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During meiosis, the chromosome axes and synaptonemal complex mediate chromosome pairing and homologous recombination to maintain genomic stability and accurate chromosome segregation. In plants, ASYNAPSIS 1 (ASY1) is a key component of the chromosome axis that promotes inter-homolog recombination, synapsis and crossover formation. Here, the function of ASY1 has been cytologically characterized in a series of hypomorphic wheat mutants. In tetraploid wheat, asy1 hypomorphic mutants experience a reduction in chiasmata (crossovers) in a dosage-specific manner, resulting in failure to maintain crossover (CO) assurance. In mutants with only one functional copy of ASY1, distal chiasmata are maintained at the expense of proximal and interstitial chiasmata, indicating that ASY1 is required to promote chiasma formation away from the chromosome ends. Meiotic prophase I progression is delayed in asy1 hypomorphic mutants and is arrested in asy1 null mutants. In both tetraploid and hexaploid wheat, single asy1 mutants exhibit a high degree of ectopic recombination between multiple chromosomes at metaphase I. To explore the nature of the ectopic recombination, Triticum turgidum asy1b-2 was crossed with wheat-wild relative Aegilops variabilis. Homoeologous chiasmata increased 3.75-fold in Ttasy1b-2/Ae. variabilis compared to wild type/Ae. variabilis, indicating that ASY1 suppresses chiasma formation between divergent, but related chromosomes. These data suggest that ASY1 promotes recombination along the chromosome arms of homologous chromosomes whilst suppressing recombination between non-homologous chromosomes. Therefore, asy1 mutants could be utilized to increase recombination between wheat wild relatives and elite varieties for expediting introgression of important agronomic traits.

Failure to adapt migration timing to changes in environmental conditions along migration routes and at breeding locations can result in mismatches across trophic levels, as occurs between the brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus and its hosts. Using satellite tracking data from 87 male cuckoos across 11 years, we evaluate why the cuckoo has not advanced its arrival to the UK. Across years, breeding ground arrival was primarily determined by timing of departure from stopover in West Africa before northward crossing of the Sahara. Together with high population synchrony and low apparent endogenous control of this event, this suggests that a seasonal ecological constraint operating here limits overall variation in breeding grounds arrival, although this event was itself influenced by carry-over from timing of arrival into tropical Africa. Between-year variation within individuals was, in contrast, mostly determined by northward migration through Europe, likely due to weather conditions. We find evidence of increased mortality risk for a) early birds following migration periods positively impacting breeding grounds arrival, and b) late birds, possibly suffering energy limitation, after departure from the breeding grounds. These results help identify areas where demands of responding to global change can potentially be alleviated by improving stopover quality.

Acknowledgements: We would like to acknowledge the help of UEA Master’s students Rhianna Wren, Evan Burdett, Abigail Hunns and Ashis Datta who assisted with the review and identification of relevant papers., Funder: BTO Donations and Memberships, Funder: Penchant Foundation, Funder: Kenneth Trouth Gift in Will, Large-scale declines in terrestrial insects have been reported over much of Europe and across the world, however, population change assessments of other key invertebrate groups, such as soil invertebrates, have been largely neglected through a lack of available monitoring data. This study collates historic data from previously published studies to assess whether it is possible to infer previously undocumented long-term changes in soil invertebrate abundance. Earthworm and tipulid data were collated from over 100 studies across the UK, spanning almost 100 years. Analyses suggested long-term declines in earthworm abundance of between 1.6 to 2.1% per annum, equivalent to a 33% to 41% decline over 25 years. These appeared greatest in broadleaved woodlands and farmland habitats, and were greater in pasture than arable farmland. Significant differences in earthworm abundance between habitats varied between models but appeared to be highest in urban greenspaces and agricultural pasture. More limited data were available on tipulid abundance, which showed no significant change over time or variation between enclosed farmland and unenclosed habitats. Declines in earthworm populations could be contributing to overall declines in ecosystem function and biodiversity as they are vital for a range of ecosystem services and are keystone prey for many vertebrate species. If robust, our results identify a previously undetected biodiversity decline that would be a significant conservation and economic issue in the UK, and if replicated elsewhere, internationally. We highlight the need for long-term and large-scale soil invertebrate monitoring, which potentially could be carried out by citizen/community scientists.

