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Physical condition is important for the ability to resist various parasites and diseases as well as in escaping predators thus contributing to reproductive success, over-winter survival and possible declines in wildlife populations. However, in-depth research on trends in body condition is rare because decades-long datasets are not available for a majority of species. We analysed the long-term dataset of offspring covering 34 years, male parents (40 years) and female parents (42 years) to find out whether the decline of Tengmalm’s owl population in western Finland is attributable to either decreased adult and/or juvenile body condition in interaction with changing weather conditions and density estimates of main foods. We found that body condition of parent owl males and females declined throughout the 40-year study period whereas the body condition of owlets at the fledging stage very slightly increased. The body condition of parent owls increased with augmenting depth of snow cover in late winter (January to March), and that of offspring improved with increasing precipitation in late spring (May to June). We conclude that the decreasing trend of body condition of parent owl males and females is important factor probably inducing reduced adult survival and reduced reproduction success thus contributing to the long-term decline of the Tengmalm’s owl study population. The very slightly increasing trend of body condition of offspring is obviously not able to compensate the overall decline of Tengmalm’s owl population, because the number of offspring in turn simultaneously decreased considerably in the long-term. The ongoing climate change appeared to work in opposite ways in this case because declining depth of snow cover will make the situation worse but increased precipitation will improve. We suggest that the main reasons for long-term decline of body condition of parent owls are interactive or additive effects of reduced food resources and increased overall predation risk due to habitat degradation (loss and fragmentation of mature and old-growth forests due to clear-felling) subsequently leading to decline of Tengmalm’s owl study population.

Detection of environmental DNA (eDNA) has become a commonly used surveillance method for threatened or invasive vertebrates in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. However, most studies in this field favor vertebrate target species. Environmental DNA protocols can be especially useful for endangered invertebrates such as the Hine’s emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana) where conservation efforts have been greatly hindered by training, time, overall costs, and environmental impacts associated with conducting surveys in the calcareous fens occupied by this species. An essential step in developing such a protocol is to evaluate the dynamics of eDNA concentration under controlled conditions. We used the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to examine seasonal shifts in the persistence and net-accumulation of eDNA from captive S. hineana larvae in experimental mesocosms at temperatures corresponding with their overwintering (5.0 °C) and active (16.0 °C) seasons. Environmental DNA persisted longer at 5.0 °C but accumulated more readily at 16.0 °C. Differences in the accumulation and persistence of eDNA reflect differences in the longevity of eDNA at different temperatures and seasonal differences in larval S. hineana behavior. This study highlights the importance of considering how seasonal changes in temperature influence not only the speed of eDNA degradation but also the target species’ eDNA shedding rates.

The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), a vector of dengue, Zika and other diseases, was introduced in Europe in the 1970s, where it is still widening its range. Spurred by public health concerns, several studies have delivered predictions of the current and future distribution of the species for this region, often with differing results. We provide the first joint analysis of these predictions, to identify consensus hotspots of high and low suitability, as well as areas with high uncertainty. The analysis focused on current and future climate conditions and was carried out for the whole of Europe and for 65 major urban areas. High consensus on current suitability was found for the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Italy and the coastline between the western Balkans and Greece. Most models also agree on a substantial future expansion of suitable areas into northern and eastern Europe. About 83% of urban areas are expected to become suitable in the future, in contrast with ~ 49% nowadays. Our findings show that previous research is congruent in identifying wide suitable areas for Aedes albopictus across Europe and in the need to effectively account for climate change in managing and preventing its future spread.

This proposal investigates the effect of vegetation height and density on received signal strength between two sensor nodes communicating under IEEE 802.15.4 wireless standard. With the aim of investigating the path loss coefficient of 2.4 GHz radio signal in an IEEE 802.15.4 precision agriculture monitoring infrastructure, measurement campaigns were carried out in different growing stages of potato and wheat crops. Experimental observations indicate that initial node deployment in the wheat crop experiences network dis-connectivity due to increased signal attenuation, which is due to the growth of wheat vegetation height and density in the grain-filling and physical-maturity periods. An empirical measurement-based path loss model is formulated to identify the received signal strength in different crop growth stages. Further, a NSGA-II multi-objective evolutionary computation is performed to generate initial node deployment and is optimized over increased coverage, reduced over-coverage, and received signal strength. The results show the development of a reliable wireless sensor network infrastructure for wheat crop monitoring.

Implementation of marine conservation strategies, such as increasing the numbers, extent, and effectiveness of protected areas (PAs), can help achieve conservation and restoration of ocean health and associated goods and services. Despite increasing recognition of the importance of including aspects of ecological functioning in PA design, the physical characteristics of habitats and simple measures of species diversity inform most PA designations. Marine and terrestrial ecologists have recently been using biological traits to assess community dynamics, functioning, and vulnerability to anthropogenic impacts. Here, we explore potential trait-based marine applications to advance PA design. We recommend strategies to integrate biological traits into ( a) conservation objectives (e.g., by assessing and predicting impacts and vulnerability), ( b) PA spatial planning (e.g., mapping ecosystem functions and functional diversity hot spots), and ( c) time series monitoring protocols (e.g., using functional traits to detect recoveries). We conclude by emphasizing the need for pragmatic tools to improve the efficacy of spatial planning and monitoring efforts.

Changing forest disturbance regimes and climate are driving accelerated tree mortality across temperate forests. However, it remains unknown if elevated mortality has induced decline of tree populations and the ecological, economic, and social benefits they provide. Here, we develop a standardized forest demographic index and use it to quantify trends in tree population dynamics over the last two decades in the western United States. The rate and pattern of change we observe across species and tree size-distributions is alarming and often undesirable. We observe significant population decline in a majority of species examined, show decline was particularly severe, albeit size-dependent, among subalpine tree species, and provide evidence of widespread shifts in the size-structure of montane forests. Our findings offer a stark warning of changing forest composition and structure across the western US, and suggest that sustained anthropogenic and natural stress will likely result in broad-scale transformation of temperate forests globally., The nature of forest disturbances are changing, yet consequences for forest dynamics remain uncertain. Using a new index, Stanke et al. show the populations of over half of the most abundant tree species in the western US have declined in the last two decades, with grim implications for how temperate forests globally will respond to sustained anthropogenic and natural stress.

