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| Open AccessThe evolution of parental care diversity in amphibians
Parental care can take many forms but how this diversity arises is not well understood. Here, the authors compile data for over 1300 amphibian species and show that different forms of care evolve at different rates, prolonged care can be easily reduced, and biparental care is evolutionarily unstable.
- Andrew I. Furness
- & Isabella Capellini
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Article
| Open AccessImpacts of environmental and socio-economic factors on emergence and epidemic potential of Ebola in Africa
The capacity to predict zoonotic disease outbreaks is hampered by data availability and complex relationships between humans, wildlife, and the environment. Here the authors present a modelling framework that identifies potential high-risk locations for Ebola outbreaks under various climatic, demographic, and land use scenarios.
- David W. Redding
- , Peter M. Atkinson
- & Kate E. Jones
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Article
| Open AccessQuantifying the impacts of defaunation on natural forest regeneration in a global meta-analysis
The defaunation of vertebrates may disrupt forest functioning through the loss of plant-animal interactions, but impacts on forests remain unquantified. Here the authors show that seed dispersal is a key interaction and defaunation of primates and birds negatively impacts forest regeneration.
- Charlie J. Gardner
- , Jake E. Bicknell
- & Zoe G. Davies
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Article
| Open AccessReduced body sizes in climate-impacted Borneo moth assemblages are primarily explained by range shifts
Body size shifts under climate change may arise from species range shifts, intraspecific size shifts, or both. Here the authors show that body size reduction in moth assemblages on Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo, over 42 years are driven more by species range shifts than by within-species shrinkage.
- Chung-Huey Wu
- , Jeremy D. Holloway
- & Chuan-Kai Ho
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Article
| Open AccessMesopelagic fishes dominate otolith record of past two millennia in the Santa Barbara Basin
Little is known about the long-term dynamics of mesopelagic fish despite their large contribution to total fish biomass. Here, the authors analyze the Santa Barbara Basin otolith record and suggest that mesopelagic fish populations were large but fluctuated with surface climate over the last ~2000 years.
- William A. Jones
- & David M. Checkley Jr.
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Article
| Open AccessInsights into the ecological roles and evolution of methyl-coenzyme M reductase-containing hot spring Archaea
Methane metabolism by some lineages of Archaea contributes to the cycling of carbon on Earth. Here, the authors show high diversity of methyl-coenzyme M reductase (Mcr), a key enzyme associated with archaeal methane/alkane metabolism, in hot spring Archaea, and investigate their ecological roles and evolution.
- Zheng-Shuang Hua
- , Yu-Lin Wang
- & Wen-Jun Li
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Article
| Open AccessArtificial intelligence reveals environmental constraints on colour diversity in insects
Deep learning has the potential to identify ecological relationships between environment and complex phenotypes that are difficult to quantify. Here, the authors use deep learning to analyse associations among elevation, climate and phenotype across ~2000 moth species in Taiwan.
- Shipher Wu
- , Chun-Min Chang
- & Sheng-Feng Shen
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Article
| Open AccessArchaeal lipid biomarker constraints on the Paleocene-Eocene carbon isotope excursion
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (c. 55 million years ago) was a period associated with massive carbon injection into the atmosphere, yet discrepancies in carbon isotope proxy records have led to substantial uncertainties in the source, scale, and timing of carbon emissions. Here, the authors propose that membrane lipids of marine planktonic archaea can reliably record the carbon isotope excursion and surface ocean warming, giving a new constraint for the source and size of the PETM carbon emissions.
- Felix J. Elling
- , Julia Gottschalk
- & Ann Pearson
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Article
| Open AccessAustralian vegetated coastal ecosystems as global hotspots for climate change mitigation
Policies aiming to preserve vegetated coastal ecosystems (VCE) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions require national assessments of blue carbon resources. Here the authors assessed organic carbon storage in VCE across Australian and the potential annual CO2 emission benefits of VCE conservation and find that Australia contributes substantially the carbon stored in VCE globally.
