The geographical origin of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) remains debated. While a first hypothesis suggests the center of origin to be west Africa, where a sister endemic species C. mucosospermus thrives, a second hypothesis suggests north-eastern Africa where the white-fleshed Sudanese Kordophan melon is cultivated. In this study, we infer biogeographical and haplotype genealogy for C. lanatus, C. mucosospermus, C. amarus, and C. colocynthis using non-coding cpDNA sequences (trnT-trnL and ndhF-rpl32 regions) from a global collection of 135 accessions. In total, we identified 38 haplotypes in C. lanatus, C. mucosospermus, C. amarus, and C. colocynthis; of these, 21 were found in Africa and 17 appear endemic to the continent. The least diverse species was C. mucosospermus (5 haplotypes) and the most diverse was C. colocynthis (16 haplotypes). Some haplotypes of C. mucosospermus were nearly exclusive to West-Africa, and C. lanatus and C. mucosospermus shared haplotypes that were distinct from those of both C. amarus and C. colocynthis. The results support previous findings C. mucosospermus to be the closest relative to C. lanatus (including subsp. cordophanus). West Africa, as a center of endemism of C. mucosospermus, is an area of interest in the search of the origin of C. lanatus. This calls for further historical and phylogeographical investigations and wider collection of samples in West and North-East Africa.

The Small East African (SEA) goat (Capra hircus) breeds are widely distributed in different agro-ecological zones of Tanzania. We report the genetic diversity, maternal origin, and phylogenetic relationship among the 12 Tanzanian indigenous goats populations, namely Fipa (n = 44), Songwe (n = 34), Tanga (n = 33), Pwani (n = 40), Newala (n = 49), Lindi (n = 46), Gogo (n = 73), Pare (n = 67), Maasai (n = 72), Sukuma (n = 67), and Ujiji (n = 67), based on the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop. High haplotype (Hd = 0.9619-0.9945) and nucleotide (π = 0.0120-0.0162) diversities were revealed from a total of 389 haplotypes. The majority of the haplotypes (h = 334) drawn from all the goat populations belonged to Haplogroup A which was consistent with the global scenario on the genetic pattern of maternal origin of all goat breeds in the world. Haplogroup G comprised of 45 haplotypes drawn from all populations except the Ujiji goat population while Haplogroup B with 10 haplotypes was dominated by Ujiji goats (41%). Tanzanian goats shared four haplotypes with the Kenyan goats and two with goats from South Africa, Namibia, and Mozambique. There was no sharing of haplotypes observed between individuals from Tanzanian goat populations with individuals from North or West Africa. The indigenous goats in Tanzania have high genetic diversity defined by 389 haplotypes and multiple maternal origins of haplogroup A, B and G. There is a lot of intermixing and high genetic variation within populations which represent an abundant resource for selective breeding in the different agro-ecological regions of the country.

Satyrium is an endangered and rare genus of plant that has various pharmacodynamic functions. In this study, MaxEnt default parameters were adjusted by the ENMeval package. Optimized MaxEnt models were used in analyzing potential geographical distributions under current and future climatic conditions (the 2050s and 2070s) and dominant environmental variables influencing their geographic distribution. The results provided reference for implementation of long-term conservation and management approaches for the species. The results showed the area of the total suitable habitat for S. ciliatum in China is 32.51 × 104 km2, the total suitable habitat area for S. nepalense in China is 61.76 × 104 km2, and the area of the total suitable habitat for S. yunnanense in China is 89.73 × 104 km2 under current climatic conditions. The potential suitable habitat of Satyrium is mainly distributed in Southwest China. The major environmental variables influencing the geographical distribution of S. ciliatum were isothermality (bio3), temperature seasonality (bio4), and mean temperature of coldest quarter (bio11). Environmental variables such as isothermality (bio3), temperature seasonality (bio4), and precipitation of coldest quarter (bio19) affected the geographical distribution of S. nepalense; and environmental variables such as isothermality (bio3), temperature seasonality (bio4), and lower temperature of coldest month (bio6) affected the geographical distribution of S. yunnanense. The distribution range of Satyrium was extended as global warming increased, showing emissions of greenhouse gases with lower concentration (SSP1-2.6) and higher concentration (SSP5-8.5). According to the study, the distribution of suitable habitat will shift with a change to higher elevation areas and higher latitude areas in the future.

1. Quantifying consumption and prey choice for marine predator species is key to understanding their interaction with prey species, fisheries, and the ecosystem as a whole. However, parameterising a functional response for large predators can be challenging because of the difficulty in obtaining the required datasets on predator diet and the availability of multiple prey species. 2. This study modelled a Multi-Species Functional Response (MSFR) to describe the relationship between consumption by harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and the availability of multiple prey species in the southern North Sea. Bayesian methodology was employed to estimate MSFR parameters and to incorporate uncertainties in diet and prey availability estimates. Prey consumption was estimated from stomach contents data of stranded harbour porpoises. Prey availability to harbour porpoises was estimated based on the spatial overlap between prey distributions, estimated from fish survey data, and porpoise foraging range in the days prior to stranding predicted from telemetry data. 3. Results indicated a strong preference for sandeel in the study area. Prey switching behaviour (change in preference dependent on prey abundance) was confirmed by the favoured Type III functional response model. Variation in the size of the foraging range (estimated area where harbour porpoises could have foraged prior to stranding) did not alter the overall pattern of the results or conclusions. 4. Integrating datasets on prey consumption from strandings, predator foraging distribution using telemetry and prey availability from fish surveys into the modelling approach provides a methodological framework that may be appropriate for fitting MSFRs for other predators.

1. Silicon mediated plant–herbivore interactions have gained increasing recognition and have now been studied in a wide range of species. Many studies have also considered accumulation of Si by plants as a process largely driven by geo-hydrological cycles. 2. To identify factors driving the water - plant Si - herbivore nexus we analysed the concentration of Si in fibrous tussock sedge (Carex appropinquata), the population density of the root vole (Microtus oeconomus) and the ground water level, over 11 years. 3. The largest influence of autumn Si concentration in leaves (Sileaf) was the level of the current year’s ground water table, which accounted for 13.3% of its variance. The previous year’s vole population density was weakly positively correlated with Sileaf and alone explained 9.5% of its variance. 4. The only variable found to have a positive, significant effect on autumn Si concentration in rhizomes (Sirhiz) was the current year spring water level explaining as much as 60.9% of its variance. 5. We conclude that the changes in Si concentration in fibrous tussock sedge are predominantly driven by hydrology, with vole population dynamics being secondary. Our results provide only partial support for the existence of plant-herbivore interactions, as we did not detect the significant effects of Si tussock concentration on the vole density dynamics. This was mainly due to low level of silification of sedges, which was insufficient to impinge herbivores. Future studies on plant–herbivore interactions should therefore mainly focus on identification of mechanisms and conditions allowing plants to accumulate silica at the levels sufficient to act as an anti-herbivore protection.

Species boundaries are difficult to establish in groups with very similar morphology. As an alternative, it has been suggested to integrate multiple sources of data to clarify taxonomic problems in taxa where cryptic speciation processes have been reported. This is the case of the harvest mouse Reithrodontomys mexicanus, which has a problematic taxonomy history as it is considered a complex species. Here, we evaluate the cryptic diversity of R. mexicanus using an integrative taxonomy approach in order to detect candidate lineages at the species-level. The molecular analysis used one mitochondrial (cytb) and two nuclear (Fgb-I7 and IRBP) genes. Species hypotheses were suggested based on three molecular delimitation methods (mPTP, bGMYC, and STACEY), and cytb genetic distances values. Skull and environmental space differences between the delimited species were also tested to complement the discrimination of candidate species. Based on the consensus across the delimitation methods and genetic distance values, four species were proposed, which were mostly supported by morphometric and ecological data: R. mexicanus clade I, R. mexicanus clade IIA, R. mexicanus clade IIIA, and R. mexicanus clade IIIB. In addition, the evolutionary relationships between the species that comprise the R. mexicanus group were discussed from a phylogenetic approach. Our findings present important taxonomic implications for Reithrodontomys, as the number of known species for this genus increases. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of the use of multiple sources of data in systematic studies to establish robust delimitations between species considered taxonomically complex.

1. The structure, composition, and shape of teeth have been related to dietary specialization in many vertebrate species, except snakes. Yet, snakes have diverse dietary habits that may impact the shape of their teeth. We hypothesize that prey properties, such as hardness and shape, as well as feeding behavior, such as aquatic or arboreal predation, or holding vigorous prey, impose constraints on the evolution of tooth shape in snakes. 2. We compared the morphology of the dentary teeth of 63 species that cover the phylogenetic and dietary diversity of snakes, using 3D geometric morphometrics and linear measurements. 3. Our results show that prey hardness, foraging substrate and the main mechanical challenge are important drivers of tooth shape, size, and curvature. 4. Overall, long, slender, curved teeth with a thin layer of hard tissue are observed in species that need to maintain a grip on their prey. Short, stout, less curved teeth are associated with species that undergo high or repeated loads. 5. Our study demonstrates the diversity of tooth morphology in snakes and the need to investigate its underlying functional implications to better understand the evolution of teeth in vertebrates.

Cushion plants are widely representative species of the alpine ecosystem due to their vital roles in the abiotic and biotic environments, ecological succession processes, and ecosystem engineering. Importantly, Cushion plants, such as Androsace L. and Arenaria L., can be regarded as critical pioneers of ecosystem health, restoration and sustainability across the Tibetan Plateau because these plants (i) exhibit tenacious vitality, regulate regional climates, substrates and soil nutrients and keep warmth in extreme regions; (ii) facilitate relationships with surrounding and maintain the diversity of above- and below-ground communities; and (iii) have high sensitivity to environmental changes, which can indicate grassland ecosystem health and resilience in the context of global change.

Submerged macrophytes play a key role in maintaining a clear-water phase and promoting biodiversity in shallow aquatic ecosystems. Since their abundance has declined globally due to anthropogenic activities, it is important to include them in aquatic ecosystem restoration programs. That macrophytes establish in early spring is crucial for maintaining the macrophyte communities for the remainder of the year. However, factors affecting this early establishment of submerged macrophytes have not been fully explored yet. Here, we conducted an outdoor experiment from winter to early spring using the submerged macrophytes Potamogeton crispus and Vallisneria spinulosa to study the effects of shading, nutrient loading, snail herbivory (Radix swinhoei) and their interactions on the early growth and stoichiometric characteristics of macrophytes. The results show that the effects strongly depend on macrophyte species. Biomass and number of shoots of P. crispus decreased, and internode length increased during low light conditions, but were not affected by nutrient loading. P. crispus shoot biomass and number showed hump-shaped responses to increased snail biomass under full light. In contrast, the biomass of the plant linearly decreased with snail biomass under low light. This indicates an interaction of light with snail herbivory. Since snails prefer grazing on periphyton over macrophytes, a low density of snails promoted growth of P. crispus by removing periphyton competition, while herbivory on the macrophyte increased during a high density of snails. The growth of V. spinulosa was not affected by any of the factors, probably because of growth limitation by low temperature. Our study demonstrates that the interaction of light with snail herbivory may affect establishment and growth of submerged macrophytes in early spring. Macrophyte restoration projects may thus benefit from lowering water levels to increase light availability and making smart use of cold-adapted herbivores to reduce light competition with periphyton.

We examined whether the presence or absence of different environmental stressors influenced the reproductive potential of a saltmarsh species - Plantago maritima. We focused on total seed output, seed quality and biomass of progeny. So far, there are no studies trying to answer the question of how different saltmarsh management affects the quality of seed in saltmarsh species. For the purposes of the study, plots subjected to light mowing, light or heavy grazing, trampling or rooting were designated in three nature reserves in Poland. On each plot, the abundance of infructescences per sq. metre was calculated. Mature infructascences were collected and their length and no of fruit capsules were measured. The seeds obtained from fruit capsules were weighted and sown in controlled conditions. The germination rate and the final germination percentage were calculated. A representative number of sprouts were grown. After a period of two months, the specimens were harvested and their total dry mass was measured. It was found that heavy grazing had the greatest effect on all of the studied characteristics. The presence of this factor resulted in shorter infructescences with a smaller number of fruit capsules. However, this phenomenon was compensated by the higher abundance of infructescences per sq. metre. At the same time seeds produced by grazed specimens were significantly lighter. Intensive trampling by people affected specimens in a similar way to heavy grazing, while mowing and rooting had less impact on the considered characteristics. Although a positive correlation between seed mass and germination success was found, the altogether lower seed mass had a negligible effect on germination parameters. Also, the differences in seed parameters did not affect dry mass of obtained progeny grown in lab conditions.

Coral reef fish larvae are tiny, exceedingly numerous, and hard to track. They are also highly capable, equipped with swimming and sensory abilities that may influence their dispersal trajectories. Despite the importance of larval input to the dynamics of a population, we remain reliant on indirect insights to the processes influencing larval behaviour and transport. Here, we used genetic data (300 independent single nucleotide polymorphisms) derived from a light trap sample of a single recruitment event of Dascyllus abudafur in the Red Sea (N=168 settlers). We analysed the genetic composition of the larvae and assessed whether kinship among these was significantly different from random as evidence for cohesive dispersal during the larval phase. We simulated many iterations of similar-sized recruitment cohorts to compare the expected kinship composition relative to our empirical data. The high number of siblings within the empirical cohort strongly suggests cohesive dispersal among larvae. This work highlights the utility of kinship analysis as a means of inferring dynamics during the pelagic larval phase.

Na+ and Cl– are the most abundant dissolved ions in seawater, constituting ~85% of total ions. They significantly affect the osmolality of body fluids of marine invertebrates. Seawater also contains minor ions such as Mg2+, Ca2+, K+, and SO42–, but their effects on marine organisms are unclear. This study analyzed the effects of Mg2+, Ca2+, and K+ (ambient minor cations) on survival, hemolymph ionic composition, and gene expression in the gills of three euryhaline crabs: Helice tridens, Macrophthalmus japonicus, and Chiromantes dehaani. Ambient minor cations were required for survival of H. tridens and M. japonicus under isosmotic conditions with seawater. The ambient minor cations also affected the osmolality and ionic composition of hemolymph by regulating expressions of specific genes in the gills required for Na+ uptake, such as Na+/K+ ATPase, cytoplasmic carbonic anhydrase, and Na+/H+ exchanger. Administration of carbonic anhydrase and Na+/H+ exchanger inhibitors increased the survival rate even if ambient minor cations did not exist. In contrast, under hypo-osmotic conditions, ambient minor cations had different effects on crabs; a lethal effect on M. japonicus, and an increase of the hemolymph K+ concentration in H. tridens and M. japonicus. It is thus concluded that the effects of ambient minor cations are osmolality–dependent. In contrast, in C. dehaani, the hemolymph ionic composition and survival rate were hardly affected by ambient minor cations, probably reflecting the habitat of this species. These results strongly indicated that C. dehaani is less susceptive to ambient minor cations compared to H. tridens and M. japonicus.

1. Studies on the effects of human-driven forest disturbance usually focus on either biodiversity or carbon dynamics but much less is known about ecosystem processes that integrate trophic levels. Herbivory is one fundamental ecological process for ecosystem functioning that remains underexplored and is poorly quantified in human-modified tropical rainforests. 2. Here, we present the results of the largest study to date on the impacts of human disturbances on herbivory. We quantified the incidence and severity of herbivory caused by chewers, miners and gall-formers in 199,869 canopy leaf blades from 1,102 trees distributed across 20 forest plots located along a gradient of human disturbance in the Amazon. 3. We found that chewers dominated herbivory incidence, yet were not a good predictor of the other forms of herbivory either at the stem or plot level. Herbivory severity was correlated with disturbance intensity, being greater at more disturbed sites. 4. Synthesis. Although our large-scale study of canopy herbivory in Amazonian forests suggests that human disturbance increases the severity of leaf herbivory, effects were weak. Additionally, we found no effect of human disturbance in incidence of leaf herbivory. These results combined indicate that herbivory is a relatively resilient process to human impacts.

Restoring vegetation can effectively reduce soil erosion and significantly improve soil properties and quality. To analyze the response of soil organic carbon components and related enzymes to different vegetation types in the northern Loess Plateau, we collected soil samples of four vegetation types: Xanthoceras sorbifolia (XS), Hippophae rhamnoides (HR), Caragana korshinskii (CK), and Grassland (GL). We used these samples to analyze the organic carbon components (i.e., soil organic carbon (SOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), easily oxidized carbon (EOC), particulate organic carbon (POC) )and enzyme activities (i.e., amylase, catalase, urease and sucrase). We found that the content of the soil organic carbon fractions and the enzyme activities was greater in the upper layer than in the lower layer for each vegetation type except for MBC and catalase activity, where we observed no significant difference between soil layers. The EOC and amylase of GL vegetation were significantly higher than in other vegetation types. POC, SOC, urease and sucrase were considerably higher in SX vegetation than in other vegetation types. The maximum soil MBC content was found in HR vegetation, and among the four vegetation types, MBC content varied significantly differences in the lower layer, but no significant difference was observed in the surface soil. Correlation analysis demonstrated that the MBC content significantly influenced urease and sucrase activities, and that SOC significantly influenced urease and sucrase activities. These results emphasize the importance of the organic components of soil and the activities of soil enzymes in different kinds of vegetation in the Loess Plateau, providing a basis for improving the sustainable restoration of vegetative ecosystems.

Phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) is an important long-term stable carbon fraction in grassland ecosystems, and plays a promising role in global carbon sequestration. Determination of the PhytOC traits of different plants in major grassland types is crucial for precisely assessing their PhytOC sequestration potential. Precipitation is the predominant factor in controlling net primary productivity (NPP) and species composition of the semiarid steppe grasslands. We selected three representative steppe communities of desert steppe, dry typical steppe and wet typical steppe in Northern Grasslands of China along a precipitation gradient, to investigate their species composition, biomass production and PhytOC content for quantifying its long-term carbon sequestration potential. Our results showed that (i) the phytolith and PhytOC contents in plants differed significantly among species, with dominant grass and sedge species having relatively high contents, and the contents are significantly higher in below- than the aboveground parts. (ii) The phytolith contents of plant communities were 16.68, 17.94 and 15.85 g kg-1 in the above- and 85.44, 58.73 and 76.94 g kg-1 in the belowground biomass of desert steppe, dry typical steppe and wet typical steppe, respectively; and the PhytOC contents were 0.68, 0.48 and 0.59 g kg-1 in the above- and 1.11, 0.72 and 1.02 g kg-1 in the belowground biomass of the three steppe types. (iii) Climatic factors affected phytolith and PhytOC production of steppe communities mainly through altering plant production, whereas their effects on phytolith and PhytOC contents were relatively small. Plant aboveground biomass and PhytOC content were strongly associated with the current-year climate and soil bio-available Si content; while plant belowground biomass and PhytOC content were relatively stable, and their variation across the sites is in accordance with the spatial variation in the long-term means of climatic and soil factors, reflecting the perenniality of plant belowground part.

