Many authors have noted the apparent 'decoupling' of the taxonomic and ecological severity of mass extinction events, with no widely accepted mechanistic explanation for this pattern having been offered. Here, we test between two key factors that potentially influence ecological severity: biosphere entropy (a measure of functional redundancy), and the degree of functional selectivity (in terms of deviation from a pattern of random extinction with respect to functional entities). While theoretical simulations suggest that the Shannon entropy of a given community prior to an extinction event determines the expected outcome following a perturbation of a given magnitude, actual variation in Shannon entropy between major extinction intervals is insufficient to explain the observed variation in ecological severity. Within this information-theoretic framework, we show that it is the degree of functional selectivity that is expected to primarily determine the ecological impact of a given perturbation when levels of functional redundancy are not substantially different.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0440 | DOI Listing |
Am J Biol Anthropol
January 2025
Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Objectives: With contemporary, human-induced climate change at a crisis point, extreme weather events (e.g., cyclones, heatwaves, floods) are becoming more frequent, intense, and difficult to predict.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeliyon
December 2024
Biobank Facility, National Infrastructures for Translational Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Exposure to low doses of antibiotics in organisms may have long-term effects on host growth and brain neurochemicals, which are achieved by disrupting the composition and metabolism of gut flora. Therefore, we should pay more attention to the use and management of antibiotics to protect human health and the ecological environment. Here, we developed a method of detecting 50 antibiotic residues simultaneously in human plasma using HPLC-MS/MS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Exp Biol
January 2025
Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
Artificial light at night (ALAN) has emerged as a significant ecological disruptor, affecting various behavioral and physiological processes in numerous species. This study investigated the impact of ALAN on the risk-related behaviors and activity patterns of the ground-dwelling isopod, Porcellionides pruinosus. Isopods were exposed to three different illuminance conditions (<0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWater Res
December 2024
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, PR China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, PR China.
Membrane separation technology has emerged as a highly energy-efficient method for microalgae enrichment and harvesting in wastewater treatment. However, membrane fouling caused by algal cells and stratified extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) remains a critical barrier to its industrial-scale application. This study meticulously investigates the micro process of algae-derived pollutants stacking to the membrane surface affected by stratified EPS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommun Biol
January 2025
School of Global Health, Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Vibrio vulnificus is a significant zoonotic pathogen that causes severe vibriosis in humans and fish. The lack of a national annual surveillance program in China has hindered understanding of its epidemiological characteristics and genetic diversity. This study characterized 150 V.
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