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Ocean currents, driven by gravity, wind, and water density, disperse marine biota worldwide, often leading species to shorelines alive or as carcasses. These carcasses provide vital information about species' health conditions and threats within their habitats. Marine animal strandings thus offer crucial insights into the ecological implications of population mortality. This research is instrumental for conservation efforts and identifying trends and threats. Scientists use human and animal forensics approaches to trace the origins of beached bodies. The capability to backtrack carcass drift and estimate death sites helps evaluate anthropogenic impacts. This information also forms the basis for legal applications and gives ecological indicators for marine megafauna conservation. Using backtracking in forensic ecology for conservation research presents expansive investigative opportunities. This paper offers a comprehensive review of: 1) Physical and environmental processes; 2) Drift applications; 3) Marine megafauna examples; 4) Forensic principles; 5) Postmortem intervals; 6) Marine megafauna backtracking. We further discuss these findings' potential conservation applications for endangered species. Our review aims to enhance understanding of coastal animal distribution, estimate mortality rates from strandings, explore seasonal variations for beach monitoring programs, and investigate anthropogenic impacts.

Immunocompromised patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can have a longer duration of viral shedding and persistence of symptoms. The optimal treatment strategy for these patients remains to be established. This case describes a male in his late sixties with follicular lymphoma and persistent symptoms of infection with SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.2 who was treated with remdesivir five times over a period of six months. The clinical effect of remdesivir treatment decreased over time, and further viral sequencing revealed the emergence of mutations across the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Due to the lack of other treatment options, the patient was treated with a combination of remdesivir and molnupiravir for 10 days, and epcoritamab was discontinued, which led to the cessation of symptoms. This case illustrates the risk of a diminished effect of remdesivir with prolonged use and the need for treatment guidelines for immunocompromised patients with persistent COVID-19.

We developed and tested a fully automated method to extract bathymetric photons globally from ICESat-2 ATLAS data by leveraging the PointNet++ model, which performs well for classification and segmentation of point clouds. Training data was collected from areas spanning > 100 degrees of latitude and encompassing a wide range of seafloor characteristics and variations in ICESat-2 data features. We explored a range of data compositions and model settings, and optimized them for model training. The final model obtained precision, recall and F1 scores of 0.9291, 0.9315 and 0.9303, respectively, and achieved an Intersection over Union (IoU) of 0.6351 for sites that contain detected seafloor. Model performance varies between test sites, with most errors occurring when there is a high density of noise photons near the seafloor. This study provides evidence for the global applicability of a trained PointNet++ model to automatically extract bathymetric photons from ICESat-2 data. The model is publicly available for use and further development.

IntroductionFor Streptococcus pneumoniae, β-lactam susceptibility can be predicted from the amino acid sequence of the penicillin-binding proteins PBP1a, PBP2b, and PBP2x. The combination of PBP-subtypes provides a PBP-profile, which correlates to a phenotypic minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). The non-S. pneumoniae Mitis-group streptococci (MGS) have similar PBPs and exchange pbp-alleles with S. pneumoniae. We studied whether a simple BLAST analysis could be used to predict phenotypic susceptibility in Danish S. pneumoniae isolates and in internationally collected MGS.MethodIsolates with available WGS and phenotypic susceptibility data were included. For each isolate, the best matching PBP-profile was identified by BLAST analysis. The corresponding MICs for penicillin and ceftriaxone was retrieved. Category agreement (CA), minor-, major-, and very major discrepancy was calculated. Genotypic-phenotypic accuracy was examined with Deming regression.ResultsAmong 88 S. pneumoniae isolates, 55 isolates had a recognized PBP-profile, and CA was 100% for penicillin and 98.2% for ceftriaxone. In 33 S. pneumoniae isolates with a new PBP-profile, CA was 90.9% (penicillin) and 93.8% (ceftriaxone) using the nearest recognized PBP-profile. Applying the S. pneumoniae database to non-S. pneumoniae MGS revealed that none had a recognized PBP-profile. For Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae, CA was 100% for penicillin and ceftriaxone in 19 susceptible isolates. In 33 Streptococcus mitis isolates, CA was 75.8% (penicillin) and 86.2% (ceftriaxone) and in 25 Streptococcus oralis isolates CA was 8% (penicillin) and 100% (ceftriaxone).ConclusionUsing a simple BLAST analysis, genotypic susceptibility prediction was accurate in Danish S. pneumoniae isolates, particularly in isolates with recognized PBP-profiles. Susceptibility was poorly predicted in other MGS using the current database.

