Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Carolin Mundinger, Jaap van Schaik, Alexander Scheuerlein, Gerald Kerth
Summary: The ability of populations to cope with global warming depends on the evolutionary potential and plasticity of their temperature-sensitive traits. In Bechstein's bats, body size has increased due to warmer summers, but this may have negative impacts on the survival of larger females. The study finds that the increase in body size is mainly driven by phenotypic plasticity rather than genetic factors, suggesting a potential threat to population fitness if warm summers become more frequent.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Danilo Russo, Valeria B. Salinas-Ramos, Luca Cistrone, Sonia Smeraldo, Luciano Bosso, Leonardo Ancillotto
Summary: Bioindicators are organisms that react to environmental changes and are important for tracking and mitigating these changes. Bats, as a species-rich mammal group, have shown clear reactions to environmental alterations and are proposed as potentially useful bioindicators for various habitats. However, limitations exist in using bats as bioindicators, such as taxonomical issues and difficulties in associating responses with specific stressors. Further research and testing are needed to explore the potential of bats as bioindicators in different environmental contexts.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Lais F. O. Lima, Hayden Bursch, Elizabeth A. Dinsdale
Summary: The study reveals that Porites astreoides exhibits varying levels of sensitivity to environmental stress, particularly in terms of temperature, pH, and macroalgal competition. While coral-algal photosynthesis and coral tissue condition can withstand single thermal stress events, repeated bleaching events may hinder long-term success.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Gonzalo Lizarralde, Lisa Bornstein, Melanie Robertson, Kevin Gould, Benjamin Herazo, Anne-Marie Petter, Holmes Paez, Julia Helena Diaz, Andres Olivera, Gonzalo Gonzalez, Oswaldo Lopez, Adriana Lopez, Hernan Ascui, Roberto Burdiles, Karine Bouchereau
Summary: This study examines how activists, academics, and governments in informal settlements in the Global South explain climate-related risks and disasters, highlighting significant mismatches between understandings of climate effects by residents and decision-makers. While some scholars view climate as a component of hazards, residents perceive it as a factor of vulnerability.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
(2021)
Article
Oceanography
Olga S. Kleptsova, Henk A. Dijkstra, Rene M. van Westen, Carine G. van der Boog, Caroline A. Katsman, Rebecca K. James, Tjeerd J. Bouma, Roland Klees, Riccardo E. M. Riva, D. Cornelis Slobbe, Marcel Zijlema, Julie D. Pietrzak
Summary: The joint effects of dynamic sea-level rise, large-scale atmosphere/ocean circulation, and wave climate on hurricane-induced extreme water levels in the Caribbean region were assessed. Using a model, it was found that only minor changes in hurricane-induced extreme water levels are predicted for Caribbean islands severely devastated by the 2017 tropical storms, if the hurricane intensity remains the same. Global mean sea-level rise is projected to be the main future coastal flood risk factor.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-OCEANS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jennifer A. Luedtke, Janice Chanson, Kelsey Neam, Louise Hobin, Adriano O. Maciel, Alessandro Catenazzi, Amael Borzee, Amir Hamidy, Anchalee Aowphol, Anderson Jean, Angel Sosa-Bartuano, Ansel G. Fong, Anslem de Silva, Antoine Fouquet, Ariadne Angulo, Artem A. Kidov, Arturo Munoz Saravia, Arvin C. Diesmos, Atsushi Tominaga, Biraj Shrestha, Brian Gratwicke, Burhan Tjaturadi, Carlos C. Martinez Rivera, Carlos R. Vasquez Almazan, Celsa Senaris, S. R. Chandramouli, Christine Strussmann, Claudia Fabiola Cortez Fernandez, Claudio Azat, Conrad J. Hoskin, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Damion L. Whyte, David J. Gower, Deanna H. Olson, Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia, Diego Jose Santana, Elizah Nagombi, Elnaz Najafi-Majd, Evan S. H. Quah, Federico Bolanos, Feng Xie, Francisco Brusquetti, Francisco S. Alvarez, Franco Andreone, Frank Glaw, Franklin Enrique Castaneda, Fred Kraus, Gabriela Parra-Olea, Gerardo Chaves, Guido F. Medina-Rangel, Gustavo Gonzalez-Duran, H. Mauricio Ortega-Andrade, Ibere F. Machado, Indraneil Das, Iuri Ribeiro Dias, J. Nicolas Urbina-Cardona, Jelka Crnobrnja-Isailovic, Jian-Huan Yang, Jiang Jianping, Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal, Jodi J. L. Rowley, John Measey, Karthikeyan Vasudevan, Kin Onn Chan, Kotambylu Vasudeva Gururaja, Kristiina Ovaska, Lauren C. Warr, Luis Canseco-Marquez, Luis Felipe Toledo, Luis M. Diaz, M. Monirul H. Khan, Madhava Meegaskumbura, Manuel E. Acevedo, Marcelo Felgueiras Napoli, Marcos A. Ponce, Marcos Vaira, Margarita Lampo, Mario H. Yanez-Munoz, Mark D. Scherz, Mark-Oliver Rodel, Masafumi Matsui, Maxon Fildor, Mirza D. Kusrini, Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, Muhammad Rais, N'Goran G. Kouame, Nieves Garcia, Nono Legrand Gonwouo, Patricia A. Burrowes, Paul Y. Imbun, Philipp Wagner, Philippe J. R. Kok, Rafael L. Joglar, Renoir J. Auguste, Reuber Albuquerque Brandao, Roberto Ibanez, Rudolf von May, S. Blair Hedges, S. D. Biju, S. R. Ganesh, Sally Wren, Sandeep Das, Sandra V. Flechas, Sara L. Ashpole, Silvia J. Robleto-Hernandez, Simon P. Loader, Sixto J. Inchaustegui, Sonali Garg, Soumphthone Phimmachak, Stephen J. Richards, Tahar Slimani, Tamara Osborne-Naikatini, Tatianne P. F. Abreu-Jardim, Thais H. Condez, Thiago R. De Carvalho, Timothy P. Cutajar, Todd W. Pierson, Truong Q. Nguyen, Ugur Kaya, Zhiyong Yuan, Barney Long, Penny Langhammer, Simon N. Stuart
