Piecing together our woodlands – Interview with Suzanne Prober

Over nearly three decades, Suzanne Prober has played a pivotal role in shifting research in Australian agricultural landscapes to include a focus on native woodlands, and to examine ways woodland conservation can co‐exist with production, contributing to new models for conservation within multi‐use landscapes.     

Meta‐analysis suggests negative,but pCO2‐specific,effects of ocean acidification on the structural and functional properties of crustacean biomaterials

Crustaceans comprise an ecologically and morphologically diverse taxonomic group. They are typically considered resilient to many environmental perturbations found in marine and coastal environments, due to effective physiological regulation of ions and hemolymph pH, and a robust exoskeleton. Ocean acidification can affect the ability of marine calcifying organisms to build and maintain mineralized tissue and poses a threat for all marine calcifying taxa. Currently, there is no consensus on how ocean acidification will alter the ecologically relevant exoskeletal properties of crustaceans. Here, we present a systematic review and meta‐analysis on the effects of ocean acidification on the crustacean exoskeleton, assessing both exoskeletal ion content (calcium and magnesium) and functional properties (biomechanical resistance and cuticle thickness). Our results suggest that the effect of ocean acidification on crustacean exoskeletal properties varies based upon seawater pCO₂ and species identity, with significant levels of heterogeneity for all analyses. Calcium and magnesium content was significantly lower in animals held at pCO₂ levels of 1500–1999 µatm as compared with those under ambient pCO₂. At lower pCO₂ levels, however, statistically significant relationships between changes in calcium and magnesium content within the same experiment were observed as follows: a negative relationship between calcium and magnesium content at pCO₂ of 500–999 µatm and a positive relationship at 1000–1499 µatm. Exoskeleton biomechanics, such as resistance to deformation (microhardness) and shell strength, also significantly decreased under pCO₂ regimes of 500–999 µatm and 1500–1999 µatm, indicating functional exoskeletal change coincident with decreases in calcification. Overall, these results suggest that the crustacean exoskeleton can be susceptible to ocean acidification at the biomechanical level, potentially predicated by changes in ion content, when exposed to high influxes of CO₂. Future studies need to accommodate the high variability of crustacean responses to ocean acidification, and ecologically relevant ranges of pCO₂ conditions, when designing experiments with conservation‐level endpoints.     

Interactions among ecosystem stressors and their importance in conservation

Interactions between multiple ecosystem stressors are expected to jeopardize biological processes, functions and biodiversity. The scientific community has declared stressor interactions—notably synergies—a key issue for conservation and management. Here, we review ecological literature over the past four decades to evaluate trends in the reporting of ecological interactions (synergies, antagonisms and additive effects) and highlight the implications and importance to conservation. Despite increasing popularity, and ever-finer terminologies, we find that synergies are (still) not the most prevalent type of interaction, and that conservation practitioners need to appreciate and manage for all interaction outcomes, including antagonistic and additive effects. However, it will not be possible to identify the effect of every interaction on every organism''s physiology and every ecosystem function because the number of stressors, and their potential interactions, are growing rapidly. Predicting the type of interactions may be possible in the near-future, using meta-analyses, conservation-oriented experiments and adaptive monitoring. Pending a general framework for predicting interactions, conservation management should enact interventions that are robust to uncertainty in interaction type and that continue to bolster biological resilience in a stressful world.     

Brassinosteroid-Mediated Stress Responses

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a group of naturally occurring plant steroidal compounds with wide-ranging biological activity that offer the unique possibility of increasing crop yields through both changing plant metabolism and protecting plants from environmental stresses. In recent years, genetic and biochemical studies have established an essential role for BRs in plant development, and on this basis BRs have been given the stature of a phytohormone. A remarkable feature of BRs is their potential to increase resistance in plants to a wide spectrum of stresses, such as low and high temperatures, drought, high salt, and pathogen attack. Despite this, only a few studies aimed at understanding the mechanism by which BRs promote stress resistance have been undertaken. Studies of the BR signaling pathway and BR gene-regulating properties indicate that there is cross-talk between BRs and other hormones, including those with established roles in plant defense responses such as abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, and ethylene. Recent studies aimed at understanding how BRs modulate stress responses suggest that complex molecular changes underlie BR-induced stress tolerance in plants. Analyses of these changes should generate exciting results in the future and clarify whether the ability of BRs to increase plant resistance to a range of stresses lies in the complex interactions of BRs with other hormones. Future studies should also elucidate if BRI1, an essential component of the BR receptor, directly participates in stress response signaling through interactions with ligands and proteins involved in plant defense responses.     

Advanced-level Biology—A Possible Approach

Teachers' conscious priorities in selecting topics for teaching rarely include the ‘biology/social science interfaces’; neither are many usually aware of the existence and implications of ‘hidden ideologies’ in the curriculum. This paper gives several examples of such interfaces, and stresses the point that only by redirecting the education of teachers can their awareness and priorities be suitably altered.     

Comment on Gallistel: Behavior theory and information theory: Some parallels

In this article, Gallistel proposes information theory as an approach to some enduring problems in the study of operant and classical conditioning.     

Changes of Genotype,Sensitivity and Aggressiveness in Phytophthora infestans Isolates Collected in European Countries in 1997, 2006 and 2007

A total of 241 isolates of Phytophthora infestans were collected in 1997, 2006 and 2007 in eight European countries and characterized with molecular markers (simple sequence repeats, SSR genotypes) and phenotypic traits such as sensitivity to fungicides, mating type and aggressiveness. The mating type distribution changed from mainly A1 in 1997 to a majority of A2 in 2007. No resistant isolates were detected for fluazinam and mandipropamid, whereas the proportion of isolates resistant to mefenoxam (MFX) was high and increased over the years. There was no genetic link between mating type and MFX resistance. Aggressiveness (product between lesion expansion and sporulation capacity) was slightly higher for MFX‐resistant compared to sensitive isolates and for isolates collected later compared to earlier in the same season. It was about equally high for A1 and A2 types, and for French isolates in 1997 and British isolates in 2007, but lower for French isolates in 2007. Six different SSR genotype families were distinguished. In 1997, populations were dominated by genotype families I and III/IV, which significantly declined in 2007 being largely displaced by genotype families II (‘blue 13’ type) and V, which are by coincidence mainly A2 MFX resistant and A1 MFX sensitive, respectively. However, mating type and MFX resistance were genetically not linked to SSR genotypes.     

Prediction of global geographic distribution of Metcalfa pruinosa using CLIMEX

Globalization has changed the habitats of various species, resulting in harmful pest invasion. Among these pests, Metcalfa pruinosa has caused worldwide economic and hygienic damage in both urban and agricultural/forested areas. It has been reported that prediction of pest distribution is key to the management of pest prevention. Hence, this study aimed to predict the potential geographic distribution of M. pruinosa under the current climate and under a climate change scenario. CLIMEX, modeling software that analyzes the habitat suitability of a target species based on comprehensive climatic and physiological data, was used mainly to establish a map of predictive distribution of M. pruinosa at present and in the future. Based on our simulations, we predict that M. pruinosa will tend to extend its distribution northward in North America and Europe. We conclude that climate change could result in M. pruinosa invasion in a northward direction, suggesting the need for a thorough system of control and prevention.