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An overlooked phenomenon is a potential increase in the distribution and abundance of plants with the highly water-usage-efficient crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). In the present article, we critically analyze recent research to investigate to what extent and why CAM plants may have recently expanded their range and abundance under global change. We discuss the ecophysiological and evolutionary mechanisms linked with CAM succulence and the drivers underlying potential CAM expansion, including drought, warming, and atmospheric carbon dioxide enrichment. We further map the biogeographic pattern of CAM expansion and show that some CAM plants (e.g. Cylindropuntia, Opuntia, and Agave) are expanding and encroaching within dryland landscapes worldwide. Our results collectively highlight the recent expansion of CAM plants, a trend that could be sustained under increasing aridity with climate change. We recommend that CAM expansion be evaluated in a data-model integrated framework to better understand and predict the ecological and socioeconomic consequences of CAM expansion during the Anthropocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate models predict more frequent, prolonged, and extreme droughts in the future. Therefore, drought experiments varying in amount and duration across a range of biogeographical scenarios provide a powerful tool for estimating how drought will affect future ecosystems. Past experimental work has been focused on the manipulation of meteorological drought: Rainout shelters are used to reduce precipitation inputs into the soil. This work has been instrumental in our ability to predict the expected effects of altered rainfall. But what about the nonrainfall components of drought? We review recent literature on the co-occurring and sometimes divergent impacts of atmospheric drying and meteorological drying. We discuss how manipulating meteorological drought or rainfall alone may not predict future changes in plant productivity, composition, or species interactions that result from climate change induced droughts. We make recommendations for how to improve these experiments using manipulations of relative humidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nevertheless, it seems likely that older authors in our sample were more likely to have published more than one article in I BioScience i over this period, were more likely to be a last author of an article, and were more likely to publish article types that were not Overviews or Forums. The journal I BioScience i , which first appeared in 1951 as the I AIBS Bulletin i , is published by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). In our sample, the male authors of I BioScience i barely outnumbered the female authors (1.2:1). It should be noted that the authorship characteristics data for all three plots were somewhat skewed (most of the authors were not last authors). [Extracted from the article]

The performance of coordinated distributed experiments designed to compare ecosystem sensitivity to global-change drivers depends on whether they cover a significant proportion of the global range of environmental variables. In the present article, we described the global distribution of climatic and soil variables and quantified main differences among continents. Then, as a test case, we assessed the representativeness of the International Drought Experiment (IDE) in parameter space. Considering the global environmental variability at this scale, the different continents harbor unique combinations of parameters. As such, coordinated experiments set up across a single continent may fail to capture the full extent of global variation in climate and soil parameter space. IDE with representation on all continents has the potential to address global scale hypotheses about ecosystem sensitivity to environmental change. Our results provide a unique vision of climate and soil variability at the global scale and highlight the need to design globally distributed networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In restoration ecology, the transition from desired to degraded state is based solely on the composition of the aboveground plant community, whereas belowground propagules are often neglected. We developed a conceptual framework integrating seed bank dynamics into alternative stable state theory, highlighting the important relationship between aboveground and belowground composition. This integration emphasizes the role of resilience in systems that appear to have shifted to an "undesirable" state. Belowground propagules, especially soil seed and bud banks, provide buffering capacity and may serve as valuable indicators of potential resistance to state transition based on the degree of similarity between belowground and aboveground vegetation composition. Ecosystem states may have multiple components that differ in their rate of change, as well as in their capacity to promote resilience. We recommend that the application of alternative stable state theory from a management perspective should incorporate components of both above- and belowground vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June 2017, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the termination of the Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG) program for the Divisions of Environmental Biology (DEB) and Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS), without much input from the research community served by the NSF. AIBS attempted to bridge the community's needs with the NSF's constraints by providing a contract to run the program that would have at least diminished the workload burden on NSF staff. Given the high cost to administer the program, including the time commitment for oversight by program officers, the DDIG program was deemed expendable. [Extracted from the article]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses the impact of climate change on the arid and semi-arid ecosystems.

