Integrated assessment of ecosystem connectivity and functioning: coastal forest avifauna of northeast Australia

The extraordinary diversity of species-environment relationships that occur across space and time can engender a deep curiosity of their mechanistic underpinnings. Moreover, the rapid rate of ecosystem change associated with anthropogenic and climatic pressures makes information regarding species' landscape and resource use ever more important. Without this information, we will be unable to effectively protect landscapes and their constituent species. The coastal ecosystem mosaic of northeast Australia, which is comprised of a high diversity of habitat types, provides a suitable region for investigating how species respond to heterogeneity in habitat and resource availability. The present thesis examined ecosystem functioning in heterogeneous coastal landscapes of northeast Australia for forest avifauna. An array of analytical approaches were employed to establish a comprehensive understanding: 1) spatial assessment to determine relationships between regional landscape connectivity and coastal forest bird assemblages, 2) isotopic assessment to evaluate the local foraging ecology of mangrove bird assemblages, and 3) nutrient assessment of cross-ecosystem connectivity provided by a migratory coastal forest bird species (i.e. the Pied Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula bicolor)). Within the coastal ecosystem mosaic, mangrove forests sit at the land-sea interface. Therefore, to effectively 'set the scene' I review how mangrove birds require and facilitate connectivity through their use of the broader coastal landscape. Next, to specifically assess regional landscape patterns and processes influencing northeast Australia's coastal forest avifauna, I surveyed the composition of bird assemblages in four of the major coastal forest types occurring throughout the region (i.e. Eucalypt, Melaleuca, mangrove, and rainforest). Following this, spatial patterns of habitat configuration within the coastal landscape (i.e. structural connectivity) were quantified to understand broad relationships between coastal forest bird assemblage composition and landscape heterogeneity at multiple spatial scales. Most bird species in coastal northeast Australia occurred in multiple forest types. Spatial assessment suggested that Melaleuca woodlands are a keystone structure that supports use of the entire coastal landscape mosaic by coastal forest generalist species. However, the species composition of mangrove bird assemblages was distinct relative to other coastal forest types. Therefore, to provide more detailed information regarding the response of coastal forest generalists and mangrove specialists to specific forest attributes, functionally connected forest networks were developed to assess the relative importance of forest area, availability, and connectivity to their compositional turnover. This revealed that mangrove specialists and coastal generalists differ in the forest attributes they require (i.e. area vs. availability) to maintain regional beta diversity. Understanding landscape pattern-process relationships that drive bird assemblage composition and turnover can inform the prioritization of regional-scale landscape features for protection. However, species' responses to local-scale spatiotemporal variability in resource availability may also play a role in these relationships. I used isotopic analysis to better understand the foraging ecology of coastal forest birds in a highly dynamic mangrove forest environment. This demonstrated that flexible and opportunistic foraging strategies were prevalent among coastal forest generalist species. However, specialized foraging strategies were employed by some species, primarily for resources that were uniquely available in mangrove forests (i.e. estuarine fish and crabs). Mobile species not only respond to landscape patterns and processes, but can also facilitate connectivity processes through their movement (e.g. nutrient transfer, pollination, genetic linking, etc.). To determine the implications of avian mobility for ecosystem functioning in northeast Australia, I focused on a migratory coastal forest bird species, the Pied Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula bicolor). Nutrient measurements demonstrated that Pied Imperial-Pigeons provide mainland-derived nutrient subsidies to island forests, highlighting their important role as an avian mobile-link species. The integrated analytical approach used in this thesis has provided insight to the complexity of coastal landscapes and their use by forest avifauna. This has broadened our understanding of coastal ecosystem functioning to include a hierarchy of ecosystem components that exist at local and regional scales. The ecosystem properties that emerge from interactions across coastal ecosystem components include: vegetative connectivity, compositional turnover, avian foraging strategy, and nutrient transfer. Results from this thesis can inform the holistic conservation and management strategies that are required to maintain coastal ecosystem functioning in regional northeast Australia

Artificial intelligence and automated monitoring for assisting conservation of marine ecosystems: A perspective

