Tropical forest clearance impacts biodiversity and function, whereas logging changes structure.

The impacts of degradation and deforestation on tropical forests are poorly understood, particularly at landscape scales. We present an extensive ecosystem analysis of the impacts of logging and conversion of tropical forest to oil palm from a large-scale study in Borneo, synthesizing responses from 82 variables categorized into four ecological levels spanning a broad suite of ecosystem properties: (i) structure and environment, (ii) species traits, (iii) biodiversity, and (iv) ecosystem functions. Responses were highly heterogeneous and often complex and nonlinear.

Strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa allows tracing origins of victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

Strontium isotope (Sr/Sr) analysis with reference to strontium isotope landscapes (Sr isoscapes) allows reconstructing mobility and migration in archaeology, ecology, and forensics. However, despite the vast potential of research involving Sr/Sr analysis particularly in Africa, Sr isoscapes remain unavailable for the largest parts of the continent. Here, we measure the Sr/Sr ratios in 778 environmental samples from 24 African countries and combine this data with published data to model a bioavailable Sr isoscape for sub-Saharan Africa using random forest regression.

Beware of Bear? Long-Term Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Human-Bear Conflict in Connecticut.

In this study, we examine the spatio-temporal patterns of citizen-reported human-bear conflict (HBC) from 2002 to 2022 and use the Forest-Based and Boosted Classification (FBBC) technique to assess the significance of several factors in the occurrence of HBC. Our analysis reveals a significant increase in HBC incidents over the study period, with the fewest conflicts in 2002 (217) and the most in 2022 (4455). These were concentrated in northwestern Connecticut, particularly eastern Litchfield County and western Hartford County.

Public perceptions of nature-based coastal solutions in the UK.

Coastal scientists are increasingly advocating for nature-based coastal solutions (NBCS) to ensure long-term coastal sustainability. Implementing NBCS will change coastal landscapes, necessitating consultation with the wider public as such changes directly affect the socio-cultural values of coastal zone residents and users. We, therefore, investigate public willingness to support, preferences for, and perceived effectiveness of coastal management solutions, nature-based and otherwise, focusing on the UK as a case study.

Assessing flooding extent and potential exposure to river pollution from urbanizing peripheral rivers within Greater Dhaka watershed.

Greater Dhaka area is home to large industrial clusters that are driving economic growth and the poverty reduction efforts of Bangladesh. These clusters are located around peripheral rivers- Turag, Buriganga, Dhaleswari, Balu, Shitalakhya, Bangshi, and Tongi-Khal, which are important for water transport, environment, and eco-systems where flooding of floodplains in monsoon is an integral part. The urban and industrial growth stressing natural resources has led to severe degradation of the rivers and floodplains, affecting the livelihoods, health, and well-being of the people.

The added value of using convective-permitting regional climate model simulations to represent cloud band events over South America.

Climate science has long explored whether higher resolution regional climate models (RCMs) provide improved simulation of regional climates over global climate models (GCMs). The advent of convective-permitting RCMs (CPRCMs), where sufficiently fine-scale grids allow explicitly resolving rather than parametrising convection, has created a clear distinction between RCM and GCM formulations. This study investigates the simulation of tropical-extratropical (TE) cloud bands in a suite of pan-South America convective-permitting Met Office Unified Model (UM) and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) climate simulations.

Effect of the National Enhanced Service for weight management on the content of annual review consultations for patients living with obesity and hypertension and/or diabetes.

Guidelines specify that clinicians should support patients living with obesity by referring to weight management programmes (WMPs), but clinicians do so infrequently. To provide additional support to patients living with obesity and weight-related conditions, the UK government instated the National Enhanced Service (NES) for weight management in England, including a reimbursement to general practices for referring eligible patients to WMPs. To assess the impact of the NES on conversations regarding weight and relevant behavioural risk factors in primary care consultations we recruited 11 medical practices in England where the NES was operating and six comparator practices from Scotland and Wales where the NES was not implemented.

Why models underestimate West African tropical forest primary productivity.

Tropical forests dominate terrestrial photosynthesis, yet there are major contradictions in our understanding due to a lack of field studies, especially outside the tropical Americas. A recent field study indicated that West African forests have among the highest forests gross primary productivity (GPP) yet observed, contradicting models that rank them lower than Amazonian forests. Here, we show possible reasons for this data-model mismatch.

Amphibious ethics and speculative immersions: laboratory aquariums as a site for developing a more inclusive animal geography.

