The Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) is the only ape species found in India and plays an important role in maintaining forest ecosystems, apart from being an indicator of forest health. Knowledge of its feeding ecology is imperative in formulating effective conservation strategies, particularly in fragmented habitats. Presently, this study deals with the seasonal feeding ecology of Hoolock Gibbons in the Marat Longri–Patradisa–Longnit Forest Complex, Karbi Anglong, Assam. A survey was conducted from September 2023 to August 2024. Data were collected through focal animal sampling methods. Altogether 34 food plant species from 17 families were recorded. Fruits were found as the most frequently consumed plant part (67.65%), followed by leaves (47.06%), seeds (17.65%), and flowers (17.65%), and a minimum use of bark (2.94%). Among vegetation types, semi-evergreen forests supported the highest proportion of food species (35.29%), followed by moist deciduous (29.41%), evergreen (17.65%), and deciduous (17.65%) types. The availability of food plants shows seasonal variation, with the greatest diversity of consumable species during winter (47.06%) and monsoon (44.12%), while only 2.94% were available year-round. Height distribution analysis showed a preference for mid- to upper-canopy trees between 21–28.9 m, with 38.24% of the species. The Anacardiaceae (14.71%) and Moraceae (11.76%) families were the most represented; emphasize their ecological importance in the diet of the gibbon. These results show that this species depends on diverse forest types as well as tall canopy trees and stress the urgent need for habitat protection, restoration, and preservation of key food plant species for the long-term survival of Hoolock Gibbons in Northeast India.

Torreya nucifera, a consumable botanical species native to the southern regions of Korea, has a history of ethnopharmacological application to treat inflammatory conditions. This study employed feature-based molecular networking and integrated with the GNPS database to separate and identify ten phenolic compounds from T. nucifera. We further investigated the therapeutic potential of these isolated compounds and their structural features in the context of rheumatoid arthritis. Protein–protein interaction networks, constructed using compound–target and disease-associated target data, identified NFKB1, RELA, and TNFRSF1A as key hub genes. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed inflammatory response as the most significantly modulated biological process. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis indicated that the NF–kB signaling pathway is the most critical of the regulatory cascades influencing the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. Molecular docking studies verified strong binding affinities between the identified compounds and key target proteins. Furthermore, Western blot results validate that T. nucifera extract suppressed the LPS-activated NF–kB signaling pathways by inhibiting p65 and IκBα phosphorylation. The results underscore the significance of T. nucifera and its anti-inflammatory properties in relation to rheumatoid arthritis, establishing a scientific basis to formulate plant-based products within functional foods, nutraceuticals, and therapeutic interventions targeting rheumatoid arthritis.

It's not all about PFAS: Metal(loid)s are associated with physiological and metabolic changes in a native frog from conservation wetlands.

ABSTRACTIn Brazil, a large quantity of shrimps captured through commercial fishing is marketed as labelled frozen packages following current legislation (Normative Instruction No. 23, of 20 August 2019). This study tested the possibility of errors in species identification (forensic analysis) listed on the labels of packages sold in the country by using mitochondrial molecular marker. Labelled samples (packages) were acquired in supermarkets in different states of Brazil, and specimens were selected on the basis of apparent morphological differences for analysis. DNA was extracted from each specimen selected from packages, with 16S marker amplification, DNA purification and sequencing. Generated sequences were compared with those available in GenBank using BLAST and grouped by neighbour‐joining method. Mislabelling was detected regarding species identification. Specimens of Pleoticus muelleri (Solenoceridae) were labelled as ‘pink shrimp’, which should be some species from the genus Penaeus (Penaeidae). Furthermore, representatives of Artemesia longinaris and P. muelleri were found under the label ‘seabob shrimp’ (i.e., Xiphopenaeus spp.). On the other hand, most of the samples were in accordance with the regulations regarding species identification. Our results indicated that some packages (8.8%) do not comply with the regulations. This finding means lack of precision about what is being commercialized and suggests the necessity to propose adjustments in‐line with consumer rights and species conservation.

Understanding the mechanisms that sustain high biodiversity remains a central challenge. MacArthur's classical consumer-resource model (MCRM) suggests that consumer diversity is limited by the number of available resources, yet empirical observations often exceed this bound. To address this, we extend the generalized consumer-resource model by incorporating intraspecific suppression and analyze its effects using the dynamical mean-field theory. Our results show that intraspecific suppression promotes biodiversity by preventing the emergence of dominant species and enabling more species to coexist, particularly in resource-rich environments. Furthermore, our results provide analytical bounds on relative diversity, demonstrating that the number of coexisting consumer species can exceed the number of resource kinds. This highlights the critical role of intraspecific suppression and environmental factors in promoting coexistence.