Conservation of marine ecosystems has been highlighted as a priority to ensure a sustainable future. Effective management requires data collection over large spatio-temporal scales, readily accessible and integrated information from monitoring, and tools to support decision-making. However, there are many roadblocks to achieving adequate and timely information on both the effectiveness, and long-term success of conservation efforts, including limited funding, inadequate sampling, and data processing bottlenecks. These factors can result in ineffective, or even detrimental, management decisions in already impacted ecosystems. An automated approach facilitated by artificial intelligence (AI) provides conservation managers with a toolkit that can help alleviate a number of these issues by reducing the monitoring bottlenecks and long-term costs of monitoring. Automating the collection, transfer, and processing of data provides managers access to greater information, thereby facilitating timely and effective management. Incorporating automation and big data availability into a decision support system with a user-friendly interface also enables effective adaptive management. We summarise the current state of artificial intelligence and automation techniques used in marine science and use examples in other disciplines to identify existing and potentially transferable methods that can enable automated monitoring and improve predictive modelling capabilities to support decision making. We also discuss emerging technologies that are likely to be useful as research in computer science and associated technologies continues to develop and become more accessible. Our perspective highlights the potential of AI and big data analytics for supporting decision-making, but also points to important knowledge gaps in multiple areas of the automation processes. These current challenges should be prioritised in conservation research to move toward implementing AI and automation in conservation management for a more informed understanding of impacted ecosystems to result in successful outcomes for conservation managers. We conclude that the current research and emphasis on automated and AI assisted tools in several scientific disciplines may mean the future of monitoring and management in marine science is facilitated and improved by the implementation of automation

Anthropogenic pressures and life history predict trajectories of seagrass meadow extent at a global scale

Seagrass meadows are threatened by multiple pressures, jeopardizing the many benefits they provide to humanity and biodiversity, including climate regulation and food provision through fisheries production. Conservation of seagrass requires identification of the main pressures contributing to loss and the regions most at risk of ongoing loss. Here, we model trajectories of seagrass change at the global scale and show they are related to multiple anthropogenic pressures but that trajectories vary widely with seagrass life-history strategies. Rapidly declining trajectories of seagrass meadow extent (>25% loss from 2000 to 2010) were most strongly associated with high pressures from destructive demersal fishing and poor water quality. Conversely, seagrass meadow extent was more likely to be increasing when these two pressures were low. Meadows dominated by seagrasses with persistent life-history strategies tended to have slowly changing or stable trajectories, while those with opportunistic species were more variable, with a higher probability of either rapidly declining or rapidly increasing. Global predictions of regions most at risk for decline show high-risk areas in Europe, North America, Japan, and southeast Asia, including places where comprehensive long-term monitoring data are lacking. Our results highlight where seagrass loss may be occurring unnoticed and where urgent conservation interventions are required to reverse loss and sustain their essential services

A High-Throughput Screen Indicates Gemcitabine and JAK Inhibitors May be Useful for Treating Pediatric AML

Improvement in survival has been achieved for children and adolescents with AML but is largely attributed to enhanced supportive care as opposed to the development of better treatment regimens. High risk subtypes continue to have poor outcomes with event free survival rates \u3c 40% despite the use of high intensity chemotherapy in combination with hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Here we combine high-throughput screening, intracellular accumulation assays, and in vivo efficacy studies to identify therapeutic strategies for pediatric AML. We report therapeutics not currently used to treat AML, gemcitabine and cabazitaxel, have broad anti-leukemic activity across subtypes and are more effective relative to the AML standard of care, cytarabine, both in vitro and in vivo. JAK inhibitors are selective for acute megakaryoblastic leukemia and significantly prolong survival in multiple preclinical models. Our approach provides advances in the development of treatment strategies for pediatric AML

Opportunities for improving recognition of coastal wetlands in global ecosystem assessment frameworks

Vegetated coastal wetlands, including seagrass, saltmarsh and mangroves, are threatened globally, yet the need to avert these losses is poorly recognized in international policy, such as in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. Identifying the impact of overlooking coastal wetlands in ecosystem assessment frameworks could help prioritize research efforts to fill these gaps. Here, we examine gaps in the recognition of coastal wetlands in globally applicable ecosystem assessments. We address both shortfalls in assessment frameworks when it comes to assessing wetlands, and gaps in data that limit widespread application of assessments. We examine five assessment frameworks that track fisheries, greenhouse gas emissions, ecosystem threats, and ecosystem services. We found that these assessments inform management decisions, but that the functions provided by coastal wetlands are incompletely represented. Most frameworks had sufficient complexity to measure wetland status, but limitations in data meant they were incompletely informed about wetland functions and services. Incomplete representation of coastal wetlands may lead to them being overlooked by research and management. Improving the coverage of coastal wetlands in ecosystem assessments requires improving global scale mapping of wetland trends, developing global-scale indicators of wetland function and synthesis to quantitatively link animal population dynamics to wetland trends. Filling these gaps will help ensure coastal wetland conservation is properly informed to manage them for the outstanding benefits they bring humanity

