Total Diversity Research Articles

Application of Principal Component Method Analysis in Identifying Factors that Influence the Occurrence of Inflation in the Bandung City in 2023

This study discusses the city of Bandung which is one of the regions that has a fairly high contribution to the national inflation rate. Bandung City is the city with the third highest contribution to the formation of West Java inflation after Bogor City and Bekasi City. Based on BPS data (2009) the combined inflation that occurred in 3 cities in West Java Province (Bandung, Cirebon, Tasikmalaya) contributed 8.33% of national inflation. Because there are many factors behind inflation, research is conducted using principal component method to identify these factors. The principal component method is multivariate statistical analysis which can be used to reduce some of the original variables to new orthogonal variables while maintaining the total diversity of the original variables and correlating with others. The variables analyzed include Food, Beverages, and Tobacco (X1), Clothing and Footwear (X2), Housing, Water, Electricity, and Household Fuel (X3), Health (X4), Transportation (X5), Information, Communication, and Financial Services (X6), Food and Beverage / Restaurant Provision (X7), Personal Care and Other Services (X8). The results showed that there were 3 components formed from 8 variables analyzed, namely personal care factors and other services, health and housing, water, electricity and fuel.

Deep sequencing of extracellular eDNA enables total biodiversity assessment of ecosystems

The global decline in biodiversity driven by anthropogenic factors necessitates biomonitoring of ecosystems. However, current approaches are limited to targeted detection of taxa and fail to capture the total biodiversity of ecosystems. We postulated that extracellular environmental DNA (eDNA) represents a genetic repertoire of all the life forms in an ecosystem, which can be retrieved by deep sequencing. The feasibility and effectiveness of this approach were tested through a spatiotemporal study in Chilika Lagoon, a large and biodiverse Ramsar wetland ecosystem in India. Extracellular eDNA was enriched from large-volume filtered water samples using lysis-free methods and over 10.96 billion extracellular eDNA fragments were sequenced from 16 PCR-free shotgun sequencing libraries. The taxonomic classification results show that organisms from all the domains of life, including the low-abundant non-microbial taxa, can be detected with high sensitivity for taxonomic families with representative genomes. Interestingly, despite Bacteria representing a large proportion (87%) of the taxonomically classified reads, Eukaryotes showed the highest taxonomic diversity (73%). Further, using incidence-based asymptotic richness analysis, the total taxonomic diversity of Chilika was estimated to be 1071 families across the tree of life, comprising approximately 799 families of Eukaryotes, 230 families of Bacteria, 27 families of Archaea, and 13 families of DNA Viruses. We also quantified the compositional changes using Bray-Curtis dissimilarity and showed that extracellular eDNA can resolve the broad-scale spatiotemporal variation of biodiversity across the tree of life. These results demonstrate that PCR-free deep sequencing of extracellular eDNA is an effective approach for taxonomic diversity assessment across the tree of life in large ecosystems. With the increasing genomic resources and decreasing sequencing costs, we foresee its widespread application to monitor future biodiversity loss and support conservation, restoration, and management efforts in the Anthropocene.

High Isolation Wideband MIMO Antenna without Decoupling Technique for IoT Applications

This paper presents a method a high isolation wideband MIMO antenna without using any decoupling technique. This is achieved by transforming a strip line to a 1 ×2 MIMO antenna using Hilbert transform and Defected Ground structure is used in the antenna to resonate the antenna in for IOT and 5G sub-6 GHz bands. The proposed antenna has a size of 50 × 49.8 × 1.6 mm 3 and operates in the frequency band of 4.6 GHz to 5.94 GHz. The antenna simulated in ANSYS HFSS showed that its parameters Envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), Total Active Reflection Coefficient (TARC), Diversity gain (DG) and Channel Capacity Loss (CCL) are less than 0.04, -25 dB, 9.98 to 10 dB and less than 0.4 bits/s/Hz respectively. The radiation pattern of the antenna in both E-plane and H-plane has been simulated which the uniform distribution of power in the space.

