Marine Protected Areas That Preserve Trophic Cascades Promote Resilience of Kelp Forests to Marine Heatwaves.

Under accelerating threats from climate-change impacts, marine protected areas (MPAs) have been proposed as climate-adaptation tools to enhance the resilience of marine ecosystems. Yet, debate persists as to whether and how MPAs may promote resilience to climate shocks. Here, we use 38 years of satellite-derived kelp cover to empirically test whether a network of 58 temperate coastal MPAs in Central and Southern California enhances the resistance of kelp forest ecosystems to, and their recovery from, the unprecedented 2014-2016 marine heatwave regime that occurred in the region.

Effects of climate warming on energetics and habitat of the world's largest marine ectotherm.

Responses of organisms to climate warming are variable and complex. Effects on species distributions are already evident and mean global surface ocean temperatures are likely to warm by up to 4.1 °C by 2100, substantially impacting the physiology and distributions of ectotherms.

A metric-based framework for climate-smart conservation planning.

Climate change is already having profound effects on biodiversity, but climate change adaptation has yet to be fully incorporated into area-based management tools used to conserve biodiversity, such as protected areas. One main obstacle is the lack of consensus regarding how impacts of climate change can be included in spatial conservation plans. We propose a climate-smart framework that prioritizes the protection of climate refugia-areas of low climate exposure and high biodiversity retention-using climate metrics.

The Flexible, Extended Coil of the PDZ-Binding Motif of the Three Deadly Human Coronavirus E Proteins Plays a Role in Pathogenicity.

The less virulent human (h) coronaviruses (CoVs) 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1 cause mild, self-limiting respiratory tract infections, while the more virulent SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2 have caused severe outbreaks. The CoV envelope (E) protein, an important contributor to the pathogenesis of severe hCoV infections, may provide insight into this disparate severity of the disease. We, therefore, generated full-length E protein models for SARS-CoV-1 and -2, MERS-CoV, HCoV-229E, and HCoV-NL63 and docked C-terminal peptides of each model to the PDZ domain of the human PALS1 protein.

Drivers of Household Recycling Behavior in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa.

This paper has assessed the relationship between recycling behavior and socio-demographic variables for households in Johannesburg, South Africa. The research also identified the underlying driving factors that motivate recyclers to separate their household waste for recycling. These objectives were addressed by means of a quantitative survey research design as well as descriptive and inferential statistical methods.

Human Coronaviruses: Counteracting the Damage by Storm.

Over the past 18 years, three highly pathogenic human (h) coronaviruses (CoVs) have caused severe outbreaks, the most recent causative agent, SARS-CoV-2, being the first to cause a pandemic. Although much progress has been made since the COVID-19 pandemic started, much about SARS-CoV-2 and its disease, COVID-19, is still poorly understood. The highly pathogenic hCoVs differ in some respects, but also share some similarities in clinical presentation, the risk factors associated with severe disease, and the characteristic immunopathology associated with the progression to severe disease.

Quantifying finer-scale behaviours using self-organising maps (SOMs) to link accelerometery signatures with behavioural patterns in free-roaming terrestrial animals.

Collecting quantitative information on animal behaviours is difficult, especially from cryptic species or species that alter natural behaviours under observation. Using harness-mounted tri-axial accelerometers free-roaming domestic cats (Felis Catus) we developed a methodology that can precisely classify finer-scale behaviours. We further tested the effect of a prey-protector device designed to reduce prey capture.

First report of Kudoa thunni and Kudoa musculoliquefaciens affecting the quality of commercially harvested yellowfin tuna and broadbill swordfish in Eastern Australia.

Recent anecdotal reports from seafood processors in eastern Australia have described an increased occurrence of post-mortem myoliquefaction ('jellymeat') in broadbill swordfish Xiphias gladius, and macroscopic cysts throughout the musculature of yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares. A genus of parasitic cnidarians, Kudoa (Myxosporea, Multivalvulida), species of which are known to occur in economically important wild-caught fish species globally, can cause similar quality-deterioration issues. However, Kudoa sp.

Hemispheric asymmetry in ocean change and the productivity of ecosystem sentinels.

Climate change and other human activities are causing profound effects on marine ecosystem productivity. We show that the breeding success of seabirds is tracking hemispheric differences in ocean warming and human impacts, with the strongest effects on fish-eating, surface-foraging species in the north. Hemispheric asymmetry suggests the need for ocean management at hemispheric scales.

Leptin Deficiency, Caused by Malnutrition, Makes You Susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 Infection but Could Offer Protection from Severe COVID-19.

In much of the developing world, severe malnutrition is the most prevalent cause of immunodeficiency and affects up to 50% of the population in some impoverished communities. As yet, we do not know how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) will behave in populations with immunodeficiency caused by malnourishment. Interestingly, researchers are now speculating that, in some instances, a defective cellular immune system could paradoxically be a protective factor against severe disease in certain patients contracting SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2.

Global warming is causing a more pronounced dip in marine species richness around the equator.

The latitudinal gradient in species richness, with more species in the tropics and richness declining with latitude, is widely known and has been assumed to be stable over recent centuries. We analyzed data on 48,661 marine animal species since 1955, accounting for sampling variation, to assess whether the global latitudinal gradient in species richness is being impacted by climate change. We confirm recent studies that show a slight dip in species richness at the equator.

Opposing life stage-specific effects of ocean warming at source and sink populations of range-shifting coral-reef fishes.

Climate change is altering the latitudinal distributions of species, with their capacity to keep pace with a shifting climate depending on the stochastic expression of population growth rates, and the influence of compensatory density feedback on age-specific survival rates. We use population-abundance time series at the leading edge of an expanding species' range to quantify the contribution of stochastic environmental drivers and density feedbacks to the dynamics of life stage-specific population growth. Using a tropical, range-shifting Indo-Pacific damselfish (Abudefduf vaigiensis) as a model organism, we applied variants of the phenomenological Gompertz-logistic model to a 14-year dataset to quantify the relative importance of density feedback and stochastic environmental drivers on the separate and aggregated population growth rates of settler and juvenile life stages.

Is There a Link Between the Pathogenic Human Coronavirus Envelope Protein and Immunopathology? A Review of the Literature.

Since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, human coronaviruses (hCoVs) have been identified as causative agents of severe acute respiratory tract infections. Two more hCoV outbreaks have since occurred, the most recent being SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The clinical presentation of SARS and MERS is remarkably similar to COVID-19, with hyperinflammation causing a severe form of the disease in some patients.

Dietary generalism accelerates arrival and persistence of coral-reef fishes in their novel ranges under climate change.

Climate change is redistributing marine and terrestrial species globally. Life-history traits mediate the ability of species to cope with novel environmental conditions, and can be used to gauge the potential redistribution of taxa facing the challenges of a changing climate. However, it is unclear whether the same traits are important across different stages of range shifts (arrival, population increase, persistence).

Fitness benefits of male dominance behaviours depend on the degree of individual inbreeding in a polyandrous lizard.

In polyandrous species, sexual selection extends beyond mating competition to selection for egg fertilization. As a result, the degree to which factors influencing mating success impact overall reproductive success becomes variable. Here, we used a longitudinal behavioural and genetic dataset for a population of eastern water dragons () to investigate the degree to which male dominance, a pre-mating selection trait, influences overall reproductive success, measured as the number of surviving offspring.

Coronavirus envelope protein: current knowledge.

Background: Coronaviruses (CoVs) primarily cause enzootic infections in birds and mammals but, in the last few decades, have shown to be capable of infecting humans as well. The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and, more recently, Middle-East respiratory syndrome (MERS) has demonstrated the lethality of CoVs when they cross the species barrier and infect humans. A renewed interest in coronaviral research has led to the discovery of several novel human CoVs and since then much progress has been made in understanding the CoV life cycle.

Outstanding Challenges in the Transferability of Ecological Models.

Predictive models are central to many scientific disciplines and vital for informing management in a rapidly changing world. However, limited understanding of the accuracy and precision of models transferred to novel conditions (their 'transferability') undermines confidence in their predictions. Here, 50 experts identified priority knowledge gaps which, if filled, will most improve model transfers.

Climate Velocity Can Inform Conservation in a Warming World.

Climate change is shifting the ranges of species. Simple predictive metrics of range shifts such as climate velocity, that do not require extensive knowledge or data on individual species, could help to guide conservation. We review research on climate velocity, describing the theory underpinning the concept and its assumptions.

Macroscale patterns in body size of intertidal crustaceans provide insights on climate change effects.

Predicting responses of coastal ecosystems to altered sea surface temperatures (SST) associated with global climate change, requires knowledge of demographic responses of individual species. Body size is an excellent metric because it scales strongly with growth and fecundity for many ectotherms. These attributes can underpin demographic as well as community and ecosystem level processes, providing valuable insights for responses of vulnerable coastal ecosystems to changing climate.