Ecological Circumstances Research Articles

Fish remains from the Rhaetian (Late Triassic) of Winterswijk, the Netherlands (Pisces: Chondrichthyes and Actinopterygii)

Abstract Chondrichthyan and actinopterygian fish remains from Rhaetian (c. 208.05–201.36 Ma) or perhaps Late Norian deposits in the Winterswijk quarry are described. The most abundant taxon is the actinopterygian Gyrolepis albertii, followed by the chondrichthyan Lissodus minimus. Furthermore, the palaeopterygian actinopterygians Saurichthys longidens and Birgeria acuminata, and some teeth of neopterygians Sargodon tomicus, ‘Lepidotes’ sp. and indeterminate pycnodontiforms are recorded in addition to the chondrichthyans Rhomphaiodon minor, Parascylloides turnerae and some ‘Hybodus’ cf. cuspidatus (senior synonym of H. cloacinus). Chondrichthyan dermal denticles, actinopterygian scales and gill rakers, tooth plates, and some fish bones were also found. There is considerable faunal resemblance to the various localities from the Rhaetian of the British Penarth Group, although it depends on the location as to whether chondrichthyans or actinopterygians prevail in the samples. On average, there are more chondrichthyan teeth present in the British samples than actinopterygian teeth, which is opposite to the situation in Winterswijk. That might be explained by different ecological circumstances, such as lower oxygen levels in bottom waters in Winterswijk and freshwater input and/or changes in salinity in the UK.

Snow leopard - human conflict as a conservation challenge - a review

Human conflict with large carnivores continues to be a great conservation challenge, and conflict with snow leopards (Panthera uncia) has been studied to understand causes and propose mitigation schemes. While the nature of snow leopard-human conflict is similar in most cases, reported studies have been case- and area-specific with mitigation strategies not necessarily based on a synthesis of relevant literature. We reviewed snow leopard literature published from 1970-2020 to identify the main drivers of human-snow leopard conflict (HSLC) and describe conservation and conflict mitigation strategies commonly employed. Based on 47 relevant peer-reviewed articles, review papers, book chapters, project reports, and other grey literature, we identified four major conflict domains: livestock management-related, socio-economic/human-related, ecological, and policy-related. Most articles suggested more than one conflict mitigation scheme. Three conflict mitigation domains – preventive, supportive, and compensatory – were widely reflected in the snow leopard-human conflict literature. The most commonly reported mitigation schemes included: 1) building or predator-proofing corrals; 2) training shepherds and improving livestock guarding; 3) livestock insurance schemes; 4) compensation for livestock predation; 5) capacity building, education, and awareness programs; and 6) improved breeding and use of guard dogs. Future management efforts need to tailor their approach depending on cultural, economic, and ecological circumstances.

Recent reconfiguration of an ancient developmental gene regulatory network in Heliocidaris sea urchins.

Changes in developmental gene regulatory networks (dGRNs) underlie much of the diversity of life, but the evolutionary mechanisms that operate on regulatory interactions remain poorly understood. Closely related species with extreme phenotypic divergence provide a valuable window into the genetic and molecular basis for changes in dGRNs and their relationship to adaptive changes in organismal traits. Here we analyse genomes, epigenomes and transcriptomes during early development in two Heliocidaris sea urchin species that exhibit highly divergent life histories and in an outgroup species. Positive selection and chromatin accessibility modifications within putative regulatory elements are enriched on the branch leading to the derived life history, particularly near dGRN genes. Single-cell transcriptomes reveal a dramatic delay in cell fate specification in the derived state, which also has far fewer open chromatin regions, especially near conserved cell fate specification genes. Experimentally perturbing key transcription factors reveals profound evolutionary changes to early embryonic patterning events, disrupting regulatory interactions previously conserved for ~225 million years. These results demonstrate that natural selection can rapidly reshape developmental gene expression on a broad scale when selective regimes abruptly change. More broadly, even highly conserved dGRNs and patterning mechanisms in the early embryo remain evolvable under appropriate ecological circumstances.

The roles of divergent and parallel molecular evolution contributing to thermal adaptive strategies in trees.

