Hasil untuk "Natural history (General)"

Charlotte Gehrke

This study examines portrayals of marine mammal celebrities (MMCs) in popular culture over the past 70 years, reflecting evolving public attitudes toward ocean conservation. It identifies four main types of MMCs, each linked to a specific era and shaped by changes in media landscapes, perceptions of marine mammal agency and welfare, and conservation priorities: (1) Hollywood MMCs (ca. 1960–1990s)—wild animals captured and exhibited in aquaria, cast as celebrities based on their roles in traditional mass media (blockbuster movies); (2) MMCs in human care (ca. 1990s–2010s)—animals housed in aquaria whose fame stemmed from public concern about their welfare and calls for their release; (3) rescued MMCs (ca. 1980s–present)—marine mammals cared for by humans after they were injured in the ocean; and (4) endangered and dangerous MMCs (2010s–present)—wild animals that approach humans, demonstrate human‐like behaviours, or interact with boats. Introducing the method of “following the animal,” the article provides examples of celebrity animals that illustrate each of the four categories, such as the dolphin Flipper and the walrus Freya. The study contributes to the thematic issue on Ocean Pop: Marine Imaginaries in the Age of Global Polycrisis by highlighting the mutual influence of media, animal celebrity, and conservation, and urges further research into how shifting representations shape global engagement with marine life and the environment.

Charlotte E. Grimes, James W. Morley, Diandre′ N. Richie et al.

Artificial reefs may be created within estuaries for multiple reasons, including habitat enhancement, oyster production, or recreational fishing. While traditional sampling in this environment is difficult due to complex structures and the high turbidity of estuaries, acoustic imaging sonar provides an effective alternative to measure abundance and size spectra of the fish community. We sampled eight artificial reefs in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, that are designated as oyster sanctuaries. At each oyster sanctuary, we sampled 26 boat positions along two transects using ARIS imaging sonar, which included control areas outside of the sanctuaries over featureless bottom. We found that fish abundance and mean length were greater within the oyster sanctuary boundaries, but did not observe any significant differences among artificial substrate types within the sanctuaries. Further, we found that fish abundance dropped to near background levels within 25 m outside of the oyster sanctuary edge. Size spectra analysis revealed that abundance was higher in the sanctuaries versus control areas for every length bin of the fish community (5 to 50 cm). However, the differences in abundance were greatest for 10 to 30 cm fishes. Our results can be coupled with previous research on species composition data to more fully understand the potential role that the Pamlico Sound oyster sanctuaries, and estuarine artificial reefs in general, serve as habitat and recreational fishing enhancement.

Vitaly Dernov, Halyna Anfimova

The macroscopic remains of Carboniferous plants in the Donets Basin are represented by a variety of preservation types, including compressions, impressions, casts, as well as permineralised wood of gymnosperms preserved in alluvial and marine sandstones, permineralised organs of peat-forming plants in ‘coal balls’, etc. In contrast to other Carboniferous basins of the palaeotropical belt of Euramerica, the remains of arborescent lycopsid trunks preserved in situ are very rare in the Donets Basin. To date, only two such finds have been documented here, namely: a fragment of the Subsigillaria trunk found in the coal-bearing deposits of the Avilovka Formation (Upper Pennsylvanian) and a fragment of the Sigillaria trunk with attached rooting organs Stigmaria from the Gorlivka Formation (Middle Pennsylvanian). The latter trunk is currently on display at the National Museum of Natural History, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Stigmaria represents root organs of several families of tree-like lycopsids, i.e. they are a classic form-genus. The remains of Stigmaria are among the most common Carboniferous fossils in the Donets Basin. Tree-like lycopsids, including representatives of the genera Lepidodendron, Sigillaria, Lepidophloios, and Asolanus, were among the dominants of wet forests growing within deltaic and alluvial lowlands, where peats were common. The taphonomic features of this trunk fragment indicate that Syringodendron, the preservation type of Sigillaria axes, may occur not only due to postmortem water transport of axes, but also due to the destructive effects of aggressive environmental agents on the surface layers of the stem, such as wind, moisture, activity of organisms, etc. The relatively large vertical angles of branching of Stigmaria rhizomorphs from the base of the trunk indicate their deep penetration into a substrate. This fact contradicts the assumptions of some experts about the subaerial or aerial location of at least some of the Stigmaria rhizomorphs. The fragment of Sigillaria stem with attached rhizomorphs Stigmaria is a valuable find, since the trunks of Pennsylvanian tree-like lycopsids are usually preserved without rooting organs.

