bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Isolated‐ and Beckwith‐Wiedemann syndrome related‐ lateralised overgrowth (hemihypertrophy): Clinical and molecular correlations in 94 individuals
Authors: Radley Jessica A. , Connolly Melissa , Sabir Ataf , Kanani Farah , Carley Helena , Jones Rachel L. , Hyder Zerin , Gompertz Lianne , Reardon Willie , Richardson Ruth , McClelland Louise , Maher Eamonn R. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe congenital imprinting disorder, Beckwith‐Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is associated with variable clinical features including hemihypertrophy/lateralised overgrowth (LO) and embryonal tumour predisposition. BWS‐associated (epi)genetic alterations occur in a subset of patients with isolated LO (ILO), leading to the concept of BWS spectrum disorder (BWSp). We investigated the relationship between clinical features and molecular diagnostic results in a cohort with LO using the BWSp international consensus group (BWSICG) clinical scoring system. Clinical/molecular findings in 94 previously‐unreported patients with LO referred for BWSp molecular studies were reviewed retrospectively. The BWSICG score was assigned and diagnostic rate calculated. BWSp‐associated (epi)genetic alteration was identified in 15/94 (16%). The molecular diagnostic rate by MS‐MLPA (blood DNA) for BWS‐related molecular findings in patients with LO was positively correlated with the BWSICG score. 3/48 with ILO had a molecular alteration. No individuals with ILO had developed an embryonal tumour at last follow up. Among a cohort of individuals with LO referred for BWSp molecular testing, the BWSICG score correlated with diagnostic yield. The embryonal tumour risk in children with ILO and negative molecular testing appeared very low, however longer‐ and more complete follow up is required to better define tumour risks in this group.
Effects of experience with access regimes on stewardship behaviors of small‐scale fishers
Authors: Rivera‐Hechem María I. , Guzmán Ricardo A. , Rodríguez‐Sickert Carlos , Gelcich Stefan 
Published: May 2021

AbstractGovernance regimes that assign exclusive access to support collective action are increasingly promoted to manage common‐pool resources under the premise that they foster environmental stewardship. However, experimental evidence linked to existing policies that support this premise is lacking. Overlapping access policies in small‐scale fisheries provide a unique opportunity to test the effects of access regimes on users’ stewardship behaviors. We performed a lab‐in‐the‐field experiment to assess how fishers’ previous experience with access regimes relates to compliance and peer enforcement (n = 120). Fishers’ compliance and peer‐enforcement decisions were compared in a common‐pool‐resource game. Treatments differed in framing to represent exclusive access and pseudo‐open access regimes, both of which fishers face in real life. To contrast behavior in the game with real‐life observations, we compared fishers’ associations that have shown relatively high and low management performance under exclusive access policies. Compliance and peer enforcement were higher under the exclusive access treatment than under the pseudo‐open access treatment only for fishers’ associations with high management performance in real life. Behaviors in the game reflected differences between associations in real life. Our results support previous research on ocean governance by experimentally assessing the role of access regimes in determining users’ stewardship and suggest potential mechanisms for stewardship internalization.
Social comfort zones for transformative conservation decisions in a changing climate
Authors: Hagerman Shannon , Satterfield Terre , Nawaz Sara , St‐Laurent Guillaume Peterson , Kozak Robert , Gregory Robin 
Published: May 2021

AbstractNovel management interventions intended to mitigate the impacts of climate change on biodiversity are increasingly being considered by scientists and practitioners. However, resistance to more transformative interventions remains common across both specialist and lay communities and is generally assumed to be strongly entrenched. We used a decision‐pathways survey of the public in Canada and the United States (n= 1490) to test two propositions relating to climate‐motivated interventions for conservation: most public groups are uncomfortable with interventionist options for conserving biodiversity and given the strong values basis for preferences regarding biodiversity and natural systems more broadly, people are unlikely to change their minds. Our pathways design tested and retested levels of comfort with interventions for forest ecosystems at three different points in the survey. Comfort was reexamined given different nudges (including new information from trusted experts) and in reference to a particular species (bristlecone pine [Pinus longaeva]). In contrast with expectations of public unease, baseline levels of public comfort with climate interventions in forests was moderately high (46% comfortable) and increased further when respondents were given new information and the opportunity to change their choice after consideration of a particular species. People who were initially comfortable with interventions tended to remain so (79%), whereas 42% of those who were initially uncomfortable and 40% of those who were uncertain shifted to comfortable by the end of the survey. In short and across questions, comfort levels with interventions were high, and where discomfort or uncertainty existed, such positions did not appear to be strongly held. We argue that a new decision logic, one based on anthropogenic responsibility, is beginning to replace a default reluctance to intervene with nature.
Efficiency of Northern pike (Esox lucius) stocking in metropolitan France at large spatial and temporal scales
Authors: Guillerault Nicolas , Loot Géraldine , Blanchet Simon , Millet Paul , Musseau Camille , Cucherousset Julien , Santoul Frédéric 
Published: May 2021

AbstractStocking and electrofishing occurrence and abundance data for northern pike Esox lucius L. in >3800 km of French rivers across 7 years were compared to assess the effect of recreational fisheries stocking programmes on wild pike populations. A positive relationship was found between the additive effect of stocking and the size of the stocked pike. However, the stocking programmes implemented in France by recreational fishery managers from 2008 to 2013 increased the probability of pike occurring in the river network, without increasing abundance in well‐established pike populations, because pike stocked in their early‐life stages were used in most of the stocking programmes.
Ontogeny versus environmental forcing off the Southwest Atlantic Ocean: Nutritional condition of Fuegian sprat (Sprattus fuegensis) early stages
Authors: García Alonso Virginia Andrea , Diaz Marina Vera , Pájaro Marcelo , Capitanio Fabiana Lia 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe Fuegian sprat, Sprattus fuegensis, plays a key trophic role in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean. Growth and survival of small pelagic fishes like sprat are strongly affected by environmental variability and can determine recruitment success. We estimated the nucleic acid composition and assessed with a standardized RNA/DNA index (sRD) the nutritional condition of 273 larvae, metamorphosing, and juvenile Fuegian sprat from two environmentally distinct habitats: the waters off Tierra del Fuego (TDF) and the Marine Protected Area Namuncurá/Burdwood Bank (MPAN/BB). A similar ontogenetic pattern, in which nucleic acid concentrations decreased and sRD increased with increasing standard length (SL) among larval stages was observed in both habitats. A higher percentage of preflexion larvae were under the sRD threshold for growth and optimal growth performance, with sRD values being significantly higher in TDF. Postflexion larvae in both habitats showed maximum sRD values, suggesting that both habitats are suitable nursery grounds. In contrast, metamorphosing and juvenile sprat (only captured in TDF) had consistently low nucleic acid concentrations and sRD values despite increasing SL. Environmental forcing (temperature, salinity, and station depth) was assessed over size‐corrected larval sRD. The best model included a negative response to station depth, and the effect of processes associated with this factor are discussed. Although further analyses are needed to reveal underlying dynamics determining early development, these results comprise a baseline for future monitoring approaches on Fuegian sprat life traits and factors affecting their recruitment in this region.
Long‐term increases in shell thickness in Elliptio complanata (Bivalvia: Unionidae) in the freshwater tidal Hudson River
Authors: Strayer David L. , Hamilton Stephen K. , Malcom Heather M. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

The shells of freshwater molluscs are highly plastic in response to environmental and ecological conditions, which can affect ecological interactions and ecosystem functioning.

We tested for changes in relative shell thickness in the unionid bivalve Elliptio complanata in the freshwater tidal Hudson River over 1991–2017, a period of changing water chemistry and predation pressure.

Shells of both juveniles (shells <20 mm long) and larger animals became substantially (c. 10%–25%) and significantly heavier (for a given shell length) over the study period. This parallels previously published results for the non‐native zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha in the Hudson.

Increased shell thickness during the study period could be explained by rising pH, alkalinity, and temperature, which increased calcite saturation and favoured the precipitation of calcium carbonate shells, as well as a response to greater predation by shell‐crushing predators.

Because the factors that affect shell thickness (e.g. calcium carbonate saturation and presence and abundance of predators) are changing rapidly in many lakes and rivers, similar large changes in shell thickness may be occurring in fresh waters around the world, affecting ecological interactions and ecosystem functioning.
Regime shift tipping point in hare population collapse associated with climatic and agricultural change during the very early 20th century
Authors: Reid Neil , Brommer Jon E. , Stenseth Nils C. , Marnell Ferdia , McDonald Robbie A. , Montgomery W. Ian 
Published: May 2021

AbstractAnimal populations at northern latitudes may have cyclical dynamics that are degraded by climate change leading to trophic cascade. Hare populations at more southerly latitudes are characterized by dramatic declines in abundance associated with agricultural intensification. We focus on the impact of historical climatic and agricultural change on a mid‐latitude population of mountain hares, Lepus timidus hibernicus. Using game bag records from multiple sites throughout Ireland, the hare population index exhibited a distinct regime shift. Contrary to expectations, there was a dynamical structure typical of northern latitude hare populations from 1853 to 1908, during which numbers were stable but cyclic with a periodicity of 8 years. This regime was replaced by dynamics more typical of southern latitude hare populations from 1909 to 1970, in which cycles were lost and numbers declined dramatically. Destabilization of the autumn North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) led to the collapse of similar cycles in the hare population, coincident with the onset of agricultural intensification (a shift from small‐to‐large farms) in the first half of the 20th century. Similar, but more recent regime shifts have been observed in Arctic ecosystems and attributed to anthropogenic climate change. The present study suggests such shifts may have occurred at lower latitudes more than a century ago during the very early 20th century. It seems likely that similar tipping points in the population collapse of other farmland species may have occurred similarly early but went undocumented. As northern systems are increasingly impacted by climate change and probable expansion of agriculture, the interaction of these processes is likely to disrupt the pulsed flow of resources from cyclic populations impacting ecosystem function.
Long‐term nitrogen input alters plant and soil bacterial, but not fungal beta diversity in a semiarid grassland
Authors: Liu Weixing , Liu Lingli , Yang Xian , Deng Meifeng , Wang Zhou , Wang Pandeng , Yang Sen , Li Ping , Peng Ziyang , Yang Lu , Jiang Lin 
Published: May 2021

AbstractAnthropogenic nitrogen (N) input is known to alter plant and microbial α‐diversity, but how N enrichment influences β‐diversity of plant and microbial communities remains poorly understood. Using a long‐term multilevel N addition experiment in a temperate steppe, we show that plant, soil bacterial and fungal communities exhibited different responses in their β‐diversity to N input. Plant β‐diversity decreased linearly as N addition increased, as a result of increased directional environmental filtering, where soil environmental properties largely explained variation in plant β‐diversity. Soil bacterial β‐diversity first increased then decreased with increasing N input, which was best explained by corresponding changes in soil environmental heterogeneity. Soil fungal β‐diversity, however, remained largely unchanged across the N gradient, with plant β‐diversity, soil environmental properties, and heterogeneity together explaining an insignificant fraction of variation in fungal β‐diversity, reflecting the importance of stochastic community assembly. Our study demonstrates the divergent effect of N enrichment on the assembly of plant, soil bacterial and fungal communities, emphasizing the need to examine closely associated fundamental components (i.e., plants and microorganisms) of ecosystems to gain a more complete understanding of ecological consequences of anthropogenic N enrichment.
Spring phenology drives range shifts in a migratory Arctic ungulate with key implications for the future
Authors: Severson John P. , Johnson Heather E. , Arthur Stephen M. , Leacock William B. , Suitor Michael J. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractAnnual variation in phenology can have profound effects on the behavior of animals. As climate change advances spring phenology in ecosystems around the globe, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how animals respond to variation in the timing of seasonal events and how their responses may shift in the future. We investigated the influence of spring phenology on the behavior of migratory, barren‐ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus), a species that has evolved to cope with short Arctic summers. Specifically, we examined the effect of spring snow melt and vegetation growth on the current and potential future space‐use patterns of the Porcupine Caribou Herd (PCH), which exhibits large, inter‐annual shifts in their calving and post‐calving distributions across the U.S.–Canadian border. We quantified PCH selection for snow melt and vegetation phenology using machine learning models, determined how selection resulted in annual shifts in space‐use, and then projected future distributions based on climate‐driven phenology models. Caribou exhibited strong, scale‐dependent selection for both snow melt and vegetation growth. During the calving season, caribou selected areas at finer scales where the snow had melted and vegetation was greening, but within broader landscapes that were still brown or snow covered. During the post‐calving season, they selected vegetation with intermediate biomass expected to have high forage quality. Annual variation in spring phenology predicted major shifts in PCH space‐use. In years with early spring phenology, PCH predominately used habitat in Alaska, while in years with late phenology, they spent more time in Yukon. Future climate conditions were projected to advance spring phenology, shifting PCH calving and post‐calving distributions further west into Alaska. Our results demonstrate that caribou selection for habitat in specific phenological stages drive dramatic shifts in annual space‐use patterns, and will likely affect future distributions, underscoring the importance of maintaining sufficient suitable habitat to allow for behavioral plasticity.
Plant evolution overwhelms geographical origin in shaping rhizosphere fungi across latitudes
Authors: Wei Chunqiang , Gao Lunlun , Tang Xuefei , Lu Xinmin 
Published: May 2021

