Allee effects limit coral fertilization success.

Coral populations are being progressively thinned by climate change, which elevates the risk of reproductive failure from Allee effects during fertilization. Studies have shown that fertilization success improves during more intense and synchronized spawning, but the local dependence of fertilization on coral density remains unknown in wild populations. Here, we measure the fertilization success of individual colonies of the common table coral, in Palau, Micronesia.

The COVID-19 pandemic is intricately linked to biodiversity loss and ecosystem health.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by zoonotic SARS-CoV-2, has important links to biodiversity loss and ecosystem health. These links range from anthropogenic activities driving zoonotic disease emergence and extend to the pandemic affecting biodiversity conservation, environmental policy, ecosystem services, and multiple conservation facets. Crucially, such effects can exacerbate the initial drivers, resulting in feedback loops that are likely to promote future zoonotic disease outbreaks.

Analysis of sugarcane herbicides in marine turtle nesting areas and assessment of risk using in vitro toxicity assays.

Agricultural processes are associated with many different herbicides that can contaminate surrounding environments. In Queensland, Australia, herbicides applied to agricultural crops may pose a threat to valuable coastal habitats including nesting beaches for threatened loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). This study 1) measured concentrations of herbicides in the beach sand of Mon Repos, an important marine turtle nesting beach in Australia that is adjacent to significant sugarcane crops, and 2) investigated the toxicity of these herbicides to marine turtles using a cell-based assay.