Article
Food Science & Technology
Pengfa Li, Leho Tedersoo, Thomas W. Crowther, Alex J. Dumbrell, Francisco Dini-Andreote, Mohammad Bahram, Lu Kuang, Ting Li, Meng Wu, Yuji Jiang, Lu Luan, Muhammad Saleem, Franciska T. de Vries, Zhongpei Li, Baozhan Wang, Jiandong Jiang
Summary: Exploiting the potential benefits of plant-associated microbes can enhance crop productivity in a sustainable way. However, little is known about the biogeography and community structure of these microbes. This study constructs a database to analyze the global distribution of potential plant-beneficial bacteria (PBB) and shows that PBB diversity peaks in low-latitude regions. The distribution of potential PBB is primarily influenced by environmental filtering, mainly determined by local climate. Projections suggest that fossil-fuel-dependent scenarios could lead to a significant decline in PBB abundance by 2100, posing a potential threat to global food production and agroecosystem services.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Melinda S. Allen, Tara Lewis, Nick Porch
Summary: The archaeological findings from the Marquesas Islands provide new insights into the lowland forest communities coincident with human arrival, as well as the significant ecological changes caused by human activities.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vijaya Ramachandran
Summary: Africa is in need of reliable energy infrastructure, not the hypocrisy of the rich world.
Article
Biology
Chase D. Brownstein, Daemin Kim, Oliver D. Orr, Gabriela M. Hogue, Bryn H. Tracy, M. Worth Pugh, Randal Singer, Chelsea Myles-McBurney, Jon Michael Mollish, Jeffrey W. Simmons, Solomon R. David, Gregory Watkins-Colwell, Eva A. Hoffman, Thomas J. Near
Summary: This article describes an ancient lineage of ray-finned fishes, using DNA sequencing and morphology to confirm the existence of a second species and its origin dating back to the Plio-Pleistocene period. This discovery is significant for vertebrate genomics and developmental research, but the lineage is currently facing conservation threats due to the caviar fishery.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Anna Binczewska, Wojciech Majewski, Anna Wachnicka, Thomas Frankovich, Ryszard K. Borowka, Joanna Slawinska, Malgorzata Bak, Andrzej Witkowski
Summary: Foraminifera assemblages in a sediment core from the Marquesas Keys in Florida were analyzed to study environmental changes. Changes in the composition and abundance of foraminifera were observed in 1990 CE, 1939 CE, and 1872 CE, possibly influenced by salinity and submerged aquatic vegetation. These changes were likely driven by shifts in precipitation patterns associated with major ocean-atmosphere teleconnections and tropical storms. Despite negative impacts on the region, a well-developed epiphytic assemblage was recorded in the uppermost part of the core between 1990 and 2010 CE.
JOURNAL OF SEA RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wilfried Rickels, Felix Meier, Martin Quaas
Summary: This analysis proposes the concept of climate wealth borrowing and quantifies the country-specific present value of climate change impacts arising from energy and industrial CO2 emissions of the period of 1950-2018. It finds that the United States and China have been responsible for the largest shares of global climate wealth borrowing since 1950, while the per-capita pattern is quite different.
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Pedro Poli, Annie Guiller, Jonathan Lenoir
Summary: Research found that aggregating lineage-specific SDMs into a genetically informed SDM can improve the identification of suitable areas for European Beech. The genetically informed SDM assigned higher probabilities of occurrence during the Mid-Holocene at locations where fossil records were found, outperforming traditional SDM. This approach seems particularly useful for identifying cryptic refugia.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Florian Egli, David Scharer, Bjarne Steffen
Summary: This study reveals that 13% of the 1000 largest European pension funds have divested from fossil fuel companies, totaling assets under management of $2.6 trillion. Divestment is more likely among larger and publicly owned pension funds, and among privately owned funds, those competing for clients are more likely to divest. Size, ownership, and market competition are key determinants for divestment decisions, with weaker evidence for sectoral differences and a positive effect of climate policy stringency.
ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS
(2022)
Article
Business, Finance
Bo Zhu, Xin Hu, Yuanyue Deng, Bokai Zhang, Xiru Li
Summary: This paper uses a time-varying parametric vector autoregressive (TVP-VAR) model to estimate the effects of climate risks on stock returns in China, distinguishing between non-fossil and fossil fuel firms. News-based climate physical risk (CPR) and climate transition risk (CTR) indexes for China are created. The results indicate that both types of climate risks have time-varying and differential impacts on the returns of non-fossil and fossil fuel stocks. The differential effects are associated with investor preference and cash-flow effects. Moreover, CTR contributes more to the connectedness of return premium between the two stock types than CPR.
FINANCE RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Chen Huang, Yuyao Zhu, Ming Ren, Pei Zhang, Yingchao Chen, Hancheng Dai, Xianchun Tan
Summary: This study evaluates the climate impacts on China's power sector using detailed plant-level data and outputs from six models. The results show a pervasive negative impact on the power sector, with a reduction in fossil-related production offsetting the gain from renewable power. The study also finds spatial heterogeneity across provinces and identifies a critical minority of plants that contribute to the main body of climate impacts. A targeted coal decommissioning strategy is considered necessary for climate adaptation.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jamie B. Thompson, Katie E. Davis, Harry O. Dodd, Matthew A. Wills, Nicholas K. Priest
Summary: Although climate change affects diversification, its effects are inconsistent and less widespread than localized climate or species accumulation. This study focuses on highly speciose orchid subfamily and reveals that historic global cooling, not time or other climate factors, drives speciation in terrestrial orchids. With extensive data and analysis, the study demonstrates that global cooling played a significant role in contemporaneous diversification in all major orchid bioregions. This research provides valuable insights into the long-term impacts of global climate change on biodiversity.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Elizabeth J. Hermsen
Summary: The study focuses on the fossil record of Passiflora and Passifloroideae, with a new fossil species based on seeds described. By examining fossil seeds, the research identified different subgeneric groups within Passiflora and reassigned two Miocene fossil seed species from Europe to Passifloroidesperma. The presence of fossil passifloroid seeds in Europe suggests a historical occurrence of Passifloroideae in the region.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLANT SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
J. Emmett Duffy, John J. Stachowicz, Pamela L. Reynolds, Kevin A. Hovel, Marlene Jahnke, Erik E. Sotka, Christoffer Bostrom, Katharyn E. Boyer, Mathieu Cusson, Johan Eklof, Aschwin H. Engelen, Britas Klemens Eriksson, F. Joel Fodrie, John N. Griffin, Clara M. Hereu, Masakazu Hori, A. Randall Hughes, Mikhail Ivanov, Pablo Jorgensen, Claudia Kruschel, Kun-Seop Lee, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Per-Olav Moksnes, Masahiro Nakaoka, Mary O'Connor, Nessa E. O'Connor, Robert J. Orth, Bradley J. Peterson, Henning Reiss, Katrin Reiss, J. Paul Richardson, Francesca Rossi, Jennifer L. Ruesink, Stewart T. Schultz, Jonas Thormar, Fiona Tomas, Richard Unsworth, Erin Voigt, Matthew A. Whalen, Shelby L. Ziegler, Jeanine L. Olsen
Summary: The distribution of Earth's biomes is determined by the match between climate and plant traits, but this match can be disrupted by historical events, resulting in lasting impacts on ecosystems. As the Earth's environment changes rapidly, questions arise about the ability of organisms and ecosystems to adjust to altered conditions.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Florita Flores, Joseane A. Marques, Sven Uthicke, Rebecca Fisher, Frances Patel, Sarit Kaserzon, Andrew P. Negri
Summary: This study found that the Great Barrier Reef is negatively impacted by the combined effects of the contaminant diuron and climate change, particularly affecting the physiological responses of corals, with photosynthesis being significantly affected. It suggests that water quality guideline values may need to be adjusted as climate conditions change.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Arne A. S. Adam, Luke Thomas, Jim Underwood, James Gilmour, Zoe T. Richards
Summary: Anthropogenic climate change has caused widespread loss of species biodiversity and ecosystem productivity, particularly on tropical coral reefs. This study explores patterns of genetic offset in the reef-building coral Acropora digitifera across Western Australia using population genetic and seascape analyses. The findings reveal restricted gene flow and limited genetic connectivity among geographically distant reef systems, as well as loci strongly associated with regional temperature variation.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Marcus Gutjahr, Louise Bordier, Eric Douville, Jesse Farmer, Gavin L. Foster, Ed C. Hathorne, Barbel Honisch, Damien Lemarchand, Pascale Louvat, Malcolm McCulloch, Johanna Noireaux, Nicola Pallavicini, James W. B. Rae, Ilia Rodushkin, Philippe Roux, Joseph A. Stewart, Francois Thil, Chen-Feng You
Summary: The study focused on analyzing boron isotopes in marine carbonates, with an emphasis on evaluating the influence of oxidative pre-treatment and analytical approaches on the results, and providing consistent boron isotope compositions for two carbonate materials.
