Cross-realm assessment of climate change impacts on species' abundance trends

Climate change, land-use change, pollution and exploitation are among the main drivers of species' population trends; however, their relative importance is much debated. We used a unique collection of over 1,000 local population time series in 22 communities across terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms within central Europe to compare the impacts of long-term temperature change and other environmental drivers from 1980 onwards. To disentangle different drivers, we related species' population trends to species- and driver-specific attributes, such as temperature and habitat preference or pollution tolerance. We found a consistent impact of temperature change on the local abundances of terrestrial species. Populations of warm-dwelling species increased more than those of cold-dwelling species. In contrast, impacts of temperature change on aquatic species' abundances were variable. Effects of temperature preference were more consistent in terrestrial communities than effects of habitat preference, suggesting that the impacts of temperature change have become widespread for recent changes in abundance within many terrestrial communities of central Europe.Additionally, we appreciate the open access marine data provided by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. We thank the following scientists for taxonomic or technical advice: C. Brendel, T. Caprano, R. Claus, K. Desender, A. Flakus, P. R. Flakus, S. Fritz, E.-M. Gerstner, J.-P. Maelfait, E.-L. Neuschulz, S. Pauls, C. Printzen, I. Schmitt and H. Turin, and I. Bartomeus for comments on a previous version of the manuscript. R.A. was supported by the EUproject LIMNOTIP funded under the seventh European Commission Framework Programme (FP7) ERA-Net Scheme (Biodiversa, 01LC1207A) and the long-term ecological research program at the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB). R.W.B. was supported by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) through Theme 3 of their Strategic Research Programme. S.D. acknowledges support of the German Research Foundation DFG (grant DO 1880/1-1). S.S. acknowledges the support from the FP7 project EU BON (grant no. 308454). S.K., I.Kü. and O.S. acknowledge funding thorough the Helmholtz Association’s Programme Oriented Funding, Topic ‘Land use, biodiversity, and ecosystem services: Sustaining human livelihoods’. O.S. also acknowledges the support from FP7 via the Integrated Project STEP (grant no. 244090). D.E.B. was funded by a Landes–Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich–ökonomischer Exzellenz (LOEWE) excellence initiative of the Hessian Ministry for Science and the Arts and the German Research Foundation (DFG: Grant no. BO 1221/23-1).Peer Reviewe

Adapting to Climate Change in Urban Water Management: Flood Management in the Rotterdam–Rijnmond Area

Many large coastal cities are located in deltas, which makes them vulnerable to floods. In many cities flood damage has increased due to increases in population and assets, and this process is expected to continue. At the same time, climate change will cause floods to occur more often in many rivers and deltas due to higher discharges and sea level rise. These trends call for the development and implementation of new technologies and strategies in flood risk management. This call is also acknowledged in the Netherlands, a country that has a strong history of relying on structural measures. The city of Rotterdam includes many unembanked areas, large parts of which will be redeveloped in the near future. Current practice is to elevate all unembanked areas to a 1 in 4,000 years flood level. This is not only very costly, but also causes problems when an area is redeveloped in phases, or when existing buildings will remain as both cause unwanted elevation differences and differences in flood protection. Rotterdam is therefore looking for adaptive (non-structural) measures to decrease flood damage in these areas. Such measures are presently little used in the Netherlands. One key question is how these new measures fit in within current policies, laws, and regulations in Rotterdam. This chapter describes measures studied for a case study area in Rotterdam, gives an analysis of the policies, laws, and regulations relating to these measures, and examines the implications for urban flood management. Our research shows that, in principle, the rules do allow for implementation of adaptive measures. It is, however, problematic how these measures can be enforced, and this weakness can cause problems, e.g. when not all waterfront buildings are dry-proofed. Better communication of flood risks is recommended, as this will increase awareness and preparedness, which in turn might lead to a higher implementation rate of adaptive measures.</p

Cross-realm assessment of climate change impacts on species' abundance trends

Climate change, land-use change, pollution and exploitation are among the main drivers of species’ population trends; however, their relative importance is much debated. We used a unique collection of over 1,000 local population time series in 22 communities across terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms within central Europe to compare the impacts of long-term temperature change and other environmental drivers from 1980 onwards. To disentangle different drivers, we related species’ population trends to species- and driver-specific attributes, such as temperature and habitat preference or pollution tolerance. We found a consistent impact of temperature change on the local abundances of terrestrial species. Populations of warm-dwelling species increased more than those of cold-dwelling species. In contrast, impacts of temperature change on aquatic species’ abundances were variable. Effects of temperature preference were more consistent in terrestrial communities than effects of habitat preference, suggesting that the impacts of temperature change have become widespread for recent changes in abundance within many terrestrial communities of central Europe

Niacin: a re-emerging pharmaceutical for the treatment of dyslipidaemia

Dyslipidaemias, particularly those characterized by the ‘atherogenic profile’ of high low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and triglycerides and low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, are the major modifiable risk factor for atherosclerosis. The search for drugs to favourably alter such lipid profiles, reducing the associated morbidity and mortality, remains a major research focus. Niacin (nicotinic acid) is the most effective agent available for increasing high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, but its use is associated with side effects that negatively affect patient compliance: these appear to arise largely as a result of production of prostaglandin D2 and its subsequent activation of the DP1 receptor. Desire to reduce the side effects (and improve pharmacokinetic parameters) has led to the development of a number of agonists that have differing effects, both in terms of clinical potency and the severity of adverse effects. The recent discovery of the niacin G-protein-coupled receptor HM74A (GPR109A) has clarified the distinction between the mechanism whereby niacin exerts its therapeutic effects and the mechanisms responsible for the generation of side effects. This has allowed the development of new drugs that show great potential for the treatment of dyslipidaemia. However, recent advances in understanding of the contribution of prostaglandin metabolism to vascular wall health suggest that some of the beneficial effects of niacin may well result from activation of the same pathways responsible for the adverse reactions. The purpose of this review is to emphasize that the search for agonists that show higher tolerability must take into account all aspects of signalling through this receptor