Ge/Si and Ge Isotope Fractionation During Glacial and Non-glacial Weathering: Field and Experimental Data From West Greenland

Glacial environments offer the opportunity to study the incipient stages of chemical weathering due to the high availability of finely ground sediments, low water temperatures, and typically short rock-water interaction times. In this study we focused on the geochemical behavior of germanium (Ge) in west Greenland, both during subglacial weathering by investigating glacier-fed streams, as well as during a batch reactor experiment by allowing water-sediment interaction for up to 2 years in the laboratory. Sampled in late August 2014, glacial stream Ge and Si concentrations were low, ranging between 12–55 pmol/L and 7–33 µmol/L, respectively (Ge/Si = 0.9–2.2 µmol/mol, similar to parent rock). As reported previously, the dissolved stable Ge isotope ratio (δ74Ge) of the Watson River was 0.86 ± 0.24‰, the lowest among global rivers and streams measured to date. This value was only slightly heavier than the suspended load (0.48 ± 0.23‰), which is likely representative of the bulk parent rock composition. Despite limited Ge/Si and δ74GeGe fractionation, both Ge and Si appear depleted relative to Na during subglacial weathering, which we interpret as the relatively congruent uptake of both phases by amorphous silica (aSi). Continued sediment-water interaction over 470–785 days in the lab produced a large increase in dissolved Si concentrations (up to 130–230 µmol/L), a much smaller increase in dissolved Ge (up to ∼70 pmol/L), resulting in a Ge/Si decrease (to 0.4–0.5 µmol/mol) and a significant increase in δ74Ge (to 1.9–2.2‰). We argue that during the experiment, both Si and Ge are released by the dissolution of previously subglacially formed aSi, and Ge is then incorporated into secondary phases (likely adsorbed to Fe oxyhydroxides), with an associated Δ74Gesecondary−dissolved fractionation factor of −2.15 ± 0.46‰. In summary, we directly demonstrate Ge isotope fractionation during the dissolution-precipitation weathering reactions of natural sediments in the absence of biological Ge and Si uptake, and highlight the significant differences in Ge behavior during subglacial and non-glacial weathering.</jats:p

Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) have exceptionally long pectorals (i.e. flippers) that aid in shallow water navigation, rapid acceleration and increased manoeuvrability. The use of pectorals to herd or manipulate prey has been hypothesized since the 1930s. We combined new technology and a unique viewing platform to document the additional use of pectorals to aggregate prey during foraging events. Here, we provide a description of ‘pectoral herding’ and explore the conditions that may promote this innovative foraging behaviour. Specifically, we analysed aerial videos and photographic sequences to assess the function of pectorals during feeding events near salmon hatchery release sites in Southeast Alaska (2016–2018). We observed the use of solo bubble-nets to initially corral prey, followed by calculated movements to establish a secondary boundary with the pectorals—further condensing prey and increasing foraging efficiency. We found three ways in which humpback whales use pectorals to herd prey: (i) create a physical barrier to prevent evasion, (ii) cause water motion to guide prey towards the mouth, and (iii) position the ventral side to reflect light and alter prey movement. Our findings suggest that behavioural plasticity may aid foraging in changing environments and shifts in prey availability. Further study would clarify if ‘pectoral herding’ is used as a principal foraging tool by the broader humpback whale population and the conditions that promote its use.Ye

Polymorphisms in Anopheles gambiae Immune Genes Associated with Natural Resistance to Plasmodium falciparum

Many genes involved in the immune response of Anopheles gambiae, the main malaria vector in Africa, have been identified, but whether naturally occurring polymorphisms in these genes underlie variation in resistance to the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is currently unknown. Here we carried out a candidate gene association study to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with natural resistance to P. falciparum. A. gambiae M form mosquitoes from Cameroon were experimentally challenged with three local wild P. falciparum isolates. Statistical associations were assessed between 157 SNPs selected from a set of 67 A. gambiae immune-related genes and the level of infection. Isolate-specific associations were accounted for by including the effect of the isolate in the analysis. Five SNPs were significantly associated to the infection phenotype, located within or upstream of AgMDL1, CEC1, Sp PPO activate, Sp SNAKElike, and TOLL6. Low overall and local linkage disequilibrium indicated high specificity in the loci found. Association between infection phenotype and two SNPs was isolate-specific, providing the first evidence of vector genotype by parasite isolate interactions at the molecular level. Four SNPs were associated to either oocyst presence or load, indicating that the genetic basis of infection prevalence and intensity may differ. The validity of the approach was verified by confirming the functional role of Sp SNAKElike in gene silencing assays. These results strongly support the role of genetic variation within or near these five A. gambiae immune genes, in concert with other genes, in natural resistance to P. falciparum. They emphasize the need to distinguish between infection prevalence and intensity and to account for the genetic specificity of vector-parasite interactions in dissecting the genetic basis of Anopheles resistance to human malaria