Abstract Plant–microbe interactions involve complex resource‐use trade‐offs, yet their responses to combined changes in precipitation frequency and nitrogen (N) deposition remain poorly understood. This knowledge gap limits our ability to predict grassland carbon (C) cycling under global change. We conducted a 4‐year field experiment manipulating precipitation frequency (50% reduction, DPF) and N addition (10 g N m−2 year−1) to examine their interactive effects on cumulative soil respiration (SR) and its heterotrophic (HR) and autotrophic (AR) components in a semi‐arid grassland. DPF‐induced contrasting responses: surface soil drying suppressed microbial activity and HR, while increased subsoil moisture from larger, less frequent rain events enhanced root redistribution and AR, demonstrating a decoupling of the two respiration components. Nitrogen addition mitigated HR suppression by improving soil water retention and altering the microbial community. The initial drought transiently favoured fungi, but subsequent DPF‐driven drying–rewetting pulses, particularly under N addition, promoted Gram‐positive bacteria, increasing C‐cycling enzyme activity and facilitating HR recovery through microbial adaptation to pulsed moisture. Over time, the initial enhancement of AR attenuated. This was likely due to intensified plant–microbe competition for limited surface water, which constrained sustained increases in root respiration. Our findings demonstrate how altered precipitation regimes and N deposition reshape plant–soil microbe adaptive strategies, which in turn regulate the components of soil C cycling. Integrating these dynamic adaptive processes is critical for accurately predicting ecosystem C balance under future global change. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

To adapt fluctuating renewable energy for water splitting is challenging, since the growth of electrochemically generated nanobubbles at early stage requires high supersaturation during the repeated start-stop cycles, which can accelerate the deactivation of electrodes and cause extra energy consumption. Herein, we propose a “bubble seeding” strategy by introducing nanobubbles (NBs, ~200 nm in diameter) into electrolyte to promote the generation of macroscopic bubbles. The precursive nanobubbles can act as the beforehand nuclei with a certain supersaturation, lower the supersaturation barrier for further growth, and result in reduced overpotential as high as 130 mV for oxygen evolution reaction. The enhancement depends on nanobubble coverage and size, with higher coverage and larger sizes favoring macrobubble growth. The nanobubbles with inert gas species (e.g. N2 for oxygen evolution reaction) can also work as the seeds, while the interfering or consumable gas species (e.g. O2 for hydrogen evolution reaction) would hinder the generation of macroscopic bubbles and enlarge the overpotential. The water splitting device working at presence of nanobubbles exhibits stable operation voltage during repeated start-stop cycles in contrast to traditional electrolyte without NBs, indicating great potential of such traceless nanobubble additive strategy for stabilizing gas evolution applications.

Abstract Soil respiration significantly counteracts the carbon sequestration of forest ecosystems, but large uncertainties remain in quantifying its components including heterotrophic (HR) and autotrophic respiration (AR). We used previously collected field data from subtropical forests of southern China, and developed independent models for HR and AR. The HR model incorporated the regulation of substrate quantity and quality and co‐limitations of soil temperature and moisture on microbe activity. The AR model considered fine root biomass and productivity as substrates and temperature effects on root activity. Using high‐quality forcing data and new models, we estimated HR and AR in this region over 2000–2020 with 8‐day timescale and 1 km spatial resolution. Validation with independent data showed improved accuracy compared with previous estimates. We estimated annual HR at 523 ± 381 g C m−2 yr−1 and AR at 254 ± 112 g C m−2 yr−1 (values represent mean ± SD). While previous HR estimates align well with our results, previous AR estimates are generally higher. Our estimates exhibited more detailed spatial patterns than existing data sets, particularly along altitudinal gradients, and showed significant increasing trends in both HR and AR driven by warming and greening, especially in high‐rate region and during summer season. Soil temperature was the main driver for the interannual variation of HR especially in cold environments, while leaf area index mainly contributed to that of AR in most regions. Our results provide critical constraints on the estimates of HR and AR in subtropical forests and enhance our understanding of their contributions and spatiotemporal patterns under a changing climate.