Assessing the seasonal patterns of the Amazon rainforests has been difficult because of the paucity of ground observations and persistent cloud cover over these forests obscuring optical remote sensing observations. Here, we use data from a new generation of geostationary satellites that carry the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) to study the Amazon canopy. ABI is similar to the widely used polar orbiting sensor, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), but provides observations every 10–15 min. Our analysis of NDVI data collected over the Amazon during 2018–19 shows that ABI provides 21–35 times more cloud-free observations in a month than MODIS. The analyses show statistically significant changes in seasonality over 85% of Amazon forest pixels, an area about three times greater than previously reported using MODIS data. Though additional work is needed in converting the observed changes in seasonality into meaningful changes in canopy dynamics, our results highlight the potential of the new generation geostationary satellites to help us better understand tropical ecosystems, which has been a challenge with only polar orbiting satellites., Cloud cover and scarcity of ground-based validation hinder remote sensing of forest dynamics in the Amazon basin. Here, the authors analyse imagery from a high-frequency geostationary satellite sensor to study monthly NDVI patterns in the Amazon forest, finding support for spatially extensive seasonality.

Background: Human impacts on earth-system processes are overshooting several planetary boundaries, driving a crisis of ecological breakdown. This crisis is being caused in large part by global resource extraction, which has increased dramatically over the past half century. We propose a novel method for quantifying national responsibility for ecological breakdown by assessing nations’ cumulative material use in excess of equitable and sustainable boundaries. Methods: For this analysis, we derived national fair shares of a sustainable resource corridor. These fair shares were then subtracted from countries’ actual resource use to determine the extent to which each country has overshot its fair share over the period 1970–2017. Through this approach, each country's share of responsibility for global excess resource use was calculated. Findings: High-income nations are responsible for 74% of global excess material use, driven primarily by the USA (27%) and the EU-28 high-income countries (25%). China is responsible for 15% of global excess material use, and the rest of the Global South (ie, the low-income and middle-income countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia) is responsible for only 8%. Overshoot in higher-income nations is driven disproportionately by the use of abiotic materials, whereas in lower-income nations it is driven disproportionately by the use of biomass. Interpretation: These results show that high-income nations are the primary drivers of global ecological breakdown and they need to urgently reduce their resource use to fair and sustainable levels. Achieving sufficient reductions will likely require high-income nations to adopt transformative post-growth and degrowth approaches. Funding: None.

Researchers are increasingly examining patterns and drivers of postfire forest recovery amid growing concern that climate change and intensifying fires will trigger ecosystem transformations. Diminished seed availability and postfire drought have emerged as key constraints on conifer recruitment. However, the spatial and temporal extent to which recurring modes of climatic variability shape patterns of postfire recovery remain largely unexplored. Here, we identify a north-south dipole in annual climatic moisture deficit anomalies across the Interior West of the US and characterize its influence on forest recovery from fire. We use annually resolved establishment models from dendrochronological records to correlate this climatic dipole with short-term postfire juvenile recruitment. We also examine longer-term recovery trajectories using Forest Inventory and Analysis data from 989 burned plots. We show that annual postfire ponderosa pine recruitment probabilities in the northern Rocky Mountains (NR) and the southwestern US (SW) track the strength of the dipole, while declining overall due to increasing aridity. This indicates that divergent recovery trajectories may be triggered concurrently across large spatial scales: favorable conditions in the SW can correspond to drought in the NR that inhibits ponderosa pine establishment, and vice versa. The imprint of this climatic dipole is manifest for years postfire, as evidenced by dampened long-term likelihoods of juvenile ponderosa pine presence in areas that experienced postfire drought. These findings underscore the importance of climatic variability at multiple spatiotemporal scales in driving cross-regional patterns of forest recovery and have implications for understanding ecosystem transformations and species range dynamics under global change.

With most of the world’s Caprinae taxa threatened with extinction, the IUCN appeals to the development of simple and affordable sampling methods that will produce credible abundance and distribution data for helping conserve these species inhabiting remote areas. Traditional sampling approaches, like aerial sampling or mark-capture-recapture, can generate bias by failing to meet sampling assumptions, or by incurring too much cost and logistical burden for most projects to address them. Therefore, we met the IUCN’s challenge by testing a sampling technique that leverages imagery from camera traps with conventional distance sampling, validating its operability in mountainous topography by comparing results to known abundances. Our project occurred within a captive facility housing a wild population of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in the Chihuahuan desert of New Mexico, which is censused yearly. True abundance was always within our 90% confidence bounds, and the mean abundance estimates were within 4.9 individuals (average) of the census values. By demonstrating the veracity of this straightforward and inexpensive sampling method, we provide confidence in its operability, urging its use to fill conservation voids for Caprinae and other data-deficient species inhabiting rugged or heavily vegetated terrain.

Visual analysis of complex fish habitats is an important step towards sustainable fisheries for human consumption and environmental protection. Deep Learning methods have shown great promise for scene analysis when trained on large-scale datasets. However, current datasets for fish analysis tend to focus on the classification task within constrained, plain environments which do not capture the complexity of underwater fish habitats. To address this limitation, we present DeepFish as a benchmark suite with a large-scale dataset to train and test methods for several computer vision tasks. The dataset consists of approximately 40 thousand images collected underwater from 20 \green{habitats in the} marine-environments of tropical Australia. The dataset originally contained only classification labels. Thus, we collected point-level and segmentation labels to have a more comprehensive fish analysis benchmark. These labels enable models to learn to automatically monitor fish count, identify their locations, and estimate their sizes. Our experiments provide an in-depth analysis of the dataset characteristics, and the performance evaluation of several state-of-the-art approaches based on our benchmark. Although models pre-trained on ImageNet have successfully performed on this benchmark, there is still room for improvement. Therefore, this benchmark serves as a testbed to motivate further development in this challenging domain of underwater computer vision. Code is available at: https://github.com/alzayats/DeepFish, Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for Publication in Scientific Reports (Nature) 14 August 2020

