Evaluating Three Modelling Frameworks for Assessing Changes in Fin Whale Distribution in the Mediterranean Sea.

Understanding the habitat of highly migratory species is aided by using species distribution models to identify species-habitat relationships and to inform conservation and management plans. While Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) are commonly used in ecology, and particularly the habitat modeling of marine mammals, there remains a debate between modeling habitat (presence/absence) versus density (# individuals). Our study assesses the performance and predictive capabilities of GAMs compared to boosted regression trees (BRTs) for modeling both fin whale density and habitat suitability alongside Hurdle Models treating presence/absence and density as a two-stage process to address the challenge of zero-inflated data.

Population Structure of the Invasive Asian Tiger Mosquito, , in Europe.

The Asian tiger mosquito, , is currently the most widespread invasive mosquito species in the world. It poses a significant threat to human health, as it is a vector for several arboviruses. We used a SNP chip to genotype 748 mosquitoes from 41 localities across Europe, 28 localities in the native range in Asia, and 4 in the Americas.

A Landscape Genetics Approach Reveals Species-Specific Connectivity Patterns for Stream Insects in Fragmented Habitats.

Dispersal is a critical process in ecology and evolution, shaping global biodiversity patterns. In stream habitats, which often exist within diverse and fragmented landscapes, dispersal ensures population connectivity and survival. For aquatic insects in particular, landscape features may significantly influence the degree of genetic connectivity among populations.

The Ecological Restoration Strategies in Terrestrial Ecosystems Were Reviewed: A New Trend Based on Soil Microbiomics.

Soil microorganisms play a pivotal role in the biogeochemical cycle and serve as crucial indicators of ecological restoration in terrestrial ecosystems. The soil microbial community is regarded as a pivotal participant in environmental processes, offering both positive and negative feedback to diverse media within the ecosystem. This community can serve as a potential indicator in ecological monitoring and restoration processes.

A synopsis of DC. (Malvaceae, Brownlowioideae), with a new species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

A taxonomic synopsis is provided for the genus , with emphasis on the American species. Full synonymies, typifications, comments about distribution, and notes on main diagnostic characteristics, as well as conservation status and phenology, are provided. We describe a new species, T.

Assisted Gene Flow Management to Climate Change in the Annual Legume L.: From Phenotype to Genotype.

Climate change may hinder species' ability to evolutionarily adapt to environmental shifts. Assisted gene flow, introducing adaptive alleles into target populations, could be a viable solution for keystone species. Our study aimed to evaluate the benefits and limitations of assisted gene flow in enhancing the evolutionary potential of L.

Retrospective review of forensic entomology casework in eastern Australia from 1994 to 2022.

Forensic entomology can be a crucial source of information for medicolegal investigations, with its most well-known application being for estimating minimum post-mortem interval (mPMI) in death investigations. The analysis of entomological evidence requires robust data on insect ecology, life history, behaviour, and taxonomy. In Australia, substantial basic research on forensically relevant insects has focused predominately in the populous southeast and southwest; however, knowledge gaps remain, most importantly for the tropical north.

18-year plant reproductive phenology dataset from Lambir, Borneo, including four large general flowering events.

Flowering and fruiting phenology can have large impacts on a plant's reproductive success. In many plant species, these phenological events are controlled by seasonal climatic cues, resulting in one-year reproductive cycles. However, parts of SE Asian tropical forests have an aseasonal climate with irregular fluctuations.

Coordinated variations in leaf and root biogeochemical niches.

The biogeochemical niche (BN) hypothesis posits that each species has a specific elemental composition. However, the BN of roots and its interaction with leaf BN have largely been neglected until now across diverse environmental conditions. We investigated the relationships between the elemental compositions of leaves and roots, phylogeny, and environmental variables, as well as the connection between leaf and root BN.

Designing causal mediation analyses to quantify intermediary processes in ecology.

Ecologists seek to understand the intermediary ecological processes through which changes in one attribute in a system affect other attributes. A causal understanding of mediating processes is important for testing theory and developing resource management and conservation strategies. Yet, quantifying the causal effects of these mediating processes in ecological systems is challenging, because it requires defining what we mean by a "mediated effect", determining what assumptions are required to estimate mediation effects without bias, and assessing whether these assumptions are credible in a study.

Advancements and challenges in microalgal protein production: A sustainable alternative to conventional protein sources.

The increasing global demand for sustainable protein sources necessitates the exploration of alternative solutions beyond traditional livestock and crop-based proteins. Microalgae present a promising alternative due to their high protein content, rapid biomass accumulation, and minimal land and water requirements. Furthermore, their ability to thrive on non-arable land and in wastewater systems enhances their sustainability and resource efficiency.

The Patterson-Price-Reich's rule of population structure analysis from genetic marker data.

Delineating population structure from the marker genotypes of a sample of individuals is now routinely conducted in the fields of molecular ecology, evolution and conservation biology. Various Bayesian and likelihood methods as well as more general statistical methods (e.g.

Endocrine regulation of reproductive behaviors in insects: A comprehensive review.

Insects use pheromones in a complex system of sexual communication for reproduction. Hormones, peptides, and biogenic amines are crucial regulators involved in reproductive behaviors. Despite knowledge gaps, this review shows how hormones and related molecules influence insect reproduction and highlights the intricate endocrine network that governs the reproductive behaviors through diverse signaling pathways.

