Anthropogenic Stressors Research Articles

Mediterranean seagrasses provide essential coastal protection under climate change

Seagrasses are vital in coastal areas, offering crucial ecosystem services and playing a relevant role in coastal protection. The decrease in the density of Mediterranean seagrasses over recent decades, due to warming and anthropogenic stressors, may imply a serious environmental threat. Here we quantify the role of coastal impact reduction induced by seagrass presence under present and future climate. We focus in the Balearic Islands, a representative and well monitored region in the Mediterranean. Our results quantify how important the presence of seagrasses is for coastal protection. The complete loss of seagrasses would lead to an extreme water level (eTWL) increase comparable to the projected sea level rise (SLR) at the end of the century under the high end scenario of greenhouse gases emissions. Under that scenario, the eTWL could increase up to ~ 1.4 m, with 54% of that increase attributed to seagrass loss. These findings underscore the importance of seagrass conservation for coastal protection.

Environmental drivers of spatial variation in myrtle rust development on a critically endangered tree species

The spread of invasive plant pathogens is on the rise globally, introducing additional threats to forest ecosystems and their constituent species above those already caused by climate change and other anthropogenic stressors. Austropuccinia psidii is a widespread invasive fungus that infects hundreds of species in the Myrtaceae plant family, causing myrtle rust. It was first detected in New Zealand in 2017, where the threatened endemic tree Lophomyrtus bullata is one of the worst affected hosts. Recent studies have described heavy disease severity on this species but environmental drivers of spatial variation in disease severity have not been explored, including the possible role of edge effects which are prevalent across much of this species' highly fragmented natural range. In this study, we tracked changes in disease incidence and severity across a forest edge gradient over three years. Individuals further from the forest edge, where forest canopies were more intact, forest structure more complex, and with greater understorey humidity, had greater disease severity in the first year of infection. In subsequent years, the influence of edge was no longer evident as myrtle rust severity became more even across the site, but disease was more prevalent in denser L. bullata populations. Only small individuals were asymptomatic across all three years. Since all available myrtle rust control techniques are currently feasible only at small scales, our research implies that their application needs to be as early as possible before infection spreads and across all suitable microclimates, and without bias toward easily accessible forest edges.

Computing ecosystem risk hotspots: A mediterranean case study

In ecosystem management, risk assessment quantifies the probability and impact of events and informs on intervention priorities. Analytical models for risk assessment quantify the impact of natural and anthropogenic stressors on ecosystems. Traditional approaches evaluate single stressors, whereas complex models assess cumulative impacts of frequently interacting stressors and offer better accuracy at the expense of low cross-area re-applicability and long implementation times.We introduce a versatile, re-usable, and semi-automated workflow designed for big data-driven ecosystem risk assessment, utilizing spatiotemporal data from open repositories. It allows for a flexible definition of the stressors on which the risk under analysis depends. By applying cluster analysis, the workflow identifies different patterns of stressor concurrency, while statistical analysis highlights clusters of stressors likely linked to elevated risk. Ultimately, it generates geospatial risk maps and identifies spatial risk hotspots. The workflow methodology is independent of the geographical area of the application.As a case study, we present risk assessments for the Mediterranean Sea, a region with intense anthropogenic pressures and significant climatic vulnerabilities. We used over 1.1 million open data from 2017 to 2021 and projections to 2050 under the RCP8.5 scenario (a high greenhouse gas emission scenario) at a 0.5°spatial resolution. Data included environmental, oceanographic, biodiversity variables, and manifest and hidden fishing effort distributions. Our workflow identified different types of high-risk hotspots, highlighting different concurrencies of habitat loss, overfishing, hidden fishing, and climate change stressors. High-risk hotspots concentrated in the Western Mediterranean, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the Strait of Sicily, the Aegean Sea, and eastern Turkey. Our results agreed with an alternative Fuzzy C-means-based method (with a 90% to 96% overlap over the years) and a Bayesian regression model (∼80% overlap).Our Mediterranean risk maps can facilitate the development of management and monitoring strategies, supporting the sustainable development and resilience of coastal zones, and can act as prior knowledge for ecosystem models and spatial plans.

