Tropospheric ozone (TPO) is considered as a \"near-term climate forcer\", whose impact on climate depends on its radiative forcing (RF), which is a change in the Earth\'s energy flux. Here, we use the ground-based and satellite measurements during the period 2005-2020 to deduce the trends of TPO, which is significantly positive in the tropical and extra-tropical northern hemisphere (0.2-0.5 DU/yr) and southern extra-tropics (0.1-0.2 DU/yr). Furthermore, the trends derived using a multiple linear regression model (MLR) also confirm these estimates, which are about 0.05-0.1 DU/yr and the regions with higher trends (>0.06 DU/yr) are statistically significant. We also use a standalone Rapid Radiative Transfer Model coupled with a convective model (Radiative-Convective Model; RCM) to assess the climate forcing of ozone using its vertical profiles from the Modern Era Retrospective Reanalysis (MERRA)-2 reanalysis. The estimated temperature rise due to the radiative forcing of ozone in the tropical troposphere (1000-100 hPa) is about 0.2-0.3 °C for the study period. In brief, there is a positive trend in the tropospheric ozone in the tropics and extra-tropics, which is a great concern for regional warming, public health and ecosystem dynamics.

Tropical river deltas, and the social-ecological systems they sustain, are changing rapidly due to anthropogenic activity and climatic change. Baseline data to inform sustainable management options for resilient deltas is urgently needed and palaeolimnology (reconstructing past conditions from lake or wetland deposits) can provide crucial long-term perspectives needed to identify drivers and rates of change. We review how palaeolimnology can be a valuable tool for resource managers using three current issues facing tropical delta regions: hydrology and sediment supply, salinisation and nutrient pollution. The unique ability of palaeolimnological methods to untangle multiple stressors is also discussed. We demonstrate how palaeolimnology has been used to understand each of these issues, in other aquatic environments, to be incorporated into policy. Palaeolimnology is a key tool to understanding how anthropogenic influences interact with other environmental stressors, providing policymakers and resource managers with a \'big picture\' view and possible holistic solutions that can be implemented.

Predator-prey interactions are important in shaping ecosystem structure. Consequently, impacts of accelerating global warming on predators will have notable implications. Effects are likely to be particularly marked for tropical organisms which are anticipated to be sensitive to further thermal stress. Here, we investigated effects of future ocean warming on the predatory dogwhelk Reishia clavigera and its predation of Saccostrea cucullata. Mortality of the predators rapidly increased under the extreme elevated temperature, while those exposed to moderate elevated temperature displayed similar mortality as the ambient. Predators that survived moderate temperature increases altered their oxygen consumption patterns, increased average feeding rates, and functional responses, although condition index and energy reserves were unchanged. Overall, we show extreme ocean warming scenarios can remove predators and their consumption of prey from an ecosystem, whereas moderate warming can intensify predator-prey interactions. Such temperature-dependent alterations to predator-prey interactions would lead to fundamental changes of ecosystem structure as the ocean warms.

The genus Lycianthes (Dunal) Hassl. (Solanaceae) has in the past been treated as a section of the large genus Solanum L. but is more closely related to Capsicum L. Outside of the Americas, where the highest species diversity occurs, the genus is found in tropical and subtropical habitats from India to Japan and the Philippines, including the islands of Indonesia, New Guinea and the Solomons. The 19 species from Australia, New Guinea and the Pacific were treated in \'PhytoKeys 209\'. Here I treat the remaining 10 species occurring across Asia; including two native species, L.biflora (Lour.) Bitter and L.oliveriana (Lauterb. & K.Schum) Bitter, and one cultivated species, L.rantonnetii (Carrière) Bitter that were also included in the earlier work. The Asian species treated here occupy a wide range of forested and disturbed habitats and are diverse in habit, ranging from epiphytic vines to small or medium sized trees, shrubs or creeping herbs. Many of the species are weedy plants of highly disturbed habitats and are best characterised as \"ochlospecies\", with complex polymorphic variation. Lycianthesrantonnetii, a species native to southern South America, is recorded as cultivated in India and Pakistan, but may be more widespread than collections indicate. The history of taxonomic treatments of Lycianthes in Asia is discussed, along with details of morphology found in all species. All species are treated in full, with complete morphological descriptions, including synonymy, lecto- or neotypifications, discussions of ecology and vernacular names, distribution maps and preliminary conservation assessments (for all except the cultivated L.rantonnetii). Searchable lists of all specimens examined are presented as Suppl. materials 1, 2.