Human capacity to sense and respond to the suffering of non-human animals is key to animal care and welfare. Intuitively these modes of relating seem best suited to interactions between humans and warm-blooded mammals who share human-like facial features and characteristics. Animal geographers and those working in animal welfare have noted the challenges that humans face in learning to care about fishes, and how this leads to welfare guidelines and regulations which are poorly suited to aquatic species.

Ocean Planning and Conservation in the Age of Climate Change: A Roundtable Discussion.

Over recent years, recognition of the need to develop climate-smart marine spatial planning (MSP) has gained momentum globally. In this roundtable discussion, we use a question-and-answer format to leverage diverse perspectives and voices involved in the study of sustainable MSP and marine conservation under global environmental and social change. We intend this dialogue to serve as a stepping stone toward developing ocean planning initiatives that are sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient around the globe.

The pace of life for forest trees.

Tree growth and longevity trade-offs fundamentally shape the terrestrial carbon balance. Yet, we lack a unified understanding of how such trade-offs vary across the world's forests. By mapping life history traits for a wide range of species across the Americas, we reveal considerable variation in life expectancies from 10 centimeters in diameter (ranging from 1.

The global loss of avian functional and phylogenetic diversity from anthropogenic extinctions.

Humans have been driving a global erosion of species richness for millennia, but the consequences of past extinctions for other dimensions of biodiversity-functional and phylogenetic diversity-are poorly understood. In this work, we show that, since the Late Pleistocene, the extinction of 610 bird species has caused a disproportionate loss of the global avian functional space along with ~3 billion years of unique evolutionary history. For island endemics, proportional losses have been even greater.

Crevasse density, orientation and temporal variability at Narsap Sermia, Greenland.

Mass loss from iceberg calving at marine-terminating glaciers is one of the largest and most poorly constrained contributors to sea-level rise. However, our understanding of the processes controlling ice fracturing and crevasse evolution is incomplete. Here, we use Gabor filter banks to automatically map crevasse density and orientation through time on a ~150 km terminus region of Narsap Sermia, an outlet glacier of the southwest Greenland ice sheet.

The biogeography of the Amazonian tree flora.

We describe the geographical variation in tree species composition across Amazonian forests and show how environmental conditions are associated with species turnover. Our analyses are based on 2023 forest inventory plots (1 ha) that provide abundance data for a total of 5188 tree species. Within-plot species composition reflected both local environmental conditions (especially soil nutrients and hydrology) and geographical regions.

Global risk assessment of sharks to climate change.

In what has been referred to as a 'perfect storm', it is now clear that we will be concurrently facing both a biodiversity and climate crisis over the incoming decades. In this context, we propose a broadly applicable framework to evaluate the climate-associated risk for marine life at the species-level, based on the ecosystem-level assessment developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). We apply this framework to extant marine shark species - given their major ecological and socioeconomic importance, alongside their precarious conservation status -at the global scale.

Who cares about lab rodents?

Humanities and social sciences help advance "cultures of care" around laboratory animal science and welfare.

Unravelling a hidden synergy: How pathogen-climate interactions transform habitat hydrology and affect tree growth.

Interactions between multiple global change stressors are a defining characteristic of the Anthropocene. Tree-associated pathogens are affecting forested ecosystems worldwide and occur in the context of increased frequency and intensity of extreme climate events such as heat waves, droughts, and floods. The effects of these events, along with subsequent changes in environmental conditions, on remaining and regenerating trees, are not well understood but crucial for the restoration and conservation of forested habitats.

Comparing expedient and proactive approaches to the planning of protected area networks on Borneo.

Protected areas are an important tool for wildlife conservation; however, research is increasingly revealing both biases and inadequacies in the global protected area network. One common criticism is that protected areas are frequently located in remote, high-elevation regions, which may face fewer threats compared to more accessible locations. To explore the conservation implications of this issue, we consider a thought experiment with seven different counterfactual scenarios for the Sunda clouded leopard's conservation on Borneo.

Greenspace exposure and the retinal microvasculature in healthy adults across three European cities.

Background: Emerging evidence points to the beneficial role of greenspace exposure in promoting cardiovascular health. Most studies have evaluated such associations with conventional cardiovascular endpoints such as mortality, morbidity, or macrovascular markers. In comparison, the microvasculature, a crucial compartment of the vascular system where early subclinical signs of cardiovascular problems appear, has not been studied in association with greenspace exposure.