GEOSTANDARDS AND GEOANALYTICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Verena Schoepf, Juan Pablo D'Olivo, Cyrielle Rigal, E. Maria U. Jung, Malcolm T. McCulloch
Summary: The study found that coral biomineralization mechanisms are highly sensitive to heat stress, resulting in significant changes in skeletal trace element composition and carbonate chemistry. Even 7 months after the peak bleaching event, anomalies in TE/Ca ratios were still observed.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Netramani Sagar, Aleksey Sadekov, Peter Scott, Talia Jenner, Ashiwin Vadiveloo, Navid R. Moheimani, Malcolm McCulloch
Summary: This study explores the use of Amphisorus hemprichii as a biogeochemical archive for monitoring lead pollution in coastal waters. Through laboratory experiments, it was found that the lead concentration in cultured foraminifera tests is proportional to seawater lead concentration, providing a method for quantitatively monitoring anthropogenic lead pollution in coastal waters.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christopher E. Cornwall, Steeve Comeau, Niklas A. Kornder, Chris T. Perry, Ruben van Hooidonk, Thomas M. DeCarlo, Morgan S. Pratchett, Kristen D. Anderson, Nicola Browne, Robert Carpenter, Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, Juan P. D'Olivo, Steve S. Doo, Joana Figueiredo, Sofia A. V. Fortunato, Emma Kennedy, Coulson A. Lantz, Malcolm T. McCulloch, Manuel Gonzalez-Rivero, Verena Schoepf, Scott G. Smithers, Ryan J. Lowe
Summary: Ocean warming and acidification pose a significant threat to the future growth of coral reefs, with projected declines in coral reef net carbonate production rates under different emission scenarios. Bleaching events leading to reduced coral cover are the main drivers of these declines, emphasizing the urgent need for stabilization of atmospheric CO2 emissions to ensure the functional roles of coral reefs are maintained.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biology
B. Moore, S. Comeau, M. Bekaert, A. Cossais, A. Purdy, E. Larcombe, F. Puerzer, M. T. McCulloch, C. E. Cornwall
Summary: The study investigated the impact of ocean acidification on coralline algae, finding that algae exposed to ocean acidification were highly sensitive to conceptacle development in the short term, but this negative effect disappeared after three generations of exposure. Additionally, it was observed that transgenerational acclimation of conceptacle development does not compromise growth rates.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Netramani Sagar, Aleksey Sadekov, Talia Jenner, Lorie Chapuis, Peter Scott, Mukesh Choudhary, Malcolm McCulloch
Summary: The accelerated release of heavy metals into coastal environments due to increasing anthropogenic activities poses a severe threat to local marine ecosystems and food chains. Developing quantifiable proxies for monitoring heavy metal concentrations in near-shore marine environments is essential. Culture experiments with Amphisorus hemprichii showed it can be used as a naturally occurring bio-archive to quantitatively monitor anthropogenic pollution of Mn, Ni, and Cd in coastal waters.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Steeve Comeau, Christopher E. Cornwall, Tom Shlesinger, Mia Hoogenboom, Ralph Mana, Malcolm T. McCulloch, Riccardo Rodolfo-Metalpa
Summary: This study examines multiple coral species from two CO2 seeps in Papua New Guinea to assess their ability to control their calcifying fluid chemistry. The researchers find that corals living in low but highly variable pH environments have a greater ability to maintain constant CF pH. However, corals with limited pH reduction in less variable low pH seawater tend to be more abundant at the seep sites. The findings suggest a potential association between ecological success and greater pH homeostasis, but more research is needed.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Juan Pablo D'Olivo, Malcolm McCulloch
Summary: The increase in sediment and nutrient loads from land use practices threatens the Great Barrier Reef. This study reconstructs sediment fluxes using coral records and reveals a tripling of sediment loads since European settlement, indicating an extreme degradation of river catchments.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Review
Oceanography
Julie A. Trotter, Marco Taviani, Federica Foglini, Aleksey Sadekov, Grzegorz Skrzypek, Claudio Mazzoli, Alessandro Remia, Nadia Santodomingo, Giorgio Castellan, Malcolm McCulloch, Charitha Pattiaratchi, Paolo Montagna
Summary: This study presents the first deep-sea remotely operated vehicle exploration of previously unexplored submarine canyon systems along the southwest Australian continental margin. The study provides new information about these canyons, their unique characteristics, and the diverse ecosystems found within them.