OBJECTIVE To investigate the symptom deterioration of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) according to the difference in daily temperature. PATIENTS AND METHODS From the National Health Insurance Service database, we collected and analyzed data on patients with BPH in 6 major metropolitan areas in Korea between January 2008 and December 2017. We investigated the rate of emergency room visits as well as the rate of urethral catheter insertion. RESULTS In total, 1,446,465 patients were enrolled in this study. When the daily temperature difference was below 4°C, 28.5 patients visited the emergency room daily, while 42.2 patients visited the emergency room daily when the daily temperature difference exceeded 14°C. When the daily temperature difference was more than 14°C, about 48.0% more patients visited the emergency room than when the daily temperature difference was below 4°C. After visiting the emergency room, there were 11.9 patients who had a catheter inserted daily at the daily temperature difference below 4°C. When the daily temperature difference was more than 14°C, the number of catheter insertion cases was 17.8 patients daily, which was 49.2% higher than that of below 4°C. By time, surgery was performed most frequently within 3 months after visiting the emergency room. CONCLUSION Day temperature difference appear to be related to the Lower urinary tract symptom of BPH patients.

Although transmission of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases is geographically heterogeneous, in sub-Saharan Africa risk maps are rarely used to determine which communities receive vector control interventions. We compared outcomes in areas receiving different indoor residual spray (IRS) strategies in Eastern Province, Zambia: (1) concentrating IRS interventions within a geographical area, (2) prioritizing communities to receive IRS based on predicted probabilities of Anopheles funestus, and (3) prioritizing communities to receive IRS based on observed malaria incidence at nearby health centers. Here we show that the use of predicted probabilities of An. funestus to guide IRS implementation saw the largest decrease in malaria incidence at health centers, a 13% reduction (95% confidence interval = 5–21%) compared to concentrating IRS geographically and a 37% reduction (95% confidence interval = 30–44%) compared to targeting IRS based on health facility incidence. These results suggest that vector control programs could produce better outcomes by prioritizing IRS according to malaria-vector risk maps.

Habitat loss and fragmentation drive the worldwide depletion of biodiversity. Although it is known that anthropogenic disturbances severely affect host and ecosystem integrity, effects on parasites are largely understudied. This study aims to investigate if and how habitat fragmentation affects the composition of ectoparasite communities on small mammalian hosts in two networks of dry deciduous forest fragments in northwestern Madagascar. Forest sites differing in size, proportion of edge habitat and host density were studied in the Ankarafantsika National Park and in the Mariarano region. A total of 924 individuals of two mouse lemur species, Microcebus murinus (n = 200) and Microcebus ravelobensis (n = 426), and two rodent species, endemic Eliurus myoxinus (n = 114) and introduced Rattus rattus (n = 184), were captured to assess ectoparasite infestations. Ectoparasite prevalence and ectoparasite species richness were statistically related to nine ecological variables applying generalized linear mixed models. Hosts harbored ticks (Haemaphysalis microcebi), mites (Schoutedenichia microcebi, Listrophoroides spp., Laelaptidae gen. spp.) and sucking lice (Lemurpediculus spp., Polyplax sp., Hoplopleuridae gen. sp.). Parasite prevalence differed significantly between host species for all detected parasite taxa. Proximity to the forest edge led to a significant reduction in ectoparasites. Parasite-specific edge effects were observed up to a distance of 750 m from the forest edge. The obtained results imply that habitat fragmentation impacts ectoparasite communities, in particular by negatively affecting temporary parasite species. The results are best explained by an interplay of parasite life cycles, responses to changes in abiotic factors induced by edges and host-specific responses to habitat fragmentation. The negative responses of most studied ectoparasite taxa to forest edges and habitat fragmentation demonstrate their ecological vulnerability that may eventually threaten the integrity of ecosystems and potentially impact ectoparasite biodiversity worldwide.

Ground-based LiDAR also known as Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) technology is an active remote sensing imaging method said to be one of the latest advances and innovations for plant phenotyping. Basal Stem Rot (BSR) is the most destructive disease of oil palm in Malaysia that is caused by white-rot fungus Ganoderma boninense, the symptoms of which include flattening and hanging-down of the canopy, shorter leaves, wilting green fronds and smaller crown size. Therefore, until now there is no critical investigation on the characterisation of canopy architecture related to this disease using TLS method was carried out. This study proposed a novel technique of BSR classification at the oil palm canopy analysis using the point clouds data taken from the TLS. A total of 40 samples of oil palm trees at the age of nine-years-old were selected and 10 trees for each health level were randomly taken from the same plot. The trees were categorised into four health levels - T0, T1, T2 and T3, which represents the healthy, mildly infected, moderately infected and severely infected, respectively. The TLS scanner was mounted at a height of 1 m and each palm was scanned at four scan positions around the tree to get a full 3D image. Five parameters were analysed: S200 (canopy strata at 200 cm from the top), S850 (canopy strata at 850 cm from the top), crown pixel (number of pixels inside the crown), frond angle (degree of angle between fronds) and frond number. The results taken from statistical analysis revealed that frond number was the best single parameter to detect BSR disease as early as T1. In classification models, a linear model with a combination of parameters, ABD – A (frond number), B (frond angle) and D (S200), delivered the highest average accuracy for classification of healthy-unhealthy trees with an accuracy of 86.67 per cent. It also can classify the four severity levels of infection with an accuracy of 80 per cent. This model performed better when compared to the severity classification using frond number. The novelty of this research is therefore on the development of new approach to detect and classify BSR using point clouds data of TLS.

