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Horizon scanning is a systematic approach increasingly used to explore emerging trends, issues, opportunities, and threats in conservation. We present the results from one such exercise aimed at identifying emerging issues that could have important scientific, social, technological, and managerial implications for the conservation of inland waters in Canada in the proximate future. We recognized six opportunities and nine challenges, for which we provide research implications and policy options, such that scientists, policy makers, and the Canadian society as a whole can prepare for a potential growth in each of the topic areas we identified. The issues spanned a broad range of topics, from recognizing the opportunities and challenges of community-enabled science and the need to consider the legal rights of nature, to the likely increase of pharmaceuticals in wastewater due to an aging population. These issues represent a first baseline that could help decision makers identify and prioritize efforts while simultaneously stimulate new research avenues. We hope our horizon scan will pave the way for similar exercises related to the conservation of biodiversity in Canada. L'analyse prospective est une approche systematique de plus en plus utilisee pour explorer les nouvelles tendances, questions, occasions et menaces dans le domaine de la conservation. Nous presentons les resultats d'un de ces exercices visant a cerner les questions emergentes qui pourraient etre importantes des points de vue scientifique, social, technologique et de la gestion relativement a la conservation des eaux interieures au Canada, pour l'avenir rapproche. Nous relevons six occasions a saisir et neuf defis, dont nous abordons les repercussions sur la recherche et les possibilites d'action qu'ils presentent, afin que les scientifiques, les decideurs et l'ensemble de la societe canadienne puissent se preparer en vue d'une croissance potentielle dans chacun des domaines cernes. Ces questions couvrent un vaste eventail de sujets allant de la reconnaissance des occasions et defis de la science facilitee par la collectivite et la necessite de prendre en compte les droits de la nature en vertu de la loi, a l'augmentation probable des produits pharmaceutiques dans les eaux usees en raison du vieillissement de la population. Ces questions representent un premier etat de reference qui pourrait aider les decideurs a cerner et prioriser les efforts tout en stimulant de nouvelles avenues de recherche. Nous esperons que cette analyse prospective ouvrira la voie a des exercices semblables concernant la conservation de la biodiversite au Canada. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Rivers, lakes, springs, and other inland waters (i.e., all surface waters contained within lands; FAO 2008) are often classified among the most threatened ecosystems on the planet (Dudgeon et [...]

Ecosystems are connected by flows of nutrients and organisms. Changes to connectivity and nutrient enrichment may destabilise ecosystem dynamics far from the nutrient source.We used gradostats to examine the effects of trophic connectivity (movement of consumers and producers) versus nutrient‐only connectivity on the dynamics of Daphnia pulex (consumers) and algae (resources) in two metaecosystem configurations (linear vs. dendritic).We found that Daphnia peak population size and instability (coefficient of variation; CV) increased as distance from the nutrient input increased, but these effects were lower in metaecosystems connected by all trophic levels compared with nutrient‐only connected systems and/or in dendritic compared with linear systems.We examined the effects of trophic connectivity (i.e. both trophic levels move rather than one or the other) using a generic model to qualitatively assess whether the expectations align with the ecosystem dynamics we observed.Analysis of our model shows that increased Daphnia population sizes and fluctuations in consumer‐resource dynamics are expected with nutrient connectivity, with this pattern being more pronounced in linear rather than dendritic systems.These results confirm that connectivity may propagate and even amplify instability over a metaecosystem to communities distant from the source disturbance, and suggest a direction for future experiments, that recreate conditions closer to those found in natural systems. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term genome was introduced in 1920 by the German botanist Hans Winkler (1877-1945) to describe 'the haploid chromosome set, which, together with the pertinent protoplasm, specifies the material foundations [...]

Abstract: The combination of DNA barcoding and high-throughput (next-generation) sequencing (metabarcoding) provides many promises but also serious challenges. Generating a reliable comparable estimate of biodiversity remains a central challenge to [...]

Early this year, the Romanian Academy commemorated the centennial birthday of the evolutionary biologist Nicolae Botnariuc (1915-03-13-2011-03-01; Fig. 1). The scientific contribution of Botnariuc has been well recognized within the [...]

Understanding the response of organisms to multiple stressors is critical for predicting if populations can adapt to rapid environmental change. Natural and anthropogenic stressors often interact, complicating general predictions. In this study, we examined the interactive and cumulative effects of two common environmental stressors, lowered calcium concentration, an anthropogenic stressor, and predator presence, a natural stressor, on the water flea DaphniapuJex. We analyzed expression changes of five genes involved in calcium homeostasis--cuticle proteins (Cutie, Icp2), calbindin (Cab), and calcium pump and channel (Serca and Ip3R)--using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) in a full factorial experiment. We observed strong synergistic interactions between low calcium concentration and predator presence. While the Ip3R gene was not affected by the stressors, the other four genes were affected in their transcriptional levels by the combination of the stressors. Transcriptional patterns of genes that code for cuticle proteins (Cutie and lcp2) and a sarcoplasmic calcium pump (Serca) only responded to the combination of stressors, changing their relative expression levels in a synergistic response, while a calcium-binding protein (Calb) responded to low calcium stress and the combination of both stressors. The expression pattern of these genes (Cutie, lcp2, and Serca) were nonlinear, yet they were dose dependent across the calcium gradient. Multiple stressors can have complex, often unexpected effects on ecosystems. This study demonstrates that the dominant interaction for the set of tested genes appears to be synergism. We argue that gene expression patterns can be used to understand and predict the type of interaction expected when organisms are exposed simultaneously to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Keywords: gene expression, Daphniapulex, calcium level, predator kairomones, anthropogenic stressors, biotic stressors. Il est critique de comprendre la reponse des organismes a de multiples stress afin de predire si des populations peuvent s'adapter a des changements environnementaux rapides. Les stress naturels et anthropogeniques interagissent souvent, ce qui peut compliquer les predictions generales. Dans ce travail, les auteurs ont examine les effets interactifs et cumulatifs de deux stress environnementaux communs, soit une faible concentration en calcium (un stress anthropogenique) et la presence d'un predateur (stress naturel), sur la puce d'eau Daphniapulex. Les auteurs ont analyse l'expression de cinq genes impliques dans l'homeostasie du calcium, soit les genes codant pour des proteines de la cuticule (Cutie, Icp2), la calbindine (Calb) et une pompe et un canal calciques (Serca et Ip3R), au moyen de la PCR quantitative en temps reel (RT-qPCR) lors d'une experience factorielle complete. Les auteurs ont observe de fortes interactions synergiques entre la faible concentration en calcium et la presence du predateur. Tandis que le gene Ip3R n'etait pas affecte par les stress, la transcription des quatre autres genes a ete affectee par la combinaison des stress. La transcription des genes codant pour les proteines de la cuticule (Cutie et lcp2) ainsi que la pompe calcique sarcoplasmique (Serca) n'a change qu'en reponse a une combinaison des stress, et ceci de maniere synergique, tandis que celle du gene codant pour la proteine de liaison du calcium (Calb) a ete affectee tant par le stress calcique que par la combinaison des deux stress. L'expression de ces genes (Cutie, Icp2 et Serca) etait non-lineaire, mais dose-dependante tout au long du gradient calcique. De multiples stress peuvent entrainer des effets complexes et parfois inattendus sur des ecosystemes. Cette etude demontre que l'interaction dominante au sein de ces genes semble etre la synergie. Les auteurs avancent que l'expression genique permet de comprendre et de predire le type d'interaction attendue lorsque des organismessont exposes simultanement a des stress naturels et anthropogeniques. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : expression genique, Daphnia pulex, niveau de calcium, kairomones de predateurs, stress anthropogeniques, stress biotiques., Introduction In nature, organisms are exposed to a plethora of natural and anthropogenic stressors, the combination of which can alter individual survival, growth, and reproduction. A huge challenge in studying [...]

The journal Genome, formally known as the Canadian Journal of Genetics and Cytology, was launched 60 years ago by the Genetics Society of Canada, soon after Francis Crick published the [...]