Abstract This study aimed to develop a highly sensitive SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen assay using the single molecule array (Simoa) technology and compare it with real time RT-PCR as used in routine clinical practice with the ambition to achieve a comparative technical and clinical sensitivity. Samples were available from 148 SARS-CoV-2 real time RT-PCR positive and 73 SARS-CoV-2 real time RT-PCR negative oropharyngeal swabs. For determination of technical sensitivity SARS-CoV-2 virus culture material was used. The samples were treated with lysis buffer and analyzed using both an in-house and a pre-commercial SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen assay on Simoa. Both nucleocapsid antigen assays have a technical sensitivity corresponding to around 100 SARS-CoV-2 RNA molecules/mL. Using a cut-off at 0.1 pg/mL the pre-commercial SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen assay had a sensitivity of 96% (95% CI 91.4–98.5%) and specificity of 100% (95% CI 95.1–100%). In comparison the in-house nucleocapsid antigen assay had sensitivity of 95% (95% CI 89.3–98.1%) and a specificity of 100% (95% CI 95.1–100%) using a cut-off at 0.01 pg/mL. The two SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen assays correlated with r = 0.91 (P

Abstract Liver cirrhosis is a severe disease with major impact on the overall health of the patient including poor oral health. Lately, there has been increasing focus on oral diseases as cirrhosis-related complications due to the potential impact on systemic health and ultimately mortality. Periodontitis is one of the most common oral diseases in cirrhosis patients. However, no studies have investigated the composition of the subgingival microbiome in patients suffering from periodontitis and liver cirrhosis. We analysed the subgingival microbiome in 21 patients with periodontitis and cirrhosis using long-reads Illumina sequencing. The subgingival microbiota was dominated by bacteria belonging to the Firmicutes phylum and to a lesser extend the Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla. Bacteria usually considered periodontal pathogens, like Porhyromonas ginigivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, generally showed low abundancy. Comparing the microbiota in our patients with that of periodontitis patients and healthy controls of three other studies revealed that the periodontitis-associated subgingival microbiota in cirrhosis patients is composed of a unique microbiota of bacteria not normally associated with periodontitis. We hypothesise that periodontitis in cirrhosis patients is a consequence of dysbiosis due to a compromised immune system that renders commensal bacteria pathogenic.

Abstract Background Lignin is known to hinder efficient enzymatic conversion of lignocellulose in biorefining processes. In particular, nonproductive adsorption of cellulases onto lignin is considered a key mechanism to explain how lignin retards enzymatic cellulose conversion in extended reactions. Results Lignin-rich residues (LRRs) were prepared via extensive enzymatic cellulose degradation of corn stover (Zea mays subsp. mays L.), Miscanthus × giganteus stalks (MS) and wheat straw (Triticum aestivum L.) (WS) samples that each had been hydrothermally pretreated at three severity factors (log R 0) of 3.65, 3.83 and 3.97. The LRRs had different residual carbohydrate levels—the highest in MS; the lowest in WS. The residual carbohydrate was not traceable at the surface of the LRRs particles by ATR-FTIR analysis. The chemical properties of the lignin in the LRRs varied across the three types of biomass, but monolignols composition was not affected by the severity factor. When pure cellulose was added to a mixture of LRRs and a commercial cellulolytic enzyme preparation, the rate and extent of glucose release were unaffected by the presence of LRRs regardless of biomass type and severity factor, despite adsorption of the enzymes to the LRRs. Since the surface of the LRRs particles were covered by lignin, the data suggest that the retardation of enzymatic cellulose degradation during extended reaction on lignocellulosic substrates is due to physical blockage of the access of enzymes to the cellulose caused by the gradual accumulation of lignin at the surface of the biomass particles rather than by nonproductive enzyme adsorption. Conclusions The study suggests that lignin from hydrothermally pretreated grass biomass retards enzymatic cellulose degradation by acting as a physical barrier blocking the access of enzymes to cellulose rather than by inducing retardation through nonproductive adsorption of enzymes.

