NEON Program’s Post

The May issue of Nature Ecology & Evolution is out, including a study on social transmission of gut microbes in wild mice with a great action shot for the cover. Also featured: environmental risk assessment of the Kakhovka Dam breach; Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon primary forest conservation; multicellularity in a long-term evolution experiment; deep-time preservation of proteins; Amazonian tree diversity; mammalian responses to human activity; mosquito viromes; and an editorial on pangenomes. https://lnkd.in/gvExrdsm

🐠🗺 Unveiling the lionfish invasion in the Mediterranean Sea. Researchers from Wageningen University & Research have published a comprehensive study on the invasion of lionfish in the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting a rapid spread and the potential ecological impacts. This research shows the lionfish (𝘗𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴) has significantly expanded their territory in the Indo-Pacific region since the invasion began around ten years ago. They have established presence in the eastern Mediterranean, with observations now extending to colder waters previously thought to be unsuitable for the species. Originating from the Indo-Pacific region, these lionfish species are regarded as the most successful #invasive fishes in marine ecosystems, with the capacity to drastically affect local fish communities and biodiversity in invaded areas. 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 Lionfish are generalist predators and impact ecosystems by preying extensively on local fishes, including endemics of high conservation value. Our PhD researcher in behavioural ecology Davide Bottacini has himself studied lionfish for years; “It is impressive to see how such a flamboyant and conspicuous predator can approach their prey without being noticed.” As they are unaccustomed to lionfish, native prey species usually do not flee from this new predator. “I find it really amazing how they can easily adjust to so many different environments. They are successful in regions so different from those, where they originally came from”, Bottacini says. 🖱 This study was recently published in NeoBiota, read the news on our website: https://lnkd.in/eTa_Xhry 🤝Alexander Kotrschal, Bart Pollux, Reindert Nijland, Marc Naguib and Patrick Jansen #invasivespecies #Mediterranean #biodiversity

The June issue of Nature Ecology & Evolution is now out, with a slightly grittier, urban cover than usual, to highlight a Perspective on pollution-induced mutations. Other highlights include a Review of invasive species, an Editorial on data sharing, several articles focusing on forests and freshwater in Europe, conservation of reef sharks and rays, tissue-specific expression of ancestral genes, evolution of rod signalling in the vertebrate retina, diversity-dependent speciation and extinction in hominins, and a review of Merlin Sheldrake's new film about fungi. https://lnkd.in/eF6KZu6J

We have a new paper on migration ecology - this PNAS paper was led by Simeon Livoski and investigates the vulnerability of migratory shorebirds to environmental change. The study developed a new migration modeling framework to explicitly estimate the extent of adaptations required to sustain their migrations. A better understanding of how migratory species adjust to environmental change is vital for developing conservation plans that can account for the future needs of some of many of the world's threatened migratory species. Link to the paper: https://lnkd.in/eH6HV4V7

#ScienceSpotlight: Invasive species are the second largest contributor to biodiversity loss and drivers of ecosystem change. It is native to Africa and Asia, but isn’t in the United States where it has become invasive. Understanding the ecology of insects associated with buffelgrass in its native range may provide an understanding of invasion processes and biological control opportunities where buffelgrass has become an invasive species. Read the paper by Morrison et al. on the results of a six-year survey of plant-eating invertebrates of a native buffelgrass population from Kenya: https://lnkd.in/d5gRBRrK #ResearchAtMpala

My paper "Niches beyond Borders" is now out in the current issue of Nature ecology & evolution. Here I discuss the idea of "ghost niches" and the possibility that extinction-risk estimates ignoring those ghost niches may be biased. To surpass this grand challenge I propose to use historical records of species distribution and environmental conditions to unveil those ghost niches and improve future scenarios for biodiversity change https://lnkd.in/drYAPig4 Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate (CMEC) Globe Institute #publication

A new study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution reveals a widespread collapse in the populations of Africa's birds of prey, including species like the martial eagle, bateleur, and dark chanting goshawk, over the past 40 years. The research indicates that nearly 90% of the 42 species examined have experienced declines, with over two-thirds showing signs of global threat. The could lead to unforeseen consequences for humans. Read the full study: https://lnkd.in/gCC5Ur6f

Just wrapped up an incredible workshop on molecular ecology network analysis using eDNA as a conservation tool! 🧬🌍 It's mind-blowing how we can now uncover hidden connections between species and assess ecosystem health by simply analyzing traces of DNA in the environment. This powerful tool is a game-changer for conservation efforts! Excited to apply this knowledge to protect our planet's biodiversity. #eDNA #conservation #molecularEcology #workshop #newskills #excitedtolearn

🧬 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🧬 My latest blog post delves into the transformative role of #Genomics in #NatureConservation, highlighting recent advancements and real-world applications. From groundbreaking projects like NatureMetrics' biodiversity monitoring and Wildlife Conservation Society's genetic diversity studies on bison, we explore how genomics is reshaping conservation strategies. Join me for a dive into how these cutting-edge technologies are making a significant impact on conservation efforts worldwide! 🌍

My research is focused in two main areas, the Fish Pass, fish migration patern and conservation of freshwater fish species and secondly the patterns and processes underlying the distribution of biodiversity in human-impacted environments. At present, I am interested in the river ecology of human-dominated environments and the impacts of fresh water fish species. In particular I am interested in studying these impacts in river restoration and free fish movement.