Dual stressors of infection and warming can destabilize host microbiomes

Climate change is causing extreme heating events and intensifying infectious disease outbreaks. Animals harbour microbial communities, which are vital for their survival and fitness under stressful conditions. Understanding how microbiome structures change in response to infection and warming may be important for forecasting host performance under global change. Here, we evaluated alterations in the microbiomes of several wild Caenorhabditis elegans isolates spanning a range of latitudes, upon warming temperatures and infection by the parasite Leucobacter musarum. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, we found that microbiome diversity decreased, and dispersion increased over time, with the former being more prominent in uninfected adults and the latter aggravated by infection. Infection reduced dominance of specific microbial taxa, and increased microbiome dispersion, indicating destabilizing effects on host microbial communities. Exposing infected hosts to warming did not have an additive destabilizing effect on their microbiomes. Moreover, warming during pre-adult development alleviated the destabilizing effects of infection on host microbiomes. These results revealed an opposing interaction between biotic and abiotic factors on microbiome structure. Lastly, we showed that increased microbiome dispersion might be associated with decreased variability in microbial species interaction strength. Overall, these findings improve our understanding of animal microbiome dynamics amidst concurrent climate change and epidemics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sculpting the microbiome: how host factors determine and respond to microbial colonization'.

Climate-related naturally occurring epimutation and their roles in plant adaptation in A. thaliana

DNA methylation has been proposed to be an important mechanism that allows plants to respond to their environments sometimes entirely uncoupled from genetic variation. To understand the genetic basis, biological functions and climatic relationships of DNA methylation at a population scale in Arabidopsis thaliana, we performed a genome-wide association analysis with high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and found that ~56% on average, especially in the CHH sequence context (71%), of the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) are not tagged by SNPs. Among them, a total of 3235 DMRs are significantly associated with gene expressions and potentially heritable. 655 of the 3235 DMRs are associated with climatic variables, and we experimentally verified one of them, HEI10 (HUMAN ENHANCER OF CELL INVASION NO.10). Such epigenetic loci could be subjected to natural selection thereby affecting plant adaptation, and would be expected to be an indicator of accessions at risk. We therefore incorporated these climate-related DMRs into a gradient forest model, and found that the natural A. thaliana accessions in Southern Europe that may be most at risk under future climate change. Our findings highlight the importance of integrating DNA methylation that is independent of genetic variations, and climatic data to predict plants' vulnerability to future climate change.

Long-term drought promotes invasive species by reducing wildfire severity

Anthropogenic climate change has increased the frequency of drought, wildfire, and invasions of non-native species. Although high-severity fires linked to drought can inhibit recovery of native vegetation in forested ecosystems, it remains unclear how drought impacts the recovery of other plant communities following wildfire. We leveraged an existing rainfall manipulation experiment to test the hypothesis that reduced precipitation, fuel load, and fire severity convert plant community composition from native shrubs to invasive grasses in a Southern California coastal sage scrub system. We measured community composition before and after the 2020 Silverado wildfire in plots with three rainfall treatments. Drought reduced fuel load and vegetation cover, which reduced fire severity. Native shrubs had greater prefire cover in added water plots compared to reduced water plots. Native cover was lower and invasive cover was higher in postfire reduced water plots compared to postfire added and ambient water plots. Our results demonstrate the importance of fuel load on fire severity and plant community composition on an ecosystem scale. Management should focus on reducing fire frequency and removing invasive species to maintain the resilience of coastal sage scrub communities facing drought. In these communities, controlled burns are not recommended as they promote invasive plants.

Endocrine flexibility can facilitate or constrain the ability to cope with global change

Global climate change has increased average environmental temperatures world-wide, simultaneously intensifying temperature variability and extremes. Growing numbers of studies have documented phenological, behavioural and morphological responses to climate change in wild populations. As systemic signals, hormones can contribute to orchestrating many of these phenotypic changes. Yet little is known about whether mechanisms like hormonal flexibility (reversible changes in hormone concentrations) facilitate or limit the ability of individuals, populations and species to cope with a changing climate. In this perspective, we discuss different mechanisms by which hormonal flexibility, primarily in glucocorticoids, could promote versus hinder evolutionary adaptation to changing temperature regimes. We focus on temperature because it is a key gradient influenced by climate change, it is easy to quantify, and its links to hormones are well established. We argue that reaction norm studies that connect individual responses to population-level and species-wide patterns will be critical for making progress in this field. We also develop a case study on urban heat islands, where several key questions regarding hormonal flexibility and adaptation to climate change can be addressed. Understanding the mechanisms that allow animals to cope when conditions become more challenging will help in predicting which populations are vulnerable to ongoing climate change. This article is part of the theme issue 'Endocrine responses to environmental variation: conceptual approaches and recent developments'.

Land surface conductance linked to precipitation: Co-evolution of vegetation and climate in Earth system models

Vegetation and precipitation are known to fundamentally influence each other. However, this interdependence is not fully represented in climate models because the characteristics of land surface (canopy) conductance to water vapor and CO2 are determined independently of precipitation. Working within a coupled atmosphere and land modelling framework (CAM6/CLM5; coupled Community Atmosphere Model v6/Community Land Model v5), we have developed a new theoretical approach to characterizing land surface conductance by explicitly linking its dynamic properties to local precipitation, a robust proxy for moisture available to vegetation. This will enable regional surface conductance characteristics to shift fluidly with climate change in simulations, consistent with general principles of co-evolution of vegetation and climate. Testing within the CAM6/CLM5 framework shows that climate simulations incorporating the new theory outperform current default configurations across several error metrics for core output variables when measured against observational data. In climate simulations for the end of this century the new, adaptive stomatal conductance scheme provides a revised prognosis for average and extreme temperatures over several large regions, with increased primary productivity through central and east Asia, and higher rainfall through North Africa and the Middle East. The new projections also reveal more frequent heatwaves than originally estimated for the south-eastern US and sub-Saharan Africa but less frequent heatwaves across east Europe and northeast Asia. These developments have implications for evaluating food security and risks from extreme temperatures in areas that are vulnerable to climate change.

Soil N2 O emissions from specialty crop systems: A global estimation and meta-analysis

Nitrous oxide (N2 O) exacerbates the greenhouse effect and thus global warming. Agricultural management practices, especially the use of nitrogen (N) fertilizers and irrigation, increase soil N2 O emissions. As a vital sector of global agriculture, specialty crop systems usually require intensive input and management. However, soil N2 O emissions from global specialty crop systems have not been comprehensively evaluated. Here, we synthesized 1137 observations from 114 published studies, conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of agricultural management and environmental factors on soil N2 O emissions, and estimated global soil N2 O emissions from specialty crop systems. The estimated global N2 O emission from specialty crop soils was 1.5 Tg N2 O-N year-1 , ranging from 0.5 to 4.5 Tg N2 O-N year-1 . Globally, soil N2 O emissions exponentially increased with N fertilizer rates. The effect size of N fertilizer on soil N2 O emissions generally increased with mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, and soil organic carbon concentration but decreased with soil pH. Global climate change will further intensify the effect of N fertilizer on soil N2 O emissions. Drip irrigation, fertigation, and reduced tillage can be used as essential strategies to reduce soil N2 O emissions and increase crop yields. Deficit irrigation and non-legume cover crop can reduce soil N2 O emissions but may also lower crop yields. Biochar may have a relatively limited effect on reducing soil N2 O emissions but be effective in increasing crop yields. Our study points toward effective management strategies that have substantial potential for reducing N2 O emissions from global agricultural soils.

Significant accrual of soil organic carbon through long-term rice cultivation in paddy fields in China

Paddy fields serve as significant reservoirs of soil organic carbon (SOC) and their potential for terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration is closely associated with changes in SOC pools. However, there has been a dearth of comprehensive studies quantifying changes in SOC pools following extended periods of rice cultivation across a broad geographical scale. Using 104 rice paddy sampling sites that have been in continuous cultivation since the 1980s across China, we studied the changes in topsoil (0-20 cm) labile organic C (LOC I), semi-labile organic C (LOC II), recalcitrant organic C (ROC), and total SOC. We found a substantial increase in both the content (48%) and density (39%) of total SOC within China's paddy fields between the 1980s to the 2010s. Intriguingly, the rate of increase in content and density of ROC exceeded that of LOC (I and II). Using a structural equation model, we revealed that changes in the content and density of total SOC were mainly driven by corresponding shifts in ROC, which are influenced both directly and indirectly by climatic and soil physicochemical factors; in particular temperature, precipitation, phosphorous (P) and clay content. We also showed that the δ13 CLOC were greater than δ13 CROC , independent of the rice cropping region, and that there was a significant positive correlation between δ13 CSOC and δ13 Cstraw . The δ13 CLOC and δ13 CSOC showed significantly negative correlation with soil total Si, suggesting that soil Si plays a part in the allocation of C into different SOC pools, and its turnover or stabilization. Our study underscores that the global C sequestration of the paddy fields mainly stems from the substantial increase in ROC pool.