Summary: The second Global Amphibian Assessment reveals that amphibians, especially salamanders in the Neotropics, are the most threatened vertebrate class, with 40.7% of species globally threatened. The deteriorating status of amphibians is predominantly driven by climate change, disease, and habitat loss.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Michael C. Singer, Camille Parmesan
Summary: As species' poleward range limits expand under climate change, generalists are expected to expand their ranges faster than specialists. Through long-term studies, it has been found that colonization events can lead to an increase in diet breadth as a result of preference diversification among individuals, potentially caused by cryptic genetic variation or host shifts. Range expansions can lead to increases in population-level diet breadths and may drive specialization, influencing the persistence of populations at expanding range margins.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maggie D. Johnson, Jarrod J. Scott, Matthieu Leray, Noelle Lucey, Lucia M. Rodriguez Bravo, William L. Wied, Andrew H. Altieri
Summary: Loss of oxygen in the global ocean is accelerating due to climate change and eutrophication, but how acute deoxygenation events affect tropical marine ecosystems remains poorly understood. This study integrates analyses of coral reef benthic communities with microbial community sequencing to show how a deoxygenation event rapidly altered a shallow tropical coral reef ecosystem in the Caribbean. The decoupling of ecological trajectories among major functional groups following an acute deoxygenation event emphasizes the need to incorporate deoxygenation as an emerging stressor into coral reef research and management plans to combat escalating threats to reef persistence.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Daniel T. C. Cox, Alexandra S. Gardner, Kevin J. Gaston
Summary: Biodiversity is declining globally, with different diel niches of species experiencing varying levels of population decline. Diurnal mammals, particularly primates, face an increased risk of population decline compared to nocturnal, crepuscular, and cathemeral species. Harvesting poses a greater threat to day-active species in sub-Saharan Africa and mainland tropical Asia. Understanding the diel variation in anthropogenic pressures and population declines will aid in targeted conservation efforts.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Carl J. Reddin, Adam T. Kocsis, Martin Aberhan, Wolfgang Kiessling
Summary: The vulnerability of certain marine organismic groups to extinction varied during ancient hyperthermal events, with those hosting photosymbionts and with actively burrowing or swimming adult life-stages being more prone to extinction. Larger sized fauna faced increased extinction risk during hyperthermal events as well. Extinction responses in the geological past mirror modern responses of these groups to warming, indicating distinctive extinction mechanisms to rapid global warming, including sensitivity to warming-induced seawater deoxygenation.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jennifer E. Mallon, Alyssa M. Demko, Jennifer M. Sneed, Lilyana Newman, Carle Dugan, Andrew H. Altieri, Valerie Jean Paul, Maggie D. Johnson
Summary: Deoxygenation poses a major threat to coral reefs, causing catastrophic effects such as mass coral mortality. Different coral species have different tolerances to reduced dissolved oxygen concentrations, with some species surviving only a few days while others can tolerate deoxygenation for weeks. This study found that severe deoxygenation had a significant negative impact on recruit survivorship in certain coral species, highlighting the importance of considering species-specific variations in deoxygenation tolerance during reef conservation and restoration efforts.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Michalis Vousdoukas, Joanne Clarke, Roshanka Ranasinghe, Lena Reimann, Nadia Khalaf, Trang Minh Duong, Birgitt Ouweneel, Salma Sabour, Carley E. Iles, Christopher H. Trisos, Luc Feyen, Lorenzo Mentaschi, Nicholas P. Simpson
Summary: Many African heritage sites are currently at risk from rising sea levels, which could more than triple under high emissions scenarios. Mitigating emissions can reduce the number of highly exposed sites. These findings highlight the urgent need for increased climate change adaptation for heritage sites in Africa, including governance, vulnerability assessments, monitoring, and protection strategies.
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Geology
Lauren K. O'Connor, Emily Dearing Crampton-Flood, Rhodri M. Jerrett, Gregory D. Price, B. David A. Naafs, Richard D. Pancost, Paul McCormack, Aris Lempotesis-Davies, Bart E. van Dongen, Sabine K. Lengger
Summary: A study of fossil peats in Canada suggests that the average annual air temperature during the end of the Cretaceous and the beginning of the Paleogene varied, with the highest temperature reaching 29°C. The range of temperature change on land is greater than that derived from marine proxy records. These findings help us better understand the temperature changes on land during the critical period of dinosaur extinction and the rise of mammals.
Article
Biology
Valeria B. Salinas-Ramos, Alessandra Tomassini, Fabiana Ferrari, Rita Boga, Danilo Russo
Summary: Every summer in Italy and other temperate regions, bats fall from their shelters due to heatwaves caused by climate change, leading to their admission to wildlife rehabilitation centres. A study using 5842 records from Italian rehabilitation centres over a 20-year period found that the number of admitted bats strongly increased during summer weeks with temperatures above 30 degrees C. This heat stress on bats might have negative effects on bat populations in cities, where they provide important ecosystem services by consuming harmful insects. The study calls for large-scale monitoring and conservation efforts for urban bat populations.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Igor Dumic, Cristian Madrid, Danilo Vitorovic
Summary: POWV is an emerging tick-borne neurotropic pathogen transmitted by infected Ixodes scapularis ticks, with cases mainly concentrated in the Northeast and upper Midwest of the United States. Severe encephalitis and high mortality rates have been reported, but timely treatment with corticosteroids has shown favorable outcomes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Zoology
C. Miguel Pinto, J. Angel Soto-Centeno, Angela M. Nunez Quiroz, Nicolas Ferreyra, Florencio Delgado-Espinoza, Peter W. Stahl, Diego G. Tirira
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2016)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
David W. Steadman, Nancy A. Albury, Brian Kakuk, Jim I. Mead, J. Angel Soto-Centeno, Hayley M. Singleton, Janet Franklin
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2015)
Article
Geography, Physical
David W. Steadman, Nancy A. Albury, Jim I. Mead, J. Angel Soto-Centeno, Janet Franklin
Article
Ecology
Lisa N. Barrow, J. Angel Soto-Centeno, Alexa R. Warwick, Alan R. Lemmon, Emily Moriarty Lemmon
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
J. Angel Soto-Centeno, Nancy B. Simmons, David W. Steadman
Article
Ecology
Kelly A. Speer, Brandi Jo Petronio, Nancy B. Simmons, Rebecca Richey, Kristin Magrini, J. Angel Soto-Centeno, David L. Reed
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2017)
Article
Ecology
J. Angel Soto-Centeno, Donald L. Phillips, Allen Kurta, Keith A. Hobson
JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY
(2014)
Article
Geography, Physical
Johanset Orihuela, Lazaro W. Vinola, Osvaldo Jimenez Vazquez, Alexis M. Mychajliw, Odlanyer Hernandez de Lara, Logel Lorenzo, J. Angel Soto-Centeno
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Camilo A. Calderon-Acevedo, Armando Rodriguez-Duran, J. Angel Soto-Centeno
Summary: Urbanization and natural disasters can disrupt landscape connectivity, affecting the movement corridors of endemic bat species in Puerto Rico. Suitable habitat plays a crucial role in connecting isolated areas, emphasizing the importance of forest connectivity for preserving local biodiversity.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Biographical-Item
Zoology
J. Angel Soto-Centeno, Nathan S. Upham, Carlos A. Mancina, Burton K. Lim, Robert M. Timm
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
J. Angel Soto-Centeno, Nancy B. Simmons
Summary: This study analyzed the phenotypic and phylogenetic divergence of geographically widespread hoary bats, and found that their phenotypic variations were driven by similar environmental features. The analysis revealed a higher environmental similarity between South American and Hawaiian species, indicating phenotypic convergence.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Archaeology
David W. Steadman, Hayley M. Singleton, Kelly M. Delancy, Nancy A. Albury, J. Angel Soto-Centeno, Harlan Gough, Neil Duncan, Janet Franklin, William F. Keegan
JOURNAL OF ISLAND & COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Entomology
Allen Kurta, John O. Whitaker, William J. Wrenn, J. Angel Soto-Centeno
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2007)
Article
Zoology
JA Soto-Centeno, A Kurta
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2006)