PROGRESS IN OCEANOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marco Taviani, Federica Foglini, Giorgio Castellan, Paolo Montagna, Malcom T. McCulloch, Julie A. Trotter
Summary: By quantifying macro-litter discovered during Remotely Operated Vehicle surveys, we evaluated the anthropogenic impacts on southwestern Australian submarine canyons. The Bremer canyon systems show minimal impacts, while the Perth Canyon has relatively more macro-litter due to intense maritime traffic and nearby urban development. However, the environmental status of southwestern Australian canyons is relatively pristine on a global scale, providing a baseline for monitoring and preserving these habitats with lush and diverse biota, including deep-sea corals.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Verena Schoepf, Steven A. Carrion, Svenja M. Pfeifer, Melissa Naugle, Laurence Dugal, Jennifer Bruyn, Malcolm T. Mcculloch
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Julie A. Trotter, Malcolm T. McCulloch, Juan Pablo D'Olivo, Pete Scott, Nadine Tisnerat-Laborde, Marco Taviani, Paolo Montagna
Summary: The study investigates deep-water corals collected from the Perth Canyon offshore southwest Australia. By analyzing radiocarbon and neodymium isotopes, it reveals significant variations in ocean ventilation during the last glacial period. Additionally, a major perturbation event at 25 ka indicates the influence of deep waters on mid-depth waters. This widespread event in the Southern Ocean suggests the non-steady state dynamics of the glacial Southern Ocean.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE ADVANCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Claire L. Ross, Andrew Warnes, Steeve Comeau, Christopher E. Cornwall, Michael V. W. Cuttler, Melissa Naugle, Malcolm T. McCulloch, Verena Schoepf
Summary: Ocean warming is causing significant changes in coral reefs, particularly in the growth of branching corals. This study investigates the impacts of temperature and light on coral physiology and calcification mechanisms, revealing the interactive and context-specific effects. Realistic multi-variate dynamic experiments are essential in predicting coral calcification response to ocean warming.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Diane Thompson, Malcolm McCulloch, Julia E. Cole, Emma Reed, Juan P. D'Olivo, Kelsey Dyez, Marcus Lofverstrom, Janice Lough, Neal Cantin, Alexander W. Tudhope, Anson H. Cheung, Lael Vetter, R. Lawrence Edwards
Summary: Ocean acidification and thermal stress pose significant threats to corals, causing a decline in their calcification ability and impacting the diversity of reef ecosystems. Corals are able to buffer against temperature and dissolved inorganic carbon changes by regulating the pH of their calcifying fluid, but there are physiological limits to this buffering capacity, especially in extreme environments.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Vikrant Jain, Robert Wasson, Malcolm McCulloch, Rahul K. Kaushal, Ashok K. Singhvi
Summary: This study of the Baghmati river determines the sediment contributions of the Nepal Himalaya from different lithotectonic terrains. The results show that the low-relief Siwaliks terrain provides more sediment compared to the Lesser Himalaya, indicating the significance of tectonic activity and relief in controlling sediment delivery to Himalayan rivers.
JOURNAL OF EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
(2022)
