Effects of plastic ingestion on blood chemistry, gene expression and body condition in wedge-tailed shearwaters ().

Plastic pollution is a global threat and occurs in almost every marine ecosystem. The amount of plastic in the ocean has increased substantially over the past decade, posing a mounting threat to biodiversity. Seabirds, typically top predators in marine food chains, have been negatively affected by plastic pollution.

Field bands of marching locust juveniles show carbohydrate, not protein, limitation.

Locusts are grasshoppers that migrate and devastate food security, yet little is known about the nutritional needs of marching bands in nature. While it has been hypothesized that protein limitation promotes locust marching behavior, migration is fueled by dietary carbohydrates. We studied South American Locust () bands at eight sites across Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay.

Variability of rRNA Operon Copy Number and Growth Rate Dynamics of Bacillus Isolated from an Extremely Oligotrophic Aquatic Ecosystem.

The ribosomal RNA (rrn) operon is a key suite of genes related to the production of protein synthesis machinery and thus to bacterial growth physiology. Experimental evidence has suggested an intrinsic relationship between the number of copies of this operon and environmental resource availability, especially the availability of phosphorus (P), because bacteria that live in oligotrophic ecosystems usually have few rrn operons and a slow growth rate. The Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) is a complex aquatic ecosystem that contains an unusually high microbial diversity that is able to persist under highly oligotrophic conditions.