Tipping the scales. The Interfering Worlds of Anthropocene: The Human Epoch

The article analyzes the poetics of scaling-up and clashing scales in the documentary/essay film Anthropocene: The Human Epoch by Jennifer Baichwal, Edward Burtynsky and Nicholas de Pencier from 2018. It reconstructs and exemplifies the idea that a poetics of scale can be useful and necessary for a comprehension of the Anthropocene following the arguments of Derek Woods, Eva Horn and Hannes Bergthaller amongst others. For example, a poetics of scale can make graspable the tensions and contradictions between the human as a global force – the multiple assemblages of human beings, technologies, other beings and materialities – and the human as an individual. But, as I argue with Hannah Arendt’s observation on the ‘stature of man’ in the space age, smoothly scaling-up to a global, universal point-of-view also reinforces the distanced world view that is at the root of the global ecological crises. I finally argue for an audiovisuality of the climate crisis that connects understanding and realization to activism and climate justice movements.L'article analyse la poétique de la mise à l'échelle et du choc des échelles dans le film documentaire/film essai Anthropocene : The Human Epoch de Jennifer Baichwal, Edward Burtynsky et Nicholas de Pencier de 2018. Il reconstruit et illustre l'idée qu'une poétique de l'échelle peut être utile et nécessaire à la compréhension de l'Anthropocène suivant les arguments de Derek Woods, Eva Horn et Hannes Bergthaller entre autres. Par exemple, une poétique de l'échelle peut permettre de mieux saisir les tensions et les contradictions entre l'humain en tant que force globale – les assemblages multiples des humains, des technologies, des autres êtres et matérialités – et l'humain en tant qu'individu. Mais, comme je l’avance en suivant l'observation d'Hannah Arendt sur la « stature de l'homme » à l'ère spatiale, la transition linéaire vers un point de vue mondial et universel renforce également une vision du monde distanciée qui est à la base des crises écologiques globales. Je plaide enfin pour une audiovisualité de la crise climatique qui relie prise de conscience et compréhension au militantisme et aux mouvements de justice climatique

Diversity-Oriented Synthesis and Optical Properties of Bichromophoric Pyrrole-Fluorophore Conjugates

The mild reaction conditions of the palladium-copper coupling-isomerization reaction open a highly convergent, chromogenic route to blue emissive pyrroles in the sense of a consecutive four-component reaction. By virtue of this strategy a phenol derivative can be readily accessed, which can be transformed in a level-2 transformation to a library of bichromophoric pyrrol-fluorophore conjugates by facile alkylation with fluorophore halides. The photophysics of the underlying blue emitter derivative and the conjugates is studied by absorption and emission spectroscopy, furnishing intramolecular energy transfer at short distances as well as competing fluorescence quenching. In some cases partial energy transfer results in the occurrence of dual emission, for instance seen as magenta-rose emission arising from blue and red orange luminescence. The experimental photophysical studies are rationalized by DFT and TD-DFT calculations

Sources and modes of action of invasive knotweed allelopathy : the effects of leaf litter and trained soil on the germination and growth of native plants

Invasive knotweeds, native to Eastern Asia, are among the most dominant plant invaders of European and North American temperate ecosystems. Recent studies indicate that one cause of this dominance might be allelopathy, but the possible sources and modes of action of this allelopathy are insufficiently understood. Here, we asked whether the invasive knotweed Fallopia × bohemica can exert allelopathic effects on native plants also through its leaf litter, or through persistent soil contaminants, and whether these affect the germination or growth of native plants. In a germination experiment with nine native species neither litter leachate, an aqueous extract of knotweed leaves added to the soil, nor trained soil with a history of Fallopia pre-cultivation suppressed the germination or early growth of natives. A mesocosm study with experimental native communities showed that the presence of F. × bohemica, although not a dominant in these communities, caused significant shifts of life-history strategy in two dominant natives, and that similar effects could be elicited through litter leachates or trained soil alone. However, there were hardly any effects on the biomass of natives. Our study indicates that knotweed allelopathy acts on the growth rather than germination of natives, and that soil contamination through persistent allelochemicals may not be a significant problem in habitat restoration. It also shows that allelopathic effects can sometimes be subtle changes in life-history and allocation patterns of the affected species

Comparative growth and biomass allocation of two varieties of cat's claw creeper, Dolichandra unguis-cati (Bignoniaceae) in Australia

Introduced as an ornamental vine, cat's claw creeper Dolichandra unguis-cati (syn. Macfadyena unguis-cati) has invaded coastal and subcoastal areas of subtropical eastern Australia. Two varieties have been indentified, one of which ('short-pod') is found throughout south-eastern Australia, while the other ('long-pod') appears to be restricted to several sites in south-eastern Queensland. We compared the growth and biomass allocation patterns of the two varieties in the field over a 22-month period to determine if a higher growth rate and/or more efficient allocation of biomass may contribute to this disparity in distribution. The long-pod variety produced greater aboveground and total biomass than the short-pod variety in both riparian and non-riparian zones. Belowground the two varieties produced a similar number of tubers and overall biomass, though the long-pod variety allocated a smaller portion of its carbon belowground. High growth rates and greater biomass allocation aboveground are characteristic of invasive species, allowing them to outcompete and crowd out existing vegetation. There was no significant site by variety interaction, an indication of consistency in variety performance across riparian and non-riparian sites. Results from our study suggest that differences in growth and biomass allocations are unlikely to have contributed to the disparity in distribution of the two varieties. Despite currently occupying a relatively small range, the long-pod variety may be a more adept invader than the short-pod variety, and could become more prevalent in the future. © 2012 CSIRO

