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Temperate living primates cope with a variety of environmental stressors, which may vary by body mass. We studied two sympatric galagos, the thick-tailed greater galago, Otolemur crassicaudatus (1.5 kg) and the southern lesser galago, Galago moholi (146 g), living in a South African northern mistbelt forest. We used 75 nightly encounter walks using thermal imaging from July 2017 to June 2018 to locate galagos (245 thick-tailed greater galago encounters, 207 southern lesser galago encounters). For each species' encounters we documented survey location, growing season, insect and gum availability, ambient temperature, temperature season, rainfall, humidity, night length, hour, moon phase and fraction of moon illumination. We encountered the southern lesser galago at both cooler and warmer temperatures, later in the night, and more often during greater lunar illumination, e.g., they were lunarphilic. We had few encounters of the thick-tailed greater galago during very cold and very warm temperatures, more encounters earlier in the night, and more encounters during periods of low lunar illumination, e.g., they were lunarphobic. Our results can be understood in terms of body mass differences. A smaller body mass requires greater and more consistent energy, meaning the southern lesser galago needs to both maintain energy needs across different temperature regimes and to forage more extensively later in the night to attain enough food to support them throughout the following day. The thick-tailed greater galago's larger body mass may buffer them during colder periods and allow them to forage earlier in the night. Being either lunarphobic or lunarphilic may relate to activity patterns of their predators. The southern lesser galago are visually oriented insect predators and being lunarphilic may facilitate both predator detection and enhance successful insect predation. Understanding how body mass may facilitate or hinder physiological and behavioral responses to environmental stressors is thus relevant to understanding species' resilience to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Post-exercise passive heating has been reported to augment adaptations associated with endurance training. The current study evaluated the effect of a 4-week remotely administered, post-exercise passive leg heating protocol, using an electrically heated layering ensemble, on determinants of endurance performance. Methods: Thirty recreationally trained participants were randomly allocated to either a post-exercise passive leg heating (PAH, n = 16) or unsupervised training only control group (CON, n = 14). The PAH group wore the passive heating ensemble for 90–120 min/day, completing a total of 20 (16 post-exercise and 4 stand-alone leg heating) sessions across 4 weeks. Whole-body (peak oxygen uptake, gas exchange threshold, gross efficiency and pulmonary oxygen uptake kinetics), single-leg exercise (critical torque and NIRS-derived muscle oxygenation), resting vascular characteristics (flow-mediated dilation) and angiogenic blood measures (nitrate, vascular endothelial growth factor and hypoxia inducible factor 1−α) were recorded to characterize the endurance phenotype. All measures were assessed before (PRE), at 2 weeks (MID) and after (POST) the intervention. Results: There was no effect of the intervention on test of whole-body endurance capacity, vascular function or blood markers (p > 0.05). However, oxygen kinetics were adversely affected by PAH, denoted by a slowing of the phase II time constant; τ (p = 0.02). Furthermore, critical torque–deoxygenation ratio was improved in CON relative to PAH (p = 0.03). Conclusion: We have demonstrated that PAH had no ergogenic benefit but instead elicited some unfavourable effects on sub-maximal exercise characteristics in recreationally trained individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, is spreading more widely, and traditional methods to control the vector mosquitoes have been ineffective. In Córdoba, Argentina, we studied if involving school students in educational projects could help communities better understand dengue and take steps to prevent it. Working with students and their families showed us that people learned more about the disease and adopted better practices to stop the mosquitoes from breeding. Student engagement was a powerful way to bring this knowledge into homes, leading to positive behavior changes. This research suggests that including these programs into school curricula all year round might help fight dengue in other areas facing similar challenges. Traditional mosquito vector control methods have proved ineffective in controlling the spread of dengue fever. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of community engagement through student-led science in promoting dengue prevention and socioecological factors in the temperate urban city of Córdoba, Argentina. It assesses community perceptions, knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices regarding dengue fever and its vector. Results showed a significant increase in knowledge about the vector and the disease and respondents' adoption of good preventive practices. Student-led science was identified as a valuable tool for reaching households and leading to behavior changes at home. Furthermore, the findings highlighted the need for school programs to address vector biology and vector-borne disease prevention all year round. This study provides invaluable insights into the effectiveness of community engagement through student-led science to promote dengue prevention and socioecological factors. The findings suggest that this approach could be used to control the spread in other regions affected by the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteriophage (phage) studies established the field of molecular biology and continue to propel life science research forward due to their diversity, abundance, and potential applications. In this Gem article, we orient newcomers to four common ways phages are currently classified: infection cycle, morphology, taxonomy, and supergroup. By using these classifications, researchers can determine where any novel phage fits into the scheme of the known "phage-verse". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is currently a strong drive to expand aquaculture further offshore cooccurring with a rapid change of the conditions under which this activity will be practiced due to climate change. At the dawn of these profound changes a global review of the current status of technologies used commercially to grow extractive species in wave exposed environments can serve as a benchmark for future developments. Part 1 of this paper presents a systematic inventory of commercial farms in temperate exposed waters. The study area includes 5 regions in the northern hemisphere and 3 regions in the southern hemisphere and covers entirely or part of 48 countries and territories. The inventory is based on 80+ high resolution aquaculture lease maps, most of them available as Internet Web-GIS applications, that cover the entire study area with the exception of a few countries. Exposed sites are first identified from these maps using simple wave fetch criteria and this preselection is then validated using climatological data on wave height and power density (energy flux). The number of sites and the leased area are tallied by region, country, species group and production method. The longline is the production method used in more than 99% of the sites inventoried. Longline design and farm layout in 28 of these sites are reviewed. With a few exceptions, semi-submerged or fully submerged designs are used (in some cases they have been for more than 30 years) while the information on farm layout is patchy. A review of structural damage and loss of cultured biomass due to hydrodynamic forces in commercial and experimental farms confirms that surface and semi-submerged longlines are more vulnerable to large storms than fully-submerged designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying characteristics of invasive species or growth forms that facilitate their range expansion is critical for management. Clematis vitalba L. (old man's beard) is an invasive temperate liana in many areas of its introduction, yet its seedlings do not thrive in circumstances where resources are limited. Although some lianas in both tropical and temperate climates have been shown to spread by clonal stems along the ground, the bulk of previous research on C. vitalba reproduction has focused largely on aspects of seed ecology. The vegetative growth of the species is poorly understood. The first objective of our study was to evaluate the use of vegetative spread by C. vitalba as a means of local dispersal and population growth. We excavated ten 1‐m2 plots in infested riparian zones and found an extensive, branching network of creeping stems, both above and below ground. Our second objective was to test the ability of C. vitalba stem fragments to act as vegetative propagules. After 4 months, ~50% of two‐node fragments had regenerated, from both creeping and climbing stems. These studies help explain how a temperate liana forms populations and dominate ecological communities. The findings provide good evidence that C. vitalba may rely quite heavily on asexual reproduction. In addition, the results document liana stem phenotypic plasticity; fragmented climbing stems are just as likely as fragmented creeping stems to reprogram shoot tissue systems, generate roots and regrow as independent plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In agroforestry systems (AFS), where environmental conditions are highly variable at small spatial scales, the use of uniform genetic material of a single cultivar commonly grown in monoculture cropping might not be optimal. However, the use of composite cross populations (CCPs) that contain an inherent genetic variability might be a promising approach under the environmental variability created by trees in AFS. In this experimental trial, the performance of a CCP ('CC-2 k') of winter wheat was compared to a commercial variety ('Wiwa') in a split-plot design at two AFS (Feusisberg and Wollerau) in Central Switzerland. Yield of CC-2k (1.9 ± 0.7 Mg ha−1) was higher than yield of Wiwa (0.7 ± 0.4 Mg ha−1) in Wollerau, but yields did not differ between CCP and variety in Feusisberg (1.9 ± 0.7 Mg ha−1 and 2.0 ± 0.8 Mg ha−1, respectively). The interaction of site and variety was significant (p < 0.05). Wiwa had a higher protein, Fe and Ca content than CC-2k. Therefore, while the CC-2k outperformed Wiwa in terms of yield in one of the two AFS, Wiwa outperformed CC-2k in terms of quality. In this one-year field experiment, the composite cross population might have been better adapted to the heterogenous environment of agroforestry systems (found in one out of two sites) but failed to reach the high-quality product of modern cultivars. These initial results must be seen as first insights which need to be complemented by larger field experiments for generalisation. The findings of this study may be interpreted as an indication that further improvements in terms of quality might make CCPs a viable option for diversified agricultural systems with larger environmental heterogeneity than common monoculture cropping systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensively grazed dairy systems use high inputs of fertiliser nitrogen (N), and often supplementary irrigation, to ensure adequate pasture production to support milk output and meet the growing food demand. However, the efficiency of N use in these systems can be low and potential environmental impacts high. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that (1) use of two inhibitors, the urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl) thiophosphorictriamide (NBTPT) and the nitrification inhibitor 3,4-Dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) reduced N loss and improved pasture production compared to conventional N fertiliser (urea) in irrigated temperate perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) dairy pasture, and (2) their efficiency was affected by soil and environmental parameters. The effect of repeated applications of urea, at different rates, and the inhibitors were studied on pasture production and agronomic apparent fertiliser N use efficiency (NUE) over 2.5 years. The fate of a single application of N was determined through recovery of 15N-labeled fertiliser applied at 20 and 40 kg N ha−1 was studied in the field for one year. The highest yield and NUE occurred in spring–summer (from August to February) reflecting optimal growing conditions. The highest NUE occurred at low rates of urea application (20 and 40 kg N ha−1). Mineralisation played a key role in supplying N to pasture with 64–82% of total plant N derived from soil organic matter (SOM). Less than 50% of the applied N was recovered in the pasture (37–43%) with a large component retained in the soil (26–43% after one year, 0–40 cm), and slowly released in small amounts (< 2%) to the pasture over time, highlighting the abundant capacity of the native soil N pool to supply pasture N. Loss of N fertiliser (14–31%) was attributed to primarily ammonia (NH3) volatilisation and nitrate (NO3−) leaching. Use of the inhibitors NBTPT and DMPP did not significantly affect pasture yield or NUE, most likely because fertiliser N saved with the inhibitors only played a minor role in plant nutrition with the majority of the plant nutrition provided by the soil organic matter pool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study investigated the co‐occurrence of the curled octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) and common octopus (Octopus vulgaris), in waters around the United Kingdom. The findings suggest that coexistence may be maintained because of the lack of competition for E. cirrhosa against the seemingly declining O. vulgaris populations, and that habitat and temporal partitioning are the likely mechanisms. It is contemplated whether species misidentification may an important factor in masking the accuracy of population dynamics of co‐occurring octopus species, and, as such, potential uncertainty in octopus coexistence and any future fishery management decisions. It is confidently suggested that, currently, only two octopus species are resident to UK waters. Now, further studies should include diet partitioning to determine whether diet partitioning is a mechanism for E. cirrhosa and O. vulgaris coexistence, and monitoring may make us understand their population dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition and climate warming are both anticipated to influence the N dynamics of northern temperate ecosystems substantially over the next century. In field experiments with N addition and warming treatments, cumulative treatment effects can be important for explaining variation in treatment effects on N dynamics over time; however, comparisons between data collected in the early vs. later years potentially can be confounded with interactions between treatment effects and inter-annual variation in environmental conditions or other factors. We compared the short-term versus long-term effects of N addition and warming on net N mineralization and N leaching in a grass-dominated old field using in situ soil cores. We added new N addition and warming plots (3 years old) to an existing field experiment (16 years old), which enabled comparison of the treatment effects at both time scales while controlling for potential inter-annual variation in other factors. For net N mineralization, there was a significant interaction between plot age and N addition over the growing season, and for extractable inorganic N there was a significant interaction between plot age and warming over winter. In both cases, the directions of the treatment effects differed among old and new plots. Moreover, the responses in the new plots differed from the responses observed previously when the 16-year-old plots had been new. These results demonstrate how inter-annual variation in responses, independent from cumulative treatment effects, can play an important role in interpreting long-term effects on soil N cycling in global change field experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid and accurate detection of forest disturbances in temperate forests has become increasingly crucial as policy demands and climate pressure on these forests rise. The cloud-penetrating Sentinel-1 radar constellation provides frequent and high-resolution observations with global coverage, but few studies have assessed its potential for mapping disturbances in temperate forests. This study investigated the sensitivity of temporally dense C-band backscatter data from Sentinel-1 to varying management-related disturbance intensities in temperate forests, and the influence of confounding factors such as radar backscatter signal seasonality, shadow, and layover on the radar backscatter signal at a pixel level. A unique network of 14 experimental sites in the Netherlands was used in which trees were removed to simulate different levels of management-related forest disturbances across a range of representative temperate forest species. Results from six years (2016–2022) of Sentinel-1 observations indicated that backscatter seasonality is dependent on species phenology and degree of canopy cover. The backscatter change magnitude was sensitive to medium- and high-severity disturbances, with radar layover having a stronger impact on the backscatter disturbance signal than radar shadow. Combining ascending and descending orbits and complementing polarizations compared to a single orbit or polarization was found to result in a 34% mean increase in disturbance detection sensitivity across all disturbance severities. This study underlines the importance of linking high-quality experimental ground-based data to dense satellite time series to improve future forest disturbance mapping. It suggests a key role for C-band backscatter time series in the rapid and accurate large-area monitoring of temperate forests and, in particular, the disturbances imposed by logging practices or tree mortality driven by climate change factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Reliable seed production is a key requirement for successful year-on-year regeneration of annual pasture legumes. Aims: The study aims were to investigate the developmental patterns of flowers and pods and the effect on seed number among cultivars of French (Ornithopus sativus Brot.) and yellow serradella (O. compressus L.); and to assess the effects of early flower loss. Methods: Four cultivars of each species were grown in a glasshouse under non-limiting growth conditions. Date of flowering and numbers of flowers, pods and seeds were assessed for up to 20 reproductive nodes on two stem axes per plant (n = 5 plants). A flower removal treatment was imposed to assess whether early flower loss affected flower and/or pod production. Key results: Flowering in the serradellas was indeterminate, but for all cultivars there was a peak period of flower and pod production, with the timing and duration of the peak period differing among cultivars. Peak flowering occurred primarily because the proportion of plants flowering began to decline, but the number of flowers per reproductive node and the number of pods formed per node also declined with time. Compensation for early flower loss was observed for most cultivars because of a longer duration of pod formation and/or greater numbers of pods developed on higher reproductive nodes. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that there is diversity in the patterns of flowering and podding and number of seeds initiated among serradellas. Implications: Diversity in flowering and podding patterns combined with a capacity to compensate for early flower loss may be used to develop serradellas better able to cope with environmental stressors (frost, drought, heat) experienced during the flowering window. To ensure the continued existence of annual legume species in temperate regions, it is essential to understand the factors contributing to successful seed production; for instance, certain cultivars of French and yellow serradella occasionally flower at suboptimal times, potentially leading to reduced seed production. This study uncovered differences in how these cultivars produce flowers, pods and seeds. Some showed the ability to adapt to early flower loss, suggesting that selective breeding could improve seed yield resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is currently a strong drive to expand aquaculture further offshore co-occurring with a rapid change of the conditions under which this activity will be practiced due to climate change. At the dawn of these profound changes a global review of the current status of technologies used commercially to grow extractive species in wave exposed environments can serve as a benchmark for future developments. Part 1 of this paper presents a systematic inventory of commercial farms in temperate exposed waters. The study area includes 5 regions in the northern hemisphere and 3 regions in the southern hemisphere and covers entirely or part of 48 countries and territories. The inventory is based on 80+ high resolution aquaculture lease maps, most of them available as Internet Web-GIS applications, that cover the entire study area with the exception of a few countries. Exposed sites are first identified from these maps using simple wave fetch criteria and this preselection is then validated using climatological data on wave height and power density (energy flux). The number of sites and the leased area are tallied by region, country, species group and production method. The longline is the production method used in more than 99% of the sites inventoried. Longline design and farm layout in 28 of these sites are reviewed. With a few exceptions, semi-submerged or fully submerged designs are used (in some cases they have been for more than 30 years) while the information on farm layout is patchy. A review of structural damage and loss of cultured biomass due to hydrodynamic forces in commercial and experimental farms confirms that surface and semi-submerged longlines are more vulnerable to large storms than fully-submerged designs.

Given difficulties with modelling radiation fog and the similarity of meteorological conditions linked to dewfall and frost we investigated the formation of dew, frost and fog. For a site in the UK seven years of data were analysed representing high‐resolution atmospheric profiles and dew meter measurements for radiation nights with stable conditions. Classical dewfall occurs by condensation when the surface is below the dew point and cooler than the air above. However, the profiles show that, in the absence of fog, typically dew and frost form with the surface warmer than the immediately overlying air due to lifted temperature minima (LTMs) at about 0.15 m. Observations of aerosol number density and average hydrated radii show that aerosol optical extinction (and hence their radiative effect) is weakly but significantly correlated with the intensity of LTMs. Low wind speed on stable nights allows settling of aerosols which radiatively cool the air near the ground more quickly than the surface cools – thus creating LTMs. In the presence of LTMs typically dew and frost form not by condensation, but by occult deposition of water droplets onto the canopy and ground. Among radiation fog observations, 91% are associated with light near‐surface winds and LTMs. When the rate of removal of suspended water droplets by occult deposition generating dew or frost is too slow, then build‐up of droplets in the air just above the surface leads to the formation of radiation fog. Future modelling should allow for the accumulation of near‐surface aerosols and their radiative effects during stable nights to represent the formation of LTMs. Modelling of typical dew and frost will require representation of occult deposition. Assessing rates of occult deposition compared to rates of generation of suspended water droplets is needed to forecast the onset of radiation fog formed near the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rates at which a community recovers after disturbance, or its resilience, can be accelerated by increased net primary productivity and recolonization dynamics such as recruitment. These mechanisms can vary across biogeographic gradients, such as latitude, suggesting that biogeography is likely important to predicting resilience. To test whether community resilience, informed by functional and compositional recovery, hinges on geographic location, we employed a standardized replicated experiment on marine invertebrate communities across four regions from the tropics to the subarctic zone. Communities assembled naturally on standardized substrate while experiencing distinct levels of biomass removal (no removal, low disturbance, and high disturbance), which opened space for new colonizers, thereby providing a pulse of limited resource to these communities. We then quantified functional (space occupancy and biomass) and compositional recovery from these repeated pulse disturbances across two community assembly timescales (early and late at 3 and 12 months, respectively). We documented latitudinal variation in resilience across 47° latitude, where speed of functional recovery was higher toward lower latitudes yet incomplete at late assembly in the tropics and subtropics. The degree of functional recovery did not coincide with compositional recovery, and regional differences in recruitment and growth likely contributed to functional recovery in these communities. While biogeographic variation in community resilience has been predicted, our results are among the first to examine functional and compositional recovery from disturbance in a single large‐scale standardized experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populations of the subtropical coral Alveopora japonica Eguchi, 1965 are expanding, likely in response to changes in coastal water conditions caused by human activities and climatic factors. To uncover the causes of population increase, we propose the establishment of a long-term monitoring station to comprehensively assess the drivers of population dynamics. Therefore, the aim of this study was to obtain baseline information on A. japonica in Oedo at Jeju Island (Korea) by documenting benthic composition and characteristics of A. japonica populations at different depths. In Oedo, the distribution of A. japonica is mainly restricted to 15-m depth where a high density of colonies was observed (410 ± 123 colonies m−2). These colonies consist predominantly of small colonies with individual or few polyps and are associated with a vertical shift in benthic composition and interactions. Indeed, comparing results with shallower waters where A. japonica is absent and geniculate coralline algae dominate (66.5 ± 2.2% at 5-m and 60.5 ± 2.7% at 10-m depth), a contrasting pattern emerges at 15-m depth. Here, crustose coralline algae make up the majority of the substrate at 56.1 ± 3.4%. These possible biotic drivers are discussed in conjunction with other abiotic factors such as temperature to explain the benthic community composition in Oedo. Given the current benthic structure and accessibility of the study area, Oedo proves to be an ideal sentinel site for monitoring the effects of anthropogenic disturbances, especially global warming, on temperate marine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A near-global framework for automated training data generation and land cover classification using shallow machine learning with low-density time series imagery does not exist. This study presents a methodology to map nine-class, six-class, and five-class land cover using two dates (winter and non-winter) of a Sentinel-2 granule across seven international sites. The approach uses a series of spectral, textural, and distance decision functions combined with modified ancillary layers (such as global impervious surface and global tree cover) to create binary masks from which to generate a balanced set of training data applied to a random forest classifier. For the land cover masks, stepwise threshold adjustments were applied to reflectance, spectral index values, and Euclidean distance layers, with 62 combinations evaluated. Global (all seven scenes) and regional (arid, tropics, and temperate) adaptive thresholds were computed. An annual 95th and 5th percentile NDVI composite was used to provide temporal corrections to the decision functions, and these corrections were compared against the original model. The accuracy assessment found that the regional adaptive thresholds for both the two-date land cover and the temporally corrected land cover could accurately map land cover type within nine-class (68.4% vs. 73.1%), six-class (79.8% vs. 82.8%), and five-class (80.1% vs. 85.1%) schemes. Lastly, the five-class and six-class models were compared with a manually labeled deep learning model (Esri), where they performed with similar accuracies (five classes: Esri 80.0 ± 3.4%, region corrected 85.1 ± 2.9%). The results highlight not only performance in line with an intensive deep learning approach, but also that reasonably accurate models can be created without a full annual time series of imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Current comprehensive meta-analysis study aims to explore how agroforestry practices influence soil quality across different climate zones. Since numerous studies proposed agroforestry as the promising agroecological farming systems over conventional monoculture systems to maintain soil quality and to regenerate disturbed soil to counteract the negative consequences of global extensive agricultural approaches. Methods: By employing the comprehensive meta-analysis technique on data from 125 studies conducted in tropical, temperate, and Mediterranean environments, we quantitatively assessed the effects of agroforestry on physical, chemical, and biological soil quality indicators. Results: Rates of soil erosion, the most important indication of land degradation, were improved in agroforestry systems compared to monocultures, especially in temperate (-138%) and Mediterranean soils (-40%), due to agroforestry-induced improved soil texture, aggregate stability, and soil water regulation. Soil acidification was decreased in tropical (-128%) and Mediterranean soils (-96%), but increased in temperate soils (+ 104%) due to agroforestry practices. Low temperate soil pH suggests high Ca2+ leaching losses as evidenced by decreased Ca2+ (-68%) and increased Fe2+ (+ 129%) and Al3+ (+ 235%) contents. Agroforestry systems increased organic matter accumulation in temperate (+ 86%) and Mediterranean soils (+ 65%), carbon sequestration in all climatic zones (+ 48%: 33–73%), and respiration rates in temperate (+ 119%) and tropical soils (+ 105%). Soil microbial communities, enzyme activities as well as nutrient cycling and availability were generally enhanced in agroforestry systems compared to monocultures. Conclusions: Our results provide compelling evidence that agroforestry practices can contribute substantially to sustainable improvement of global soil quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific innovation is overturning conventional paradigms of forest, water, and energy cycle interactions. This has implications for our understanding of the principal causal pathways by which tree, forest, and vegetation cover (TFVC) influence local and global warming/cooling. Many identify surface albedo and carbon sequestration as the principal causal pathways by which TFVC affects global warming/cooling. Moving toward the outer latitudes, in particular, where snow cover is more important, surface albedo effects are perceived to overpower carbon sequestration. By raising surface albedo, deforestation is thus predicted to lead to surface cooling, while increasing forest cover is assumed to result in warming. Observational data, however, generally support the opposite conclusion, suggesting surface albedo is poorly understood. Most accept that surface temperatures are influenced by the interplay of surface albedo, incoming shortwave (SW) radiation, and the partitioning of the remaining, post‐albedo, SW radiation into latent and sensible heat. However, the extent to which the avoidance of sensible heat formation is first and foremost mediated by the presence (absence) of water and TFVC is not well understood. TFVC both mediates the availability of water on the land surface and drives the potential for latent heat production (evapotranspiration, ET). While latent heat is more directly linked to local than global cooling/warming, it is driven by photosynthesis and carbon sequestration and powers additional cloud formation and top‐of‐cloud reflectivity, both of which drive global cooling. TFVC loss reduces water storage, precipitation recycling, and downwind rainfall potential, thus driving the reduction of both ET (latent heat) and cloud formation. By reducing latent heat, cloud formation, and precipitation, deforestation thus powers warming (sensible heat formation), which further diminishes TFVC growth (carbon sequestration). Large‐scale tree and forest restoration could, therefore, contribute significantly to both global and surface temperature cooling through the principal causal pathways of carbon sequestration and cloud formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete infrastructure in coastal waters is increasing. While adding complex habitat and manipulating concrete mixtures to enhance biodiversity have been studied, field investigations of sub-millimetre-scale complexity and substrate colour are lacking. Here, the interacting effects of 'colour' (white, grey, black) and 'microtexture' (smooth, 0.5 mm texture) on colonisation were assessed at three sites in Australia. In Townsville, no effects of colour or microtexture were observed. In Sydney, spirorbid polychaetes occupied more space on smooth than textured tiles, but there was no effect of microtexture on serpulid polychaetes, bryozoans and algae. In Melbourne, barnacles were more abundant on black than white tiles, while serpulid polychaetes showed opposite patterns and ascidians did not vary with treatments. These results suggest that microtexture and colour can facilitate colonisation of some taxa. The context-dependency of the results shows that inclusion of these factors into marine infrastructure designs needs to be carefully considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phage therapy is still in its infancy, but it is increasingly promising as a future alternative for treating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To investigate the effect of phages on Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC), we isolated 113 environmental phages, grown them to high titres, and assayed them on MABC clinical strains through the spot test. Of all the phages, only 16 showed killing activity. Their activity was so temperate to MABC that they could not generate any plaque-forming units (PFUs). The Appelmans method of directed evolution was carried out to evolve these 16 phages into more lytic ones. After only 11 of 30 rounds of evolution, every single clinical strain in our collection, including those that were unsusceptible up to this point, could be lysed by at least one phage. The evolved phages were able to form PFUs on the clinical strains tested. Still, they are temperate at best and require further training. The genomes of one random parental phage and three random evolved phages from Round 13 were sequenced, revealing a diversity of clusters and genes of a variety of evolutionary origins, mostly of unknown function. These complete annotated genomes will be key for future molecular characterisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Diseases have affected coral populations worldwide, leading to population declines and requiring active restoration efforts. Aims. Describe population and individual impacts of necrotising disease in the Endangered octocoral Dendronephthya australis. Methods. We quantified population loss and recruitment by using reference photos, survey and GPS mapping and described disease lesions by using histopathology. Key results. From December 2019 to January 2020, we observed polyp loss, necrotic lesions and loss of large colonies of D. australis at Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia. By September 2020, only a few scattered recruits remained, and all large colonies were lost. Histopathology of colonies sampled in January 2020 confirmed that the disease had resulted in necrosis, gastrovascular canal collapse and internal colony integrity loss, leading to mortality. New recruits were recorded within 10 months of disease onset, and large colonies within 18 months. Conclusions. Although the necrotising disease had significant impacts on both the individual and population level, natural recruitment began quickly. As such, unlike in other populations, restoration is not currently required in the Bare Island D. australis population. Implications. The extent of disease impact at the individual and population levels suggests that monitoring for lesions should be undertaken before developing conservation and restoration strategies for this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional mosquito vector control methods have proved ineffective in controlling the spread of dengue fever. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of community engagement through student-led science in promoting dengue prevention and socioecological factors in the temperate urban city of Córdoba, Argentina. It assesses community perceptions, knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices regarding dengue fever and its vector. Results showed a significant increase in knowledge about the vector and the disease and respondents’ adoption of good preventive practices. Student-led science was identified as a valuable tool for reaching households and leading to behavior changes at home. Furthermore, the findings highlighted the need for school programs to address vector biology and vector-borne disease prevention all year round. This study provides invaluable insights into the effectiveness of community engagement through student-led science to promote dengue prevention and socioecological factors. The findings suggest that this approach could be used to control the spread in other regions affected by the disease.