OBJECTIVE: Leaf traits are known to be strong predictors of plant performance and can be expected to (co)vary along environmental gradients. We investigated the variation, integration, environmental relationships, and evolutionary history of leaf functional traits in the genus Coffea L., typically a rainforest understory shrub, across Africa. A better understanding of the adaptive processes involved in leaf trait evolution can inform the use and conservation of coffee genetic resources in a changing climate.
METHODS: We used phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate the evolution of six leaf traits measured from herbarium specimens of 58 African Coffea species. We added environmental data and data on maximum plant height for each species to test trait-environment correlations in various (sub)clades, and we compared continuous trait evolution models to identify variables driving trait diversification.
RESULTS: A substantial leaf trait variation was detected across the genus Coffea in Africa, which was mostly interspecific. Of these traits, stomatal size and stomatal density exhibited a clear trade-off. We observed low densities of large stomata in early branching lineages and higher densities of smaller stomata in more recent taxa, which we hypothesise to be related to declining CO2 levels since the mid-Miocene. Brownian Motion evolution was rejected in favour of White Noise or Ornstein-Uhlenbeck models for all traits, implying these traits are adaptively significant rather than driven by pure drift. The evolution of leaf area was likely driven by precipitation, with smaller leaves in dryer climates across the genus.
CONCLUSIONS: Generally, Coffea leaf traits appear to be evolutionarily labile and governed by stabilising selection, though evolutionary patterns and correlations differ depending on the traits and clades considered. Our study highlights the importance of a phylogenetic perspective when studying trait relationships across related taxa, as well as the consideration of various taxonomic ranges.

The extreme dry and hot 2015/16 El Niño episode caused large losses in tropical live aboveground carbon (AGC) stocks. Followed by climatic conditions conducive to high vegetation productivity since 2016, tropical AGC are expected to recover from large losses during the El Niño episode; however, the recovery rate and its spatial distribution remain unknown. Here, we used low-frequency microwave satellite data to track AGC changes, and showed that tropical AGC stocks returned to pre-El Niño levels by the end of 2020, resulting in an AGC sink of 0.18 0.14 0.26 $$ {0.18}_{0.14}^{0.26} $$ Pg C year-1 during 2014-2020. This sink was dominated by strong AGC increases ( 0.61 0.49 0.84 $$ {0.61}_{0.49}^{0.84} $$ Pg C year-1) in non-forest woody vegetation during 2016-2020, compensating the forest AGC losses attributed to the El Niño event, forest loss, and degradation. Our findings highlight that non-forest woody vegetation is an increasingly important contributor to interannual to decadal variability in the global carbon cycle.

The reproductive efficiency and milk yield of cows are crucial factors in a dairy farm\'s profitability. However, abortions can have a negative impact on these factors. While the morbidity of abortion has been estimated in many countries, information on the burden on dairy cattle in tropical conditions is limited, and Costa Rica is a good example. This study aims to assess the incidence and recurrence of bovine abortion in dairy cattle from Costa Rica. The study analysed the morbidity of abortion in Costa Rican dairy herds between 2010 and 2022. The incidence rate (IR) and the recurrence rate (ReR) were calculated per 100 cow-months at risk using data from the Veterinary Automated Management and Production Control Programme (VAMPP). The dataset comprised 1032,457 lactations from 330,265 cows in 1134 specialized dairy herds. Abortions were classified either as early foetal mortality (EFM) or late foetal mortality (LFM). Rates were estimated based on cow breed, lactation number, and ecological zone to which the farm belongs. The IR of general abortion, EFM, and LFM cases were 0.98, 0.41, and 0.57 per 100 cow-months at risk, respectively. No statistically significant differences were found in the IR between cow breed, lactation number, and ecological zone, nor for the trend of abortions over calving years. The first ReR (for cows that had one previous abortion during the lactation) was 0.95, and the second ReR (for cows that had two previous abortions during the lactation) was 1.41 per 100 cow-months at risk. These results suggest that bovine abortions are an important ongoing problem in dairy farms in Costa Rica with potentially detrimental effects on the reproductive and productive performance of cows and may be representative of other specialized tropical dairy systems in Latin America.