Sociodemographic inequalities in residential nighttime light pollution in urban Bulgaria: An environmental justice analysis

IntroductionOutdoor nighttime light (NTL) is a potential anthropogenic stressor in urban settings. While ecological studies have identified outdoor NTL exposure disparities, uncertainties remain about disparities in individual exposure levels, particularly in Europe. AimTo assess whether some populations are disproportionately affected by outdoor NTL at their residences in urban Bulgaria. MethodsWe analyzed 2023 data from a representative cross-sectional survey of 4,270 adults from the five largest Bulgarian cities. Respondents’ annual exposures to outdoor artificial nighttime luminance were measured using satellite imagery and assigned at their places of residence. We calculated the Gini coefficient as a descriptive NTL inequality measure. Associations between respondents’ NTL exposure levels and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed by estimating quantile mixed regression models. Stratified regressions were fitted by gender and for each city. ResultsWe found moderate distributive NTL inequalities, as indicated by a 0.214 Gini coefficient. Regression analyses found associations between greater NTL exposure and higher educational attainment. Respondents with incomes perceived as moderate experienced less NTL exposure at the 0.5 and 0.8 quantiles, while unemployed respondents experienced lower exposure at the 0.2 and 0.5 quantiles. We observed null associations for the elderly and non-Bulgarian ethnicities. Regardless of the quantile, greater population density was associated with higher NTL levels. Stratification by sex did not yield substantial differences in the associations. We observed notable city-specific heterogeneities in the associations, with differences in the magnitudes and directions of the associations and the NTL quantiles. ConclusionsNTL exposures appeared to embody an environmental injustice dimension in Bulgaria. Our findings suggest that some sociodemographic populations experience higher exposure levels to NTL; however, those are not necessarily the underprivileged or marginalized. Identifying populations with high exposure levels is critical to influencing lighting policies to ease related health implications.

Hydrochemical characteristics of the waters of the coastal zone of the northeastern part of the Black Sea according to monitoring observations in 2023

The results of oceanological research carried out within the framework of the integrated scientific expedition "Black Sea-2023" and devoted to the study of the coastal zone of the sea on the basis of monitoring observations are presented. The hydrochemical parameters of the waters of the coastal shelf zone of the Black Sea are analyzed. In 2023, there was a decrease in the average annual stock of all biogenic elements in the active layer of the sea, compared with the hydrochemical background of 2022, and the minimum content of mineral nitrogen and phosphorus was recorded over the last six years of observations. Studies in areas with varying degrees of anthropogenic stress have revealed an improvement in the ecological state of the waters in the Gelendzhik Bay.

Differences in foraging phenology dampen the impact of an invasive slug on ant-mediated seed dispersal of understory forest plants

Seed-dispersal mutualisms are important ecosystem functions that, if disrupted, influence plant fitness and community structure. Anthropogenic stressors such as invasive species and climate change may independently or synergistically influence animal-mediated seed dispersal. Aphaenogaster sp. ants are the primary dispersers of myrmecochorous plants that produce diaspores or seeds with lipid-rich appendages (elaiosomes) that make them attractive to ants in eastern North American forest understories. An invasive slug, Arion sp., damages diaspores by consuming elaiosomes, rendering seeds unattractive to ants. Here, in one forest site, we examine if slugs negatively affect seed dispersal by assessing interactions between seed-dispersing ants and invasive slugs on four species of myrmecochores that release diaspores at different times. We performed an exclusion experiment, excluding slugs and ants to diaspores on depots, when diaspores of four myrmecochore species were released from fruits. We also conducted a similar experiment presenting diaspores of all species at one time in the field and slug preference trials in the lab to determine if particular myrmecochore species are vulnerable to the invasive slug. We found that slugs did not reduce dispersal by ants despite slugs damaging diaspores. This was because peak ant and slug activity differed, with slugs damaging most diaspores of early-dehiscing Sanguinaria canadensis, and ants dispersing most diaspores of later-dehiscing Trillium grandiflorum. When diaspores were presented at the same time, ants and slugs preferred the same species, T. grandiflorum. While we did not find overlap in the phenology of ant and slug interactions in this study, phenological interactions are likely context-dependent. Thus, high-preference species may be vulnerable to invasive slugs if interacting species overlap in different contexts, including under climate change.

Revealing future effectiveness of protected areas for biodiversity conservation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

The biodiversity of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is increasingly under threat due to anthropogenic stressors and climate change challenges, despite 15.72% of the landscape being planned as protected areas (PAs). The uncertain risks of high-density urban sprawl and sea level rise pose challenges for future biodiversity conservation in the GBA. To effectively gauge the impact of PAs for biodiversity conservation, it’s imperative to delve into not only the pattern but the process of biodiversity. Adopting a dynamic view for biodiversity assessment, our study established a synergistic approach within a systematic conservation planning framework, focusing on comprehensively assessing the future conservation effectiveness of PAs. Four modeling techniques were integrated in the process to estimate conservation priorities under various future scenarios: SLAMM and Dyna-CLUE projected future land-use changes, MaxEnt predicted shifts in habitat suitability for key species, and Zonation identified conservation priorities thereby. The results indicated a potential shift in conservation priorities over time from inland to coastal areas across different cities in the GBA, highlighting the substantial mismatches between current PAs and high-priority areas in Guangdong and the urgency for prompt conservation actions. Moreover, our findings revealed that proposed PA system has not sufficiently prioritized wetland conservation, nor has it effectively conserved amphibian, plant and bird species. Our study provided a dynamic and comprehensive evaluation of biodiversity in the GBA and offered insightful conservation recommendations, thus demonstrating a viable approach for assessing and enhancing future conservation initiatives in similar contexts.

Enhanced warming and bacterial biomass production as key factors for coastal hypoxia in the southwestern Baltic Sea

Coastal ecosystems are affected by a multitude of anthropogenic stressors. As the Baltic Sea ecosystems rank among the most altered marine ecosystems worldwide, they represent ideal model regions to study ecosystem responses to anthropogenic pressures. Our statistical analysis of data including dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, as well as bacterial abundance and -biomass production from the time-series station Boknis Eck in the southwestern Baltic Sea reveals that bacterial biomass production intensifies towards summer following the phytoplankton spring bloom. Moreover, warming, especially very high temperatures in summer, enhances stratification and bacterial biomass production despite long-term reduction in nutrient input. A strong decrease in oxygen in the bottom layer is possibly linked to this. We detect an increasing trend in bacterial biomass production along with intensifying warming and stratification, and more frequently occurring hypoxia despite ongoing restoration efforts. If this trend continues, the coastal Baltic Sea ecosystem is likely to be altered even further. Coastal ecosystems play pivotal roles in mitigating impacts of climate change but if destroyed, they may amplify climate change further calling for stronger ecosystem management strategies.

Trophic status analysis and nutrient source allocation in urban lakes of Dhaka, Bangladesh: a comprehensive approach to eutrophication monitoring.

Urban lakes are vital to ecosystems, providing essential services and recreational spaces in densely populated megacities. However, rapid urbanization and anthropogenic activities, particularly eutrophication driven by macronutrient accumulation, severely threaten these water bodies. This study underscores the critical need for continuous trophic state monitoring to sustain fish, wildlife, and plant ecosystems. The trophic status of Dhanmondi, Gulshan, and Banani Lakes in Dhaka City, Bangladesh, was assessed using Carlson's Trophic State Index (CTSI) and Burn's Trophic Level Index (BTLI), based on chlorophyll a (Chl-a), total phosphorus (TP), Secchi disc depth (SD), and total nitrogen (TN). Water samples from five sites per lake were analyzed for physicochemical parameters from June 2023 to May 2024, revealing monthly and seasonal variations. The study revealed that Dhanmondi Lake's CTSI ranged from 69.3 to 79.5 (June 2023 to March 2024), indicating initial "Eutrophic" conditions progressing to "Hypereutrophic." Gulshan Lake consistently showed "Hypereutrophic" conditions, with CTSI values between 84.1 and 97.3. Banani Lake was "Eutrophic" in June and July 2023, transitioning to "Hypereutrophic" from August 2023 to May 2024 (84.1-97.7). The Trophic Level Index (TLI) showed the "Hypereutrophic" status with a progressive monthly escalation for all the lakes. The Water Quality Index (WQI) categorized the lakes as "Poor" to "Very Poor" from June to August 2023, becoming "Unsuitable" from September 2023 to May 2024, indicating significant anthropogenic stress. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified nutrient infiltration, soil erosion, waste discharge, and organic residue accumulation as key pollution drivers. The study advocates for a multi-sectoral strategy to regulate nutrient loading and mitigate eutrophication, emphasizing best management practices for urban lake conservation.

Herbicidal interference: glyphosate drives both the ecology and evolution of plant-herbivore interactions.