Increasing crop yields through plant breeding is time consuming and laborious, with the generation of novel combinations of alleles being limited by chromosomal linkage blocks and linkage-drag. Meiotic recombination is essential to create novel genetic variation via the reshuffling of parental alleles. The exchange of genetic information between homologous chromosomes occurs at crossover (CO) sites but CO frequency is often low and unevenly distributed. This bias creates the problem of linkage-drag in recombination 'cold' regions, where undesirable variation remains linked to useful traits. In plants, programmed meiosis-specific DNA double-strand breaks, catalysed by the SPO11 complex, initiate the recombination pathway, although only ~5% result in the formation of COs. To study the role of SPO11-1 in wheat meiosis, and as a prelude to manipulation, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate edits in all three SPO11-1 homoeologues of hexaploid wheat. Characterization of progeny lines shows plants deficient in all six SPO11-1 copies fail to undergo chromosome synapsis, lack COs and are sterile. In contrast, lines carrying a single copy of any one of the three wild-type homoeologues are phenotypically indistinguishable from unedited plants both in terms of vegetative growth and fertility. However, cytogenetic analysis of the edited plants suggests that homoeologues differ in their ability to generate COs and in the dynamics of synapsis. In addition, we show that the transformation of wheat mutants carrying six edited copies of SPO11-1 with the TaSPO11-1B gene, restores synapsis, CO formation, and fertility and hence opens a route to modifying recombination in this agronomically important crop.

Protected area (PA) networks have in the past been constructed to include all major habitats, but have often been developed through consideration of only a few indicator taxa or across restricted areas, and rarely account for global climate change. Systematic conservation planning (SCP) aims to improve the efficiency of biodiversity conservation, particularly when addressing internationally agreed protection targets. We apply SCP in Great Britain (GB) using the widest taxonomic coverage to date (4,447 species), compare spatial prioritisation results across 18 taxa and use projected future (2080) distributions to assess the potential impact of climate change on PA network effectiveness. Priority conservation areas were similar among multiple taxa, despite considerable differences in spatial species richness patterns; thus systematic prioritisations based on indicator taxa for which data are widely available are still useful for conservation planning. We found that increasing the number of protected hectads by 2% (to reach the 2020 17% Aichi target) could have a disproportionate positive effect on species protected, with an increase of up to 17% for some taxa. The PA network in GB currently under-represents priority species but, if the potential future distributions under climate change are realised, the proportion of species distributions protected by the current PA network may increase, because many PAs are in northern and higher altitude areas. Optimal locations for new PAs are particularly concentrated in southern and upland areas of GB. This application of SCP shows how a small addition to an existing PA network could have disproportionate benefits for species conservation.

Meiosis recombines genetic variation and influences eukaryote genome evolution. During meiosis, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) enter interhomolog repair to yield crossovers and noncrossovers. DSB repair occurs as replicated sister chromatids are connected to a polymerized axis. Cohesin rings containing the REC8 kleisin subunit bind sister chromatids and anchor chromosomes to the axis. Here, we report the genomic landscape of REC8 using chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). REC8 associates with regions of high nucleosome occupancy in multiple chromatin states, including histone methylation at H3K4 (expressed genes), H3K27 (silent genes), and H3K9 (silent transposons). REC8 enrichment is associated with suppression of meiotic DSBs and crossovers at the chromosome and fine scales. As REC8 enrichment is greatest in transposon-dense heterochromatin, we repeated ChIP-seq in kyp suvh5 suvh6 H3K9me2 mutants. Surprisingly, REC8 enrichment is maintained in kyp suvh5 suvh6 heterochromatin and no defects in centromeric cohesion were observed. REC8 occupancy within genes anti-correlates with transcription and is reduced in COPIA transposons that reactivate expression in kyp suvh5 suvh6. Abnormal axis structures form in rec8 that recruit DSB-associated protein foci and undergo synapsis, which is followed by chromosome fragmentation. Therefore, REC8 occupancy correlates with multiple chromatin states and is required to organize meiotic chromosome architecture and interhomolog recombination.

