Patterns and drivers of waterbird alpha and beta diversity are different between arid and humid regions of China

Diversified agricultural systems, associated with greater species diversity (SD), can alter the dynamics of phosphorus (P) in the soil and consequently increase crop productivity. This study evaluated the P forms and yields of soybean and cotton in a sandy loam Ultisol under various levels of species diversity of land use in tropical soil. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with five levels of SD: very low (VL), low (LW), medium (AVG), long-term mean (AVL) and high (ICLS). The increase in the level of species diversity significantly (255 %) influenced the yield of cotton in the ICLS compared with that in the LV and that of soybean in the 2022/23 crop. Treatments with greater species diversity significantly increased P concentrations in the most labile soil fractions. The Melhlich-3 P fraction represented approximately 30 %, and the organic P represented approximately 9 % of the total P in the three evaluated layers, whereas the occluded P fraction represented more than 40 % of the total P in the soil. In the 10–20 cm layer, the ICLS recorded the highest proportion of labile P. Additionally, the determination of available P should be performed in the more superficial layers (0–5 and/or 5–10 cm), especially in the no-tillage system, due to the greater accumulation of P in the upper layers. ICLS increased the availability of P in the subsurface by increasing the amount of labile and moderately labile P forms. • High diversity increased labile and organic phosphorus in sandy loam soils. • High diversity enhanced subsurface P availability and reduced occluded P fractions. • Cotton yield rose 255 % under high compared to low diversity systems. • Available P in 10–20 cm soil layer is strongly correlated with cotton yield. • New P fractionation method linked soil P forms to crop productivity.

Satellite-based forest structure metrics as a predictive tool for biodiversity in hyperdiverse tropical forests: A test of the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis in the tropics

Asynchronous alterations in bacterial composition and function increased functional redundancy related to greenhouse gas emissions following coastal habitat transitions.

Plant-based single-use packaging alters decomposition and biodiversity patterns in tropical streams.

The influence of mulch on seasonal fluctuations in Collembola diversity in apple orchards

Field evaluation of entomological surveillance techniques for leishmaniasis vector sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae).

Assessing evolving challenges and educational needs in poultry management: Insights from commercial broiler and small-scale backyard producer surveys

Low levels of antimicrobial resistance amongst canine staphylococci isolates from a remote First Nations community.

Solitary bees are important pollinators and maintain biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, yet their populations are declining due to habitat loss, intensive farming and pesticide use. Organic farming offers a sustainable alternative to conventional systems, benefiting pollinators through reduced chemical inputs and greater habitat diversity. While effects on social bees such as honeybees and bumblebees are well documented, little is known about how farming practices and landscapes influence communities of cavity-nesting solitary bees. We investigated these effects across 17 sites in Germany using standardized cavity nests (“bee hotels”). This approach enabled us to assess number of brood cells, species diversity, the abundance of females and males and the proportion of undeveloped bees, revealing how solitary bee populations respond to different farming systems and landscape features. Landscape composition was analyzed within a 500 m radius to quantify the extent of organic farming and forest cover within the bees’ foraging range. We found that organic farming had a beneficial effect on solitary bee brood cells and female production. Organic landscapes were positively correlated with increase in bee abundance, species richness, and diversity, while forest cover had no strong effects. Still at the landscape level, the abundance of both females and males increased with the extent of organic farming, while at the local scale, the abundance of both sexes was higher in organic farms than in conventional sites. The findings highlight the potential ecological benefit of organic farming in supporting cavity nesting solitary bee populations and underscore its potential to mitigate biodiversity loss in agriculture. • Organic farming enhances cavity-nesting solitary bee communities, increasing abundance, species richness, and diversity across agricultural landscapes. • Both female and male solitary bees respond positively to organic management, with higher abundances at local (farm) and landscape scales. • Landscape-level organic farming extent is a key driver of solitary bee population metrics Forest cover showed no strong influence on cavity-nesting solitary bee abundance or diversity in agricultural settings. • Organic farming has clear potential to mitigate biodiversity loss, supporting solitary bees in intensively managed agroecosystems.

Analysis of spatial distribution and host selection characteristics of ticks parasitizing rodents in China.

Impact of minerals on the microbial species diversity and metabolite dynamics during spontaneous backslopped wheat sourdough productions.

From process to flavor: Microbial and sensory characterization of traditional Kaak and its artisanal production methods.