Local adaptation is a driver of biological diversity, and species may develop analogous (parallel evolution) or alternative (divergent evolution) solutions to similar ecological challenges. We expect these adaptive solutions would culminate in both phenotypic and genotypic signals. Using two Eucalyptus species (Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus tereticornis) with overlapping distributions grown under contrasting 'local' temperature conditions to investigate the independent contribution of adaptation and plasticity at molecular, physiological and morphological levels. The link between gene expression and traits markedly differed between species. Divergent evolution was the dominant pattern driving adaptation (91% of all significant genes); but overlapping gene (homologous) responses were dependent on the determining factor (plastic, adaptiveor genotype by environment interaction). Ninety-eightpercent of the plastic homologs were similarly regulated, while 50% of the adaptive homologs and 100% of the interaction homologs were antagonistical. Parallel evolution for the adaptive effect in homologous genes was greater than expected but not in favour of divergent evolution. Heat shock proteins for E. grandis were almost entirely driven by adaptation, and plasticity in E. tereticornis. These results suggest divergent molecular evolutionary solutions dominated the adaptive mechanisms among species, even in similar ecological circumstances. Suggesting that tree species with overlapping distributions are unlikely to equally persist in the future.

Integrating genomic and epidemiologic data to accelerate progress toward schistosomiasis elimination.

The global community has adopted ambitious goals to eliminate schistosomiasis as a public health problem, and new tools are needed to achieve them. Mass drug administration programs, for example, have reduced the burden of schistosomiasis, but the identification of hotspots of persistent and reemergent transmission threaten progress toward elimination and underscore the need to couple treatment with interventions that reduce transmission. Recent advances in DNA sequencing technologies make whole-genome sequencing a valuable and increasingly feasible option for population-based studies of complex parasites such as schistosomes. Here, we focus on leveraging genomic data to tailor interventions to distinct social and ecological circumstances. We consider two priority questions that can be addressed by integrating epidemiological, ecological, and genomic information: (1) how often do non-human host species contribute to human schistosome infection? and (2) what is the importance of locally acquired versus imported infections in driving transmission at different stages of elimination? These questions address processes that can undermine control programs, especially those that rely heavily on treatment with praziquantel. Until recently, these questions were difficult to answer with sufficient precision to inform public health decision-making. We review the literature related to these questions and discuss how whole-genome approaches can identify the geographic and taxonomic sources of infection, and how such information can inform context-specific efforts that advance schistosomiasis control efforts and minimize the risk of reemergence.

Rapid acquisition of microorganisms and microbial genes can help explain punctuated evolution

The punctuated mode of evolution posits that evolution occurs in rare bursts of rapid evolutionary change followed by long periods of genetic stability (stasis). The accepted cause for the rapid changes in punctuated evolution is special ecological circumstances – selection forces brought about by changes in the environment. This article presents a complementary explanation for punctuated evolution by the rapid formation of genetic variants in animals and plants by the acquisition of microorganisms from the environment into microbiomes and microbial genes into host genomes by horizontal gene transfer. Several examples of major evolutionary events driven by microorganisms are discussed, including the formation of the first eukaryotic cell, the ability of some animals to digest cellulose and other plant cell-wall complex polysaccharides, dynamics of root system architecture, and the formation of placental mammals. These changes by cooperation were quantum leaps in the evolutionary development of complex bilolgical systems and can contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms underlying punctuated evolution.

DETERMINATION OF RELATIONSHIP OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS WITH STRIPE RUST IN WHEAT

Changes in climate scenario affect natural conditions in farming system, hence affect plant pests and diseases development. Universally, adverse effects of climate changes namely failing the ecosystem apparatuses that control the balance of plant pests and diseases, failing the plant resistance and the development of environmental situation supportive plant pests and diseases growth in general. The disposed cultivars and favorable ecological circumstances play part towards rust diseases in epidemic form. In this study meteorological data and disease incidence data were correlated to establish relationship between environmental variables and stripe rust development. Linear correlation was established among minimum and maximum air temperature and development of rust was positive. Impact of relative humidity could not be assessed because variation in range between minimum and maximum mean relative humidity remained non-significant during the period under study. However, data generated seems insufficient to conclude authentic result to determine the role of relative humidity in stripe rust development. Three genotypes having different responses against stripe rust were studied to correlate the response of yellow rust with epidemiological factors (temperature, relative moisture, and precipitation). Impact of meteorological factors indicated that environment significantly affected disease incidence and severity of yellow rust through its impact on development rate of the pathogen. Same cultivars responded differentially under unlike meteorological conditions.