By removing nutrients from the water, coastal ecosystems serve as a filter between land and the open sea. Seagrasses contribute to the coastal filter by trapping and absorbing nutrients. Understanding the processes and environmental conditions underpinning the variability in nutrient retention among and within seagrass meadows is important to evaluate their role in the coastal filter across geographic regions, especially in less studied regions. This study evaluates the role of eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows in the coastal filter in boreal Newfoundland, Canada, and identifies environmental traits driving variability in nutrient fluxes. We measured carbon (Corg) and nitrogen (N) proportions and stable isotopic composition in the surface sediment (top 5 cm) of three eelgrass meadows. Sediment cores were collected from different locations (i.e., inside, edge, outside) relative to each meadow. Sediment %N (0.22%), %Corg (2.82%), Corg stock (11.1 Mg Corg ha−1), and N stock (0.91 Mg N ha−1) were elevated in our study sites; however, nutrient content was not consistently higher inside the meadow than at the edge or outside. Variability in nutrient retention was best explained by a negative relationship with sediment bulk density. Additionally, differences in carbon isotopic (δ13Corg) enrichment between eelgrass tissue (−11.6‰) and sediment (−22.1‰) within sites indicated that sediment nutrients were predominantly derived from allochthonous marine sources, where variability was best explained by salinity. This study improves the understanding of the role of eelgrass to nutrient cycles in boreal coastal systems and the potential of eelgrass as a blue carbon ecosystem. Plain Language Summary: Seagrasses trap incoming nutrients, such as carbon and nitrogen in the coastal zone, serving as a coastal filter. This function increases habitat productivity and results in further benefits to human well‐being (e.g., carbon storage). However, morphometric traits and the surrounding hydrographic environment differ among meadows, resulting in variable coastal filter efficiencies. Understanding the habitat traits driving variability in coastal filter function is important to understand the role of seagrass in nutrient retention across different regions. We present estimates of carbon and nitrogen retention in the surface sediment across three eelgrass meadows in boreal Newfoundland, Canada; a system where the role of eelgrass as a coastal filter has never been assessed. Variability in nutrient retention at both the meadow and bay scales was best explained by a negative relationship with sediment bulk density. Additionally, carbon retained in the surface sediment of the eelgrass meadows was predominantly derived from marine, non‐eelgrass sources, where variability in nutrient sources was best explained by salinity. By quantifying carbon and nitrogen cycles in a new region and describing habitat mechanisms underlying the variability in nutrient retention, our findings will benefit future nitrogen burial and blue carbon estimation in the coastal zone. Key Points: Understanding eelgrass traits that enhance coastal filter function across spatial scales exposes the potential of eelgrass to support ecosystem servicesEelgrass meadow sediments in boreal Canada are rich in carbon and nitrogen, where carbon is predominantly derived from marine allochthonous sourcesIn systems where terrestrial carbon inputs are low, coastal filter functioning is enhanced in eelgrass meadows with low sediment bulk density [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold-active bacteriophages are bacterial viruses that infect and replicate at low temperatures (≤4 °C). Understanding remains limited of how cold-active phage–host systems sustain high viral abundance despite the persistently low temperatures in pelagic sediments in polar seas. In this study, two Pseudoalteromonas phages, ACA1 and ACA2, were isolated from sediment core samples of the continental shelf in the western Arctic Ocean. These phages exhibited successful propagation at a low temperature of 1 °C and displayed typical myovirus morphology with isometric icosahedral heads and contractile tails. The complete genome sequences of phages ACA1 and ACA2 were 36,825 bp and 36,826 bp in size, respectively, sharing almost the same gene content. These are temperate phages encoding lysogeny-related proteins such as anti-repressor, immunity repressor and integrase. The absence of cross-infection between the host strains, which were genomically distinct Pseudoalteromonas species, can likely be attributed to heavy divergence in the anti-receptor apparently mediated by an associated diversity-generating retroelement. HHpred searching identified genes for all of the structural components of a P2-like phage (family Peduoviridae), although the whole of the Peduoviridae family appeared to be divided between two anciently diverged tail modules. In contrast, Blast matching and whole genome tree analysis are dominated by a nonstructural gene module sharing high similarity with Pseudoalteromonas phage C5a (founder of genus Catalunyavirus). This study expands the knowledge of diversity of P2-like phages known to inhabit Peudoalteromonas and demonstrates their presence in the Arctic niche. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kyphosids are conspicuous members of temperate and tropical reef fish communities. Some species contribute to commercial and recreational fisheries but are vulnerable to capture in large numbers due to their schooling behaviour and site fidelity. Previous ageing studies of kyphosids have determined that some species are long-lived, with maximum ages >40 years, which is a trait often associated with low natural mortality rates. Kyphosus sydneyanus is one of the largest kyphosids and has historically been caught in large numbers as a bycatch species in the demersal gillnet fishery in southern Western Australia. A large K. sydneyanus specimen was collected from that fishery in March 2021. A count of the growth (opaque) zones in the sectioned otoliths were used to determine that the age of this individual was 93 years, more than double the previous maximum age of a Kyphosus species and the longest-lived coastal species in southern Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Climate change is driving biogeographic change globally, including poleward range shifts of species and the increasing abundance of rare species. We examine spatiotemporal patterns in the occurrences of tropical, subtropical and rare marine fishes in Aotearoa New Zealand to determine whether biodiversity change is occurring in this temperate region and to set a baseline for future monitoring of climate change impacts. Location: Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). Taxon: Marine fishes. Methods: We consolidated 100 years of unpublished records and citizen science sightings of tropical, subtropical and rare fishes to develop a focal species database for NZ. Using hotspot analysis, we identified geographic locations where the occurrence and diversity of focal species is greater than expected. We examine the spatiotemporal variation in hotspots by focal species lifestage, habitat and taxonomic family. Results: Focal species occurrences and diversity in NZ have increased. We present 17 new‐to‐NZ marine fish species, and a new‐to‐NZ family. Focal species now account for 6.5% of pelagic fishes and 17.3% of benthic fishes in NZ. The northeast of the North Island (Te Ika‐a‐Māui) was a consistent hotspot of focal species occurrences and diversity. Hotspots of mature and pelagic fish occurrences appeared further south than juvenile and benthic species occurrences. Families with tropical affinities (Labridae and Pomacentridae) were restricted to northeastern NZ whereas hotspots of families with temperate affinities (i.e. Cheilodactylidae) extended into the South Island (Te Waipounamu). Main Conclusions: Tropical, subtropical and rare fishes are a major component of the fish biodiversity in temperate NZ, and their occurrences and diversity has increased over the past half‐century. Northeastern NZ consistently has the highest occurrence rate and diversity of warmer‐water fishes. Our study demonstrates the value in consolidating citizen scientist observations to detect biodiversity change, and to inform current baselines and future