A place to land: spatiotemporal drivers of stopover habitat use by migrating birds

Migrating birds require en route habitats to rest and refuel. Yet, habitat use has never been integrated with passage to understand the factors that determine where and when birds stopover during spring and autumn migration. Here, we introduce the stopover‐to‐passage ratio (SPR), the percentage of passage migrants that stop in an area, and use 8 years of data from 12 weather surveillance radars to estimate over 50% SPR during spring and autumn through the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the south‐eastern US, the most prominent corridor for North America’s migratory birds. During stopovers, birds concentrated close to the coast during spring and inland in forested landscapes during autumn, suggesting seasonal differences in habitat function and highlighting the vital role of stopover habitats in sustaining migratory communities. Beyond advancing understanding of migration ecology, SPR will facilitate conservation through identification of sites that are disproportionally selected for stopover by migrating birds.     

Selection against immigrants in wild seabird populations

Immigration is a major demographic parameter shaping population dynamics and is an important driver of eco‐evolutionary patterns, but the fitness consequences for individuals following their settlement to a new population (immigrants) remain poorly tested in wild animal populations, particularly among long‐lived species. Here we show that immigrants have a lower fitness than residents in three wild seabird populations (wandering albatross Diomedea exulans, southern fulmar Fulmarus glacialoides, snow petrel Pagodroma nivea). Across all species and during a 32‐year period, immigrants made on average ?9 to 29% fewer breeding attempts, had 5–31% fewer fledglings, had 2–16% lower breeding success and produced 6–46% fewer recruits. Female immigration and male residency were also favored through differences in breeding performance. We provide evidence for selection against immigrants in wild populations of long‐lived species and our results are consistent with female‐biased dispersal in birds being driven by asymmetric limiting resources and the competitive ability of dispersers vs. non‐dispersers.     

火烧信号对种子萌发影响的研究进展

火作为一个基础的生态因子, 对森林、草地等陆地生态系统的结构和功能有着重要的影响。种子萌发是种子植物的重要生活史阶段, 也是火后植被更新和恢复的主要途径。植被燃烧产生了烟、热以及与烟相关的一系列火烧信号, 在打破种子休眠, 促进种子萌发方面发挥重要作用。该文将火烧信号分为物理信号和化学信号, 物理信号主要是伴随火烧产生的高温, 化学信号主要包括气态烟以及近年来从烟水中提取的影响种子萌发的关键化学物质karrikins和glyceronitrile。该文围绕火烧的基本信息, 火烧信号对种子萌发的影响, 火烧信号在实践中的应用3个方面进行系统综述, 重点探讨了不同类别的火烧信号及其交互作用对种子萌发的影响。在系统总结火烧信号对种子萌发影响的研究进展的基础上, 提出未来的研究应与烟信号作用机理的探究以及全球变化等方面相结合, 旨在充分发挥火的生态服务功能, 为火的科学管理应用和退化生态系统恢复提供理论支撑。     

短波紫外线照射对‘金都’火龙果采后保鲜的影响

以‘金都’火龙果(Hylocereus polyrhizus ‘Jindu’)果实为试材,采用波长254 nm紫外杀菌灯为辐射源,给予不同剂量短波紫外线(Ultraviolet-C,UV-C)照射处理,探讨低剂量UV-C对火龙果采后保鲜的影响及作用机理。结果表明,不同剂量UV-C照射处理能有效抑制‘金都’火龙果果实腐烂和电导率上升,降低果实TSS含量,其中1.0 kJ·m–2紫外线辐照效果最好。1.0 kJ·m–2 UV-C处理能极显著提高贮藏期火龙果的SOD和CAT活性,显著提高贮藏早中期的几丁质酶活性和PPO活性,β-1,3葡聚糖酶活性在贮藏后期也显著高于对照,但降低了火龙果贮藏中期(第6天)的POD活性。此外,1.0 kJ·m–2 UV-C处理显著提高火龙果贮藏期H2O2含量(除第6天外),对果实的失水率无影响。采后火龙果应用适当剂量UV-C照射可提高抗病性,延长贮藏保鲜期。     

Human‐horse sensory engagement through horse archery

The Mongol horse stems from ancient stock, similar to the first horses ridden on the Central Asian grassland steppe. Mongol horses subsequently migrated with their human counterparts throughout Eurasia, as far to the east as Japan. During archery festivals in Japan, horses gallop along a narrow runway within a temple complex in the heavily populated city of Kyoto. In Mongolia, with the recent re‐emergence of the ancient practice, horse and rider still gallop across the expansive grassland steppe. The euphoria one feels in riding fast on horseback with the wind against one's face can be symbolised by the concept of khii mor’ in Mongolia, which is connected with the vitality between human and horse in the practice of horse archery. Through sensory ethnography, in combination with multi‐species ethnography, this article explores embodiment between horse and rider in two quite different socio‐ecological contexts.     

The power of data synthesis to shape the future of the restoration community and capacity

Restoration efforts will be taking place over the next decade(s) in the largest scope and capacity ever seen. Immense commitments, goals, and budgets are set, with impactful wide‐reaching potential benefits for people and the environment. These are ambitious aims for a relatively new branch of science and practice. It is time for restoration action to scale up, the legacy of which could impact over 350 million hectares targeted for the U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. However, restoration still proceeds on a case‐by‐case, trial by error basis and restoration outcomes can be variable even under similar conditions. The ability to put each case into context—what about it worked, what did not, and why—is something that the synthesis of data across studies can facilitate. The link between data synthesis and predictive capacity is strong. There are examples of extremely ambitious and successful efforts to compile data in structured, standardized databases which have led to valuable insights across regional and global scales in other branches of science. There is opportunity and challenge in compiling, standardizing, and synthesizing restoration monitoring data to inform the future of restoration practice and science. Through global collation of restoration data, knowledge gaps can be addressed and data synthesized to advance toward a more predictive science to inform more consistent success. The interdisciplinary potential of restoration ecology sits just over the horizon of this decade. Through truly collaborative synthesis across foci within the restoration community, we have the opportunity to rapidly reach that potential and achieve extraordinary outcomes together.     

Understanding the key characteristics and challenges of pine barrens restoration: insights from a Delphi survey of forest land managers and researchers

Pine barrens are open‐canopy ecological communities once prevalent on sandy soils across the northern Great Lakes Region of the United States and Canada, though fire suppression and plantation forestry have now reduced them to a few isolated areas. Efforts to restore pine barrens are underway on some public lands, but lack of knowledge on the social and ecological issues and challenges that affect these projects impedes fuller progress. As a precursor to designing a public preference survey for pine barrens restoration, we sought input from those with expert knowledge about pine barrens. Using a three‐round modified Delphi survey, forest land managers and researchers identified the key characteristics of pine barrens and important current and future management challenges. Key characteristics were related to fire, landscape structure, plant and animal species, soils, and social themes. Current and future challenges were related to landscape, invasive species, social, economic, climate change, and science themes. Four social issues (education, fire acceptance, fire risk, aesthetics) were rated among the top current challenges but none of them maintained prominence as future challenges. Potential explanations for this shift are that the experts felt these social concerns would be resolved in time or that other issues, such as development pressures and budgets for carrying out restoration, would become greater future challenges. Our approach can be used by managers and researchers to better understand the ecosystems they seek to restore and to communicate with public stakeholders about restoration efforts.     

Curcumin alleviates acute kidney injury in a dry‐heat environment by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation in a rat model

Curcumin exhibits anti‐inflammatory and antioxidant activities. We investigated the protective effects of curcumin in a renal injury rat model under dry‐heat conditions. We divided Sprague‐Dawley rats into four groups: dry‐heat 0‐ (normal temperature control group), 50‐, 100‐, and 150‐minute groups. Each group was divided into five subgroups (n = 10): normal saline (NS), sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMCNa), and curcumin pretreated low, medium, and high‐dose (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, respectively) groups. Compared to the normal temperature group, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, urinary kidney injury molecule‐1, and neutrophil gelatinase‐associated load changes in lipoprotein (NGAL) levels were significantly increased in the dry‐heat environment group (P < .05); inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) expression and malondialdehyde (MDA) and related inflammatory factor levels were increased in the kidney tissue. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) levels were decreased. However, following all curcumin pretreatment, the serum levels of kidney injury indicators and NGAL were decreased in the urine compared to those in the NS and CMCNa groups (P < .05), whereas renal SOD and CAT activities were increased and MDA was decreased (P < .05). Renal tissues of the 150‐minute group showed obvious pathological changes. Compared to the NS group, pathological changes in the renal tissues of the 100‐ and 200‐mg/kg curcumin groups were significantly reduced. Furthermore, iNOS and COX‐2 expression and inflammatory factor levels were decreased after curcumin treatment. Curcumin exerted renoprotective effects that were likely mediated by its antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory effects in a dry‐heat environment rat model.     

Thymoquinone attenuates doxorubicin‐cardiotoxicity in rats

Contrary to the fact that doxorubicin is a powerful chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of neoplastic diseases, cardiotoxicity is too important to be ignored. Thymoquinone serves as a powerful free radical scavenger. In the study, the effects of thymoquinone against doxorubicin‐cardiotoxicity will be evaluated. Forty rats were divided into five groups. Group I: control group (n = 8); group II: olive oil group (n = 8); group III: thymoquinone group (n = 8); given 10 mg/kg thymoquinone intraperitoneally per day throughout the experiment; group IV: doxorubicin group (n = 8); injected with a single dose of 15 mg/kg ip doxorubicin on the 7th day of the experiment; group V: doxorubicin + thymoquinone group (n = 8); administered with 10 mg/kg thymoquinone per day during the experiment and 15 mg/kg doxorubicin ip on the 7th day. The experiment was planned for 14 days. Immunohistochemically, heat shock protein (HSP) 70 and HSP90, glucose‐regulated protein 78 (GRP78), caspase‐3 were stained. We made terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling for apoptotic evaluation. Total oxidant status (TOS) levels and total antioxidant status (TAS) were measured in the heart tissue. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and pro‐B type natriuretic peptide (proBNP) were evaluated. In the study, HSP70, HSP90, GRP78, and caspase‐3 levels increased in group IV. TOS and TAS levels were significant compared to group I. Doxorubicin significantly increased ANP and NT‐proBNP levels. Thymoquinone revealed significant differences in these values. Thymoquinone can be an important cardioprotective agent against doxorubicin‐cardiotoxicity.