Behavioural inventory of the giraffe (<i>Giraffa camelopardalis</i>)

Background Numerous factors like continuous habitat reduction or fragmentation for free-ranging giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) as well as e.g. suboptimal housing conditions for animals in captivity might lead to behavioural alterations as part of the overall adaptation process to the changing living conditions. In order to facilitate current and future studies on giraffe behaviour, a comprehensive ethogram was compiled based on existing literature, as well as observations on giraffes in the wild (Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe; Entabeni Game Reserve, South Africa), and in captivity (National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, Pretoria). Findings The resulting ethogram lists 65 different behavioural patterns, which were described and grouped into seven categories: General activities, Abnormal repetitive behaviours, General interactions, Bull-Cow behaviour, Bull-Bull behaviour, Cow-Bull behaviour, Maternal behaviours, and Interactions by calves. The behaviours were further described regarding a presumed purpose, particularly with respect to social interactions and sexual behaviour. Contradictory descriptions from previous studies were considered and discussed in comparison with our own observations. Conclusions This ethogram provides a basis for current and future studies by suggesting a terminology which can be used for harmonizing behavioural observations, thus helping to facilitate comparability of future results. Subsequently, a better understanding of the behavioural ecology of giraffes in the wild as well as in captivity could aid future conservation efforts

Environmental stressors may cause equine herpesvirus reactivation in captive Grévy’s zebras (Equus grevyi)

Equine Herpesviruses (EHV) are common and often latent pathogens of equids which can cause fatalities when transmitted to non-equids. Stress and elevated glucocorticoids have been associated with EHV reactivation in domestic horses, but little is known about the correlation between stress and viral reactivation in wild equids. We investigated the effect of an environmental stressor (social group restructuring following a translocation event) on EHV reactivation in captive Grévy’s zebras (Equus grevyi). A mare was translocated by road transport from Zoo Mulhouse, France, to join a resident group of three mares in Tierpark Berlin, Germany. We used an indirect sampling method to assess the frequency of EHV shedding for 14 days immediately after the translocation event (termed the ‘experimental period’). The results were compared with those from two control periods, one preceding and one subsequent to the experimental period. In addition, we measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations daily in all individuals from 6 days before, to 14 days after translocation. We found significantly higher EHV shedding frequencies during the experimental period, compared to each of the two control periods. All animals showed significantly elevated fGCM concentrations, compared to fGCM levels before translocation. Finally, we found that an increase in fGCM concentration was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of EHV shedding. Although the small number of animals in the study limits the conclusions that can be drawn from the study, taken together, our results support the hypothesis that environmental stressors induce viral reactivation in wild equids. Our results suggest that potentials stressors such as group restructuring and translocation should be considered in the management of zoological collections to reduce the risk of fatal EHV infections in novel hosts. Moreover, environmental stressors may play an important role in EHV reactivation and spread in wild equid populations

A chemokine network of T cell exhaustion and metabolic reprogramming in renal cell carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is frequently infiltrated by immune cells, a process which is governed by chemokines. CD8+ T cells in the RCC tumor microenvironment (TME) may be exhausted which most likely influence therapy response and survival. The aim of this study was to evaluate chemokine-driven T cell recruitment, T cell exhaustion in the RCC TME, as well as metabolic processes leading to their functional anergy in RCC. Eight publicly available bulk RCC transcriptome collectives (n=1819) and a single cell RNAseq dataset (n=12) were analyzed. Immunodeconvolution, semi-supervised clustering, gene set variation analysis and Monte Carlo-based modeling of metabolic reaction activity were employed. Among 28 chemokine genes available, CXCL9/10/11/CXCR3, CXCL13/CXCR5 and XCL1/XCR1 mRNA expression were significantly increased in RCC compared to normal kidney tissue and also strongly associated with tumor-infiltrating effector memory and central memory CD8+ T cells in all investigated collectives. M1 TAMs, T cells, NK cells as well as tumor cells were identified as the major sources of these chemokines, whereas T cells, B cells and dendritic cells were found to predominantly express the cognate receptors. The cluster of RCCs characterized by high chemokine expression and high CD8+ T cell infiltration displayed a strong activation of IFN/JAK/STAT signaling with elevated expression of multiple T cell exhaustion-associated transcripts. Chemokinehigh RCCs were characterized by metabolic reprogramming, in particular by downregulated OXPHOS and increased IDO1-mediated tryptophan degradation. None of the investigated chemokine genes was significantly associated with survival or response to immunotherapy. We propose a chemokine network that mediates CD8+ T cell recruitment and identify T cell exhaustion, altered energy metabolism and high IDO1 activity as key mechanisms of their suppression. Concomitant targeting of exhaustion pathways and metabolism may pose an effective approach to RCC therapy