In 2011, the government published Biodiversity 2020: A strategy for England’s wildlife and ecosystem services [1]. This strategy for England builds on the 2011 Natural Environment White Paper - NEWP [2] and provides a comprehensive picture of how we are implementing our international and EU commitments. It sets out the strategic direction for biodiversity policy between 2011-2020 on land (including rivers and lakes) and at sea, and forms part of the UK’s commitments under the ‘the Aichi targets’ agreed in 2010 under the United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity’s Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 [3].\ud Defra is committed to evaluating the Biodiversity 2020 strategy and has a public commitment to assess climate change adaptation measures. This document sets out the information on assessing how action under Biodiversity 2020 has helped our wildlife and ecosystems to adapt to climate change. Biodiversity 2020 aims to halt the loss of biodiversity and restore functioning ecosystems for wildlife and for people. The outcomes and actions in Biodiversity 2020, although wider in scope, aimed to increase resilience of our wildlife and ecosystems in the face of a changing climate. In order to inform the assessment, we have defined which of the measurable outputs under Biodiversity 2020 contribute to resilience. Biodiversity 2020 included plans to develop and publish a dedicated set of indicators to assess progress towards the delivery of the strategy. The latest list (at the time of writing), published in 2017, contains 24 biodiversity indicators [4] that would help inform progress towards achieving specific outcomes, they are also highly relevant to the outputs (detailed below) that form the basis for this evaluation. The Adaptation Sub-Committee’s 2017 UK Climate Change Risk Assessment Evidence Report [5] sets out the priority climate change risks and opportunities for the UK. The ASC also produced a review of progress in the National Adaptation Programme - “Progress in preparing for climate change” [6], which highlights adaptation priorities and progress being made towards achieving them. The UK Government’s response to the ASC [7] review includes a set of recommendations, of which Recommendation 6 states that “Action should be taken to enhance the condition of priority habitats and the abundance and range of priority species”. The recommendation further iterated that “This action should maintain or extend the level of ambition that was included in Biodiversity 2020” and that “An evaluation should be undertaken of Biodiversity 2020 including the extent to which goals have been met and of the implications for resilience to climate change.” To this, end an evaluation process has been put in place to define:\ud a. What worked and why? Which actions or activities have had the greatest benefit in terms of delivering the desired outcomes? And, conversely, what prevented progress?\ud b. Where are the opportunities? What are the financial, political, scientific and social opportunities for furthering the desired outcomes in the future?\ud These objectives underpin the evaluation process for actions to date, and will also inform future actions and the iteration of a new nature strategy for England.

The electricity gas and heat networks are finding it necessary to increase their ad hoc interactions as they develop their contribution to the net zero1 targets for green house gases for the UK and Scotland. The organisations involved in the “Getting to Net Zero” working group are all directly engaged in the energy sector encountering day-to-day challenges around how to include “getting to net zero” in their operations. The working group met to consider the progress of networks to date in addressing net zero and to identify immediate actions that would remove barriers to progress. This snap shot report summarises the working group findings.

Supplemental material, JHSPY_Supplemental_Table_1_ for A Prospective Pilot Study of Vascular Assessment of the Upper Extremity With Laser Angiography by Helen G. Hui-Chou, Madhuli Y. Thakkar, Kenneth R. Means and James P. Higgins in HAND

Tick infestation increased with temperature and vegetation height, and was negatively correlated with Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria chick survival, but not growth rates. To examine the factors associated with tick loads on Golden Plover chicks and whether tick loads correlated with the growth rate or short-term survival probability. Twenty-one chicks from eight broods were radio-tagged and recaptured at 4-day intervals to measure tick loads, growth rate and determine survival probability between recaptures. All broods and 90% of chicks (19/21) had ticks present during at least one recapture, and ticks were present on 81% (70/86) of all recaptures. Mean tick load per capture was 9.2 (range 0–45) which was 13 times higher than the only previous comparable study on wader chicks. Tick loads were highest in warmer weather and when chicks moved through areas with taller average field layer vegetation. Tick loads were also correlated with chick age and date. The chick growth rate was highest in warmer weather and at mid-altitudes (400–450 m) but showed no significant correlation with tick load. The probability of a chick surviving between recaptures was positively correlated with chick body condition and negatively correlated with tick load. This study, albeit from one site and with small sample size, recorded high tick loads on Golden Plover chicks. Although unrelated to growth rates, ticks were negatively correlated with chick survival. Further work to identify the mechanism(s) underpinning associations between tick load and survival is required. Prior to considering whether tick control is an effective and justified management for wader conservation, research should first establish whether chick mortality from ticks limits Golden Plover and other wader populations on moorland.

