Long-Term Effects of the Periconception Period on Embryo Epigenetic Profile and Phenotype: The Role of Stress and How This Effect Is Mediated

Stress represents an unavoidable aspect of human life, and pathologies associated with dysregulation of stress mechanisms - particularly psychiatric disorders - represent a significant global health problem. While it has long been observed that levels of stress experienced in the periconception period may greatly affect the offspring's risk of psychiatric disorders, the mechanisms underlying these associations are not yet comprehensively understood. In order to address this question, this chapter will take a 'top-down' approach, by first defining stress and associated concepts, before exploring the mechanistic basis of the stress response in the form of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and how dysregulation of the HPA axis can impede our mental and physical health, primarily via imbalances in glucocorticoids (GCs) and their corresponding receptors (GRs) in the brain. The current extent of knowledge pertaining to the impact of stress on developmental programming and epigenetic inheritance is then extensively discussed, including the role of chromatin remodelling associated with specific HPA axis-related genes and the possible role of regulatory RNAs as messengers of environmental stress both in the intrauterine environment and across the germ line. Furthering our understanding of the role of stress on embryonic development is crucial if we are to increase our predictive power of disease risk and devise-effective treatments and intervention strategies

Numbers of Spoon-billed Sandpipers in Jiangsu Province, China, during the post-breeding moult in relation to recent changes in the intertidal zone

Previous studies have highlighted the importance of intertidal habitats on the coast of Jiangsu Province, China for the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea during the post-breeding moult. We report Lincoln-Petersen closed-population estimates of numbers of Spoon-billed Sandpipers Calidris pygmaea at the three principal sites in the region for the species: Tiaozini, Yangkou and Dongling. Our estimates were based upon resightings and scan surveys of individually-marked birds. Surveys were conducted in September–October when nearly all of the birds present were adults (≥1 yr old). We estimated the number present at Tiaozini in each of the years 2017–2020, during which numbers declined from 225 to 151, mostly between 2018 and 2019. To identify parts of the intertidal area used by Spoon-billed Sandpipers, we mapped locations of satellite-tagged birds in 2017 and 2019. Data from seven tagged birds indicated that they moved to intertidal flats up to 7 km seaward of the nearest point of the seawall at low tide. We then analysed satellite imagery for 2017–2020 for intertidal areas up to this distance from the coast and found evidence for changes in topography of the intertidal mudflats and positions of major channels. The mean extent of exposed mudflats per tidal cycle appeared to have declined by about 20% between 2017 and 2020. Surveys at two other sites in 2020 indicated that there were 26 birds at Yangkou and 63 birds at Dongling, with a total of 240 birds at all three sites combined in 2020. This is approximately half of the estimated world population of adults. The coast of Jiangsu Province is therefore of global importance for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Although birds no longer at Tiaozini may have been displaced to other sites, the observed population decline, which co-incided with changes in intertidal topography, raises concerns about the future conservation status of the species. Uncertainty about future changes to the topography and extent of intertidal mudflats makes the co-ordinated protection of all sites in Jiangsu Province known to hold Spoon-billed Sandpipers during the post-breeding moult period a conservation priority. This applies particularly to Tiaozini, Yangkou and Dongling, but also to other sites at which future surveys may reveal to hold concentrations of the species.We are grateful to the China National Bird Banding Center, which supports the banding programme in China. Data collection was partly supported by The Biodiversity Investigation and Assessment program (2019–2023) of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China. For contributing their time and skill to the survey in autumn 2020, we thank all volunteers: Cai Kangyuen, Rainy Cai, Fu Meng, Hu Xiaoxing, Li Yunfeng, Liu Jingqi, Liu Wei, Mu Tong, Qian Feng, Qian Ruen, Wang Hao, Wu Rongping, Xiang Le, Xin Yi, Yan Shaohua, Zhang Lei, Zhang Lin, Zhang Shoudong, Zhang Yuanqing and Zhong Yuetao