Non-avian theropod phalanges from the marine Fox Hills Formation (Maastrichtian), western South Dakota, USA.

We report here the first dinosaur skeletal material described from the marine Fox Hills Formation (Maastrichtian) of western South Dakota. The find consists of two theropod pedal phalanges: one recovered from the middle part of the Fairpoint Member in Meade County, South Dakota; and the other from the Iron Lightning Member in Ziebach County, South Dakota. Comparison with pedal phalanges of other theropods suggests strongly that the Fairpoint specimen is a right pedal phalanx, possibly III-2, from a large ornithomimid.

Host traits, ownership behaviour and risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 infection in domestic pets in Mexico.

SARS-CoV-2 can infect pets under natural conditions, which raises questions about the risk factors related to the susceptibility of these animals to infection. The status of pet infection by SARS-CoV-2 in Mexico is not well-understood. We aimed to estimate the frequency of positive household cats and dogs to viral RNA and antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 during the second wave of human infections in Mexico, and to recognize the major risk factors related to host and pet ownership behaviour.

Nutritional Profile and Ecological Interactions of Yeast Symbionts Associated with North American Spruce Beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis).

To better understand functional ecology of bark beetle-microbial symbioses, we characterized yeast associates of North American spruce beetle (Dendroctous rufipennis Kirby) across populations. Seven yeast species were detected; Wickerhamomyces canadensis (Wickerham) Kurtzman et al. (Sachharomycetales: Saccharomycetaceae) was the most common (74% of isolates) and found in all populations.

Addressing Detection Uncertainty in Bombus affinis (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Surveys Can Improve Inferences Made From Monitoring.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service developed national guidelines to track species recovery of the endangered rusty patched bumble bee [Bombus affinis Cresson (Hymenoptera: Apidae)] and to investigate changes in species occupancy across space and time.

Trace elements concentration in blood of nesting Kemp's Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) at Rancho Nuevo sanctuary, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

The concentrations of trace elements including As, Zn, Cu, Se, Pb, Hg and Cd, were determined in the blood of nesting Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) at Rancho Nuevo sanctuary, Tamaulipas, Mexico during 2018-2020. The sequential concentrations analyzed were Zn> Se> Cu> As> Pb; while Cd and Hg concentrations were below the limits of detection (0.01 μg g-1).

Not just for males: Flehmen as a tool for detection of reproductive status and individual recognition across sexes in four African equid species.

Flehmen is frequently explained as part of male sexual behaviour, but it can also be associated with overmarking behaviour and thus individual recognition. We tested three explanatory hypotheses of flehmen behaviour: to detect sexual status of a female, to decide whether to overmark an individual, and to improve individual recognition. Additionally, we examined interspecific flehmen differences in the African equids.

Can Green Innovation Improve Regional Environmental Carrying Capacity? An Empirical Analysis from China.

Green innovation has become an important driving force for China's economic transformation and development. This paper selects the 2010-2020 provincial-level regions in China as samples, and adopts a multi-indicator comprehensive evaluation method to comprehensively, objectively and scientifically evaluate the environmental carrying capacity of air pollution in two dimensions: natural resource endowment and human activity impact, and also measures and calculates the green innovation in each province, city and autonomous region to explore the specific impact of green innovation on environmental carrying capacity and its spatial spillover effect; it also explores the heterogeneous effects of green innovation on environmental carrying capacity under different pollution environments. The conclusions show that: (1) Green innovation has a positive impact on environmental carrying capacity.

Metabarcoding of mycetangia from the species complex (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) reveals diverse and functionally redundant fungal assemblages.

-bark beetles are associated with microbes that can detoxify terpenes, degrade complex molecules, supplement and recycle nutrients, fix nitrogen, produce semiochemicals, and regulate ecological interactions between microbes. Females of some species harbor microbes in specialized organs called mycetangia; yet little is known about the microbial diversity contained in these structures. Here, we use metabarcoding to characterize mycetangial fungi from beetle species in the complex, and analyze variation in biodiversity of microbial assemblages between beetle species.

Zero-inflated count distributions for capture-mark-reencounter data.

The estimation of demographic parameters is a key component of evolutionary demography and conservation biology. Capture-mark-recapture methods have served as a fundamental tool for estimating demographic parameters. The accurate estimation of demographic parameters in capture-mark-recapture studies depends on accurate modeling of the observation process.

Natural infrastructure in dryland streams (NIDS) can establish regenerative wetland sinks that reverse desertification and strengthen climate resilience.

In this article we describe the natural hydrogeomorphological and biogeochemical cycles of dryland fluvial ecosystems that make them unique, yet vulnerable to land use activities and climate change. We introduce Natural Infrastructure in Dryland Streams (NIDS), which are structures naturally or anthropogenically created from earth, wood, debris, or rock that can restore implicit function of these systems. This manuscript further discusses the capability of and functional similarities between beaver dams and anthropogenic NIDS, documented by decades of scientific study.

Monitoring resistance and resilience using carbon trajectories: Analysis of forest management-disturbance interactions.

A changing climate is altering ecosystem carbon dynamics with consequences for natural systems and human economies, but there are few tools available for land managers to meaningfully incorporate carbon trajectories into planning efforts. To address uncertainties wrought by rapidly changing conditions, many practitioners adopt resistance and resilience as ecosystem management goals, but these concepts have proven difficult to monitor across landscapes. Here, we address the growing need to understand and plan for ecosystem carbon with concepts of resistance and resilience.