Supplemental material, Supplemental_figures for A Prospective Pilot Study of Vascular Assessment of the Upper Extremity With Laser Angiography by Helen G. Hui-Chou, Madhuli Y. Thakkar, Kenneth R. Means and James P. Higgins in HAND

Supplemental material, JHSPY_Supplemental_Table_2 for A Prospective Pilot Study of Vascular Assessment of the Upper Extremity With Laser Angiography by Helen G. Hui-Chou, Madhuli Y. Thakkar, Kenneth R. Means and James P. Higgins in HAND

Figure S1. Transmission electron microscopy images of ultra-thin sections of Chinese Spring wheat anthers varying in length from 0.5 to 1.4 mm. Scale bar = 50 μm. (PDF 570 kb)

International audience; This is our ninth annual horizon scan to identify emerging issues that we believe could affect global biological diversity, natural capital and ecosystem services, and conservation efforts. Our diverse and international team, with expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, as well as conservation science, practice, and policy, reviewed 117 potential issues. We identified the 15 that may have the greatest positive or negative effects but are not yet well recognised by the global conservation community. Themes among these topics include new mechanisms driving the emergence and geographic expansion of diseases, innovative biotechnologies, reassessments of global change, and the development of strategic infrastructure to facilitate global economic priorities., This is the ninth such annual horizon scan., Twenty-four experts in conservation research and practice, ecology, economics, policy, and science communication identified 15 topics following a wide consultation. They followed a Delphi like process to score and identify the most important., The issues highlighted span a wide range of fields and include thiamine deficiency in wild animals, the geographic expansion of chronic wasting disease, genetic control of invasive mammal populations and the effect of culturomics on conservation science, policy and action.

Climate change vulnerability assessments are commonly used to identify species at risk from global climate change, but the wide range of methodologies available makes it difficult for end users, such as conservation practitioners or policymakers, to decide which method to use as a basis for decision-making. In this study, we evaluate whether different assessments consistently assign species to the same risk categories and whether any of the existing methodologies perform well at identifying climate-threatened species. We compare the outputs of 12 climate change vulnerability assessment methodologies, using both real and simulated species, and validate the methods using historic data for British birds and butterflies (i.e. using historical data to assign risks and more recent data for validation). Our results show that the different vulnerability assessment methods are not consistent with one another; different risk categories are assigned for both the real and simulated sets of species. Validation of the different vulnerability assessments suggests that methods incorporating historic trend data into the assessment perform best at predicting distribution trends in subsequent time periods. This study demonstrates that climate change vulnerability assessments should not be used interchangeably due to the poor overall agreement between methods when considering the same species. The results of our validation provide more support for the use of trend-based rather than purely trait-based approaches, although further validation will be required as data become available.

It is important for conservationists to be able to assess the risks that climate change poses to species, in order to inform decision making. Using standardised and repeatable methods, we present a national-scale assessment of the risks of range loss and opportunities for range expansion that climate change could pose for over 3000 plants and animals. Species were selected by their occurrence in England, the primary focus of the study, but climate change impacts were assessed across Great Britain, widening their geographical relevance. A basic risk assessment that compared projected future changes in potential range with recently observed changes classified 21% of species as being at high risk and 6% at medium risk of range loss under a B1 climate change scenario. A greater number of species were classified as having a medium (16%) or high (38%) opportunity to potentially expand their distribution. A more comprehensive assessment, incorporating additional ecological information, including potentially confounding and exacerbating factors (e.g. dispersal, habitat availability and other constraints), was applied to 402 species, of which 35% were at risk of range loss and 42% may expand their range extent. This study covers a temperate region with a significant proportion of species at their poleward range limit; the balance of risks and opportunities from climate change may be different elsewhere. The outcome of both risk assessments varied between taxonomic groups, with bryophytes and vascular plants containing the greatest proportion of species at risk from climate change. Upland habitats contained more species at risk than other habitats. Whilst the overall pattern was clear, confidence was generally low for individual assessments, with the exception of well-studied taxa such as birds. In response to climate change, nature conservation needs to plan for changing species distributions and an uncertain future.

Climate change vulnerability assessments are commonly used to identify species at risk from global climate change, but the wide range of methodologies available makes it difficult for end users, such as conservation practitioners or policymakers, to decide which method to use as a basis for decision-making. In this study, we evaluate whether different assessments consistently assign species to the same risk categories and whether any of the existing methodologies perform well at identifying climate threatened species. We compare the outputs of 12 climate change vulnerability assessment methodologies, using both real and simulated species, and validate the methods using historic data for British birds and butterflies (i.e. using historical data to assign risks and more recent data for validation). Our results show that the different vulnerability assessment methods are not consistent with one another; different risk categories are assigned for both the real and simulated sets of species. Validation of the different vulnerability assessments suggests that methods incorporating historic trend data into the assessment perform best at predicting distribution trends in subsequent time periods. This study demonstrates that climate change vulnerability assessments should not be used interchangeably due to the poor overall agreement between methods when considering the same species. The results of our validation provide more support for the use of trend-based rather than purely trait-based approaches, although further validation will be required as data become available.

