Afforestation neutralizes soil pH

Hong, S., Piao, S., Chen, A., Liu, Y., Liu, L., Peng, S., Sardans, J., Sun, Y., Peñuelas, J., Zeng, H. (2018) Afforestation neutralizes soil pH. Nature Communications. 9: 0-0.
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Doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02970-1

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Stoichiometry patterns of plant organ N and P in coastal herbaceous wetlands along the East China Sea: implications for biogeochemical niche

Hu M., Peñuelas J., Sardans J., Sun Z., Wilson B.J., Huang J., Zhu Q., Tong C. (2018) Stoichiometry patterns of plant organ N and P in coastal herbaceous wetlands along the East China Sea: implications for biogeochemical niche. Plant and Soil. : 0-0.
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Doi: 10.1007/s11104-018-3759-6

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Background and aims: Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are essential nutrients for plant growth, and their availability and stoichiometry play pivotal roles in trophic dynamics and community composition. The biogeochemical niche (BN) hypothesis claims that each species should have an optimal elemental composition and stoichiometry as a consequence of its optimal function in its specific ecological niche. Little attention, however, has been given to N and P stoichiometric patterns and test the BN hypothesis in coastal wetland communities from the perspective of organ and species-specific comparisons. Methods: We investigated factors responsible for changes in N and P stoichiometry patterns in different functional groups in coastal wetlands and tested the BN hypothesis by evaluating N and P composition in whole aboveground plants and organs. Results: Both plant N and P concentrations were high in coastal wetlands, indicating that N and P were not likely limiting, although the N:P ratio was slightly lower than the ratio reported in global and Chinese terrestrial flora. N and P concentrations and N:P ratios varied strongly between C3 and C4 species, among species, and among organs within species. N and P concentrations were not correlated with latitude, mean annual temperature and precipitation, although N:P ratio was weakly correlated with these factors. The differences in N and P concentrations and N:P ratios along the wetland gradients were mainly because of the species-specific community composition of each site. Conclusions: The results are consistent with the BN hypothesis. First, N and P composition is species-specific (homeostatic component of BN), each species tends to maintain its own composition even growing in different sites with different species composition. Second, different species, despite maintaining their own composition, have distinct degree of composition phenotypic flexibility (flexibility component of BN); this different size of “biogeochemical space” was observed when comparing different species living in the same community and the shifts in species BN space and size was observed when comparing populations of the same species living in different sites. © 2018, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. in poultry feces and carcasses in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Kagambèga A., Thibodeau A., Trinetta V., Soro D.K., Sama F.N., Bako É., Bouda C.S., Wereme N'Diaye A., Fravalo P., Barro N. (2018) Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. in poultry feces and carcasses in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Food Science and Nutrition. : 0-0.
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Doi: 10.1002/fsn3.725

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The importance of Salmonella and Campylobacter as foodborne pathogens is well recognized worldwide. Poultry and poultry products are commonly considered as the major vehicles of Salmonella and Campylobacter infection in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the hygienic status of poultry facilities and determine the prevalence of Salmonella and Campylobacter in slaughtered poultry feces and carcasses in four different markets in Ouagadougou, capital city of Burkina Faso. A total of 103 poultry feces and 20 carcasses were analyzed using microbiological standard methods. Among the 103 fecal samples, 70 were positive for Campylobacter ssp (67.96%) and 54 for Salmonella ssp (52.42%). The hippurate hydrolysis test revealed that among the 70 Campylobacter strains isolated from feces, 49 were C. jejuni (70%) and 21 were C. coli (30%). From the 20 carcasses analyzed, 18 were contaminated with Salmonella (90%) and 10 with Campylobacter ssp (50%). Among the 10 Campylobacter ssp samples isolated from poultry carcasses, all were identified as C. jejuni using the API CAMPY system and the hippurate hydrolysis test. The assessment of markets hygienic practices for production, transportation, display, and vending of meat revealed unhygienic conditions. To complete the observation of unhygienic practices, we have sampled chicken-washing solution from the study sites and microbiological analysis of these samples revealed the presence of Salmonella spp in 100% of the samples. This study highlighted that poultry products on sale in Ouagadougou are highly contaminated with Salmonella and Campylobacter. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing Campylobacter presence in the poultry industry of Burkina Faso. Our findings might help to better understand the epidemiology of Salmonella and Campylobacter. © 2018 Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Effect of climatic and soil moisture conditions on mushroom productivity and related ecosystem services in Mediterranean pine stands facing climate change

Karavani, A., De Cáceres, M., Martínez de Aragón, J., Bonet, J.A., de-Miguel, S. (2018) Effect of climatic and soil moisture conditions on mushroom productivity and related ecosystem services in Mediterranean pine stands facing climate change. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 248: 432-440.
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Doi: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.10.024

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The parasitoid Trichogrammatoidea armigera Nagaraja (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) is a potential candidate for biological control of the millet head miner Heliocheilus albipunctella (de Joannis) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the Sahel

Karimoune L., Ba M.N., Baoua I.B., Muniappan R. (2018) The parasitoid Trichogrammatoidea armigera Nagaraja (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) is a potential candidate for biological control of the millet head miner Heliocheilus albipunctella (de Joannis) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the Sahel. Biological Control. 127: 9-16.
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Doi: 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2018.08.003

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[No abstract available]

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Potential of photochemical reflectance index for indicating photochemistry and light use efficiency in leaves of European beech and Norway spruce trees

Kováč D., Veselovská P., Klem K., Večeřová K., Ač A., Peñuelas J., Urban O. (2018) Potential of photochemical reflectance index for indicating photochemistry and light use efficiency in leaves of European beech and Norway spruce trees. Remote Sensing. 10: 0-0.
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Doi: 10.3390/rs10081202

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Hyperspectral reflectance is becoming more frequently used for measuring the functions and productivity of ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to re-evaluate the potential of the photochemical reflectance index (PRI) for evaluating physiological status of plants. This is needed because the reasons for variation in PRI and its relationships to physiological traits remain poorly understood. We examined the relationships between PRI and photosynthetic parameters in evergreen Norway spruce and deciduous European beech grown in controlled conditions during several consecutive periods of 10-12 days between which the irradiance and air temperature were changed stepwise. These regime changes induced significant changes in foliar biochemistry and physiology. The responses of PRI corresponded particularly to alterations in the actual quantum yield of photosystem II photochemistry (ΦPSII). Acclimation responses of both species led to loss of PRI sensitivity to light use efficiency (LUE). The procedure of measuring PRI at multiple irradiance-temperature conditions has been designed also for testing accuracy of ΔPRI in estimating LUE. A correction mechanism of subtracting daily measured PRI from early morning PRI has been performed to account for differences in photosynthetic pigments between irradiance-temperature regimes. Introducing ΔPRI, which provided a better estimate of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) compared to PRI, also improved the accuracy of LUE estimation. Furthermore, ΔPRI was able to detect the effect of drought, which is poorly observable from PRI. © 2018 by the authors.

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Climate-driven mitochondrial selection: A test in Australian songbirds

Lamb A.M., Gan H.M., Greening C., Joseph L., Lee Y., Morán-Ordóñez A., Sunnucks P., Pavlova A. (2018) Climate-driven mitochondrial selection: A test in Australian songbirds. Molecular Ecology. 27: 898-918.
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Doi: 10.1111/mec.14488

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Diversifying selection between populations that inhabit different environments can promote lineage divergence within species and ultimately drive speciation. The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) encodes essential proteins of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system and can be a strong target for climate-driven selection (i.e., associated with inhabiting different climates). We investigated whether Pleistocene climate changes drove mitochondrial selection and evolution within Australian birds. First, using phylogeographic analyses of the mitochondrial ND2 gene for 17 songbird species, we identified mitochondrial clades (mitolineages). Second, using distance-based redundancy analyses, we tested whether climate predicts variation in intraspecific genetic divergence beyond that explained by geographic distances and geographic position. Third, we analysed 41 complete mitogenome sequences representing each mitolineage of 17 species using codon models in a phylogenetic framework and a biochemical approach to identify signals of selection on OXPHOS protein-coding genes and test for parallel selection in mitolineages of different species existing in similar climates. Of 17 species examined, 13 had multiple mitolineages (range: 2–6). Climate was a significant predictor of mitochondrial variation in eight species. At least two amino acid replacements in OXPHOS complex I could have evolved under positive selection in specific mitolineages of two species. Protein homology modelling showed one of these to be in the loop region of the ND6 protein channel and the other in the functionally critical helix HL region of ND5. These findings call for direct tests of the functional and evolutionary significance of mitochondrial protein candidates for climate-associated selection. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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Urban Behavioral Ecology: Lessons from Anolis Lizards

Lapiedra O. (2018) Urban Behavioral Ecology: Lessons from Anolis Lizards. Integrative and comparative biology. 58: 939-947.
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Doi: 10.1093/icb/icy109

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Human-driven rapid environmental changes such as urbanization challenge the persistence of animal populations worldwide. A major aim of research in urban ecology is to unravel which traits allow animals to successfully deal with these new selective pressures. Since behavior largely determines how animals interact with the environment, it is expected to be an important factor determining their success in urban environments. However, behavior is a complex trait and fully understanding how it contributes to urban success is not straightforward: different behaviors may help animals deal with urbanization at different levels of biological organization. For instance, at the species level, urban exploiters often share behaviors that allow them to successfully forage and reproduce in urban areas. However, these behaviors are not necessarily the same that differentiate urban populations from populations of the same species in less disturbed environments. In addition, individual-level studies are essential to identify which mechanisms favor survival and reproduction in urbanized settings. Yet, longitudinal, mid-to-long-term studies of animal behavior at the individual level have largely been limited by logistic challenges. Here, I suggest that research programs in urban behavioral ecology should consider studying behavior at species-, population-, and individual-levels to achieve an integrative understanding of how animal behavior governs urban success. I use recent research carried out in Anolis lizards as an example to illustrate recent progress in behavioral urban ecology. Finally, I suggest some avenues of research at the individual level that could bring insight toward an integrative perspective of the role of behavior in urbanization. Integrative research programs in urban behavioral ecology will provide valuable insight to design management measures to maximize biodiversity and preserve ecosystem services.

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Global Carbon Budget 2017

Le Quéré C., Andrew R.M., Friedlingstein P., Sitch S., Pongratz J., Manning A.C., Ivar Korsbakken J., Peters G.P., Canadell J.G., Jackson R.B., Boden T.A., Tans P.P., Andrews O.D., Arora V.K., Bakker D.C.E., Barbero L., Becker M., Betts R.A., Bopp L., Chevallier F., Chini L.P., Ciais P., Cosca C.E., Cross J., Currie K., Gasser T., Harris I., Hauck J., Haverd V., Houghton R.A., Hunt C.W., Hurtt G., Ilyina T., Jain A.K., Kato E., Kautz M., Keeling R.F., Klein Goldewijk K., Körtzinger A., Landschützer P., Lefèvre N., Lenton A., Lienert S., Lima I., Lombardozzi D., Metzl N., Millero F., Monteiro P.M.S., Munro D.R., Nabel J.E.M.S., Nakaoka S.-I., Nojiri Y., Antonio Padin X., Peregon A., Pfeil B., Pierrot D., Poulter B., Rehder G., Reimer J., Rödenbeck C., Schwinger J., Séférian R., Skjelvan I., Stocker B.D., Tian H., Tilbrook B., Tubiello F.N., Laan-Luijkx I.T.V., Werf G.R.V., Van Heuven S., Viovy N., Vuichard N., Walker A.P., Watson A.J., Wiltshire A.J., Zaehle S., Zhu D. (2018) Global Carbon Budget 2017. Earth System Science Data. 10: 405-448.
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Doi: 10.5194/essd-10-405-2018

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Accurate assessment of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and their redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere-the "global carbon budget"-is important to better understand the global carbon cycle, support the development of climate policies, and project future climate change. Here we describe data sets and methodology to quantify the five major components of the global carbon budget and their uncertainties. CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry (EFF) are based on energy statistics and cement production data, respectively, while emissions from land-use change (ELUC), mainly deforestation, are based on land-cover change data and bookkeeping models. The global atmospheric CO2 concentration is measured directly and its rate of growth (GATM) is computed from the annual changes in concentration. The ocean CO2 sink (SOCEAN) and terrestrial CO2 sink (SLAND) are estimated with global process models constrained by observations. The resulting carbon budget imbalance (BIM), the difference between the estimated total emissions and the estimated changes in the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere, is a measure of imperfect data and understanding of the contemporary carbon cycle. All uncertainties are reported as ±1δ. For the last decade available (2007-2016), EFF was 9.4±0.5 GtC yr-1, ELUC 1.3±0.7 GtC yr-1, GATM 4.7±0.1 GtC yr-1, SOCEAN 2.4±0.5 GtC yr-1, and SLAND 3.0±0.8 GtC yr-1, with a budget imbalance BIM of 0.6 GtC yr-1 indicating overestimated emissions and/or underestimated sinks. For year 2016 alone, the growth in EFF was approximately zero and emissions remained at 9.9±0.5 GtC yr-1. Also for 2016, ELUC was 1.3±0.7 GtC yr-1, GATM was 6.1±0.2 GtC yr-1, SOCEAN was 2.6±0.5 GtC yr-1, and SLAND was 2.7±1.0 GtC yr-1, with a small BIM of-0.3 GtC. GATM continued to be higher in 2016 compared to the past decade (2007-2016), reflecting in part the high fossil emissions and the small SLAND consistent with El Ninõ conditions. The global atmospheric CO2 concentration reached 402.8±0.1 ppm averaged over 2016. For 2017, preliminary data for the first 6-9 months indicate a renewed growth in EFF of C2.0% (range of 0.8 to 3.0 %) based on national emissions projections for China, USA, and India, and projections of gross domestic product (GDP) corrected for recent changes in the carbon intensity of the economy for the rest of the world. This living data update documents changes in the methods and data sets used in this new global carbon budget compared with previous publications of this data set (Le Quéré et al., 2016, 2015b, a, 2014, 2013). All results presented here can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.18160/GCP-2017 (GCP, 2017). © 2018 Author(s).

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Ants of the Caatinga: Diversity, biogeography, and functional responses to anthropogenic disturbance and climate change

Leal I.R., Ribeiro-Neto J.D., Arnan X., Oliveira F.M.P., Arcoverde G.B., Feitosa R.M., Andersen A.N. (2018) Ants of the Caatinga: Diversity, biogeography, and functional responses to anthropogenic disturbance and climate change. Caatinga: The Largest Tropical Dry Forest Region in South America. : 65-95.
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Doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-68339-3_3

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Despite the outstanding diversity and ecological relevance of ants in most terrestrial ecosystems, current knowledge of the ants of the Caatinga is still incipient. This chapter offers an overview covering the diversity, taxonomy, biogeography, and functional composition of the Caatinga ant fauna, and a synthesis on ant response to chronic anthropogenic disturbance and increased aridity. We compiled a database consisting of 572 presence-absence ant records and 276 ant species from 37 localities in the Caatinga. As expected, most of the Caatinga has not been intensively sampled for ants, with the intensive sampling that has been conducted revealing high rates of species turnover across localities. Most ant species recorded in the Caatinga are widely distributed in other biomes, especially in Cerrado, and few species can be considered endemic to the Caatinga. Thus, the Caatinga ant fauna appears to represent an impoverished subset of the Cerrado's fauna. Such a reduced endemism and the occurrence of a highly depauperate ant fauna at a regional level contrast to the diversity patterns exhibited by the Caatinga flora and other faunal groups. Significant changes in ant taxonomic and functional composition in response to human disturbance are observed, with a predictable winner-loser replacement. Disturbance winners consist of generalist species exhibiting wide environmental tolerances and those inhabiting open habitats (Opportunists and Dominant Dolichoderinae). Highly specialized species are disturbance losers (Specialist predators). Aridity also affects both species occurrence and functional-group composition of local assemblages. Since several ant species and functional groups are sensitive to increasing disturbance and aridity, ant-mediated ecological services are already threatened in the Caatinga biota. © Springer International Publishing AG 2017.

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