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| 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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Article
| Open AccessGlobal evidence of positive biodiversity effects on spatial ecosystem stability in natural grasslands
Biodiversity–productivity relationships in natural ecosystems are highly variable, although positive relationships are most common. Here, using HerbDivNet data, the authors show that biodiversity stabilizes rather than increases plant productivity in natural grasslands at the global scale.
- Yongfan Wang
- , Marc W. Cadotte
- & Michel Loreau
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Article
| Open AccessRapid inundation of southern Florida coastline despite low relative sea-level rise rates during the late-Holocene
Sea-level rise threatens coastal mangroves, with global consequences for these important blue carbon sinks. Here the authors analyse four Holocene sediment cores from islands in Florida Bay and find that mangroves that comprised the South Florida coastline 4–3000 years ago rapidly transitioned to estuarine conditions, despite low rates of sea-level rise, and propose that their demise was driven by high climate variability.
- Miriam C. Jones
- , G. Lynn Wingard
- & Christopher E. Bernhardt
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Article
| Open AccessCoral bacterial community structure responds to environmental change in a host-specific manner
The flexibility of corals to associate with different bacteria in different environments has not been systematically investigated. Here, the authors study bacterial community dynamics for two coral species and show that bacterial community structure responds to environmental changes in a host-specific manner.
- Maren Ziegler
- , Carsten G. B. Grupstra
- & Christian R. Voolstra
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Article
| Open AccessAnoxygenic photosynthesis and the delayed oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere
Competition dynamics between early Earth photosynthetic microorganisms are unclear. Here, the authors demonstrate that competition for light and nutrients between oxygenic phototrophs and Fe-based photosynthesizers in surface oceans provides a novel ecophysiological mechanism for the protracted oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere.
- Kazumi Ozaki
- , Katharine J. Thompson
- & Christopher T. Reinhard
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Article
| Open AccessDivergent changes in the elevational gradient of vegetation activities over the last 30 years
Climate change may lead to changes in elevational patterns of vegetation activitities. Here, the authors analyze global remotely sensing data collected during 1982–2015 to investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics of the elevational gradient in vegetation activities.
- Mengdi Gao
- , Shilong Piao
- & Ivan A. Janssens
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Article
| Open AccessGenomic signatures and correlates of widespread population declines in salmon
The Atlantic salmon has suffered widespread population declines over the last century. Here, Lehnert et al. reconstruct changes in effective population size of 172 populations based on genomic linkage information revealing mostly temperature-associated population declines with over 60% of populations in decline since 1975.
- S. J. Lehnert
- , T. Kess
- & I. R. Bradbury
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Article
| Open AccessEuropean mushroom assemblages are darker in cold climates
The functions of color in fungi are not well characterized. Here, Krah and colleagues investigate the color of mushroom assemblages across Europe and show relationships with climate, nutritional mode (saprotrophic and ectomycorrhizal) and seasonality.
- Franz-Sebastian Krah
- , Ulf Büntgen
- & Claus Bässler
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Article
| Open AccessEarly evidence of molariform hypsodonty in a Triassic stem-mammal
Hypsodonty is a durable pattern of dentition seen in mammals with abrasive diets. Here, Melo and colleagues describe new fossils of the stem-mammal Menadon besairiei from the Late Triassic, which show the convergent evolution of hypsodonty before mammals.
- Tomaz P. Melo
- , Ana Maria Ribeiro
- & Marina Bento Soares
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal impacts of future cropland expansion and intensification on agricultural markets and biodiversity
The increase in needs for agricultural commodities is projected to outpace the growth of farmland production globally, leading to high pressure on farming systems in the next decades. Here, the authors investigate the future impact of cropland expansion and intensification on agricultural markets and biodiversity, and suggest the need for balancing agricultural production with conservation goals.
- Florian Zabel
- , Ruth Delzeit
- & Tomáš Václavík
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Article
| Open AccessImproving risk assessments in conservation ecology
Risk estimates are important measures for the study and practice of conservation ecology. Here, the authors show that such estimates can be substantially biased, and propose an approach to improve accuracy.
- Kotaro Ono
- , Øystein Langangen
- & Nils Chr. Stenseth
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Article
| Open AccessCoevolution of vocal signal characteristics and hearing sensitivity in forest mammals
Sensory drive theory predicts that vocal signalling coevolves with auditory sensitivity, but empirical evidence is limited. Here, Charlton et al. show that vocal characteristics and hearing have coevolved in forest mammals, due to constraints imposed by the local signalling environment.
- Benjamin D. Charlton
- , Megan A. Owen
- & Ronald R. Swaisgood
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Article
| Open AccessProbing the active fraction of soil microbiomes using BONCAT-FACS
Standard DNA-based analyses of microbial communities cannot distinguish between active microbes and dead or dormant cells. Here, Couradeau et al. use BONCAT (bioorthogonal non-canonical amino acid tagging), flow cytometry, and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to identify active microbial cells in soils.
- Estelle Couradeau
- , Joelle Sasse
- & Trent R. Northen
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Article
| Open AccessRegional influences on community structure across the tropical-temperate divide
Multiple drivers maintain unique species assemblages at multiple biogeographic scales. Here, the authors show that the freezing line is a key barrier generating evolutionary differences in temperate and tropical bird communities across a steep elevational gradient in the Himalaya.
- Alexander E. White
- , Kushal K. Dey
- & Trevor D. Price
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Article
| Open AccessA Lévy expansion strategy optimizes early dune building by beach grasses
Random walk movement patterns with specific step size distributions are commonly associated with resource search optimization strategies in mobile organisms. Here, the authors show that clonal expansion of beach grasses follows a Lévy-type step size strategy that optimizes early dune building.
- Valérie C. Reijers
- , Koen Siteur
- & Tjisse van der Heide
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Article
| Open AccessDeterministic processes structure bacterial genetic communities across an urban landscape
Disease transmission is particularly complex at the human-livestock-wildlife interface. Here the authors sample E. coli from wild birds near households in Nairobi and show that antimicrobial resistance gene diversity is correlated with human and lifestock density, while virulence gene diversity is correlated with avian species richness.
- J. M. Hassell
- , M. J. Ward
- & E. M. Fèvre
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Article
| Open AccessConvergent eusocial evolution is based on a shared reproductive groundplan plus lineage-specific plastic genes
Eusocial caste systems have evolved independently multiple times. Here, Warner et al. investigate the amount of shared vs. lineage-specific genes involved in the evolution of caste in pharaoh ants and honey bees by comparing transcriptomes across tissues, developmental stages, and castes.
- Michael R. Warner
- , Lijun Qiu
- & Timothy A. Linksvayer
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Article
| Open AccessFunctional traits and phenotypic plasticity modulate species coexistence across contrasting climatic conditions
The response of traits and their plasticity to different environments within plant communities is incompletely understood. Here, the authors use field experiments under two climatic conditions to describe the dynamic relationship between ten annual plant species in association with 19 functional traits.
- Ignacio M. Pérez-Ramos
- , Luis Matías
- & Óscar Godoy
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Article
| Open AccessFeather moult and bird appearance are correlated with global warming over the last 200 years
Most passerine bird species replace part of their plumage within the first year of life. Here, using data from 4,012 individuals of 19 species, Kiat et al. find that the extent of post-juvenile moult has increased over the past 212 years and this correlated with the global temperature increase in this period.
- Y. Kiat
- , Y. Vortman
- & N. Sapir
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