Global typologies of coastal wetland status to inform conservation and management

Global-scale conservation initiatives and policy instruments rely on ecosystem indicators to track progress towards targets and objectives. A deeper understanding of indicator interrelationships would benefit these efforts and help characterize ecosystem status. We study interrelationships among 34 indicators for mangroves, saltmarsh, and seagrass ecosystems, and develop data-driven, spatially explicit typologies of coastal wetland status at a global scale. After accounting for environmental covariates and gap-filling missing data, we obtained two levels of clustering at 5 and 18 typologies, providing outputs at different scales for different end users. We generated 2,845 cells (1° (lat) × 1° (long)) globally, of which 29.7% were characterized by high land- and marine-based impacts and a high proportion of threatened species, 13.5% by high climate-based impacts, and 9.6% were refuges with lower impacts, high fish density and a low proportion of threatened species. We identify instances where specific actions could have positive outcomes for coastal wetlands across regions facing similar issues. For example, land- and marine-based threats to coastal wetlands were associated with ecological structure and function indicators, suggesting that reducing these threats may reduce habitat degradation and threats to species persistence. However, several interdimensional relationships might be affected by temporal or spatial mismatches in data. Weak relationships mean that global biodiversity maps that categorize areas by single indicators (such as threats or trends in habitat size) may not be representative of changes in other indicators (e.g., ecosystem function). By simplifying the complex global mosaic of coastal wetland status and identifying regions with similar issues that could benefit from knowledge exchange across national boundaries, we help set the scene for globally and regionally coordinated conservation

Harnessing big data to support the conservation and rehabilitation of mangrove forests globally

Mangrove forests are found on sheltered coastlines in tropical, subtropical, and some warm temperate regions. These forests support unique biodiversity and provide a range of benefits to coastal communities, but as a result of large-scale conversion for aquaculture, agriculture, and urbanization, mangroves are considered increasingly threatened ecosystems. Scientific advances have led to accurate and comprehensive global datasets on mangrove extent, structure, and condition, and these can support evaluation of ecosystem services and stimulate greater conservation and rehabilitation efforts. To increase the utility and uptake of these products, in this Perspective we provide an overview of these recent and forthcoming global datasets and explore the challenges of translating these new analyses into policy action and on-the-ground conservation. We describe a new platform for visualizing and disseminating these datasets to the global science community, non-governmental organizations, government officials, and rehabilitation practitioners and highlight future directions and collaborations to increase the uptake and impact of large-scale mangrove research. This Perspective reviews the role of global-scale research in stimulating policy action and on-the-ground conservation for mangrove ecosystems. We outline the current state of knowledge in terms of global analyses and examine the challenge of translating this research in action

UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030: what chance for success in restoring coastal ecosystems?

On 1 March 2019, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (New York) declared 2021–2030 the “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.” This call to action has the purpose of recognizing the need to massively accelerate global restoration of degraded ecosystems, to fight the climate heating crisis, enhance food security, provide clean water and protect biodiversity on the planet. The scale of restoration will be key; for example, the Bonn Challenge has the goal to restore 350 million km2 (almost the size of India) of degraded terrestrial ecosystems by 2030. However, international support for restoration of “blue” coastal ecosystems, which provide an impressive array of benefits to people, has lagged. Only the Global Mangrove Alliance (https://mangrovealliance.org/) comes close to the Bonn Challenge, with the aim of increasing the global area of mangroves by 20% by 2030. However, mangrove scientists have reservations about this target, voicing concerns that it is unrealistic and may prompt inappropriate practices in attempting to reach this target (Lee et al., 2019). The decade of ecosystem restoration declaration also coincides with the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which aims to reverse deterioration in ocean health. If executed in a holistic and coordinated manner, signatory nations could stand to deliver on both these UN calls to action