Helen E. Burch, Hannah-Marie S. Eddins, Michelle R. Stocker et al.

Reptile feeding strategies encompass a wide variety of diets and accompanying diversity in methods for subduing prey. One such strategy, the use of venom for prey capture, is found in living reptile clades like helodermatid (beaded) lizards and some groups of snakes, and venom secreting glands are also present in some monitor lizards and iguanians. The fossil record of some of these groups shows strong evidence for venom use, and this feeding strategy also has been hypothesized for a variety of extinct reptiles (e.g., archosauromorphs, anguimorphs, and a sphenodontian). However, evidence of systems for venom delivery in extinct groups and its evolutionary origins has been scarce, especially when based on more than isolated teeth. Here, we describe a potentially venomous new reptile, Microzemiotes sonselaensis gen. et sp. nov., from a partial left dentary recovered from the Sonsela Member of the Chinle Formation (middle Norian, Upper Triassic) of northeastern Arizona, U.S.A. The three dentary teeth have apices that are distally reclined relative to their bases and the tip of the posteriormost tooth curves mesially. The teeth show subthecodont implantation and are interspaced by empty sockets that terminate above the Meckelian canal, which is dorsoventrally expanded posteriorly. Replacement tooth sockets are positioned distolingually to the active teeth as in varanid-like replacement. We identify this new specimen as a diapsid reptile based on its monocuspid teeth that lack carinae and serrations. A more exclusive phylogenetic position within Diapsida is not well supported and remains uncertain. Several features of this new taxon, such as the presence of an intramandibular septum, are shared with some anguimorph squamates; however, these likely evolved independently. The teeth of the new taxon are distinctively marked by external grooves that occur on the entire length of the crown on the labial and lingual sides, as seen in the teeth of living beaded lizards. If these grooves are functionally similar to those of beaded lizards, which use the grooves to deliver venom, this new taxon represents the oldest known reptile where venom-conducting teeth are preserved within a jaw. The teeth of the new species are anatomically distinct from and ~10x smaller than those of the only other known Late Triassic hypothesized venomous reptile, Uatchitodon, supporting venom use across multiple groups of different body size classes. This new species represents the third Late Triassic reptile species to possibly have used envenomation as a feeding (and/or defensive) strategy, adding to the small number of venomous reptiles known from the Mesozoic Era.

Attila Haris, Zsolt Józan, Ladislav Roller et al.

Temporal changes in population densities and species richness of three main pollinator groups—moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera); bees, wasps and sawflies (Hymenoptera); and hoverflies, horseflies, tachinids and bee flies (Diptera)—were investigated in the Carpathian Basin. Maintaining pollinator diversity is a crucial factor for preserving our biodiversity and ecosystems; furthermore, several pollinator species have a strong economic role in maintaining crop and fruit cultures. Our conclusions are based on our three and four decades of faunistic surveys in various regions of the Carpathian Basin. Analyzing and comparing our data with the historical data of the last 50 years, we concluded that densities of some pollinators declined during the past decade and a half (Symphyta, hoverflies), although populations of several species of Mediterranean origin grew (Aculeata) and new species even migrated from the warmer regions. In numerous cases, this decrease was dramatic: more than 90% decline of certain butterfly species were detected. On the other hand, the composition of pollinator fauna significantly changed due to the disappearance of some mountainous or mesophile species. The main reason for the decrease in pollinator communities is due partly to climatic change and partly to anthropogenic factors. Different groups of pollinators react differently: some groups like Syrphidae, Tachinidae, most of the butterfly families and bumblebees suffered a strong decline in the last two decades; other warm-loving groups like most of Aculeata and horseflies and bee flies showed a significant increase in population densities. Our conclusion: in our region, the pollinator crisis is present but moderate; however, there is a clear sign of the gradual transition of our pollinator fauna towards the Mediterranean type.

