Are orchid bees useful indicators of the impacts of human disturbance?

Biodiversity and ecosystem functions are threatened by human disturbance, and tropical forests are one the most vulnerable habitats. Monitoring the impacts of disturbance and the success of conservation projects is crucial, and to do this effectively it is important to identify suitable measures that are sensitive to ecosystem disturbance. Orchid bees (Euglossini) are a specialist group with mutualistic relationships with many plant species and can fly long distances, making them important pollinators of widely dispersed plant species. A loss of specialist pollinators such as these could have severe consequences for the plants that rely on their services. We therefore aimed to answer the following question: are orchid bees useful indicators of the impacts of human disturbance? If so, what measures of orchid bee diversity are most sensitive? And do orchid bees provide any indication of changes in pollination services along a disturbance gradient? Orchid bees were collected from 18 sites across a gradient of disturbance in a tropical forest region in southeast Peru. Alpha diversity across the gradient was compared using Hills numbers. Beta diversity was assessed using community composition, species contributions to beta diversity, beta diversity partitioning and novel measures of redundancy and representativeness. The potential pollination services available at each site were measured using artificial flowers and counts of pollinator visits. Alpha diversity of orchid bees showed low sensitivity to disturbance. Beta diversity measures were more informative, with disturbed sites found to be highly redundant in the ecosystem compared to the less disturbed sites. However, the most sensitive measure across the gradient was abundance – there was a significant decrease in the number of bees caught as disturbance increased, with likely consequences for pollination services. These results suggest that orchid bees may be useful indicators of the impacts of human disturbance, but alpha diversity is a poor metric for this purpose. In order to understand how human disturbance is affecting biodiversity, multiple diversity indices should be considered, and in the case of orchid bees, redundancy and abundance could be useful for detecting sensitive responses to forest disturbance. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Fair winds and following seas remotely: modifying perceptions of fieldwork as a requirement in marine science to aid in diversifying the discipline

Pursuing an academic career in marine science requires a range of skills that can be applied across different contexts, including experimental or computational proficiency, policy engagement, teaching, and seagoing fieldwork. The tendency to advertise careers in marine science with imagery of research expeditions results in the perception that it is a requirement for a career in marine science, an indicator of competitiveness in this discipline. Historically, those participating in remote fieldwork over extended periods of time were perceived as “adventurous explorers, with a strong bias towards western, able-bodied men” (Nash et al., 2019). Use of imagery reinforcing such notions for marine scientists fails to recognize that this perception can be discouraging to individuals from other backgrounds who may be excluded from the discipline by a range of real and perceived participatory barriers. Such exclusionary factors include: caring responsibilities, physical mobility, challenging social environments, isolating and physically uncomfortable working environments, mental health challenges, and access to opportunity (Giles et al., 2020). Such barriers disproportionately affect diverse, underrepresented, and marginalized groups, who may therefore struggle to identify with marine science as a potential discipline in which to pursue a successful career. Current work toward achieving net zero targets within ocean research emphasizes the use of autonomous vehicles as alternatives to ocean-going ships (Storey, 2023), and the proposed concept of digital twinning would incorporate similar remote technology coupled with simulations and shore-based decision-making. The concept of digital twinning refers to the use of responsive autonomous platforms that can both collect data and be operated in response to that data, which could provide a non-field-based approach to delivering marine science while also potentially expanding the opportunities available for individuals not able or interested in working in the field. In distinguishing digital twinning from current approaches such as data assimilating models, Kritzinger et al. (2018) note the importance of a two-way data flow between the physical environment and its virtual representation, called a “digital twin,” which, for example, may lead to changes in deployment strategy or data collection by researchers. Because these twins can be controlled and simulated anywhere with access to sufficient computing power, shore-based individuals can interact with a virtual version of the physical environment without being physically present at sea. The technology to support a fully realized digital twin of the ocean is still under development, but its use would require a broader range of skills and roles in the discipline, many of which are not accurately conveyed by the prevailing marketing of field-based disciplines (see Mol and Atchinson, 2019, regarding geosciences). In order to fully integrate this new approach into marine science, employment of individuals with experience and training across a wide range of disciplines from software engineering to traditional field sampling is essential while also presenting the potential for making marine science more inclusive. Individuals for whom working at sea is not possible and/or desirable would be able to make equally valid contributions to such research projects via digital routes, without facing the many barriers fieldwork may present. This study explores the expectations of marine scientists, from both early and more established career stages, around the importance of field experience as a precursor or requirement for a successful marine science career, and also examines the advantages and disadvantages of using digital twinning as a complement to traditional field-based marine science

Challenger Society for Marine Science: Increasing opportunity through an equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility working group

The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) is the learned society for marine scientists based in the United Kingdom, with a membership of over 470 people from >100 institutions, across all academic career stages. Members of the CSMS have been interested in improving the representation of a diverse range of identities in UK marine science, largely driven by their own experiences of inequity in the discipline, such as the challenges faced by women (Hendry et al., 2020). The structural exclusion of individuals by race, sex, ethnicity, social class, disability, sexuality, and the compound sum of these factors can result in a lack of diversity during recruitment and poor retention. Since 2021, CSMS has formed the first UK-wide equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) working group for marine scientists, with the aim of coordinating action to address the causes of exclusion and to improve representation across the discipline. The group of 25 volunteers meets each month to discuss a topical agenda, and the chair of the working group sits on the council of CSMS, providing EDIA input from the working group on society-wide strategic decisions