- Oscar Serrano
- , Catherine E. Lovelock
- & Carlos M. Duarte
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Article
| Open AccessNeurogenomic insights into paternal care and its relation to territorial aggression
Compared to motherhood, the molecular changes associated with fatherhood are less understood. Here, the authors investigate gene expression changes associated with paternal care in male stickleback fish, and compare them with patterns in territorial aggression.
- Syed Abbas Bukhari
- , Michael C. Saul
- & Alison M. Bell
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Article
| Open AccessEcological changes over 90 years at Low Isles on the Great Barrier Reef
Predictions of coral reef dynamics under climate change are hindered by lack of long-term records. Here the authors couple historical and re-survey data from the Great Barrier Reef to show major phase-shifts in the coral and non-coral community over the last 90 years.
- Maoz Fine
- , Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
- & Sophie Dove
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Article
| Open AccessDome patterns in pelagic size spectra reveal strong trophic cascades
An important question in ecology is how much species at higher trophic levels affect lower levels through top-down cascades. Here the authors show through analyses of pelagic size spectra that such cascades are strong in freshwater systems and can also arise in nutrient rich marine systems.
- Axel G. Rossberg
- , Ursula Gaedke
- & Pavel Kratina
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Article
| Open AccessTree height explains mortality risk during an intense drought
Drought is intensifying due to climate change, impacting forests globally. Here, the authors track nearly 2 million trees through severe drought and show that tree height is the greatest predictor of mortality risk, suggesting that the tallest trees may be the most vulnerable.
- Atticus E. L. Stovall
- , Herman Shugart
- & Xi Yang
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Article
| Open AccessExtinction debts and colonization credits of non-forest plants in the European Alps
Mismatches between the pace of climate change and plant responses may lead to delayed upslope shifts or extinction of mountain species. Here the authors investigate 135 alpine plant species, finding that extinction debts are more common among cold-adapted plants and colonization credits among warm-adapted plants.
- Sabine B. Rumpf
- , Karl Hülber
- & Stefan Dullinger
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Article
| Open AccessAgricultural land-uses consistently exacerbate infectious disease risks in Southeast Asia
Here, Shah et al. perform a meta-analysis and show that people who live or work in agricultural land in Southeast Asia are on average 1.7 times more likely to be infected with a pathogen than controls, suggesting that agricultural land-use increases infectious disease risk.
- Hiral A. Shah
- , Paul Huxley
- & Kris A. Murray
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Article
| Open AccessBacterial predator-prey coevolution accelerates genome evolution and selects on virulence-associated prey defences
Predator-prey coevolution is expected to hasten evolutionary rates, but this is difficult to test in long-lived species. Here, the authors report consequences of experimental coevolution between bacterial predators and prey, including accelerated molecular evolution and parallel genomic and phenotypic adaptation.
- Ramith R. Nair
- , Marie Vasse
- & Gregory J. Velicer
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Article
| Open AccessA shared core microbiome in soda lakes separated by large distances
Alkaline lakes have some of the highest productivity rates in freshwater ecosystems. Here the authors report amplicon, metagenome, and proteome sequencing from microbial mat communities of four alkaline lakes in Canada, and compare these lakes to central Asian soda lakes, revealing a shared core microbiome despite the geographical distance.
- Jackie K. Zorz
- , Christine Sharp
- & Marc Strous
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Article
| Open AccessEvolution of acoustic communication in blind cavefish
The fish Astyanax mexicanus has divergent cave and river-dwelling eco-morphotypes. Here, Hyacinthe et al. show that cave and river fish communicate sonically, but that the sounds produced and the responses elicited in the two morphs depend differently on the social and behavioral context.
- Carole Hyacinthe
- , Joël Attia
- & Sylvie Rétaux
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Article
| Open AccessStress-resistant corals may not acclimatize to ocean warming but maintain heat tolerance under cooler temperatures
Coral populations from thermally extreme conditions may help restore reefs degraded by bleaching. Here, the authors show that these corals can maintain their heat tolerance despite acclimation to colder temperatures but have a limited capacity to acclimatize to ocean warming.