The force required to break a chemical bond is related both to the bond strength and the rate at which force is applied, however recent experiments on gold nanowires have challenged this view. Here, the authors perform breaking experiments on single gold-gold bonds and propose a solution to the apparent paradox.

The slow-growing, anaerobic, coagulase-negative species Staphylococcus saccharolyticus is found on human skin and in clinical specimens but its pathogenic potential is unclear. Here, we investigated clinical isolates and sequenced the genomes of seven strains of S. saccharolyticus. Phylogenomic analyses showed that the closest relative of S. saccharolyticus is Staphylococcus capitis with an average nucleotide identity of 80%. Previously sequenced strains assigned to S. saccharolyticus are misclassified and belong to S. capitis. Based on single nucleotide polymorphisms of the core genome, the population of S. saccharolyticus can be divided into two clades that also differ in a few larger genomic islands as part of the flexible genome. An unexpected feature of S. saccharolyticus is extensive genome decay, with over 300 pseudogenes, indicating ongoing reductive evolution. Many genes of the core metabolism are not functional, rendering the species auxotrophic for several amino acids, which could explain its slow growth and need for fastidious growth conditions. Secreted proteins of S. saccharolyticus were determined; they include stress response proteins such as heat and oxidative stress-related factors, as well as immunodominant staphylococcal surface antigens and enzymes that can degrade host tissue components. The strains secrete lipases and a hyaluronic acid lyase. Hyaluronidase as well as urease activities were detected in biochemical assays, with clade-specific differences. Our study revealed that S. saccharolyticus has adapted its genome, possibly due to a recent change of habitat; moreover, the data imply that the species has tissue-invasive potential and might cause prosthetic joint infections.

ABSTRACT Acute otitis media (AOM), secretory otitis media (SOM), and acute pharyngotonsillitis are the most frequent reasons for visits to general practitioners, pediatricians, and otolaryngologists. Microbial colonization of the epithelial lining of Waldeyer’s lymphatic tissues, consisting of the palatine tonsils, lingual tonsils, adenoids, and Eustachian tube tonsil, is a well-known clinical challenge during infancy due to frequent episodes of upper respiratory tract infections. However, no previous studies have investigated the combined role of the palatine tonsils and the adenoids as a reservoir for pathogens associated with SOM in small children. We analyzed the combined crypt microbiome of the palatine tonsils and adenoids from 14 small children with hyperplasia of the tonsils or adenoids and 14 small children with SOM using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Our study demonstrated a significant difference between the microbiome of the adenoids and that of the palatine tonsils in the two groups but not between the two anatomical locations within the two groups. In particular, the potential pathogens Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis were almost exclusively found in the adenoids of both patient groups, indicating that the adenoids and not the palatine tonsils are the main reservoir for potential pathogens leading to AOM and SOM. IMPORTANCE Our findings that the microbiome differs between crypts of the adenoids and crypts of the palatine tonsils, including the relative abundances of potential pathogens such as Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Moraxella catarrhalis, may be the stepping stone for further investigation of individual microbiomes in a longitudinal design that includes recording of the fluctuating health status of the child. Such studies may have the potential to lead to new preventive measurements such as implantation of protective nonpathogens at the nasopharynx as an alternative to adenoidectomy.

Objective: General practitioners (GPs) are pivotal in end-of-life (EOL) care. This study aimed to assess GP-reported provision of EOL care and to assess associations with GP characteristics. Design: Population-based questionnaire study. Setting: Central Denmark Region with approximately 1.3 million inhabitants. Subjects: All 843 active GPs in the Central Denmark Region were sent a questionnaire by mail. Main outcome measures: Responses to 18 items concerning four aspects: provision of EOL care to patients with different diagnosis, confidence with being a key worker, organisation of EOL care and EOL skills (medical and psychosocial). Results: In total, 573 (68%) GPs responded. Of these, 85% often/always offered EOL care to cancer patients, which was twice as often as to patients with non-malignancies (34–40%). Moreover, 76% felt confident about being a key worker, 60% had a proactive approach, and 58% talked to their patients about dying. Only 9% kept a register of patients with EOL needs, and 19% had specific EOL procedures. GP confidence with own EOL skills varied; from 55% feeling confident using terminal medications to 90% feeling confident treating nausea/vomiting. Increasing GP age was associated with increased confidence about being a key worker and provision of EOL care to patients with non-malignancies. In rural areas, GPs were more confident about administering medicine subcutaneously than in urban areas. Conclusion: We found considerable diversity in self-reported EOL care competences. Interventions should focus on increasing GPs’ provision of EOL care to patients with non-malignancies, promoting better EOL care concerning organisation and symptom management.KEY POINTS GPs are pivotal in end-of-life (EOL) care, but their involvement has been questioned. Hence, GPs’ perceived competencies were explored. GPs were twice as likely to provide EOL care for patients with cancer than for patients with non-malignancies. EOL care was lacking clear organisation in general practice in terms of registering palliative patients and having specific EOL procedures. GPs were generally least confident with their skills in terminal medical treatment, for example, using medicine administered subcutaneously.