This study evaluated the association between the proportion of Brahman genetics and productivity of Brahman-Angus cows at weaning using a 31-yr dataset containing 6,312 cows and 5,405 pregnancies. Cows were contemporaneously reared and enrolled in yearly breeding seasons under subtropical conditions of North-Central Florida. They were evenly distributed in six-breed groups (G) according to the proportion of Brahman genetics: G0% to 19%, G21% to 34%, G38% (Brangus), G41% to 59%, G63% to 78%, and G81% to 100%. The proportion of cows calving (84.9%) did not differ across the six-breed groups. However, cows in the G81% to 100% weaned fewer calves (90.8%) than cows in the G0% to 19% and G21% to 34% (95.7%, each). The weaning rate of cows in the G38% (94.3%), G41% to 59% (94.2%), and G63% to 78% (93.0%) was intermediate between these three breed groups. The preweaning calf mortality was greater for cows in the G81% to 100% (9.2%) than cows in the G0% to 19% and G21% to 34% (4.3%, each), but intermediate for cows in the G38% (5.7%), G41% to 59% (5.8%), and G63% to 78% (7.0%). Cows in the G81% to 100% also weaned lighter calves (220.6 kg) than cows in the G0% to 19% (245.2 kg), G21% to 34% (250.2 kg), G38% (247.9 kg), G41% to 59% (252.5 kg), and G63% to 78% (245.2 kg). Cows in the G0% to 19% weaned lighter calves than cows with 21% to 78% of Brahman genetics. The 205-d adjusted weaning weight evidenced the less productive results of cows in G0% to 19% and G81% to 100% compared with other genetic groups, as they calved at the fastest and slowest rate, respectively. Thus, the 205-d adjusted weaning weight eliminated this bias. Additionally, younger cows weaned lighter calves; and male calves were heavier at weaning than female calves. Both parity order of cow and calf sex altered the magnitude of the described association between breed group of cows and calf weaning weights. Overall, after adjusting for weaning rate and age of calves at weaning, the number of kilograms produced per cow submitted to reproduction was less for cows in the G0% to 19% (191.1 kg) and G81% to 100 (181.8 kg) compared with cows in the G21% to 34 (197.0 kg), G38 (195.9 kg), G41% to 59 (199.7), and G63% to 78 (196.2). Cows in the G81% to 100% were the least productive. Thus, a proportion of Brahman genetics between 21% and 78% ensured superior productivity of Brahman-Angus cows subjected to subtropical conditions.