The scale and magnitude of complex and pressing environmental issues lend urgency to the need for integrative and reproducible analysis and synthesis, facilitated by data-intensive research approaches. However, the recent pace of technological change has been such that appropriate skills to accomplish data-intensive research are lacking among environmental scientists, who more than ever need greater access to training and mentorship in computational skills. Here, we provide a roadmap for raising data competencies of current and next-generation environmental researchers by describing the concepts and skills needed for effectively engaging with the heterogeneous, distributed, and rapidly growing volumes of available data. We articulate five key skills: (1) data management and processing, (2) analysis, (3) software skills for science, (4) visualization, and (5) communication methods for collaboration and dissemination. We provide an overview of the current suite of training initiatives available to environmental scientists and models for closing the skill-transfer gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original article presents a framework for making the biology classroom a venue for increasing gender and sexual diversity in biology. They then emphasize that through teaching diversity as a primary principle of biology, one can make the classroom more inclusive by providing examples of diverse scientists and diverse sexual and gender behaviors in the natural world. Alongside Fagundes and Coyne's letter, "Strategies for Promoting Effective and Inclusive Biology Education" (https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/biosci/biad029), written in reaction to Zemenick and colleagues' "Six Principles for Embracing Gender and Sexual Diversity in Postsecondary Biology Classrooms" (https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac013), is Zemenick and colleagues' response (https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/biosci/biad028). [Extracted from the article]

Fire and grazing, key determinants of structure and function of savanna grasslands worldwide, have been extensively altered by humans. We used existing long-term manipulations of fire and grazing in North American and South African mesic savanna grasslands, as well as new experiments, to determine whether the impacts of fire and grazing by large herbivores differed between these systems. We found that despite a body of literature suggesting that these savanna grasslands respond uniquely to fire and grazing, their ecosystem responses (aboveground productivity) were generally similar. In contrast, plant-community responses to fire and herbivores diverged strongly between systems. The differences in plant-community responses, as well as convergence in ecosystem function, were underpinned by a common mechanism: the response of grass dominance to changing fire and grazing regimes. As a result, divergent responses of plant communities to altered fire and grazing regimes did not preclude convergence in ecosystem function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First, the analysis is based on 368 PhD-granting institutions in the United States, of which 20.4% produce 80% of faculty hired during that 10-year period. Arecent analysis published in the journal I Nature i is causing quite a stir. That is, PhDs from a relatively small fragment of all PhD-granting institutions get most of the jobs in academia. [Extracted from the article]

Collectively, we use a variety of methods, including long- and short-term field experiments, greenhouse experiments, modeling, synthesis and meta-analysis, and - most recently - distributed, coordinated experiments. In 1987, one of my ecological heroes, Robert McIntosh, wrote the review "Pluralism in Ecology" in the I Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics i , making a plea for just that. Responding to what was offered as "new ecology" at the time, McIntosh argued the need for "tolerance of different methods and even of different philosophies of doing ecology.". [Extracted from the article]

Evans Ogden, who holds a PhD in wildlife ecology, has written over 60 pieces for BioScience since 2011, including a number of notable longform features. We are happy to report that the BioScience Features section will remain in good hands, as longtime and frequent contributor Lesley Evans Ogden has agreed to fill the position of features editor. In line with the vision of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) to advance biological knowledge and promote increased understanding of life on Earth, BioScience has long published content tailored to a diverse audience. [Extracted from the article]