Limited effects of azithromycin on the oropharyngeal microbiome in children with CF and early pseudomonas infection

BackgroundTobramycin inhalation solution (TIS) and chronic azithromycin (AZ) have known clinical benefits for children with CF, likely due to antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity. The effects of chronic AZ in combination with TIS on the airway microbiome have not been extensively investigated. Oropharyngeal swab samples were collected in the OPTIMIZE multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial examining the addition of AZ to TIS in 198 children with CF and early P. aeruginosa infection. Bacterial small subunit rRNA gene community profiles were determined. The effects of TIS and AZ were assessed on oropharyngeal microbial diversity and composition to uncover whether effects on the bacterial community may be a mechanism of action related to the observed changes in clinical outcomes.ResultsSubstantial changes in bacterial communities (total bacterial load, diversity and relative abundance of specific taxa) were observed by week 3 of TIS treatment for both the AZ and placebo groups. On average, these shifts were due to changes in non-traditional CF taxa that were not sustained at the later study visits (weeks 13 and 26). Bacterial community measures did not differ between the AZ and placebo groups.ConclusionsThis study provides further evidence that the mechanism for AZ’s effect on clinical outcomes is not due solely to action on airway microbial composition.

Genetic characteristics of the herd of KP "Rybkovskoe" by alleles of the EAB-locus of blood groups

The analysis of the genetic structure of the herd to the marker alleles of the EAB locus - blood groups was according. The EAB-allele G2Y2E/1Q/according to the results of the study with a high frequency of 11.9 – 15.7%, in the herd, whereas its frequency is 18% for the breed was found. In the period 2011-2015 sixteen main alleles of the EAB-locus of blood groups with a total frequency of 0.802 in the herd were found. In 2016-2020, the main EAB-alleles were 12 and the frequency of their occurrence was equal 0,752. The number of four main alleles of the Red-and-White Holstein breed Y1A/1, O2A/2J/2K/O/, I1Y2E/3G/G//, B1O1 decreased from 0,213 to 0,102. With the highest frequency, totaling 40.6% marker EAB - alleles G2T2Y2A/1B/D/G/I/Q/Y/B// (0.052), E/3G/G// (0,070), B1I1Q (0,053), O1I/Q/ (0,080), B2G2O1Y2D/E/2G// (0,056), b (0.095) in KP "Rybkovskoe" are found. In the breed, these alleles occur with a frequency of 29.8%. There are no significant differences between the breed and the herd in the frequency of EAB alleles. The difference did not exceed 2.4 – 2.7%. From a genetic standpoint, the animals of the herd and the breed are close. The index of genetic similarity between them is 0.95. The level of homozygosity was 6.2% in the herd in the period 2016-2020, but its increase over the past five years was 1,2%, indicating a decrease in the genetic diversity of animals. The number of producer sires used by the pedigree farm decreased to 14 and the total diversity of their alleles decreased to 15. Comparative analysis showed that the difference in productivity of the daughters of bulls with alternative EAB-alleles was from 7 to 710 kg of milk, 0.01 – 0.19% fat and 0.02 – 0.09% protein for the first lactation in favor of one or another marker allele from the producer. By the highest lactation, the differences in milk yield are 55 – 1034 kg of milk, in fat content – 0.01 – 0.22%, protein – 0.02 – 0.14%.

Genetic diversity of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the allelic composition of HMW-GS (a review)

Background. The qualitative composition of wheat grain varies depending on the cultivar, soil and climate conditions, and agricultural practices. The allelic composition of glutenins in bread wheat cultivars is an important parameter for the analysis and management of their genetic structure. In this respect, there is an interest in studying the genetic diversity of alleles of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) in bread wheat cultivars from Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.Materials and methods. The total diversity of alleles in Glu-1 glutenin loci was evaluated according to the calculation of the Nei index (H). Using this indicator and the cluster analysis, wheat cultivars of various ecogeographic origin were distributed into relatively homogeneous groups.Results. Wheat cultivars from Poland, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, China, and Algeria (Group I) had the average Nei index of 0.59, and those from the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Afghanistan, and North Korea (Group II) had 0.42. These groups of wheat cultivars differed in the frequency of occurrence of glutenin subunits at each Glu-1 locus: N, 7+9, 2+12 in Group I, and 2*, 7+9, 5+10 in Group II.Conclusion. Wheat cultivars from Group II had on average a low level of variability of allelic genes in the respective loci, manifesting high grain quality of these cultivars and the highest probability of their genetic depletion compared to the cultivars from Group I, where most of the cultivars are described by a combination of low-quality glutenin subunits.

