Leveraging the value of conservation physiology for ecological restoration

First published: 12 December 2021The incorporation of conservation physiology into environmental management, particularly ecological restoration, is underutilized,despite the capacity of such approaches to discern how populations respond to the challenges of unpredictable and potentially inhospitable environments. We explore several examples where detailed mechanistic understanding of the physiological constraints of keystone and foundational species, ecological service providers such as insect pollinators, and species of conservation concern has been used to optimize the return of these species to landscapes following the cessation of mineral extraction. Using such data can optimize the rapid return of functioning ecosystems during restoration or increase the conservation value of restoration by returning insurance populations of threatened species. Integrating this level of mechanistic understanding with fine-resolution spatial data in the form of biophysical modeling can help plan recovery and identify targets that can subsequently be used in assessing restoration success, particularly in situations that require substantial investment over long periods, such as post-mining restoration.There is growing recognition of the valuable insights offered by conservation physiology to broader practice and policy development, and there have been substantial technical developments in conservation physiology leading up to and into the twenty-first century as a result. The global challenge facing restoration ecology has, however, also grown in that time. Rapidly and efficiently meeting ambitious global restoration objectives will require a targeted approach, and we suggest that the application of physiological data will be most strategic for rare species, keystone species, and ecosystem service providers more broadly.Sean Tomlinson, Emily P. Tudor, Shane R. Turner, Sophie Cross, Fiamma Riviera, Jason Stevens, Justin Valliere, Wolfgang Lewandrowsk

A life-of-mine approach to fauna monitoring is critical for recovering functional ecosystems to restored landscapes

First published: 06 September 2021Mineral extraction activities are intensely disruptive to ecosystems and their associated fauna. Few countries globally have comprehensive legislation surrounding mine site restoration, but within Australia, restoration of discontinued mine sites is a legislative requirement. However, substantial ambiguity regarding the optimal techniques for restoring biodiverse and functional fauna assemblages remains, and monitoring activities typically focus on vegetation communities despite functioning ecosystems being reliant on key trophic interactions involving fauna. When fauna are considered, monitoring efforts typically yield baseline surveys of species richness and the presence or absence of conservation-significant taxa. Even where complete ecosystem recovery is not the goal of post-mining ecological recovery, we argue that there is a critical need for a life-of-mine approach to fauna monitoring underpinned by greater dialog between researchers, environmental regulators, and the mining industry. Environmental Impact Assessments should include requirements for the consideration of all potential impacts of mining on the structure, behavior, and ecological roles of fauna communities, restoration practices must facilitate the return of functional, resilient, and biodiverse fauna communities to restored post-mining landscapes, and the scope of monitoring practices should be broadened to a holistic examination of fauna communities. Recognizing, quantifying, and monitoring the impacts of mining activities and subsequent rehabilitation or restoration on fauna is vital to understanding how anthropogenic disturbances affect natural ecosystems, and in assisting in the successful recovery of ecosystem functionality to areas that have been damaged, degraded, or destroyed.Sophie L. Cross, Holly S. Bradley, Emily P. Tudor, Michael D. Craig, Sean Tomlinson, Michael J. Bamford, Philip W. Bateman, Adam T. Cros

Contactless Spin Switch Sensing by Chemo‐Electric Gating of Graphene

Direct electrical probing of molecular materials is often impaired by their insulating nature. Here, graphene is interfaced with single crystals of a molecular spin crossover complex, [Fe(bapbpy)(NCS)2], to electrically detect phase transitions in the molecular crystal through the variation of graphene resistance. Contactless sensing is achieved by separating the crystal from graphene with an insulating polymer spacer. Next to mechanical effects, which influence the conductivity of the graphene sheet but can be minimized by using a thicker spacer, a Dirac point shift in graphene is observed experimentally upon spin crossover. As confirmed by computational modeling, this Dirac point shift is due to the phase‐dependent electrostatic potential generated by the crystal inside the graphene sheet. This effect, named as chemo‐electric gating, suggests that molecular materials may serve as substrates for designing graphene‐based electronic devices. Chemo‐electric gating, thus, opens up new possibilities to electrically probe chemical and physical processes in molecular materials in a contactless fashion, from a large distance, which can enhance their use in technological applications, for example, as sensors.Theoretical Chemistr