The US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network enters its fourth decade with a distinguished record of achievement in ecological science. The value of long-term observations and experiments has never been more important for testing ecological theory and for addressing today's most difficult environmental challenges. The network's potential for tackling emergent continent-scale questions such as cryosphere loss and landscape change is becoming increasingly apparent on the basis of a capacity to combine long-term observations and experimental results with new observatory-based measurements, to study socioecological systems, to advance the use of environmental cyberinfrastructure, to promote environmental science literacy, and to engage with decisionmakers in framing major directions for research. The long-term context of network science, from understanding the past to forecasting the future, provides a valuable perspective for helping to solve many of the crucial environmental problems facing society today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US National Science Foundation-funded Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network supports a large (around 240) and diverse portfolio of long-term ecological experiments. Collectively, these long-term experiments have (a) provided unique insights into ecological patterns and processes, although such insight often became apparent only after many years of study; (b) influenced management and policy decisions; and (c) evolved into research platforms supporting studies and involving investigators who were not part of the original design. Furthermore, this suite of long-term experiments addresses, at the site level, all of the US National Research Council's Grand Challenges in Environmental Sciences. Despite these contributions, we argue that the scale and scope of global environmental change requires a more-coordinated multisite approach to long-term experiments. Ideally, such an approach would include a network of spatially extensive multifactor experiments, designed in collaboration with ecological modelers that would build on and extend the unique context provided by the LTER Network. INSET: Definition of long-term ecological experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative uses of advanced sensors and sensor networks are starting to be translated into new ecological knowledge. These sensors are providing a new set of "eyes" through which researchers may observe the world in new ways, extend spatial and temporal scales of observation, more accurately estimate what cannot be observed, and, most important, obtain unexpected results or develop new paradigms. Automated sensors are widely deployed by members of the Organization of Biological Field Stations, yet some needs--particularly for chemical and biological sensors--are not currently being met. There are additional opportunities for developing sensor networks at synoptic, regional, continental, and global scales. Although we are seeing more uses of sensor systems and, in particular, sensor networks, the opportunities for these systems are just beginning to be realized, with much more work to be done, including formulation of new questions, development of new sensors, better software, and new ways for researchers to work together across large distances. INSET: Box 1. Primer on advanced sensor systems.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic and its repeated surges have thrown a wrench into the organization and format of scientific meetings. Societies have long struggled to modernize the scientific meeting, but the COVID crisis has forced stodgy scientific societies to adapt at speeds much greater than what they are accustomed to. The meeting at the convention center had strict COVID vaccination protocols, and the city of New Orleans required proof of vaccination to enter restaurants. [Extracted from the article]

Long-term ecological research is particularly valuable for understanding disturbance dynamics over long time periods and placing those dynamics in a regional context. We highlighted three case studies from Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network sites that have contributed to understanding the causes and consequences of disturbance in ecological systems. The LTER Network significantly enhances the ability to study disturbance by (a) encompassing ecosystems subject to a wide range of disturbances, (b) providing a long-term baseline against which to detect change and measure ecosystem responses to disturbance, (c) permitting observation of slow or infrequent events, (d) facilitating the use of multiple research approaches, (e) providing a focus for modeling disturbance dynamics, and (f) contributing to land and resource management. Long-term research is crucial to understanding past, present, and future disturbance dynamics, and the LTER Network is poised to make continuing contributions to the understanding of disturbance. Keywords: scale, heterogeneity, biotic, invasion, hurricane, fire [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the role of the bison in the ecology of the tallgrass prairies of North America. Estimates of bison numbers before 1800; Slaughter of bison and their rebounding numbers; Study of the tallgrass prairies of the Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, Kansas; Bison grazing and plant responses; Factors influencing bison selection of grazing sites; Impacts of bison on the prairie; Question of whether bison are keystone species.

The article offers information on the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), an investment in ecological research in the U.S. with the American government agency National Science Foundation (NSF). Information about the challenges faced by NEON during its development, are depicted. Also mentioned are the research decisions and data collection activities to government contractors.

The author expresses doubt on the potential of the funding competition announced by French President Emmanuel Macron, called Make Our Planet Great Again (MOPGA), for scientists who are willing to move their research programs to France. He mentions the decision of U.S. President Donald J. Trump not to sign onto the Paris accord on climate change as part of his strategy to Make America Great Again and offers a look into the review process for MOPGA applicants.

The article reports the Center for Open Science, in Charlottesville, Virginia, convened the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Committee to discuss journal practices as they relate to openness and replicability. It mentions that Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) commitments in a manner that both honors our desire for openness and maintains our support of scientific innovation.

The article offers information on March for Science held in Washington, D.C to support science and evidence-based research by members of scientific community. Topics discussed include benefits of federal funding for scientific research; online course like "Writing for Impact and Influence" professional development program provide scientists with skills needed for impactful writing in professional formats; and techniques for translating complex research.

An introduction is presented in which the editors discuss the promotion of the journal and the American Institute of Biological Sciences of data openness through workshops, the journal's reporting, and offering of full integration with the Dryad repository.

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics discussed ecology and conservation-science, sustainability and ecosystem services.

The article offers information on the journal "BioScience" published by the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) monthly since 1964 and the topics published within it. Topics include the journal continuing to provide readers with timely and authoritative syntheses on contemporary topics from all aspects of biology, and special sections in the journal stated to provide in-depth coverage of important topics, such as protected-area management and conservation.