One of the most successful models of describing the decay in commodity consumption as a function of cost across multiple domains is the exponential model introduced by Hursh and Silberberg (2008). This model formulates the value of a commodity by including a "standardized price" adjustment. This adjustment allows for a theoretically scale-invariant parameter to estimate a normalized decay (α, the sensitivity to changes in price) in commodity consumption that was detangled from an organism's consumption when a commodity is free (Q₀). This scale-invariant parameter is sometimes referred to as the essential value (EV), which is generally represented as the inverse of α. However, the Hursh and Silberberg (HS) model has various shortcomings, notably as a result of the span parameter k and its influence on interpretations of α and, therefore, of essential value. We present an overview of the standardized price/real cost adjustment and challenges of and potential remedies to k within the HS framework and propose a simplified exponential model with normalized decay (Equation 10). The simplified exponential equation does not include the span parameter k and allows for straightforward analytic solutions for conceptually relevant and common demand metrics. Parities between the Hursh and Silberberg model and the simplified exponential with normalized decay model are demonstrated by conversions of α values between both models. Statistical parities between the simplified exponential with normalized decay model and the exponentiated model of demand with multiple data sets are also demonstrated. This simplified model then allows for consistent interpretations of α across commodities while retaining the theoretical benefits of the Hursh and Silberberg formulation of demand and the essential value. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Abstract Spatial environmental heterogeneity is an important driver of aquatic biodiversity. Ecological and evolutionary theory often consider spatial heterogeneity as being driven by exogenous factors, yet heterogeneity can also be generated and modified by organisms. Here we used a mesocosm experiment to investigate if consumers influence the build‐up of spatial heterogeneity. We expected that consumer effects on heterogeneity would depend on consumer composition and differ among response variables. We constructed metacommunities consisting of three mesocosms and manipulated the presence and composition of consumers, using four treatment levels: (1) no consumers, (2) two genotypes of Daphnia galeata , (3) D. galeata and Daphnia longispina , and (4) D. galeata and a hybrid of D. galeata × D. longispina . We then continuously increased heterogeneity among the three patches of each metacommunity by adding nutrients and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), respectively, to two of the three mesocosms. We found that consumers affected the build‐up of heterogeneity, but the direction and magnitude of this effect differed among consumer compositions. Metacommunities with only D. galeata had increased heterogeneity in phytoplankton biomass, whereas metacommunities with D. longispina or the hybrid had low phytoplankton heterogeneity. The differential effects of Daphnia taxa on phytoplankton heterogeneity cascaded down to the abiotic environment and resulted in taxon‐specific effects on heterogeneity in light extinction, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, and total inorganic carbon. Our results imply that changes in consumer species (e.g., due to environmental change or invasion) might affect not only the local environment but could also impact heterogeneity among environments, with important consequences for aquatic biodiversity.

Fishes are commercially valuable vertebrates, easily accessible protein sources for all human populations despite of their financial status. Andhra Pradesh has one of the longest coastal lines in the country, and largely partaking in the production of marine products and influencing the state as well as the country’s exporting capacity. Johnius of family Sciaenidae is one of the highly preferred consumable fish species. Our recent studies revealed five species of Johnius occurrence in coastal of waters of Andhra Pradesh and discussed here as identification notes. We observed high sales of small fish species of Johnius at local vendors in all landing centres and sized fishes exporting through the different agencies was also noted and more accurate studies suggested to know the statistical data of Johnius fish species because of commercial importance.

The extract of Scenedesmus deserticola JD052 has been reported to exhibit anti-aging effects on the skin, with research indicating an increase in loliolide, a major active component, through heterotrophic cultivation. In this study, we evaluated the effects of extracts obtained from both photoautotrophic (PE) and heterotrophic (HE) cultures on hair-inductive properties in human dermal papilla (HDP) cells. Biochemical assays demonstrated that both extracts enhanced HDP cell viability and increased the size of three-dimensional dermal papilla (DP) spheres. Notably, the activation of β-catenin, a crucial marker associated with hair growth, was assessed using a luciferase reporter assay, revealing that HE exhibited a significantly higher efficacy than PE. Further analyses indicated that HE promoted the translocation of β-catenin into the nucleus through the phosphorylation and activation of AKT, which also elevated the expression levels of DP signature genes and hair-growth-related autocrine factors. Additionally, conditioned media from HE-treated HDP cells enhanced keratinocyte migration and increased the expression of growth factors, including VEGF and IGF-1. HPLC-MS analysis showed no significant difference in loliolide content; however, specific peaks in HE were identified as pheophorbide A and linolelaidic acid. Thus, HE may enhance hair growth inductivity via AKT/β-catenin signaling.