Assessment and Trend Analysis of Ecological Environment Condition in Beijing during the 13th Five-Year Plan

On the basis of the technical criterion issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China in 2015, we analyze the changes in the Biological Richness Index, Vegetation Coverage Index, Water Network Denseness Index, Land Stress Index, Pollution Load Index, and their sub-indexes to evaluate the ecological environment quality in Beijing during the 13th Five-Year Plan period and examine how it changed. We use the data from the official website and the ArcGIS tool to calculate each indicator. The findings suggest that compared with the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the ecological circumstances in Beijing overall improved during the 13th Five-year Plan period, of which treatment of the water and air pollutants substantially improved; biodiversity, plant coverage, and land stress marginally better; and the situation of the waterbody roughly remains constant. The findings of this research can be used as a reference for Beijing's future environmental preservation and substantiable development planning.

Cyborg Encounters: Three Art-Science Interactions

This contribution includes three selected works from an exhibition on Cyborg Encounters. These works deal with hybrid connections of human and non-human species that (might) emerge as a result of enhancement technologies and bio-technological developments. They offer not only an artistic exploration of contemporary but also futuristic aspects of the subject. Followed by an introduction by Melike Şahinol, Critically Endangered Artwork (by Ayşe Melis Okay) highlights Turkey’s ongoing problems of food poverty and the amount of decreasing agricultural lands. It displays seeds of a promising endemic plant to mitigate these problems using the seeds of the Thermopsis Turcica, a herbaceous perennial endemic plant. Ecomasculinist Pregnancy (by Burak Taşdizen and Charles John McKinnon Bell) follows the design fiction methodology and illustrates a future scenario through a patient’s diary and the medical letters he receives during his pregnancy with an extinct sea-lion. Polluted Homes (by Beyza Dilem Topdal) is a fictional art installation consisting of polychaete species evolved in time under the ecological circumstances prevalent in the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara today. These works show, that manufacturing life has consequences, not only for the human body and its physical appearance, but also, for example, for gender orders, the social structure of society, and even the environment, and thus for (re)shaping (non)living matter and their environments. This Art-Science Collection intends to provide an impetus for debate about the extent to which cyborg encounters should be taken seriously.

Review of adult diapause in ichneumonid wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae)

The mechanisms and ecological circumstances of adult diapause in Ichneumonidae are poorly studied. An overview is presented of what observations and research have been carried out on ichneumonid diapause to date, and new ecological and distributional data are presented. The new data primarily concerns species that hibernate in association with trees, based on observations made in Belgium and the Netherlands. A preliminary checklist of the 50 species that are now known to hibernate is provided for both these countries. Auberteterus alternecoloratus (Cushman, 1929), Dicaelotus montanus (de Stefani, 1885), Dicaelotus pictus (Schmiedeknecht, 1903) and Orthocentrus sannio Holmgren, 1858 are reported as adult hibernators for the first time. Four species are newly recorded for the Belgian or Dutch faunas.

Exploration of Caeliferans’ Diversity in the Eastern Regions of District Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan


 The present study was conducted at Khushal Garh area, District Kohat to find out diversity of Caeliferans fauna. Sampling of Caeliferans fauna was done during the period of July 2020 to July 2021. After collection, identification of all the specimens was done up to the species level. During this study, a total of 2 families of the Caeliferans were recorded which collectively comprised of 10 species. The identified Caeliferans species were Chrotogonus trachypterus Sphingonotus caerulans, Acrida exaltata, Schistocerca nitens, Trimertropis palllidipennis, Acorypha glaucopsiss, Anacridium aegyptium, Coryphistes ruricola, Heteracris littoraliss and Poekelocerus pictus. The species comprised of 6 sub families which were Pyrgomorphinae, Oedipodinae Acridinae Cyrtacanthacridiae Oedipodinae Calliptaminae Cyrtacanthacridiae Catantopinae Eyprepocnemidinae and Pyrgomorphinae, respectively. Since Caeliferans are a valuable group for bio indication, it is significant to get information on their multiplicity in such ecological circumstances.