Coral reef ecosystems are among the first to fundamentally change in structure due to climate change, which leads to questioning of whether decades of knowledge regarding reef management is still applicable. Here we assess ecological responses to no-take marine reserves over two decades, spanning a major climate-driven coral bleaching event. Pre-bleaching reserve responses were consistent with a large literature, with higher coral cover, more species of fish, and greater fish biomass, particularly of upper trophic levels. However, in the 16 years following coral mortality, reserve effects were absent for the reef benthos, and greatly diminished for fish species richness. Positive fish biomass effects persisted, but the groups of fish benefiting from marine reserves profoundly changed, with low trophic level herbivores dominating the responses. These findings highlight that while marine reserves still have important roles on coral reefs in the face of climate change, the species and functional groups they benefit will be substantially altered., It is unclear whether rapid climate change will alter the effectiveness of marine reserves. Here Graham et al. use a 20-year time-series from the Seychelles to show that marine reserves may not prevent climate-driven shifts in community composition, and that ecological responses to reserves are substantially altered.

The pattern of species abundance, represented by the number of individuals per species within an ecological community, is one of the fundamental characteristics of biodiversity. However, despite their obvious significance in ecology and biogeography, there is still no clear understanding of these patterns at large spatial scales. Here, we develop a hierarchical modelling approach to estimate macroscale patterns of species abundance. Using this approach, estimates of absolute abundance of 1248 woody plant species at a 10-km-grid-square resolution over East Asian islands across subtropical to temperate biomes are obtained. We provide two examples of the basic and applied use of the estimated species abundance for (1) inference of macroevolutionary processes underpinning regional biodiversity patterns and (2) quantitative community-wide assessment of a national red list. These results highlight the potential of the elucidation of macroscale species abundance that has thus far been an inaccessible but critical property of biodiversity., Measurement of species abundance is fundamental in ecology, yet challenging at large spatial scales. Here, the authors show estimates of abundance of 1248 woody plant species over the East Asian islands that highlight macroevolutionary processes of biodiversity and the status of the national red listing.

There is growing evidence that mushrooms (fruiting bodies) can be suitable for biogeochemical prospecting for minerals and as indicators of heavy metal and radioactive contaminants in the terrestrial environment. Apart from the nutritional aspect, knowledge of accumulation dynamics and distribution of elements in fruiting bodies, from emergence to senescence, is essential as is standardization when choosing mushroom species as potential bioindicators and for monitoring purposes. We studied the effect of fruitbody developmental stage on the contents of the elements (Li, K, V, Cr, Mn, Mg, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Ag, Al, Cd, Sb, Cs, Ba, Pb, Tl and U) in the individual parts of the Amanita muscaria fruiting body. Elements such as K, Mg, Mn, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn and Se remained similar throughout all developmental stages studied, however for K, differences occurred in the values of caps and stipes, as expressed by the cap to stipe concentration quotient (index QC/S). The other elements quantified, i.e., Li, V, Cr, As, Rb, Sr, Ag, Al, Cd, Sb, Cs, Ba, Pb, Tl and U are considered as nonessential or toxic (with the exception of V in A. muscaria). Their accumulation in the fruiting bodies and their distribution between cap and stipe did not show a uniform pattern. Pb, Sb, Tl, Ba, Sr, Li, Rb and Cs decreased with increasing maturity of the fruitbodies, implying that translocation, distribution and accumulation in stipes and caps was not a continuous process, while V, Cr, As, Ag, Cd, and U remained at the same concentration, similarly to the essential elements. Our results for A. muscaria confirm that elemental distribution in different parts of fruiting bodies is variable for each element and may change during maturation. Soil properties, species specificity and the pattern of fruitbody development may all contribute to the various types of elemental distribution and suggest that the results for one species in one location may have only limited potential for generalization.

Kashmir musk deer Moschus cupreus (KMD) are the least studied species of musk deer. We compiled genetically validated occurrence records of KMD to construct species distribution models using Maximum Entropy. We show that the distribution of KMD is limited between central Nepal on the east and north-east Afghanistan on the west and is primarily determined by precipitation of driest quarter, annual mean temperature, water vapor, and precipitation during the coldest quarter. Precipitation being the most influential determinant of distribution suggests the importance of pre-monsoon moisture for growth of the dominant vegetation, Himalayan birch Betula utilis and Himalayan fir Abies spectabilis, in KMD’s preferred forests. All four Representative Concentration Pathway Scenarios result an expansion of suitable habitat in Uttarakhand, India, west Nepal and their associated areas in China in 2050s and 2070s but a dramatic loss of suitable habitat elsewhere (Kashmir region and Pakistan-Afghanistan border). About 1/4th of the current habitat will remain as climate refugia in future. Since the existing network of protected areas will only include a tiny fraction (4%) of the climatic refugia of KMD, the fate of the species will be determined by the interplay of more urgent short-term forces of poaching and habitat degradation and long-term forces of climate change.

Both low soil water content (SWC) and high atmospheric dryness (vapor pressure deficit, VPD) can negatively affect terrestrial gross primary production (GPP). The sensitivity of GPP to soil versus atmospheric dryness is difficult to disentangle, however, because of their covariation. Using global eddy-covariance observations, here we show that a decrease in SWC is not universally associated with GPP reduction. GPP increases in response to decreasing SWC when SWC is high and decreases only when SWC is below a threshold. By contrast, the sensitivity of GPP to an increase of VPD is always negative across the full SWC range. We further find canopy conductance decreases with increasing VPD (irrespective of SWC), and with decreasing SWC on drier soils. Maximum photosynthetic assimilation rate has negative sensitivity to VPD, and a positive sensitivity to decreasing SWC when SWC is high. Earth System Models underestimate the negative effect of VPD and the positive effect of SWC on GPP such that they should underestimate the GPP reduction due to increasing VPD in future climates.