monitoring of climate‐related biodiversity change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Acadian Forest Region is a temperate‐boreal transitional zone in eastern North America which provides a unique opportunity for understanding the potential effects of climate change on both forest types. Leaf phenology, the timing of leaf life cycle changes, is an important indicator of the biological effects of climate change, which can be observed with stationary timelapse cameras known as phenocams. Using four growing seasons of observations for the species Acer rubrum (red maple), Betula papyrifera (paper/white birch) and Abies balsamea (balsam fir) from the Acadian Phenocam Network as well as multiple growing season observations from the North American PhenoCam Network we parameterized eight leaf emergence and six leaf senescence models for each species which span a range in process and driver representation. With climate models from the Fifth Phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) we simulated future leaf emergence, senescence and season length (senescence minus emergence) for these species at sites within the Acadian Phenocam Network. Model performances were similar across models and leaf emergence model RMSE ranged from about 1 to 2 weeks across species and models, while leaf senescence model RMSE ranged from about 2 to 4 weeks. The simulations suggest that by the late 21st century, leaf senescence may become continuously delayed for boreal species like Betula papyrifera and Abies balsamea, though remain relatively stable for temperate species like Acer rubrum. In contrast, the projected advancement in leaf emergence was similar across boreal and temperate species. This has important implications for carbon uptake, nutrient resorption, ecology and ecotourism for the Acadian Forest Region. More work is needed to improve predictions of leaf phenology for the Acadian Forest Region, especially with respect to senescence. Phenocams have the potential to rapidly advance process‐based model development and predictions of leaf phenology in the context of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broad-spectrum insecticides are the main control measure of the invasive and economically damaging soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) in North America, although biological control by resident natural enemies can also greatly diminish population levels. One such natural enemy is the accidentally introduced Eurasian parasitoid Aphelinus certus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), though its impact appears to be limited by low rates of parasitism early in the growing season. We tested the hypothesis that A. certus might experience high overwintering mortality. In the laboratory, we used thermocouple thermometry to measure the supercooling points of diapausing parasitoids and assessed parasitoid survival after exposure to ecologically relevant durations of low temperature. We found A. certus to be freeze-intolerant with a median supercooling point of −28°C. When exposed to temperatures of 0°C for up to 7 months, adults emerged only after exposures of at least 60 days and survival decreased with durations beyond 150 days. We also conducted in-field studies at sites from northern Minnesota to southern Iowa to determine if diapausing A. certus could overwinter above and below the snowpack. Survival was negatively correlated with increasing latitude and was greater for parasitoids placed on the ground than 1 meter off the ground, likely due to the warmer and stabler temperatures of the subnivean microclimate. Our results suggest that A. certus is capable of overwintering in the region inhabited by soybean aphid but may experience substantial mortality even under ideal conditions. Climate change is predicted to bring warmer, drier winters to the North American Midwest, with decreased depth and duration of snow cover, which may further reduce overwintering survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background. Strongly varying timescales of pyrogenic carbon (PyC) degradation have been observed across depositional settings. To date, PyC degradation in UK peatlands has had limited investigation. Aims. This study aims to evaluate how PyC recalcitrance relates to differing production characteristics, fuels and duration of exposure in UK peatlands. Methods. PyC samples produced from key peatland vegetation types were exposed on a peatland surface to assess molecular (by Fourier-transform infrared), leachable carbon (water-extractable organic carbon) and elemental (C, H, N, O) changes occurring over a year. Key results. PyC degradation phases were observed: (1) very rapid (=1 month) loss of leachable carbon; (2) longer-term (1-12 months) changes to PyC characteristics indicative of soil interactions. 'Severity' had a significant effect on all measured variables. Conclusions. This study indicates that PyC is susceptible to changes within short timescales in UK peatlands, particularly low-temperature PyC, but that stabilisation through soil matrix interactions may occur over longer periods (>1 year). Implications. The findings indicate that UK peatland wildfire carbon cycling research should consider early pulses of carbon to the wider environment, as well as longer-term C storage in PyC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jeju Island, due to its position at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula in Northeast Asia, is a on the unique enclave of the many southern elements in the area and features a mixture of subtropical, temperate, boreal, and arctomontane taxa. Among the arctomontane species recorded in this study was Anthelia juratzkana; among the temperate species was Dactyloradula brunnea, and subtropical species were Cavicularia densa, Pallavicinia subciliata, Wiesnerella denudata, and Megaceros flagellaris. A valuable species as first recorded for the Jeju Island is Cryptocoleopsis imbricata. The distribution patterns of these species suggest that the flora of Jeju Island is a meeting place between boreal and subtropical floras. We recorded 222 taxa belonging to 45 families, 80 genera, 209 species, 9 subspecies, and 4 varieties. Among these, 86 species are reported as new to the flora of Jeju Island. A checklist based on a study of 1697 specimens is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Acadian Forest Region is a temperate‐boreal transitional zone in eastern North America which provides a unique opportunity for understanding the potential effects of climate change on both forest types. Leaf phenology, the timing of leaf life cycle changes, is an important indicator of the biological effects of climate change, which can be observed with stationary timelapse cameras known as phenocams. Using four growing seasons of observations for the species Acer rubrum (red maple), Betula papyrifera (paper/white birch) and Abies balsamea (balsam fir) from the Acadian Phenocam Network as well as multiple growing season observations from the North American PhenoCam Network we parameterized eight leaf emergence and six leaf senescence models for each species which span a range in process and driver representation. With climate models from the Fifth Phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) we simulated future leaf emergence, senescence and season length (senescence minus emergence) for these species at sites within the Acadian Phenocam Network. Model performances were similar across models and leaf emergence model RMSE ranged from about 1 to 2 weeks across species and models, while leaf senescence model RMSE ranged from about 2 to 4 weeks. The simulations suggest that by the late 21st century, leaf senescence may become continuously delayed for boreal species like Betula papyrifera and Abies balsamea, though remain relatively stable for temperate species like Acer rubrum. In contrast, the projected advancement in leaf emergence was similar across boreal and temperate species. This has important implications for carbon uptake, nutrient resorption, ecology and ecotourism for the Acadian Forest Region. More work is needed to improve predictions of leaf phenology for the Acadian Forest Region, especially with respect to senescence. Phenocams have the potential to rapidly advance process‐based model development and predictions of leaf phenology in the context of climate change.