Seasonal host and ecological drivers may promote restricted water as a viral vector

In climates with seasonally limited precipitation, terrestrial animals congregate at high densities at scarce water sources. We hypothesize that viruses can exploit the recurrence of these diverse animal congrega- tions to spread. In this study, we test the central prediction of this hypothesis — that viruses employing this transmission strategy remain stable and infectious in water. Equid herpesviruses (EHVs) were cho- sen as a model as they have been shown to remain stable and infectious in water for weeks under labo- ratory conditions. Using fecal data from wild equids from a previous study, we establish that EHVs are shed more frequently by their hosts during the dry season, increasing the probability of water source contamination with EHV. We document the presence of several strains of EHVs present in high genome copy number from the surface water and sediments of waterholes sampled across a variety of mamma- lian assemblages, locations, temperatures and pH. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that the different EHV strains found exhibit little divergence despite representing ancient lineages. We employed molecular approaches to show that EHVs shed remain stable in waterholes with detection decreasing with increas- ing temperature in sediments. Infectivity experiments using cell culture reveals that EHVs remain infectious in water derived from waterholes. The results are supportive of water as an abiotic viral vector for EHVacceptedVersio

Oscillatory neural signatures of visual perception across developmental stages in individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Background: Numerous behavioral studies have highlighted the contribution of visual perceptual deficits to the nonverbal cognitive profile of individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. However, the neurobiological processes underlying these widespread behavioral alterations are yet to be fully understood. Thus, in this paper, we investigated the role of neural oscillations toward visuoperceptual deficits to elucidate the neurobiology of sensory impairments in deletion carriers. Methods: We acquired 125 high-density electroencephalography recordings during a visual grating task in a group of 62 deletion carriers and 63 control subjects. Stimulus-elicited oscillatory responses were analyzed with 1) time-frequency analysis using wavelets decomposition at sensor and source level, 2) intertrial phase coherence, and 3) Granger causality connectivity in source space. Additional analyses examined the development of neural oscillations across age bins. Results: Deletion carriers had decreased theta-band (4–8 Hz) and gamma-band (58–68 Hz) spectral power compared with control subjects in response to the visual stimuli, with an absence of age-related increase of theta- and gamma-band responses. Moreover, adult deletion carriers had decreased gamma- and theta-band responses but increased alpha/beta desynchronization (10–25 Hz) that correlated with behavioral performance. Granger causality estimates reflected an increased frontal-occipital connectivity in the beta range (22–40 Hz). Conclusions: Deletion carriers exhibited decreased theta- and gamma-band responses to visual stimuli, while alpha/beta desynchronization was preserved. Overall, the lack of age-related changes in deletion carriers implicates developmental impairments in circuit mechanisms underlying neural oscillations. The dissociation between the maturation of theta/gamma- and alpha/beta-band responses may indicate a selective impairment in supragranular cortical layers, leading to compensatory top-down connectivity

Weakening of springtime Arctic ozone depletion with climate change

In the Arctic stratosphere, the combination of chemical ozone depletion by halogenated ozone-depleting substances (hODSs) and dynamic fluctuations can lead to severe ozone minima. These Arctic ozone minima are of great societal concern due to their health and climate impacts. Owing to the success of the Montreal Protocol, hODSs in the stratosphere are gradually declining, resulting in a recovery of the ozone layer. On the other hand, continued greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cool the stratosphere, possibly enhancing the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) and, thus, enabling more efficient chemical ozone destruction. Other processes, such as the acceleration of the Brewer–Dobson circulation, also affect stratospheric temperatures, further complicating the picture. Therefore, it is currently unclear whether major Arctic ozone minima will still occur at the end of the 21st century despite decreasing hODSs. We have examined this question for different emission pathways using simulations conducted within the Chemistry-Climate Model Initiative (CCMI-1 and CCMI-2022) and found large differences in the models' ability to simulate the magnitude of ozone minima in the present-day climate. Models with a generally too-cold polar stratosphere (cold bias) produce pronounced ozone minima under present-day climate conditions because they simulate more PSCs and, thus, high concentrations of active chlorine species (ClOx). These models predict the largest decrease in ozone minima in the future. Conversely, models with a warm polar stratosphere (warm bias) have the smallest sensitivity of ozone minima to future changes in hODS and GHG concentrations. As a result, the scatter among models in terms of the magnitude of Arctic spring ozone minima will decrease in the future. Overall, these results suggest that Arctic ozone minima will become weaker over the next decades, largely due to the decline in hODS abundances. We note that none of the models analysed here project a notable increase of ozone minima in the future. Stratospheric cooling caused by increasing GHG concentrations is expected to play a secondary role as its effect in the Arctic stratosphere is weakened by opposing radiative and dynamical mechanisms

Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails.

Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail diversity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown. Here, using a global dataset representing 2470 sites, we estimate the total soil springtail biomass at 27.5 megatons carbon, which is threefold higher than wild terrestrial vertebrates, and record peak densities up to 2 million individuals per square meter in the tundra. Despite a 20-fold biomass difference between the tundra and the tropics, springtail energy use (community metabolism) remains similar across the latitudinal gradient, owing to the changes in temperature with latitude. Neither springtail density nor community metabolism is predicted by local species richness, which is high in the tropics, but comparably high in some temperate forests and even tundra. Changes in springtail activity may emerge from latitudinal gradients in temperature, predation and resource limitation in soil communities. Contrasting relationships of biomass, diversity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil biodiversity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning

Global fine-resolution data on springtail abundance and community structure

Springtails (Collembola) inhabit soils from the Arctic to the Antarctic and comprise an estimated ~32% of all terrestrial arthropods on Earth. Here, we present a global, spatially-explicit database on springtail communities that includes 249,912 occurrences from 44,999 samples and 2,990 sites. These data are mainly raw sample-level records at the species level collected predominantly from private archives of the authors that were quality-controlled and taxonomically-standardised. Despite covering all continents, most of the sample-level data come from the European continent (82.5% of all samples) and represent four habitats: woodlands (57.4%), grasslands (14.0%), agrosystems (13.7%) and scrublands (9.0%). We included sampling by soil layers, and across seasons and years, representing temporal and spatial within-site variation in springtail communities. We also provided data use and sharing guidelines and R code to facilitate the use of the database by other researchers. This data paper describes a static version of the database at the publication date, but the database will be further expanded to include underrepresented regions and linked with trait data.</p

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km2 resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e. offset) between in situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km2 pixels (summarized from 8519 unique temperature sensors) across all the world\u27s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (−0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications

Global maps of soil temperature

Research in global change ecology relies heavily on global climatic grids derived from estimates of air temperature in open areas at around 2 m above the ground. These climatic grids do not reflect conditions below vegetation canopies and near the ground surface, where critical ecosystem functions occur and most terrestrial species reside. Here, we provide global maps of soil temperature and bioclimatic variables at a 1-km² resolution for 0–5 and 5–15 cm soil depth. These maps were created by calculating the difference (i.e., offset) between in-situ soil temperature measurements, based on time series from over 1200 1-km² pixels (summarized from 8500 unique temperature sensors) across all the world’s major terrestrial biomes, and coarse-grained air temperature estimates from ERA5-Land (an atmospheric reanalysis by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). We show that mean annual soil temperature differs markedly from the corresponding gridded air temperature, by up to 10°C (mean = 3.0 ± 2.1°C), with substantial variation across biomes and seasons. Over the year, soils in cold and/or dry biomes are substantially warmer (+3.6 ± 2.3°C) than gridded air temperature, whereas soils in warm and humid environments are on average slightly cooler (-0.7 ± 2.3°C). The observed substantial and biome-specific offsets emphasize that the projected impacts of climate and climate change on near-surface biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are inaccurately assessed when air rather than soil temperature is used, especially in cold environments. The global soil-related bioclimatic variables provided here are an important step forward for any application in ecology and related disciplines. Nevertheless, we highlight the need to fill remaining geographic gaps by collecting more in-situ measurements of microclimate conditions to further enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global soil temperature products for ecological applications