In land plants, heteroblasty broadly refers to a drastic change in morphology during growth through ontogeny. Juniperus flaccida and Pinus cembroides are conifers of independent lineages known to exhibit leaf heteroblasty between the juvenile and adult life stage of development. Juvenile leaves of P. cembroides develop spirally on the main stem and appear decurrent, flattened and needle-like; whereas, adult photosynthetic leaves are triangular or semi-circular needle-like, and grow in whorls on secondary or tertiary compact dwarf shoots. By comparison, J. flaccida juvenile leaves are decurrent and needle-like, and adult leaves are compact, short and scale-like. Comparative analyses were performed to evaluate differences in anatomy and gene expression patterns between developmental phases in both species. RNA from twelve samples was sequenced and analyzed with available software. They were assembled de novo from the RNA-Seq reads. Following assembly, 63,741 high quality transcripts were functionally annotated in P. cembroides and 69,448 in J. flaccida. Evaluation of the orthologous groups yielded 4,140 shared gene families among the four references (adult and juvenile from each species). Activities related to cell division and development were more abundant in juveniles than adults in P. cembroides, and more abundant in adults than juveniles in J. flaccida. Overall, there were 509 up-regulated and 81 down-regulated genes in the juvenile condition of P. cembroides and 18 up-regulated and 20 down-regulated in J. flaccida. Gene interaction network analysis showed evidence of co-expression and co-localization of up-regulated genes involved in cell wall and cuticle formation, development, and phenylpropanoid pathway, in juvenile P. cembroides leaves. Whereas in J. flaccida, differential expression and gene interaction patterns were detected in genes involved in photosynthesis and chloroplast biogenesis. Although J. flaccida and P. cembroides both exhibit leaf heteroblastic development, little overlap was detected and unique genes and pathways were highlighted in this study.

Sexual selection frequently promotes the evolution of aggressive behaviours that help males compete against their rivals, but which may harm females and hamper their fitness. Kin selection theory predicts that optimal male-male competition levels can be reduced when competitors are more genetically related to each other than to the population average, contributing to resolve this sexual conflict. Work in Drosophila melanogaster has spearheaded empirical tests of this idea, but studies so far have been conducted in lab-adapted populations in homogeneous rearing environments that may hamper kin recognition, and used highly skewed sex ratios that may fail to reflect average natural conditions. Here, we performed a fully factorial design with the aim of exploring how rearing environment (i.e. familiarity) and relatedness affect male-male aggression, male harassment, and overall male harm levels in a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster, under more natural conditions. Namely, we: a) manipulated relatedness and familiarity so that larvae reared apart were raised in different environments, as is common in the wild, and b) studied the effects of relatedness and familiarity under average levels of male-male competition in the field. We show that, contrary to previous findings, groups of unrelated-unfamiliar males were as likely to fight with each other and harass females than related-familiar males, and that overall levels of male harm to females were similar across treatments. Our results suggest that the role of kin selection in modulating sexual conflict is yet unclear in Drosophila melanogaster, and call for further studies that focus on natural populations and realistic socio-sexual and ecological environments.

Monitoring is a prerequisite for evidence-based wildlife management, yet conventional monitoring approaches are often ineffective for species occurring at low densities. However, some species such as large mammals are often observed by lay people and this information can be leveraged through citizen science monitoring schemes. Assessing the quantity, quality, and potential biases of such data sources is crucial before making inferences at scale. For Eurasian moose (Alces alces), a species currently reoccurring in north-eastern Germany in low numbers, we compared three different citizen science tools: a mail/email report system, a smartphone application, and a webpage. Among these monitoring tools, the mail/email report system yielded the greatest number of moose reports in absolute and in standardized (corrected for time effort) terms. The reported moose were predominantly identified as single, adult, male individuals, and reports occurred mostly during late summer. Overlaying citizen science data with independently generated habitat suitability and connectivity maps showed that members of the public detected moose in suitable habitats but not necessarily in movement corridors. Also, moose detections were often recorded near roads, suggestive of spatial bias in sampling effort. Our results suggest that citizen science-based data collection can be facilitated by brief, intuitive digital reporting systems. However, inference from the resulting data can be limited due to unquantified and possibly biased sampling effort. To overcome these challenges, we offer specific recommendations such as engaging outdoor enthusiasts in suitable moose habitats, for improving quantity, quality and analysis of citizen science-based data for making robust inferences about wildlife populations.