Habitat Changes Research Articles

Restoration of the ecological network structure based on the spatiotemporal changes of the wintering Grus japonensis habitat in the Yancheng coastal area

As an Asian endemic species, Grus japonensis (G. japonensis) reproduction and survival rely on natural wetland resources. G. japonensis is adept at long-distance flight, thereby displaying distinct network structural characteristics in its utilization of habitat within its range. Therefore, scientific restoration and management of the ecological network (ENs) are urgently needed. On the basis of the data of G. japonensis and environmental data, this study used the MaxEnt model, stepping-stone theory, and circuit models to analyze the spatiotemporal changes in the ENs structure of G. japonensis habitat. The primary factors influencing the habitat suitability of G. japonensis was the distance to Phragmites australis (P. australis) community. The area of ecological source areas decreased from 56,528.59 hm2 in 1987 to 14,040.20 hm2 in 2021, with the distribution range contracting from Beihuan (BH), Nanhuan (NH), Hexin (HX) and Tiaozini (TZN) to Hexin (HX). Between 1987 and 2007, there were dense ecological corridors along the coastal areas. However, by 2021, only BH and HX had dense ecological corridors between them. The node centrality of HX decreased from 900.78 in 1987 to 264.64 in 2021, with the most significant decrease between 2007 and 2021. On this basis, the expanded habitat area, the stepping stone area in 2021 and the ecological source area of 2007 with low development intensity were taken as restoration areas. The restoration areas were classified into two types based on their distribution: landing nodes and expansion nodes. The addition of landing nodes enhanced the overall stability of the ENs, resulting in an increase in the centrality of nodes from 264.64 to 398.08. Finally, an optimization and restoration framework for the habitat network based on identifying priority restoration areas, land use type transformation, and enhancing ENs stability for habitat restoration was proposed.

Using foraminifera to assess changes in marine coastal habitats of Caribbean Panama since the Middle Holocene

Humans settled the Bocas del Toro archipelago of Caribbean Panama ~690 CE. Coastal land was cleared for agriculture in the late 1880s and in recent decades water quality degradation has been detected. To investigate changes that support a decline in water quality and to assess differences in salinity caused by increased runoff from cleared lands, benthic foraminifera of Almirante Bay served as an environmental proxy to compare modern and Middle Holocene times. The foraminiferal community structure of 17 modern mangrove, seagrass, and coral reef habitats <2 m deep was analyzed in combination with 18 samples of ~6600-year-old coral reef, seagrass and muddy molluscan biofacies from Isla Colón island.The foraminiferal communities' species and diversity overlap considerably among habitats of both ages, and there is more difference in species' proportions between the ages than among habitats of either age. These patterns reflect high connectivity across adjacent habitats in this embayed, patch-reef setting. Assemblages from Middle Holocene molluscan muds and modern mangroves are least diverse, fairly similar, and well differentiated from those of seagrass and coral habitats. Foraminiferal wall structure suggests more freshwater input in modern times, consistent with forest clear-cutting for agriculture, although both ages fall within the low end of normal salinity. Increased freshwater input influenced assemblage changes but they were not sufficient to reduce measured diversity. Reported declines in the bay's water quality have also not resulted in net foraminiferal diversity loss from ~6600 years ago, indicating substantial resilience in these extremely shallow, tropical coastal communities.

Seagrass mapping of north-eastern Brazil using Google Earth Engine and Sentinel-2 imagery

Seagrass ecosystems are globally important blue carbon sinks and support significant marine and terrestrial biodiversity. However, human-induced climate change coupled with other anthropogenic pressures have substantially reduced seagrass distributions, making them one of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. The challenges associated with seagrass conservation include substantial data gaps and limited low-cost, near-real monitoring methods. To address these challenges, we used 507 Sentinel-2 satellite images, filtered between August 2020 and May 2021, in the Google Earth Engine cloud computing environment for regional scale seascape habitat mapping in north-eastern Brazil, a region where conservation efforts are particularly hampered by data limitations. We mapped 9452 km2 of coastline up to a depth of 10 m. We identified 328 km2 of seagrass ecosystems, providing vital open access positional information for a variety of research applications. We also assessed the capability of Sentinel-2 in monitoring temporal changes in coastal habitats, and revealed up to 15.9% declines in seagrass meadow coverage in specific areas over a five-year period in north-eastern Brazil. Our results demonstrate that Sentinel-2 is an effective tool in mapping seagrass distributions at a regional scale. The resulting maps are critical for supporting the conservation of Neotropical coastal biota, including the endangered Antillean Manatee. Our study emphasises the importance of replicable and systematic monitoring methods in the race to conserve threatened coastal ecosystems globally.

Tick-Borne Encephalitis the situation in Poland 2024 - concern that warrants attention?

Introduction Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a zoonotic infectious disease and the leading cause of viral meningitis in Poland. In recent years, there has been a marked increase in TBE cases, a trend possibly linked to global climate changes that are facilitating the spread of its primary vector, the Ixodes Ricinus tick species. Aim of the Study This paper aims to review the current understanding of tick-borne encephalitis and emphasize the importance of preventive measures. Materials and Methods This review compiles data from various sources, including recent epidemiological studies, clinical reports, and public health records. It examines the clinical progression of TBE, from the initial viremic phase to the possible development of severe neurological symptoms. Epidemiological data are analyzed to identify trends in TBE incidence, with a particular focus on how climate change affects the distribution and activity of tick populations. Conclusions The review underscores that TBE is an escalating public health issue in Poland, with incidence rates increasing alongside climate-induced changes in tick habitats. Effective prevention, particularly through vaccination, is essential for reducing the impact of TBE. However, despite the availability of effective vaccines, vaccination rates remain low in Poland. This highlights the need for improved public health efforts to promote vaccination and educate at-risk populations. Addressing the TBE threat requires a comprehensive strategy that includes better surveillance, preventive measures, and strong public health initiatives to protect against this increasingly common disease.

Temporal Shifts in Flower-Visiting Butterfly Communities and Their Floral Resources along a Vegetation Type Altered by Anthropogenic Factors

Habitat disturbance driven by human activities poses a major threat to biodiversity and can disrupt ecological interactions. Butterfly–plant mutualisms represent an ideal model system to study such anthropogenic impacts, as butterflies exhibit intimate dependencies on larval host plants and adult nectar sources, rendering them highly sensitive to habitat changes affecting the availability of these floral resources. This study examined flower-visiting butterfly communities and their associations with flowering plants in a landscape altered by anthropogenic factors in central Mexico. The study area encompassed a mosaic of vegetation types, including native juniper forests, agricultural lands, and introduced eucalyptus plantations, representing different degrees of human-induced habitat modification. Monthly surveys were conducted over a single year, covering both rainy and dry seasons, to analyze butterfly and plant diversity, community composition, and interactions. Results showed the highest diversity in juniper forests, followed by eucalyptus and agricultural sites. Seasonal turnover was the primary driver of community changes, with habitat-based segregation persisting within seasons. Butterfly diversity strongly correlated with flower abundance, while plant richness played a secondary role. SIMPER and indicator species analyses identified key taxa contributing to compositional dissimilarities among habitats and associated with specific vegetation types and seasons. Our research provides insights into temporal dynamics structuring butterfly–plant interactions across this forest disturbance spectrum, highlighting how habitat changes and seasonality shape these mutualistic communities in changing landscapes.

Potentially suitable geographical area for Colletotrichum acutatum under current and future climatic scenarios based on optimized MaxEnt model.

Global climate warming has led to changes in the suitable habitats for fungi. Colletotrichum acutatum, a common fungus causing anthracnose disease, is widely distributed in southern China. Currently, research on the relationship between C. acutatum and environmental warming was limited. In this study, MaxEnt and ArcGIS software were used to predict the suitable habitats of C. acutatum under current and future climate conditions based on its occurrence records and environmental factors. The optimal MaxEnt model parameters were set as feature combination (FC) = lp and regularization multiplier (RM) = 2.6. Bio15, Bio12, Bio09, and Bio19 were identified as the main environmental factors influencing the distribution of C. acutatum. Under current climate conditions, C. acutatum was distributed across all continents globally, except Antarctica. In China, C. acutatum was primarily distributed south of the Qinling-Huaihe Line, with a total suitable area of 259.52 × 104 km2. Under future climate conditions, the potential suitable habitat area for C. acutatum was expected to increase and spread towards inland China. The results of this study provided timely risk assessment for the distribution and spread of C. acutatum in China and offer scientific guidance for monitoring and timely controlled of its distribution areas.