Mycobacterial infections are of primary health concern in NHP colonies in biomedical research. NHP are constantly monitored and screened for Mycobacterium spp. We report 6 Chinese-origin rhesus macaques infected with Mycobacterium kansasii that exhibited positive tuberculin skin tests in the absence of disease. Two of these macaques were being used for research purposes; the remaining 4 macaques were residing at the contract quarantine company. Histopathology and acid-fast staining of fixed tissues from all macaques showed that all were free of disease. Thoracic radiographs were negative for any signs of disease or infection. Samples from bronchial lavage and tissues including lung, spleen, hilar and mesenteric lymph nodes tested negative by PCR assay for Mycobacterium spp. One of the research macaques tested culture-positive for M. kansasii and a poorly characterized M. avium complex organism. One macaque from the contract quarantine facility tested culture positive for M. kansasii. Genomic testing and target gene RNA expression analysis of the 2 M. kansasii isolates were performed to evaluate possible kinship and affected genes that might contribute to susceptibility to mycobacterial infection. Genotyping of the 2 isolates revealed 2 genetically distinct strains (strains 1 and 4). The presence of positive tuberculin skin tests in the absence of disease raises serious concerns regarding diagnostic methods used for infected NHP.

Extreme climatic events could be major drivers of biodiversity change, but it is unclear whether extreme biological changes are (i) individualistic (species- or group-specific), (ii) commonly associated with unusual climatic events and/or (iii) important determinants of long-term population trends. Using population time series for 238 widespread species (207 Lepidoptera and 31 birds) in England since 1968, we found that population ‘crashes’ (outliers in terms of species' year-to-year population changes) were 46% more frequent than population ‘explosions’. (i) Every year, at least three species experienced extreme changes in population size, and in 41 of the 44 years considered, some species experienced population crashes while others simultaneously experienced population explosions. This suggests that, even within the same broad taxonomic groups, species are exhibiting individualistic dynamics, most probably driven by their responses to different, short-term events associated with climatic variability. (ii) Six out of 44 years showed a significant excess of species experiencing extreme population changes (5 years for Lepidoptera, 1 for birds). These ‘consensus years’ were associated with climatically extreme years, consistent with a link between extreme population responses and climatic variability, although not all climatically extreme years generated excess numbers of extreme population responses. (iii) Links between extreme population changes and long-term population trends were absent in Lepidoptera and modest (but significant) in birds. We conclude that extreme biological responses are individualistic, in the sense that the extreme population changes of most species are taking place in different years, and that long-term trends of widespread species have not, to date, been dominated by these extreme changes. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events’.

Open Access We present the results of our eighth annual horizon scan of emerging issues likely to affect global biological diversity, the environment, and conservation efforts in the future. The potential effects of these novel issues might not yet be fully recognized or understood by the global conservation community, and the issues can be regarded as both opportunities and risks. A diverse international team with collective expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, and conservation research, practice, and policy reviewed 100 potential issues and identified 15 that qualified as emerging, with potential substantial global effects. These issues include new developments in energy storage and fuel production, sand extraction, potential solutions to combat coral bleaching and invasive marine species, and blockchain technology.

Comparison of model predictions to the IUCN Red List assessment of species vulnerability to the threat of renewable energy.

Rationale for species traits selection for species included in the meta analysis.

Mitigation of anthropogenic climate change involves deployments of renewable energy worldwide, including wind farms, which can pose a significant collision risk to volant animals. Most studies into the collision risk of species with wind turbines, however, have taken place in industrialized countries. Potential effects for many locations and species therefore remain unclear. To redress this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review of recorded collisions of birds and bats with wind turbines within developed countries. We related collision rate to species-level traits and turbine characteristics to quantify the potential vulnerability of 9538 bird and 888 bat species globally. Avian collision rate was affected by migratory strategy, dispersal distance and habitat associations and bat collision rates were influenced by dispersal distance. For birds and bats, larger turbine capacity (megawatts) increased collision rates, however, deploying a smaller number of large turbines with greater energy output, reduced total collision risk per unit energy output, although bat mortality increased again with the largest turbines. Areas with high concentrations of vulnerable species were also identified, including migration corridors. Our results can therefore guide wind farm design and location to reduce the risk of large-scale animal mortality. This is the first quantitative global assessment of the relative collision vulnerability of species groups with wind turbines, providing valuable guidance for minimizing potentially serious negative impacts on biodiversity.

Beta coefficients from MCMCglmm models for birds and bats.

Supplementary figure for the location of onshore wind farms included in this study.

Summary of model predictions of collisions per turbine per year for families of birds and bats.

Table S1: Names of the 238 species included in the analysis; Table S2: Full list of potential climate variables; Table S3: Extreme years along the first three axes of the principal components analysis; Table S4: Number of species, broken down by taxon, experiencing extreme population changes in each year; Figure S1: Relationships between climate and species' population crashes; Figure S2: Relationships between climate and species' population explosions.

Supplementary methods detailing classification of study quality for studies included in the meta analysis.

Additional information on data manipulation and statistical analyses.

Projecting the fates of populations under climate change is one of global change biology’s foremost challenges. Here we seek to identify the contributions that temperature-mediated local adaptation and plasticity make to spatial variation in British bird nesting phenology, a phenotypic trait showing strong responses to warming. We apply a mixed modeling framework to a Britain-wide spatiotemporal dataset comprising >100,000 records of first egg dates from four single-brooded passerine bird species. The average temperature during a specific time period (sliding-window) strongly predicts spatiotemporal variation in lay date. All four species exhibit phenological plasticity, advancing lay date by 2–5 days°C-1. The initiation of this sliding-window is delayed further north, which may be a response to a photoperiod threshold. Using clinal trends in phenology and temperature we are able to estimate the temperature sensitivity of selection on lay date (B), but our estimates are highly sensitive to the temporal position of the sliding-window. If the sliding-window is of fixed duration with a start date determined by photoperiod we find B is tracked by phenotypic plasticity. If, instead, we allow the start and duration of the sliding-window to change with latitude, we find plasticity does not track B, though at odds with theoretical expectations, our estimates of B differ across latitude versus longitude. We argue that a model combining photoperiod and mean temperature is most consistent with current understanding of phenological cues in passerines, the results of which suggest that each species could respond to projected increases in spring temperatures through plasticity alone. However, our estimates of B require further validation.

Capsule Black Grouse declines across Scotland were greatest on less heterogeneous moorland, at low to intermediate altitudes and, more weakly, around post-thicket woodland. Aims To examine correlates of change in abundance of Black Grouse across Scotland. Methods Changes in abundance within 5-km squares between national surveys in 1995/96 and 2005 were modelled in relation to measures of habitat cover and woodland age derived from satellite imagery. Results Populations across Scotland were most stable where unenclosed moorland comprised rough grassland, intermediate heather cover and at higher altitude. Declines tended to be greatest in squares which had transitioned from pre-thicket to closed-canopy woodland. Conclusion Moorland will be most beneficial where it is heterogeneous in composition, and the role of woodland maturation in driving regional declines has support, albeit more weakly, at a national scale.

A cornerstone of conservation is the designation and management of protected areas (PAs): locations often under conservation management containing species of conservation concern, where some development and other detrimental influences are prevented or mitigated. However, the value of PAs for conserving biodiversity in the long term has been questioned given that species are changing their distributions in response to climatic change. There is a concern that PAs may become climatically unsuitable for those species that they were designated to protect, and may not be located appropriately to receive newly-colonizing species for which the climate is improving. In the present study, we analyze fine-scale distribution data from detailed resurveys of seven butterfly and 11 bird species in Great Britain aiming to examine any effect of PA designation in preventing extinctions and promoting colonizations. We found a positive effect of PA designation on species' persistence at trailing-edge warm range margins, although with a decreased magnitude at higher latitudes and altitudes. In addition, colonizations by range expanding species were more likely to occur on PAs even after altitude and latitude were taken into account. PAs will therefore remain an important strategy for conservation. The potential for PA management to mitigate the effects of climatic change for retracting species deserves further investigation.