'Out of Africa' origin of the pantropical staghorn fern genus Platycerium (Polypodiaceae) supported by plastid phylogenomics and biogeographic analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The staghorn fern genus Platycerium is one of the most commonly grown ornamental ferns, and it evolved to occupy a typical pantropical intercontinental disjunction. However, the species-level relationships in the genus have not been well-resolved, and the spatiotemporal evolutionary history of the genus also needs to be explored.

METHODS

Plastomes of all the 18 Platycerium species were newly sequenced. Using plastome data, we reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships among Polypodiaceae members with the focus on Platycerium species, and further conducted molecular dating and biogeographic analyses of the genus.

KEY RESULTS

The present analyses yielded a robustly supported phylogenetic hypothesis of Platycerium. Molecular dating result showed that Platycerium split from its sister genus Hovenkampia at ~35.2 million years ago (Ma) near the Eocene-Oligocene boundary and began to diverge at ~26.3 Ma during the late Oligocene, while multiple speciation events within Platycerium occurred during the middle to late Miocene. Biogeographic analysis suggested that Platycerium originated in tropical Africa and then dispersed eastward to southeast Asia-Australasia and westward to neotropical area.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analyses using plastid phylogenomic approach improved understanding the species-level relationships within Platycerium. The global climate changes of both the Late-Oligocene Warming (LOW) and the cooling following the mid-Miocene Climate Optimum (MMCO) may have promoted the speciation of Platycerium, and the transoceanic long-distance dispersal (LLD) is the most plausible explanation for the genus attained its pantropical distribution. Our study to investigate the biogeographic history of Platycerium provides a case study not only for the formation of the pantropical intercontinental disjunction of fern genus but also the 'out of Africa' origin of plant lineages.

Abiotic stress tolerance in pearl millet: Unraveling molecular mechanisms via transcriptomics

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.)) is a vital cereal crop renowned for its ability to thrive in challenging environmental conditions; however, the molecular mechanisms governing its salt stress tolerance remain poorly understood. To address this gap, next-generation RNA sequencing was conducted to compare gene expression patterns in pearl millet seedlings exposed to salt stress with those grown under normal conditions. Our RNA sequencing analysis focused on shoots from 13-day-old pearl millet plants subjected to either salinity stress (150 mmol of NaCl for 3 days) or thermal stress (50°C for 60 s). Of 36,041 genes examined, 17,271 genes with fold changes ranging from 2.2 to 19.6 were successfully identified. Specifically, 2388 genes were differentially upregulated in response to heat stress, whereas 4327 genes were downregulated. Under salt stress conditions, 2013 genes were upregulated and 4221 genes were downregulated. Transcriptomic analysis revealed four common abiotic KEGG pathways that play crucial roles in the response of pearl millet to salt and heat stress: phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, photosynthesis-antenna proteins, photosynthesis, and plant hormone signal transduction. These metabolic pathways are necessary for pearl millet to withstand and adapt to abiotic stresses caused by salt and heat. Moreover, the pearl millet shoot heat stress group showed specific transcriptomics related to KEEG metabolic pathways such as cytochrome P450, cutin, suberine, and wax biosynthesis, zeatin biosynthesis, crocin biosynthesis, ginsenoside biosynthesis, saponin biosynthesis, and biosynthesis of various plant secondary metabolites. In contrast, pearl millet shoots exposed to salinity stress exhibited transcriptomic changes associated with KEEG metabolic pathways related to carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms, mismatch repair, and nitrogen metabolism. Our findings underscore the remarkable cross-tolerance of pearl millet to simultaneous salt and heat stress, elucidated through the activation of shared abiotic KEGG pathways. This study emphasizes the pivotal role of transcriptomics analysis in unraveling the molecular responses of pearl millet under abiotic stress conditions.

Impacts of climate change on herpetofauna diversity in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Although numerous studies on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity have been published, only a handful are focused on the intraspecific level or consider population-level models (separate models per population). We endeavored to fill this knowledge gap relative to the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (QTP) by combining species distribution modeling (SDMs) with population genetics (i.e., population-level models) and phylogenetic methods (i.e., phylogenetic tree reconstruction and phylogenetic diversity analyses). We applied our models to 11 endemic and widely distributed herpetofauna species inhabiting high elevations in the QTP. We aimed to determine the influence of environmental heterogeneity on species' responses to climate change, the magnitude of climate-change impacts on intraspecific diversity, and the relationship between species range loss and intraspecific diversity losses under 2 shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP245 and SSP585) and 3 future periods (2050s, 2070s, and 2090s). The effects of global climatic change were more pronounced at the intraspecific level (22% of haplotypes lost and 36% of populations lost) than the morphospecies level in the SSP585 climate change scenario. Maintenance of genetic diversity was in general determined by a combination of factors including range changes, species genetic structure, and the part of the range predicted to be lost. This is owing to the fact that the loss and survival of populations were observed in species irrespective of the predicted range changes (contraction or expansion). In the southeast (mountainous regions), climate change had less of an effect on range size (>100% in 3 species) than in central and northern QTP plateau regions (range size <100% in all species). This may be attributed to environmental heterogeneity, which provided pockets of suitable climate in the southeast, whereas ecosystems in the north and central regions were homogeneous. Generally, our results imply that mountainous regions with high environmental heterogeneity and high genetic diversity may buffer the adverse impacts of climate change on species distribution and intraspecific diversity. Therefore, genetic structure and characteristics of the ecosystem may be crucial for conservation under climate change.

C:N:P stoichiometry of plants, soils, and microorganisms: Response to altered precipitation

Precipitation changes modify C, N, and P cycles, which regulate the functions and structure of terrestrial ecosystems. Although altered precipitation affects above- and belowground C:N:P stoichiometry, considerable uncertainties remain regarding plant-microbial nutrient allocation strategies under increased (IPPT) and decreased (DPPT) precipitation. We meta-analyzed 827 observations from 235 field studies to investigate the effects of IPPT and DPPT on the C:N:P stoichiometry of plants, soils, and microorganisms. DPPT reduced leaf C:N ratio, but increased the leaf and root N:P ratios reflecting stronger decrease of P compared with N mobility in soil under drought. IPPT increased microbial biomass C (+13%), N (+15%), P (26%), and the C:N ratio, whereas DPPT decreased microbial biomass N (-12%) and the N:P ratio. The C:N and N:P ratios of plant leaves were more sensitive to medium DPPT than to IPPT because drought increased plant N content, particularly in humid areas. The responses of plant and soil C:N:P stoichiometry to altered precipitation did not fit the double asymmetry model with a positive asymmetry under IPPT and a negative asymmetry under extreme DPPT. Soil microorganisms were more sensitive to IPPT than to DPPT, but they were more sensitive to extreme DPPT than extreme IPPT, consistent with the double asymmetry model. Soil microorganisms maintained stoichiometric homeostasis, whereas N:P ratios of plants follow that of the soils under altered precipitation. In conclusion, specific N allocation strategies of plants and microbial communities as well as N and P availability in soil critically mediate C:N:P stoichiometry by altered precipitation that need to be considered by prediction of ecosystem functions and C cycling under future climate change scenarios.

Contributions, missed opportunities, and future directions: A critical reflection on global climate change and environmental sustainability in AJCP over five decades

In this contribution to the 50th Anniversary Special Issue, the authors consider how global climate change and environmental sustainability have been addressed in the American Journal of Community Psychology (AJCP) over the last five decades. As we are increasingly exceeding critical planetary boundaries (global climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, etc.) with disastrous impacts on human well-being-especially for peoples already marginalized-it is timely to consider the treatment of environmental issues in the history of the AJCP and in community psychology more broadly. This review of relevant articles is clustered into three topics derived from our critical understanding of the articles themselves: (a) public participation and power; (b) community-level responses to environmental change, including its disproportionate impacts on marginalized groups; and (c) frameworks and worldviews that integrate the natural world as necessary context for research and action. The commentary on the featured articles is framed in terms of their key contributions, missed opportunities up to this point, and future directions for the field. While looking back at the past 50 years, the authors also have an eye to the years ahead and what work can be done to mitigate the harms of climate change, adapt to the emerging new environmental reality, and promote just and inclusive sustainabilities worldwide.

Utilizing In Silico Approaches to Investigate the Signaling Pathway's Crucial Function in Pennisetum glaucum Under Thermal Stress

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.)) is a remarkable cereal crop known for its ability to thrive in challenging environmental conditions. Despite its resilience, the intricate molecular mechanisms behind its toughness remain a mystery. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted advanced next-generation RNA sequencing. This approach allowed us to compare the gene expression profiles of pearl millet seedlings exposed to heat stress with those grown under standard conditions. Our main focus was on the shoots of 13-day-old pearl millet plants, which we subjected to a brief heat stress episode at 50°C for 60 seconds. Within the vast genomic landscape comprising 36 041 genes, we successfully identified a set of 10 genes that exhibited significant fold changes, ranging from 11 to 14-fold compared to the control conditions. These 10 genes were previously unknown to have such substantial changes in expression compared to the control. To uncover the functional significance hidden within these transcriptomic findings, we utilized computational tools such as MEME, String, and phylogenetic tree analysis. These efforts collectively revealed conserved domains within the transcriptomic landscape, hinting at potential functions associated with these genetic sequences. Of particular note, the distinct transcriptomic patterns specific to pearl millet leaves under thermal stress shed light on intricate connections to fundamental biological processes. These processes included the Ethylene-activated signaling pathway, Regulation of intracellular signal transduction, Negative regulation of signal transduction, Protein autophosphorylation, and Intracellular signal transduction. Together, these processes provide insight into the molecular strategies employed by pearl millet to overcome thermal stress challenges. By integrating cutting-edge RNA sequencing techniques and computational analyses, we have embarked on unraveling the genetic components and pathways that empower pearl millet's resilience in the face of adversity. This newfound understanding has the potential to not only advance our knowledge of plant stress responses but also contribute to enhancing crop resilience in challenging environmental conditions.

Transformation of Biofilm to Carbon Sinks after Prolonged Droughts Linked with Algal Biodiversity Change

Global climate change significantly increased the duration of droughts in intermittent rivers, impacting benthic microbial-mediated biogeochemical processes. However, the impact of prolonged droughts on the carbon contribution of intermittent rivers remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the potential effects of varying drought gradients (ranging from 20 to 130 days) on benthic biofilms community structure (algae, bacteria, and fungi) and their carbon metabolism functions (ecosystem metabolism and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission fluxes) using mesocosm experiments. Our findings indicate that longer drought durations lead to reduced alpha diversity and community heterogeneity, tighter interdomain networks, and an increased role of stochastic processes in community assembly, with a discernible threshold at around 60 days. Concurrently, the biofilm transforms into a carbon sink following a drought period of 60 days, as evidenced by the transformation of CO2 emission fluxes from 633.25 ± 194.69 to -349.61 ± 277.79 mg m-2 h-1. Additionally, the partial least-squares path model revealed that the resilience of algal communities and network stability may drive biofilm's transformation into a carbon sink, primarily through the heightened resilience of autotrophic metabolism. This study underscores the significance of the carbon contribution from intermittent rivers, as the shift in carbon metabolism functions with increasing droughts could lead to skewed estimations of current riverine carbon fluxes.

Microbial communities in terrestrial surface soils are not widely limited by carbon

Microbial communities in soils are generally considered to be limited by carbon (C), which could be a crucial control for basic soil functions and responses of microbial heterotrophic metabolism to climate change. However, global soil microbial C limitation (MCL) has rarely been estimated and is poorly understood. Here, we predicted MCL, defined as limited availability of substrate C relative to nitrogen and/or phosphorus to meet microbial metabolic requirements, based on the thresholds of extracellular enzyme activity across 847 sites (2476 observations) representing global natural ecosystems. Results showed that only about 22% of global sites in terrestrial surface soils show relative C limitation in microbial community. This finding challenges the conventional hypothesis of ubiquitous C limitation for soil microbial metabolism. The limited geographic extent of C limitation in our study was mainly attributed to plant litter, rather than soil organic matter that has been processed by microbes, serving as the dominant C source for microbial acquisition. We also identified a significant latitudinal pattern of predicted MCL with larger C limitation at mid- to high latitudes, whereas this limitation was generally absent in the tropics. Moreover, MCL significantly constrained the rates of soil heterotrophic respiration, suggesting a potentially larger relative increase in respiration at mid- to high latitudes than low latitudes, if climate change increases primary productivity that alleviates MCL at higher latitudes. Our study provides the first global estimates of MCL, advancing our understanding of terrestrial C cycling and microbial metabolic feedback under global climate change.

Prediction of Suitable Habitat Distribution of Cryptosphaeria pullmanensis in the World and China under Climate Change

Years of outbreaks of woody canker (Cryptosphaeria pullmanensis) in the United States, Iran, and China have resulted in massive economic losses to biological forests and fruit trees. However, only limited information is available on their distribution, and their habitat requirements have not been well evaluated due to a lack of research. In recent years, scientists have utilized the MaxEnt model to estimate the effect of global temperature and specific environmental conditions on species distribution. Using occurrence and high resolution ecological data, we predicted the spatiotemporal distribution of C. pullmanensis under twelve climate change scenarios by applying the MaxEnt model. We identified climatic factors, geography, soil, and land cover that shape their distribution range and determined shifts in their habitat range. Then, we measured the suitable habitat area, the ratio of change in the area of suitable habitat, the expansion and shrinkage of maps under climate change, the direction and distance of range changes from the present to the end of the twenty-first century, and the effect of environmental variables. C. pullmanensis is mostly widespread in high-suitability regions in northwestern China, the majority of Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkey, northern Chile, southwestern Argentina, and the west coast of California in the United States. Under future climatic conditions, climate changes of varied intensities favored the expansion of suitable habitats for C. pullmanensis in China. However, appropriate land areas are diminishing globally. The trend in migration is toward latitudes and elevations that are higher. The estimated area of possible suitability shifted eastward in China. The results of the present study are valuable not only for countries such as Morocco, Spain, Chile, Turkey, Kazakhstan, etc., where the infection has not yet fully spread or been established, but also for nations where the species has been discovered. Authorities should take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to restrict the spread of C. pullmanensis. Countries with highly appropriate locations should increase their surveillance, risk assessment, and response capabilities.

Tracing the future of epidemics: Coincident niche distribution of host animals and disease incidence revealed climate-correlated risk shifts of main zoonotic diseases in China

Climate has critical roles in the origin, pathogenesis and transmission of infectious zoonotic diseases. However, large-scale epidemiologic trend and specific response pattern of zoonotic diseases under future climate scenarios are poorly understood. Here, we projected the distribution shifts of transmission risks of main zoonotic diseases under climate change in China. First, we shaped the global habitat distribution of main host animals for three representative zoonotic diseases (2, 6, and 12 hosts for dengue, hemorrhagic fever, and plague, respectively) with 253,049 occurrence records using maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling. Meanwhile, we predicted the risk distribution of the above three diseases with 197,098 disease incidence records from 2004 to 2017 in China using an integrated Maxent modeling approach. The comparative analysis showed that there exist highly coincident niche distributions between habitat distribution of hosts and risk distribution of diseases, indicating that the integrated Maxent modeling is accurate and effective for predicting the potential risk of zoonotic diseases. On this basis, we further projected the current and future transmission risks of 11 main zoonotic diseases under four representative concentration pathways (RCPs) (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5) in 2050 and 2070 in China using the above integrated Maxent modeling with 1,001,416 disease incidence records. We found that Central China, Southeast China, and South China are concentrated regions with high transmission risks for main zoonotic diseases. More specifically, zoonotic diseases had diverse shift patterns of transmission risks including increase, decrease, and unstable. Further correlation analysis indicated that these patterns of shifts were highly correlated with global warming and precipitation increase. Our results revealed how specific zoonotic diseases respond in a changing climate, thereby calling for effective administration and prevention strategies. Furthermore, these results will shed light on guiding future epidemiologic prediction of emerging infectious diseases under global climate change.

The genetic basis of the leafy seadragon's unique camouflage morphology and avenues for its efficient conservation derived from habitat modeling

The leafy seadragon certainly is among evolution's most "beautiful and wonderful" species aptly named for its extraordinary camouflage mimicking its coastal seaweed habitat. However, limited information is known about the genetic basis of its phenotypes and conspicuous camouflage. Here, we revealed genomic signatures of rapid evolution and positive selection in core genes related to its camouflage, which allowed us to predict population dynamics for this species. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that seadragons have the smallest olfactory repertoires among all ray-finned fishes, suggesting adaptations to the highly specialized habitat. Other positively selected and rapidly evolving genes that serve in bone development and coloration are highly expressed in the leaf-like appendages, supporting a recent adaptive shift in camouflage appendage formation. Knock-out of bmp6 results in dysplastic intermuscular bones with a significantly reduced number in zebrafish, implying its important function in bone formation. Global climate change-induced loss of seagrass beds now severely threatens the continued existence of this enigmatic species. The leafy seadragon has a historically small population size likely due to its specific habitat requirements that further exacerbate its vulnerability to climate change. Therefore, taking climate change-induced range shifts into account while developing future protection strategies.

Current distribution of two species of Chinese macaques (Macaca arctoides and Macaca thibetana) and the possible influence of climate change on future distribution

Predicting the spatial distribution of species and suitable areas under global climate change could provide a reference for species conservation and long-term management strategies. Macaca thibetana and Macaca arctoides are two endangered species of Chinese macaques. However, limited information is available on their distribution, and their habitat needs lack proper assessment due to complicated taxonomy and less research attention. In recent years, scholars widely used the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model to predict the impact of global climate and certain environmental factors on species distribution. Therefore, we used the MaxEnt model to predict the spatiotemporal distribution of both macaque species under six climate change scenarios using occurrence and high-resolution ecological data. We identified climatic factors, elevation, and land cover that shape their distribution range and determined shifts in their habitat range. The results demonstrated that temperature range, annual precipitation, forest land cover, and temperature seasonality, including the precipitation of the driest month are the main factors affecting their distribution. Currently, M. thibetana is mainly concentrated in central, eastern, southern, and southwestern China, and M. arctoides is mainly concentrated in three provinces (Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong) in southern China. The MaxEnt model predicted that the suitable habitat for both species will increase with increased greenhouse emission scenarios. We also found that with the further increase in greenhouse emissions M. thibetana is expected to migrate to western China, and M. arctoides is expected to migrate to western or eastern China. This reinterpretation of the distribution of M. thibetana and M. arctoides in China, and predicted potential suitable habitat and possible migration direction, may provide new insights into the future conservation and management of these two species.

The effect of mindfulness intervention on internet negative news perception and processing: An implicit and explicit approach

The internet facilitates the formation of the information society while also accelerating the viral spread of negative news and negative emotions, increasing public uncertainty and depression and impeding consensus, especially in the post-pandemic period. Mindfulness intervention, which has a positive effect on attention focus, self-regulation, and subjective wellbeing, is proven to mitigate negative emotional effects, and even alter mind patterns. The study aimed to give insight into the effect of mindfulness in the new media field, concerning trait mindfulness improvement, emotional arousal and regulation, and implicit attitudes from the perspective of intra-personal communication and positive communication. The study conducted a randomized pre-test-post-test control group design, with 3 (condition groups: mindfulness vs. placebo vs. control) × 2 (test times: pre vs. post). Participants who were exposed to negative news coverage with negative emotional arousal received 14 consecutive days of intervention. The results showed that mindfulness training can improve trait mindfulness effectively on the whole, especially in facets of describing, acting awareness, and non-judgment, and mitigate the negative effect from bad information coverage, while mindfulness intervention on mind patterns and expectations on controversial issues still awaited future empirical research. The present study intended to bridge the bonding between positive psychology and new media studies by focusing on individual attention improvement and negative emotion regulation, in the expectation that trait mindfulness can be beneficial in individual infodemic syndromes such as judgment bias and information exhaustion, and avoidance.

Tracking fungal species-level responses in soil environments exposed to long-term warming and associated drying

Climate change is affecting fungal communities and their function in terrestrial ecosystems. Despite making progress in the understanding of how the fungal community responds to global change drivers in natural ecosystems, little is known on how fungi respond at the species level. Understanding how fungal species respond to global change drivers, such as warming, is critical, as it could reveal adaptation pathways to help us to better understand ecosystem functioning in response to global change. Here, we present a model study to track species-level responses of fungi to warming-and associated drying-in a decade-long global change field experiment; we focused on two free-living saprotrophic fungi which were found in high abundance in our site, Mortierella and Penicillium. Using microbiological isolation techniques, combined with whole genome sequencing of fungal isolates, and community level metatranscriptomics, we investigated transcription-level differences of functional categories and specific genes involved in catabolic processes, cell homeostasis, cell morphogenesis, DNA regulation and organization, and protein biosynthesis. We found that transcription-level responses were mostly species-specific but that under warming, both fungi consistently invested in the transcription of critical genes involved in catabolic processes, cell morphogenesis, and protein biosynthesis, likely allowing them to withstand a decade of chronic stress. Overall, our work supports the idea that fungi that invest in maintaining their catabolic rates and processes while growing and protecting their cells may survive under global climate change.

The pervasive impact of global climate change on plant-nematode interaction continuum

Pest profiles in today's global food production system are continually affected by climate change and extreme weather. Under varying climatic conditions, plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) cause substantial economic damage to a wide variety of agricultural and horticultural commodities. In parallel, their herbivory also accredit to diverse ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, allocation and turnover of plant biomass, shaping of vegetation community, and alteration of rhizospheric microorganism consortium by modifying the root exudation pattern. Thus PPNs, together with the vast majority of free-living nematodes, act as ecological drivers. Because of direct exposure to the open environment, PPN biology and physiology are largely governed by environmental factors including temperature, precipitation, humidity, atmospheric and soil carbon dioxide level, and weather extremes. The negative effects of climate change such as global warming, elevated CO₂, altered precipitation and the weather extremes including heat waves, droughts, floods, wildfires and storms greatly influence the biogeographic range, distribution, abundance, survival, fitness, reproduction, and parasitic potential of the PPNs. Changes in these biological and ecological parameters associated to the PPNs exert huge impact on agriculture. Yet, depending on how adaptable the species are according to their geo-spatial distribution, the consequences of climate change include both positive and negative effects on the PPN communities. While assorting the effects of climate change as a whole, it can be estimated that the changing environmental factors, on one hand, will aggravate the PPN damage by aiding to abundance, distribution, reproduction, generation, plant growth and reduced plant defense, but the phenomena like sex reversal, entering cryptobiosis, and reduced survival should act in counter direction. This seemingly creates a contraposition effect, where assessing any confluent trend is difficult. However, as the climate change effects will differ according to space and time it is apprehensible that the PPNs will react and adapt according to their location and species specificity. Nevertheless, the bio-ecological shifts in the PPNs will necessitate tweaking their management practices from the agri-horticultural perspective. In this regard, we must aim for a 'climate-smart' package that will take care of the food production, pest prevention and environment protection. Integrated nematode management involving precise monitoring and modeling-based studies of population dynamics in relation to climatic fluctuations with escalated reliance on biocontrol, host resistance, and other safer approaches like crop rotation, crop scheduling, cover cropping, biofumigation, use of farmyard manure (FYM) would surely prove to be viable options. Although the novel nematicidal molecules are target-specific and relatively less harmful to the environment, their application should not be promoted following the global aim to reduce pesticide usage in future agriculture. Thus, having a reliable risk assessment with scenario planning, the adaptive management strategies must be designed to cope with the impending situation and satisfy the farmers' need.

Experimental temperatures shape host microbiome diversity and composition

Global climate change has led to more extreme thermal events. Plants and animals harbour diverse microbial communities, which may be vital for their physiological performance and help them survive stressful climatic conditions. The extent to which microbiome communities change in response to warming or cooling may be important for predicting host performance under global change. Using a meta-analysis of 1377 microbiomes from 43 terrestrial and aquatic species, we found a decrease in the amplicon sequence variant-level microbiome phylogenetic diversity and alteration of microbiome composition under both experimental warming and cooling. Microbiome beta dispersion was not affected by temperature changes. We showed that the host habitat and experimental factors affected microbiome diversity and composition more than host biological traits. In particular, aquatic organisms-especially in marine habitats-experienced a greater depletion in microbiome diversity under cold conditions, compared to terrestrial hosts. Exposure involving a sudden long and static temperature shift was associated with microbiome diversity loss, but this reduction was attenuated by prior-experimental lab acclimation or when a ramped regime (i.e., warming) was used. Microbial differential abundance and co-occurrence network analyses revealed several potential indicator bacterial classes for hosts in heated environments and on different biome levels. Overall, our findings improve our understanding on the impact of global temperature changes on animal and plant microbiome structures across a diverse range of habitats. The next step is to link these changes to measures of host fitness, as well as microbial community functions, to determine whether microbiomes can buffer some species against a more thermally variable and extreme world.

Exploring the Role of Environmental Regulation and Fiscal Decentralization in Regional Energy Efficiency in the Context of Global Climate

As an important factor of production, the use of energy will greatly improve production efficiency and is the material basis for China's sustainable development. Environmental regulation plays an important role in energy efficiency (EE), while fiscal decentralization is an important institutional context for China's economic development. In order to explore the role of environmental regulation and fiscal decentralization on EE, this paper measures the EE of 30 provincial regions in China from 2006 to 2020 by the super-efficient SBM method, and verifies the relationship between fiscal decentralization and environmental regulation on EE using a spatial econometric model, and conclusions as follows: (1) China's overall energy efficiency averages 0.563, still at a low level, with the highest average efficiency value in the east and the lowest in the west. (2) An inverted U-shaped relationship exists between environmental regulation and EE, and its spatial spillover effect also shows an inverted U-shaped relationship. Fiscal decentralization promotes the regional EE, and its spatial effect also significantly positive. (3) When the level of environmental regulation increases, the EE level of the local and neighboring provinces will increase. The enhancement of fiscal decentralization system can promote local EE, but it has a negative effect on the energy efficiency level of neighboring provinces. Finally, based on the results of the empirical analysis, this paper proposes suggestions for improving regional EE, which are of great theoretical and practical value for improving climate change and achieving sustainable regional economic development in China.

Biophysical Manipulation of the Extracellular Environment by Eurotium halophilicum

Eurotium halophilicum is psychrotolerant, halophilic, and one of the most-extreme xerophiles in Earth's biosphere. We already know that this ascomycete grows close to 0 °C, at high NaCl, and-under some conditions-down to 0.651 water-activity. However, there is a paucity of information about how it achieves this extreme stress tolerance given the dynamic water regimes of the surface habitats on which it commonly occurs. Here, against the backdrop of global climate change, we investigated the biophysical interactions of E. halophilicum with its extracellular environment using samples taken from the surfaces of library books. The specific aims were to examine its morphology and extracellular environment (using scanning electron microscopy for visualisation and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry to identify chemical elements) and investigate interactions with water, ions, and minerals (including analyses of temperature and relative humidity conditions and determinations of salt deliquescence and water activity of extracellular brine). We observed crystals identified as eugsterite (Na₄Ca(SO₄)₃·2H₂O) and mirabilite (Na₂SO₄·10H₂O) embedded within extracellular polymeric substances and provide evidence that E. halophilicum uses salt deliquescence to maintain conditions consistent with its water-activity window for growth. In addition, it utilizes a covering of hair-like microfilaments that likely absorb water and maintain a layer of humid air adjacent to the hyphae. We believe that, along with compatible solutes used for osmotic adjustment, these adaptations allow the fungus to maintain hydration in both space and time. We discuss these findings in relation to the conservation of books and other artifacts within the built environment, spoilage of foods and feeds, the ecology of E. halophilicum in natural habitats, and the current episode of climate change.

Malolactic Fermentation: New Approaches to Old Problems

Malolactic fermentation (MLF) is the decarboxylation of L-malic acid to L-lactic acid by lactic acid bacteria (LAB). For the majority of wine production, secondary fermentation is crucial. MLF significantly impacts the quality of most red and some white wine. The outcomes of the spontaneously initiated and finished MLF are frequently unpredictable and can even cause the wine to deteriorate. As a result, individuals typically favour inoculating superior starter cultures when performing MLF. The MLF method for wine has, however, faced new difficulties because of the altered wine fermentation substrate environment brought on by global climate change, the growing demands of winemakers for production efficiency, and the rising demand for high-quality wine. To serve as a reference for the study of wine production and MLF in the current situation, this review primarily updates and summarises the research findings on increasing the effectiveness and dependability of MLF in recent years.

Exploring the Nonlinear Relationship between Renewable Energy Consumption and Economic Growth in the Context of Global Climate Change

In recent years, the impact of global climate change has increasingly revealed that energy transformation has become an indispensable part of achieving carbon neutrality. Thus, the relationship between energy transformation and economic growth has become the focus of academic attention. This study examines energy transition issues by using the panel threshold method. It explores the nonlinear impact of renewable energy consumption on economic growth, identifies various factors that lead to this nonlinear impact, and verifies its threshold effect. A comprehensive analysis reveals the following. (1) Overall, renewable energy consumption inhibits real gross domestic product (GDP) growth, but, in the long run, the negative impact becomes positive. (2) The threshold effect of energy consumption intensity (EI) is significant, with a threshold value of approximately 3.213. This means that when EI ≤ 3.213, renewable energy consumption promotes economic growth. However, EI > 3.213 indicates that this impact is significantly negative, which means that advancing the energy transition at this time may occur at the expense of real GDP growth. (3) There is also a significant threshold effect in energy transformation, with a threshold value of approximately 6.456. Similarly, when energy consumption transition (ET) ≤ 6.456, renewable energy consumption dampens real economic growth, and the economic cost of promoting renewable energy consumption is greater at this time. Alternatively, when ET > 6.456, this impact is significant at the 1 percent level and significantly positive. (4) There is also a significant threshold effect for emerging technologies, with a threshold value of approximately 1.367. When ET ≤ 1.367, renewable energy consumption dampens real economic growth, and the economic cost of promoting renewable energy consumption is greater. When ET > 1.367, the impact is significantly positive at the 1% level. To promote the positive development of economic growth, climate change, and energy transition, the nonlinear relationship studied in this paper can fill the gaps in existing research in theory and provide a theoretical basis for the government to adopt different policies at different stages of the energy transition to lay the foundation for improving global climate change in practice.

Distributional Response of the Rare and Endangered Tree Species Abies chensiensis to Climate Change in East Asia

Globally, increasing temperatures due to climate change have severely affected natural ecosystems in several regions of the world; however, the impact on the alpine plant may be particularly profound, further raising the risk of extinction for rare and endangered alpine plants. To identify how alpine species have responded to past climate change and to predict the potential geographic distribution of species under future climate change, we investigated the distribution records of A. chensiensis, an endangered alpine plant in the Qinling Mountains listed in the Red List. In this study, the optimized MaxEnt model was used to analyse the key environmental variables related to the distribution of A. chensiensis based on 93 wild distribution records and six environmental variables. The potential distribution areas of A. chensiensis in the last interglacial (LIG), the last glacial maximum (LGM), the current period, and the 2050s and 2070s were simulated. Our results showed that temperature is critical to the distribution of A. chensiensis, with the mean temperature of the coldest quarter being the most important climatic factor affecting the distribution of this species. In addition, ecological niche modeling analysis showed that the A. chensiensis distribution area in the last interglacial experiencing population expansion and, during the last glacial maximum occurring, a population contraction. Under the emission scenarios in the 2050s and 2070s, the suitable distribution area would contract significantly, and the migration routes of the centroids tended to migrate toward the southern high-altitude mountains, suggesting a strong response from the A. chensiensis distribution to climate change. Collectively, the results of this study provide a comprehensive and multidimensional perspective on the geographic distribution pattern and history of population dynamics for the endemic, rare, and endangered species, A. chensiensis, and it underscores the significant impact of geological and climatic changes on the geographic pattern of alpine species populations.

Contrasting effects of altered precipitation regimes on soil nitrogen cycling at the global scale

Changes in precipitation regimes can strongly affect soil nitrogen (N) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. However, whether altered precipitation regimes may differentially affect soil N cycling between arid and humid biomes at the global scale is unclear. We conducted a meta-analysis using 1036 pairwise observations collected from 194 publications to assess the effects of increased and decreased precipitation on the input (N return from plants), storage (various forms of N in soil), and output (gaseous N emissions) of soil N in arid versus humid biomes at the global scale. We found that (1) increased precipitation significantly increased N input (+12.1%) and output (+34.9%) but decreased N storage (-13.7%), while decreased precipitation significantly decreased N input (-10.7%) and output (-34.8%) but increased N storage (+11.1%); (2) the sensitivity of soil N cycling to increased precipitation was higher in arid regions than in humid regions, while that to decreased precipitation was lower in arid regions than in humid regions; (3) the effect of altered precipitation regimes on soil N cycling was independent of precipitation type (i.e., rainfall vs. snowfall); and (4) the mean annual precipitation regulated soil N cycling in precipitation alteration experiments at the global scale. Overall, our results clearly show that the response of soil N cycling to increased versus decreased precipitation differs between arid and humid regions, indicating the uneven effect of climate change on soil N cycling between these two contrasting climate regions. This implies that ecosystem models need to consider the differential responses of N cycling to altered precipitation regimes in different climatic conditions under future global change scenarios.