Populations of many marine species are only weakly synchronous, despite coupling through larval dispersal and exposure to synchronous environmental drivers. Although this is often attributed to observation noise, factors including local environmental differences, spatially variable dynamics, and chaos might also reduce or eliminate metapopulation synchrony. To differentiate spatially variable dynamics from similar dynamics driven by spatially variable environments, we applied hierarchical delay embedding. A unique output of this approach, the “dynamic correlation,” quantifies similarity in intrinsic dynamics of populations, independently of whether their abundance is correlated through time. We applied these methods to 17 populations of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) along the US Atlantic coast and found that their intrinsic dynamics were broadly similar despite largely independent fluctuations in abundance. The weight of evidence suggests that the latitudinal gradient in temperature, filtered through a unimodal response curve, is sufficient to decouple crab populations. As unimodal thermal performance is ubiquitous in ectotherms, we suggest that this may be a general explanation for the weak synchrony observed at large distances in many marine species, although additional studies are needed to test this hypothesis.

Changes in the proportions of river- and lake-produced eggs of a landlocked amphidromous fish, ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis) in the Lake Biwa water system, Japan, were monitored by stable isotope analysis, based on different δ15 N and δ13 C values of prey organisms between the lake and its tributaries. During the 3 month reproduction season, the δ15 N values of spawned eggs decreased with time. This result implies that there was a shift from lake-produced eggs to river-produced eggs within a reproductive season, based on the observation that adult fish in the lake had previously been shown to have eggs with distinctly higher δ15 N values in their ovaries than those in the tributaries. This explanation was also supported by the change in δ13 C values of the spawned eggs. Furthermore, eggs with lower δ15 N and higher δ13 C values tended to be spawned at less variable depths, suggesting that females spawning river-produced eggs selected the spawning sites from a narrower range. We conclude that stable isotope ratios of spawned eggs can be indicators of the relative contributions of different food chains and can enable comparisons of reproductive characteristics between types of egg.

Childhood diarrheal disease causes significant morbidity and mortality in low and middle-income countries, yet our ability to accurately predict diarrhea incidence remains limited. El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been shown to affect diarrhea dynamics in South America and Asia. However, understanding of its effects in sub-Saharan Africa, where the burden of under-5 diarrhea is high, remains inadequate. Here we investigate the connections between ENSO, local environmental conditions, and childhood diarrheal disease in Chobe District, Botswana. Our results demonstrate that La Niña conditions are associated with cooler temperatures, increased rainfall, and higher flooding in the Chobe region during the rainy season. In turn, La Niña conditions lagged 0–5 months are associated with higher than average incidence of under-5 diarrhea in the early rainy season. These findings demonstrate the potential use of ENSO as a long-lead prediction tool for childhood diarrhea in southern Africa., Here, Heaney et al. show that La Niña conditions are associated with higher than average incidence of childhood diarrheal disease in Botswana in the early rainy season. This finding could help to predict childhood diarrhea outbreaks in southern Africa.

Key Points Question Is pragmatic, large-scale use of rAd26-rAd5, ChAdOx1, and BBIBP-CorV COVID-19 vaccines associated with reduction of morbidity, all-cause mortality, and COVID-19–related mortality in a population of individuals aged at least 60 years? Findings In this cohort study of 663 602 participants, the use of COVID-19 vaccines was associated with a significant reduction in all-cause death, COVID-related death, and documented infection with the use of 1 dose and even more with the use of 2 doses. Meaning These findings suggest that pragmatic use of available COVID-19 vaccines may significantly reduce morbidity and mortality., This cohort study examines the association of a COVID-19 vaccine campaign and SARS-CoV-2 infection and mortality among adults aged 60 years and older in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina., Importance Although there are reports of COVID-19 vaccine implementation in real-world populations, these come from high-income countries or from experience with messenger RNA technology vaccines. Data on outcomes of vaccine deployment in low- or middle-income countries are lacking. Objective To assess whether the pragmatic application of the 3 COVID-19 vaccines available in Argentina, 2 of which have no reports of evaluation in real-world settings to date, were associated with a reduction in morbidity, all-cause mortality, and mortality due to COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study used individual and ecological data to explore outcomes following vaccination with rAd26-rAd5, ChAdOx1, and BBIBP-CorV. To correct for differences in exposure times, results are shown using incidence density per 100 000 person-days from the start of the vaccination campaign (December 29, 2020) to the occurrence of an event or the end of follow-up (May 15, 2021). Participants included 663 602 people aged at least 60 years residing in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Statistical analysis was performed from June 1 to June 15, 2021. Main Outcomes and Measures Diagnosis of COVID-19 confirmed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction, death from all causes, and death within 30 days of a diagnosis of COVID-19. Poisson regression models were fitted to estimate associations with all 3 outcomes. Results Among 663 602 residents of the city of Buenos Aires included in the study, 540 792 (81.4%) were vaccinated with at least 1 dose, with 457 066 receiving 1 dose (mean [SD] age, 74.5 (8.9) years; 61.5% were female [n = 281 284]; 68.0% [n = 310 987] received the rAd26-rAd5 vaccine; 29.5% [n = 135 036] received ChAdOx1; 2.4% [n = 11 043] received BBIBP-CorV) and 83 726 receiving 2 doses (mean [SD] age, 73.4 [6.8] years; 63.5% were female [n = 53 204]). The incidence density of confirmed COVID-19 was 36.25 cases/100 000 person-days (95% CI, 35.80-36.70 cases/100 000 person-days) among those who did not receive a vaccine, 19.13 cases/100 000 person-days (95% CI, 18.63-19.62 cases/100 000 person-days) among those who received 1 dose, and 4.33 cases/100 000 person-days (95% CI, 3.85-4.81 cases/100 000 person-days) among those who received 2 doses. All-cause mortality was 11.74 cases/100 000 person-days (95% CI, 11.51-11.96 cases/100 000 person-days), 4.01 cases/100 000 person-days (95% CI, 3.78-4.24 cases/100 000 person-days) and 0.40 cases/100 000 person-days (95% CI, 0.26-0.55 cases/100 000 person-days). COVID-19–related-death rate was 2.31 cases/100 000 person-days (95% CI, 2.19-2.42 cases/100 000 person-days), 0.59 cases/100 000 person-days (95% CI, 0.50-0.67 cases/100 000 person-days), and 0.04 cases/100 000 person-days (95% CI, 0.0-0.09 cases/100 000 person-days) among the same groups. A 2-dose vaccination schedule was associated with an 88.1% (95% CI, 86.8%-89.2%) reduction in documented infection, 96.6% (95% CI, 95.3%-97.5%) reduction in all-cause death, and 98.3% (95% CI, 95.3%-99.4%) reduction in COVID-19–related death. A single dose was associated with a 47.2% (95% CI, 44.2%-50.1%) reduction in documented infection, 65.8% (95% CI, 61.7%-69.5%) reduction in all-cause death, and 74.5% (95% CI, 66%-80.8%) reduction in COVID-19–related death. Conclusions and Relevance This study found that within the first 5 months after the start of the vaccination campaign, vaccination was associated with a significant reduction in COVID-19 infection as well as a reduction in mortality.

