Article
Geology
Luis A. Buatois, M. Gabriela Mangano, Bhawanisingh Desai, Noelia B. Carmona, Fiona Burns, Dean Meek, Bruce Eglington
Summary: This study compiles ichnological data from Middle Triassic to Late Jurassic shallow-marine siliciclastic units and finds that there was a significant increase in the utilization of infaunal ecospace during the Early Jurassic, followed by a plateau during the rest of the Jurassic. The study also reveals that the infaunal ecospace is partitioned into different tiers and multiple organisms were able to exploit the same resources. The increase in the number of ichnoguilds per community and per tier suggests that niche partitioning played a key role in the efficient use of infaunal ecospace and in driving alpha diversity.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Emily Yi-Shyuan Chen
Summary: Marine invertebrates make up the majority of ocean life, but are often underrepresented in conservation efforts. Climate change and human activities are putting many marine invertebrates at risk, yet growing public awareness may lead to increased support for their conservation. Understanding their importance and addressing current challenges through research and technology is crucial for the future of global marine invertebrate conservation.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Ran Wu, Jiri Patocka, Eugenie Nepovimova, Patrik Oleksak, Martin Valis, Wenda Wu, Kamil Kuca
Summary: Antimicrobial peptides are important components of organisms' innate immune system, with broad-spectrum activities against bacteria, viruses, and tumors, without harming the organisms themselves. Unlike traditional antibiotics, they do not lead to drug resistance and have a unique antibacterial mechanism.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carrie Tyler, Michal Kowalewski
Summary: Despite the focus on molluscs, which have high fossilization potential, the study found that the fossil record is likely to be reliable for relative comparisons of composition and diversity in shallow marine paleocommunities. The differences in community composition between live and dead assemblages were predictable, with an overabundance of more preservable groups. Dead molluscs were found to be a good proxy for all taxa when tracking spatio-temporal patterns and shifts in community structure using various ecological metrics.
Article
Ecology
Alice E. L. Walker, Mark P. Robertson, Paul Eggleton, Katherine Bunney, Candice Lamb, Adam M. Fisher, Catherine L. Parr
Summary: Understanding the factors controlling decomposition is crucial for predicting changes in the carbon cycle with global change. Ants exert significant top-down control on decomposition by preying on termites, leading to increased termite-mediated decomposition at a large scale.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Charlotte E. Davies
Summary: Marine protected areas have shown overwhelmingly positive effects on fish biomass, recovery, and diversity, but there is a lack of research on the impact of MPAs on parasite and disease dynamics, specifically invertebrate health. The implementation of MPAs can alter trophic cascades and community dynamics, highlighting the importance of investigating the status of invertebrates in these protected areas.
JOURNAL OF INVERTEBRATE PATHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Anne Kempel, Eric Allan, Martin M. Gossner, Malte Jochum, James B. Grace, David A. Wardle
Summary: In the absence of disturbance, ecosystems often undergo decline or retrogression, resulting in reductions in primary productivity, plant biomass, nutrient cycling and foliar quality. However, the effects of ecosystem retrogression on higher trophic levels, such as herbivores and predators, are not well understood. This study shows that the availability of nutrients strongly influences invertebrate herbivore biomass when predator abundance is low, but shifts to top-down control when predators are abundant. These findings highlight the importance of considering nutrient-independent variation in predator abundance when studying trophic cascades and herbivore effects on plant communities.
Article
Plant Sciences
Mirelle Takaki, Vitor F. Freire, Karen J. Nicacio, Ariane F. Bertonha, Nozomu Nagashima, Richmond Sarpong, Vinicius Padula, Antonio G. Ferreira, Roberto G. S. Berlinck
Summary: Metabolomics analysis revealed tambjamine alkaloids in marine invertebrates, with an increase in diversity from bryozoans to nudibranch predators, and higher diversity in nudibranch predators. Total tambjamine content also increases among trophic levels, likely due to biomagnification. Major metabolites include tambjamines A, C, and D.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Cory M. Redman, Jason R. Moore, David M. Lovelace, Julie A. Meachen
Summary: This study examines the stability of the local ecosystem surrounding Natural Trap Cave across the Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition by analyzing the rank abundance distribution of large-bodied vertebrates. The results show that the ecosystem composition and structure remained relatively stable, with a few dominant taxa. Rating: 7 out of 10.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Shixin Huang, Ke Zhang, Qi Lin, JianBao Liu, Ji Shen
Summary: This study conducted a meta-analysis of 72 lakes worldwide and found that ecological shifts were mostly asynchronous across global lakes, but with an exceptionally increasing frequency since the 1950s. The driver-response results showed that abrupt shifts before the 1950s were dominated by climate change, whereas both anthropogenic drivers and climate change were responsible for most post-1950s shifts. Network analysis further indicated that interactions of multiple stressors are more prone to produce abrupt shifts, with global climate change being the most frequent co-occurrence driver. The findings underscore the need for global coherent collaboration to mitigate Anthropocene risk from a global lake perspective.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Yu-Yi Zhang, Yicong Chen, Xiaoman Wei, Jie Cui
Summary: This study utilized a meta-transcriptomic approach to characterize the viromes of marine invertebrates, identifying 315 newly discovered RNA viruses in nine viral families or orders. The research revealed a hidden diversity of marine invertebrate RNA viruses, including evidence for possible host sharing and switch events during virus evolution.
SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Gabrielle Lebbink, Anita C. Risch, Martin Schuetz, Jennifer Firn
Summary: Despite the impact of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores on plants, their studies are often conducted separately due to fundamental differences in their ecology and evolution. This synthesis of literature aimed to understand the plant traits examined and their response to, and effect on, the two groups of herbivores, and to identify knowledge gaps. The findings suggest underrepresentation of invertebrate-focused research, research in the Southern Hemisphere, and research on nondomesticated herbivores. Differences in study focus and traits examined restrict the comparison between vertebrate and invertebrate herbivore guilds.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Susana Gutarra, Thomas L. Stubbs, Benjamin C. Moon, Beatrice H. Heighton, Michael J. Benton
Summary: The evolution of locomotion in Mesozoic marine reptiles is characterized by two divergent paths, with a gradual increase in locomotory disparity throughout the Mesozoic. Aquatic specialization is observed in early ichthyosauromorphs, and there is overlap in morphospace between mosasauroids and ichthyosauromorphs.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Travis C. Tai, U. Rashid Sumaila, William W. L. Cheung
Summary: The study reveals that elevated atmospheric CO2 caused by climate change has profound effects on marine ecosystems and fisheries resources, especially the negative impact of ocean acidification on commercially exploited marine invertebrates fisheries catch. The results suggest a potential decrease in global fisheries catch and varying degrees of OA effects in different regions.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Afshin Samadi, Youngsam Kim, Sang-Ah Lee, Young Jun Kim, Maranda Esterhuizen
Summary: Plastic pollution has gained widespread attention for its impact on the environment, particularly in aquatic ecosystems. However, research has primarily focused on marine ecosystems, neglecting the equally or even more polluted freshwater ecosystems. Little is known about the mechanism and extent of plastic pollution's effect on aquatic biota and its transfer through food webs to humans, especially considering the leaching of hazardous chemicals. Studies have shown extreme toxicity in freshwater organisms like Daphnia, and when these keystone species are affected, entire food webs are destabilized and biodiversity is threatened. The increasing presence of plastic contaminants in freshwater environments has detrimental effects on ecosystem functions and structure, leading to negative ecological consequences. The consolidation of literature on the effects of plastic pollution on daphnids is essential to assess the limitations and knowledge gaps and evaluate the risk posed to the aquatic environment.
ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY
(2022)