Drivers of Dyadic Cofeeding Tolerance in Pan: A Composite Measure Approach.

Simple SummaryIn this study on zoo-housed chimpanzees and bonobos, we propose a novel operational measure to quantify how tolerantly animals cofeed around a food source. Using an experimental set-up, we measured five behavioral variables that reflect positive and negative aspects of cofeeding behavior. Using a dimension reduction analysis technique, we found a two-dimensional tolerance model that we labeled “Tolerant Cofeeding” and “Agonistic Cofeeding”. In both species, scores on these two dimensions were predicted by sex, relatedness and social bonds in a similar fashion. High-value relationships between individuals that consist in mutual affiliation and support during aggressive interactions resulted in higher tolerance around food sources, while highly competitive dyads that show more mutual aggression showed lower tolerance. Bonobos and chimpanzees did not differ in their overall cofeeding tolerance, which likely reflects their adaptability to fluctuating social and ecological circumstances. This methodology can now be applied to other animal species to further investigate how variation in social and ecological environments influences the tolerance levels of social bonds, both at the dyadic and group level.This study aimed to construct a composite model of Dyadic Cofeeding Tolerance (DCT) in zoo-housed bonobos and chimpanzees using a validated experimental cofeeding paradigm and to investigate whether components resulting from this model differ between the two species or vary with factors such as sex, age, kinship and social bond strength. Using dimension reduction analysis on five behavioral variables from the experimental paradigm (proximity, aggression, food transfers, negative food behavior, participation), we found a two-factor model: “Tolerant Cofeeding” and “Agonistic Cofeeding”. To investigate the role of social bond quality on DCT components alongside species effects, we constructed and validated a novel relationship quality model for bonobos and chimpanzees combined, resulting in two factors: Relationship Value and Incompatibility. Interestingly, bonobos and chimpanzees did not differ in DCT scores, and sex and kinship effects were identical in both species but biased by avoidance of the resource zone by male–male dyads in bonobos. Social bonds impacted DCT similarly in both species, as dyads with high Relationship Value showed more Tolerant Cofeeding, while dyads with higher Relationship Incompatibility showed more Agonistic Cofeeding. We showed that composite DCT models can be constructed that take into account both negative and positive cofeeding behavior. The resulting DCT scores were predicted by sex, kinship and social bonds in a similar fashion in both Pan species, likely reflecting their adaptability to changing socio-ecological environments. This novel operational measure to quantify cofeeding tolerance can now be applied to a wider range of species in captivity and the wild to see how variation in local socio-ecological circumstances influences fitness interdependence and cofeeding tolerance at the dyadic and group levels. This can ultimately lead to a better understanding of how local environments have shaped the evolution of tolerance in humans and other species.

Multi‐hoped cooperative communication‐based wireless underground sensor network design

SummaryDeepwater utilization and underwater sound communication with inadequate bandwidth, elongated propagation interruption, signal failure issues, and sensor node malfunction due to ecological circumstances are the limitations of the underwater wireless sensor network. Further, the challenges in underground wireless sensor network (WSN) include superior bandwidth, high power expenses, information handling, and cross‐layer design. On the other hand, cooperative communications facilitate competent employment of communication resources, by permitting nodes in a network to work together in information communication. As wireless sensor networks adapt to multi‐hop transmission in high data traffic, there is a high demand for achieving energy efficiency. Moreover, in the course of proximity nodes to the sink, an energy hole is started for the extended network lifetime. This paper proposes the design of multi‐hoped cooperative communication‐based wireless underground sensor networks that guarantees energy efficiency in a hostile environment. In addition, network coverage and connectivity improvement are also improved by this proposed design.