The construction of vehicular roads likely affects the distribution of natural resources. Although the effects of roads on different ecosystem aspects have been extensively studied, studies in arid and, particularly, in hyper-arid ecosystems are scarce. In drylands, where water is the main limiting factor, the effect of roads on the redistribution of water may have strong subsequent effects on the ecosystem, especially when roads cross natural water flow paths. To fill this knowledge gap, we studied the effects of a road that runs across a slope on the distribution of plants and animals in a hyper-arid environment. Changes in shrub cover, below and above the road, were quantified by remote sensing and image classification, while plant-associated arthropods were vacuum-sampled from shrub canopies and from open (inter-shrub) areas. We found that the spatial distribution of shrubs, a vital resource facilitating many other organisms, was affected by the road, with an increase in the shrub cover immediately above the road and a decrease below it. Arthropod abundance generally followed shrub cover, but the exact pattern depended on the specific group sampled. While some arthropod groups (e.g., aphids, parasitic wasps and barklice) thrived under the disturbed conditions above the road, other arthropod groups (e.g., mites and true bugs) were less abundant in the disturbed patches. Our results highlight the strong effects of human-made structures on the distribution of flora and fauna in arid ecosystems.

The recent introduction of the Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia Smith, in the United States in late 2019 has raised concerns about its establishment in the Pacific Northwest and its potential deleterious effects on honey bees, Apis spp., and their pollination services in the region. Therefore, we conducted a risk assessment of the establishment of V. mandarinia in Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho on a county-by-county basis. Our highly conservative tier-1 qualitative and semiquantitative risk assessment relied on the biological requirements and ecological relationships of V. mandarinia in the environments of the Pacific Northwest. Our risk characterization was based on climate and habitat suitability estimates for V. mandarinia queens to overwinter and colonize nests, density and distribution of apiaries, and locations of major human-mediated introduction pathways that may increase establishment of the hornet in the counties. Our results suggest that 32 counties in the region could be at low risk, 120 at medium risk, and 23 at high risk of establishment. Many of the western counties in the region were estimated to be at the highest risk of establishment mainly because of their suitable climate for queens to overwinter, dense forest biomass for nest colonization, and proximity to major port and freight hubs in the region. By design, our tier-1 risk assessment most likely overestimates the risk of establishment, but considering its negative effects, these counties should be prioritized in ongoing monitoring and eradication efforts of V. mandarinia.

Climate change and anthropogenic modifications to the landscape can have both positive and negative effects on an animal. Linking landscape change to physiological stress and fitness of an animal is a fundamental tenet to be examined in applied ecology. Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone that can be used to indicate an animal’s physiological stress response. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, fishers (Pekania pennanti) are a threatened mesocarnivore that have been subjected to rapid landscape changes due to anthropogenic modifications and tree mortality related to a 4-year drought. We measured cortisol concentrations in the hair of 64 fishers (41 females, 23 males) captured and radio-collared in the Sierra National Forest, California. We addressed two main questions: (1) Is the physiological stress response of fishers influenced by anthropogenic factors, habitat type, canopy cover, and tree mortality due to drought in their home range? (2) Does the physiological stress response influence survival, reproduction, or body condition? We examined these factors within a fisher home range at 3 scales (30, 60, 95% isopleths). Using model selection, we found that tree mortality was the principle driver influencing stress levels among individual fishers with female and male fishers having increasing cortisol levels in home ranges with increasing tree mortality. Most importantly, we also found a link between physiological stress and demography where female fishers with low cortisol levels had the highest annual survival rate (0.94), whereas females with medium and high cortisol had lower annual survival rates, 0.78 and 0.81, respectively. We found no significant relationships between cortisol levels and body condition, male survival, or litter size. We concluded that tree mortality related to a 4-year drought has created a “landscape of stress” for this small, isolated fisher population.

Worldwide, two of the most harmful invasive ants typical of disturbed sites are Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius) and Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger). Both are natives of the Neotropics and are widely distributed all over the tropics. Within its original geographic range, there are few data on its abundance and potential damage to natural ecosystems. In this study, we recorded their abundance and relationships to diversity and richness of soil ant communities in two localities with different amount of forested area (López Mateos, LM 77% and Venustiano Carranza, VC 27%), at Los Tuxtlas reserve. In each locality, four land use systems (LUS) were sampled: tropical rain forests, agroforestry plantations, annual crops, and pastures. Data were gathered from 360 ant samples obtained from litter squares, pitfall traps, and soil monoliths in 40 sampling points (20 per locality, and five per LUS). Solenopsis geminata was more abundant in LM than in VC; the opposite trend was observed for W. auropunctata. In LM, S. geminata was more abundant in crops than in the other LUS, whereas W. auropunctata tended to have higher abundances in less managed sites of both localities. Abundance and species richness of ant communities were higher in LM than in VC. At regional and local levels, we found negative relationships between the abundance of S. geminata and species richness; the inverse pattern was found for W. auropunctata. We conclude that at Los Tuxtlas, W. auropunctata can be considered as a typical dominant native species, whereas S. geminata is the common exotic invasive ant.

The Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges are underwater mountain chains that stretch across 2,900 km in the southeastern Pacific and are recognized for their high biodiversity value and unique ecological characteristics. Explorations of deep-water ecosystems have been limited in this region, and elsewhere globally. To characterize community composition of mesophotic and deep-sea demersal fauna at seamounts in the region, we conducted expeditions to Rapa Nui (RN) and Salas y Gómez (SyG) islands in 2011 and Desventuradas Islands in 2013. Remote autonomous baited-cameras were used to conduct stationary video surveys between 150–1,850 m at RN/SyG (N = 20) and 75–2,363 m at Desventuradas (N = 27). Individual organisms were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level and relative abundance was quantified with the maximum number of individuals per frame. Deployments were attributed with associated environmental variables (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, silicate, phosphate, chlorophyll-a, seamount age, and bathymetric position index [BPI]). We identified 55 unique invertebrate taxa and 66 unique fish taxa. Faunal community structure was highly dissimilar between and within subregions both for invertebrate (p < 0.001) and fish taxa (p = 0.022). For fishes, dogfish sharks (Squalidae) accounted for the greatest dissimilarity between subregions (18.27%), with mean abundances of 2.26 ± 2.49 at Desventuradas, an order of magnitude greater than at RN/SyG (0.21 ± 0.54). Depth, seamount age, broad-scale BPI, and nitrate explained most of the variation in both invertebrate (R2 = 0.475) and fish (R2 = 0.419) assemblages. Slightly more than half the deployments at Desventuradas (N = 14) recorded vulnerable marine ecosystem taxa such as corals and sponges. Our study supports mounting evidence that the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges are areas of high biodiversity and high conservation value. While Chile and Peru have recently established or proposed marine protected areas in this region, the majority of these ridges lie outside of national jurisdictions and are under threat from overfishing, plastic pollution, climate change, and potential deep-sea mining. Given its intrinsic value, this region should be comprehensively protected using the best available conservation measures to ensure that the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges remain a globally unique biodiversity hotspot.

The abyssal seafloor, that is, ocean depths of ∼3,000 to 6,000 m, is widely considered simply to be vast, featureless plains of sediment. For example, Wikipedia asserts that “abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth’s surface” and “are among the flattest, smoothest, and least explored regions on Earth” (1). Featureless tracts of mud make intuitive sense since abyssal plains are formed by the deposition of thick blankets of fine-grained sediments sinking from the surface ocean or transported as turbidity currents down continental margins. In most of the abyss, especially on seafloors >10 My old, this sediment blanket is tens to thousands of meters thick (2) and seems likely to bury or smoothen most of the irregularities in seafloor crust (e.g., basalt pillows) formed at midocean spreading centers. Riehl et al. in PNAS (3) help to dispel this notion that the abyssal seafloor is featureless, providing evidence of extensive rocky habitats along transform faults in the abyss. Scientists studying the deep sea have long known that rocky or hard substrates do occur on abyssal plains. Perhaps the best known are polymetallic (“manganese”) nodules that were discovered during the Challenger expedition (1872 to 1876) (4); nodules are widespread in the Pacific abyss and, to a much lesser extent, the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans (5). In some Pacific regions, nodules may cover 10 to >50% of the seafloor area, providing abundant rocky habitat (6, 7). Seamounts also provide rocky substrates at abyssal depths where their slopes and outcrops are too steep to hold sediments (8). With as many as 200,000 seamounts in the world ocean, seamounts too provide significant habitat area for hard-bottom faunas, but once again, seamounts are concentrated in the Pacific Ocean (8). Surveys with lowered cameras, human-occupied vehicles, remotely operated vehicles, and autonomous underwater vehicles … [↵][1]1Email: craigsmi{at}hawaii.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

Haplosporidian protist parasites are a major concern for aquatic animal health, as they have been responsible for some of the most significant marine epizootics on record. Despite their impact on food security, aquaculture and ecosystem health, characterizing haplosporidian diversity, distributions and host range remains challenging. In this study, water filtering bivalve species, cockles Cerastoderma edule, mussels Mytilus spp. and Pacific oysters Crassostrea gigas, were screened using molecular genetic assays using deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) markers for the Haplosporidia small subunit ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid region. Two Haplosporidia species, both belonging to the Minchinia clade, were detected in C. edule and in the blue mussel Mytilus edulis in a new geographic range for the first time. No haplosporidians were detected in the C. gigas, Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis or Mytilus hybrids. These findings indicate that host selection and partitioning are occurring amongst cohabiting bivalve species. The detection of these Haplosporidia spp. raises questions as to whether they were always present, were introduced unintentionally via aquaculture and or shipping or were naturally introduced via water currents. These findings support an increase in the known diversity of a significant parasite group and highlight that parasite species may be present in marine environments but remain undetected, even in well-studied host species.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-12T17:26:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018. Added 1 bitstream(s) on 2018-11-12T17:34:54Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 S1519-69842018005019105.pdf: 3069844 bytes, checksum: 436e3f41bad8aedc9d2a50218f563c1a (MD5) ResumoAtualmente, a instalação de pequenas centrais hidrelétricas (PCHs) tem sido a alternativa mais visada quando a questão é suprir a demanda energética, considerando-se os menores impactos ambientais possíveis. Contudo, são escassos os trabalhos que avaliam as alterações causadas por esses empreendimentos, principalmente no que se diz respeito a um tipo de macro-habitat de rios, os pedrais. Assim, este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o impacto da construção de uma PCH na fauna de macroinvertebrados aquáticos associada a dois pedrais basálticos, localizados no rio Sapucaí-Mirim, no Sudeste do Brasil. O primeiro, considerado como um pedral funcional, segue a dinâmica natural do fluxo do rio e possui o substrato rochoso original. O segundo, considerado como pedral não funcional, foi permanentemente inundado após a construção da PCH e o substrato consolidado foi alterado por sedimentos finos. A amostragem foi realizada em dois períodos sazonais e os dados foram analisados através de análise multivariada. Foram observadas diferenças na composição e estrutura da comunidade de macroinvertebrados entre os pedrais e períodos. O pedral funcional apresentou uma riqueza muito maior, 72 táxons em comparação com 44 no não funcional, bem como um grande número de táxons exclusivos (38, sendo apenas nove exclusivos do não-funcional). Os valores médios da diversidade, equitabilidade e densidade também foram maiores no pedral funcional. Os parâmetros limnológicos variaram significativamente entre as estações seca e chuvosa, mas não entre os diferentes pedrais. Este tipo de macro-habitat e seu potencial papel para a biodiversidade dos rios são praticamente desconhecidos. Assim, mais estudos e medidas de proteção são necessários, principalmente diante do atual cenário de rápida expansão das PCHs. AbstractSmall hydroelectric power plants (SHP) have been considered as an alternative for the generation of electricity with reduced environmental impacts. Nevertheless, no studies have addressed changes in a particular kind of river macrohabitat commonly affected by SHPs, the knickzones. This study aimed to assess the impact of a SHP construction on the aquatic macroinvertebrate fauna associated with two basaltic knickzones located in Sapucaí-Mirim River, Southeast Brazil. The first, considered as a functional knickzone, follows the natural dynamics of the river flow and preserves the original rock substrate. The second, considered as non-functional knickzone, was permanently flooded after the SHP construction and the consolidated rock substrate was changed by fine sediment. Sampling was carried out in two seasonal periods and the data were analysed through multivariate analysis. It was observed differences in composition and structure of the macroinvertebrates community between the knickzones and periods. The functional knickzone exhibited a much higher richness, 72 taxa compared to 44 in the non-functional, as well as a large number of exclusive taxa (38, being only nine exclusive to the non-functional). Diversity, equitability and density mean values were also higher in the functional knickzone. The limnological parameters varied significantly between dry and rainy seasons but not between the distinct knickzones. This kind of macrohabitats and its potential role for the rivers biodiversity is practically unknown. In the scenery of fast SHP expansion, further studies and protection measures are necessary. Universidade Estadual Paulista Departamento de Zoologia Universidade Estadual Paulista Departamento de Biologia Laboratório de Biologia Aquática Universidade Estadual Paulista Departamento de Zoologia Universidade Estadual Paulista Departamento de Biologia Laboratório de Biologia Aquática