The coevolution of plants and their insect herbivores reflects eco-evolutionary dynamics at work - ecological interactions influence adaptive traits, which feed back to shape the broader ecological community. However, novel anthropogenic stressors like herbicide, which are strong selective agents, can disrupt these dynamics. Little is known about how the evolution of herbicide resistance may impact plant-herbivore interactions. We performed a common garden field experiment using Ipomoea purpurea (common morning glory) and the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup) to investigate the ecological effects of herbicide exposure on insect herbivory patterns and assess the potential evolutionary consequences. We find that plants treated with glyphosate experienced higher levels of herbivory and altered chewing herbivory damage patterns. Additionally, we found that glyphosate resistance is positively associated with herbivory resistance, and uncovered positive selection for increased glyphosate resistance, suggesting that selection for increased glyphosate resistance has the potential to lead to increased herbivory resistance. Positive selection for glyphosate resistance, coupled with the detection of genetic variation for this trait, suggests there is potential for glyphosate resistance - and herbivory resistance via hitchhiking - to further evolve. Our results show that herbicides cannot just influence, but potentially drive the eco-evolutionary dynamics of plant-herbivore interactions.

Unexpected soundscape response to insecticide application in oak forests.

Rachel Carson's warning of a silent spring directed attention to unwanted side effects of pesticide application. Though her work led to policies restricting insecticide use, various insecticides currently in use affect nontarget organisms and may contribute to population declines. The insecticide tebufenozide is used to control defoliating Lepidoptera in oak forests harboring rich insect faunas. Over 3years, we tested the effect of its aerial application on bird populations with autonomous sound recorders in a large, replicated, full factorial field experiment during a spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) outbreak. The soundscape analysis combined automated aggregation of recordings into sound indices with species identification by experts. After pesticide application in the year of the outbreak, acoustic complexity in early summer was significantly reduced. The soundscape analysis showed that the reduction was not related to birds, but instead to the large reduction in caterpillar feeding and frass dropping. Effects on the vocal activity of birds were smaller than originally expected from a related study demonstrating tebufenozide's negative effect on bird breeding success. The legacy of the pesticide treatment, in terms of soundscape variation, was not present in the second year when the outbreak had ended. Our results showed a dimension of insecticide-induced acoustic variation not immediately accessible to the human ear. It also illustrated how a multifaceted soundscape analysis can be used as a generic approach to quantify the impact of anthropogenic stressors in novel ways by providing an example of remote and continuous sound monitoring not possible in conventional field surveys.

A 'how-to' guide for estimating animal diel activity using hierarchical models.

Animal diel activity patterns can aid understanding of (a) how species behaviourally adapt to anthropogenic and natural disturbances, (b) mechanisms of species co-existence through temporal partitioning, and (c) community or ecosystem effects of diel activity shifts. Activity patterns often vary spatially, a feature ignored by the kernel density estimators (KDEs) currently used for estimating diel activity. Ignoring this source of heterogeneity may lead to biased estimates of uncertainty and misleading conclusions regarding the drivers of diel activity. Thus, there is a need for more flexible statistical approaches for estimating activity patterns and testing hypotheses regarding their biotic and abiotic drivers. We illustrate how trigonometric terms and cyclic cubic splines combined with hierarchical models can provide a valuable alternative to KDEs. Like KDEs, these models accommodate circular data, but they can also account for site-to-site and other sources of variability, correlation amongst repeated measures, and variable sampling effort. They can also more readily quantify and test hypotheses related to the effects of covariates on activity patterns. Through empirical case studies, we illustrate how hierarchical models can quantify changes in activity levels due to seasonality and in response to biotic and abiotic factors (e.g. anthropogenic stressors and co-occurrence). We also describe frequentist and Bayesian approaches for quantifying site-specific (conditional) and population-averaged (marginal) activity patterns. We provide guidelines and tutorials with detailed step-by-step instructions for fitting and interpreting hierarchical models applied to time-stamped data, such as those recorded by camera traps and audio recorders. We conclude that this approach offers a viable, flexible, and effective alternative to KDEs when modelling animal activity patterns.

Advancing an integrated understanding of land–ocean connections in shaping the marine ecosystems of coastal temperate rainforest ecoregions

AbstractLand and ocean ecosystems are strongly connected and mutually interactive. As climate changes and other anthropogenic stressors intensify, the complex pathways that link these systems will strengthen or weaken in ways that are currently beyond reliable prediction. In this review we offer a framework of land–ocean couplings and their role in shaping marine ecosystems in coastal temperate rainforest (CTR) ecoregions, where high freshwater and materials flux result in particularly strong land–ocean connections. Using the largest contiguous expanse of CTR on Earth—the Northeast Pacific CTR (NPCTR)—as a case study, we integrate current understanding of the spatial and temporal scales of interacting processes across the land–ocean continuum, and examine how these processes structure and are defining features of marine ecosystems from nearshore to offshore domains. We look ahead to the potential effects of climate and other anthropogenic changes on the coupled land–ocean meta‐ecosystem. Finally, we review key data gaps and provide research recommendations for an integrated, transdisciplinary approach with the intent to guide future evaluations of and management recommendations for ongoing impacts to marine ecosystems of the NPCTR and other CTRs globally. In the light of extreme events including heatwaves, fire, and flooding, which are occurring almost annually, this integrative agenda is not only necessary but urgent.

