The underappreciated roles of aboveground vertebrates on belowground communities.

In recent decades, evidence of interactions between aboveground and belowground (i.e., soil) subsystems has accumulated.

Oak Wilt Disease May Reduce the Initial Decay Rate of Dead Quercus serrata Stems by Altering Fungal Communities in the Wood.

Oak wilt causes severe dieback of Quercus serrata, a dominant tree species in the lowlands across Japan. This study evaluated the effects of oak wilt on the wood-inhabiting fungal community and the decay rate of deadwood using a field monitoring experiment. We analysed the fungal metabarcoding community from 1200 wood samples obtained from 120 experimental logs from three forest sites at five different time points during the initial 1.

Isogenic fish sperm produced by transplanting gynogenetic haploid-derived germ cells.

Artificially induced haploidy is lethal in vertebrates, although it is useful for genetic screening and genome editing due to its single set of genomes. Haploid embryonic stem (ES) cell lines in mammals contribute to genetic studies and the production of gametes derived from haploid ES cells. In fish breeding, doubled haploids (DHs) induced by artificially induced gynogenesis are used to generate isogenic gametes for cloning purposes.

Parazoanthidae (Cnidaria, Zoantharia) associated with glass sponges on the Nishi-Shichito Ridge, northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the description of a new species.

Seamounts are biodiversity hotspots that face increasing threats from anthropogenic activities. Seamounts host diverse sessile suspension-feeding organisms such as sponges and anthozoans, which are crucial for seamount ecosystems as they construct three-dimensional habitats utilized by numerous other animals. Therefore, accurate identification of seamount fauna, in particular of sessile suspension-feeding organisms, is of paramount importance for robust conservation efforts.

Recent methane surges reveal heightened emissions from tropical inundated areas.

Record breaking atmospheric methane growth rates were observed in 2020 and 2021 (15.2±0.5 and 17.

Environmental Conditions Modulate Warming Effects on Plant Litter Decomposition Globally.

Empirical studies worldwide show that warming has variable effects on plant litter decomposition, leaving the overall impact of climate change on decomposition uncertain. We conducted a meta-analysis of 109 experimental warming studies across seven continents, using natural and standardised plant material, to assess the overarching effect of warming on litter decomposition and identify potential moderating factors. We determined that at least 5.

Spatiotemporal distributions, co-occurrence networks, and assembly mechanisms of the bacterial community in sediments of the Yangtze River: comprehensive insights into abundant and rare taxa.

Sediments are key reservoirs for rare bacterial biospheres that provide broad ecological services and resilience in riverine ecosystems. Compared with planktons, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the ecological differences between abundant and rare taxa in benthic bacteria along a large river. Here, we offer comprehensive insights into the spatiotemporal distributions, co-occurrence networks, and assembly processes of three divided categories namely always rare taxa (ART), conditionally rare taxa (CRT), and conditionally rare and abundant taxa (CRAT) in sediments covering a distance of 4,300 km in the Yangtze River.

Arrangement and Development of Spicules in the Coral-killing Sponge, .

Rützler & Muzik, 1993 is a poriferan species that competes with corals and is known as a coral-killing sponge. However, limited information is available on its biology, including morphological traits. This study aims to examine the arrangement and development of spicules in various body parts of the sponge, including settled larvae.

MIBiG 4.0: advancing biosynthetic gene cluster curation through global collaboration.

Specialized or secondary metabolites are small molecules of biological origin, often showing potent biological activities with applications in agriculture, engineering and medicine. Usually, the biosynthesis of these natural products is governed by sets of co-regulated and physically clustered genes known as biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). To share information about BGCs in a standardized and machine-readable way, the Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster (MIBiG) data standard and repository was initiated in 2015.

Taxonomy of freshwater gobies of the genus Rhinogobius (Oxudercidae, Gobiiformes) from central Vietnam, with descriptions of two new species.

Taxonomy of the genus Rhinogobius was investigated for the first time in Central Vietnam. Five species occurring in this region can be distinguished by shape of their head, number of pectoral-fin rays, vertebral counts, arrangements of scales and cutaneous sensory papillae, and coloration. Two species are described as new, Rhinogobius rong sp.

Bacterial phylotypes associated with rock-dwelling Lichens from Arctic/Subarctic areas in North America and Northern Europe.