- Verena Schoepf
- , Steven A. Carrion
- & Malcolm T. McCulloch
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Article
| Open AccessThe paleoclimatic footprint in the soil carbon stock of the Tibetan permafrost region
There was extensive degradation during the warm middle Holocene and permafrost area was reduced substantially. Here the authors synthesize data across the Tibetan permafrost region and find that paleoclimate is more important than modern climate in shaping current permafrost carbon distribution, and its importance increases with soil depth.
- Jinzhi Ding
- , Tao Wang
- & Lin Zhao
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Article
| Open AccessAssembly and seasonality of core phyllosphere microbiota on perennial biofuel crops
Microbial communities of plant leaf surfaces are ecologically important, but how they assemble and vary in time is unclear. Here, the authors identify core leaf microbiomes and seasonal patterns for two biofuel crops and show with source-sink models that soil is a reservoir of phyllosphere diversity.
- Keara L. Grady
- , Jackson W. Sorensen
- & Ashley Shade
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Article
| Open AccessSynchronous 500-year oscillations of monsoon climate and human activity in Northeast Asia
Long-term climate cycles can potentially influence population dynamics, including those of humans. Here, the authors combine climate and archaeological records from Northeast China over the past 8000 years and demonstrate ~500 year cycles in both the monsoon and human activity.
- Deke Xu
- , Houyuan Lu
- & Naiqin Wu
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Article
| Open AccessUnexpected species diversity in electric eels with a description of the strongest living bioelectricity generator
A single species of electric eel, Electrophorus electricus, has been described. Here, de Santana et al. show that there are three major lineages of Electrophorus distributed across Greater Amazonia and describe two new species, one with a much stronger electric discharge than was previously known.
- C. David de Santana
- , William G. R. Crampton
- & Wolmar B. Wosiacki
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Article
| Open AccessThermal cues drive plasticity of desiccation resistance in montane salamanders with implications for climate change
Climate change will threaten plants and animals across the planet by increasing the risk of desiccation. Here, authors demonstrate that salamanders regulate water loss using temperature-sensitive gene expression related to blood vessel regeneration and skin lipids.
- Eric A. Riddell
- , Emma Y. Roback
- & Michael W. Sears
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Article
| Open AccessEnvironmental temperatures shape thermal physiology as well as diversification and genome-wide substitution rates in lizards
Predicted responses to climate change may be informed by evolutionary history. Here, the authors reconstruct the phylogeny of lacertid lizards and investigate how the evolution of this clade has varied with paleoclimates and how closely adapted extant species are to modern climates.
- Joan Garcia-Porta
- , Iker Irisarri
- & Katharina C. Wollenberg Valero
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Article
| Open AccessPlant roots increase both decomposition and stable organic matter formation in boreal forest soil
Understanding mechanisms of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition and stabilisation improves soil-climate feedback predictions. Here the authors show that roots in boreal forest promote organic nitrogen economy and provide a framework on how roots affect decomposition and stabilisation of SOM.
- Bartosz Adamczyk
- , Outi-Maaria Sietiö
- & Jussi Heinonsalo
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Article
| Open AccessIrrelevance of linear controllability to nonlinear dynamical networks
Linear controllability theories have stimulated research on control of complex networks. Here the authors investigate the concordance between linear and nonlinear approaches in ranking the importance of nodes in nonlinear networks, and conclude that linear controllability may not be applicable.
- Junjie Jiang
- & Ying-Cheng Lai
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Article
| Open AccessMeiotic sex in Chagas disease parasite Trypanosoma cruzi
Here, Llewellyn and colleagues present evidence of meiotic sex in Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. These findings have implications for the epidemiology of the disease in endemic regions and challenge existing ideas that the parasites are strictly clonal.
- Philipp Schwabl
- , Hideo Imamura
- & Martin S. Llewellyn
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Article
| Open AccessPareto rules for malaria super-spreaders and super-spreading
Investigating malaria transmission at three sites in Uganda, the authors identify super-spreaders and show that super-spreading is more prominent at low-intensity transmission, and that seasonality and environmental stochasticity have a greater influence on super-spreading.