Spider fauna (Arachnida, Araneae) in Mordovia State Nature Reserve and National Park "Smolny" (Russia).

Ecosystems in protected areas are richer in animal and plant species diversity ("biodiversity hotspots") due to more stringent conservation conditions. Of particular importance is scientific research and monitoring of this diversity in such areas. The aim of this study is to describe a set of data on Araneae occurrence in two protected areas: Mordovia State Nature Reserve and National Park "Smolny". About 29,000 individuals are identified to the species level. In total, 342 species were recorded for both PAs. The greatest species diversity was recorded in the families Linyphiidae (109 species; 32%), Lycosidae (38 species; 11%) Gnaphosidae (28 species; 8%), Araneidae (25 species; 7%), Salticidae (24 species; 7%), Thomisidae (23 species; 7%) and Theridiidae (22 species; 6% from total species diversity). The five species most abundant in the lower stratum (litter and moss layer) of biocenoses were Diplocephaluspicinus, Micronetaviaria, Tenuiphantestenebricola, Diplostylaconcolor and Abacoproecessaltuum and the five species most abundant in the vegetative stratum (herb, shrub and tree stems and canopy) were Linyphiatriangularis, Enoplognathaovata, Evarchafalcata, Misumenavatia and Evarchaarcuata. The dataset contains information on the occurrence of seven rare species (Centromerusnurgush, Centromeruspersimilis, Diplocephalusdentatus, Entelecaraflavipes, Metapanamomopskaestneri, Pelecopsisradicicola and Porrhommamicrocavense), three species (Agalenatearedii, Neosconaadianta, Thanatusoblongiusculus) that entered here from the steppe zone and two synanthropic species (Steatodacastanea, Tegenariadomestica).

Wilderness areas under threat from global redistribution of agriculture

Agriculture expansion is already the primary cause of terrestrial biodiversity loss globally1,2; yet, to meet the demands of growing human populations, production is expected to have to double by 2050.3 The challenge of achieving expansion without further detriment to the environment and biodiversity is huge and potentially compounded by climate change, which may necessitate shifting agriculture zones poleward to regions with more suitable climates,4 threatening species or areas of conservation priority.5,6,7 However, the possible future overlap between agricultural suitability and wilderness areas, increasingly recognized for significant biodiversity, cultural, and climate regulation values, has not yet been examined. Here, using high-resolution climate data, we model global present and future climate suitability for 1,708 crop varieties. We project, over the next 40 years, that 2.7 million km2 of land within wilderness will become newly suitable for agriculture, equivalent to 7% of the total wilderness area outside Antarctica. The increase in potentially cultivable land in wilderness areas is particularly acute at higher latitudes in the northern hemisphere, where 76.3% of newly suitable land is currently wilderness, equivalent to 10.2% of the total wilderness area. Our results highlight an important and previously unidentified possible consequence of the disproportionate warming known to be occurring in high northern latitudes. Because we find that, globally, 72.0% of currently cultivable land is predicted to experience a net loss in total crop diversity, agricultural expansion is a major emerging threat to wilderness. Without protection, the vital integrity of these valuable areas could be irreversibly lost.

Assessing the conservation impact of Chinese indigenous chicken populations between ex-situ and in-situ using genome-wide SNPs