Alina Blume, Avi Putri Pertiwi, Chengfa Benjamin Lee et al.

Seagrasses are among the world’s most productive ecosystems due to their vast ‘blue’ carbon sequestration rates and stocks, yet have a largely untapped potential for climate change mitigation and national climate agendas like the Nationally Determined Contributions of the Paris Agreement. To account for the value of seagrasses for these agendas, spatially explicit high-confidence seagrass ecosystem assessments guided by nationally aggregated data are necessary. Modern Earth Observation advances could provide a scalable technological solution to assess the national extent and blue carbon service of seagrass ecosystems. Here, we developed and applied a scalable Earth Observation framework within the Google Earth Engine cloud computing platform to account the national extent, blue carbon stock and sequestration rate of seagrass ecosystems across the shallow waters of The Bahamas—113,037 km2. Our geospatial ecosystem extent accounting was based on big multi-temporal data analytics of over 18,000 10-m Sentinel-2 images acquired between 2017-2021, and deep feature engineering of multi-temporal spectral, color, object-based and textural metrics with Random Forests machine learning classification. The extent accounting was trained and validated using a nationwide reference data synthesis based on human-guided image annotation, recent space-borne benthic habitat maps, and field data collections. Bahamian seagrass carbon stocks and sequestration rates were quantified using region-specific in-situ seagrass blue carbon data. The mapped Bahamian seagrass extent covers an area up to 46,792 km2, translating into a carbon storage of 723 Mg C, and a sequestration rate of 123 Mt CO2 annually. This equals up to 68 times the amount of CO2 emitted by The Bahamas in 2018, potentially rendering the country carbon-neutral. The developed accounts fill a vast mapping blank in the global seagrass map—29% of the global seagrass extent—highlighting the necessity of including their blue carbon fluxes into national climate agendas and showcasing the need for more cost-effective conservation and restoration efforts for their meadows. We envisage that the synergy between our scalable Earth Observation technology and near-future nation-specific in-situ observations can and will support spatially-explicit seagrass and ocean ecosystem accounting, accelerating effective policy-making, blue carbon crediting, and relevant financial investments in and beyond The Bahamas.

Sang-Ah Lee, Sang-Ah Lee, Chang Seon Ryu et al.

Reports have shown an increase in the use of disinfectants in wastewater treatment plants, prompted by the detection of residual viruses in sewage. However, the release of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in final effluents has raised concerns about their potential adverse effects, such as endocrine disruption, on aquatic environments. Despite these concerns, few studies have examined the endocrine-disrupting effects of DBPs on fish, which may be vulnerable to DBPs. The aim of this case study was to investigate the endocrine-disrupting properties of four commonly formed DBPs: chloroiodomethane (CIM), dibromochloromethane (DBCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), and trichloroacetic acid (TCA) on the estrogen receptor-α in zebrafish (zERα). The results indicated that all four DBPs have high anti-estrogenic activity against zERα; with CIM, BDCM, DBCM, and TCA yielding 80.8%, 78.4%, 49.0%, and 64.1% anti-estrogenic effects on zERα, respectively. Moreover, all DBPs demonstrated negligible estrogenic effects on zERα. Our study sheds new light on the adverse effects of DBPs, particularly the endocrine-disrupting activity of CIM, which, as part of the dihalomethanes group, has received limited research attention in the past. This study shows the molecular interactions in terms of the endocrine disruption of DBP on zERα, warranting further studies to understand the overall impact of fish in affected aquatic ecosystems.

Ana Elisa Cabral, Felisa Rey, Felisa Rey et al.

Syngnathids (seahorses, pipefishes and seadragons) are an attractive resource for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Despite few scientific studies supporting seahorse nutritional benefits, they are believed to possess medicinal properties that enhance human health. The European short-snout seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus is classified as Data Deficient by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Nevertheless, there are increasing records of this species being illegally captured and traded to supply TCM. This study investigated the fatty acid (FA) profiles of the trunk muscles of cultured female and male H. hippocampus, to assess sex and intraspecific variation, as well as their potential nutritional value. The contents of crude lipid (4.05 ± 2.15% dry weight, DW in females and 2.82 ± 1.48% DW in males) and phospholipid (8.23 ± 3.34 μg mg−1 DW in females and 7.91 ± 2.36 μg mg−1 DW in males) were not significantly different between the two sexes. The absolute FA compositions of H. hippocampus trunk muscles revealed higher mean values for FA 16:0, 18:0, 18:1 n-9 and 22:6 n-3 (DHA), in both female (2.82 ± 1.11, 1.81 ± 0.89, 0.90 ± 0.41 and 0.93 ± 0.35 μg mg−1 DW, respectively) and male specimens (1.99 ± 0.95, 1.52 ± 0.78, 0.74 ± 0.44 and 0.80 ± 0.41 μg mg−1 DW, respectively). In terms of FA classes, saturated fatty acids (SFA) showed the highest absolute value of the total pool of FA, for both sexes (4.73 ± 1.94 μg mg−1 DW in females and 3.58 ± 1.76 μg mg−1 DW in males). Males tended to exhibit a more suitable profile for human nutrition, displaying a lower atherogenic index (AI) and thrombogenic index (TI). The relative composition of H. hippocampus trunk muscles followed the patterns of seahorse species valued in TCM, with DHA ranking amongst the PUFA with higher mean relative abundances (12.0% of total FA). While seahorse FA profiles may be of interest in terms of their nutritional value for humans, only specimens originating from sustainable production practices should be traded and the conservation of their populations in the wild should continue to be a global priority.

Katarzyna Melaniuk, Kamila Sztybor, Tina Treude et al.

This paper presents the results of a study on the response of living benthic foraminifera to progressing environmental successions in a cold-seep ecosystem. Sediment samples were collected from Vestnesa Ridge (79°N, Fram Strait) at ~1200 m water depth. The distribution of live (Rose Bengal-stained) foraminifera were analyzed in the upper sediment layers in relation to pore water biogeochemical data together with the distribution of sulfur-bacterial mats and Siboglinidae tubeworms. At methane cold seeps, the process of environmental succession is strongly connected to the duration and strength of methane seepage and the intensity of methane-related biological processes, e.g, aerobic and anaerobic oxidation of methane (MOx and AOM, respectively). The results show that the distribution patterns of benthic foraminifera change according to the progressing environmental succession. The benthic foraminifera seemed to thrive in sediments with a moderate activity of seepage, dominated by MOx, i.e, at an early stage of seepage or when seepage decreases at a late stage of the succession. Species composition of the foraminiferal fauna under these conditions was similar to the control sites (outside of pockmarks with no seepage); the dominant species being Melonis barleeanus and Cassidulina neoteretis. In sediments with strong seepage and high AOM activity, the hostile environmental conditions due to the presence of toxic sulfide caused a reduction in the foraminiferal population, and samples were almost barren of foraminifera. In environments of moderate methane seepage, the presence of chemosynthetic Siboglinidae tube worms potentially support communities of the epibenthic species Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi. Despite the very different environmental conditions, the foraminiferal assemblages were very similar (or nearly absent). Therefore, the foraminiferal faunas cannot be used as exclusive indicators of past strength of methane seepage in palaeoceanographic interpretations.

Igor Khorozyan

The literature other than scientific journals (non-journals) is a valuable, but scattered and rarely used, source of evidence of the effectiveness of interventions applied for protection from mammalian predators. This study describes how journals and non-journals differ in relation to study designs, types of interventions, predator species, countries, and publication bias. I collected 411 journal cases (226 publications) and 97 non-journal cases (64 publications) covering the period 1955–2020, five study designs, six interventions, 28 species and 50 countries. Non-journals were important for two predators (leopard Panthera pardus and snow leopard P. uncia) and four countries (Canada, India, Russia and Sri Lanka). These species and countries have been affected by human-predator conflicts and the use of non-journals should become a habitual practice to mitigate conflicts. Information on other species and countries, and all study designs and interventions, was provided mostly or only in peer-reviewed journals. This study helps make the use of non-journals easier for researchers and conservation practitioners by providing and explaining a list of relevant literature and online resources.

James Kelly Wetterer

The ants of Saint Vincent have long been one of the most thoroughly documented ant faunas of any Caribbean island. Ant specimens collected more than 100 years ago on St. Vincent include 76 valid taxa. In ten days surveying ants on Saint Vincent, I found eleven species not found by previous researchers. Eight are widespread Neotropical species (Anochetus inermis, Camponotus claviscapus, Cyphomyrmex minutus, Odontomachus ruginodis, Pheidole exigua, Pheidole moerens, Rogeria curvipubens, Solenopsis corticalis) and three are Old World exotics (Cardiocondyla minutior, Syllophopsis sechellensis, Trichomyrmex destructor). Ant records from St. Vincent include more Neotropical species (72) and fewer Old World exotic species (15) than the neighboring Caribbean islands of similar size: Barbados and Grenada. Factors that may contribute to this pattern are that, compared to Barbados and Grenada, Saint Vincent has more mountainous terrain, more intact forest, lower human population density, and fewer international tourist visits.

Sufang Wang, Xiaopei Yu, Shunqin Zhang et al.

Beyond its role as an oxygen transport protein, the homodimer hemoglobin of blood clam Tegillarca granosa (Tg-HbI) has been found to possess antibacterial activity. However, the mechanism of antibacterial activity of Tg-HbI remain to be investigated. In this study, we investigated the effects of Cu2+ on the structure, peroxidase activity, and antibacterial ability of Tg-HbI. Tg-HbI was significantly inactivated by Cu2+ in a non-competitive inhibition manner, following first-order reaction kinetics. The Spectroscopy results showed that Cu2+ changed the iron porphyrin ring and the coordination of heme with proximal histidine of Tg-HbI, and increased the hydrophobicity of heme pocket. We found that proline could stabilize the heme pocket structure of Tg-HbI, hence, protect peroxidase activity and antimicrobial activity of Tg-HbI against damage by Cu2+. Our results suggest that Cu2+ inhibits the peroxidase and antibacterial activity of Tg-HbI by destroying its heme pocket structure and Tg-HbI probably plays an antibacterial role through its peroxidase activity. This result could provide insights into the antibacterial mechanism of Tg-HbI.

G. Hall

Rui Bao, Rui Bao, Rui Bao et al.

Natural abundance radiocarbon (14C) is an increasingly widely used tool for investigating the organic carbon (OC) cycle in the contemporary ocean. Recent studies have provided extensive information on the 14C characteristics of organic matter (OM) in sinking particles and sediments in the East Asian Seas including studies from the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea, Japan Sea, and Japan Trench. 14C investigations have provided insights into biogeochemical processes controlling the fate of sedimentary OM in these settings. Here, we highlight these insights from oceanic landscapes stretching across deltas, shelves, abyssal oceans, and the hadal zones of the East Asian Seas; share our perspectives on the source-to-sink dynamics of sedimentary OM in the ocean; and outline the challenges that need to be faced to make the most out of interpreting 14C signals in sedimentary OC.

J. Difranza, M. Guerrera

Jiayue Wu, Linlin Peng, Shubin Dong et al.

Background Elaiosomes are specialized fleshy and edible seed appendages dispersed by ants. Lipids are the primary components of elaiosomes. Chelidonium majus is a well-known plant, the seeds of which are dispersed by ants. Previous studies have identified the presence of primary fatty acids in its elaiosomes and seeds. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying fatty acid biosynthesis in elaiosomes remain unknown. Methods In order to gain a comprehensive transcriptional profile of the elaiosomes and seeds of C. majus, and understand the expression patterns of genes associated with fatty acid biosynthesis, four different developmental stages, including the flower-bud (Ch01), flowering (Ch02), young seed (Ch03), and mature seed (Ch04) stages, were chosen to perform whole-transcriptome profiling through the RNA-seq technology (Illumina NGS sequencing). Results A total of 63,064 unigenes were generated from 12 libraries. Of these, 7,323, 258, and 11,540 unigenes were annotated with 25 Cluster of Orthologous Groups, 43 Gene Ontology terms, and 373 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, respectively. In addition, 322 genes were involved in lipid transport and metabolism, and 508 genes were involved in the lipid metabolism pathways. A total of 41 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in the lipid metabolism pathways were identified, most of which were upregulated in Ch03 compared to Ch02, indicating that fatty acid biosynthesis primarily occurs during the flowering to the young seed stages. Of the DEGs, acyl-ACP thioesterases, acyl carrier protein desaturase (DESA1), and malonyl CoA-ACP transacylase were involved in palmitic acid synthesis; stearoyl-CoA desaturase and DESA1 were involved in oleic acid synthesis, and acyl-lipid omega-6 desaturase was involved in linoleic acid synthesis.

H. Kaplan

D. Pearson

Gavin C. Woodruff, Patrick C. Phillips

Abstract Background Biotic interactions are ubiquitous and require information from ecology, evolutionary biology, and functional genetics in order to be understood. However, study systems that are amenable to investigations across such disparate fields are rare. Figs and fig wasps are a classic system for ecology and evolutionary biology with poor functional genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans is a classic system for functional genetics with poor ecology. In order to help bridge these disciplines, here we describe the natural history of a close relative of C. elegans, Caenorhabditis inopinata, that is associated with the fig Ficus septica and its pollinating Ceratosolen wasps. Results To understand the natural context of fig-associated Caenorhabditis, fresh F. septica figs from four Okinawan islands were sampled, dissected, and observed under microscopy. C. inopinata was found in all islands where F. septica figs were found. C.i nopinata was routinely found in the fig interior and almost never observed on the outside surface. C. inopinata was only found in pollinated figs, and C. inopinata was more likely to be observed in figs with more foundress pollinating wasps. Actively reproducing C. inopinata dominated early phase figs, whereas late phase figs with emerging wasp progeny harbored C. inopinata dauer larvae. Additionally, C. inopinata was observed dismounting from Ceratosolen pollinating wasps that were placed on agar plates. C. inopinata was not found on non-pollinating, parasitic Philotrypesis wasps. Finally, C. inopinata was only observed in F. septica figs among five Okinawan Ficus species sampled. Conclusion These are the first detailed field observations of C. inopinata, and they suggest a natural history where this species proliferates in early phase F. septica figs and disperses from late phase figs on Ceratosolen pollinating fig wasps. While consistent with other examples of nematode diversification in the fig microcosm, the fig and wasp host specificity of C. inopinata is highly divergent from the life histories of its close relatives and frames hypotheses for future investigations. This natural co-occurrence of the fig/fig wasp and C. inopinata study systems sets the stage for an integrated research program that can help to explain the evolution of interspecific interactions.

M. Arends, C. Hollak, M. Biegstraaten

Fabry disease (FD), caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme α-galactosidase-A, is a progressive multisystem disease. The disease is X-linked with generally more severe manifestations in males, but can impact on quality of life (QoL) of both male and female patients. The purpose of this literature review is to analyse the currently available data concerning QoL measurement, specifically which questionnaires have been used to measure QoL, how patients with FD score compared to the general population, and the effects of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) on QoL. Fifty-four articles were relevant for this literature review. Patients with FD had a lower QoL compared to the general population. No definite conclusions could be drawn from the studies on the effect of ERT on QoL; natural history data is scarce, changes observed were limited and the cohorts were of small size. We propose that a FD specific questionnaire be made to accurately assess QoL in patients with FD.