FishDet-YOLO: Enhanced Underwater Fish Detection with Richer Gradient Flow and Long-Range Dependency Capture through Mamba-C2f

The fish detection task is an essential component of marine exploration, which helps scientists monitor fish population numbers and diversity and understand changes in fish behavior and habitat. It also plays a significant role in assessing the health of marine ecosystems, formulating conservation measures, and maintaining biodiversity. However, there are two main issues with current fish detection algorithms. First, the lighting conditions underwater are significantly different from those on land. In addition, light scattering and absorption in water trigger uneven illumination, color distortion, and reduced contrast in images. The accuracy of detection algorithms can be affected by these lighting variations. Second, the wide variation of fish species in shape, color, and size brings about some challenges. As some fish have complex textures or camouflage features, it is difficult to differentiate them using current detection algorithms. To address these issues, we propose a fish detection algorithm—FishDet-YOLO—through improvement in the YOLOv8 algorithm. To tackle the complexities of underwater environments, we design an Underwater Enhancement Module network (UEM) that can be jointly trained with YOLO. The UEM enhances the details of underwater images via end-to-end training with YOLO. To address the diversity of fish species, we leverage the Mamba model’s capability for long-distance dependencies without increasing computational complexity and integrate it with the C2f from YOLOv8 to create the Mamba-C2f. Through this design, the adaptability in handling complex fish detection tasks is improved. In addition, the RUOD and DUO public datasets are used to train and evaluate FishDet-YOLO. FishDet-YOLO achieves mAP scores of 89.5% and 88.8% on the test sets of RUOD and DUO, respectively, marking an improvement of 8% and 8.2% over YOLOv8. It also surpasses recent state-of-the-art general object detection and underwater fish detection algorithms.

Monitoring seagrass meadows in Maputo Bay using integrated remote sensing techniques and machine learning

Seagrass meadows are one of the most productive and valuable ecosystems on the planet. Monitoring seagrass meadows is essential to understand how these habitats change, and to develop better management and conservation practices. This study integrated satellite imagery from Sentinel-2 and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) using machine learning to provide a consistent classification approach for monitoring seagrass in Maputo Bay, southern Mozambique. Sentinel-2 imagery was used to map seagrass extent and changes in Maputo Bay. The UAV systems were used to map seagrass at species level and biomass. All three algorithms tested in the ArcGIS environment could detect seagrass with high producer accuracy and Kappa coefficient. The area of seagrass in Maputo Bay decreased by 33.4 % between 1991 and 2023, with a decreasing trend of 0.48 km2/yr. A zonation pattern was observed for Oceana serrulata and Zostera capensis from the UAV imagery. The small and narrow leaved species (Z. capensis) occurred in the intertidal zone replaced by the broadleaved species (O. serrulata) in the subtidal. The total average aboveground biomass was 33.2 kg dry weight for the mapped area. The results of this study will guide implementation of combined satellite and UAV imagery with machine learning techniques for seagrass monitoring and restoration in Mozambique.

Predicting changes in the suitable habitats of six halophytic plant species in the arid areas of Northwest China

Predicting changes in the suitable habitats of six halophytic plant species in the arid areas of Northwest China

Alluvial floodplain gully erosion in dryland rivers – An overlooked source of sediment with implications for river condition and management

Dryland alluvial rivers are naturally complex systems with a range of in-stream and floodplain geomorphic units that provide habitat for aquatic and terrestrial biota. These systems are increasingly threatened by accelerated rates of sedimentation leading to declines in geomorphic complexity, habitat quality, and ponding depth. The implications of sedimentation on waterholes, or deep pools, is of particular concern, as they provide critical refugia in arid environments. However, sources of sediment entering and infilling waterholes, and the flow-on effects for habitat and water quality, are not well understood. This study addresses the potential for sediment derived from alluvial floodplain gullies to influence geomorphic change in dryland rivers. Alluvial floodplain gullies are often overlooked in comparison to more widely documented hillslope, or colluvial, gullies. Alluvial gullying is a prevalent feature of the Barwon-Darling River, one of Australia's longest and most important waterways in the northern Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). The estimated volume of sediment derived from floodplain gullies is 168 million m3, which far exceeds estimates used in past sediment budgets. Gully size and complexity varied from small, linear features to large, complex, branching gullies and the total number of gullies increased by ~40 % from the 1960s to 2000s. However, the more recent episodes of gullying (i.e., post 1960s) are limited to smaller gullies, which are likely to yield less sediment than the side walls of the older, larger, more complex gullies. Based on the average decline in maximum waterhole depth, ~19 million m3 of sediment has accumulated in Barwon-Darling waterholes over the past 120 years (equivalent to ~158,000 m3 a−1). A predictive relationship between gully volume and change in waterhole depth was expected, but not observed. Nevertheless, the role of alluvial floodplain gullies as a significant source of sediment should not be overlooked when assessing dryland river forms and processes. River management should consider the implications of changing sediment sources and in-stream loads, with associated changes in water quality and aquatic habitats, which influence river condition.