Effect of fortification of fresh cow milk with coconut milk on the proximate composition and yield of warankashi, a traditional cheese

Cheese is a concentrated dairy product produced by acid or rennet coagulation or curdling of milk, stirring and heating the curd, draining off the whey, collecting and pressing the curd. The effect of partial substitution of fresh cow milk with coconut milk on the yield and proximate composition of cheese was examined. Extracted coconut milk was mixed with fresh raw cow milk at varying proportions of 5%: 95%, 10%: 90%, 15%: 85%, 20%: 80%, 25%:75%, 70%: 30% and the control (0%:100%) to produce cheese. The control and the partially substituted cheeses were stored in a refrigerator and examined for sensory quality, percentage yield, total titrable acidity, and proximate analysis. The yield of cheese showed significant (p< 0.05) decrease from 26.71% (control sample) to 13.55% as the level of coconut milk increased. The total titrable acidity of cheese was found to be between the ranges of 0.20% - 0.29% which displayed a significant increase from 0.20% - 0.29%. The protein content of the cow-coconut cheese blends showed a significant difference (p<0.05) and an increase of 14.05%-15.33% (at 5%-30% substitution of coconut milk), with the control sample having 13.75%. There was also an increase in fat content from 9.20% - 9.64% (5% - 30% substitution of coconut milk, with the control sample having 8.94%. There was a decrease in the carbohydrate content of the cheese blends which ranged between 8.23% -2.82%, with the control sample having 9.60%. There was a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the ash content of the cow-coconut cheese blends, with the control sample having 1.02%. Significant difference (p<0.05) was observed in the colour, aroma, taste, texture, and overall acceptability as influenced by varying proportions of added coconut milk. The blend with 5% coconut milk and 95% cow milk was most acceptable by panellists. The work showed the potential of coconut as an alternative source of milk in cheese making with improved nutritional value and consumer acceptability

The Acoustic Index User's Guide: a practical manual for defining, generating and understanding current and future acoustic indices

1. Ecoacoustics, the study of environmental sound, is a rapidly growing discipline offering ecological insights at scales ranging from individual organisms to whole ecosystems. Substantial methodological developments over the last 15 years have streamlined extraction of ecological information from audio recordings. One widely used set of methods are acoustic indices, which offer numerical summaries of the spectral, temporal and amplitude patterns in audio recordings. 2. Currently, the specifics of each index's background, methodology and the soundscape patterns they are designed to summarise, are spread across multiple sources. Critically, details of index calculation are sometimes scarce, making it challenging for users to understand how index values are generated. Discrepancies in understanding can lead to misuse of acoustic indices or reporting of spurious results. This hinders ecological inference, replicability and discourages adoption of these tools for conservation and ecosystem monitoring, where they might otherwise provide useful insight. 3. Here we present the Acoustic Index User's Guide—an interactive RShiny web app that defines and deconstructs eight of the most commonly used acoustic indices to facilitate consistent application across the discipline. We break the acoustic indices calculations down into easy-to-follow steps to better enable practical application and critical interpretation of acoustic indices. We demonstrate typical soundscape patterns using a suite of 91 example audio recordings: 66 real-world soundscapes from terrestrial, aquatic and subterranean systems around the world, and 25 synthetic files demonstrating archetypal soundscape patterns. Our interpretation figures signpost specific soundscape patterns likely to be reflected in acoustic indices' values. 4. This RShiny app is a living resource; additional acoustic indices will be added in the future through collaboration with authors of pre-existing and new indices. The app also serves as a best-practice template for the information required when publishing new acoustic indices, so that authors can facilitate the widest possible understanding and uptake of their indices. In turn, improved understanding of acoustic indices will aid effective hypothesis generation, application and interpretation in ecological research, ecosystem monitoring and conservation management

Whistle communication in mammal-eating killer whales (Orcinus orca): further evidence for acoustic divergence between ecotypes

Public signaling plays an important role in territorial and sexual displays in animals; however, in certain situations, it is advantageous to keep signaling private to prevent eavesdropping by unintended receivers. In the northeastern Pacific, two populations of killer whales (Orcinus orca), fish-eating “resident” killer whales and mammal-eating “transient” killer whales, share the same habitat. Previous studies have shown that residents use whistles as private signals during close-range communication, where they probably serve to coordinate behavioral interactions. Here, we investigated the whistling behavior of mammal-eating killer whales, and, based on divergent social structures and social behaviors between residents and transients, we predicted to find differences in both whistle usage and whistle parameters. Our results show that, like resident killer whales, transients produce both variable and stereotyped whistles. However, clear differences in whistle parameters between ecotypes show that the whistle repertoire of mammal-eating killer whales is clearly distinct from and less complex than that of fish-eating killer whales. Furthermore, mammal-eating killer whales only produce whistles during “milling after kill” and “surface-active” behaviors, but are almost completely silent during all other activities. Nonetheless, whistles of transient killer whales may still serve a role similar to that of resident killer whales. Mammal-eating killer whales seem to be under strong selection to keep their communication private from potential prey (whose hearing ranges overlap with that of killer whales), and they appear to accomplish this mainly by restricting vocal activity rather than by changes in whistle parameters