Indonesia is renowned for its rich biodiversity, including a diverse array of ornamental and consumable fish species. These fish are widely cultivated in aquariums, ponds, and cages, with prices varying greatly depending on the species. However, the current method of manual fish feeding remains inefficient and time-consuming. To address this challenge, an automated fish feeding system has been developed to streamline and enhance the feeding process.This research project was conducted using a simulation approach to lay the groundwork for a future prototype. The simulation involves an IoT-based model capable of providing automated feeding for catfish and monitoring the temperature of their pond. The system is designed for future implementation at Botani UPI, where traditional manual feeding methods are still prevalent.The primary objectives of this research are to automate catfish feeding and monitor the temperature of their pond. Feed will be dispensed according to a predetermined schedule stored in a database, allowing for flexible adjustments via the internet.Testing has demonstrated the successful operation of the website, fulfilling its core functions: adjusting pond water temperature as needed, automatically providing catfish feed, and scheduling regular feeding intervals. Users can control these functions remotely, enabling effective pond monitoring and management without physically being present at the site.The success of this testing underscores the immense potential of the integrated system to elevate catfish farming productivity and efficiency. By maintaining optimal pond temperatures, the health and growth of catfish can be better sustained, while scheduled and accurate feeding helps minimize feed wastage and ensures adequate nutrition for the fish. Additionally, the system reduces the manual workload for farmers, allowing them to focus on other aspects of pond management. Overall, the implementation of this technology not only offers economic benefits through increased production yield but also promotes more sustainable and modern fish farming practices.

Lightning strikes are a common source of disturbance in tropical forests, and a typical strike generates large quantities of dead wood. Lightning-damaged trees are a consistent resource for tropical saproxylic (i.e., dead wood-dependent) organisms, but patterns of consumer colonization and succession following lightning strikes are not known. Here, we documented the occurrence of four common consumer taxa spanning multiple trophic levels-beetles, Azteca ants, termites, and fungi-in lightning strike sites and nearby undamaged control sites over time in a lowland forest of Panama. Beetle abundance was 10 times higher in lightning strike sites than in paired control sites, and beetle assemblages were compositionally distinct. Those in strike sites were initially dominated by bark and ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae: Platypodinae, Scolytinae); bark and ambrosia beetles, and predaceous taxa increased in abundance relatively synchronously. Beetle activity and fungal fruiting bodies, respectively, were 3.8 and 12.2 times more likely to be observed in lightning-damaged trees in strike sites versus undamaged trees in paired control sites, whereas the occurrence probabilities of Azteca ants and termites were similar between damaged trees in lightning strike sites and undamaged trees in control sites. Tree size also was important; larger dead trees in strike sites were more likely to support beetles, termites, and fungal fruiting bodies, and larger trees-regardless of mortality status-were more likely to host Azteca. Beetle presence was associated with higher rates of subsequent fungal presence, providing some evidence of beetle-associated priority effects on colonization patterns. These results suggest that lightning plays a key role in supporting tropical insect and fungal consumers by providing localized patches of suitable habitat. Any climate-driven changes in lightning frequency in tropical forests will likely affect a broad suite of consumer organisms, potentially altering ecosystem-level processes.

Plants are a crucial part of the human diet, serving as a primary source of micronutrients, fiber, and carbohydrates, providing readily available energy. Beyond the consumption of cooked and raw edible plants, early humans also developed methods for plant processing for delayed consumption, to de-toxify/improve bioavailability, and perhaps for flavor. In later prehistory delayed consumption includes preservation processes for storage. The processing of plants through sprouting, fermentation, cooking, and roasting has not only expanded the variety of consumable plant species but also enhanced their nutritional value. There are few methods for detecting fermented foods in the early prehistoric diet. Based on the hypothesis that the microbes active in fermentation change the nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios of plant foods, our pilot study lays the groundwork for further research, offering a promising direction for understanding the complexities of human-plant interactions throughout history. This study focuses on these four plant treatment methods, which have both contemporary relevance and archaeobotanical evidence of use. We aimed to explore how these treatments might affect stable isotope values, such as carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N), which are crucial for reconstructing ancient diets. Through an experimental approach involving 12 plant species, our findings suggest that while sprouting and roasting had minimal impact on isotopic values, fermentation and cooking showed more variable effects depending on the plant species. These preliminary results provide new insights into the influence of plant processing on isotopic compositions and underscore the importance of considering these factors in dietary reconstructions.