Forests play a key role in biodiversity conservation supporting local livelihoods. These ecosystems face threats from agricultural expansion, forest fires, and unsustainable land use practices. This study focused on assessing woody species diversity, their conservation status, biogeography, and local use values, and established a geospatial database in Dugo Watershed in Tadian, Mountain Province. The goal was to provide baseline data for conservation planning of the watershed. Nineteen plots recorded 81 woody species from 60 genera and 36 families. Dominant species included Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon and Ficus benguetensis Merr. The Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index measured 2.84, indicating moderate species diversity in the area. There are 14 species classified as threatened woody species consisting of: three endangered, four near threatened, two other threatened, and five vulnerable. Highpriority species such as endangered Guioa acuminata Radlk. and vulnerable Saurauia bontocensis Merr. are endemic with specific habitat requirements, making them highly sensitive to disturbance. The presence of several endemic species further underscores the watershed’s conservation value. Documented species use range from ecological functions to economic and cultural purposes, indicating strong potential for community-based stewardship. Geographic Information System (GIS) showed the distribution of species to support monitoring and management. The findings emphasize the need for community-based conservation efforts, habitat restoration, and regular monitoring to strengthen the watershed’s biodiversity and ecological resilience.

This study compared gastropod abundance and biodiversity in naturally grown and replanted mangroves in Guang-guang, Dahican, Mati, Philippines. To do this, a total of 12 transects (50 m) were laid perpendicular to the shore, and vertical quadrats were used for mangrove trees assessed every 5 m along the line transects. Gastropods were identified and counted on the mangrove tree leaves, trunks, and roots found in the natural and replanted sites. A total of 16 gastropod species from four families (Littorinidae, Neritidae, Trochidae, and Siphonariidae) were found. All 16 species were found in the natural sites, whereas four species—Nerita albicilla Linnaeus, 1758, Nerita histrio Linnaeus, 1758, Siphonaria sirius Pilsbry, 1894, and Siphonaria atra Quoy & Gaimard, 1833 —were absent from the replanted sites. Overall, more gastropods found in the replanted sites compared with the naturally grown sites (t-tests, df = 166, mean difference = -0.463, t-value = -7.42, P = 0.000) although the natural sites hosted more diverse species (H’ = 2.41 vs 2.39). The results suggest the need to improve mangrove conservation, including planting more mangrove species suitable for these habitats as they act as refugia for gastropods, other invertebrates and marine organisms.

Deciphering cis-regulatory regions in genomes is essential for understanding various physiological processes and pathological mechanisms. Regulatory signatures, namely promoter motifs, transcription factor binding sites, enhancers, GC content, CpG islands, DNA structural motifs, and other cis-regulatory features, are well-established for their roles in transcriptional regulation. However, these features often exhibit species-specific variations, challenging the identification of conserved regulatory principles across different genomes. In this study, we introduce DNA sequence perplexity as an innovative and efficient information-theoretic metric for characterizing cis-regulatory regions. Derived from information theory and natural language processing, perplexity quantifies the complexity and predictability of sequence, offering a motif-independent framework for DNA analysis. By examining transcription and translation start site regions across 1180 species spanning diverse taxa, we demonstrate that cis-regulatory regions consistently exhibit lower perplexity compared to adjacent flanking regions. This trend persists irrespective of taxonomic classification, establishing perplexity as an evolutionarily conserved pattern of regulatory DNA. Additionally, we observe an inverse correlation between perplexity and promoter strength in yeast datasets, suggesting that higher transcriptional outputs are associated with markedly reduced sequence perplexity. Our findings reveal that perplexity may hold valuable insights into the generalizable aspects of cis-regulatory DNA architecture. Integrating this abstraction-based strategy with motif-based approaches and high-throughput functional datasets could enhance its applicability in predictive applications across comparative and functional genomics.

Microplastics (MPs), a pervasive environmental pollutant, present a significant and growing threat to human health. Metabolomics has emerged as a powerful tool for deciphering pollutant toxicity by sensitively detecting metabolic perturbations. This review outlines metabolomic methodologies and their application in environmental toxicology. Meanwhile, evidence of the multisystem toxic effects of MPs revealed by metabolomics is synthesized, and progress in integrating metabolomic data with multiomics to elucidate underlying mechanisms is summarized. Results indicate that MPs induce systemic toxicity through organ-specific metabolic disruptions. In the intestinal tract, MPs compromise barrier integrity, induce amino acid and lipid metabolic reprogramming, and cause microbial dysbiosis, impacting distal organs via the gut-organ axes. Upon entering the nervous system, they disrupt neurotransmitter metabolism and impair cognitive function. Concurrently, MPs impair reproductive function by altering testicular phospholipid metabolism, reducing sperm quality, and disrupting placental lysine and glucose homeostasis, restricting fetal growth. Furthermore, MPs inhibit central energy metabolism pathways, including glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle across diverse species, resulting in impaired growth and development. Future research should leverage spatial metabolomics, causal validation techniques, and advanced computational algorithms to systematically map MP-induced metabolic disruptions, establish definitive mechanistic links, and reconstruct toxicity networks. Our study provides scientific basis for further clarifying the MP toxicity and identifying molecular targets of metabolic reprogramming to develop interventions that mitigate the health risks of MPs.

Fruit flies (Tephritidae) significantly threaten mango production and export in Uganda because of direct fruit damage and frequent export rejections, respectively. Accurate species identification is crucial for effective pest management. In Uganda, previous studies relied solely on morphological identification, making it difficult to identify cryptic species. Our study integrated morphological and molecular techniques to assess fruit fly diversity during the May-August 2023 mango season. Surveys were conducted across 20 mango farms in seven districts within Uganda’s two main mango-growing agroecological zones. A total of 256,107 fruit flies were trapped using food baits and para-pheromone lures targeting male Bactrocera, Ceratitis, Dacus , and Zeugodacus species. Morphological screening was performed at the Crop Science Laboratory of Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute, Kabanayolo, PCR confirmation at COVAB’s RTC lab, and Sanger sequencing at Inqaba Biotec. Twenty-one species were documented, ten of which were confirmed to species level: Bactrocera dorsalis, Ceratitis capitata, C. cosyra, C. anonae, Dacus punctatifrons, D. bivittatus, D. eclipsis, D. humeralis, D. armatus , and Zeugodacus cucurbitae . Three species, D. eclipsis, D. humeralis , and D. armatus were reported in Uganda for the first time. The remaining eleven species were identified to the genus level: Ceratitis, Carpomya, Rhagoletis, Dacus , and Zeugodacus. Bactrocera dorsalis was the most abundant (95.5%), dominant, and widely distributed species, followed by D. eclipsis and D. punctatifrons . These findings revealed a high diversity of fruit fly species in Ugandan mango orchards. Further studies and routine molecular surveillance are recommended for comprehensive species monitoring and improved pest management strategies.

The Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station (EEJI), a protected area in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome, harbors remarkable biodiversity, including diverse bioluminescent species. These organisms, which include beetles, fungi, and dinoflagellates, play essential ecological roles and hold significant potential for conservation-driven ecotourism. This study aimed to document the diversity of bioluminescent species at the EEJI and explore opportunities for sustainable tourism. Field surveys conducted across diverse habitats identified species of bioluminescent beetles, fungi, and dinoflagellates. Lampyridae dominated the beetle diversity, displaying ecological adaptability to forest and coastal environments, respectively. However, threats such as habitat degradation and light pollution pose significant risks. Inspired by models from Mexico and Malaysia, this study proposes sustainable management strategies, including guided night tours, light pollution control, and community-based conservation initiatives. By leveraging the ecological and aesthetic value of bioluminescent species, the EEJI can enhance biodiversity conservation, foster environmental education, and generate sustainable income for local communities.

Despite the phenotypic diversity of animal species, the basic anatomical features, or body plan, of each animal phylum have been strictly conserved since their initial establishment in the early Cambrian. While this remarkable conservation could be explained by the conservation of the mid-embryonic phase (the developmental hourglass model) when the body plan is established, the underlying evolutionary mechanisms remained largely unclear. In this respect, recent studies have highlighted intrinsic properties in development, such as robustness, stability, and pleiotropic constraints, as potential contributors to its limitation of phenotypic diversifications. These findings suggest a potential mechanism of how phenotypic evolution is intrinsically limited or biased. In this review, potential developmental factors that contributed to the intrinsic limiting effects of animal embryogenesis against phenotypic diversification will be overviewed, with a particular focus on the general relationship between evolution and developmental processes.