scholarly journals Nurtured by nature: Considering the role of environmental and parental legacies in coral ecological performance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hollie M. Putnam ◽  
Raphael Ritson-Williams ◽  
Jolly Ann Cruz ◽  
Jennifer M. Davidson ◽  
Ruth D. Gates
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Adult Mortality ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Environmental Disturbance ◽  
Carryover Effects ◽  
Ecological Performance ◽  
Adult Exposure

AbstractThe persistence of reef building corals is threatened by human-induced environmental change. Maintaining coral reefs into the future requires not only the survival of adults, but also the influx of recruits to promote genetic diversity and retain cover following adult mortality. Few studies examine the linkages among multiple life stages of corals, despite a growing knowledge of carryover effects in other systems. We provide a novel test of coral parental preconditioning to ocean acidification (OA) to better understand impacts on the processes of offspring recruitment and growth. Coral planulation was tracked for three months following adult exposure to high pCO2 and offspring from the second month were reciprocally exposed to ambient and high pCO2. Offspring of parents exposed to high pCO2 had greater settlement and survivorship immediately following release, retained survivorship benefits during one and six months of continued exposure, and further displayed growth benefits to at least one month post release. Enhanced performance of offspring from parents exposed to high conditions was maintained despite the survivorship in both treatments declining in continued exposure to OA. Preconditioning of the adults while they brood their larvae may provide a form of hormetic conditioning, or environmental priming that elicits stimulatory effects. Defining mechanisms of positive carryover effects, or positive trans-generational plasticity, is critical to better understanding ecological and evolutionary dynamics of corals under regimes of increasing environmental disturbance. Considering parental and environmental legacies in ecological and evolutionary projections may better account for coral reef response to the chronic stress regimes characteristic of climate change.

scholarly journals Individualistic evolutionary responses of Central African rain forest plants to Pleistocene climatic fluctuations

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (51) ◽  
pp. 32509-32518
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Helmstetter ◽  
Kevin Béthune ◽  
Narcisse G. Kamdem ◽  
Bonaventure Sonké ◽  
Thomas L. P. Couvreur
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Species Conservation ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Continuous Growth

Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of genetic diversity is fundamental for species conservation in the face of climate change, particularly in hyper-diverse biomes. Species in a region may respond similarly to climate change, leading to comparable evolutionary dynamics, or individualistically, resulting in dissimilar patterns. The second-largest expanse of continuous tropical rain forest (TRF) in the world is found in Central Africa. Here, present-day patterns of genetic structure are thought to be dictated by repeated expansion and contraction of TRFs into and out of refugia during Pleistocene climatic fluctuations. This refugia model implies a common response to past climate change. However, given the unrivalled diversity of TRFs, species could respond differently because of distinct environmental requirements or ecological characteristics. To test this, we generated genome-wide sequence data for >700 individuals of seven codistributed plants from Lower Guinea in Central Africa. We inferred species’ evolutionary and demographic histories within a comparative phylogeographic framework. Levels of genetic structure varied among species and emerged primarily during the Pleistocene, but divergence events were rarely concordant. Demographic trends ranged from repeated contraction and expansion to continuous growth. Furthermore, patterns in genetic variation were linked to disparate environmental factors, including climate, soil, and habitat stability. Using a strict refugia model to explain past TRF dynamics is too simplistic. Instead, individualistic evolutionary responses to Pleistocene climatic fluctuations have shaped patterns in genetic diversity. Predicting the future dynamics of TRFs under climate change will be challenging, and more emphasis is needed on species ecology to better conserve TRFs worldwide.

Using evolutionary functional-structural plant modelling to understand the effect of climate change on plant populations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorad de Vries
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Plant Fitness ◽  
Vital Rates ◽  
Climate Change Responses ◽  
Mechanistic Basis

The “holy grail” of trait-based ecology is to predict the fitness of a species in a particular environment based on its functional traits, which has become all the more relevant in the light of global change. However, current ecological models are ill-equipped to predict ecological responses to novel conditions due to their reliance on statistical methods and current observations rather than the mechanisms underlying how functional traits interact with the environment to determine plant fitness. Here, I will advocate the use of functional-structural plant (FSP) modelling in combination with evolutionary modelling to explore climate change responses in natural plant communities. Gaining a mechanistic understanding of how trait-environment interactions drive natural selection in novel environments requires consideration of individual plants with multidimensional phenotypes in dynamic environments that include abiotic gradients and biotic interactions, and their effect on the different vital rates that determine plant fitness. Evolutionary FSP modelling explicitly represents the trait-environment interactions that drive eco-evolutionary dynamics from individual to population scales and allows for efficient navigation of the large, complex and dynamic fitness landscapes that emerge from considering multidimensional plants in multidimensional environments. Using evolutionary FSP modelling as a tool to study climate change responses of plant communities can further our understanding of the mechanistic basis of these responses, and in particular, the role of local adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, and gene flow.