Plant functional traits suggest novel ecological strategy for an invasive shrub in an understorey woody plant community

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86864/1/j.1365-2664.2011.02049.x.pd

Release from belowground enemies and shifts in root traits as interrelated drivers of alien plant invasion success: a hypothesis

Our understanding of the interrelated mechanisms driving plant invasions, such as the interplay between enemy release and resource-acquisition traits, is biased by an aboveground perspective. To address this bias, I hypothesize that plant release from belowground enemies (especially fungal pathogens) will give invasive plant species a fitness advantage in the alien range, via shifts in root traits (e.g., increased specific root length and branching intensity) that increase resource uptake and competitive ability compared to native species in the alien range, and compared to plants of the invader in its native range. Such root-trait changes could be ecological or evolutionary in nature. I explain how shifts in root traits could occur as a consequence of enemy release and contribute to invasion success of alien plants, and how they could be interrelated with other potential belowground drivers of invasion success (allelopathy, mutualist enhancement). Finally, I outline the approaches that could be taken to test whether belowground enemy release results in increased competitive ability and nutrient uptake by invasive alien plants, via changes in root traits in the alien range

Phylogeography of an endangered disjunct herb: long-distance dispersal, refugia and colonization routes

Quaternary glacial cycles appear to have had a consistent role in shaping the genetic diversity and structure of plant species. Despite the unusual combination of the characteristics of the western Mediterranean– Macaronesian area, there are no studies that have specifically examined the effects of palaeoclimatic and palaeogeographic factors on the genetic composition and structure of annual herbs. Astragalus edulis is a disjunct endemic found in the easternmost Canary Islands and the semi-arid areas of north-eastern Africa and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. This endangered species shows no evident adaptations to long-distance dispersal. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) data and plastid DNA sequences were analysed from a total of 360 individuals distributed throughout the range of this species. The modelled potential distribution of A. edulis under current conditions was projected over the climatic conditions of the Last Interglacial (130 ka BP) and Last Glacial Maximum (21 ka BP) to analyse changes in habitat suitability and to look for associations between the modelling and genetic results. Amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis showed clear phylogeographic structure with four distinct genetic clusters. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) models based on plastid DNA sequences indicated a Middle Pleistocene long-distance dispersal event as the origin of the populations of the Canary Islands. The models also suggested south-western Morocco as the ancestral area for the species, as well as subsequent colonization of north-eastern Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula. The data compiled indicated the possibility of the presence of refuge areas at favourable locations around the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountain ranges. Moreover, palaeodistribution models strongly support the events inferred by ABC modelling and show the potential distribution of the species in the past, suggesting a putative colonization route.This work has been financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through the projects CGL2012- 32574 and REN2003-09427, as well as by the Andalusian Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Tecnología through the project RNM1067. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript

Poised to Prosper? A Cross-system Comparison of Climate Change Effects on Native and Non-native Species Performance

Climate change and biological invasions are primary threats to global biodiversity that may interact in the future. To date, the hypothesis that climate change will favour non-native species has been examined exclusively through local comparisons of single or few species. Here, we take a meta-analytical approach to broadly evaluate whether non-native species are poised to respond more positively than native species to future climatic conditions. We compiled a database of studies in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems that reported performance measures of non-native (157 species) and co-occurring native species (204 species) under different temperature, CO2 and precipitation conditions. Our analyses revealed that in terrestrial (primarily plant) systems, native and non-native species responded similarly to environmental changes. By contrast, in aquatic (primarily animal) systems, increases in temperature and CO2 largely inhibited native species. There was a general trend towards stronger responses among non-native species, including enhanced positive responses to more favourable conditions and stronger negative responses to less favourable conditions. As climate change proceeds, aquatic systems may be particularly vulnerable to invasion. Across systems, there could be a higher risk of invasion at sites becoming more climatically hospitable, whereas sites shifting towards harsher conditions may become more resistant to invasions

Evolution of Exon-Intron Structure and Alternative Splicing

Despite significant advances in high-throughput DNA sequencing, many important species remain understudied at the genome level. In this study we addressed a question of what can be predicted about the genome-wide characteristics of less studied species, based on the genomic data from completely sequenced species. Using NCBI databases we performed a comparative genome-wide analysis of such characteristics as alternative splicing, number of genes, gene products and exons in 36 completely sequenced model species. We created statistical regression models to fit these data and applied them to loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), an example of an important species whose genome has not been completely sequenced yet. Using these models, the genome-wide characteristics, such as total number of genes and exons, can be roughly predicted based on parameters estimated from available limited genomic data, e.g. exon length and exon/gene ratio

Invasive species as drivers of evolutionary change: cane toads in tropical Australia

The arrival of an invasive species can have wide-ranging ecological impacts on native taxa, inducing rapid evolutionary responses in ways that either reduce the invader's impact or exploit the novel opportunity that it provides. The invasion process itself can cause substantial evolutionary shifts in traits that influence the invader's dispersal rate (via both adaptive and non-adaptive mechanisms) and its ability to establish new populations. I briefly review the nature of evolutionary changes likely to be set in train by a biological invasion, with special emphasis on recent results from my own research group on the invasion of cane toads (Rhinella marina) through tropical Australia. The toads’ invasion has caused evolutionary changes both in the toads and in native taxa. Many of those changes are adaptive, but others may result from non-adaptive evolutionary processes: for example, the evolved acceleration in toad dispersal rates may be due to spatial sorting of dispersal-enhancing genes, rather than fitness advantages to faster-dispersing individuals. Managers need to incorporate evolutionary dynamics into their conservation planning, because biological invasions can affect both the rates and the trajectories of evolutionary change