A function-based typology for Earth’s ecosystems

As the United Nations develops a post-2020 global biodiversity framework for the Convention on Biological Diversity, attention is focusing on how new goals and targets for ecosystem conservation might serve its vision of ‘living in harmony with nature’1,2. Advancing dual imperatives to conserve biodiversity and sustain ecosystem services requires reliable and resilient generalizations and predictions about ecosystem responses to environmental change and management3. Ecosystems vary in their biota4, service provision5 and relative exposure to risks6, yet there is no globally consistent classification of ecosystems that reflects functional responses to change and management. This hampers progress on developing conservation targets and sustainability goals. Here we present the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Ecosystem Typology, a conceptually robust, scalable, spatially explicit approach for generalizations and predictions about functions, biota, risks and management remedies across the entire biosphere. The outcome of a major cross-disciplinary collaboration, this novel framework places all of Earth’s ecosystems into a unifying theoretical context to guide the transformation of ecosystem policy and management from global to local scales. This new information infrastructure will support knowledge transfer for ecosystem-specific management and restoration, globally standardized ecosystem risk assessments, natural capital accounting and progress on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework

Osteopenia in a teenage boy presenting with previously undiagnosed guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) deficiency and response to creatine supplementation: Abstract from 5th International Conference on Children's Bone Health

A 16 y.o. fully ambulant boy born to consanguineous Indian parents, presented for assessment of a fragility femoral neck fracture sustained against a background of autism and moderately severe intellectual disability. He had a past history of infantile eczema, and epilepsy treated with anticonvulsants from 2 to 10 years of age, with no further seizures following cessation of anticonvulsants. He had a thin body habitus (see Table 1) with long fingers and a high arched palate. He had no speech and negligible social interaction, but physical examination was otherwise unremarkable. Positive investigations revealed an undetectable serum creatinine and a urinary metabolic screen which showed an elevated GUA:Phe of 160 (< 36) and a decreased creatinine of 0.3 mmol/l (1.2–29.5) consistent with the diagnosis of guanidinoacetate methyltransferase(GAMT) deficiency. He was commenced on oral creatine 5 g three times daily. Despite improvement in physical activity, height and bone density, there was no discernable improvement in his intellectual functioning. Proton and phosphorous brain and leg magnetic resonance spectroscopy(MRS) was performed at baseline and showed an increased inorganic phosphorus peak and decreased phosphocreatine synthesis in brain and decreased creatine concentration in muscle. Following creatine treatment total brain creatine(1H-MRS) and phosphocreatine/ATP ratio (31P-MRS) content increased to 30% and 60% of control values, respectively. Brain GUA returned to normal levels

Missed Opportunities: The Subordination of Children in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials

In the His Dark Materials trilogy, Pullman reworks the fall of humanity into an ascent and suggests that ascent into adulthood through sexual experience is the desired goal for children. Although this ascent is accompanied by a radical reconceptualization of life and death, Pullman fails to offer any genuinely new ideas of the world with respect to adult&ndash;child relationships and the roles that children play in our society. Situated as it is at the crossroads of children&rsquo;s literature and fantasy, His Dark Materials fails to take advantage of the freedom these two genres provide and reinforces current conceptions of children and their role in society

Nutrient concentrations in potato stem, petiole and leaflet in response to potassium fertilizer Teores de nutrientes no caule, pecíolo e limbo da batateira em função da adubação potássica

Chemical composition of potato stem, petiole and leaflet were evaluated in response to the application of K fertilizer. Potassium was applied at six different rates (0, 60, 120, 240, 480 and 960 kg ha-1 of K2O), as K2SO4 and was placed in the furrow during planting. Two plants per plot were sampled 48 days after plant emergence to evaluate N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Cu, Mn and Zn concentrations in stems, petioles and leaflets of the youngest fully expanded leaf. It is recommended using potato petioles to evaluate the N, P, K, Ca, Mg and Cu status and using potato leaflet to evaluate the S, Mn and Zn status. The stem was not a good indicator of S nutritional status. Petiole N, P and Cu concentrations associated with the maximum tuber yield (30.5 t ha-1, with 353.4 kg ha-1 of K2O) were 25.9 g kg-1, 1.4 g kg-1 and 9.7 mg kg-1, respectively, while, the leaflet S, Mn and Zn concentrations associated with the maximum tuber yield were 4.0 g kg-1, 155.2 mg kg-1 and 59.4 mg kg-1, respectively. This information should be used to build data banks of adequate nutrient concentration at different portions of potato plant and like this, to aid the nutrient diagnosis in potato crops.<br>Para avaliar a composição mineral em órgãos da batateira em função da adubação potássica, foi realizado experimento com doses de potássio (0, 60, 120, 240, 480 e 960 kg ha-1 de K2O) delineado em blocos casualizados com quatro repetições. Duas plantas por parcela foram amostradas aos 48 dias após emergência das plantas para avaliar teores de N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Cu, Mn e Zn no caule, pecíolo e limbo da folha recém madura. Recomenda-se utilizar o pecíolo da batateira para avaliar o status de N, P, K, Ca, Mg e Cu e utilizar o limbo da batateira para avaliar o status de S, Mn e Zn. O caule não foi um bom indicador do estado nutricional em relação ao S. A aplicação de 353,4 kg ha-1 de K2O proporcionou a máxima produtividade de tubérculos (30,5 t ha-1) e teores de N, P e Cu no pecíolo iguais a 25,9 g kg-1, 1,4 g kg-1 e 9,7 mg kg-1, respectivamente, e teores de S, Mn e Zn no limbo iguais a 4,0 g kg-1, 155,2 mg kg-1 e 59,4 mg kg-1, respectivamente. Estas informações devem ser utilizadas na construção de banco de dados de teores adequados de nutrientes em diferentes partes da batateira e assim, auxiliar a diagnose nutricional da cultura da batata