Life: Penguin declines may hinge on krill: Food shortage appears to be hurting West Antarctic birds

Science News ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 179 (10) ◽  
pp. 10-10
Author(s):  
Daniel Strain
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoning Zhang ◽  
Xue Jiang ◽  
Mengqi Sha ◽  
Qiong Zhou ◽  
Wen Li ◽  
...  

AbstractThe relationship between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains inconclusive, and the pathways and mechanisms driving this relationship have yet to be clarified. This study aimed to examine the pathways linking childhood SES to T2D prevalence in mid-late adulthood in a low- and middle-income country. The incidence of T2D diagnosed in mid-late Chinese adulthood was assessed using self-reports from the Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Childhood SES was assessed by the education, occupation, survivorship of the parents and the financial situation of the family, whereas adulthood SES was assessed by education and wage. This study performed structural equation modeling to clarify the direct and indirect pathways from childhood SES to T2D via childhood health, childhood food shortage, adulthood SES and physical activity. A total of 15,132 participants were included, and the prevalence of T2D was 5.24%. This study found that childhood SES was directly associated with T2D in mid-late adulthood, the probability of developing T2D increased by 9.20% of the standard deviation for each decrease in standard deviation in childhood SES. Childhood SES was indirectly associated with T2D via adulthood SES, physical activity, childhood health and food shortage. Adulthood SES and physical activity mainly mediated the indirect pathway from childhood SES and T2D. This study showed direct and indirect pathways from disadvantaged childhood SES to increased risk of T2D in mid-late Chinese adulthood. Childhood SES, adulthood SES, physical activity, childhood health and food shortage were identified as life-course interventional targets that should be considered in the development of effective strategies to reduce the burden of T2D and SES-related health inequities in childhood.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Braeckman ◽  
Francesca Pasotti ◽  
Ralf Hoffmann ◽  
Susana Vázquez ◽  
Angela Wulff ◽  
...  

AbstractClimate change-induced glacial melt affects benthic ecosystems along the West Antarctic Peninsula, but current understanding of the effects on benthic primary production and respiration is limited. Here we demonstrate with a series of in situ community metabolism measurements that climate-related glacial melt disturbance shifts benthic communities from net autotrophy to heterotrophy. With little glacial melt disturbance (during cold El Niño spring 2015), clear waters enabled high benthic microalgal production, resulting in net autotrophic benthic communities. In contrast, water column turbidity caused by increased glacial melt run-off (summer 2015 and warm La Niña spring 2016) limited benthic microalgal production and turned the benthic communities net heterotrophic. Ongoing accelerations in glacial melt and run-off may steer shallow Antarctic seafloor ecosystems towards net heterotrophy, altering the metabolic balance of benthic communities and potentially impacting the carbon balance and food webs at the Antarctic seafloor.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1414
Author(s):  
Moeka Harada ◽  
Rie Kobayashi ◽  
Jun Oka ◽  
Nobuyo Tsuboyama-Kasaoka

In this study investigated the association between health practices and food stockpiling for disasters in predicted areas with a high risk of food shortage due to the Nankai Trough earthquake. A survey was conducted during 18–20 December 2019 using a self-administered web-based questionnaire. In total, 1200 individuals registered with an online survey company participated in the study. The association between health practices and food stockpiling status was analyzed (n = 998). 59.1% of participants had a poor Breslow’s seven health practice scores (BHPS), 32.9% had a moderate score, and 8.0% had a good score. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that higher BHPS had a significantly higher prevalence of food stockpiling. Additionally, the interrupted group had the highest percentage of participants with low BHPS. Lower BHPS was significantly associated with interrupted stockpiled in the adjusted models. Among the seven health practices, the odds ratio of the “eating breakfast” practice was high. There was a significant positive association between higher health practice scores and food stockpiling for disasters in areas with a high risk of food shortage due to the predicted earthquake. Particularly, it was clarified that individuals who had fewer good health practices were associated with ending up interrupting food stockpiling.


2021 ◽  
Vol 257 ◽  
pp. 106842
Author(s):  
C.-D. Hillenbrand ◽  
S.J. Crowhurst ◽  
M. Williams ◽  
D.A. Hodell ◽  
I.N. McCave ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 83 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Smellie ◽  
K. S. Panter

AbstractNeogene volcanic centres are uncommon in the Transantarctic Mountains but at least three basaltic examples occur within 300 km of South Pole, above 2200 m asl and inland of the margin of the West Antarctic Rift System. They are the southernmost volcanoes on Earth and have yielded Early—mid Miocene isotopic ages. Two of the centres, at Mt Early and Sheridan Bluff, have been examined. The centre at Mt Early is unequivocally glaciovolcanic. It formed a tall monogenetic volcanic edifice at least 1 km high and > 1.5 km in diameter. It erupted under significantly thicker-than-modern ice, which was probably a fast-moving ice stream at the eruptive site and resulted in a distinctive constructive architecture and lithofacies. It is the first described example of a glaciovolcano erupted beneath an ice stream. The characteristics of the second centre at Sheridan Bluff indicate that it was also a monogenetic volcano but with a shield-like profile, originally c. 6 km in basal diameter but just c. 400 m high. It probably erupted in a substantial pluvial lake in an ice-poor or ice-free environment. The strongly contrasting eruptive settings now identified by the volcanic sequences at both centres examined testify to a highly dynamic Antarctic Ice Sheet during the Early—mid Miocene.


2021 ◽  
Vol 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
O.M. Amin ◽  
R.A. Heckmann ◽  
S. Dallarés ◽  
M. Constenla ◽  
N.Yu. Rubtsova ◽  
...  

Abstract A number of variable descriptive accounts of Aspersentis megarhynchus (von Linstow, 1892) Golvan, 1960 have been reported from specimens collected from many species of fish in various locations off Antarctic islands. We have described a new population from Notothenia coriiceps Richardson (Nototheniidae) off Galindez Island, West Antarctica, and features not previously reported, resolved the taxonomic controversies and nomenclature, and emended and updated the generic diagnosis taking into account the newly observed structures. These are depicted in microscopic images and include the outer spiral wall of the proboscis receptacle, the thicker dorsal wall of the receptacle compared to the ventral wall, parts of the female reproductive system, the separate cement gland ducts, the dorsal position of the male gonopore and more detail of proboscis hooks and trunk spines. It is surprising that the newly observed features were missed from the many descriptions of A. megarhynchus created since the original description. The variability in A. megarhynchus is noted with a comparison of the morphometrics of our specimens vs. those in six other descriptions. We also analysed the metal composition of hooks and spines using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and concluded a molecular characterization of the species based on 18S DNA gene, with related phylogenetic analyses.


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