Demonstrating a significant advance to the field : An essential criterion for publication in Functional Ecology

Demonstrating how a study advances the field is an essential criterion for publication in Functional Ecology. However, it is not always clear what constitutes a ‘significant advance’ and many manuscripts are rejected because authors have not demonstrated how their study will advance the field. In this editorial, we explain what the editors of Functional Ecology regard as an advance, and we provide some tips about how to demonstrate the advance in the manuscript text

Biodiversity in tropical plantations is influenced by surrounding native vegetation but not yield:A case study with dung beetles in Amazonia

Human-modified forests, including plantations and managed forest, will be a major component of tropical landscapes in the near future. To conserve biodiversity across modified tropical landscapes we must first understand what influences diversity in planted areas. We studied dung beetle communities in Eucalyptus plantations to assess the influence of local (canopy openness and soil texture)and landscape factors (surrounding native forest cover)on taxonomic and functional diversity, and to determine whether biodiversity in plantations is affected by timber production. Dung beetle community composition in Eucalyptus plantations was largely explained by the surrounding native forest cover, as Simpson's diversity and functional diversity (Rao's quadratic entropy)increased with the extent of native forest in buffer areas. However, the abundance of dung beetle species associated with native forest was not explained by any of the explanatory variables. The coarse sand content of the soil explained much of the functional similarity between plantations and native forests, as well as variation in dung beetle community structure. The total abundance of dung beetles in plantations increased with coarse sand content, whereas body mass declined, and dung beetle abundance and functional originality decreased with canopy openness. Timber production intensity did not explain the variation in any of the measured diversity parameters. If enhancing biodiversity in plantations is a management goal, then these results highlight the importance of restoring or retaining native forest areas in modified landscapes. They also suggest that integrated management could improve biodiversity in Eucalyptus plantations without reducing timber production. © 2019 Elsevier B.V

Enhanced abundance of generalist and litter saprotrophs explain increased tropical forest soil carbon with long-term nitrogen deposition

Nitrogen (N) deposition is a pervasive anthropogenic change that can alter the dynamics and storage of carbon (C) in tropical soils by altering the transformation of plant litter C to soil organic C (SOC). The response of fungi may be particularly important for explaining how N deposition affects SOC storage in tropical forests because they are the primary decomposers of plant litter. Fungi can be grouped into different ecological guilds, or functional groups, which often have contrasting responses to the same environmental change. However, little is known if shifts in fungal guilds and their functions explain increased tropical forest SOC storage under N deposition. We addressed this knowledge gap by assessing the effects of long-term (6 years) experimental N addition (+N) on fungal guilds, their functions and SOC fractions in a tropical forest. Total SOC, dissolved organic C (DOC), particulate organic C and fungal necromass C were all higher in +N soils. The fungal community in +N soils was dominated by generalist saprotrophs, and leaf saprotroph abundance increased nearly 93-fold compared to controls. These changes were accompanied by an increase in lignocellulolytic enzymes, indicating accelerated decomposition of recalcitrant litter C compounds. Chitosanase, which catalyses synthesis of glucosamine, was 1.37× higher in +N soils than controls; correspondingly, fungal necromass C contributed 1.42× more to SOC. Greater abundance of saprotrophic enzymes involved in organic acid synthesis in +N soils was associated with higher concentration of Ca2+ and DOC. We propose that N deposition increases SOC storage by enhancing saprotroph abundance and activity, whereby increased organic acid production supports fungal growth both directly and indirectly via the release of nutrients and DOC, resulting in greater inputs of necromass to the soil. Our findings highlight the importance of considering shifts in guild-level fungal abundance and function to investigate changes in SOC dynamics and storage

Understanding preventive behaviors among mid-Western African-American men: a pilot qualitative study of prostate screening

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jomh.2011.03.00

Looking forward through the past: identification of 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology

1. Priority question exercises are becoming an increasingly common tool to frame future agendas in conservation and ecological science. They are an effective way to identify research foci that advance the field and that also have high policy and conservation relevance. 2. To date, there has been no coherent synthesis of key questions and priority research areas for palaeoecology, which combines biological, geochemical and molecular techniques in order to reconstruct past ecological and environmental systems on time-scales from decades to millions of years. 3. We adapted a well-established methodology to identify 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology. Using a set of criteria designed to identify realistic and achievable research goals, we selected questions from a pool submitted by the international palaeoecology research community and relevant policy practitioners. 4. The integration of online participation, both before and during the workshop, increased international engagement in question selection. 5. The questions selected are structured around six themes: human–environment interactions in the Anthropocene; biodiversity, conservation and novel ecosystems; biodiversity over long time-scales; ecosystem processes and biogeochemical cycling; comparing, combining and synthesizing information from multiple records; and new developments in palaeoecology. 6. Future opportunities in palaeoecology are related to improved incorporation of uncertainty into reconstructions, an enhanced understanding of ecological and evolutionary dynamics and processes and the continued application of long-term data for better-informed landscape management

AD51B in Familial Breast Cancer

Common variation on 14q24.1, close to RAD51B, has been associated with breast cancer: rs999737 and rs2588809 with the risk of female breast cancer and rs1314913 with the risk of male breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of RAD51B variants in breast cancer predisposition, particularly in the context of familial breast cancer in Finland. We sequenced the coding region of RAD51B in 168 Finnish breast cancer patients from the Helsinki region for identification of possible recurrent founder mutations. In addition, we studied the known rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 SNPs and RAD51B haplotypes in 44,791 breast cancer cases and 43,583 controls from 40 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) that were genotyped on a custom chip (iCOGS). We identified one putatively pathogenic missense mutation c.541C>T among the Finnish cancer patients and subsequently genotyped the mutation in additional breast cancer cases (n = 5259) and population controls (n = 3586) from Finland and Belarus. No significant association with breast cancer risk was seen in the meta-analysis of the Finnish datasets or in the large BCAC dataset. The association with previously identified risk variants rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 was replicated among all breast cancer cases and also among familial cases in the BCAC dataset. The most significant association was observed for the haplotype carrying the risk-alleles of all the three SNPs both among all cases (odds ratio (OR): 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11–1.19, P = 8.88 x 10−16) and among familial cases (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.16–1.32, P = 6.19 x 10−11), compared to the haplotype with the respective protective alleles. Our results suggest that loss-of-function mutations in RAD51B are rare, but common variation at the RAD51B region is significantly associated with familial breast cancer risk

Effects of rare kidney diseases on kidney failure: a longitudinal analysis of the UK National Registry of Rare Kidney Diseases (RaDaR) cohort

Background Individuals with rare kidney diseases account for 5–10% of people with chronic kidney disease, but constitute more than 25% of patients receiving kidney replacement therapy. The National Registry of Rare Kidney Diseases (RaDaR) gathers longitudinal data from patients with these conditions, which we used to study disease progression and outcomes of death and kidney failure. Methods People aged 0–96 years living with 28 types of rare kidney diseases were recruited from 108 UK renal care facilities. The primary outcomes were cumulative incidence of mortality and kidney failure in individuals with rare kidney diseases, which were calculated and compared with that of unselected patients with chronic kidney disease. Cumulative incidence and Kaplan–Meier survival estimates were calculated for the following outcomes: median age at kidney failure; median age at death; time from start of dialysis to death; and time from diagnosis to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) thresholds, allowing calculation of time from last eGFR of 75 mL/min per 1·73 m2 or more to first eGFR of less than 30 mL/min per 1·73 m2 (the therapeutic trial window). Findings Between Jan 18, 2010, and July 25, 2022, 27 285 participants were recruited to RaDaR. Median follow-up time from diagnosis was 9·6 years (IQR 5·9–16·7). RaDaR participants had significantly higher 5-year cumulative incidence of kidney failure than 2·81 million UK patients with all-cause chronic kidney disease (28% vs 1%; p<0·0001), but better survival rates (standardised mortality ratio 0·42 [95% CI 0·32–0·52]; p<0·0001). Median age at kidney failure, median age at death, time from start of dialysis to death, time from diagnosis to eGFR thresholds, and therapeutic trial window all varied substantially between rare diseases. Interpretation Patients with rare kidney diseases differ from the general population of individuals with chronic kidney disease: they have higher 5-year rates of kidney failure but higher survival than other patients with chronic kidney disease stages 3–5, and so are over-represented in the cohort of patients requiring kidney replacement therapy. Addressing unmet therapeutic need for patients with rare kidney diseases could have a large beneficial effect on long-term kidney replacement therapy demand. Funding RaDaR is funded by the Medical Research Council, Kidney Research UK, Kidney Care UK, and the Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity