Bacteria use a catabolic patchwork pathway of apparently recent origin for degradation of the synthetic buffer compound TRIS.

The synthetic buffer compound TRIS (2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diol) is used in countless applications, and no detailed information on its degradation has been published so far. Herein, we describe the discovery of a complete bacterial degradation pathway for TRIS. By serendipity, a Pseudomonas strain was isolated from sewage sludge that was able to grow with TRIS as only carbon and nitrogen source.

Anti-racist interventions to transform ecology, evolution and conservation biology departments.

Racial and ethnic discrimination persist in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, including ecology, evolution and conservation biology (EECB) and related disciplines. Marginalization and oppression as a result of institutional and structural racism continue to create barriers to inclusion for Black people, Indigenous people and people of colour (BIPOC), and remnants of historic racist policies and pseudoscientific theories continue to plague these fields. Many academic EECB departments seek concrete ways to improve the climate and implement anti-racist policies in their teaching, training and research activities.

How Field Courses Propel Inclusion and Collective Excellence.

Field courses have been identified as powerful tools for inclusion and student success in science. However, not all students are equally likely to take field courses. How do we remove barriers to equity in field courses, to make them engines for inclusion, diversity, and collective excellence in ecology and evolution?

Comparing imaging, acoustics, and radar to monitor Leach's storm-petrel colonies.

Seabirds are integral components of marine ecosystems and, with many populations globally threatened, there is a critical need for effective and scalable seabird monitoring strategies. Many seabird species nest in burrows, which can make traditional monitoring methods costly, infeasible, or damaging to nesting habitats. Traditional burrow occupancy surveys, where possible, can occur infrequently and therefore lead to an incomplete understanding of population trends.