Biodiversity assessment and environmental risk analysis of the single line transgenic pod borer resistant cowpea.

Background: The discussion surrounding biological diversity has reached a critical point with the introduction of Nigeria's first transgenic food crop, the pod borer-resistant (PBR) cowpea. Questions have been raised about the potential risks of the transgenic -resistant cowpea to human health and beneficial insects. Public apprehension, coupled with social activists' calling for the removal of this crop from the nation's food market, persists.

Female lizards () reverse Bergmann's rule across altitude.

The evolution of body size within and among species is predicted to be influenced by multifarious environmental factors. However, the specific drivers of body size variation have remained difficult to understand because of the wide range of proximate factors that covary with ectotherm body sizes across populations with varying local environmental conditions. Here, we used female lizards collected from different populations across their wide range in China, and constructed linear mixed models to assess how climatic conditions and/or available resources at different altitudes shape the geographical patterns of lizard body size across altitude.