- Laura Cooper
- , Su Yun Kang
- & David L. Smith
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Article
| Open AccessThe value of understanding feedbacks from ecosystem functions to species for managing ecosystems
Value of information analyses are a promising approach to decision-making in conservation. Here the authors develop a dynamic approach to show that knowing which species benefit from an ecosystem function improves ecosystem service and biodiversity management, particularly for risk-prone managers.
- Hui Xiao
- , Eve McDonald-Madden
- & Iadine Chadès
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Article
| Open AccessAlternative ecological strategies lead to avian brain size bimodality in variable habitats
Large brains are expected to be beneficial in variable environments by enabling flexible behavioral responses. Here, the authors show that relative brain size in birds is bimodally distributed in colder, seasonal environments, suggesting that both large and small brains can be adaptive solutions to harsh conditions.
- Trevor S. Fristoe
- & Carlos A. Botero
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal subsoil organic carbon turnover times dominantly controlled by soil properties rather than climate
The sensitivity of soil organic carbon (SOC) in subsoil (below 0.3 m) to climate change is poorly constrained. Here, the authors map global subsoil (0.3–1 m soil layer) SOC turnover times and find that temperature and in general climate effects are secondary to effects due to soil properties at both local and global scales—this now needs to be regarded for diagnosing subsoil SOC dynamics.
- Zhongkui Luo
- , Guocheng Wang
- & Enli Wang
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Article
| Open AccessRainfall drives variation in rates of change in intrinsic water use efficiency of tropical forests
How the water use efficiency of trees changes with atmospheric CO2 variations has mostly been studied on short time scales. Here, a newly compiled data set covering 1915 to 1995 shows how rates of change in water use efficiency vary with location and rainfall over the global tropics on a decadal scale.
- Mark A. Adams
- , Thomas N. Buckley
- & Tarryn L. Turnbull
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Article
| Open AccessQuantifying the impact of uncertainty on threat management for biodiversity
Conservation planning rarely considers the uncertainty in management outcomes. Here, the authors develop a value of information approach to quantify uncertainty of threat management success and show that it can improve efficiency of interventions across a large sample of threatened species.
- Sam Nicol
- , James Brazill-Boast
- & Iadine Chadès
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Article
| Open AccessBis-naphthopyrone pigments protect filamentous ascomycetes from a wide range of predators
It is thought that fungi protect themselves from predators by the production of toxic compounds. Here, Xu et al. show that a wide range of animal predators avoid feeding on Fusarium fungi, and this depends on fungal production of a bis-naphthopyrone pigment that is not toxic to the predators.
- Yang Xu
- , Maria Vinas
- & Petr Karlovsky
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Article
| Open AccessUsing B isotopes and B/Ca in corals from low saturation springs to constrain calcification mechanisms
Ocean acidification is expected to have a negative impact on calcifying organisms, however, our understanding of the acclimation potential of corals in their natural habit is currently limited. Here, the authors find that scleractinian corals living in high pCO2 conditions cannot fully adapt the chemistry of their internal calcifying fluid compared to corals growing in ambient conditions.
- M. Wall
- , J. Fietzke
- & A. Paytan
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Article
| Open AccessManganese and iron deficiency in Southern Ocean Phaeocystis antarctica populations revealed through taxon-specific protein indicators
Low manganese availability could be a major control of phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean. Here the authors identify proteomic signatures of low manganese and iron availability in phytoplankton cultures and detect those signatures in Antarctic field samples.
- Miao Wu
- , J. Scott P. McCain
- & Erin M. Bertrand
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Review Article
| Open AccessSubseafloor life and its biogeochemical impacts
Subseafloor microbial activities are central to global biogeochemical cycles, affecting Earth’s surface oxidation, ocean chemistry, and climate. Here the authors review present understanding of subseafloor microbes and their activities, identify research gaps, and recommend approaches to fill those gaps.
- Steven D’Hondt
- , Robert Pockalny
- & Arthur J. Spivack
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Article
| Open AccessNew Eocene primate from Myanmar shares dental characters with African Eocene crown anthropoids
Recent fossil findings have suggested that anthropoid primates originated in Asia before dispersing into Africa. Here, Jaeger and colleagues describe a new fossil Asian primate, Aseanpithecus myanmarensis, that they interpret as a closer relative of African crown anthropoids.