Concentrations of airborne chemical and biological agents from a hazardous release are not spread uniformly. Instead, there are regions of higher concentration, in part due to local atmospheric flow conditions which can attract agents. We equipped a ground station and two rotary-wing unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) with ultrasonic anemometers. Flights reported here were conducted 10 to 15 m above ground level (AGL) at the Leach Airfield in the San Luis Valley, Colorado as part of the Lower Atmospheric Process Studies at Elevation—a Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE) campaign in 2018. The ultrasonic anemometers were used to collect simultaneous measurements of wind speed, wind direction, and temperature in a fixed triangle pattern; each sensor was located at one apex of a triangle with ∼100 to 200 m on each side, depending on the experiment. A WRF-LES model was used to determine the wind field across the sampling domain. Data from the ground-based sensors and the two UASs were used to detect attracting regions (also known as Lagrangian Coherent Structures, or LCSs), which have the potential to transport high concentrations of agents. This unique framework for detection of high concentration regions is based on estimates of the horizontal wind gradient tensor. To our knowledge, our work represents the first direct measurement of an LCS indicator in the atmosphere using a team of sensors. Our ultimate goal is to use environmental data from swarms of sensors to drive transport models of hazardous agents that can lead to real-time proper decisions regarding rapid emergency responses. The integration of real-time data from unmanned assets, advanced mathematical techniques for transport analysis, and predictive models can help assist in emergency response decisions in the future.

Actinobaculum schaalii can cause urinary tract infections and septicemia but is difficult to identify by cultivation. To obtain a fast diagnosis and identify A. schaalii, we developed a TaqMan real-time quantitative PCR. Routine urine samples were obtained from 177 hospitalized patients and 75 outpatients in Viborg County, Denmark, in 2008–2009. The PCR detected A. schaalii in 22% of samples from patients >60 years of age. This assay showed that A. schaalii is more common than implied by routine cultivation. In 90% of PCR-positive urine samples, other common uropathogens were identified. This finding suggests that A. schaalii is a common, undetected, bacterial pathogen. Our results suggest that A. schaalii may be a more common pathogen than previously thought, especially in patients with unexplained chronic urinary tract infections, who are often treated with trimethoprim or ciprofloxacin, to which A. schaalii is resistant.

ABSTRACT The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the leading causes of fatal infections affecting humans. Intriguingly, phylogenetic analysis shows that the species constitutes one evolutionary lineage in a cluster of the otherwise commensal Streptococcus mitis strains, with which humans live in harmony. In a comparative analysis of 35 genomes, including phylogenetic analyses of all predicted genes, we have shown that the pathogenic pneumococcus has evolved into a master of genomic flexibility while lineages that evolved into the nonpathogenic S. mitis secured harmonious coexistence with their host by stabilizing an approximately 15%-reduced genome devoid of many virulence genes. Our data further provide evidence that interspecies gene transfer between S. pneumoniae and S. mitis occurs in a unidirectional manner, i.e., from S. mitis to S. pneumoniae. Import of genes from S. mitis and other mitis, anginosus, and salivarius group streptococci ensured allelic replacements and antigenic diversification and has been driving the evolution of the remarkable structural diversity of capsular polysaccharides of S. pneumoniae. Our study explains how the unique structural diversity of the pneumococcal capsule emerged and conceivably will continue to increase and reveals a striking example of the fragile border between the commensal and pathogenic lifestyles. While genomic plasticity enabling quick adaptation to environmental stress is a necessity for the pathogenic streptococci, the commensal lifestyle benefits from stability. IMPORTANCE One of the leading causes of fatal infections affecting humans, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and the commensal Streptococcus mitis are closely related obligate symbionts associated with hominids. Faced with a shortage of accessible hosts, the two opposing lifestyles evolved in parallel. We have shown that the nonpathogenic S. mitis secured harmonious coexistence with its host by stabilizing a reduced genome devoid of many virulence genes. Meanwhile, the pathogenic pneumococcus evolved into a master of genomic flexibility and imports genes from S. mitis and other related streptococci. This process ensured antigenic diversification and has been driving the evolution of the remarkable structural diversity of capsular polysaccharides of S. pneumoniae, which conceivably will continue to increase and present a challenge to disease prevention.

