Community Synchrony in Seed Production is Associated With Trait Similarity and Climate Across North America.

Mast seeding, the synchronous and highly variable production of seed crops by perennial plants, is a population-level phenomenon and has cascading effects in ecosystems. Mast seeding studies are typically conducted at the population/species level. Much less is known about synchrony in mast seeding between species because the necessary long-term data are rarely available.

Large Differences in Herbivore Performance Emerge From Simple Herbivore Behaviours and Fine-Scale Spatial Heterogeneity in Phytochemistry.

Patterns of phytochemistry localisation in plant tissues are diverse within and across leaves. These spatial heterogeneities are important to the fitness of herbivores, but their effects on herbivore foraging and dietary experience remain elusive. We manipulated the spatial variance and clusteredness of a plant toxin in a synthetic diet landscape on which individual caterpillars fed.

Private, public, and bottled drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge.

Background: Humans are primary drivers of environmental-contaminant exposures worldwide, including in drinking-water (DW). In the United States, point-of-use DW (POU-DW) is supplied via private tapwater (TW), public-supply TW, and bottled water (BW). Differences in management, monitoring, and messaging and lack of directly-intercomparable exposure data influence the actual and perceived quality and safety of different DW supplies and directly impact consumer decision-making.

Cleaner cuts: Farmed fish and skin-off fillets are lower in per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

The ubiquitous occurrence and persistence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in all environmental matrices and biota poses significant health risks to humans. Fish consumption is one of the main pathways humans are exposed to PFAS, yet general patterns in factors influencing PFAS content in fish fillets remain unknown. We assembled information on PFAS content (total quantified PFAS, PFOS, PFOA, and others) in fish fillets to assess the effect of fish origin (marine, freshwater, wild, or farmed), fillet type (skin-on or skin-off), and lipid content on PFAS variation across environments at a global scale.

Nitrogen Deposition Weakens Soil Carbon Control of Nitrogen Dynamics Across the Contiguous United States.

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition is unequally distributed across space and time, with inputs to terrestrial ecosystems impacted by industry regulations and variations in human activity. Soil carbon (C) content normally controls the fraction of mineralized N that is nitrified (ƒ), affecting N bioavailability for plants and microbes. However, it is unknown whether N deposition has modified the relationships among soil C, net N mineralization, and net nitrification.

Exposure to the Polychlorinated biphenyl mixture Aroclor 1254 elicits neurological and cardiac developmental effects in early life stage zebrafish (Danio rerio).

The goal of this study was to compare the bioaccumulation of the PCB mixture Aroclor 1254 in zebrafish to cardiac and neurologic outcomes. The establishment of effect concentrations (ECs) for cardiac and neurotoxic effects of PCBs in early life stage fish is challenging due to a lack of measured PCB concentrations in test media (e.g.

Geography, Trajectories, and Controls of Coastal Water Quality: More Rapid Improvement in the Shallow Zone of the Chesapeake Bay.

Many coastal ecosystems have suffered from cultural eutrophication and dead zones. In the Chesapeake Bay, water quality degradation is manifested in low dissolved oxygen, poor water clarity, and decreased submerged aquatic vegetation acreage. This research combines long-term monitoring data, science-based assessment methods, and novel data analysis approaches (i.

Hidden space use behaviors of a nonbreeding migratory bird: the role of environment and social context.

Background: Movement behavior strongly mediates species and environment interactions, yet our understanding is constrained by challenges tracking space use at fine spatiotemporal resolutions.

Methods: Using an automated telemetry array, we quantified variation in and drivers of space use for a nonbreeding population of migratory bird, the American redstart Setophaga ruticilla.

Results: We identified two distinct and common behaviors - territoriality and floating,- that were governed primarily by NDVI as a proxy of resource availability.

A meta-analysis highlights the idiosyncratic nature of tradeoffs in laboratory models of virus evolution.

Different theoretical frameworks have been invoked to guide the study of virus evolution. Three of the more prominent ones are (i) the evolution of virulence, (ii) life history theory, and (iii) the generalism-specialism dichotomy. All involve purported tradeoffs between traits that define the evolvability and constraint of virus-associated phenotypes.