Unlabelled: The diversity of bacteria associated with lichens has received increasing attention. However, studies based on next-generation sequencing of microbiomes have not yet been conducted in the Arctic and Subarctic regions. In this study, rock-dwelling lichens belonging to the Umbilicariaceae family were sampled from the Arctic and Subarctic biological zones.

The effect of a harmful algal bloom (Karenia selliformis) on the benthic invertebrate community and the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) diet in eastern Hokkaido.

In recent decades, the locally extinct sea otter (Enhydra lutris lutris) has been recolonizing the coast of eastern Hokkaido. Their diet includes benthic invertebrates such as bivalves, sea urchins, snails, and chitons. In the fall of 2021, a harmful algal bloom (HAB) of Karenia selliformis occurred across Hokkaido's northern and eastern coasts, leading to a massive mortality of sea urchins.

Shallow corals acclimate to mesophotic depths while maintaining their heat tolerance against ongoing climate change.

Global warming poses a significant threat to coral reefs. It has been assumed that mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs, 30 to 150 m depths) may serve as refugia from ocean warming. This study examined the acclimation capacity and thermal tolerance of two shallow coral species, Porites cylindrica and Turbinaria reniformis, transplanted to mesophotic depths (40 m) for 12 months.

The Trojan seahorse: citizen science pictures of a seahorse harbour insights into the distribution and behaviour of a long-overlooked polychaete worm.

Symbiotic marine invertebrates can be small, hidden or difficult to find, hampering the understanding of their distribution and ecological roles. is a polychaete inhabiting the gorgonian , where it lives in high densities within the host's coenenchyme and occupies burrows formed by host tissue near coral polyps. This study provides the first records of since its description in 1956, from colonies of Anthogorgiidae in southern Japan.

Assessment of marine litter interactions with urban coral reefs in Okinawa, Japan.

This study assessed different reef zones (lagoon, reef crest, reef slope) in three urban locations around Okinawa Island (Mizugama, Ginowan, Sunabe) and two marine protected areas around nearby Aka Island (Hizushi, Sakubaru) for marine litter pollution and litter interactions with reef organisms. A total reef area of 2250 m was surveyed by scuba diving, and 46 marine litter items were recorded. Litter density ranged from 0.

Japonolirion osense, a close relative of the mycoheterotrophic genus Petrosavia, exhibits complete autotrophic capabilities.

The plant kingdom exhibits a diversity of nutritional strategies, extending beyond complete autotrophy. In addition to full mycoheterotrophs and holoparasites, it is now recognized that a greater number of green plants than previously assumed use partly of fungal carbon. These are termed partial mycoheterotrophs or mixotrophs.

Evolution of Size-Fecundity Relationship in Medaka Fish From Different Latitudes.

In most fishes, the number of offspring increases with maternal body size. Although this size-fecundity relationship often varies among species as a result of the coevolution of life-history traits, the genetic basis of such size-fecundity relationships remains unclear. We explored the genetic basis underlying this size-fecundity relationship in two small medaka species, Oryzias latipes and O.

CO variability over a tropical coastal station in India: Synergy of observation and model.

Carbon dioxide (CO), being the prime greenhouse gas, has largest contribution in radiative forcing and global warming due to increased anthropogenic emissions leading to regional and global climate change. We performed CO measurements using a continuous monitoring instrument at a tropical coastal station at the southern tip of India (Thumba; 8.54° N, 76.

Survivability and life support in sealed mini-ecosystems with simulated planetary soils.

Establishing a sustainable life-support system for space exploration is a formidable challenge due to the vast distances, high costs, and environmental differences from Earth. Building upon the lessons from the Biosphere 2 experiment, we introduce the novel "Ecosphere" and "Biosealed" systems, self-sustaining ecosystems within customizable, enclosed containers. These systems incorporate terrestrial ecosystems and groundwater layers, offering a potential model for transplanting Earth-like biomes to extraterrestrial environments.

Trait networks: Assessing marine community resilience and extinction recovery.

Extensive global habitat degradation and the climate crisis are tipping the biosphere toward a "sixth" mass extinction and marine communities will not be spared from this catastrophic loss of biodiversity. The resilience of marine communities following large-scale disturbances or extinction events is mediated by the life-history traits of species and their interplay within communities. The presence and abundance of traits in communities provide proxies of function, but whether the breakdown of their associations with species loss can delineate functional loss remains unclear.

Unique bone histology of modern giant salamanders: a study on humeri and femora of Andrias spp.

The osteohistology of Andrias spp. is a pivotal analogue for large fossil non-amniotes (e.g.