A life‐of‐mine approach to fauna monitoring is critical for recovering functional ecosystems to restored landscapes

Mineral extraction activities are intensely disruptive to ecosystems and their associated fauna. Few countries globally have comprehensive legislation surrounding mine site restoration, but within Australia, restoration of discontinued mine sites is a legislative requirement. However, substantial ambiguity regarding the optimal techniques for restoring biodiverse and functional fauna assemblages remains, and monitoring activities typically focus on vegetation communities despite functioning ecosystems being reliant on key trophic interactions involving fauna. When fauna are considered, monitoring efforts typically yield baseline surveys of species richness and the presence or absence of conservation-significant taxa. Even where complete ecosystem recovery is not the goal of post-mining ecological recovery, we argue that there is a critical need for a life-of-mine approach to fauna monitoring underpinned by greater dialog between researchers, environmental regulators, and the mining industry. Environmental Impact Assessments should include requirements for the consideration of all potential impacts of mining on the structure, behavior, and ecological roles of fauna communities, restoration practices must facilitate the return of functional, resilient, and biodiverse fauna communities to restored post-mining landscapes, and the scope of monitoring practices should be broadened to a holistic examination of fauna communities. Recognizing, quantifying, and monitoring the impacts of mining activities and subsequent rehabilitation or restoration on fauna is vital to understanding how anthropogenic disturbances affect natural ecosystems, and in assisting in the successful recovery of ecosystem functionality to areas that have been damaged, degraded, or destroyed

Restoration ecophysiology: an ecophysiological approach to improve restoration strategies and outcomes in severely disturbed landscapes

As human activities destroy and degrade the world's ecosystems at unprecedented scales, there is a growing need for evidence-based methods for ecological restoration if we are to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Mining represents one of the most severe anthropogenic disturbances, often necessitating intensive intervention to restore the most basic attributes of native ecosystems. Despite examples of successful mine-site restoration, re-establishing native vegetation in these degraded landscapes remains a significant challenge. Plant ecophysiology—the study of the interactions between plants and the environment—can provide a useful framework for evaluating and guiding mine-site restoration. By understanding the physiological mechanisms that allow plants to establish and persist in these highly disturbed environments, practitioners may be able to improve restoration outcomes. Specifically, methods in plant ecophysiology can inform site preparation and the selection of plant material for restoration projects, aid in monitoring restoration progress by providing additional insight into plant performance, and ultimately improve our ability to predict restoration trajectories. Here, we review the challenges and benefits of integrating an ecophysiological perspective to mine-site restoration in Western Australia, a global hotspot of biodiversity and mining operations. Using case studies and examples from the region's diverse ecosystems, we illustrate how an ecophysiological approach can guide the restoration of some of the world's most severely disturbed landscapes. With careful selection of study species and traits and consideration of the specific environmental conditions and stressors within a site, the restoration ecophysiology framework outlined here has the potential to inform restoration strategies across ecosystems

Somatic evolution and global expansion of an ancient transmissible cancer lineage

The canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT) is a cancer lineage that arose several millennia ago and survives by “metastasizing” between hosts through cell transfer. The somatic mutations in this cancer record its phylogeography and evolutionary history. We constructed a time-resolved phylogeny from 546 CTVT exomes and describe the lineage's worldwide expansion. Examining variation in mutational exposure, we identify a highly context-specific mutational process that operated early in the cancer's evolution but subsequently vanished, correlate ultraviolet-light mutagenesis with tumor latitude, and describe tumors with heritable hyperactivity of an endogenous mutational process. CTVT displays little evidence of ongoing positive selection, and negative selection is detectable only in essential genes. We illustrate how long-lived clonal organisms capture changing mutagenic environments, and reveal that neutral genetic drift is the dominant feature of long-term cancer evolution. © 2019 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved