Article
Ecology
Lucas Lamelas-Lopez, Paulo A. V. Borges, Laura Serrano, Vitor Goncalves, Margarita Florencio
Summary: The study investigated the impact of ponds and tanks on macroinvertebrate assemblages in the Azorean islands, finding that hydroperiod and sampled months are key factors affecting community differences, while water quality and human disturbances also influence community structure.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Buntarou Kusumoto, Yasuhiro Kubota, Andres Baselga, Carola Gomez-Rodriguez, Thomas J. Matthews, Daniel J. Murphy, Takayuki Shiono
Summary: This study found that compositional dissimilarity in angiosperm trees increases with spatial and climatic distances globally. The turnover component dominated in all biogeographical regions, while the nestedness component showed relatively high contributions in temperate regions with historically unstable climatic conditions. Changes in the turnover and nestedness components across taxonomic ranks suggest differential imprints of historical diversification over deep evolutionary time in shaping extant diversity patterns in each biogeographical region.
JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Yeray Folgar-Camean, Carola Gomez-Rodriguez, Alexander S. Konstantinov, Andres Baselga
Summary: The evolutionary origin of flea beetles' camouflage can be partially explained by both hypotheses. Some host plants restrict feeding damage appearance on their leaves, favoring specific beetles with matching color and size (H1). However, in most plant taxa, beetle-associated constraints exert selective pressure for the beetle to damage leaves in a particular way, similar to its own color and size (H2).
ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Margarita Florencio, Jairo Patino, Sandra Nogue, Anna Traveset, Paulo A. V. Borges, Hanno Schaefer, Isabel R. Amorim, Miquel Arnedo, Sergio P. Avila, Pedro Cardoso, Lea de Nascimento, Jose Maria Fernandez-Palacios, Sofia I. Gabriel, Artur Gil, Vitor Goncalves, Ricardo Haroun, Juan Carlos Illera, Marta Lopez-Darias, Alejandro Martinez, Gustavo M. Martins, Ana I. Neto, Manuel Nogales, Pedro Oromi, Juan Carlos Rando, Pedro M. Raposeiro, Francois Rigal, Maria M. Romeiras, Luis Silva, Alfredo Valido, Alain Vanderpoorten, Raquel Vasconcelos, Ana M. C. Santos
Summary: Research in Macaronesia has made significant progress in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology, revealing that the flora and fauna in this region are mainly composed of young lineages of European origin. Despite being home to numerous threatened species and invasive alien plants and animals, innovative conservation and management actions are being implemented to protect the biodiversity in Macaronesia. The Macaronesian Islands are a unique field of study for island ecology and evolution research, offering valuable insights into macroecological patterns and interaction networks on islands.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ramiro Martin-Devasa, Sara Martinez-Santalla, Carola Gomez-Rodriguez, Rosa M. Crujeiras, Andres Baselga
Summary: This study aimed to assess the dependence between the form of the decrease in biological similarity with distance (distance-decay) and species range size, and introduced the use of a sigmoidal model, the Gompertz function, for fitting distance-decay models. The results showed that the functional form of distance-decay patterns depends on species range size, and the Gompertz function accommodates different frequency distributions of species range size.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andres Baselga, Carola Gomez-Rodriguez, Miguel B. Araujo, Adrian Castro-Insua, Miguel Arenas, David Posada, Alfried P. Vogler
Summary: This study developed a predictive framework based on approximate Bayesian computation to quantify the role of dispersal and environmental constraints in community turnover. Simulations showed that spatial turnover rates remain invariant across genealogical scales when dispersal limitation determines species ranges, but vary when environmental constraint limits species ranges. Analysis of empirical biological communities revealed a combination of dispersal and environmental constraints influencing spatial turnover at different scales. The study highlights the importance of considering multiple genealogical scales in understanding the relative role of dispersal and environmental constraints in community turnover.
Article
Ecology
Sara Martinez-Santalla, Ramiro Martin-Devasa, Carola Gomez-Rodriguez, Rosa M. Crujeiras, Andres Baselga
Summary: Modeling community similarity decay with spatial distance is important for studying community variation. A new nonlinear significance test combining R-2 statistic with permutations was proposed, showing good performance for nonlinear relationships. This test should be favored over linear Mantel test for assessing distance-decay patterns.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Maria Teresa Boquete, Zulema Varela, Jose Angel Fernandez, Juan Antonio Calleja, Cristina Branquinho, Antonina Chila, Nils Cronberg, Ricardo Cruz de Carvalho, Cristiana Aleixo, Belen Estebanez-Perez, Veronica Fernandez-Gonzalez, Andres Baselga, Carola Gomez-Rodriguez, Juana Maria Gonzalez-Mancebo, Sebastien Leblond, Javier Martinez-Abaigar, Nagore G. Medina, Encarnacion Nunez-Olivera, Jairo Patino, Ruben Retuerto, Anton Vazquez-Arias, Alain Vanderpoorten, Harald G. Zechmeister, Jesus Ramon Aboal
Summary: Unisexual bryophytes, such as the cosmopolitan moss Pseudoscleropodium purum, provide a useful model system to study the regulation of sexual vs. asexual reproduction in plants. In this study, the researchers investigated the sex expression, sex ratio, and shoot traits of 242 populations of P. purum across its distribution range. They found high variation in sex expression and predominantly female-biased populations. The variation in reproductive traits was partly explained by environmental variation and the species' biogeographical history. The researchers hypothesize that sexual dimorphism and vegetative growth contribute to sex ratio bias and limit the chances of sexual reproduction in long-term persistent populations.
JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Pablo Burraco, Miguel A. Rendon, Carmen Diaz-Paniagua, Ivan Gomez-Mestre
Summary: The study found that sibships with higher plasticity in spadefoot toad larvae exhibited higher antioxidant enzymatic activity in the absence of predator cues, along with higher lipid peroxidation and slightly greater granulocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio. This suggests that maintaining phenotypic plasticity may be linked to energy demanding metabolic processes. Costs associated with producing plastic responses may include oxidative and immunological factors, which could erode individual fitness and constrain the evolution of plasticity. This study provides the first empirical evidence of a physiological cost to maintaining phenotypic plasticity.
Article
Ecology
Ramiro Martin-Devasa, Sara Martinez-Santalla, Carola Gomez-Rodriguez, Rosa M. Crujeiras, Andres Baselga
Summary: This study developed a new test statistic (zdep) to assess the significance of differences between parameters of distance-decay models. Through simulation studies and a case study on Iberian vertebrates, the zdep statistic showed good performance and can be used to compare parameters of regression models fitted from pairwise dependent data.
ECOLOGICAL INFORMATICS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
C. Diaz-Paniagua, M. Ramirez-Soto, D. Aragones
Summary: Efforts to conserve the pond network in Donana National Park are under threat from excessive groundwater extraction, which has resulted from the expansion of farming and tourism in the surrounding areas. This has led to a decline in the water table, causing a reduction in the hydroperiod of the ponds and even their desiccation. It is crucial to establish the link between groundwater abstraction and pond deterioration to address human impacts and protect the unique biodiversity of the pond network.
AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Erika Mayumi Shimabukuro, Carola Gomez-Rodriguez, Carlos Jose E. Lamas, Andres Baselga
Summary: This study compared insect communities in the Amazon Mountains and the Atlantic Forest Mountains in Brazil. The results showed significant differences in species composition between the two regions, supporting the hypothesis that mountain passes are higher in the Tropic.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2023)
Article
Biology
V Urgorri, M. P. Senaris, G. Diaz-Agras, M. Candas, C. Gomez-Rodriguez
Summary: The new species Doris adrianae sp. nov. is a dorid nudibranch discovered in the Ria de Ferrol, NW Iberian Peninsula, living on rocky bottoms where its prey, the sponge Polymastia boletiformis, is common. It is characterized by a complex and dense skeletal structure, as well as differences in external and internal features compared to other species of the genus Doris.
NACC-NOVA ACTA CIENTIFICA COMPOSTELANA BIOLOXIA
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maria Jesus Pinero-Rodriguez, Rocio Fernandez-Zamudio, Rosa Arribas, Ivan Gomez-Mestre, Carmen Diaz-Paniagua
Summary: Floating plants, like Azolla filiculoides, play a significant role in altering the physical and chemical properties of aquatic ecosystems. Their presence can result in reduced macrophyte abundance, altered nutrient levels, and negative impacts on the survival and physical condition of amphibians. Overall, the invasion of Azolla filiculoides has a substantial negative effect on the food web and overall health of aquatic ecosystems.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Toshimi Nakajima, Mao Kuragano, Makoto Yamada, Ryo Sugimoto
Summary: This study compared the contribution of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to river nutrient budgets at nearshore and embayment scales, and found that SGD-derived nutrients become more important at larger spatial scales.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Fan Liu, Lei Zhang, Chongyang Zhang, Ziguang Chen, Jingguang Li
Summary: NO2 emissions from wall-mounted gas stoves used for household heating have become a significant source of indoor pollution in Chinese urban areas. The high indoor concentration of NO2 poses potential health risks to residents. It is urgently necessary to establish relevant regulations and implement emission reduction technologies to reduce NO2 emissions from wall-mounted gas stoves.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Letter
Environmental Sciences
Hans Peter H. Arp, Raoul Wolf, Sarah E. Hale, Sivani Baskaran, Juliane Gluege, Martin Scheringer, Xenia Trier, Ian T. Cousins, Harrie Timmer, Roberta Hofman-Caris, Anna Lennquist, Andre D. Bannink, Gerard J. Stroomberg, Rosa M. A. Sjerps, Rosa Montes, Rosario Rodil, Jose Benito Quintana, Daniel Zahn, Herve Gallard, Tobias Mohr, Ivo Schliebner, Michael Neumann
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Philomina Onyedikachi Peter, Binessi Edouard Ifon, Francois Nkinahamira, Kayode Hassan Lasisi, Jiangwei Li, Anyi Hu, Chang-Ping Yu
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between dissolved organic matter (DOM) and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in sediments from Yundang Lagoon, China. The results show four distinct fluorescent components, with protein-like substances being the most prevalent. Additionally, the total fluorescence intensity and LREE concentrations exhibit a synchronized increase from Outer to Inner to Songbai Lake core sediments. The findings demonstrate a strong correlation between DOM content and pollution levels.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Surya Gupta, Pasquale Borrelli, Panos Panagos, Christine Alewell
Summary: The objective of this study is to incorporate soil hydraulic properties into the erodibility factor (K) of USLE-type models. By modifying and improving the existing equations for soil texture and permeability, the study successfully included information on saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) into the calculation of K factor. Using the Random Forest machine learning algorithm, two independent K factor maps with different spatial resolutions were generated. The results show that the decrease in K factor values has a positive impact on the modeling of soil erosion rates.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jesmin Akter, Wendy J. M. Smith, Yawen Liu, Ilho Kim, Stuart L. Simpson, Phong Thai, Asja Korajkic, Warish Ahmed
Summary: The choice of workflow in wastewater surveillance has a significant impact on SARS-CoV-2 concentrations, while having minimal effects on HF183 and no effect on HAdV 40/41 concentrations. Certain components in the workflow can be interchangeable, but factors such as buffer type, chloroform, and homogenization speed can affect the recovery of viruses and bacteria.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yu Luo, Xueting Yang, Diwei Wang, Hongmei Xu, Hongai Zhang, Shasha Huang, Qiyuan Wang, Ningning Zhang, Junji Cao, Zhenxing Shen
Summary: Atmospheric PM2.5, which can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), is associated with cardiorespiratory morbidity and mortality. The study found that both the mass concentration of PM2.5 and the DTT activity were higher during the heating season than during the nonheating season. Combustion sources were the primary contributors to DTT activity during the heating season, while secondary formation dominated during the nonheating season. The study also revealed that biomass burning had the highest inherent oxidation potential among all sources investigated.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Erin L. Murphy, Leah R. Gerber, Chelsea M. Rochman, Beth Polidoro
Summary: Plastic pollution has devastating consequences for marine organisms. This study uses a trait-based framework to develop a vulnerability index for marine mammals, seabirds, and sea turtles in Hawai'i. The index ranks 63 study species based on their vulnerability to macroplastic pollution, providing valuable information for species monitoring and management priorities.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kenji Maurice, Amelia Bourceret, Sami Youssef, Stephane Boivin, Liam Laurent-Webb, Coraline Damasio, Hassan Boukcim, Marc-Andre Selosse, Marc Ducousso
Summary: Growing pressure from climate change and agricultural land use is destabilizing soil microbial community interactions. Little is known about microbial community resistance and adaptation to disturbances, hindering our understanding of recovery latency and implications for ecosystem functioning. This study found that anthropic disturbance and natural disturbance have different effects on the topology and stability of soil microbial networks.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yunhao Li, Yali Feng, Haoran Li, Yisong Yao, Chenglong Xu, Jinrong Ju, Ruiyu Ma, Haoyu Wang, Shiwei Jiang
Summary: Deep-sea mining poses a serious threat to marine ecosystems and human health by disturbing sediment and transmitting metal ions through the food chain. This study developed a new regenerative adsorption material, OMN@SA, which effectively removes metal ions. The adsorption mechanism and performance of the material for metal ion fixation were investigated.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Antonio Medici, Margherita Lavorgna, Marina Isidori, Chiara Russo, Elena Orlo, Giovanni Luongo, Giovanni Di Fabio, Armando Zarrelli
Summary: Valsartan, a widely used antihypertensive drug, has been detected in high concentrations in surface waters due to its unchanged excretion and incomplete degradation in wastewater treatment plants. This study investigated the degradation of valsartan and identified 14 degradation byproducts. The acute and chronic toxicity of these byproducts were evaluated in key organisms in the freshwater trophic chain.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiang Lin, Lianbao Chi, Qing Yuan, Busu Li, Mingbao Feng
Summary: This study investigated the photodegradation behavior and product formation of two representative pharmaceuticals in simulated estuary water. The study found that the formed transformation products of these pharmaceuticals have potential toxicity on marine organisms, including oxidative stress and damage to cellular components.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hua Fang, Dongdong Jiang, Ye He, Siyi Wu, Yuehong Li, Ziqi Zhang, Haoting Chen, Zixin Zheng, Yan Sun, Wenxiang Wang
Summary: This study revealed that exposure to lower levels of air pollutants led to decreased pregnancy rates, with PM10, NO2, SO2, and CO emerging as the four most prominent pollutants. Individuals aged 35 and above exhibited heightened susceptibility to pollutants.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ali Shaan Manzoor Ghumman, Rashid Shamsuddin, Amin Abbasi, Mohaira Ahmad, Yoshiaki Yoshida, Abdul Sami, Hamad Almohamadi
Summary: In this study, inverse vulcanized polysulfides (IVP) were synthesized by reacting molten sulfur with 4-vinyl benzyl chloride, and then functionalized using N-methyl D-glucamine (NMDG). The functionalized IVP showed a high mercury adsorption capacity and a machine learning model was developed to predict the amount of mercury removed. Furthermore, the functionalized IVP can be regenerated and reused, providing a sustainable and cost-effective adsorbent.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rita Bonfiglio, Renata Sisto, Stefano Casciardi, Valeria Palumbo, Maria Paola Scioli, Erica Giacobbi, Francesca Servadei, Gerry Melino, Alessandro Mauriello, Manuel Scimeca
Summary: This study investigated the presence of aluminum in human colon cancer samples and its potential association with biological processes involved in cancer progression. Aluminum was found in tumor areas of 24% of patients and was associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell death. Additional analyses revealed higher tumor mutational burden and mutations in genes related to EMT and apoptosis in aluminum-positive colon cancers. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of aluminum toxicity may improve strategies for the management of colon cancer patients.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)