First discovery of actinopterygian cutting-edged teeth from the middle Norian (Late Triassic) at the Tulong section, southern Tibet, China.

Actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes) successfully passed through the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction (PTME) and flourished in the Triassic with diverse feeding specializations and occupation of various trophic levels. , one of the largest actinopterygian fish of the Triassic, was characterized by a strong, blunt rostrum and three rows of sharp cutting-edged teeth, making them the top predators in the Early Mesozoic oceanic ecosystem. These fishes rapidly radiated and diversified globally during the Early and Middle Triassic, but the fossil record is rare for the Neo-Tethys in the Late Triassic.

Recent advances in groundwater pollution research using machine learning from 2000 to 2023: A bibliometric analysis.

Groundwater pollution has become a global challenge, posing significant threats to human health and ecological environments. Machine learning, with its superior ability to capture non-linear relationships in data, has shown significant potential in addressing groundwater pollution issues. This review presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 1462 articles published between 2000 and 2023, offering an overview of the current state of research, analyzing development trends, and suggesting future directions.

Decision analysis of Integrated Pest Management: A case study on invasive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes Basin.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) provides a powerful framework for addressing threats to human well-being caused by nuisance species including invasives. We examined the hypothesis that adaptive management could erode barriers to IPM implementation by developing a decision-analytic adaptive management framework for invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) IPM in the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. The framework addressed objectives associated with coordinating multiple sea lamprey control actions at the regional scale and objectives associated with internal validity of control actions.

Intersection of Wildfire and Legacy Mining Poses Risks to Water Quality.

Mining and wildfires are both landscape disturbances that pose elevated and substantial hazards to water supplies and ecosystems due to increased erosion and transport of sediment, metals, and debris to downstream waters. The risk to water supplies may be amplified when these disturbances occur in the same watershed. This work describes mechanisms by which the intersection of mining and wildfire may lead to elevated metal concentrations in downstream waters: (1) conveyance of metal-rich ash and soil to surface waters, (2) increased dissolution and transport of dissolved metals due to direct contact of precipitation with mine waste, (3) increased erosion and transport of metal-rich sediment from mining waste, (4) remobilization of previously deposited metal-contaminated floodplain sediment by higher postfire flood flows, and (5) increased metal transport from underground mine workings.

Global Groundwater Carbon Mass Flux and the Myth of Atmospheric Weathering.

Our recent steady-state mass-balance modeling suggests that most global carbonic-acid weathering of silicate rocks occurs in the vadose zone of aquifer systems not on the surface by atmospheric CO. That is, the weathering solute flux is nearly equal to the total global continental riverine carbon flux, signifying little atmospheric weathering by carbonic acid. This finding challenges previous carbon models that utilize silicate weathering as a control of atmospheric CO levels.

Effects of initial vegetation heterogeneity on competition of submersed and floating macrophytes.

Non-spatial models of competition between floating aquatic vegetation (FAV) and submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) predict a stable state of pure SAV at low total available limiting nutrient level, , a stable state of only FAV for high , and alternative stable states for intermediate , as described by an S-shaped bifurcation curve. Spatial models that include physical heterogeneity of the waterbody show that the sharp transitions between these states become smooth. We examined the effects of heterogeneous initial conditions of the vegetation types.

A benchmark for computational analysis of animal behavior, using animal-borne tags.

Background: Animal-borne sensors ('bio-loggers') can record a suite of kinematic and environmental data, which are used to elucidate animal ecophysiology and improve conservation efforts. Machine learning techniques are used for interpreting the large amounts of data recorded by bio-loggers, but there exists no common framework for comparing the different machine learning techniques in this domain. This makes it difficult to, for example, identify patterns in what works well for machine learning-based analysis of bio-logger data.

Concordant Signal of Genetic Variation Across Marker Densities in the Desert Annual Is Linked With Timing of Winter Precipitation.

Climate change coupled with large-scale surface disturbances necessitate active restoration strategies to promote resilient and genetically diverse native plant communities. However, scarcity of native plant materials hinders restoration efforts, leading practitioners to choose from potentially viable but nonlocal seed sources. Genome scans for genetic variation linked with selective environmental gradients have become a useful tool in such efforts, allowing rapid delineation of seed transfer zones along with predictions of genomic vulnerability to climate change.

Bee Habitat, but Not Bee Community Structure, Varies Across Grassland Management in Four National Parks in the Mid-Atlantic, USA.

National Park Service units in the United States play a large role in providing habitat for native pollinators. In parks that are established to preserve cultural landscapes, park managers recognize an opportunity to improve pollinator habitat while maintaining historically accurate conditions. In this study, we document floral resources and native bees within managed park grasslands, with the goal of providing information to managers to help them maximize pollinator habitat while meeting other management objectives.

Regulation and function of the gill corticotropin-releasing factor system during osmoregulatory disturbances in Atlantic salmon.

While corticosteroids, including cortisol, have conserved osmoregulatory functions, the relative involvement of other stress-related hormones in osmoregulatory processes remains unclear. To address this gap, we initially characterized the gill corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) system of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and then determined: 1) how it is influenced by osmotic disturbances; 2) whether it is affected by cortisol; and 3) which physiological processes it regulates in the gills. Most CRF system components were expressed in the gills with CRF receptor 2 (crfr2a), CRF binding protein (crfbp1 and crfbp2), and urocortin 2 (ucn2a) being the most abundant.

The potential of remote sensing for improved infectious disease ecology research and practice.

Outbreaks of COVID-19 in humans, Dutch elm disease in forests, and highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds and poultry highlight the disruptive impacts of infectious diseases on public health, ecosystems and economies. Infectious disease dynamics often depend on environmental conditions that drive occurrence, transmission and outbreaks. Remote sensing can contribute to infectious disease research and management by providing standardized environmental data across broad spatial and temporal extents, often at no cost to the user.

Most Random-Encounter-Model Density Estimates in Camera-Based Predator-Prey Studies Are Unreliable.

Identifying population-level relationships between predators and their prey is often predicated on having reliable population estimates. Camera-trapping is effective for surveying terrestrial wildlife, but many species lack individually unique natural markings that are required for most abundance and density estimation methods. Analytical approaches have been developed for producing population estimates from camera-trap surveys of unmarked wildlife; however, most unmarked approaches have strict assumptions that can be cryptically violated by survey design characteristics, practitioner choice of input values, or species behavior and ecology.

Perfluorohexanesulfonic Acid (PFHxS) Induces Hepatotoxicity through the PPAR Signaling Pathway in Larval Zebrafish ().

In recent years, the industrial substitution of long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with short-chain alternatives has become increasingly prevalent, resulting in the widespread environmental detection of perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), a short-chain PFAS. However, there remains limited information about the potential adverse effects of PFHxS at environmental concentrations to wildlife. Here, early life stage zebrafish () were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of PFHxS to better characterize the adverse effects of PFHxS on aquatic organisms.

Monitoring Animal Populations With Cameras Using Open, Multistate, N-Mixture Models.

Remote cameras have become a mainstream tool for studying wildlife populations. For species whose developmental stages or states are identifiable in photographs, there are opportunities for tracking population changes and estimating demographic rates. Recent developments in hierarchical models allow for the estimation of ecological states and rates over time for unmarked animals whose states are known.

Evidence of Extensive Home Range Sharing Among Mother-Daughter Bobcat Pairs in the Wildland-Urban Interface of the Tucson Mountains.

Urbanization impacts the structure and viability of wildlife populations. Some habitat generalists, such as bobcats (Lynx rufus), maintain populations at the intersection of wild and urban habitats (wildland urban interface, WUI), but impacts of urbanization on bobcat social structure are not well understood. Although commonly thought to establish exclusive home ranges among females, instances of mother-daughter home range sharing have been documented.

Model predictions of global geologic hydrogen resources.

Geologic hydrogen could be a low-carbon primary energy resource; however, the magnitude of Earth's subsurface endowment has not yet been assessed. Knowledge of the occurrence and behavior of natural hydrogen on Earth has been combined with information from geologic analogs to construct a mass balance model to predict the resource potential. Given the associated uncertainty, stochastic model results predict a wide range of values for the potential in-place hydrogen resource [10 to 10 million metric tons (Mt)] with the most probable value of ~5.