times ranging from 0.4 to 20.9 days (mean ± standard deviation = 8.2 ± 5.3 days) for American Shad and 15.0 days for the one river herring that passed within the same year that it was tagged. Run size estimates during the study period ranged from 103 to 2624 individuals for American Shad and from 1486 to 53,334 for river herring. Conclusion: Restoration of these species in the Raritan River will likely require removal of the IFW or replacement of its current fish passage device with one that increases the passage rates of alosines. Impact statementUsing a combination of electronic tags and video monitoring, we found that a fish passage structure on the Raritan River, New Jersey, works moderately well for the large‐bodied American Shad but passes only a small fraction of the smaller‐bodied river herring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Sea-level rise threatens both human communities and vulnerable species within coastal areas. Joint spatial planning can allow conservation and social resiliency goals to work in synergy. We present a case study integrating distribution information of a threatened saltmarsh bird, the eastern black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis), with social information to facilitate such joint planning. We constructed a distribution model for the species within an urbanizing coastal region (New Jersey, USA) and integrated this with publicly available parcel and protected area data to summarize ownership patterns. We estimated that c. 0.3–2.8% (c. 260–2200 ha) of available saltmarsh is occupied by eastern black rail, most of which is publicly owned (79%). Privately owned saltmarsh was spread across nearly 5000 individual parcels, 10% of which contained areas with the highest likelihood of rail presence according to our model (top quartile of predicted occupancy probabilities). Compared with all privately owned saltmarsh, parcels with probable rail habitat were larger (median: 5 versus 2 ha), contained more marsh (87% versus 59%) and were less economically valuable (US$11 200 versus US$36 100). Our approach of integrating species distributions with landownership data helps clarify trade-offs and synergies in species conservation and coastal resiliency planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to monitor and conserve populations and ecosystems in human‐dominated landscapes can benefit from an empirical social–ecological systems approach.Here we illustrate how latent variable structural equation modelling of regional time series data can effectively describe interconnected drivers of population fluctuations in dynamic landscapes and can help to reveal previously unknown system drivers.Using a declining farmland‐dependent bird species (Ammodramus savannarum) in the eastern United States (1994–2015) as a case study, our analysis reveals how farm management decisions drive population fluctuations (R2 = 20%), while management is in turn highly influenced by climate (R2 = 23%–51%), but not by regional conservation spending.Synthesis and applications. Structural equation modelling revealed potential social–ecological pathways for halting regional population declines in a grassland bird, the Grasshopper Sparrow. Lower population growth rates followed years of higher hay yields (~4 percentage points per metric ton increase in hay yield) and later harvests (~2 percentage points per 10‐day delay in harvest). Thus, one pathway for stabilising regional populations could involve compensating farmers for reducing hay harvests, potentially requiring a six‐fold increase in current annual agri‐environmental conservation spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]