Iron at the helm: Steering arsenic speciation through redox processes in soils.

The toxicity and bioavailability of arsenic (As) in soils are largely determined by its speciation. Iron (Fe) is widely present in soils with a strong affinity for As, and therefore the environmental behaviors of As and Fe oxides (including oxides, hydrates and hydrated oxides) are closely correlated with each other. The redox fluctuations of Fe driven by changes in the environment can significantly affect As speciation and its fate in soils.

Immune response to polystyrene microplastics: Regulation of inflammatory response via the ROS-driven NF-κB pathway in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

There is increasing apprehension regarding the rising prevalence of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic ecosystems. Although MPs cause toxicological effect on fish via diverse pathways, the precise immunotoxicological mechanism is yet to be fully understood. Utilizing zebrafish in early developmental stages and zebrafish embryonic fibroblast (ZF4) as models, this study delved into the immune response elicited by polystyrene MPs (PS-MPs).

Responses of microbial community to the selection pressures of low-concentration contaminants of emerging concern in activated sludge.

The activated sludge system used in wastewater treatment plants has demonstrated partial removal capabilities for various contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). However, existing research primarily focuses on the removal efficiency individual or combined CECs, with limited research addressing their impact on microbial community. In this study, three activated sludge systems were developed to investigate the effects of low concentrations of CECs, including five types of antibiotics and five types of non-antibiotic CECs.

A novel framework for industrial pesticide effluent assessment: Integrating chemical screening, multi-endpoint responses and literature-based validation.

Industrial pesticide effluents pose substantial risks to aquatic ecosystems, yet comprehensive understanding of their toxicological impacts remains limited. This study presents an integrated approach to evaluate the ecological risks of pesticide manufacturing effluents through chemical screening and multi-endpoints biological responses. Using zebrafish embryos as a model organism, we demonstrated that effluent discharge point (EDP) sample induced 100 % mortality, while diluted samples exhibited significant developmental toxicity, cardiovascular injury, immunosuppression, and behavioral alterations.

Long-term impacts of oil spill pollution on the insectivorous bat community in the hyper-arid Evrona Nature Reserve, Israel.

Vachellia (known as Acacia) trees are key species for various taxa in desert ecosystems, and highly important foraging sites for insectivorous bat species. Bats are one of the largest groups of mammals in desert habitats and potentially exercise top-down control of insects in natural and agricultural desert ecosystems. In both 1974 and 2014, large-scale oil spills contaminated the hyper-arid Evrona Nature Reserve in the southern Arava Valley, Israel.

The myb transcription factor PtoPHL3 positively regulates poplar resistance to canker disease caused by Dothiorella gregaria.

Diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms impair plant growth, leading to reduced crop yields. While the molecular mechanisms of plant disease response are well understood in annual herbaceous species, they remain largely unknown in perennial woody plants. Here, we found that PtoPHL3, a key transcription factor in poplar's phosphorus starvation response, showed significant expression changes after treatments with salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and inoculation of Dothiorella gregaria that causes poplar canker disease.

Metabolic interdependence and rewiring in Radiolaria-microalgae Photosymbioses.

Marine planktonic Radiolaria harboring symbiotic microalgae are ubiquitous in the oceans and abundant in oligotrophic areas. In these low-nutrient environments, they are among the most important primary producers. Systematic studies of radiolarian biology are limited because Radiolaria are non-culturable and prone to damage during sampling.

Ecological and evolutionary responses of earthworm holobionts to environmental changes.

Global environmental change substantially affects soil detritivores, including earthworms, impacting host-microbiota interactions and altering key soil biogeochemical processes such as litter decomposition. As microbial communities are inherently capable of rapid evolution, responses of earthworms and associated microbiota (i.e.

Defeating lethal cancer: Interrupting the ecologic and evolutionary basis of death from malignancy.

Despite the advances in cancer prevention, early detection, and treatments, all of which have led to improved cancer survival, globally, there is an increased incidence in cancer-related deaths. Although each patient and each tumor is wholly unique, the tipping point to incurable disease is common across all patients: the dual capacity for cancers to metastasize and resist systemic treatment. The discovery of genetic mutations and epigenetic variation that emerges during cancer progression highlights that evolutionary and ecology principles can be used to understand how cancer evolves to a lethal phenotype.

Phylogenetic analysis of Asiatic species in the tropical genus Beilschmiedia (Lauraceae).

The tropial genus Beilschmiedia, comprising over 250 species worldwide, includes approximately 40 species distributed in the northern tropical forests of Asia. However, the phylogenetic relationships among these Asiatic Beilschmiedia species remain incompletely understood. In this study, we sequenced and assembled complete chloroplast genomes from six Asiatic Beilschmiedia species, including five from China and one from Indonesia.

A randomised, double-blind clinical study into the effect of zinc citrate trihydrate toothpaste on oral plaque microbiome ecology and function.

The oral microbiome is a diverse community of microbes residing on all oral surfaces. A balanced oral microbiome is associated with good oral health, and disruption can result in imbalance associated with diseases including gingivitis and dental caries. It is important, therefore, to understand how daily use of oral hygiene products impacts the microbiome.