The best of both worlds: Dual systems of reasoning in animals and AI

Much of human cognition involves two different types of reasoning that operate together. Type 1 reasoning systems are intuitive and fast, whereas Type 2 reasoning systems are reflective and slow. Why has our cognition evolved with these features? Both systems are coherent and in most ecological circumstances either alone is capable of coming up with the right answer most of the time. Neural tissue is costly, and thus far evolutionary models have struggled to identify a benefit of operating two systems of reasoning. To explore this issue we take a broad comparative perspective. We discuss how dual processes of cognition have enabled the emergence of selective attention in insects, transforming the learning capacities of these animals. Modern AIs using dual systems of learning are able to learn how their vast world works and how best to interact with it, allowing them to exceed human levels of performance in strategy games. We propose that the core benefits of dual processes of reasoning are to narrow down a problem space in order to focus cognitive resources most effectively.

System Construction and the Function Improvement of Ecological Carbon Sink in Coal Mining Areas Under the Carbon Neutral Strategy

The loss of ecological carbon sinks often occurs in the process of coal resource development. Under the carbon neutral strategy, it is of great significance to explore technologies and models for improving ecological carbon sinks in coal mining areas. This study firstly addressed the system construction framework of the ecological carbon sink in coal mining areas, which included two levels of management mode and technical methods; three main categories of soil carbon sink, vegetation carbon sink, and wetland carbon sink; and several technical contents such as ecological carbon sink planning, carbon sink monitoring and investigation, carbon sink function improvement, and carbon sink loss prevention. The study analyzed the main types of ecological carbon sink (mainly involving soil carbon sinks and vegetation carbon sinks, whereas wetland carbon sinks were mainly related to coal mining subsidence areas with high groundwater level) and circumstances of carbon sink losses (including coal mining activities, the process of ecological vegetation construction, and ecological stability risk under long-term conditions) and proposed methods to improve ecological carbon sinks and prevent carbon sink losses for soil carbon sinks and vegetation carbon sinks in coal mining areas. The results can provide technical reference for the scientific research and engineering construction of ecological carbon sinks in coal mining areas.

Sugar-energy bioelectricity in energy trading environments: reasons for the lack of competitiveness

PurposeRenewables such as sugar-energy biomass can contribute to national electrical security, job creation and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. However, after the auction of reserve energy, in 2008, exclusive biomass, in the regulated contracting environment (RCE), the authors observe that this energy environment has lost competitiveness in the auctions. Thus, a study on the present theme is justified, based on the problem: What are the reasons for the lack of competitiveness of sugar-energy bioelectricity in the Auctions of the RCE of the National Electric Energy Agency? The purpose of this study is to understand the situation of sugar-energy bioelectricity in the Brazilian market.Design/methodology/approachLiterature review was conducted through the Scientific Electronic Library Online database, as well as the survey of primary documents at Sugarcane Industry Union and Electric Energy Trading Chamber.FindingsThe reasons for lack of competitiveness in RCE electricity auctions are: distant location of transmission lines; difficulties in obtaining licensing; delay in responses from environmental agencies; difficulties in securing financing for electricity generation projects for distilleries; non-pricing of positive environmental externalities as adequate disposal of waste; and the non-recovery of the cost of retrofit of the plants. The present situation may create economic, social and ecological circumstances adverse for Brazilian development, such as a lack of employment and income generation, loss of international currencies from imports of technologies not developed and produced in the country and more significant inefficiency greenhouse gas mitigation.Originality/valueThe originality of this study is in the contribution to the scarce literature on the understanding of the reasons for the lack of competitiveness of the Brazilian sugarcane sector in auctions of the regulated energy environment, based on SWOT analysis and, based on this understanding, to propose solutions for the expansion of this important matrix energy.

Indigenous consciousness and life interconnections: an ecofeminist study of Tanure Ojaide’sSongs of Myselfand Ebi Yeibo’sA Song for Tomorrow

In contemporary Nigerian literature, ecological writings are dominated by the literature of the Nigerian Niger Delta. The literature is popularly critiqued from a postcolonial perspective of environmental injustice and economic marginalization of the people. This article engages Ojaide’s Songs of Myself and Yeibo’s A Song for Tomorrow to evaluate the relationship between the environment and its inhabitants from a gender perspective. It investigates patriarchy and capitalism as ideologies of human self-sufficiency and male superiority that encourage environmental exploitation of the textual Niger Delta. My investigation explores images of ecological circumstances bedeviling the environment and its occupants with a particular focus on women. Following Gaard’s integral ecofeminism, the study takes a post-humanist approach to demonstrate life interconnectedness in the face of oil pollution. My argument is that the ecological proximity of the pristine Niger Delta revitalizes the environment and envisions ecological sustainability through an Indigenous consciousness of motherhood as the centrality of life.