The rapid and accurate detection of forest disturbances in temperate forests has become increasingly crucial as policy demands and climate pressure on these forests rise. The cloud-penetrating Sentinel-1 radar constellation provides frequent and high-resolution observations with global coverage, but few studies have assessed its potential for mapping disturbances in temperate forests. This study investigated the sensitivity of temporally dense C-band backscatter data from Sentinel-1 to varying management-related disturbance intensities in temperate forests, and the influence of confounding factors such as radar backscatter signal seasonality, shadow, and layover on the radar backscatter signal at a pixel level. A unique network of 14 experimental sites in the Netherlands was used in which trees were removed to simulate different levels of management-related forest disturbances across a range of representative temperate forest species. Results from six years (2016–2022) of Sentinel-1 observations indicated that backscatter seasonality is dependent on species phenology and degree of canopy cover. The backscatter change magnitude was sensitive to medium- and high-severity disturbances, with radar layover having a stronger impact on the backscatter disturbance signal than radar shadow. Combining ascending and descending orbits and complementing polarizations compared to a single orbit or polarization was found to result in a 34% mean increase in disturbance detection sensitivity across all disturbance severities. This study underlines the importance of linking high-quality experimental ground-based data to dense satellite time series to improve future forest disturbance mapping. It suggests a key role for C-band backscatter time series in the rapid and accurate large-area monitoring of temperate forests and, in particular, the disturbances imposed by logging practices or tree mortality driven by climate change factors.

Phage therapy is still in its infancy, but it is increasingly promising as a future alternative for treating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. To investigate the effect of phages on Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC), we isolated 113 environmental phages, grown them to high titres, and assayed them on MABC clinical strains through the spot test. Of all the phages, only 16 showed killing activity. Their activity was so temperate to MABC that they could not generate any plaque-forming units (PFUs). The Appelmans method of directed evolution was carried out to evolve these 16 phages into more lytic ones. After only 11 of 30 rounds of evolution, every single clinical strain in our collection, including those that were unsusceptible up to this point, could be lysed by at least one phage. The evolved phages were able to form PFUs on the clinical strains tested. Still, they are temperate at best and require further training. The genomes of one random parental phage and three random evolved phages from Round 13 were sequenced, revealing a diversity of clusters and genes of a variety of evolutionary origins, mostly of unknown function. These complete annotated genomes will be key for future molecular characterisations.

Coralline algae play important ecological roles throughout the photic zone of the world’s oceans. Recent studies have shown that attached-living coralline algae can contain records of past climate variability. So far, algal-based paleo-reconstructions are mainly available from mid- to high-latitudes, while in low latitude and temperate regions only few examples exist. Here, we investigate samples from the attached-living encrusting coralline algal species Neogoniolithon hauckii (Rothpletz) R.A Townsend & Huisman [= Neogoniolithon mamillosum (Hauck) Setchell & L.R. Mason, nom illeg.] from a temperate site in the Mediterranean Sea to assess its potential as an environmental recorder. The specimens were collected at different water depths (20 and 40 m) in the Columbretes Islands (Spain). Sclerochronological analysis of sectioned samples revealed seasonal growth patterns. Mg/Ca, Li/Ca, and Ba/Ca ratios were measured in the algal skeletons using laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) in ultra-high resolution. We report a mean vertical extension rate of 1.1 to 1.2 mm/year (based on analysis of Mg/Ca cycles in 40 m and 20 m samples), representing the first growth rate measurement for this species. In addition, subannual banding patterns were mapped, measured, and could be linked to high frequency variability in laser-analyzed Mg/Ca ratios. Elemental ratios analyzed in Neogoniolithon hauckii were compared to in situ water temperatures measured at the water depth of sample collection. Our results show significant positive relationships between algal Mg/Ca (R=0.55) as well as Li/Ca ratios (R=0.46) and in situ measured temperature data (40 m specimen). Ba/Ca ratios show no significant correlation to temperature and may be influenced by other factors. These data suggest potential of this species for climate reconstructions in warm-temperate regions as Neogoniolithon hauckii is not only widely distributed in the Mediterranean, but also one of the few species that may be used as a temperature archive for mesophotic coralligenous assemblages that are strongly affected by the recent anthropogenic temperature rise. Further calibration studies are needed to test the element-temperature relationships on samples with longer growth records and in different settings and water depths.

Urbanization is a key stressor of freshwater habitats, possibly contributing to global insect declines. However, scientific understanding of urbanization's effects on aquatic insect communities has largely been based on studies of temperate streams. We reviewed global urban freshwater macroinvertebrate community studies, classifying habitat type, location, urbanization metrics, biodiversity metrics, and focal taxa, drawing from 114 studies in 32 different countries. Our goals were to: (1) investigate the extent of research on urbanization across a variety of freshwater habitats, (2) examine the representation in empirical literature across the globe by comparing cities in different geographic regions, and (3) highlight how study approaches including taxonomic resolution and the inclusion of trait data impact interpretation of these patterns. Most studies were conducted in North America and Europe, but there is growing representation from other continents. Additionally, lentic environments were underrepresented in the literature on community responses to urbanization compared to lotic studies. Therefore, we suggest that lentic habitats should be investigated more thoroughly. We suggest that future empirical studies should incorporate traits of the taxa investigated to better predict how communities respond to urban stressors. The lack of consistent results from the reviewed studies showed that there is no single, predictable effect of urbanization, indicating that future meta-analyses and review papers should consider the potential context-dependency of freshwater insect responses to anthropogenic pressures. Our goal in highlighting understudied environmental and regional contexts is to move toward holistically addressing the ongoing challenges of urban freshwater insect conservation and freshwater ecology research.