- Jean-Jacques Jaeger
- , Olivier Chavasseau
- & Yaowalak Chaimanee
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal ecological predictors of the soil priming effect
The global ecological predictors of soil priming remain unclear. Here the authors conducted a global survey of soils from 86 global locations using an isotopic approach and find that in more mesic sites with high SOC concentrations, soil priming effects are more likely to be negative.
- Felipe Bastida
- , Carlos García
- & Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
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Article
| Open AccessSplit spawning increases robustness of coral larval supply and inter-reef connectivity
Corals occasionally split their spawning over two consecutive months rather than utilising a single annual event. Here, the authors model coral larval dispersal to show that split spawning may increase the reliability of larval supply to reefs, with implications for recovery from disturbances.
- Karlo Hock
- , Christopher Doropoulos
- & Peter J. Mumby
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Article
| Open AccessNovel data show expert wildlife agencies are important to endangered species protection
The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires that federal agencies consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to ensure federal actions do not jeopardize the existence of listed species. Here, the authors analyze recorded from 2000–2017 and investigate the role of NMFS in the consultations.
- Michael J. Evans
- , Jacob W. Malcom
- & Ya-Wei Li
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Article
| Open AccessThe determinants of genetic diversity in butterflies
Theory suggests that neutral genetic diversity is determined by census population size, but this is not observed empirically. Here, the authors show that in butterflies, neutral genetic diversity correlates with both body size and chromosome number, suggesting that linked selection is also an important factor.
- Alexander Mackintosh
- , Dominik R. Laetsch
- & Konrad Lohse
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Article
| Open AccessRevisiting enteric methane emissions from domestic ruminants and their δ13CCH4 source signature
Global average, geographical distribution and temporal variations of the 13C isotopic signature of enteric fermentation emissions are not well understood. Here the authors established a global dataset and show a larger emission increase between the two periods (2002–2006 and 2008–2012) than previous studies.
- Jinfeng Chang
- , Shushi Peng
- & Philippe Bousquet
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Article
| Open AccessA stomatal safety-efficiency trade-off constrains responses to leaf dehydration
Stomata enable gas exchange for photosynthesis but close to promote survival during drought. Here, Henry et al. provide evidence for a safety-efficiency trade-off whereby plants with greater stomatal conductance under well-watered conditions are more sensitive to stomatal closure during dehydration.
- Christian Henry
- , Grace P. John
- & Lawren Sack
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Article
| Open AccessLack of long-term acclimation in Antarctic encrusting species suggests vulnerability to warming
Genetic adaptation and physiological acclimation can potentially buffer species against climate change. Here, the authors perform a long-term warming experiment of Antarctic encrusting communities and show that focal animal species failed to acclimate and lacked genetic variation in tolerance to warming.
- Melody S. Clark
- , Leyre Villota Nieva
- & Lloyd S. Peck
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Article
| Open AccessDisturbance modifies payoffs in the explore-exploit trade-off
The empirical consequences of human explorative strategies are not fully understood. Here the authors find that during undisturbed conditions, more-explorative vessels gained no performance advantage while during a major disturbance event, explorers benefited significantly from less-impacted revenues and were also more likely to continue fishing.
- Shay O’Farrell
- , James N. Sanchirico
- & Andrew Strelcheck
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Article
| Open AccessRecent trend reversal for declining European seagrass meadows
Seagrass meadows are important but one of the most threatened ecosystems globally. Here the authors analyse data about extent and density of seagrasses in Europe from 1869 to 2016, and find evidence of recent trend reversal for declining European seagrass meadows.
- Carmen B. de los Santos
- , Dorte Krause-Jensen
- & Rui Santos
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Article
| Open AccessAdaptive responses of animals to climate change are most likely insufficient
It is unclear whether species’ responses to climate change tend to be adaptive or sufficient to keep up with climate change. Here, Radchuk et al. perform a meta-analysis showing that in birds phenology has advanced adaptively in some species, though not all the way to the new optima.
- Viktoriia Radchuk
- , Thomas Reed
- & Stephanie Kramer-Schadt
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