Conservation programs require rigorous evaluation to ensure the preservation of genetic diversity and viability of conservation populations. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of two indigenous Chinese chicken breeds, Gushi and Xichuan black-bone, using whole-genome SNPs to understand their genetic diversity, track changes over time and population structure. The breeds were divided into five conservation populations (GS1, 2010, ex-situ; GS2, 2019, ex-situ; GS3, 2019, in-situ; XB1, 2010, in-situ; and XB2, 2019, in-situ) based on conservation methods and generations. The genetic diversity indices of three conservation populations of Gushi chicken showed consistent trends, with the GS3 population under in-situ strategy having the highest diversity and GS2 under ex-situ strategy having the lowest. The degree of inbreeding of GS2 was higher than that of GS1 and GS3. Conserved populations of Xichuan black-bone chicken showed no obvious changes in genetic diversity between XB1 and XB2. In terms of population structure, the GS3 population were stratified relative to GS1 and GS2. According to the conservation priority, GS3 had the highest contribution to the total gene and allelic diversity in GS breed, whereas the contribution of XB1 and XB2 were similar. We also observed that the genetic diversity of GS2 was lower than GS3, which were from the same generation but under different conservation programs (in-situ and ex-situ). While XB1 and XB2 had similar levels of genetic diversity. Overall, our findings suggested that the conservation programs performed in ex-situ could slow down the occurrence of inbreeding events, but could not entirely prevent the loss of genetic diversity when the conserved population size was small, while in-situ conservation populations with large population size could maintain a relative high level of genetic diversity.

Transposable elements differ between geographic populations of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Agricultural insect herbivores show a remarkable ability to adapt to modern agroecosystems, making them ideal for the study of the mechanisms underlying rapid evolution. The mobilization of transposable elements is one mechanism that may help explain this ability. The Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, is a highly adaptable species, as shown by its wide host range, broad geographic distribution, and tolerance to insecticides. However, beetle populations vary in insecticide tolerance, with Eastern US beetle populations being more adaptable than Western US ones. Here, we use a community ecology approach to examine how the abundance and diversity of transposable elements differs in 88 resequenced genomes of L. decemlineata collected throughout North America. We tested if assemblages and mobilization of transposable elements differed between populations of L. decemlineata based on the beetle's geography, host plant, and neonicotinoid insecticide resistance. Among populations of North American L. decemlineata, individuals collected in Mexico host more transposable elements than individuals collected in the United States. Transposable element insertion locations differ among geographic populations, reflecting the evolutionary history of this species. Total transposable element diversity between L. decemlineata individuals is enough to distinguish between populations, with more TEs found in beetles collected in Mexico than in the United States. Transposable element diversity does not appear to differ between beetles found on different host plants, or relate to different levels of insecticide resistance.

Unveiling the ecological significance of phosphorus fractions in shaping bacterial and archaeal beta diversity in mesotrophic lakes.

Both community variation and phosphorus (P) fractions have been extensively studied in aquatic ecosystems, but how P fractions affect the mechanism underlying microbial beta diversity remains elusive, especially in sediment cores. Here, we obtained two sediment cores to examine bacterial and archaeal beta diversity from mesotrophic lakes Hongfeng Lake and Aha Lake, having historically experienced severe eutrophication. Utilizing the Baselga's framework, we partitioned bacterial and archaeal total beta diversity into two components: species turnover and nestedness, and then examined their sediment-depth patterns and the effects of P fractions on them. We found that total beta diversity, species turnover or nestedness consistently increased with deeper sediment layers regarding bacteria and archaea. Notably, there were parallel patterns between bacteria and archaea for total beta diversity and species turnover, which is largely underlain by equivalent processes such as environmental selection. For both microbial taxa, total beta diversity and species turnover were primarily constrained by metal oxide-bound inorganic P (NaOH-Pi) and sediment total phosphorus (STP) in Hongfeng Lake, while largely affected by reductant-soluble total P or calcium-bound inorganic P in Aha Lake. Moreover, NaOH-Pi and STP could influence bacterial total beta diversity by driving species nestedness in Hongfeng Lake. The joint effects of organic P (Po), inorganic P (Pi) and total P fractions indicated that P fractions are important to bacterial and archaeal beta diversity. Compared to Po fractions, Pi fractions had greater pure effects on bacterial beta diversity. Intriguingly, for total beta diversity and species turnover, archaea rather than bacteria are well-explained by Po fractions in both lakes, implying that the archaeal community may be involved in Po mineralization. Overall, our study reveals the importance of P fractions to the mechanism underlying bacterial and archaeal beta diversity in sediments, and provides theoretical underpinnings for controlling P sources in biodiversity conservation.

Organic orchard floor management in peach: effects on arthropods and associated fruit injury in the Intermountain West.

Understanding orchard floor management is critical to organic tree-fruit production systems given its impact on weeds, soil fertility, tree health, and crop yield. Several viable options are available to producers for weed management and promotion of organic fertility, including use of turf and broadleaf alleyway covers and living and nonliving tree-row mulches. While these measures can be effective, little is known about how these strategies influence arthropod pests, which cause fruit injury. Here, we assessed 6 organic orchard floor management strategies for their impact on arthropod abundance and diversity in an organic peach production system in northern Utah from 2010 to 2014, using sweep netting and pitfall collections along with observed peach fruit damage. Generally, we found that alleyway and tree-row treatments had no impact on total arthropod diversity, species richness, or community diversity. However, earwig (Forficula auricularia) abundance was significantly impacted by alleyway and tree-row treatments that resulted in increased fruit injury. Trefoil alleyway treatments consistently increased earwig abundance across life-history stages, while mulch or Alyssum (straw) tree-row treatments harbored more earwigs and, as a result, increased earwig fruit injury. Since earwigs are especially prone to damaging young, developing fruits, it is imperative that more work is done to assess earwig abundances and life-history traits. Our results demonstrate that detrimental arthropods are sensitive to orchard floor management and can further inform integrated pest management approaches that complement sustainability goals.

Disparities in Gender and Diversity Representation Among Surgical Subspecialties: Are we Losing Momentum?

IntroductionRecruitment efforts have demonstrated small increases in female and under-represented applicants in recent years; however, the majority of surgical programs remain predominantly Caucasian and male. With increased national emphasis on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and mentoring programs, applicants to surgical specialties have continued to increase. While strategies to improve gender and racial diversity are now openly discussed, it is unclear if we have seen significant improvement. We sought to analyze the gender and diversity trends between surgical specialties. MethodsPublicly available data from the Association of American Medical Colleges, National Board of Medical Examiners, and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education were extracted to determine total number, gender, and diversity of surgery applicants and active residents from the years 2018 to 2021. Surgical specialties within the main match were compared through an analysis completed through Microsoft Excel. ResultsBetween the years from 2018 to 2021, there was a rise in diversity representation among all surgical residents except for orthopedics which remained less than 30%. Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, and Thoracic Integrated training programs have the lowest rates of female representation among current residents at 16.72%, 20.37%, and 30.05%, respectively. General surgery demonstrates the greatest increase of female residents with a positive 6% change over this recent four-year time period. ConclusionsThere has been minimal positive progress in gender and diversity representation in surgical subspecialties overall in recent years. Continued advocacy through mentorship and scholarship programs is recommended to achieve greater gender and diversity representation in general surgery and surgical subspecialties.

Outdoor climate drives diversity patterns of dominant microbial taxa in caves worldwide

The cave microbiota is assumed to be shaped by indoor microclimate, biotic and abiotic factors, which are largely dependent from outside environmental conditions; however, this knowledge is available at local or regional scales only. To address this knowledge gap, we reanalyzed over 1050 bacterial and fungal communities of caves worldwide, and found that outdoor temperature and rainfall play a critical role in explaining differences in microbial diversity patterns of global caves, selecting specific dominant taxa across gradients of growing aridity conditions with arid climate leading to a reduction in total cave microbial diversity. Moreover, we found that fungal (from 186 to 1908 taxa) and bacterial (from 467 to 1619 taxa) diversity increased under temperate-tropical and temperate-continental climatic regions, respectively, highlighting an opposite preference for the two microbial compartments. We hypothesized that outdoor geographical, climatic variables and lithology are critical epistatic drivers in assembling microbial communities and their dominant taxa, whose ecological responses could be useful to predict the fate of these subterranean environments in the context of climate change. Our work elucidates the intimate connection between caves microbiota and surface ecosystems highlighting the sensitivity of cave microbial communities to climatic changes and environmental degradation. This work also provides a natural benchmark for the biogeographic information for caves globally and for protection strategies aiming at conservation of underground environments.

Organizational gatekeeping in Australian sports journalism: A longitudinal study of three newspapers

Sport remains a key component of the Australian newspaper industry despite the decline of print in a digital-dominated environment. The production of sports stories consumes significant staffing time and organizational resources, and it is therefore important to examine how newsrooms have altered their approaches to publishing over the past decade. This longitudinal study focusing on three Australian newspapers is part of the global International Sports Press Survey, which was first undertaken in 2011, and replicated in 2021. The Australian, the Herald Sun and The West Australian formed the sample of 1274 articles in 2011, and 1121 in 2021. The results highlight shifts in newspaper content, with many of the changes guided by organizational and social-institutional level gatekeeping influences. The findings provide further evidence of widespread changes to the industry, which include more homogenous content and a decline in total story numbers, depth, diversity and quality.

Diversity analysis for cooking quality traits in North-East Indian rice landraces

In North Eastern India, rice is the most common food consumed. Many different rice cultivars have been developed over the past 60 years. The dynamic variations in grain quality improvement among the main cultivars have seldom been the subject of investigation. The study assessed 20 rice landraces for eight variables related to cooking quality to identify various genotypes for potential breeding programme and to determine the minimum number of components that can best explain the total diversity. Out of the eight PCs, three PCs exhibited more than 1.0 eigen values and exhibited 78.71 % total variability among the characters. KBAC, CLBR, KLBR and KB were associated with PC I, which explained 37.11% of the overall variance. From the cluster analysis, the 20 rice landraces were divided into seven different groups. Between cluster VII and III and between cluster VII and V there was maximum inter- cluster divergence, indicating that the genotypes found in these clusters were genetically more distinct from one another than genotypes found in any other cluster. Landraces including Dhansiri, Phourin Nakuppi, Moniram, Ranjit, Mahsuri, Chakhao Sempak and Disang were found to be genetically divergent and would produce prospective segregating populations that may be employed as source materials for improving quality attributes through appropriate selection, according to the inter-cluster distances.

Island biogeography of birds in the South West Pacific: Direct and indirect effects of physical geography and co‐occurring vegetation

AbstractAimThe distribution of birds among islands is thought to be regulated by island physical geography (i.e. island area, isolation and latitude). In contrast, work on continents indicates that bird diversity is often regulated by plant diversity. Consequently, the (statistical) direct and indirect effects of physical geography on island bird distribution are poorly understood. We investigated the relative roles of physical geography and vegetation in determining island bird diversity in the South West Pacific at two taxonomic scales of resolution: total bird diversity and bird diversity within functional guilds.LocationEleven archipelagos in the South West Pacific.TaxonLand birds.MethodsWe created a dataset characterising total and functional guild diversity for land birds and seed plants (i.e. Spermatophytes) among archipelagos. We then used mediation analysis to disentangle the direct and indirect (i.e. mediated) effects of physical geography and vegetation on bird diversity.ResultsOn a broad taxonomic scale, total bird diversity was directly determined by total plant diversity, not the area, isolation or latitude of islands. On a fine taxonomic scale results differed between functional guilds. The diversity of herbivorous and frugivorous birds was directly determined by physical geography rather than plant total and trait diversity. Woody and herbaceous plant species diversity mediated the effect of physical geography on forest‐dwelling, above ground nesting and ground nesting bird diversity. Granivorous, nectarivorous and grassland‐dwelling bird diversities were unrelated to both physical geography and herbaceous plant diversity.Main ConclusionsPhysical geography and vegetation can have both direct and indirect effects on island bird diversity. Furthermore, relationships between physical geography, vegetation and bird diversity can vary markedly among functional guilds.

Marine diatoms record Late Holocene regime shifts in the Pikialasorsuaq ecosystem.

The Pikialasorsuaq (North Water polynya) is an area of local and global cultural and ecological significance. However, over the last decades, the region has been subject to rapid warming, and in some recent years, the seasonal ice arch that has historically defined the polynya's northern boundary has failed to form. Both factors are deemed to alter the polynya's ecosystem functioning. To understand how climate-induced changes to the Pikialasorsuaq impact the basis of the marine food web, we explored diatom community-level responses to changing conditions, from a sediment core spanning the last 3800 years. Four metrics were used: total diatom concentrations, taxonomic composition, mean size, and diversity. Generalized additive model statistics highlight significant changes at ca. 2400, 2050, 1550, 1200, and 130 cal years BP, all coeval with known transitions between colder and warmer intervals of the Late Holocene, and regime shifts in the Pikialasorsuaq. Notably, a weaker/contracted polynya during the Roman Warm Period and Medieval Climate Anomaly caused the diatom community to reorganize via shifts in species composition, with the presence of larger taxa but lower diversity, and significantly reduced export production. This study underlines the high sensitivity of primary producers to changes in the polynya dynamics and illustrates that the strong pulse of early spring cryopelagic diatoms that makes the Pikialasorsuaq exceptionally productive may be jeopardized by rapid warming and associated Nares Strait ice arch destabilization. Future alterations to the phenology of primary producers may disproportionately impact higher trophic levels and keystone species in this region, with implications for Indigenous Peoples and global diversity.

Toward the next angiosperm revolution: Agroecological food production as a driver for biological diversity

Flowering plants once drove a global shift in insect–plant–animal relationships and supported an increase in biodiversity, energy flux, and productivity throughout terrestrial ecosystems. We argue here that angiosperms could once again contribute to biodiversity within landscapes, if agroecosystems, and the plants within them, can be managed for multifunctional benefits. The potential for farmland to support biological diversity is understood and well-argued in the literature. We take this long-standing conversation and frame it within a longer evolutionary context, bringing attention to how modification in 2 key areas of our current food production system could support this goal. First, a move toward crop and grazing landscapes that more closely align with regional food webs can lead to observable improvements in community wildlife abundance. Second, we can re-expand the genetic base of our food, fodder, and cover crops, in particular by using crop wild relatives, through the use of wide crosses, genome-assisted selection, and participatory breeding. Agriculture as it is now widely practiced utilizes a narrow sliver of total angiosperm species diversity and within-species genetic diversity on a large amount of land. Change to this status quo requires coordination across tightly interlinked policy areas. It will also require social change. Farmers should be supported to transition through nudges throughout their social network. This necessitates a significant shift in our collective culture to value growing and consuming the flowering crops that can trigger an angiosperm revolution of the Anthropocene.

Yearly variation coupled with social interactions shape the skin microbiome in free-ranging rhesus macaques.

While skin microbes are known to mediate human health and disease, there has been minimal research on the interactions between skin microbiota, social behavior, and year-to-year effects in non-human primates-important animal models for translational biomedical research. To examine these relationships, we analyzed skin microbes from 78 rhesus macaques living on Cayo Santiago Island, Puerto Rico. We considered age, sex, and social group membership, and characterized social behavior by assessing dominance rank and patterns of grooming as compared to nonsocial behaviors. To measure the effects of a shifting environment, we sampled skin microbiota (based on sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA V4 region) and assessed weather across sampling periods between 2013 and 2015. We hypothesized that, first, monkeys with similar social behavior and/or in the same social group would possess similar skin microbial composition due, in part, to physical contact, and, second, microbial diversity would differ across sampling periods. We found significant phylum-level differences between social groups in the core microbiome as well as an association between total grooming rates and alpha diversity in the complete microbiome, but no association between microbial diversity and measures of rank or other nonsocial behaviors. We also identified alpha and beta diversity differences in microbiota and differential taxa abundance across two sampling periods. Our findings indicate that social dynamics interact with yearly environmental changes to shape the skin microbiota in rhesus macaques, with potential implications for understanding the factors affecting the microbiome in humans, which share many biological and social characteristics with these animals. IMPORTANCE Primate studies are valuable for translational and evolutionary insights into the human microbiome. The majority of primate microbiome studies focus on the gut, so less is known about the factors impacting the microbes on skin and how their links affect health and behavior. Here, we probe the impact of social interactions and the yearly environmental changes on food-provisioned, free-ranging monkeys living on a small island. We expected animals that lived together and groomed each other would have more similar microbes on their skin, but surprisingly found that the external environment was a stronger influence on skin microbiome composition. These findings have implications for our understanding of the human skin microbiome, including potential manipulations to improve health and treat disease.