Plant responses to soil biota depend on precipitation history, plant diversity, and productivity

Soil biota are critical drivers of plant growth, population dynamics, and community structure and thus have wide-ranging effects on ecosystem function. Interactions between plants and soil biota are complex, however, and can depend on the diversity and productivity of the plant community and environmental conditions. Plant-soil biota interactions may be especially important during stressful periods, such as drought, when plants can gain great benefits from beneficial biota but may be susceptible to antagonists. How soil biota respond to drought is also important and can influence plant growth following drought and leave legacies that affect future plant responses to soil biota and further drought. To explore how drought legacies and plant community context influence plant growth responses to soil biota and further drought, we collected soils from 12 grasslands varying in plant diversity and productivity where precipitation was experimentally reduced. We used these soils as inoculum in a growth chamber experiment testing how precipitation history (ambient or reduced) and soil biota (live or sterile soil inoculum) mediate plant growth and drought responses within an experimental plant community. We also tested whether these responses differed with the diversity and productivity of the community where the soil was collected. Plant growth responses to soil biota were positive when inoculated with soils from less diverse and productive plant communities and became negative as the diversity and productivity of the conditioning community increased. At low diversity, however, positive soil biota effects on plant growth were eliminated if precipitation had been reduced in the field, suggesting that diversity loss may heighten climate change sensitivity. Differences among species within the experimental community in their responses to soil biota and drought suggest that species benefitting from less drought sensitive soil biota may be able to compensate for some of this loss of productivity. Regardless of the plant species and soil origin, further drought eliminated any effects of soil biota on plant growth. Consequently, soil biota may be unable to buffer the effects of drought on primary productivity or other ecosystem functions as extreme events increase in frequency.

Global analysis of floral longevity reveals latitudinal gradients and biotic and abiotic correlates

The length of time a flower remains open and functional - floral longevity - governs important reproductive processes influencing pollination and mating and varies considerably among angiosperm species. However, little is known about large-scale biogeographic patterns and the correlates of floral longevity. Using published data on floral longevity from 818 angiosperm species in 134 families and 472 locations world-wide, we present the first global quantification of the latitudinal pattern of floral longevity and the relationships between floral longevity and a range of biotic and abiotic factors. Floral longevity exhibited a significant phylogenetic signal and was longer at higher latitudes in both northern and southern hemispheres, even after accounting for elevation. This latitudinal variation was associated with several biotic and abiotic variables. The mean temperature of the flowering season had the highest predictive power for floral longevity, followed by pollen number per flower. Surprisingly, compatibility status, flower size, pollination mode, and growth form had no significant effects on flower longevity. Our results suggest that physiological processes associated with floral maintenance play a key role in explaining latitudinal variation in floral longevity across global ecosystems, with potential implications for floral longevity under global climate change and species distributions.

Simulated global climate change benefits the nutritive value of oat grass

Numerous data demonstrate that global climate change affects crop yield and quality. However, the effect of climate change on the nutritive value of forage crops remains unclear. Oat grass (Avena sativa L.) was used as a representative forage crop to understand changes in yield and chemical composition. The growth of oat grass under elevated temperature and CO₂ conditions was simulated in a 51-day growth experiment inside OTCs. The oat grass was harvested during the heading period and yield, nutrient content, macro- and micro-mineral content and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) determined. The fresh and dry yield, mineral P and Fe content and IVDMD of oat grass increased under increased CO₂ concentrations (P < 0.05). As temperature increased, dry matter yield and soluble sugar content decreased and the content of Na, Mg, P, S, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn increased (P < 0.05), while IVDMD was not significantly affected. Under the interaction of increasing CO₂ and temperature, the content of Mg, P, S, Ca, Mn and IVDMD of oat grass increased (P < 0.05); however, there was no significant effect on yield. Climate change may result in oat grass containing more digestible nutrients and minerals for ruminants.

System analysis of the fast global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread. Can we avoid future pandemics under global climate change?

The recent fast global spread of COVID-19 caused by a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) questions why and how the disease managed to be so effective against existing health protection measures. These measures, developed by many countries over centuries and strengthened over the last decades, proved to be ineffective against COVID-19. The sharp increase in human longevity and current transport systems in economically developing countries with the background of persisting cultural frameworks and stable local pools of high bacterial and viral mutations generated the wide gap between the established health protection systems and the new emerging diseases. SARS-CoV-2 targets human populations over the world with long incubation periods, often without symptoms, and serious outcomes. Hence, novel strategies are necessary to meet the demands of developing economic and social environments. Moreover, the ongoing climate change adds extra challenges while altering the existing system of interactions in biological populations and in human society. Climate change may lead to new sources of viral and microbial mutations, new ways of zoonotic disease transmission and to huge social and economic transformations in many countries. The present short Opinion applies a system approach linking biomedical, climate change, social and economic aspects and, accordingly, discusses the measures and more efficient means to avoid future pandemics.

Climate alters the movement ecology of a non-migratory bird

Global climate change is causing increased climate extremes threatening biodiversity and altering ecosystems. Climate is comprised of many variables including air temperature, barometric pressure, solar radiation, wind, relative humidity, and precipitation that interact with each other. As movement connects various aspects of an animal's life, understanding how climate influences movement at a fine-temporal scale will be critical to the long-term conservation of species impacted by climate change. The sedentary nature of non-migratory species could increase some species risk of extirpation caused by climate change. We used Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter bobwhite) as a model to better understand the relationship between climate and the movement ecology of a non-migratory species at a fine-temporal scale. We collected movement data on bobwhite from across western Oklahoma during 2019-2020 and paired these data with meteorological data. We analyzed movement in three different ways (probability of movement, hourly distance moved, and sinuosity) using two calculated movement metrics: hourly movement (displacement between two consecutive fixes an hour apart) and sinuosity (a form of tortuosity that determines the amount of curvature of a random search path). We used generalized linear-mixed models to analyze probability of movement and hourly distance moved, and used linear-mixed models to analyze sinuosity. The interaction between air temperature and solar radiation affected probability of movement and hourly distance moved. Bobwhite movement increased as air temperature increased beyond 10°C during low solar radiation. During medium and high solar radiation, bobwhite moved farther as air temperature increased until 25-30°C when hourly distance moved plateaued. Bobwhite sinuosity increased as solar radiation increased. Our results show that specific climate variables alter the fine-scale movement of a non-migratory species. Understanding the link between climate and movement is important to determining how climate change may impact a species' space use and fitness now and in the future.

How to Cope with the Challenges of Environmental Stresses in the Era of Global Climate Change: An Update on ROS Stave off in Plants

With the advent of human civilization and anthropogenic activities in the shade of urbanization and global climate change, plants are exposed to a complex set of abiotic stresses. These stresses affect plants’ growth, development, and yield and cause enormous crop losses worldwide. In this alarming scenario of global climate conditions, plants respond to such stresses through a highly balanced and finely tuned interaction between signaling molecules. The abiotic stresses initiate the quick release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as toxic by-products of altered aerobic metabolism during different stress conditions at the cellular level. ROS includes both free oxygen radicals {superoxide (O₂^•−) and hydroxyl (OH⁻)} as well as non-radicals [hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂)]. ROS can be generated and scavenged in different cell organelles and cytoplasm depending on the type of stimulus. At high concentrations, ROS cause lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, protein oxidation, and necrosis, but at low to moderate concentrations, they play a crucial role as secondary messengers in intracellular signaling cascades. Because of their concentration-dependent dual role, a huge number of molecules tightly control the level of ROS in cells. The plants have evolved antioxidants and scavenging machinery equipped with different enzymes to maintain the equilibrium between the production and detoxification of ROS generated during stress. In this present article, we have focused on current insights on generation and scavenging of ROS during abiotic stresses. Moreover, the article will act as a knowledge base for new and pivotal studies on ROS generation and scavenging.

Off to new shores: Climate niche expansion in invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia spp.)

AIM

Formerly introduced for their presumed value in controlling mosquito-borne diseases, the two mosquitofish Gambusia affinis and G. holbrooki (Poeciliidae) are now among the world's most widespread invasive alien species, negatively impacting aquatic ecosystems around the world. These inconspicuous freshwater fish are, once their presence is noticed, difficult to eradicate. It is, therefore, of utmost importance to assess their geographic potential and to identify their likely ability to persist under novel climatic conditions.

LOCATION

Global.

METHODS

We build species distribution models using occurrence data from the native and introduced distribution ranges to identify putative niche shifts and further ascertain the areas climatically suitable for the establishment and possible spread of mosquitofish.

RESULTS

We found significant niche expansions into climatic regions outside their natural climatic conditions, emphasizing the importance of integrating climatic niches of both native and invasive ranges into projections. In particular, there was a marked shift toward tropical regions in Asia and a clear niche shift of European G. holbrooki. This ecological flexibility partly explains the massive success of the two species, and substantially increases the risk for further range expansion. We also showed that the potential for additional expansion resulting from climate change is enormous-especially in Europe.

MAIN CONCLUSIONS

Despite the successful invasion history and ongoing range expansions, many countries still lack proper preventive measures. Thus, we urge policy makers to carefully evaluate the risk both mosquitofish pose to a particular area and to initiate appropriate management strategies.

Differential effects of altered precipitation regimes on soil carbon cycles in arid versus humid terrestrial ecosystems

Changes in precipitation regimes have significant effects on soil carbon (C) cycles; however, these effects may vary in arid versus humid areas. Additionally, the corresponding details of soil C cycles in response to altered precipitation regimes have not been well documented. Here, a meta-analysis was performed using 845 pairwise observations (control vs. increased or decreased precipitation) from 214 published articles to quantify the responses of the input process of exogenous C, the contents of various forms of C in soil, and the soil-atmosphere C fluxes relative to increased or decreased precipitation. The results showed that the effects of altered precipitation regimes did not differ between rainfall and snowfall. Increased precipitation significantly enhanced the soil C inputs, pools and outputs by 18.17%, 18.50%, and 21.04%, respectively, while decreased precipitation led to a significant decline in these soil C parameters by 10.18%, 9.96%, and 17.98%, respectively. The effects of increased precipitation on soil C cycles were more significant in arid areas (where mean annual precipitation, MAP <500 mm), but the effects of decreased precipitation were more significant in humid areas (where MAP ≥500 mm), indicating that the original MAP partially determined the responses of the soil C cycles to altered precipitation regimes. This study implies that for the same of precipitation variation, soil C cycles respond at different magnitudes: not only should the direction (decrease vs. increase) be counted but also the region (arid vs. humid) should be considered. These results deepened our understanding on regional differentiation in soil C cycles under climate change scenarios.

Superwicking Functionality of Femtosecond Laser Textured Aluminum at High Temperatures

An advanced superwicking aluminum material based on a microgroove surface structure textured with both laser-induced periodic surface structures and fine microholes was produced by direct femtosecond laser nano/microstructuring technology. The created material demonstrates excellent wicking performance in a temperature range of 23 to 120 °C. The experiments on wicking dynamics show a record-high velocity of water spreading that achieves about 450 mm/s at 23 °C and 320 mm/s at 120 °C when the spreading water undergoes intensive boiling. The lifetime of classic Washburn capillary flow dynamics shortens as the temperature increases up to 80 °C. The effects of evaporation and boiling on water spreading become significant above 80 °C, resulting in vanishing of Washburn's dynamics. Both the inertial and visco-inertial flow regimes are insignificantly affected by evaporation at temperatures below the boiling point of water. The boiling effect on the inertial regime is small at 120 °C; however, its effect on the visco-inertial regime is essential. The created material with effective wicking performance under water boiling conditions can find applications in Maisotsenko cycle (M-cycle) high-temperature heat/mass exchangers for enhancing power generation efficiency that is an important factor in reducing CO2 emissions and mitigation of the global climate change.

Microbial Ecology of Oxygen Minimum Zones Amidst Ocean Deoxygenation

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) have substantial effects on the global ecology and biogeochemical processes of marine microbes. However, the diversity and activity of OMZ microbes and their trophic interactions are only starting to be documented, especially in regard to the potential roles of viruses and protists. OMZs have expanded over the past 60 years and are predicted to expand due to anthropogenic climate change, furthering the need to understand these regions. This review summarizes the current knowledge of OMZ formation, the biotic and abiotic factors involved in OMZ expansion, and the microbial ecology of OMZs, emphasizing the importance of bacteria, archaea, viruses, and protists. We describe the recognized roles of OMZ microbes in carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycling, the potential of viruses in altering host metabolisms involved in these cycles, and the control of microbial populations by grazers and viruses. Further, we highlight the microbial community composition and roles of these organisms in oxic and anoxic depths within the water column and how these differences potentially inform how microbial communities will respond to deoxygenation. Additionally, the current literature on the alteration of microbial communities by other key climate change parameters such as temperature and pH are considered regarding how OMZ microbes might respond to these pressures. Finally, we discuss what knowledge gaps are present in understanding OMZ microbial communities and propose directions that will begin to close these gaps.

Heritable variation and lack of tradeoffs suggest adaptive capacity in Acropora cervicornis despite negative synergism under climate change scenarios

Knowledge of multi-stressor interactions and the potential for tradeoffs among tolerance traits is essential for developing intervention strategies for the conservation and restoration of reef ecosystems in a changing climate. Thermal extremes and acidification are two major co-occurring stresses predicted to limit the recovery of vital Caribbean reef-building corals. Here, we conducted an aquarium-based experiment to quantify the effects of increased water temperatures and pCO2 individually and in concert on 12 genotypes of the endangered branching coral Acropora cervicornis, currently being reared and outplanted for large-scale coral restoration. Quantification of 12 host, symbiont and holobiont traits throughout the two-month-long experiment showed several synergistic negative effects, where the combined stress treatment often caused a greater reduction in physiological function than the individual stressors alone. However, we found significant genetic variation for most traits and positive trait correlations among treatments indicating an apparent lack of tradeoffs, suggesting that adaptive evolution will not be constrained. Our results suggest that it may be possible to incorporate climate-resistant coral genotypes into restoration and selective breeding programmes, potentially accelerating adaptation.

Disentangling the trend in the warming of urban areas into global and local factors

Large cities account for a significant share of national population and wealth, and exert high pressure on local and regional resources, exacerbating socioenvironmental risks. The replacement of natural landscapes with higher heat capacity materials because of urbanization and anthropogenic waste heat are some of the factors contributing to local climate change caused by the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Because of synergistic effects, local climate change can exacerbate the impacts of global warming in cities. Disentangling the contributions to warming in cities from global and local drivers can help to understand their relative importance and guide local adaptation policies. The canopy UHI intensity is commonly approximated by the difference between temperatures within cities and the surrounding areas. We present a complementary approach that applies the concept of common trends to extract the global contributions to observed warming in cities and to obtain a residual warming trend caused by local and regional factors. Once the effects of global drivers are removed, common features appear in cities' temperatures in the eastern part of the United States. Most cities experienced higher warming than that attributable to global climate change, and some shared a period of rapid warming during urban sprawl in the mid-20th century in the United States.

Distinct interaction effects of warming and anthropogenic input on diatoms and dinoflagellates in an urbanized estuarine ecosystem

Diatoms and dinoflagellates are two major bloom-forming phytoplankton groups in coastal ecosystems and their dominances will notably affect the marine ecosystems. By analyzing an 18-year monthly monitoring dataset (2000-2017) in the Pearl River Estuary (one of the most highly urbanized and populated estuarine in the world), we observe an increasing trend of the diatom to dinoflagellate ratio (Diatom/Dino). As revealed by multiple statistical models (generalized additive mixed model, random forest, and gradient boosting algorithms), both groups are positively correlated with temperature. Diatoms are positively correlated with nitrate and negatively correlated with ammonium while dinoflagellates show an opposite pattern. The Diatom/Dino trend is explained by an altered nutrient composition caused by a decadal increase in anthropogenic input, at which nitrate increased rapidly while ammonium and phosphate were relatively constant. Regarding the interaction of warming and nutrient dynamics, we observe an additive effect of warming and nitrate enrichment that promotes the increase in diatom cell density, while the dinoflagellate cell density only increases with warming when nutrients are depleted. Our models predict that the Diatom/Dino ratio will further increase with increasing anthropogenic input and global warming in subtropical estuarine ecosystems with nitrate as the dominant inorganic nitrogen; its ecological consequences are worthy of further investigation.

A global phylogeny of turtles reveals a burst of climate-associated diversification on continental margins

Living turtles are characterized by extraordinarily low species diversity given their age. The clade's extensive fossil record indicates that climate and biogeography may have played important roles in determining their diversity. We investigated this hypothesis by collecting a molecular dataset for 591 individual turtles that, together, represent 80% of all turtle species, including representatives of all families and 98% of genera, and used it to jointly estimate phylogeny and divergence times. We found that the turtle tree is characterized by relatively constant diversification (speciation minus extinction) punctuated by a single threefold increase. We also found that this shift is temporally and geographically associated with newly emerged continental margins that appeared during the Eocene-Oligocene transition about 30 million years before present. In apparent contrast, the fossil record from this time period contains evidence for a major, but regional, extinction event. These seemingly discordant findings appear to be driven by a common global process: global cooling and drying at the time of the Eocene-Oligocene transition. This climatic shift led to aridification that drove extinctions in important fossil-bearing areas, while simultaneously exposing new continental margin habitat that subsequently allowed for a burst of speciation associated with these newly exploitable ecological opportunities.

Salinity Alters Toxicity of Commonly Used Pesticides in a Model Euryhaline Fish Species (Menidia beryllina)

Changing salinity in estuaries due to sea level rise and altered rainfall patterns, as a result of climate change, has the potential to influence the interactions of aquatic pollutants as well as to alter their toxicity. From a chemical property point of view, ionic concentration can increase the octanol–water partition coefficient and thus decrease the water solubility of a compound. Biologically, organism physiology and enzyme metabolism are also altered at different salinities with implications for drug metabolism and toxic effects. This highlights the need to understand the influence of salinity on pesticide toxicity when assessing risk to estuarine and marine fishes, particularly considering that climate change is predicted to alter salinity regimes globally and many risk assessments and regulatory decisions are made using freshwater studies. Therefore, we exposed the Inland Silverside (Menidia beryllina) at an early life stage to seven commonly used pesticides at two salinities relevant to estuarine waters (5 PSU and 15 PSU). Triadimefon was the only compound to show a statistically significant increase in toxicity at the 15 PSU LC₅₀. However, all compounds showed a decrease in LC₅₀ values at the higher salinity, and all but one showed a decrease in the LC₁₀ value. Many organisms rely on estuaries as nurseries and increased toxicity at higher salinities may mean that organisms in critical life stages of development are at risk of experiencing adverse, toxic effects. The differences in toxicity demonstrated here have important implications for organisms living within estuarine and marine ecosystems in the Anthropocene as climate change alters estuarine salinity regimes globally.

Extreme Growth Increments Reveal Local and Regional Climatic Signals in Two Pinus pinaster Populations

Tree rings are valuable proxies of past climate that allow inferring past growth responses to climate variability and extreme events, which is only possible considering that the relationship between tree growth and environmental conditions is linear and stable over time. However, in the last decades, divergent growth patterns have been observed in trees from the same forest stand, while unprecedented growth convergence was observed between trees from distant locations. Here, we use a new approach that considers convergent and divergent event years in two populations of Pinus pinaster Aiton in an altitudinal and oceanic-continental gradient to investigate what is triggering divergence and convergence in tree growth. The two study sites are Tocha (TCH), a plantation on sand dunes at low altitude near the ocean, and Serra da Estrela (SdE), a mountain plantation located at 1,100 m altitude, 100 km away from the ocean. The analysis of the climatic conditions in convergent growth years revealed that positive convergent growth was related to above average precipitation in previous winter and that negative convergent growth was related to below average precipitation during the growing season. Divergent growth revealed a temperature signal with warmer temperatures in spring promoting growth in SdE and growth reduction in TCH. Convergent growth was associated with a regional climatic signal, reinforcing the importance of precipitation in the Mediterranean region, and divergent growth to site conditions, revealing local adaptation. The information gathered in this study gives valuable insights on the response of P. pinaster to extreme climatic events, allowing for more adjusted management strategies of Mediterranean pine forests.

Adaptive responses of free-living and symbiotic microalgae to simulated future ocean conditions

Marine microalgae are a diverse group of microscopic eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms capable of photosynthesis. They are important primary producers and carbon sinks but their physiology and persistence are severely affected by global climate change. Powerful experimental evolution technologies are being used to examine the potential of microalgae to respond adaptively to current and predicted future conditions, as well as to develop resources to facilitate species conservation and restoration of ecosystem functions. This review synthesizes findings and insights from experimental evolution studies of marine microalgae in response to elevated temperature and/or pCO₂ . Adaptation to these environmental conditions has been observed in many studies of marine dinoflagellates, diatoms and coccolithophores. An enhancement in traits such as growth and photo-physiological performance and an increase in upper thermal limit have been shown to be possible, although the extent and rate of change differ between microalgal taxa. Studies employing multiple monoclonal replicates showed variation in responses among replicates and revealed the stochasticity of mutations. The work to date is already providing valuable information on species' climate sensitivity or resilience to managers and policymakers but extrapolating these insights to ecosystem- and community-level impacts continues to be a challenge. We recommend future work should include in situ experiments, diurnal and seasonal fluctuations, multiple drivers and multiple starting genotypes. Fitness trade-offs, stable versus plastic responses and the genetic bases of the changes also need investigating, and the incorporation of genome resequencing into experimental designs will be invaluable.

The Responses to Long-Term Water Addition of Soil Bacterial, Archaeal, and Fungal Communities in A Desert Ecosystem

The response of microbial communities to continual and prolonged water exposure provides useful insight when facing global climate changes that cause increased and uneven precipitation and extreme rainfall events. In this study, we investigated an in situ manipulative experiment with four levels of water exposure (ambient precipitation +0%, +25%, +50%, and +100% of local annual mean precipitation) in a desert ecosystem of China. After 9 years of water addition, Illumina sequencing was used to analyze taxonomic compositions of the soil bacterial, archaeal, and fungal communities. The results showed significant increases in microbial biomass carbon (MBC) at higher amended precipitation levels, with the highest values reported at 100% precipitation. Furthermore, an increase in the bacterial species richness was observed along the water addition gradient. In addition, the relative abundance of several bacterial phyla, such as Proteobacteria, significantly increased, whereas that of some drought-tolerant taxa, including Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes, decreased. In addition, the phyla Planctomycetes and Nitrospirae, associated with nitrification, positively responded to increased precipitation. Archaeal diversity significantly reduced under 100% treatment, with changes in the relative abundance of Thaumarchaeota and Euryarchaeota being the main contributors to shifts in the archaeal community. The fungal community composition was stable in response to water addition. Results from the Mantel test and structural equation models suggested that bacterial and archaeal communities reacted contrastingly to water addition. Bacterial community composition was directly affected by changing soil moisture and temperature, while archaeal community composition was indirectly affected by changing nitrogen availability. These findings highlight the importance of soil moisture and nitrogen in driving microbial responses to long-term precipitation changes in the desert ecosystem.

Effect of ultraviolet radiation on the metabolomic profiles of potentially toxic cyanobacteria

Interactions between climate change and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) have a substantial impact on aquatic ecosystems, especially on photosynthetic organisms. To counteract the damaging effects of UVR, cyanobacteria developed adaptive strategies such as the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of UVR on the metabolomic profiles of potentially toxic cyanobacteria. Twelve strains were irradiated with ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B radiation and parabolic aluminized reflector lamps for 3 days, followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis to assess changes in metabolomic profiles. Matrices were used to generate principal component analysis biplots, and molecular networks were obtained using the Global Natural Products platform. Most strains showed significant changes in their metabolomic profiles after UVR exposure. On average, 7% of MS features were shown to be exclusive to metabolomic profiles before UVR exposure, while 9% were unique to metabolomic profiles after UVR exposure. The identified compounds included aeruginosins, spumigins, cyanopeptolins, microginins, namalides, pseudospumigins, anabaenopeptins, mycosporine-like amino acids, nodularins and microcystins. Data showed that cyanobacteria display broad metabolic plasticity upon UVR exposure, including the synthesis and differential expression of a variety of secondary metabolites. This could result in a competitive advantage, supporting cyanobacterial blooms under various UVR light exposures.