Investigations of simple and accurate meteorology classification systems for influenza epidemics, particularly in subtropical regions, are limited. To assist in preparing for potential upsurges in the demand on healthcare facilities during influenza seasons, our study aims to develop a set of meteorologically-favorable zones for epidemics of influenza A and B, defined as the intervals of meteorological variables with prediction performance optimized. We collected weekly detection rates of laboratory-confirmed influenza cases from four local major hospitals in Hong Kong between 2004 and 2019. Meteorological and air quality records for hospitals were collected from their closest monitoring stations. We employed classification and regression trees to identify zones that optimize the prediction performance of meteorological data in influenza epidemics, defined as a weekly rate > 50th percentile over a year. According to the results, a combination of temperature > 25.1℃ and relative humidity > 79% was favorable to epidemics in hot seasons, whereas either temperature < 16.4℃ or a combination of < 20.4℃ and relative humidity > 76% was favorable to epidemics in cold seasons. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in model training achieved 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76–0.83) and was kept at 0.71 (95%CI, 0.65–0.77) in validation. The meteorologically-favorable zones for predicting influenza A or A and B epidemics together were similar, but the AUC for predicting influenza B epidemics was comparatively lower. In conclusion, we established meteorologically-favorable zones for influenza A and B epidemics with a satisfactory prediction performance, even though the influenza seasonality in this subtropical setting was weak and type-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enforced winter inactivity affects life histories of cool-climate squamates in two ways: (1) a trade-off between oviparity and viviparity favoring the predominance of viviparity in cool climates; (2) reduction in frequency of reproduction in females. In this study we determined annual variation in reproductive traits in a cool-climate population of a viviparous lizard (Elgaria coerulea), as well as year-to-year patterns of breeding (versus skipping reproduction) of individual adult females. We collected reproductive data during a mark–recapture study in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. Gravid females were captured in the field and subsequently gave birth under seminatural conditions in the laboratory, whereupon the resulting newborns were measured. There were no differences in snout–vent length (SVL), relative tail length, or age of gravid females among years. Only head width, mass, and condition of newborns varied among years. Most litters consisted of >80% live young, and the proportion of live young in a litter increased with newborn condition and SVL. Litter size increased with maternal SVL, and mean newborn SVL was highest with medium-sized maternal relative tail length. Most females (87%) did not reproduce annually but had one or more years between reproductive events. There was no effect of year on whether a given female was reproductive, but larger females and females with intact tails were more likely to be pregnant in any year. The possible consequences of skipping reproduction in a given year include trading off immediate investment in offspring against increased growth in the current year and higher potential future reproductive output. Testing such hypotheses will be challenging but would contribute significantly to our understanding of the evolution of reproductive effort in both squamates in particular, and animals in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first dated molecular phylogeny of the Cerurinae moths (Notodontidae), based on sequence data for 666 loci generated by anchored hybrid enrichment. Monophyly of Cerurinae is corroborated, which includes the following genera: Pararethona Janse, Pseudorethona Janse, Oreocerura Kiriakoff, stat. rev. , Cerurella Kiriakoff, Notocerura Kiriakoff, Hampsonita Kiriakoff, Afrocerura Kiriakoff, Cerurina Kiriakoff, Neoharpyia Daniel, Furcula Lamarck, Neocerura Matsumura, Americerura St Laurent and Goldstein, gen. nov. , Cerura Schrank, and Kamalia Koçak & Kemal. The type species of the Neotropical genus Tecmessa Burmeister , T. annulipes (Berg), which had been incorrectly assigned to Cerurinae, is recovered in Heterocampinae; and Americerura gen. nov. is proposed to receive 17 unambiguously cerurine species transferred from Tecmessa. Divergence time estimates recover a crown age of Notodontidae roughly coincident with the K-Pg boundary, and a late-Oligocene crown age for Cerurinae. An African origin is inferred for Cerurinae, followed by colonization of the Palearctic, the Americas, Indomalaya, and Australasia during the Miocene. At least three independent colonizations of the Americas are inferred, one in the mid-Miocene associated with ancestral Americerura gen. nov. and two in the Pliocene and Pleistocene within Furcula. We hypothesize that the global spread of Cerurinae was enabled by that of its primary caterpillar foodplants in the Salicaceae. State-dependent diversification analyses suggest that cerurines diversified most rapidly in temperate climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partial rbcL sequences from type specimens of three of the earliest described Corallina species showed that C. arbuscula (type locality: Unalaska Island, Alaska, USA) and C. pilulifera (type locality: Okhotsk Sea, Russia) are synonymous, with C. pilulifera as the taxonomically accepted name and that C. vancouveriensis (type locality: Botanical Beach, Vancouver Island, Canada) is a distinct species. To identify molecular species limits and clarify descriptions and distributions of C. pilulifera and C. vancouveriensis, we sequenced and analyzed portions of one mitochondrial and two plastid genes from historical and recent collections. The single‐gene phylogenetic reconstructions support the recognition of both species as distinct, as well as two additional species, C. hakodatensis sp. nov. and C. parva sp. nov., which are sister to, and often morphologically indistinguishable from C. pilulifera and C. vancouveriensis, respectively. DNA sequence data currently illustrate that C. pilulifera is found in the cold northern Pacific waters from the Okhotsk Sea of Russia to Hokkaido, Japan, eastward across the Aleutian Islands to Knoll Head, Alaska, and as far south as Nanaimo, British Columbia. Corallina vancouveriensis is distributed as far west as Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands to Sitka, Alaska, and southeasterly at numerous sites from British Columbia to the north of Point Conception, California, USA. The cryptic species C. hakodatensis and C. parva occur sympatrically with their sister species but with narrower ranges. The complex phylogenetic relationships shown by the single gene trees recommend Corallina as a model genus to explore coralline algal biogeography, evolution, and patterns of speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light, temperature and rainfall affect the growth and yield of strawberry plants (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.). The objective of this review was to determine the impact of global warming on the yields of strawberry in a temperate (summer crop) and subtropical environment (winter crop) in southern Queensland, Australia. Information was collected on the changes in temperature over five decades in two locations in this area. The relationship between relative yield and temperature from published data was used to determine the impact of global warming on productivity in the two locations. Finally, the impact of elevated concentrations of CO2 and temperature on yield was examined from studies in the literature. The average daily mean temperature has increased by 2 °C over the season on the Sunshine Coast (winter crop) since 1967 (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.69). The impact of global warming has been less severe on the Granite Belt (summer crop), with a 1 °C increase in temperature (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.37). Information was collected from the literature on the yield in individual temperature regimes in an experiment and these data were compared with the maximum yield in the same experiment (relative yield). There was a negative linear relationship between relative yield and temperature in most of the published literature. The mean (± s.d. or standard deviation) estimate of the slope from the regression was −0.14 (± 0.14), the median was −0.11 and the range was from −0.51 to 0.11 (n = 14 studies). Increases in temperature were associated with a decrease in yield of 14% to 28% in the two areas in Queensland. The results of other research indicated that elevated concentrations of CO2 do not benefit productivity when combined with elevated temperatures. Further decreases in yield are expected in the next few decades in the absence of heat-tolerant cultivars or other mitigating strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]