Behavioural indicators of welfare in farmed fish

Behaviour represents a reaction to the environment as fish perceive it and is therefore a key element of fish welfare. This review summarises the main findings on how behavioural changes have been used to assess welfare in farmed fish, using both functional and feeling-based approaches. Changes in foraging behaviour, ventilatory activity, aggression, individual and group swimming behaviour, stereotypic and abnormal behaviour have been linked with acute and chronic stressors in aquaculture and can therefore be regarded as likely indicators of poor welfare. On the contrary, measurements of exploratory behaviour, feed anticipatory activity and reward-related operant behaviour are beginning to be considered as indicators of positive emotions and welfare in fish. Despite the lack of scientific agreement about the existence of sentience in fish, the possibility that they are capable of both positive and negative emotions may contribute to the development of new strategies (e. g. environmental enrichment) to promote good welfare. Numerous studies that use behavioural indicators of welfare show that behavioural changes can be interpreted as either good or poor welfare depending on the fish species. It is therefore essential to understand the species-specific biology before drawing any conclusions in relation to welfare. In addition, different individuals within the same species may exhibit divergent coping strategies towards stressors, and what is tolerated by some individuals may be detrimental to others. Therefore, the assessment of welfare in a few individuals may not represent the average welfare of a group and vice versa. This underlines the need to develop on-farm, operational behavioural welfare indicators that can be easily used to assess not only the individual welfare but also the welfare of the whole group (e. g. spatial distribution). With the ongoing development of video technology and image processing, the on-farm surveillance of behaviour may in the near future represent a low-cost, noninvasive tool to assess the welfare of farmed fish.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal [SFRH/BPD/42015/2007]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Threats of future climate change and land use to vulnerable tree species native to Southern California

Climate and land-use changes are expected to drive high rates of environmental change and biodiversity loss in Mediterranean ecosystems this century. This paper compares the relative future impacts of land use and climate change on two vulnerable tree species native to Southern California (Juglans californica and Quercus engelmannii) using species distribution models. Under the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change's A1B future scenario, high levels of both projected land use and climate change could drive considerable habitat losses on these two already heavily-impacted tree species. Under scenarios of no dispersal, projected climate change poses a greater habitat loss threat relative to projected land use for both species. Assuming unlimited dispersal, climate-driven habitat gains could offset some of the losses due to both drivers, especially in J. californica which could experience net habitat gains under combined impacts of both climate change and land use. Quercus engelmannii, in contrast, could experience net habitat losses under combined impacts, even under best-case unlimited dispersal scenarios. Similarly, projected losses and gains in protected habitat are highly sensitive to dispersal scenario, with anywhere from &gt; 60% loss in protected habitat (no dispersal) to &gt; 170% gain in protected habitat (unlimited dispersal). The findings underscore the importance of dispersal in moderating future habitat loss for vulnerable species. Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2014

Pleckstrin homology domains bind to phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate

THE pleckstrin homology (PH) domain is a new protein module of around 100 amino acids found in several proteins involved in signal transduction1–5. Although its specific function has yet to be elucidated, the carboxy-terminal regions of many βγ domains bind to the py subunits of G proteins6,7. On the basis of structural similarities between PH domains and lipid-binding proteins, we have proposed that PH domains may be binding to lipophilic molecules8. Indeed, many of the proteins that contain this domain associate with phospholipid membranes6,9,10, and disruption of this domain can interfere with membrane association6,11. Here we report that PH domains bind to phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate and show that the lipid-binding site is located at the lip of the β-barrel. This suggests that PH domains may be important for membrane localization of proteins through interactions with phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate.Accepted versio

Testing the effects of genetic crossing distance on embryo survival within a metapopulation of brown trout (Salmo trutta)

Predicting progeny performance from parental genetic divergence can potentially enhance the efficiency of supportive breeding programmes and facilitate risk assessment. Yet, experimental testing of the effects of breeding distance on offspring performance remains rare, especially in wild populations of vertebrates. Recent studies have demonstrated that embryos of salmonid fish are sensitive indicators of additive genetic variance for viability traits. We therefore used gametes of wild brown trout (Salmo trutta) from five genetically distinct populations of a river catchment in Switzerland, and used a full factorial design to produce over 2,000 embryos in 100 different crosses with varying genetic distances (FST range 0.005-0.035). Customized egg capsules allowed recording the survival of individual embryos until hatching under natural field conditions. Our breeding design enabled us to evaluate the role of the environment, of genetic and nongenetic parental contributions, and of interactions between these factors, on embryo viability. We found that embryo survival was strongly affected by maternal environmental (i.e. non-genetic) effects and by the microenvironment, i.e. by the location within the gravel. However, embryo survival was not predicted by population divergence, parental allelic dissimilarity, or heterozygosity, neither in the field nor under laboratory conditions. Our findings suggest that the genetic effects of inter-population hybridization within a genetically differentiated meta-population can be minor in comparison to environmental effects