Water availability dictates how plant traits predict demographic rates.

A major goal in ecology is to make generalizable predictions of organism responses to environmental variation based on their traits. However, straightforward relationships between traits and fitness are rare and likely to vary with environmental context. Characterizing how traits mediate demographic responses to the environment may enhance the predictions of organism responses to global change.

Restoration and fuel hazard reduction result in equivalent reductions in crown fire behavior in dry conifer forests.

Over the past several decades, the management of historically frequent-fire forests in the western United States has received significant attention due to the linked ecological and social risks posed by the increased occurrence of large, contiguous patches of high-severity fire. As a result, efforts are underway to simultaneously reduce potential fire and fuel hazards and restore characteristics indicative of historical forest structures and ecological processes that enhance the diversity and quality of wildlife habitat across landscapes. Despite widespread agreement on the need for action, there is a perceived tension among scientists concerning silvicultural treatments that modify stands to optimally reduce potential fire behavior (fuel hazard reduction) versus those that aim to emulate historical forest structures and create structurally complex stands (restoration).

White-Nose Syndrome Pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans Detected in Migratory Tree-Roosting Bats.

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging fungal epizootic disease that has caused large-scale mortality in several species of North American bats. The fungus that causes WNS, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), has also been detected in bat species without diagnostic signs of WNS. Although these species could play a role in WNS spread, understanding of the spatial and temporal extents of Pd occurrence on WNS-resistant species is limited.

Parallel Pandemics Illustrate the Need for One Health Solutions.

African Swine Fever (ASF) was reported in domestic pigs in China in 2018. This highly contagious viral infection with no effective vaccine reached pandemic proportions by 2019, substantially impacting protein availability in the same region where the COVID-19 pandemic subsequently emerged. We discuss the genesis, spread, and wide-reaching impacts of this epidemic in a vital livestock species, noting parallels and potential contributions to ignition of COVID-19.

Automated audio recording as a means of surveying tinamous (Tinamidae) in the Peruvian Amazon.

The use of machine learning technologies to process large quantities of remotely collected audio data is a powerful emerging research tool in ecology and conservation.We applied these methods to a field study of tinamou (Tinamidae) biology in Madre de Dios, Peru, a region expected to have high levels of interspecies competition and niche partitioning as a result of high tinamou alpha diversity. We used autonomous recording units to gather environmental audio over a period of several months at lowland rainforest sites in the Los Amigos Conservation Concession and developed a Convolutional Neural Network-based data processing pipeline to detect tinamou vocalizations in the dataset.

Body size and digestive system shape resource selection by ungulates: A cross-taxa test of the forage maturation hypothesis.

The forage maturation hypothesis (FMH) states that energy intake for ungulates is maximised when forage biomass is at intermediate levels. Nevertheless, metabolic allometry and different digestive systems suggest that resource selection should vary across ungulate species. By combining GPS relocations with remotely sensed data on forage characteristics and surface water, we quantified the effect of body size and digestive system in determining movements of 30 populations of hindgut fermenters (equids) and ruminants across biomes.

Bumblebee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Visitation Frequency Drives Seed Yields and Interacts with Site-Level Species Richness to Drive Pollination Services in Sunflower.

Understanding whether pollinator behaviors and species richness drive crop yields is a key area of investigation in pollination ecology. Using sunflower as a study species we describe variation in mean floral visitation times among bee taxa and test how interactions between bee richness and the proportion of bumblebees in localized communities impact seed yield. Seven bee genera commonly visited sunflower including Agapostemon, Bombus, Halictus, Lasioglossum, Megachile, Melissodes, and Svastra.

Developing the ecological scientist mindset among underrepresented students in ecology fields.

How do students discover ecology? Answering this question is essential for diversifying the environmental workforce because scientific disciplines, such as ecology, are often not discovered until students enter academia and are exposed to different disciplinary options. Ecology, and many of the environmental sciences, have persistent and alarmingly low numbers of underrepresented minorities (URM; African American, Hispanic American, Native American, and Pacific Islanders), while other science and technology fields have shown progress in diversification. Why does such underrepresentation persist in environmental disciplines? Social factors such as sense of belonging, science identity, implicit biases, and stereotypes all have been explored and are known to influence the participation of URM students in science.

Social Enterprise as a Model to Improve Live Release and Euthanasia Rates in Animal Shelters.

This paper explored the role that social entrepreneurship may play in helping to improve euthanasia and live release rates in animal shelters. This paper used a qualitative, comparative ethnographic study that included semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and archival research. It compared two large animal shelters from the U.

Changes in leaf functional traits with leaf age: when do leaves decrease their photosynthetic capacity in Amazonian trees?

Most leaf functional trait studies in the Amazon basin do not consider ontogenetic variations (leaf age), which may influence ecosystem productivity throughout the year. When leaf age is taken into account, it is generally considered discontinuous, and leaves are classified into age categories based on qualitative observations. Here, we quantified age-dependent changes in leaf functional traits such as the maximum carboxylation rate of ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) (Vcmax), stomatal control (Cgs%), leaf dry mass per area and leaf macronutrient concentrations for nine naturally growing Amazon tropical trees with variable phenological strategies.