DEBEcoMod: A dynamic energy budget R tool to predict life-history traits of marine organisms across time and space

DEBEcoMod is an open-source R script designed to apply Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) theory to predict life-history traits of marine organisms under various environmental and anthropogenic stressors. It presents a novel approach to overcoming the computational and scale limitations of previous DEB applications, enabling the generation of spatially explicit outputs. DEBEcoMod is intended to predict traits such as maximum size, reproductive output, and life-history traits across different temporal and spatial scales. It utilises parameters from the AddMyPet database for various species and environmental time series to simulate the past, present, and future performance of organisms. The tool also includes a module for spatio-temporal representation, producing clear and accessible maps for stakeholders. The document highlights DEBEcoMod's application in invasion biology, marine spatial planning, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture, and marine ecology, drawing on published examples of spatial applications to demonstrate its versatility and potential in ecological research and adaptive management. Furthermore, the code has been cross-validated with the official DEBtool to ensure its accuracy and reliability. DEBEcoMod is available for download on GitHub, enhancing its accessibility and utility for a wide range of ecological and conservation applications.

Utilizing Drones to Assess the Body Condition of Tamanend’s Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops erebennus) in the Charleston Estuarine System

Body condition is a measure of an animal’s energy reserves relative to its body structure that provides important information about individual- and population-level health. Monitoring the body condition of free-ranging cetaceans has historically been difficult, but in recent years, the unmanned aerial system (UAS, or “drone”) has facilitated noninvasive ways of estimating the cetacean body condition. The Charleston Estuarine System (CES) includes the estuarine and coastal ecosystems surrounding Charleston, South Carolina, and is utilized by Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops erebennus) throughout the year. The main goals of this study were (1) to test if UASs are suitable for monitoring body condition of dolphins in an estuarine environment, and (2) to determine if site, season, and age class influence the body condition of dolphins in the CES. Land-based UAS surveys were conducted at four sites throughout the CES between September 2022 and May 2023. The body condition of each dolphin was evaluated using images of the individual positioned flat with a straight body at the surface, and a linear mixed effects model was constructed to determine which effects were associated with significant differences in dolphin body condition. After filtering images for quality, 428 images of 174 unique dolphins were included in the final analysis, with repeated body condition estimates of 24 dolphins from multiple seasons. Both season and age class were significant predictors of dolphin body condition, but site was not. In addition, individual dolphins were catalogued in a Drone Dolphin ID database, which allowed some dolphins’ unique body condition changes to be tracked over time. These findings provide an important baseline for dolphin body condition in the CES that can be built upon in future studies to better understand how body condition changes in response to environmental and anthropogenic stressors or for different age classes.

Nuclear abnormalities and DNA damage indicate different genotoxic stress responses of marsh frogs (Pelophylax ridibundus, Pallas 1771) to industrial and agricultural water pollution in South Bulgaria.

Amphibians are continuously exposed to pollutants and anthropogenic stressors in their natural habitats, representing a significant challenge to their survival. This study aimed to quantify the extent of DNA damage caused by chronic industrial and agrochemical surface water pollution in wild populations of the marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus). The observed genotoxic effects on the marsh frog DNA, manifesting as abnormalities in erythrocyte nuclei, micronuclei, and DNA strand breaks, demonstrate a clear cause-and-effect relationship with surface water parameters, heavy metals, metalloids, and pesticides. The most prevalent nuclear abnormalities observed were notched and blebbed nuclei and nuclear buds, indicative of chromosomal instability. The significant correlation between cadmium, lead, and copper contamination and the increased frequency of DNA breakage in the marsh frogs from the industrial site indicates that heavy metal contamination has a higher genotoxic potential than pesticide contamination. These findings underscore the vulnerability of amphibians inhabiting heavy metal-contaminated wetlands to genotoxic stress due to their lower tolerance to environmental genotoxins. Therefore, using in situ assays to detect erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities and DNA damage in P. ridibundus could serve as a reliable indicator of environmental quality and provide early detection of anthropogenic pollution.

