Nature ecology & evolution最新文献

Forests that are undisturbed by direct human degradation are often considered to be climatic refugia that can shield organisms from the harshest effects of climate change. However, recent evidence points to population declines of long-lived species in seemingly pristine tropical rainforests. One explanation for this is that species that are adapted to stable microclimates in tropical forests have evolved longer lifespans at the cost of reproductive output, such that their population dynamics may be sensitive to even small changes in the environment. Writing in Science Advances, Wolfe et al. test this hypothesis by analysing a 27-year capture–mark–recapture dataset of 29 Amazonian bird species across 20 undisturbed forest sites in Brazil. Their results indicated that, during this period, the average temperature of the dry season increased by 1 °C and average rainfall during the dry season decreased by 10 mm. This was accompanied by a significant decline in annual apparent survival (alive and captured in the same study area) in 20 of the bird species, and the adverse effects of higher temperature were stronger in longer-lived species than in shorter-lived ones. Temporary increases in dry-season rainfall were also associated with significant improvements in the annual apparent survival of 21 bird species, and the positive trend again was stronger in longer-lived species. The findings indicate that bird communities in the Amazon may be ill-equipped to adapt to rapidly changing environments.

Original reference: Sci. Adv. 11, eadq8086 (2025)

Mariculture is one of the fastest growing global markets. Although it has potential to improve livelihoods and facilitate economic growth, it can negatively impact marine biodiversity. Here we estimate local cumulative environmental impacts from current and future (2050) mariculture production on marine biodiversity (20,013 marine fauna), while accounting for species range shifts under climate change. With strategic planning, the 1.82-fold increase in finfish and 2.36-fold increase in bivalve production needed to meet expected global mariculture demand in 2050 could be achieved with up to a 30.5% decrease in cumulative impact to global marine biodiversity. This is because all future mariculture farms are strategically placed in sea areas with the lowest cumulative impact. Our results reveal where and how much mariculture impacts could change in the coming decades and identify pathways for countries to minimize risks under expansion of mariculture and climate change through strategic planning.

Threatened carnivores have made a comeback in Europe. The long-term viability of their populations hinges on evidence-based wildlife management, which requires information on animal mortality and its causes. Writing in Conservation Biology, Premier et al. report that lynxes in Europe are more likely to die as a direct result of human activities than through natural causes.

The researchers used telemetry data to track 681 lynx individuals across 16 European countries, and ran time-to-event analyses to identify sources and covariates of mortality. Natural mortality rates were relatively low, with an approximately 20% probability for individuals to reach 15 years of age. Survival was overall higher for females, in areas with little human infrastructure and outside the winter months, as expected. However, illegal killing, legal hunting and vehicle collisions together surpassed natural causes as drivers of mortality. More lynxes died from illegal killing alone than from any other single cause. Vehicle collisions are a comparatively minor factor but disproportionally affect younger individuals, which potentially hinders dispersal and population connectivity.

MX proteins are induced in vertebrates by the interferon (IFN) system in response to viruses and other pathogens. The proteins are members of the dynamin superfamily of proteins (DSP), multidomain GTPases that mediate critical cellular processes in eukaryotic cells. MX proteins are well documented in fish and mammals, where they exert broad antiviral activity, and MX-like genes have also been identified in invertebrates. Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Langley et al. combined phylogenetics and domain characterization of DSP sequences to look for MX orthologues in animal, plant and fungal genomes. They found MX proteins in many vertebrates as well as MX orthologues in several invertebrate, plant and fungal species, which suggests that MX proteins arose in animals before the emergence of the IFN system in bony vertebrates. Further analysis showed gene loss and duplication in specific vertebrate lineages and highly dynamic gene turnover in the plant and fungal orthologues, all of which are indicative of evolutionary arms races between hosts and viruses. Even broader taxonomic searches showed the presence of MX proteins in most major eukaryotic supergroups, which points to an early origin of MX proteins close to the origin of eukaryotes. Finally, the authors found DSP clades that include genes not only from eukaryotes but also from giant viruses, which suggests that giant DNA viruses have repeatedly acquired DSP proteins (probably during host–virus interactions). Altogether, these findings show deep roots of MX proteins in eukaryotes and suggest that DSPs had a central role in the evolutionary arms race between hosts and viruses.

Original reference: Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 122, e2416811122 (2025)

Cyanobacteria induced the great oxidation event around 2.4 billion years ago, probably triggering the rise in aerobic biodiversity. While chlorophylls are universal pigments used by all phototrophic organisms, cyanobacteria use additional pigments called phycobilins for their light-harvesting antennas—phycobilisomes—to absorb light energy at complementary wavelengths to chlorophylls. Nonetheless, an enigma persists: why did cyanobacteria need phycobilisomes? Here, we demonstrate through numerical simulations that the underwater light spectrum during the Archaean era was probably predominantly green owing to oxidized Fe(III) precipitation. The green-light environments, probably shaped by photosynthetic organisms, may have directed their own photosynthetic evolution. Genetic engineering of extant cyanobacteria, simulating past natural selection, suggests that cyanobacteria that acquired a green-specialized phycobilin called phycoerythrobilin could have flourished under green-light environments. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the common ancestor of modern cyanobacteria embraced all key components of phycobilisomes to establish an intricate energy transfer mechanism towards chlorophylls using green light and thus gained strong selective advantage under green-light conditions. Our findings highlight the co-evolutionary relationship between oxygenic phototrophs and light environments that defined the aquatic landscape of the Archaean Earth and envision the green colour as a sign of the distinct evolutionary stage of inhabited planets.

The question of how humans can coexist with large carnivores is central to both rewilding and the protection of existing biodiversity. Human inhabitants of the Canadian Arctic have maintained relationships with polar bears for over 6,000 years. Writing in Communications Earth and Environment, Katharina M. Miller and a team of authors that includes Indigenous knowledge keepers documented insights from this relationship through participatory research with the local community of Churchill (Manitoba, Canada) using storytelling. According to the authors, Churchill forms “a unique social and ecological intersection of human-polar bear coexistence”, where local people live alongside bears, and scientists and tourists are drawn to visit. Miller et al. aimed to inform inclusive research and management strategies via thematic analysis of stories from Swampy Cree-, Sayisi Dene-, Métis- and Inuit-identifying contributors, which revealed extensive social, ecological and biological insights about polar bears. These included the increasing habituation of polar bears to humans, and incursions into towns as sea ice disappears; changing provincial and national management practices that contrast with the continuity of Indigenous community–bear relationships and sustainable harvests; and the importance of human awareness of bear behaviour and ecology to ensure safe coexistence. The authors note that weaving together Indigenous knowledge in research benefits both science and local communities by supporting proactive management, cultivating a culture of coexistence, improving safety education and awareness, and protecting tourism.

Original reference: Commun. Earth Environ. 6, 74 (2025)

Global agreements to reduce the extinction risk of migratory species depend critically on intersecting migratory connectivity—the linking of individuals between regions in different seasons—and spatial patterns of environmental change. Here we integrate movement data from >329,000 migratory birds of 112 species to develop a parameter representing exposure to global change: multispecies migratory connectivity. We then combine exposure with projected climate and land-cover changes as a measure of hazard and species conservation assessment scores as a metric of vulnerability to estimate the relative risk of migratory bird population declines across the Western Hemisphere. Multispecies migratory connectivity (exposure) is the strongest driver of risk relative to hazard and vulnerability, indicating the importance of synthesizing connectivity across species to comprehensively assess risk. Connections between breeding regions in Canada and non-breeding regions in South America are at the greatest risk, which underscores the particular susceptibility of long-distance migrants. Over half (54%) of the connections categorized as very high risk include breeding regions in the eastern United States. This three-part framework serves as an ecological risk assessment designed specifically for migratory species, providing both decision support for global biodiversity conservation and opportunities for intergovernmental collaboration to sustain migratory bird populations year-round.

Almost 200 nations have made bold commitments to halt biodiversity loss as signatories to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The effective achievement of the GBF relies on domestic targets and actions, reflected in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). NBSAPS are an integral feature of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) framework and signatory nations were requested to submit revised NBSAPs before the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP-16) incorporating the GBF goals and targets. Here we review NBSAPs of the 36 nations that submitted before COP-16 and assess their commitments to implementing target 2 (the 30% restoration target) and target 3 (the 30 × 30 protection target). By first breaking these targets into their constituent elements and assessing the detailed wording of each NBSAP we discover that no nation has created a plan that meets all the requirements—and overall ambitions—of these two targets. With 5 years remaining until the intended realization of the GBF, countries will need to increase both their ambition and action if the biodiversity crisis of the Earth is to be abated.

Lungs are essential respiratory organs in terrestrial vertebrates, present in most bony fishes but absent in cartilaginous fishes, making them an ideal model for studying organ evolution. Here we analysed single-cell RNA sequencing data from adult and developing lungs across vertebrate species, revealing significant similarities in cell composition, developmental trajectories and gene expression patterns. Surprisingly, a large proportion of lung-related genes, coexpression patterns and many lung enhancers are present in cartilaginous fishes despite their lack of lungs, suggesting that a substantial genetic foundation for lung development existed in the last common ancestor of jawed vertebrates. In addition, the 1,040 enhancers that emerged since the last common ancestor of bony fishes probably contain lung-specific elements that led to the development of lungs. We further identified alveolar type 1 cells as a mammal-specific alveolar cell type, along with several mammal-specific genes, including ager and sfta2, that are highly expressed in lungs. Functional validation showed that deletion of sfta2 in mice leads to severe respiratory defects, highlighting its critical role in mammalian lung features. Our study provides comprehensive insights into the evolution of vertebrate lungs, demonstrating how both regulatory network modifications and the emergence of new genes have shaped lung development and specialization across species.