Species distribution models (SDMs) are important tools for forecasting the potential impacts of future environmental changes but debate remains over the most robust modelling approaches for making projections. Suggested improvements in SDMs vary from algorithmic development through to more mechanistic modelling approaches. Here, we focus on the improvements that can be gained by conditioning SDMs on more detailed data. Specifically, we use breeding bird data from across Europe to compare the relative performances of SDMs trained on presence-absence data and those trained on abundance data. SDMs trained on presence-absence data, with a poor to slight fit according to Cohen's kappa, show an average improvement in model performance of 0.32 (se ±0.12) when trained on abundance data. Even those species for which models trained on presence-absence data are classified as good to excellent show a mean improvement in Cohen's kappa score of 0.05 (se ±0.01) when corresponding SDMs are trained on abundance data. This improved explanatory power is most pronounced for species of high prevalence. Our results illustrate that even using coarse scale abundance data, large improvements in our ability to predict species distributions can be achieved. Furthermore, predictions from abundance models provide a greater depth of information with regard to population dynamics than their presence-absence model counterparts. Currently, despite the existence of a wide variety of abundance data sets, species distribution modellers continue to rely almost exclusively on presence-absence data to train and test SDMs. Given our findings, we advocate that, where available, abundance data rather than presence-absence data can be used to more accurately predict the ecological consequences of environmental change. Additionally, our findings highlight the importance of informative baseline data sets. We therefore recommend the move towards increased collection of abundance data, even if only coarse numerical scales of recording are possible.

Current specifications for Jet A limit the amount of FAME contamination to 5 ppm (5 mg/Kg). The focus of this work was to evaluate the thermal stability impact to Jet A due to FAME contamination at levels up to 400 ppm (400 mg/Kg), the goal being to provide data that supports increasing the level of allowable FAME contamination in Jet A from 5 ppm to 100 ppm. Testing was performed by the U.S. Air Force at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Fuels and Energy Branch using the Advanced Reduced Scale Fuel System Simulator (ARSFSS). Results of testing showed that at 400 ppm contamination, there was no definitely discernible negative impact on thermal stability due to FAME contamination.

Les villes sont divisées, partout et depuis longtemps, en fractions distinctes et contrastées. Mais c’est rarement de la même façon que les découpent et en nomment les parties ceux qui y vivent, ceux qui les administrent et ceux qui les étudient. Ces mots ne désignent pas des choses qui seraient déjà là : ils contribuent à la division même de l’espace et à sa qualification. C’est par eux que des locuteurs – qui sont aussi des acteurs sociaux - désignent des lieux, distinguent des territoires, les regroupent, les classent et les ordonnent. Les mots sont des formes d’objectivation de la diversité spatiale et sociale des villes, des moyens pour s’y mouvoir et en jouer, parfois des armes pour la changer. L’évidence que l’on accorde aujourd’hui à un plan de ville usuel qui distingue les arrondissements par des couleurs, ou à la carte du géographe qui divise le territoire urbain en fonction de la morphologie ou des activités de ses parties, doit être interrogée. Qui y souscrit, dans quelles situations et à la suite de quelles conventions historiquement établies ? Qui la récuse ou la néglige en pratiquant et énonçant au quotidien d’autres dénominations des lieux ou d’autres découpages de l’espace ? L’enquête sur les mots des divisions de la ville vise à recueillir les traces dans les lexiques et leurs usages de la variabilité historique, sociale et situationnelle des façons de partager l’espace urbain. Cet ouvrage repose donc sur un pari : en prenant les mots pour objet, l’on peut mieux comprendre les divisions des villes. On aperçoit, sous l’apparente simplicité des découpages spatiaux de l’administration moderne, les traces d’institutions anciennes, les mises au présent du passé, les revendications spatiales des groupes. Le lecteur est invité à un voyage dans l’espace, dans le temps et dans les langues, en parcourant une série de villes, de l’Occident à l’Orient, de l’Afrique aux Amériques, des mises en ordre entreprises au siècle des Lumières aux explosions urbaines les plus contemporaines. Tenter de comprendre les processus sociaux qui génèrent les agglomérations urbaines est l'un des objectifs majeurs du champ thématique urbain (coordonné par G. Solinís) du Programme « Gestion des transformations sociales » (MOST) de l'UNESCO. Ceci, comme un moyen de suivre le cours du développement urbain et d'intervenir dans son amélioration, sa planification et son aménagement. MOST aborde ces questions sous deux angles principaux. L'un est l'appui à la recherche internationale; l'autre, le renforcement des capacités individuelles, sociales et institutionnelles. Ces approches visent à encourager des initiatives novatrices porteuses d'amélioration de la gouvernance urbaine et de la formulation de politiques publiques. Collection Les mots de la ville Savants ou ordinaires, les mots qualifient, structurent l'espace urbain : ils classent les différents types d'agglomération ; à l'intérieur de la ville ils en marquent les divisions, en désignent les éléments constitutifs. Ainsi, le langage quotidien inscrit dans des territoires individuels et collectifs des identités qui sont à la fois sociales et spatiales. La collection Les mots de la ville propose des ouvrages qui, en privilégiant la comparaison, appréhendent la ville à travers ses mots, à partir de sources écrites ou iconographiques et d'enquêtes orales. Leurs auteurs repèrent, à l'intérieur d'une même langue et d'une langue à l'autre, les registres techniques ou populaires qui sont mobilisés. Ils cherchent à saisir les relations que ceux-ci entretiennent, leurs interactions faites de conflits, d'impositions ou d'emprunts, de détournements et d'adaptations, de résistances et d'appropriations. Ils identifient les divers agents qui nomment la ville et ses espaces, la manière dont ils travaillent sur la langue et l'outillage mental qu'ils mettent en œuvre. Et ils évaluent les rapports de force dont les mots sont tantôt les instruments tantôt les enjeux. Le lecteur est invité à suivre le mouvement, lent ou rapide, des mots de la ville, leurs parcours dans l'espace et le temps, à en observer les permanences et les transformations, les ruptures et les continuités, à comprendre les modalités de leur renouvellement, de leur effacement et de leur invention. Et à découvrir comment des sédiments de la mémoire urbaine s'y déposent. Responsables de la collection Jean-Charles Depaule et Christian Topalov