AbstractAs the number of non‐native invasive species in the world is increasing, there is a pressing need to understand the effects of invasive species on recipient biotic communities to improve our ability to migrate or relieve their potential negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Plant invasions have been shown to impose great threats to aboveground biotic communities; however, invasive impacts on soil biota remain ambiguous, partially because of the paucity of studies with a large number of species across biogeographic gradients. Here, we characterized rhizosphere fungal communities of 53 native and invasive plants spanning approximately 1800 km in China, as well as eight pairs of phylogenetically related native versus invasive plants in a greenhouse experiment. The results of both field survey and greenhouse experiment showed that rhizosphere fungal composition was primarily predicted by plant phylogeny (e.g. family and species), and plant geographic origin (native vs. invasive) and abiotic factors had much smaller effects. We detected no differences in the number and relative abundance of total and family/species‐specific OTUs (i.e. overall, pathogens and mutualists) associated with these native and invasive plants on average, suggesting novel co‐evolution between native soil fungi and these invasive plants. These results suggest that non‐native plant invasions had only a weak impact on soil fungi, partially due to stronger controls of plant evolution on rhizosphere fungi and adaptation of native fungi to these invasive species. Interestingly, rhizosphere fungal composition was more variable between invasive plants than between native plants at middle latitudes, potentially creating spatial variations in plant–soil interactions and, in turn, invasion dynamics. These novel findings highlight the importance of integrating phylogenetic and biogeographical approaches to explore invasive effects on native biota.
Rapid functional shifts across high latitude forests over the last 65 years
Authors: Hisano Masumi , Ryo Masahiro , Chen Xinli , Chen Han Y. H. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractGlobal environmental changes have strongly affected forest demographic rates, particularly amplified tree mortality in high latitude forests (e.g., two to five times greater mortality probability over the half‐century). Although forest functional composition is critical for multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, it remains unclear how functional composition has changed over time across large high latitude regions, which have been warming twice the rate of the globe as a whole. Using extensive spatial and long‐term forest inventory data (17,107 plots monitored 1951–2016) across Canada, we found that after accounting for stand age‐dependent functional shifts, functional composition shifted toward fast‐growing deciduous broadleaved trees and higher drought tolerance over time. The temporal shift toward deciduous broadleaved trees was consistent across the baseline climate. However, over the study period, drought tolerance increased (or shade tolerance decreased) by 300% in colder boreal regions, while drought tolerance did not shift significantly in warmer temperate climates. A further analysis accounting for temporal changes in atmospheric CO2, temperature, and water availability indicated that the functional composition of colder regions shifted toward drought tolerance more rapidly with rising CO2 than warmer regions, suggesting the greater vulnerability of boreal forests than temperate forests under ongoing global environmental changes. Future ecosystem management practices should consider spatial differences in functional responses to global environmental change, focusing on high latitude forests experiencing higher rates of warming and compositional changes.
Forests buffer the climate‐induced decline of body mass in a mountain herbivore
Authors: Reiner Rudolf , Zedrosser Andreas , Zeiler Hubert , Hackländer Klaus , Corlatti Luca 
Published: May 2021

AbstractClimate change is known to affect key life‐history traits, such as body mass, reproduction, and survival in many species. Animal populations inhabiting mountain habitats are adapted to extreme seasonal environmental conditions but are also expected to be especially vulnerable to climate change. Studies on mountain ungulates typically focus on populations or sections of populations living above the tree line, whereas populations inhabiting forested habitats are largely understudied. Here, we investigate whether forested areas can mitigate the impact of climatic change on life‐history traits by evaluating the interactive effects of temperature and habitat characteristics on body mass variation in the Alpine chamois Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra. We examined data of 20,573 yearling chamois collected from 1993 to 2019 in 28 mountain ranges in the Austrian Eastern Alps, characterized by different proportion of forest cover. Our results show that the temporal decline of chamois body mass is less pronounced in areas with greater proportion of forest cover. For chamois living in forest habitats only, no significant temporal change in body mass was detected. Variation in body mass was affected by the interaction between density and snow cover, as well as by the interaction between spring temperatures and forest cover, supporting the role of forests as thermal buffer against the effects of increasing temperatures on life‐history traits in a mountain ungulate. In turn, this study suggests a buffering effect of forests against climate change impacts. Assessments of the consequences of climate change on the life‐history traits and population dynamics of mountain‐dwelling species should thus consider the plasticity of the species with respect to the use and availability of different habitat types.
Accumulation of C4‐carbon from Miscanthus in organic‐matter‐rich soils
Authors: Leifeld Jens , Alewell Christine , Paul Sonja M. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractTo evaluate the sustainability of biomass plantations, effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) need to be quantified. Miscanthus × giganteus is increasingly used as a bioenergy plant, and it has been hypothesized that, after conversion from cropland, Miscanthus cropping increases SOC storage, whereas conversion from grassland to Miscanthus provides, on average, no sequestration. All field studies hitherto were carried out on mineral soils with topsoil SOC contents of below 3.3%. Here, we analyze in the temperate zone of Switzerland five sites that have been cultivated with Miscanthus for 19–24 years and of which four sites are higher in topsoil SOC content (4.7%–16.2%) and storage (188–262 t SOC) than any previously studied Miscanthus plantation in Europe. We used the difference in carbon isotopic signature between C4 (Miscanthus) and neighboring plots with C3 vegetation (grassland) to quantify the accumulation of new SOC from Miscanthus down to 0.75 m. Annual C4‐C accumulation rates were 1.66 (standard error ± 0.14) t C4‐C ha−1 year−1 (range: 1.26–2.01) in the upper 0.3 m of soil and 1.96 (±0.18) t C4‐C ha−1 year−1 (1.40–2.38) in 0–0.75 m. Average rates for 0–0.3 m were higher than those of mineral soils (n = 37) published previously (0.96 [±0.10] t C4‐C ha−1 year−1). However, high rates of C4‐C accumulation were also reported previously for some mineral soils. Nevertheless, the one mineral soil in our study did not reveal a systematically different accumulation of Miscanthus‐derived carbon compared with the four carbon‐rich soils. We therefore conclude that soils rich in organic matter do not show a different C4‐C accumulation pattern as compared with mineral soils. However, their C4‐C accumulation rates are at the upper end of the data ensemble. Our results further underpin that conversion to Miscanthus, despite C4‐C accumulation, provides no means to increase soil carbon stocks relative to grassland management.