Abstract Insect–plant interactions are key determinants of plant and insect fitness, providing important ecosystem services around the world—including the Arctic region. Recently, it has been suggested that climate warming causes rifts between flower and pollinator phenology. To what extent the progression of pollinators matches the availability of flowers in the Arctic season is poorly known. In this study, we aimed to characterize the community phenology of flowers and insects in a rapidly changing Arctic environment from a descriptive and functional perspective. To this end, we inferred changes in resource availability from both a plant and an insect point of view, by connecting resource and consumer species through a metaweb of all the plant–insect interactions ever observed at a site. Specifically, we: (1) characterized species‐specific phenology among plants and insects at two High‐Arctic sites—Cambridge Bay in Nunavut, Canada, and Zackenberg in Northeast Greenland; (2) quantified competition for flowers using sticky flower mimics; (3) used information on plant–pollinator interactions to quantify supply and demand for pollinator services versus flower resources during the summer; and (4) compared patterns observed within a focal summer at each site to patterns of long‐term change at Zackenberg, using a 25‐year time series of plant flowering and insect phenology. Within summers, we found evidence of a general mismatch between supply and demand. Over the 25‐year time series, the number of weeks per summer when resource supply fell below a standardized threshold increased significantly over time. In addition, variation in resource availability increased significantly over years. We suggest that the number of resource‐poor weeks per year is increasing and becoming less predictable in the High Arctic. This will have important implications for plant pollination, pollinator fitness, and the future of the Arctic ecosystem, as both plants and their pollinators are faced with widening resource gaps.

Warming climate impacts aquatic ectotherms by changes in individual vital rates and declines in body size, a phenomenon known as the temperature-size rule (TSR), and indirectly through altered species interactions and environmental feedbacks. The relative importance of these effects in shaping community responses to environmental change is incompletely understood. We employ a tri-trophic food chain model with size- and temperature-dependent vital rates and species interaction strengths to explore the role of direct kinetic effects of temperature and TSR on community structure along resource productivity and temperature gradients. We find that community structure, including the propensity for sudden collapse along resource productivity and temperature gradients, is primarily driven by the direct kinetic effects of temperature on vital rates and thermal mismatches between the consumer and predator species, overshadowing the TSR-mediated effects. Overall, our study enhances the understanding of the complex interplay between temperature, species traits and community dynamics in aquatic ecosystems.

Explaining biodiversity is a fundamental issue in ecology. A long-standing puzzle lies in the paradox of the plankton: many species of plankton feeding on a limited variety of resources coexist, apparently flouting the competitive exclusion principle (CEP), which holds that the number of predator (consumer) species cannot exceed that of the resources at a steady state. Here, we present a mechanistic model and demonstrate that intraspecific interference among the consumers enables a plethora of consumer species to coexist at constant population densities with only one or a handful of resource species. This facilitated biodiversity is resistant to stochasticity, either with the stochastic simulation algorithm or individual-based modeling. Our model naturally explains the classical experiments that invalidate the CEP, quantitatively illustrates the universal S-shaped pattern of the rank-abundance curves across a wide range of ecological communities, and can be broadly used to resolve the mystery of biodiversity in many natural ecosystems.

Explaining biodiversity is a fundamental issue in ecology. A long-standing puzzle lies in the paradox of the plankton: many species of plankton feeding on a limited variety of resources coexist, apparently flouting the competitive exclusion principle (CEP), which holds that the number of predator (consumer) species cannot exceed that of the resources at a steady state. Here, we present a mechanistic model and demonstrate that intraspecific interference among the consumers enables a plethora of consumer species to coexist at constant population densities with only one or a handful of resource species. This facilitated biodiversity is resistant to stochasticity, either with the stochastic simulation algorithm or individual-based modeling. Our model naturally explains the classical experiments that invalidate the CEP, quantitatively illustrates the universal S-shaped pattern of the rank-abundance curves across a wide range of ecological communities, and can be broadly used to resolve the mystery of biodiversity in many natural ecosystems.

Abstract Explaining biodiversity is the central focus in theoretical ecology. A significant obstacle arises from the competitive exclusion principle (CEP), which states that two species competing for the same type of resources cannot coexist at constant population densities, or more generally, the number of consumer species cannot exceed that of resource species at steady states. The conflict between CEP and biodiversity is exemplified by the paradox of the plankton, where a few types of limiting resources support a plethora of plankton species. In this review, we introduce mechanisms proposed over the years for promoting biodiversity in ecosystems, with a special focus on those that alleviate the constraints imposed by the CEP, including mechanisms that challenge the CEP in well‐mixed systems at a steady state or those that circumvent its limitations through contextual differences.