Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Enrico Tordoni, Claudio G. Ametrano, Elisa Banchi, Silvia Ongaro, Alberto Pallavicini, Giovanni Bacaro, Lucia Muggia
Summary: Fungi are important allergens and plant pathogens that can have severe impacts on public health and agriculture. Traditional morphological analysis and eDNA metabarcoding are both useful methods to study airborne fungal diversity and variation, with eDNA metabarcoding showing higher detection efficiency and ability to detect a greater number of genera compared to morphological analysis. Both methods can be complementary to each other in reliably studying fungal diversity across different seasons and locations.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Wei-ping Wu, Yi-fei Zhu, Wei-kang Zeng, Min Wang, Dong-xiao Yang, Wen-feng Chen
Summary: The study analyzed the dynamic change, spatial-temporal evolution, and spatial convergence of green efficiency of water resources in Northwest China. The components of green efficiency showed distinct spatial-temporal heterogeneity but eventually converged into a steady growth trajectory at different rates. Factors such as economic development level, population size, industrial structure, government expenditure, and spatial spillover effects played a role in this convergence.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Victor M. Escobedo, Rodrigo S. Rios, Yulinka Alcayaga-Olivares, Ernesto Gianoli
Summary: The study found that disturbance reinforces assembly processes differentially across scales and hampers plant invasion. The quantitative literature review and the meta-analysis supported most of the model predictions.
Article
Ecology
Casey Youngflesh, James F. Saracco, Rodney B. Siegel, Morgan W. Tingley
Summary: Analysis of a dataset of the morphology of more than 250,000 adult birds of 105 species over a 30 year period across North America reveals changes in body size and relative wing length over time and with relation to latitude, elevation and temperature variation. Temperature has a significant impact on intraspecific morphological changes, with warmer climate conditions associated with smaller body sizes.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Xiaomeng Huang, Yi Qiao, Samuel W. Brady, Rachel E. Factor, Erinn Downs-Kelly, Andrew Farrell, Jasmine A. McQuerry, Gajendra Shrestha, David Jenkins, W. Evan Johnson, Adam L. Cohen, Andrea H. Bild, Gabor T. Marth
Summary: The study found the presence of metastatic incubators in a patient, allowing subclonal evolution between multiple organs. The lung played a critical role in facilitating metastatic spread in this patient. Many known drivers or metastasis-promoting tumor mutations were shared by some, but not all metastatic sites in this patient.
Article
Ecology
Philip M. Novack-Gottshall, Ali Sultan, Nicholas S. Smith, Jack Purcell, Kathryn E. Hanson, Rachel Lively, Isa Ranjha, Clayton Collins, Runeshia Parker, Colin D. Sumrall, Bradley Deline
Summary: This study compared the anatomy and life habits of Cambrian-Ordovician echinoderms, finding that anatomical form and functional diversity are decoupled, and ecological innovation is constrained.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rishi De-Kayne, Oliver M. Selz, David A. Marques, David Frei, Ole Seehausen, Philine G. D. Feulner
Summary: This study on genomic research of Alpine whitefish radiations reveals the role of genetic architecture and hybridization in diversification and evolution. The results show that ecological and morphological diversification is associated with genome-wide allele frequency shifts and a specific gene edar, while highlighting the importance of introgression between species from different lake-systems in the evolution and persistence of unique traits and ecology.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Paola L. Carrion, Joost A. M. Raeymaekers, Luis Fernando De Leon, Jaime A. Chaves, Diana M. T. Sharpe, Sarah K. Huber, Anthony Herrel, Bieke Vanhooydonck, Kiyoko M. Gotanda, Jennifer A. H. Koop, Sarah A. Knutie, Dale H. Clayton, Jeffrey Podos, Andrew P. Hendry
Summary: The term terroir refers to the influence of the local site on grape physiology and wine properties. In this study on Darwin's finches in the Galapagos, it was found that the variation in beak and body traits was mostly explained by site. The impact of terroir was found to be stronger in one particular population. These findings highlight the importance of terroir in shaping phenotypic traits, while also emphasizing the role of other factors such as geographical isolation.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tirtha Das Banerjee, Suriya Narayanan Murugesan, Heidi Connahs, Antonia Monteiro
Summary: In this study, the localization and function of Armadillo/beta-catenin dependent and independent Wnt signaling in eyespot and band development in Bicyclus anynana were explored. Armadillo (Arm) protein localization, expression analysis of all eight Wnt ligand and four frizzled receptor transcripts, and CRISPR-Cas9 experiments were used to investigate the role of specific ligands and receptors. The results reveal the essential role of distinct Wnt signaling pathways in eyespot and band patterning in butterflies, suggesting their interaction to control active domains.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yibo Hu, Huizhong Fan, Youhua Chen, Jiang Chang, Xiangjiang Zhan, Hua Wu, Baowei Zhang, Meng Wang, Wenyan Zhang, Lin Yang, Xian Hou, Xing Shen, Tao Pan, Wei Wu, Jun Li, Haihua Hu, Fuwen Wei
Summary: This study investigated the genetic and phylogenetic diversity of Chinese terrestrial vertebrates, revealing higher diversity in South China and Southwest China. Climatic factors had a positive effect on genetic diversity levels, while altitude and human population density had a negative impact. The findings will inform national-level genetic diversity conservation plans and post-2020 biodiversity conservation framework.
Article
Geology
Xu Dai, Dieter Korn, Haijun Song
Summary: Ammonoids suffered a diversity bottleneck during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction and rapidly diversified in the Early Triassic. The survivors of the extinction were mainly smooth and weakly ornamented forms, contrasting with the coarsely ornamented forms dominating before the extinction. The morphological shift from coarsely ornamented to smooth forms during the extinction possibly indicates an ecological turnover of ammonoids.
Article
Ecology
Maria Fernanda Calio, Veronica A. Thode, Christine D. Bacon, Daniele Silvestro, Alexandre Antonelli, Lucia G. Lohmann
Summary: This study investigates the timing and routes of species movements between wet or seasonally dry habitats across Neotropical regions using the plant genus Anemopaegma. It also evaluates the potential for ecological adaptation by assessing the habitat transitions correlated with morphological shifts.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luca Carraro, Rosetta C. Blackman, Florian Altermatt
Summary: Due to the increasing threats to riverine ecosystems, there is a need for innovative approaches to assess biodiversity across different taxonomic groups and spatio-temporal scales. Recent advancements in using environmental DNA (eDNA) data and eDNA transport models in rivers have allowed for a comprehensive understanding of riverine biodiversity, supporting conservation efforts.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Kuei-Yueh Ko, Cho-Yi Chen, Hsueh-Fen Juan, Hsuan-Cheng Huang
Summary: The hourglass model posits that developmental constraints in the middle of a developmental process are higher, and phenotypes are evolutionarily more conserved. Research found that network stochasticity follows an anti-hourglass trajectory, supporting Raff's hypothesis. Different species activate similar biological process groups during development, with higher interspecies correlations at mid-developmental stages.
Article
Biology
Karsten Olsen, Kristian Tylen
Summary: This paper explores how social interaction shapes and modulates cognitive processes, particularly the process of abstraction. It highlights the impact of cognitive demands, social coordination, and task ecologies on information processing, and suggests that the interactive sharing and integration of varied individual experiences facilitate processes of abstraction. The article also discusses the dynamics of group interactions in relation to group composition and highlights the importance of cognitive diversity in interactive processes.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Daniel Pincheira-Donoso, Lilly P. Harvey, Marcello Ruta
BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2015)
Article
Paleontology
Marcello Ruta, Matthew A. Wills
Article
Paleontology
Aodhan O. Gogain, Howard J. Falcon-Lang, David K. Carpenter, Randall F. Miller, Michael J. Benton, Peir K. Pufahl, Marcello Ruta, Thomas G. Davies, Steven J. Hinds, Matthew R. Stimson
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Manabu Sakamoto, Michael J. Benton, Chris Venditti
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2016)
Article
Ecology
Jennifer A. Clack, Carys E. Bennett, David K. Carpenter, Sarah J. Davies, Nicholas C. Fraser, Timothy I. Kearsey, John E. A. Marshall, David Millward, Benjamin K. A. Otoo, Emma J. Reeves, Andrew J. Ross, Marcello Ruta, Keturah Z. Smithson, Timothy R. Smithson, Stig A. Walsh
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2017)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Matthew V. Anten-Houston, Marcello Ruta, D. Charles Deeming
JOURNAL OF ANATOMY
(2017)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jennifer Botha-Brink, Daryl Codron, Adam K. Huttenlocker, Kenneth D. Angielczyk, Marcello Ruta
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2016)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jennifer A. Clack, Marcello Ruta, Andrew R. Milner, John E. A. Marshall, Timothy R. Smithson, Keturah Z. Smithson
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Paleontology
Jozef Klembara, Miroslav Hain, Marcello Ruta, David S. Berman, Stephanie E. Pierce, Amy C. Henrici
Article
Paleontology
Humberto G. Ferron, Jenny M. Greenwood, Bradley Deline, Carlos Martinez-Perez, Hector Botella, Robert S. Sansom, Marcello Ruta, Philip C. J. Donoghue
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Marcello Ruta, Jennifer A. Clack, Timothy R. Smithson
EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH
(2020)
Article
Biology
Jennifer A. Clack, Timothy R. Smithson, Marcello Ruta
Summary: A newly discovered tetrapod species from the late Mississippian East Kirkton Limestone exhibits an unusual hindlimb morphology resembling that of early stem amniotes. This discovery adds to the understanding of the diversity of East Kirkton tetrapods and their adaptations to different environments. Different analyses suggest different placement for this species among other Carboniferous groups.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Jack W. Oyston, Mark Wilkinson, Marcello Ruta, Matthew A. Wills
Summary: Using biogeographical and phylogenetic data, it is found that molecular trees fit species geographical data better than morphology trees, and this difference is not only because of higher tree resolution. The superiority of molecular trees has rarely been empirically assessed. However, through analyzing two independent data sources, it is demonstrated that molecular trees provide a better fit to biogeographic data than morphology trees on average, and the biogeographic congruence increases over research time. There are no significant differences in stratigraphic congruence between morphology and molecular trees.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Yimeng Li, Andrew Brinkworth, Emily Green, Jack Oyston, Matthew Wills, Marcello Ruta
Summary: By studying the serial differentiation of the presacral column across 1,136 extant mammal species, the authors found evidence of high within-group variation and an evolutionary trend towards increasing complexity. The complexity of organisms has undoubtedly increased through evolutionary time, but it is unclear whether this increase is a diffusive process or driven by parallel increases in most lineages. Highly differentiated and serially repeated structures, such as vertebrae, provide a useful system to investigate these patterns.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jozef Klembara, Marcello Ruta, Jason Anderson, Taran Mayer, Miroslav Hain, Daniel Valaska
Summary: This study redescribes the holotype and only known specimen of Coelostegus prothales using photogrammetric scanning and virtual 3D rendition. New information on several skull and jaw bones is provided, allowing for the correct identification of previously undetected or mis-identified elements. The phylogenetic position of Coelostegus and its relationships with protorothyridid amniotes are still uncertain. This study discusses the implications of different phylogenetic results for our understanding of early amniote relationships.