Storm impacts on phytoplankton community dynamics in lakes

In many regions across the globe, extreme weather events, such as storms, have increased in frequency, intensity and duration. Ecological theory predicts that such extreme events should have large impacts on ecosystem structure and function. For lake ecosystems, high winds and rainfall associated with storms are linked by short term runoff events from catchments and physical mixing of the water column. Although we have a well-developed understanding of how such wind and precipitation events alter lake physical processes, our mechanistic understanding of how these short-term disturbances 48 translate from physical forcing to changes in phytoplankton communities is poor. Here, we provide a conceptual model that identifies how key storm features (i.e., the frequency, intensity, and duration of wind and precipitation) interact with attributes of lakes and their watersheds to generate changes in a lake’s physical and chemical environment and subsequently phytoplankton community structure and dynamics. We summarize the current understanding of storm-phytoplankton dynamics, identify knowledge gaps with a systematic review of the literature, and suggest future research directions by generating testable hypotheses across a global gradient of lake types and environmental conditions.Fil: Stockwell, Jason D.. University of Vermont; Estados UnidosFil: Adrian, Rita. Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries; AlemaniaFil: Andersen, Mikkel. Dundalk Institute of Technology; IrlandaFil: Anneville, Orlane. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; FranciaFil: Bhattacharya, Ruchi. University of Missouri; Estados UnidosFil: Burns, Wilton G.. University of Vermont; Estados UnidosFil: Carey, Cayelan C.. Virginia Tech University; Estados UnidosFil: Carvalho, Laurence. Freshwater Restoration & Sustainability Group; Reino UnidoFil: Chang, ChunWei. National Taiwan University; República de ChinaFil: De Senerpont Domis, Lisette N.. Netherlands Institute of Ecology; Países BajosFil: Doubek, Jonathan P.. University of Vermont; Estados UnidosFil: Dur, Gaël. Shizuoka University; JapónFil: Frassl, Marieke A.. Griffith University; AustraliaFil: Gessner, Mark O.. Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries; AlemaniaFil: Hejzlar, Josef. Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences; República ChecaFil: Ibelings, Bas W.. University of Geneva; SuizaFil: Janatian, Nasim. Estonian University of Life Sciences; EstoniaFil: Kpodonu, Alfred T. N. K.. City University of New York; Estados UnidosFil: Lajeunesse, Marc J.. University of South Florida; Estados UnidosFil: Lewandowska, Aleksandra M.. Tvarminne Zoological Station; FinlandiaFil: Llames, Maria Eugenia del Rosario. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Matsuzaki, Shin-ichiro S.. National Institute for Environmental Studies; JapónFil: Nodine, Emily R.. Rollins College; Estados UnidosFil: Nõges, Peeter. Estonian University of Life Sciences; EstoniaFil: Park, Ho-Dong. Shinshu University; JapónFil: Patil, Vijay P.. US Geological Survey; Estados UnidosFil: Pomati, Francesco. Swiss Federal Institute of Water Science and Technology; SuizaFil: Rimmer, Alon. Kinneret Limnological Laboratory; IsraelFil: Rinke, Karsten. Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research; AlemaniaFil: Rudstam, Lars G.. Cornell University; Estados UnidosFil: Rusak, James A.. Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change; CanadáFil: Salmaso, Nico. Research and Innovation Centre - Fondazione Mach; ItaliaFil: Schmitt, François. Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences; FranciaFil: Seltmann, Christian T.. Dundalk Institute of Technology; IrlandaFil: Souissi, Sami. Universite Lille; FranciaFil: Straile, Dietmar. University of Konstanz; AlemaniaFil: Thackeray, Stephen J.. Lancaster Environment Centre; Reino UnidoFil: Thiery, Wim. Vrije Unviversiteit Brussel; Bélgica. Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science; SuizaFil: Urrutia Cordero, Pablo. Uppsala University; SueciaFil: Venail, Patrick. Universidad de Ginebra; SuizaFil: Verburg, Piet. 8National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research; Nueva ZelandaFil: Williamson, Tanner J.. Miami University; Estados UnidosFil: Wilson, Harriet L.. Dundalk Institute of Technology; IrlandaFil: Zohary, Tamar. Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research; IsraelGLEON 20: All Hands' MeetingRottnest IslandAustraliaUniversity of Western AustraliaUniversity of AdelaideGlobal Lake Ecological Observatory Networ

Insights into hominid evolution from the gorilla genome sequence.

Gorillas are humans' closest living relatives after chimpanzees, and are of comparable importance for the study of human origins and evolution. Here we present the assembly and analysis of a genome sequence for the western lowland gorilla, and compare the whole genomes of all extant great ape genera. We propose a synthesis of genetic and fossil evidence consistent with placing the human-chimpanzee and human-chimpanzee-gorilla speciation events at approximately 6 and 10 million years ago. In 30% of the genome, gorilla is closer to human or chimpanzee than the latter are to each other; this is rarer around coding genes, indicating pervasive selection throughout great ape evolution, and has functional consequences in gene expression. A comparison of protein coding genes reveals approximately 500 genes showing accelerated evolution on each of the gorilla, human and chimpanzee lineages, and evidence for parallel acceleration, particularly of genes involved in hearing. We also compare the western and eastern gorilla species, estimating an average sequence divergence time 1.75 million years ago, but with evidence for more recent genetic exchange and a population bottleneck in the eastern species. The use of the genome sequence in these and future analyses will promote a deeper understanding of great ape biology and evolution

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified

Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adults.

BACKGROUND: Underweight, overweight, and obesity in childhood and adolescence are associated with adverse health consequences throughout the life-course. Our aim was to estimate worldwide trends in mean body-mass index (BMI) and a comprehensive set of BMI categories that cover underweight to obesity in children and adolescents, and to compare trends with those of adults. METHODS: We pooled 2416 population-based studies with measurements of height and weight on 128·9 million participants aged 5 years and older, including 31·5 million aged 5-19 years. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1975 to 2016 in 200 countries for mean BMI and for prevalence of BMI in the following categories for children and adolescents aged 5-19 years: more than 2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference for children and adolescents (referred to as moderate and severe underweight hereafter), 2 SD to more than 1 SD below the median (mild underweight), 1 SD below the median to 1 SD above the median (healthy weight), more than 1 SD to 2 SD above the median (overweight but not obese), and more than 2 SD above the median (obesity). FINDINGS: Regional change in age-standardised mean BMI in girls from 1975 to 2016 ranged from virtually no change (-0·01 kg/m2 per decade; 95% credible interval -0·42 to 0·39, posterior probability [PP] of the observed decrease being a true decrease=0·5098) in eastern Europe to an increase of 1·00 kg/m2 per decade (0·69-1·35, PP>0·9999) in central Latin America and an increase of 0·95 kg/m2 per decade (0·64-1·25, PP>0·9999) in Polynesia and Micronesia. The range for boys was from a non-significant increase of 0·09 kg/m2 per decade (-0·33 to 0·49, PP=0·6926) in eastern Europe to an increase of 0·77 kg/m2 per decade (0·50-1·06, PP>0·9999) in Polynesia and Micronesia. Trends in mean BMI have recently flattened in northwestern Europe and the high-income English-speaking and Asia-Pacific regions for both sexes, southwestern Europe for boys, and central and Andean Latin America for girls. By contrast, the rise in BMI has accelerated in east and south Asia for both sexes, and southeast Asia for boys. Global age-standardised prevalence of obesity increased from 0·7% (0·4-1·2) in 1975 to 5·6% (4·8-6·5) in 2016 in girls, and from 0·9% (0·5-1·3) in 1975 to 7·8% (6·7-9·1) in 2016 in boys; the prevalence of moderate and severe underweight decreased from 9·2% (6·0-12·9) in 1975 to 8·4% (6·8-10·1) in 2016 in girls and from 14·8% (10·4-19·5) in 1975 to 12·4% (10·3-14·5) in 2016 in boys. Prevalence of moderate and severe underweight was highest in India, at 22·7% (16·7-29·6) among girls and 30·7% (23·5-38·0) among boys. Prevalence of obesity was more than 30% in girls in Nauru, the Cook Islands, and Palau; and boys in the Cook Islands, Nauru, Palau, Niue, and American Samoa in 2016. Prevalence of obesity was about 20% or more in several countries in Polynesia and Micronesia, the Middle East and north Africa, the Caribbean, and the USA. In 2016, 75 (44-117) million girls and 117 (70-178) million boys worldwide were moderately or severely underweight. In the same year, 50 (24-89) million girls and 74 (39-125) million boys worldwide were obese. INTERPRETATION: The rising trends in children's and adolescents' BMI have plateaued in many high-income countries, albeit at high levels, but have accelerated in parts of Asia, with trends no longer correlated with those of adults. FUNDING: Wellcome Trust, AstraZeneca Young Health Programme