Habitat loss and fragmentation due to human activities is the leading cause of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Protected areas are the primary response to this challenge and are the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation efforts. Roughly 15% of land is currently protected although there is momentum to dramatically raise protected area targets towards 50%. But, how much land remains in a natural state? We answer this critical question by using open-access, frequently updated data sets on terrestrial human impacts to create a new categorical map of global human influence (‘Low Impact Areas’) at a 1 km2 resolution. We found that 56% of the terrestrial surface, minus permanent ice and snow, currently has low human impact. This suggests that increased protected area targets could be met in areas minimally impacted by people, although there is substantial variation across ecoregions and biomes. While habitat loss is well documented, habitat fragmentation and differences in fragmentation rates between biomes has received little attention. Low Impact Areas uniquely enabled us to calculate global fragmentation rates across biomes, and we compared these to an idealized globe with no human-caused fragmentation. The land in Low Impact Areas is heavily fragmented, compromised by reduced patch size and core area, and exposed to edge effects. Tropical dry forests and temperate grasslands are the world’s most impacted biomes. We demonstrate that when habitat fragmentation is considered in addition to habitat loss, the world’s species, ecosystems and associated services are in worse condition than previously reported.

The interaction between top-down and bottom-up forces determines the recovery trajectory of macroalgal forests exposed to multiple stressors. In an oligotrophic system, we experimentally investigated how nutrient inputs affected the recovery of Cystoseira brachycarpa following physical disturbance of varying intensities, both inside forested areas and at the boundary with sea urchin barrens. Unexpectedly, Cystoseira forests were highly resilient to disturbance, as they were able to recover from any partial damage. In general, the addition of nutrients sped up the recovery of Cystoseira. Thus, only the total canopy removal, in combination with either low nutrient availability or intense grazing pressure, promoted the expansion of mat-forming algae or urchin barrens, respectively. Our study suggests that the effects of enhanced nutrient levels may vary according to the trophic characteristics of the waterbody, and hence, are likely to vary among regions of the Mediterranean basin.

Many piscivorous fish species are depleted and/or threatened around the world. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are tools for conservation and fisheries management, though there is still controversy regarding the best design for increasing their ecological effectiveness. Here, on the basis of a weighted meta-analytical approach, we have assessed the effect of 32 MPAs, distributed worldwide, on the biomass and density of piscivorous fishes. We analysed the MPA features and the biological, commercial and ecological characteristics of fishes that may affect the response of species to protection. We found a positive effect on the biomass and density of piscivores inside MPAs. This effect was stronger for the biomass of medium-sized fishes (in relation to the maximum size reported for the species) and the density of large and gregarious species. The size of the no-take zone had a significant negative impact on both response variables and differed according to the level of enforcement, with smaller no-take zones having higher levels of enforcement. Thus, MPAs help to protect piscivorous fish species, with smaller, but well enforced reserves being more effective for the protection of the local populations of piscivorous fishes throughout the world.

Anthropogenic subsidies to natural systems can influence the diet of mobile omnivore species and co-occurring species. This study assessed if fall-off from mussel aquaculture subsidized wild populations of mobile scavengers and predators, such as the commercially important lobster Homarus americanus. A Bayesian stable isotope-mixing model with parameters determined from the literature and from a 105 days laboratory feeding experiment was applied to wild lobsters to determine how important the various food sources were in these lobsters, especially mussel fall-off. Isotopic values were mainly affected by lobster size with model outputs indicating that large lobsters (>80 mm cephalothorax) fed mainly on mussels from the mussel farm (46% of the diet) while small ones fed mostly on the rock crab Cancer irroratus (99%). The contribution of mussel subsidies to the lobster's diet was thus size-specific and direct (i.e. through mussel fall-off and not through co-occurring species such as rock crab). The absence of a link between food sources and lipid energy content in lobsters suggested that the reduction of rock crab consumption would have to be more drastic to affect the general health of large lobsters in the short term.