Prehatching temperatures drive inter-annual cohort differences in great tit metabolism

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) constitutes the lowest metabolic rate in a resting animal and is, therefore, considered to reflect the energetic cost of maintenance in endotherms. BMR is a reversible plastic trait that changes with environmental and ecological circumstances, albeit being heritable and susceptible to selection. Inter-individual variation within populations of small birds is substantial, and while many of the drivers of such variation have been identified, many remain unexplained. We studied winter BMR variation of juveniles over a 15-year period in a wild population of great tits Parus major at the northern border of their distribution. BMR during winter consistently changed between years, even after controlling for environmental factors, suggestive of a non-reversible developmental plasticity shaping the adult metabolic phenotype. BMR in cohorts of wintering great tits varied among winters as a response to minimum ambient temperatures experienced early in life, during the prehatching period. This developmental plasticity might be adaptive if temperatures experienced by growing embryos would metabolically prime them to an environment that they will likely encounter in future life. However, in line with a more unpredictable future climate, the risk of phenotype-environment mismatch is likely to lead to certain cohorts being poorly adapted to prevailing winter conditions, resulting in wider annual fluctuations in population size.

Prevalence of Bovine Fasciolosis and its Financial Loss at Gulliso Slaughter House, West Wallaga Zone Western Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study conducted in Guliso, from September 2021 to June 2022 sought to identify the kind and prevalence of common Fasciola species in cattle as well as the financial damage resulting from liver condemnation. The study's foundation was a post-mortem examination of the livers of animals that had been killed at the abattoir in the Guliso municipality and its environs. 384 study animals were chosen for post-mortem examination using random systematic sampling procedures in this investigation. In the study, 128 (33.3%) cows had bovine fasciolosis overall. 54 animals (14.1%) had Fasciola gigantica, 49 animals (12.3%) had Fasciola hepatica, and 25 animals (6.5%) had mixed infections. Within the various body condition ratings, there was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the prevalence of bovine fasciolosis. Animals with poor and medium body condition ratings had the highest prevalence (96%) and lowest prevalence (84.7%), respectively, whereas animals with good body condition scores had the lowest prevalence (9.73%). Regarding age, sex, and animal origin, there was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) in the prevalence of bovine fasciolosis. The estimated yearly financial loss at the abattoir resulting from liver condemnation linked to liver flukes was 138,528 Ethiopian birr. Given the current findings, fasciolosis may be viewed as a serious issue in the area and its environs since the ecological parameters and management circumstances support the survival of both the parasite and its intermediate host, the snail. To prevent pasture contamination and lower the worm burden from affected animals, strategic treatments must be applied at the right time. To maximize the long-term returns from such endemic locations, integrated control techniques involving livestock owners must be developed to reduce the population and activity of snail intermediate hosts.

Medicinal Plants Survey in Pudurnadu of Jawadhu Hills Tamil Nadu and Analysis of Phytoconstituents and Antibacterial Activity of Bryophyllum pinnatum Leaves Extract

A plant survey is usually conducted for examining a certain geographic area, analysis of existence of specific species and assessing of habitat appropriateness of those species available in that specific study area. A survey of medicinal plants in a given location helps in the comprehension of overall ecological circumstances by classifying the recorded plants into distinct biological life forms. The current study focuses on survey of ethnomedicinal plants in Pudurnadu. Pudurnadu is a village in Tirupattur district, Tamil Nadu, India, about 54 miles south of Vellore city. One of the effective ways to plant drug discovery has been discovered through ethnomedicinal survey. In our study, we recorded 146 medicinal plant species belonging to 59 families for the treatment of various ailments. The objectives of this study were to identify a rare medicinal plant in our study area and evaluate the phytochemical and antibacterial properties with several extracts of Bryophyllum pinnatum which was determined using the Agar well diffusion method against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis).