Ecology and Evolution最新文献

With the intensification of global warming, wetland greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have attracted worldwide attention. However, the scientific understanding of wetland GHGs is still limited. To gain a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the current research status and development trends in wetland GHGs. We selected 1627 papers related to wetland GHG research from the Web of Science Core Collection database and used the bibliometric visualization analysis method to reveal the annual publication, main core research forces, research hotspots, and trends in this field. The results showed that the research in this field shows a steady upward trend. United States research institutions and scholars play a key role in this field. The research on “climate change” based on three major wetland GHGs (carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O)) has been continuously gaining popularity. In recent years, “water” has become an emerging core topic. More and more studies have focused on enhancing wetland pollutant treatment capacity, improving wetland ecosystem productivity, maintaining water level stability, strengthening blue carbon sink function, exploring remote sensing applications in wetlands, and promoting wetland restoration to reduce GHG emissions. Furthermore, we discussed the influencing factors of the emission of CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O in wetlands and summarized the potential methods to reduce GHG emissions. The findings provide scientific guidance and reference on wetland sustainable development and GHG emission reduction.

Seascape genomics facilitates integrative research on eco-evolutionary forces, such as migration and natural selection, which shape genomic connectivity and structure and provide critical insights for conservation strategies. The green abalone (Haliotis fulgens) is distributed from California, United States, to Baja California Sur, Mexico, and exposed to a latitudinal environmental gradient in the California Current System. This study aimed to investigate genomic population structure and potential local adaptations of green abalone across its distribution. The green abalone exhibits a distinctive neutral genetic structuring influenced by geographic distance and marine currents rather than local adaptations. Analyses using 9100 neutral and 17 outlier SNPs revealed three distinct populations: the North group (California to Ensenada, Baja California), a population on Guadalupe Island, and the South group (coastal locations of the Baja California peninsula). The research underscores the significance of life history traits and larval dispersal in shaping genetic connectivity. Connectivity appears to be influenced by geographic distance on neutral genetic structure, overshadowing natural selection's role. Furthermore, no genome–environment associations to sea surface temperature values were found. Future research should integrate genetic data with ocean circulation modeling to better understand the mechanisms and outcomes of larval dispersal and genetic connectivity. This study emphasizes the importance of both local and binational (USA-Mexico) conservation efforts, suggesting the development of SNP marker panels for traceability and management. Collaborative strategies could serve as models for binational conservation initiatives in other ecoregions, promoting sustainable management and conservation of green abalone populations and other exploited species across national borders.

Frugivore-mediated seed dispersal drives ecological functioning across tropical forests. The biological mechanisms affecting seed dispersal outcomes, as well as the role of specific functional traits in plants and their dispersers, is still not well understood. To address this gap, we conducted germination experiments in eight species of captive and two species of wild lemurs, which disperse different plant species. We (1) quantified the effects of pulp removal, seed priming, and feces effects (nutrient/microbial fertilization) through gut passage as mechanisms, (2) determined the effect of frugivore species on germination, and (3) assessed how individual plant and animal traits affected two seed germination outcomes: success rates and time-to-germination. Accounting for phylogenetic non-independence of plants and estimating phylogenetic signal, we evaluated the effects of lemur gut passage and functional traits in a Bayesian framework. Seed priming during gut passage was the primary mechanism through which lemurs improved germination rates and decreased time-to-germination. Gut passage influenced the effect of seed length on germination probability but not time-to germination. Germination outcomes varied by disperser species and seed size. Furthermore, seeds passed by male lemurs were 40% more likely to germinate than those passed by female lemurs. Germination probability was more similar for closely related plant species compared to those that were more distantly related, while the plant phylogenetic effects on time-to-germination were weaker. Moreover, germination depended on experimental setting; for example, lemur gut passage decreased time-to-germination in captive, but not wild settings. Our results highlight the complexity of biological mechanisms determining seed dispersal outcomes; ecological and evolutionary factors were important drivers of germination. Considering a diversity of potential effects is critical for advancing a mechanistic understanding of species interactions and their outcomes.

Among neonicotinoid insecticides, thiacloprid (THI) is extensively utilized in agricultural practices, which poses a potential toxicity risk to aquatic fauna. Turtles, integral to aquatic ecosystems, have not yet been comprehensively assessed for their vulnerability to THI exposure. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of THI on oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), and apoptosis in aquatic turtles. We categorized Mauremys reevesii into three groups: a control group and two experimental groups exposed to environmentally relevant (4.5 μg/mL) and high (15 mg/mL) concentrations of THI, respectively. Transcriptome analysis revealed that genes significantly associated with the elimination of superoxide radicals, organelle inner membrane functions, peroxiredoxin activity, and apoptotic pathways were abundantly expressed in the high-concentration THI group. Notably, exposure to high concentrations of THI led to a marked increase in glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, whereas catalase (CAT) activity declined and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels rose, indicating the presence of oxidative stress. Moreover, THI upregulated the expression of the ER stress marker GRP78. Simultaneously, the mRNA levels of pivotal unfolded protein response genes, including AFT6, AFT4, IRE1α, CHOP, XBP1, and eIF2α, were significantly elevated in response to THI exposure. Furthermore, high concentrations of THI significantly activated the activities of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 enzymes in the liver tissue. The expression of anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2 was downregulated, whereas the pro-apoptotic genes Bax and caspase-3 were upregulated, leading to an increase in hepatic apoptotic cells following THI exposure. Collectively, our study indicates that THI can induce hepatic damage in turtles through the promotion of oxidative stress, ERS, and apoptosis. These findings gain a deeper understanding of the toxic effects of THI on keystone species in aquatic ecosystems, thereby improving our overall understanding of their environmental impacts.

Animal home ranges derive from the distribution of resources across the landscape. For example, home ranges of most tortoise species in the United States revolve around networks of burrows. However, human disturbances that damage shelters can decrease habitat suitability, individual survival, and population persistence. We investigated effects of burrow distribution and availability on space use of the Sonoran Desert Tortoise Gopherus morafkai at two populations with different habitat structures to determine the extent to which habitat capacity is defined by factors subject to management, such as vegetation, relative to more permanent features such as rock shelters. We also demonstrated the superiority of autocorrelated kernel density estimation, illustrating flawed conclusions that could arise from the use of traditional home-range estimators. Home-range size increased with the number of available burrows at both sites. At the Florence Military Reservation (FMR), with numerous caliche caves and few rock burrows, larger home ranges effectively compensated for one third the burrow density as that of Sugarloaf Mountain, which predominantly featured rock burrows. Female tortoises had smaller home ranges than males despite having similar burrow densities. Females revisited individual burrows more often than males at Sugarloaf, which may relate to female use of preferred nesting sites; however, lower availability led males to revisit burrows at similar rates as females at FMR. Pairs of tortoises at FMR shared 72% more burrows than pairs at Sugarloaf, and pairs of females shared 33% fewer burrows than female–male pairs across both sites. Space and burrow use at FMR and Sugarloaf are consistent with predictions of how animals choose patches for their home ranges in ways that are optimal with respect to spatially distributed resources. Populations largely reliant on pallets or soil burrows may be more subject to declines due to anthropogenic impacts from grazing or off-highway vehicle use or due to increasing temperatures.

Many bird species have advanced the start of the breeding season as a response to climate change. The duration of the breeding season and how it is affected by climate change are far less studied but are important for the re-nesting potential. Re-nesting includes both the replacement of a failed breeding attempt or breeding successfully multiple times within one season and can therefore impact fitness. Some species profit from an earlier start of breeding through a higher re-nesting potential, whereas other species also advance the end of breeding season as conditions for breeding deteriorate. Here, we explored how temperature, precipitation, and snow conditions influence the start, end, and duration of the breeding season of a cold-adapted high-elevation songbird. We fitted generalized additive models with more than 12,000 citizen science observations of white-winged snowfinches (Montifringilla nivalis) to estimate breeding phenology between 2006 and 2021. Our results indicate that higher prebreeding temperatures and reduced April precipitation were associated with an earlier start of breeding. However, later during the breeding season higher temperatures shortened the breeding season through an earlier end of the breeding season. Despite adjusting the timing of reproduction to prevailing environmental conditions, average temperatures during the breeding season increased over the 16-year study period. Therefore, snowfinches need to move to higher elevations in order to track the thermal conditions. This study highlights the complex relationship between phenology and environmental conditions and illustrates how much the breeding conditions are currently changing for high-elevation species.

Phenology is often thought to evolve mainly in response to food availability, yet recent studies have focused on predation. Predation may explain apparent mismatches between phenology and resources. One type of phenological response to predation involves shifting phenology from a period of high to low predation (i.e., a safe-period strategy). This strategy presupposes variation in predation over time due to environmental factors such as the number or diversity of predators. Predation varies not only over time but also among different activities like reproduction and dormancy. Alternative activities involve alternative behavioral or physiological states, and different locations where they take place influencing predation risk. Phenological responses to predation may involve shifting from a high risk activity to a safer one, resulting in increased survival (i.e., a «safe-activity» strategy). This strategy may theoretically evolve under environmental conditions associated with constant predation over time, but assumes variation in predation among activities. Safe-period and safe-activity strategies are not mutually exclusive, but assume different conditions for their evolution. On the basis of a literature review, our goal was to: (1) propose a classification of phenological responses to predation according to their evolutionary context, including mean population responses and interindividual differences (degree of synchrony); (2) to show how these two strategies may explain the lack of support for the idea that phenology responds primarily to food availability; and (3) to propose several approaches for testing the influence of predation on phenology. Our review highlights the relevance of studying phenology on multiple scales, thereby integrating several interspecific interactions (communities scales) and multiple activities (annual scale), and studying synchronicity and the pace-of-life (inter-individual scale).

Abies alba is an important European tree species currently mostly found at cool and humid sites in the montane zone. In the past, it grew under markedly warmer and drier climates during the Eemian and mid-Holocene, and cryptic Mediterranean populations confirm the species' capacity to grow under warm, summer-dry conditions. However, it is unknown if warm-loving Mediterranean occurrences are related to specific genetic properties (e.g., subspecies or ecotypes). Investigating the genetics of cryptic warm-loving populations is crucial for a better understanding of past and future population dynamics of A. alba. We genotyped 478 A. alba samples at 174 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), covering a broad latitudinal range from Southern Italy to Switzerland while accounting for local altitudinal gradients, and combined these newly introduced genotypes with those of other European Abies populations from the literature. Population genetic structure analyses grouped the warm-loving meso- and sub-Mediterranean populations into the same genetic cluster as the mountain populations of each region. The occurrence of three genetic clusters from Northern to Southern Italy is in line with the glacial refugia history. The inferred evolutionary and demographic history suggests a northward expansion of A. alba after glaciation, as well as a trans-Adriatic gene flow between Balkan and Southern Italian populations. Collectively, the combined genotypic data from individuals across the species' range demonstrate that cryptic Mediterranean populations of A. alba align with the local and large-scale genetic structure of populations from its main range, suggesting that the species is able to thrive in a warmer and drier environmental range than hitherto anticipated. This finding implies that it is unneeded to postulate extinct subspecies or ecotypes to explain the occurrence of meso- and sub-Mediterranean Eemian or mid-Holocene silver fir forests, with important implications for future A. alba population dynamics.

Camera trap research has grown to encompass the globe, with applications in terrestrial, marine, and aquatic environments. Insights on plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate communities are rapidly expanding our knowledge of ecological systems.

The study of insects has historically been linked to the development of microscopy. As techniques have improved, research into insect morphology can increasingly contribute to a better understanding of the structures and functions of the morphological characters of insects' three tagmata. We propose the use of methodologies applied in microscopy as a way of improving and facilitating the study of the morphological characters of fly genitalia. In addition, flies preserved in 70% alcohol were used to verify the feasibility of distinguishing ultrastructural characters in the spermatozoa, when not previously fixed for the preservation of morphological structures. We have shown that it is viable to enhance preservation of specimens using a scanning electron microscopy technique. In addition, the observation of genitalia using this technique, together with confocal laser scanning microscopy, enables better visualization, description, and understanding of the morphological characteristics of fly genitalia. We also noted, in analysis using transmission electron microscopy, that it is possible to recover and describe some morphological features of the ultrastructure of Toxomerus politus (Say, 1823) sperm, obtained from flies stored in 70% alcohol for a long period of time. Comparison between the methods used to investigate the structures of T. politus, observed after preserving the specimen, already demonstrates the importance of using appropriate methodology as a starting point for reliable results. The methodologies and techniques adopted in this work have the potential to be extrapolated to research into other species of flies and other insects in a broad context.