Role of Social Media in Environment Awareness

2019 ◽  
pp. 117-139
Author(s):  
Veethika Tilwankar ◽  
Swapnil Rai ◽  
S. P. Bajpai
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Environmental Awareness ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Environmental Disturbance ◽  
Environment Policy ◽  
The People ◽  
Day By Day ◽  
Environment Awareness

In the past few decades, due to ever increasing needs and greed of man, our environmental quality is deteriorating day by day. Global warming, climate change, hurricanes, melting of icebergs, floods, acid rain, and extinction of flora and fauna is all due to environmental disturbance. Environmental issues have become serious health threats to humans. Pollution is the main reason behind many types of cancer, respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases, which sometimes lead to death. Environment conservation has become the priority of every country worldwide. This problem, which we are facing today, is due to lack of environmental awareness among the individuals and lack of knowledge. This problem can be solved if environmental awareness amongst the people could be raised. The advantage of environment awareness is its contribution to public support for government action in environment policy and management. Environmental awareness can be raised with the educational and informative programs. This chapter explores the role of social media in raising environmental awareness.

scholarly journals Broad-scale sampling of primary freshwater fish populations reveals the role of intrinsic traits, inter-basin connectivity, drainage area and latitude on shaping contemporary patterns of genetic diversity

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Sousa-Santos ◽  
Joana I. Robalo ◽  
Ana M. Pereira ◽  
Paulo Branco ◽  
José Maria Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Maximum Size ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Drainage Area ◽  
Cyprinid Species ◽  
Identical Distribution ◽  
Régime Permanent

Background.Worldwide predictions suggest that up to 75% of the freshwater fish species occurring in rivers with reduced discharge could be extinct by 2070 due to the combined effect of climate change and water abstraction. The Mediterranean region is considered to be a hotspot of freshwater fish diversity but also one of the regions where the effects of climate change will be more severe. Iberian cyprinids are currently highly endangered, with over 68% of the species raising some level of conservation concern.Methods.During the FISHATLAS project, the Portuguese hydrographical network was extensively covered (all the 34 river basins and 47 sub-basins) in order to contribute with valuable data on the genetic diversity distribution patterns of native cyprinid species. A total of 188 populations belonging to 16 cyprinid species ofSqualius, Luciobarbus, Achondrostoma, Iberochondrostoma, AnaecyprisandPseudochondrostomawere characterized, for a total of 3,678 cytochromebgene sequences.Results.When the genetic diversity of these populations was mapped, it highlighted differences among populations from the same species and between species with identical distribution areas. Factors shaping the contemporary patterns of genetic diversity were explored and the results revealed the role of latitude, inter-basin connectivity, migratory behaviour, species maximum size, species range and other species intrinsic traits in determining the genetic diversity of sampled populations. Contrastingly, drainage area and hydrological regime (permanent vs. temporary) seem to have no significant effect on genetic diversity. Species intrinsic traits, maximum size attained, inter-basin connectivity and latitude explained over 30% of the haplotype diversity variance and, generally, the levels of diversity were significantly higher for smaller sized species, from connected and southerly river basins.Discussion.Targeting multiple co-distributed species of primary freshwater fish allowed us to assess the relative role of historicalversuscontemporary factors affecting genetic diversity. Since different patterns were detected for species with identical distribution areas we postulate that contemporary determinants of genetic diversity (species’ intrinsic traits and landscape features) must have played a more significant role than historical factors. Implications for conservation in a context of climate change and highly disturbed habitats are detailed, namely the need to focus management and conservation actions on intraspecific genetic data and to frequently conduct combined genetic and demographic surveys.

scholarly journals Using evolutionary functional–structural plant modelling to understand the effect of climate change on plant communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorad de Vries
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Plant Fitness ◽  
Vital Rates ◽  
Climate Change Responses ◽  
Mechanistic Basis

Abstract The ‘holy grail’ of trait-based ecology is to predict the fitness of a species in a particular environment based on its functional traits, which has become all the more relevant in the light of global change. However, current ecological models are ill-equipped for this job: they rely on statistical methods and current observations rather than the mechanisms that determine how functional traits interact with the environment to determine plant fitness, meaning that they are unable to predict ecological responses to novel conditions. Here, I advocate the use of a 3D mechanistic modelling approach called functional–structural plant (FSP) modelling in combination with evolutionary modelling to explore climate change responses in natural plant communities. Gaining a mechanistic understanding of how trait–environment interactions drive natural selection in novel environments requires consideration of individual plants with multidimensional phenotypes in dynamic environments that include abiotic gradients and biotic interactions, and their combined effect on the different vital rates that determine plant fitness. Evolutionary FSP modelling explicitly simulates the trait–environment interactions that drive eco-evolutionary dynamics from individual to community scales and allows for efficient navigation of the large, complex and dynamic fitness landscapes that emerge from considering multidimensional plants in multidimensional environments. Using evolutionary FSP modelling as a tool to study climate change responses of plant communities can further our understanding of the mechanistic basis of these responses, and in particular, the role of local adaptation, phenotypic plasticity and gene flow.

The Role of Late-Night Infotainment Comedy in Communicating Climate Change Consensus

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward John Roy Clarke ◽  
Anna Klas ◽  
Joshua Stevenson ◽  
Emily Jane Kothe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Mitigation Policy ◽  
Behavioural Intentions ◽  
Late Night ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Adaptation Policies ◽  
Diverse Audience

Climate change is a politically-polarised issue, with conservatives less likely than liberals to perceive it as human-caused and consequential. Furthermore, they are less likely to support mitigation and adaptation policies needed to reduce its impacts. This study aimed to examine whether John Oliver’s “A Mathematically Representative Climate Change Debate” clip on his program Last Week Tonight polarised or depolarised a politically-diverse audience on climate policy support and behavioural intentions. One hundred and fifty-nine participants, recruited via Amazon MTurk (94 female, 64 male, one gender unspecified, Mage = 51.07, SDage = 16.35), were presented with either John Oliver’s climate change consensus clip, or a humorous video unrelated to climate change. Although the climate change consensus clip did not reduce polarisation (or increase it) relative to a control on mitigation policy support, it resulted in hyperpolarisation on support for adaptation policies and increased climate action intentions among liberals but not conservatives.

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