The Gram-positive anaerobic bacterium Propionibacterium acnes is a prevalent member of the normal skin microbiota of human adults. In addition to its suspected role in acne vulgaris it is involved in a variety of opportunistic infections. Multi-locus sequence-typing (MLST) schemes identified distinct phylotypes associated with health and disease. Being based on 8 to 9 house-keeping genes these MLST schemes have a high discriminatory power, but their application is time- and cost-intensive. Here we describe a single-locus sequence typing (SLST) scheme for P. acnes. The target locus was identified with a genome mining approach that took advantage of the availability of representative genome sequences of all known phylotypes of P. acnes. We applied this SLST on a collection of 188 P. acnes strains and demonstrated a resolution comparable to that of existing MLST schemes. Phylogenetic analysis applied to the SLST locus resulted in clustering patterns identical to a reference tree based on core genome sequences. We further demonstrate that SLST can be applied to detect multiple phylotypes in complex microbial communities by a metagenomic pyrosequencing approach. The described SLST strategy may be applied to any bacterial species with a basically clonal population structure to achieve easy typing and mapping of multiple phylotypes in complex microbiotas. The P. acnes SLST database can be found at http://medbac.dk/slst/pacnes.

Recruits of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Linnaeus, 1763), rarely encountered in the field were found co-inhabiting burrows of larger male and female conspecifics in the mangrove forest. They were located in the sediment of the inner walls and burrow plugs. Average carapace width (CW) of the hosting and co-inhabiting crabs was 3.8 ± 0.20 and 0.9 ± 0.03, respectively. As shown by the size-frequency distribution, while most recruits leave the conspecific burrows after reaching 1.0 cm CW, some stay until they reach a size of 2.5 cm CW. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of recruitment patterns in this ecologically and economically important mangrove crab species. Follow-up studies are however needed to fully determine the role of conspecific burrows for juvenile habitat choice and survivorship in U. cordatus.

The human palatine tonsils, which belong to the central antigen handling sites of the mucosal immune system, are frequently affected by acute and recurrent infections. This study compared the microbiota of the tonsillar crypts in children and adults affected by recurrent tonsillitis with that of healthy adults and children with tonsillar hyperplasia. An in-depth 16S rRNA gene based pyrosequencing approach combined with a novel strategy that included phylogenetic analysis and detection of species-specific sequence signatures enabled identification of the major part of the microbiota to species level. A complex microbiota consisting of between 42 and 110 taxa was demonstrated in both children and adults. This included a core microbiome of 12 abundant genera found in all samples regardless of age and health status. Yet, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria species, and Streptococcus pneumoniae were almost exclusively detected in children. In contrast, Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae was present in all samples. Obligate anaerobes like Porphyromonas, Prevotella, and Fusobacterium were abundantly present in children, but the species diversity of Porphyromonas and Prevotella was larger in adults and included species that are considered putative pathogens in periodontal diseases, i.e. Porphyromonas gingivalis, Porphyromonas endodontalis, and Tannerella forsythia. Unifrac analysis showed that recurrent tonsillitis is associated with a shift in the microbiota of the tonsillar crypts. Fusobacterium necrophorum, Streptococcus intermedius and Prevotella melaninogenica/histicola were associated with recurrent tonsillitis in adults, whereas species traditionally associated with acute tonsillitis like pyogenic streptococci and Staphylococcus aureus were scarce. The findings suggest that recurrent tonsillitis is a polymicrobial infection in which interactions within consortia of taxa play an etiologic role. The study contributes to the human microbiome data, to the understanding of the etiology of infections affecting the tonsils, and forms a basis for further insight into the consequences of the intense microbe-host interactions that take place in the tonsils.

Lack of reliable and accurate field data affect assessments of population status of tree species, especially tropical taxa with broad distributions. Use of distance sampling techniques may help to overcome the problem. This paper describes a method for estimation of absolute density of a rare tree species with scattered and clumped distribution, using line transect distance sampling. The method was applied to previously harvested populations of Aquilaria crassna Pierre ex H. Lec. (Thymelaeaceae) at four sites in Northern Laos. This species is destructively harvested to yield agarwood, probably the world’s most valuable nontimber forest product and categorised as ”critically endangered“. The average density of felled A. crassna trees at the four sites was 2.2 ha−1, indicating that harvesting has been extensive. However, the estimated densities of living saplings, 10.9 ha−1, small trees (DBH < 10 cm), 10.6 ha−1, and larger trees (DBH ≥ 10 cm), 1.7 ha−1, suggest that populations are not wiped flat. The survey method should stand a good chance of wider use as a tool in management and conservation of a wide range of tree species. Results of the present case study could suggest that the conservation status of A. crassna should be re-categorised.

Glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrates in mammals. In humans the majority of glycogen is stored in skeletal muscles (~500 g) and the liver (~100 g). Food is supplied in larger meals, but the blood glucose concentration has to be kept within narrow limits to survive and stay healthy. Therefore, the body has to cope with periods of excess carbohydrates and periods without supplementation. Healthy persons remove blood glucose rapidly when glucose is in excess, but insulin-stimulated glucose disposal is reduced in insulin resistant and type 2 diabetic subjects. During a hyperinsulinemic euglycaemic clamp, 70-90 % of glucose disposal will be stored as muscle glycogen in healthy subjects. The glycogen stores in skeletal muscles are limited because an efficient feedback-mediated inhibition of glycogen synthase prevents accumulation. De novo lipid synthesis can contribute to glucose disposal when glycogen stores are filled. Exercise physiologists normally consider glycogen’s main function as energy substrate. Glycogen is the main energy substrate during exercise intensity above 70 % of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and fatigue develops when the glycogen stores are depleted in the active muscles. After exercise, the rate of glycogen synthesis is increased to replete glycogen stores, and blood glucose is the substrate. Indeed insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis is elevated after exercise, which, from an evolutional point of view, will favour glycogen repletion and preparation for new fight or flight events. In the modern society, the reduced glycogen stores in skeletal muscles after exercise allows carbohydrates to be stored as muscle glycogen and prevents that glucose is channelled to de novo lipid synthesis, which over time will causes ectopic fat accumulation and insulin resistance. The reduction of skeletal muscle glycogen after exercise allows a healthy storage of carbohydrates after meals and prevents development of type 2 diabetes.

Abstract This synthesis is framed within the scope of the Brazilian Benthic Coastal Habitat Monitoring Network (ReBentos WG 4: Mangroves and Salt Marshes), focusing on papers that examine biodiversity-climate interactions as well as human-induced factors including those that decrease systemic resilience. The goal is to assess difficulties related to the detection of climate and early warning signals from monitoring data. We also explored ways to circumvent some of the obstacles identified. Exposure and sensitivity of mangrove and salt marsh species and ecosystems make them extremely vulnerable to environmental impacts and potential indicators of sea level and climate-driven environmental change. However, the interpretation of shifts in mangroves and salt marsh species and systemic attributes must be scrutinized considering local and setting-level energy signature changes; including disturbance regime and local stressors, since these vary widely on a regional scale. The potential for adaptation and survival in response to climate change depends, in addition to the inherent properties of species, on contextual processes at the local, landscape, and regional levels that support resilience. Regardless of stressor type, because of the convergence of social and ecological processes, coastal zones should be targeted for anticipatory action to reduce risks and to integrate these ecosystems into adaptation strategies. Management must be grounded on proactive mitigation and collaborative action based on long-term ecosystem-based studies and well-designed monitoring programs that can 1) provide real-time early warning and 2) close the gap between simple correlations that provide weak inferences and process-based approaches that can yield increasingly reliable attribution and improved levels of anticipation.