Tree species-mediated soil properties shape soil fauna community structure more strongly in the soil layer: Evidence from a common garden experiment

Soil fauna plays a crucial role in the soil biogeochemical cycles of forest ecosystems, with tree species composition regulating their diversity and functionality through alterations in habitat conditions and nutrient availability. However, identifying the impacts of tree species on soil faunal communities remains challenging due to the difficulty in distinguishing the effects of tree species-induced habitat changes from those of historical environmental conditions. Here, we conducted a field study in a common garden established in 2015, with consistent climate, soil, and land-use conditions to clarify the response of the soil faunal community to changes in tree species. After 5 years of plantation growth, we evaluated the differences in tree species identities and soil faunal community structures between the litter and soil layers in four closed-canopy broadleaf forests (Cinnamomum septentrionale, Cinnamomum camphora, Cinnamomum longepaniculatum and Toona sinensis). We found that the soil faunal communities differed significantly among the four broad-leaved tree species, with 18.7 % being dominated by Collembola and 67.2 % by Acari, with a relatively high proportion of microbivores (65.5 %). Compared with that of the other stands, the C. longepaniculatum stand had the most notable differences in taxa composition, while the T. sinensis stand exhibited the greatest soil biological quality, with a QBS value 1.25 times greater than that of other stands. The greatest total soil faunal abundance was observed in C. camphora, and this high abundance was due to a greater proportion of microbivores (75.4 %), whereas the detritivores, herbivores, and predators exhibited greater abundance in T. sinensis than in the other stands due to the high-quality litter input (low C/P and C/N ratios) and low tree biomass. The distribution of soil fauna across the habitat layers was significantly influenced by tree species changes, with the most pronounced differences occurring in the soil layer rather than in the litter layer. Finally, soil properties, rather than litter and plant conditions, were the primary factors explaining interspecific variations in total abundance and total diversity of the soil fauna and the QBS index, accounting for 61.6 %, 71.7 %, and 34.4 % of the variation, respectively. The results from the common garden experiment suggest that the change in the soil faunal community due to tree species identity was greater in the soil layer than in the litter layer, with the crucial determinant being tree-species-mediated soil properties. These insights enhance our understanding of the effect of tree species on soil faunal communities, which is essential for biodiversity conservation in artificial forests and for guiding tree species selection.

Phylogenomics resolves a 100-year-old debate regarding the evolutionary history of caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera)

Trichoptera (caddisfly) phylogeny provides an interesting example of aquatic insect evolution, with rich ecological diversification, especially for underwater architecture. Trichoptera provide numerous critical ecosystem services and are also one of the most important groups of aquatic insects for assessing water quality. The phylogenetic relationships of Trichoptera have been debated for nearly a century. In particular, the phylogenetic position of the “cocoon-makers” within Trichoptera has long been contested. Here, we designed a universal single-copy orthologue and sets of ultraconserved element markers specific for Trichoptera for the first time. Simultaneously, we reconstructed the phylogenetic relationship of Trichoptera based on genome data from 111 species, representing 29 families and 71 genera. Our phylogenetic inference clarifies the probable phylogenetic relationships of “cocoon-makers” within Integripalpia. Hydroptilidae is considered as the basal lineage within Integripalpia, and the families Glossosomatidae, Hydrobiosidae, and Rhyacophilidae formed a monophyletic clade, sister to the integripalpian subterorder Phryganides. The resulting divergence time and ancestral state reconstruction suggest that the most recent common ancestor of Trichoptera appeared in the early Permian and that diversification was strongly correlated with habitat change.

Can ecological zoning act as an environmental management tool for protecting regional habitat quality: Causal evidence from the national key ecological function zone in China

Habitat degradation is one of the most serious environmental problems worldwide, which threatens human wellbeing and sustainable development. Exploring how to protect natural habitats has become a research hotspot in the environmental management field. Ecological zoning has been widely used in habitat protection, but its actual effectiveness has been rarely revealed, especially with the robust and reliable causal inference method. Therefore, taking the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) in China as the study area, we first quantified habitat quality and changes at the district/county scale during 2005–2019. Then, we used the National Key Ecological Function Zone (NKEFZ) as a representative ecological zone scheme, and explored the effectiveness of the NKEFZ in protecting habitat quality with the Propensity Score Matching and Difference-in-Difference combined method, which is a representative causal inference method. We found that habitat quality showed an uneven distribution during the study period, and habitat quality of districts/counties within the NKEFZ was higher than that outside the NKEFZ with statistical significance. Most districts/counties experienced a habitat quality decrease, but the decrease within the NKEFZ is less than that outside the NKEFZ. We observed that the NKEFZ can protect habitat quality from the causal relationship perspective, but there was the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of the NKEFZ effectiveness. In terms of the spatial dimension, the NKEFZ was the most effective in the Lower Reach of the YREB. In terms of the temporal dimension, there was a 1-year time-lag effect of the NKEFZ effectiveness, and NKEFZ effectiveness experienced a sharp increase from 2016. The NKEFZ contributed to protecting habitat quality through multiple management strategies such as urban land quota, high pollution industry prohibition, and ecological compensation. Overall, this study verified that the ecological zone scheme can contribute to habitat quality protection, and emphasizes that the effectiveness of ecological zoning may vary across time and space. This work can support ecological zoning implementation with robust evidence, and provides a novel perspective for understanding the effectiveness of ecological zoning.

Birdwatching preferences reveal synergies and tradeoffs among recreation, carbon, and fisheries ecosystem services in Pacific Northwest estuaries, USA

Coastal ecosystems provide multiple ecosystem services that are valued in diverse ways. The Nisqually River Delta (the Delta), an estuary in Puget Sound, Washington, U.S.A., is co-managed by the Nisqually Indian Tribe and the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. In an ecosystem services assessment, we used different service-appropriate methods including citizen science, statistical and geospatial models, and scenario analysis to evaluate three ecosystem services – recreational birdwatching, soil carbon accumulation and fishery production – indicated as priorities for the Refuge, Nisqually Indian Tribe, and surrounding communities. We developed a generalized additive mixed model set based on eBird mobile application birdwatching observations to understand the biological and landscape features that influence birdwatching and to project birdwatching visitation based on scenarios of Delta habitat change. We evaluated ecosystem service synergies and tradeoffs associated with habitat change for three coastal habitat types using scenario outputs from the birdwatching model and published results on Delta soil carbon accumulation and fishery production. The highest-ranked birdwatching models explained 88 % of the deviance and showed that visitation was greatest in winter months when distance to major cities was approximately 20 km. Recreational birdwatching increased with increasing area of forested wetland, emergent wetland, aquatic vegetation bed, open access, and total estuary. With increasing forested and emergent wetland area, recreational birdwatching, out-migrating juvenile Chinook salmon weight and soil carbon accumulation all increased. With increasing aquatic vegetation bed (resulting from sea level rise), recreational birdwatching increased, but salmon weight and soil carbon accumulation decreased. We identified practical ways in which ecosystem services may be incorporated into adaptive management frameworks that support climate adaptation decision making. This study illustrated how use of ecosystem services can help managers make decisions that have greater benefit for wildlife and people, communicate the societal value of decisions and increase local support and participation.