Fig. 1. Londres et Westminster vers 1630. La ligne continue indique la muraille médiévale de la City et la ligne pointillée (« Outer London, 1643 ») la levée de terre édifiée pour la défense de Londres pendant la guerre civile. Ce texte a pour propos de donner un cadre linguistique qui permette de décrire la croissance de Londres depuis le début de la Réforme dans les années 1530 jusqu’à la création du London County Council en 1888. On examinera surtout la construction d’habitations et le mar...

MCCIP Science Review 2013, 149-154

This article appeared in Homeland Security Affairs (February 2012), v.8, article 2 "As the twenty-first century begins, an increasing number of developing nations are aggressively pursuing the use of nuclear power as a source of electricity. Much attention within the international security community has been placed on the growth of reactors within the context of nuclear weapons development and nuclear terrorism. A major accident involving a nuclear reactor or stored nuclear waste may be a more likely possibility, albeit one that has received considerably less attention in terms of disaster planning and response. In the aftermath of such a disaster, intervention by the United States, and other Western nations, may be warranted. In the context of homeland security operations in such a scenario, major challenges will revolve around efforts to detect and deter the importation of goods contaminated with radionuclides, and screening and processing of refugees and immigrants from nations and territories affected by the nuclear accident."

2017-05-01

Se estudió la estructura de una comunidad de aves en una sabana boliviana al borde del Cerrado, entre Agosto y septiembre de 1994, usando transectas de línea. La avifauna de dos hábitats, llamados campo húmedo y campo denso, se describe en detalle. Se identificó un tercer hábitat, la sabana arbolada, pero sólo se describe brevemente. La diversidad de los hábitats se comparó con otros sitios tropicales. Las áreas de campo húmedo tuvieron la mayor densidad de aves, pero en una comunidad relativamente simple, formada principalmente por granívoros que forrajeban en el suelo. El campo denso, con una mayor cobertura vegetal, tuvo mas diversidad de gremios de forrajeo, incluyendo frugívoros, insectívoros y omnívoros, los que mostraron variadas conductas y sitios de alimentación. Consecuentemente este hábitat contuvo el mayor número de especies. La diversidad de aves estuvo correlacionada con la estructura de la vegetación y abundancia de nichos. The avian community structure of a Bolivian savanna on the edge of the Cerrado ecosystem was studied during August and September 1994, using line-transects. The avifauna of two habitats, wet campo and dense campo, is described in detail. A third habitat, wooded savanna, is identified, but only briefly described due to limited survey effort. The diversity of these habitats is compared to data from other tropical studies. Areas of wet campo contained the greatest density of birds, but were characterized by a relatively simple bird community, formed prirnari1y of granivorous, ground-gleaning species. Dense campo habitats, characterised by greater vegetation cover, supported a higher diversity of foraging guilds, including frugivores, insectivores and omnivores, exhibiting a variety of foraging strata and behaviours. Consequently, this habitat contained the greatest number of species. Bird species diversity was therefore re1ated to vegetation structure and niche availability.