Foraging areas differentially affect reproductive output and interpretation of trends in abundance of loggerhead turtles

Diet items and habitat constitute some of the environmental resources that may be used differently by individuals within a population. Long-term fidelity by individuals to particular resources exemplifies individual specialization, a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly recognized across a wide range of species. Less is understood about the consequences of such specialization. Here, we investigate the effects of differential foraging ground use on reproductive output in 183 loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting at Wassaw Island, Georgia (31.89°N, 80.97°W), between 2004 and 2011 with resulting possible fitness effects. Stable isotope analysis was used to assign the adult female loggerheads to one of three foraging areas in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Our data indicate that foraging area preference influences the size, fecundity, and breeding periodicity of adult female loggerhead turtles. We also found that the proportion of turtles originating from each foraging area varied significantly among the years examined. The change in the number of nesting females across the years of the study was not a result of uniform change from all foraging areas. We develop a novel approach to assess differential contributions of various foraging aggregations to changes in abundance of a sea turtle nesting aggregation using stable isotopes. Our approach can provide an improved understanding of the influences on the causes of increasing or decreasing population trends and allow more effective monitoring for these threatened species and other highly migratory species.     

An investigation of genetic population structure in blue crabs,Callinectes sapidus,using nuclear gene sequences

Spatial and temporal genetic heterogeneity in the sequences of nuclear protein-coding genes were investigated in populations of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. Haplotype frequencies of these novel markers were determined for adult crabs collected along 300 km in the northern Gulf of Mexico in two different years (2010 and 2011), as well as for megalopal recruits collected in 2010. Tests of genetic differentiation among all locations and between locations spanning known genetic breaks in other species were conducted. In addition, samples from distant locations within the range of C. sapidus were used to assess genetic divergence on a broader geographic scale. Significant between-year differences were found for adults at one location and near significant spatial differentiation was found across northern Gulf of Mexico locations in 2010. These results suggest that although the large population sizes and meroplanktonic life history of blue crabs promote widespread gene flow on a regional scale, genetic composition can change over just one year. Substantial divergence between the northern Gulf of Mexico and Venezuela suggests the possibility that temporal shifts in haplotype frequencies could result from variation in the rate of immigration from genetically distinct source populations. The possible effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and attendant fisheries closures during the sampling phase of this study are also considered.     

Round herring (genus Etrumeus) contain distinct evolutionary lineages coincident with a biogeographic barrier along Australia’s southern temperate coastline

Molecular genetic surveys of marine fishes have revealed that some widely distributed species are actually a composite of multiple evolutionary lineages. This is apparent in the round herrings (genus Etrumeus), wherein a globally distributed taxon (Etrumeus sadina Mitchill 1814) has proven to contain at least seven valid taxa, with more likely awaiting discovery. Here, we survey evolutionary lineages of the nominal E. sadina (formerly E. teres, a junior synonym) across the southern temperate zone of Australia, a marine region divided into three biogeographic provinces based primarily on the distribution of intertidal faunas. Results from morphological and mitochondrial DNA data reveal two evolutionary lineages corresponding to eastern and southwestern provinces (d = 0.007 for cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and d = 0.017 for cytochrome b), possibly initiated by the Bassian Isthmus between Australia and Tasmania during low sea-level stands. The Australian round herring is also genetically distinct from the nearest congeneric forms in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with a corresponding modal difference in gill-raker counts in most cases. Based on these data, we resurrect the title Etrumeus jacksoniensis for the Australian round herring. While the Bassian Isthmus may have initiated the partition of evolutionary lineages within Australia, additional oceanographic and ecological factors must reinforce this separation in order to maintain diagnostic genetic differences along a continuous temperate coastline.     

The scope and severity of white-nose syndrome on hibernating bats in North America

Assessing the scope and severity of threats is necessary for evaluating impacts on populations to inform conservation planning. Quantitative threat assessment often requires monitoring programs that provide reliable data over relevant spatial and temporal scales, yet such programs can be difficult to justify until there is an apparent stressor. Leveraging efforts of wildlife management agencies to record winter counts of hibernating bats, we collated data for 5 species from over 200 sites across 27 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces from 1995 to 2018 to determine the impact of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a deadly disease of hibernating bats. We estimated declines of winter counts of bat colonies at sites where the invasive fungus that causes WNS (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) had been detected to assess the threat impact of WNS. Three species undergoing species status assessment by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Myotis septentrionalis, Myotis lucifugus, and Perimyotis subflavus) declined by more than 90%, which warrants classifying the severity of the WNS threat as extreme based on criteria used by NatureServe. The scope of the WNS threat as defined by NatureServe criteria was large (36% of Myotis lucifugus range) to pervasive (79% of Myotis septentrionalis range) for these species. Declines for 2 other species (Myotis sodalis and Eptesicus fuscus) were less severe but still qualified as moderate to serious based on NatureServe criteria. Data-sharing across jurisdictions provided a comprehensive evaluation of scope and severity of the threat of WNS and indicated regional differences that can inform response efforts at international, national, and state or provincial jurisdictions. We assessed the threat impact of an emerging infectious disease by uniting monitoring efforts across jurisdictional boundaries and demonstrated the importance of coordinated monitoring programs, such as the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), for data-driven conservation assessments and planning.     

The species awareness index as a conservation culturomics metric for public biodiversity awareness

Although threats to global biodiversity are well known, slowing current rates of biodiversity loss remains a challenge. The Aichi targets set out 20 goals on which the international community should act to alleviate biodiversity decline, 1 of which (Target 1) aims to raise public awareness of the importance of biodiversity. Although conventional indicators for Target 1 are of low spatial and temporal coverage, conservation culturomics metrics show how biodiversity awareness can be quantified at the global scale. Following methods used for the Living Planet Index, we devised a species awareness index (SAI) to measure change in species awareness based on Wikipedia views. We calculated this index at the page level for 41,197 species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) across 10 Wikipedia languages and >2 billion views from 1 July 2015 to 30 March 2020. Bootstrapped indices for the page-level SAI showed that overall awareness of biodiversity increased marginally over time, although there were differences among taxonomic classes and languages. Among taxonomic classes, overall awareness increased fastest for reptiles and slowest for amphibians. Among languages, overall species awareness increased fastest for Japanese and slowest for Chinese and German users. Although awareness of species as a whole increased and was significantly higher for traded species, from January 2016 through January 2020, change in awareness appeared not to be strongly related to whether the species is traded or is a pollinator. As a data source for public biodiversity awareness, the SAI could be integrated into the Conservation International Biodiversity Engagement Indicator.     

Sorption and leaching behavior of hexaconazole as influenced bysoilproperties

Sorption and leaching behavior of hexaconazole in four different soils (alluvial, red, laterite, and black) was studied using a batch equilibration technique. The values of the Freundlich adsorption constant 1/n_ads ranged from 0.75 to 0.85 for all four soils, showing strong non-linear behavior. Upon stepwise desorption with CaCl₂ solution (10 mmol·L^?1), release of hexaconazole was maximum with the first elution, the amount decreasing with each subsequent one. The leaching behavior under saturated flow conditions was also studied with soil columns packed in polythene tubes. The mobility of hexaconazole was maximum in sandy loam and minimum in black soil.     

Polynuclear aromatic compounds in kerosene,diesel and unmodified sunflower oil and in respective engine exhaust particulate emissions

Polynuclear aromatic compounds (PAC) were characterized in diesel fuel, kerosene fuel and unmodified sunflower oil as well as in their respective engine exhaust particulates. Diesel fuel was found to contain high amounts of different PAC, up to a total concentration of 14,740?ppm, including carbazole and dibenzothiophene, which are known carcinogens. Kerosene fuel was also found to contain high amounts of different PAC, up to a total concentration of 10,930?ppm, consisting mainly of lower molecular weight (MW) naphthalene and its alkyl derivatives, but no PAC component peaks were detected in the unmodified sunflower oil. Engine exhaust particulates sampled from a modified one-cylinder diesel engine running on diesel, kerosene and unmodified sunflower oil, respectively, were found to contain significantly high concentrations of different PAC, including many of the carcinogenic ones, in the soluble organic fraction (SOF). PAC concentrations detected at the exhaust outlet indicated that most of the PAC that were present in diesel and kerosene fuels before the test runs got completely burnt out during combustion in the engine whereas some new ones were also formed. The difference between the character and composition of PAC present in the fuels and those emitted in the exhaust particulates indicated that exhaust PAC were predominantly combustion generated. High amounts of PAC, up to totals of 52,900 and 4830?µg?m^?3 of burnt fuel, in diesel and kerosene exhaust particulates, respectively, were detected in the dilution tunnel when the exhaust emissions were mixed with atmospheric air. Significant amounts of PAC were also emitted when the engine was run on unmodified sunflower oil with a total concentration of 17,070?µg?m^?3 of burnt fuel detected in the dilution tunnel. High proportions of the combustion-generated PAC determined when the engine was run on diesel, kerosene and unmodified sunflower, respectively, consisted of nitrogen-containing PAC (PANH) and sulphur-containing PAC (PASH).     

Kinetic studies of imazapyr photolysis and characterization of the main photoproducts

The fate of imazapyr (2-(4-isopropyl-4-methyl-5-oxo-2-imidazolin-2-yl)nicotinic acid), a broad-spectrum herbicide in the imidazolinone family, has been studied upon UV irradiation. Most of the photoproducts occurring during the photodegradation have been characterized by means of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry coupled techniques (LC-MS). The use of high resolution mass spectrometry has allowed to maximize the chemical information obtained from a single LC-MS analysis. The degradation of a 10?ppm imazapyr solution leads to pyridine derivatives which remain in solution during 50–100?h while the imazapyr is completely degraded after 6?h.     

Mitochondrial energetics of benthic and pelagic Antarctic teleosts

Antarctic fauna are highly adapted to the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean. This study describes the in vitro temperature sensitivity of oxygen consumption rates measured in liver mitochondria from the pelagic notothenioid Pleuragramma antarcticum between 5 and 35 °C. Oxygen fluxes were measured after the addition of millimolar levels of pyruvate, malate, succinate and glutamate (state II, LEAK) and saturating levels of ADP [state III, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS)]. State III respiration significantly decreased above 18.7 °C. A comparison of the oxidative capacities among P. antarcticum and other notothenioids showed significant differences in state III respiration, where benthic species exhibited about 50 % lower rates than P. antarcticum. In addition, state III respiration rates normalized per milligram of mitochondrial protein of P. antarcticum were up to eight times higher than state III rates reported in the literature for other notothenioids. The comparatively high respiration rates measured in this study may be explained by our approach, which engaged both complexes I and II under conditions of oxidative phosphorylation. State III rates of independently activated complexes I and II were found to range from 42 to 100 % of rates obtained when both complexes were activated simultaneously in the same species. The remarkable tolerance of P. antarcticum OXPHOS toward warmer temperatures was unexpected for an Antarctic stenotherm and may indicate that thermal sensitivity of their mitochondria is not the driving force behind their stenothermy.