Building the foundation for polar bear science: Fifty years of research on polar bears in Western Hudson Bay

In 1966, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) (then Canadian Wildlife Service) initiated a research program on polar bears belonging to the Western Hudson Bay subpopulation (WH). This paper provides an overview of that program, highlighting the long-term research on WH polar bears with a focus on ECCC-led work. The WH research program, which has now extended across five decades with data on over 4600 individual bears, has evolved from a study of the basic ecology of polar bears into foundational work on the life history, demography, genetics, movement, behaviour, and ecology of an apex predator in a rapidly changing Arctic. Research on polar bears in Canada supports commitments under the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (1973), the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), and Canada’s Species at Risk Act (2002). Among Canada’s 13 polar bear subpopulations, only WH has sufficient long-term monitoring of individuals to assess demographic, behavioural, and life history consequences of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors. Future research should continue to ask key questions on how long-term environmental changes impact the ecology of polar bears. Integrating community priorities into the research program is necessary for it to continue to be successful in the future.

Not only for corals: exploring the uptake of beneficial microorganisms for corals by sponges

Microbiome restoration using beneficial microorganisms for corals (BMCs) comprise a promising strategy to help corals cope with anthropogenic stressors. However, there is limited knowledge on the uptake of BMCs by nontarget animals, especially sponges. This study explores whether sponges can acquire BMCs upon direct application and whether inoculations affect sponge health. A 4-week field experiment applying BMCs to Stylissa carteri and Callyspongia crassa assessed three conditions: no inoculation, and BMCs inoculation once and thrice a week. BMC-related strains were naturally present in the seawater and the microbiome of S. carteri. These strains were enriched in response to the inoculation only in the S. carteri microbiome. Microbiomes of both sponges were restructured; sponges were visually healthy and efficiently pumped water at the end of the experiment. These results suggest that sponges can be enriched with BMC-related strains, and that BMC application on nearby corals is unlikely to negatively affect sponge health.

An assessment of live hard coral cover distribution and its physicochemical factors in the Strait of Malacca from 1995 to 2016

The Strait of Malacca is well-known as an important trade route with high marine biodiversity. Among the organisms residing in the strait are the reef-building hard corals. Studies have shown that climate change and other anthropogenic stressors have induced severe degradation of coral reefs through the disruption of coral productivity and metabolisms. Moreover, in-depth investigations of causal inference of coral degradation and its correlations with potential coral-affecting physicochemical factors within the strait are limited. Hence, this study presents the analyses of the latest bi-decadal time-series trend from 1995 to 2016 of the live hard coral coverage (or live coral cover) and six coral-affecting physicochemical factors (significant wave height, sea surface salinity, particulate inorganic carbon, particulate organic carbon, turbidity, and sea surface temperature) using remote sensing and reanalysis datasets. Their potential correlations were interpreted by implementing meta- and statistical analyses of past coral surveys and remote sensing data. This study revealed the overall persistent bi-decadal decline in live hard coral coverage within the Strait of Malacca and the complex correlations among the factors that correspond to the spatial stratification of the marine environment. Among the six physicochemical factors, sea surface temperature, turbidity, and sea surface salinity were determined to be the most influential parameters on live coral cover distribution within the strait.

Vaccination of endangered wildlife as a conservation tool: Hindsights and new horizons in the pandemic era

Vaccines are an established conservation tool that can reduce the threat of infectious disease in endangered wildlife populations. Vaccines exist for many infectious pathogens, and at a time of rapid technological advances in vaccinology, developing vaccines and vaccination programs for free-living endangered wildlife could help efforts to prevent extinctions from disease threats. Vaccination efforts could focus on protecting members of the target species or could be directed at reservoir populations to prevent pathogen spillover. Vaccination strategies need to be substantiated by research on safety and effectiveness, include risk and feasibility assessments, account for differences in host biology and disease epidemiology, and align with relevant regulatory frameworks. Engagement with stakeholders and the public is important to ensure the success of endangered species vaccination programs. Challenges such as funding, regulation, and societal acceptance are barriers to progress in vaccination programs for some species and geographic regions. We recommend the development of scientifically based international guidelines and a transdisciplinary forum with a specific emphasis on endangered wildlife vaccination. New technologies could be used collaboratively to prevent transmission of diseases for which vaccines are not currently available. Careful approaches and enhanced collaborations could help ensure the successful development of wildlife vaccination programs and promote resilience of endangered wildlife populations to increasing anthropogenic and environmental stressors on biodiversity.