Predicting the potential habitat suitability of Saussurea species in China under future climate scenarios using the optimized Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model

The Saussurea species, renowned for its biodiversity and medicinal significance in high-elevation regions, faces endangerment due to climate change and human activities. Despite this, conservation research on Saussurea has been limited. To fill the knowledge gap, this study employed the optimized MaxEnt model to simulate Saussurea's habitat suitability and analyze key environmental factors influencing its distribution. Additionally, considering the sensitivity of Saussurea habitats to climate change, this research also simulated the changes in suitable habitat and distribution centroid shifts of Saussurea under different climate scenarios (SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585) for the periods 2040s, 2060s, 2080s and 2100s. Findings indicated that Saussurea's suitable habitat was primarily located in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, notably within the Himalayas and Hengduan Mountains. The areas of extremely and moderately suitable habitats were 1.106 × 10⁵ km2 and 3.436 × 10⁵ km2, respectively. Elevation, Isothermality (Bio3), and Temperature Annual Range (Bio7) were identified as the main environmental factors. Future projections suggest severe habitat fragmentation and a decrease in suitable habitat areas. By 2100, the total area of suitable Saussurea habitat will decrease under the SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585 scenarios to 8.658 × 10⁵ km2, 6.971 × 10⁵ km2, 5.811 × 10⁵ km2, and 5.979 × 10⁵ km2, respectively. Additionally, a slight southeastward shift in the distribution centroid was observed. This study is expected to provide guidance for the conservation of Saussurea and alpine plant biodiversity.

Flooding promotes the coalescence of microbial community in estuarine habitats

Microbial community coalescence describes the mixing of microbial communities and their integration with the surrounding environment, which is common in natural ecosystems and has potential impacts on ecological processes. However, few studies have focused on microbial community coalescence between different habitats in estuarine regions. In this study, we comprehensively investigated the environmental characteristics and bacterial community changes of different habitats (water body (Water), subtidal sediments (SS) and intertidal salt marsh sediments (SM)) in Luanhe estuary during flood and normal flow periods. The results showed that flood event significantly reduced the salinity of the estuarine habitats, changed the nutrient structure and intensified the eutrophication of estuarine water. By calculating the proportion of overlapping groups and applying the ‘FEAST’ algorithm, we revealed that flood event facilitated the migration of bacterial communities along alternative pathways across habitats, markedly enhanced the cross-habitat mobility of bacterial communities, which underscores the pivotal role of flood event in driving bacterial community coalescence. Flood-induced community coalescence not only increased the α-diversity of bacterial communities within habitats, but also increased the proportion of overlapped species between habitats, ultimately leading to homogenization between habitats. Canonical correlation analysis combined co-occurrence network analysis revealed that flood event attenuated the role of environmental filtration in microbial assembly, while increased the impact of dispersal processes and intensified interspecific competition among microorganisms, led to the change of keystone species and reduced the complexity and stability of bacterial communities. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the complex effects of flood events on estuarine microbial communities from the perspective of multi-habitat interactions in the estuary, and emphasizes the key role of river hydrodynamic conditions in facilitating the coalescence of estuarine microbial communities. We look forward to further attention and research on estuarine microbial coalescence, which will provide new insights into assessing the stability and resilience of estuarine ecosystems under flood challenges and the sustainable management of estuarine wetlands.

Present and future distribution of the deep-sea habitat-forming sponge - Pheronema carpenteri ( ) in a changing ocean

Sponges play vital roles in the ecosystem function of the deep sea. Some species, such as the birds' nest sponge Pheronema carpenteri, can form highly structured and dense habitats (i.e., aggregations), which contribute to the increase of nearby biodiversity. Climate change is expected to have a pronounced impact on the deep sea, particularly on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems such as those formed by the glass sponge Pheronema carpenteri. These ecosystems are especially vulnerable to climate change and other anthropogenic activities since they are formed by sensitive species with slow growth rates and limited dispersal capability, which can hinder their adaptive capability and recovery after disturbance. The impact that climate change will have on Pheronema carpenteri remains unclear, although it is expected to influence the species' available suitable habitat and distribution range. The aim of this study was to predict the distribution of the glass sponge Pheronema carpenteri both for present day and under several future climate scenarios in the North Atlantic. An ensemble modelling approach was employed, combining Maximum Entropy, Generalized Additive Models and Random Forest techniques. Changes in available suitable habitat were projected to present day and to three future climatic scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). Depth, temperature and dissolved oxygen were identified as the key predictor variables of habitat suitability, which patterns suggest a strong influence of the Mediterranean Outflow Water in shaping the present day distribution of the species, particularly in the eastern North Atlantic. Our results indicate a potential expansion of available suitable habitat in the northernmost region of the study area, with a contraction at lower latitudes, more prominent in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Under the worst-case scenario (RCP 8.5), the area of suitable habitat will likely double compared to present, occupying approximately 6% of the total study area. The management and conservation of areas where Pheronema aggregations can occur should be articulated between different countries, particularly in the Northeast Atlantic since, cumulatively, most of Pheronema's climate refugia occurs within their EEZs. Nonetheless, a significant proportion of the species' climate refugia is located in areas within the High Seas (i.e., Rockall plateau).

The Risk of Virus Emergence in South America: A Subtle Balance Between Increasingly Favorable Conditions and a Protective Environment.

South American ecosystems host astonishing biodiversity, with potentially great richness in viruses. However, these ecosystems have not yet been the source of any widespread, epidemic viruses. Here we explore a set of putative causes that may explain this apparent paradox. We discuss that human presence in South America is recent, beginning around 14,000years ago; that few domestications of native species have occurred; and that successive immigration events associated with Old World virus introductions reduced the likelihood of spillovers and adaptation of local viruses into humans. Also, the diversity and ecological characteristics of vertebrate hosts might serve as protective factors. Moreover, although forest areas remained well preserved until recently, current brutal, sudden, and large-scale clear cuts through the forest have resulted in nearly no ecotones, which are essential for creating an adaptive gradient of microbes, hosts, and vectors. This may be temporarily preventing virus emergence. Nevertheless, the mid-term effect of such drastic changes in habitats and landscapes, coupled with explosive urbanization and climate changes, must not be overlooked by health authorities.

Effect of Stocking Density on the Growth of the Endangered Amazonian Fish Hypancistrus zebra (Siluriformes: Loricariidae)

ABSTRACTStocking density has a significant influence on animal homeostasis, and so is a crucial factor in the management of organisms in captivity and an important role in ex situ conservation of endangered species. Hypancistrus zebra is an endemic fish species from the Xingu River, Brazil—considered Critically Endangered since the early 2000s due to fishing pressure and, more recently, due to habitat changes resulting from the construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam. The implementation of appropriate management in captivity is of utmost importance for its conservation, particularly in enhancing ex situ breeding techniques. This study aimed to evaluate the growth of juvenile H. zebra in aquaria with three different stocking density levels. The juveniles were distributed between three treatments, each with three replicates. We found no correlation between biomass and aquarium volume. The highest correlation coefficients were found between growth rates and densities related to the number of individuals per shelter area. Mortality rate was directly related to the initial number of fish in the aquariums, with larger populations showing higher mortality rates. The treatment with lower stocking density displayed the highest growth rate, while the treatment with higher density had the lowest growth rate, with a 23.38% difference between them.

Dechlorane plus in dust, hair and urine: Exposure, excretion and level change

Dechlorane plus (DP) has been detected in a variety of environmental media and in human. Measurement of DPs in hair, urine, and house dust across different habitats allows for the assessment of short-term spatial changes in human exposure to DPs, as well as their excretion in urine. This offers a significant reference point for further research on the behavior of persistent pollutants within organisms. We measured and analyzed the concentrations of DP in the hair and urine of 32 students from a university in Beijing during school and home phases, and in indoor dust from dormitories and some home environments. The results indicated that the concentrations of DP in three types of samples were higher during the home phase compared to the school phase. We compared the fanti values and identified selective enrichment of syn-DP in hair, along with selective excretion of syn-DP in urine. Utilizing molecular docking technique, we simulated the binding effect between DP and the Megalin protein. The results demonstrated that the binding energy of anti-DP to Megalin was higher than that of syn-DP, suggesting that anti-DP has a greater propensity to bind to Megalin and be reabsorbed. This results in higher levels of syn-DP excretion in urine. Finally, we categorized students based on their participation in the organic exposure experiment and their BMI. The results indicated that the concentrations of DP in hair and urine were higher in the exposed group compared to the non-exposed group during the school year. After excluding the effect of exposure, habitat changes were more likely to affect the accumulation and excretion of DP in normal-weight students (BMI ≤24 kg/m2, n = 28), while overweight students (BMI >24 kg/m2, n = 4) were less affected by the effect of habitat because of their higher body fat percentage and their greater ability to accumulate DP.