Mobile organisms like seabirds can provide important nutrient flows between ecosystems, but this connectivity has been interrupted by the degradation of island ecosystems. Island restoration (via invasive species eradications and the restoration of native vegetation) can reestablish seabird populations and their nutrient transfers between their foraging areas, breeding colonies, and adjacent nearshore habitats. Its diverse benefits are making island restoration increasingly common and scalable to larger islands and whole archipelagos. We identified the factors that influence breeding seabird abundances throughout the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean and conducted predictive modeling to estimate the abundances of seabirds that the archipelago could support under invasive predator eradication and native vegetation restoration scenarios. We explored whether the prey base exists to support restored seabird populations across the archipelago, calculated the nitrogen that restored populations of seabirds might produce via their guano, and modeled the cascading conservation gains that island restoration could provide. Restoration was predicted to increase breeding pairs of seabirds to over 280,000, and prey was predicted to be ample to support the revived seabird populations. Restored nutrient fluxes were predicted to result in increases in coral growth rates, reef fish biomasses, and parrotfish grazing and bioerosion rates. Given these potential cross-ecosystem benefits, our results support island restoration as a conservation priority that could enhance resilience to climatic change effects, such as sea-level rise and coral bleaching. We encourage the incorporation of our estimates of cross-ecosystem benefits in prioritization exercises for island restoration.
Restauración en islas para reconstruir las poblaciones de aves marinas y amplificar la funcionalidad de los arrecifes de coral Resumen Los organismos móviles como las aves marinas pueden proporcionar flujos importantes de nutrientes entre los ecosistemas, aunque esta conectividad ha sido interrumpida por la degradación de los ecosistemas isleñas. La restauración de islas (por medio de la erradicación de especies invasoras y la restauración de la vegetación nativa) puede reestablecer las poblaciones de aves marinas y su transferencia de nutrientes entre las áreas de forrajeo, las colonias reproductoras y los hábitats adyacentes a la costa. Los diferentes beneficios de la restauración de islas hacen que sea cada vez más común y escalable a islas más grandes y archipiélagos completos. Identificamos los factores que influyen sobre la abundancia de aves reproductoras en todo el archipiélago de Chagos en el Océano Índico y realizamos un modelo predictivo para estimar la abundancia de aves que podría soportar el archipiélago bajo escenarios de la erradicación de un depredador invasor y la restauración de la vegetación nativa. Exploramos si existe la base de presas para soportar las poblaciones restauradas de aves marinas en el archipiélago, calculamos el nitrógeno que las poblaciones restauradas podrían producir mediante el guano y modelamos la conservación en cascada que podría proporcionar la restauración de la isla. Se pronosticó que la restauración incrementaría las parejas reproductoras a más de 280,000 y que las presas serían las suficientes para soportar las poblaciones restauradas de aves marinas. También se pronosticó que los flujos restaurados de nutrientes resultarían en un incremento de la tasa de crecimiento de los corales, la biomasa de los peces del arrecife y las tasas de bio‐erosión y de alimentación de los peces loro. Dados estos beneficios potenciales entre los ecosistemas, nuestros resultados respaldan a la restauración de islas como una prioridad de conservación que podría incrementar la resiliencia a los efectos del cambio climático, como el incremento en el nivel del mar y el blanqueamiento de los corales. Promovemos que se incorporen nuestras estimaciones de los beneficios transecosistémicos dentro de los ejercicios de priorización para la restauración de islas.
海鸟等移动的生物可在生态系统之间提供重要的营养物质流, 但生态系统退化会破坏这种连通性。岛屿恢复(通过消灭入侵物种和恢复原生植被)可以重建海鸟种群, 并在其觅食区、繁殖地和邻近的近岸栖息地之间进行营养物质转移。种种益处使得海岛恢复正变得越来越普遍, 并可扩展到更大的岛屿和整个群岛。本研究确定了影响印度洋查戈斯群岛海鸟繁殖数量的因素, 并通过预测建模估计了在清除入侵捕食者和恢复原生植被的情况下, 该群岛可支持的海鸟数量。我们进一步探究了整个群岛是否存在充足猎物来支持恢复后的海鸟种群, 估算了恢复后种群通过鸟粪产生的氮, 并模拟了岛屿恢复可能提供的级联保护。据预测, 岛屿恢复后海鸟繁殖对数量将增加到28万以上, 猎物也将足以支持恢复后的海鸟种群。营养物质流动的恢复预计还将导致珊瑚生长率、珊瑚鱼生物量以及鹦嘴鱼啃食和生物侵蚀率的增加。鉴于这些潜在的跨生态系统效益, 我们的研究结果支持将岛屿恢复作为优先保护事项, 以增强抵抗气候变化影响(如海平面上升和珊瑚白化)的恢复力。我们鼓励在岛屿恢复的优先保护实践中纳入本研究对跨生态系统效益的估计。【翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚】.

In this study, we used a high-throughput sequencing technology to survey the dry-wet seasonal change characteristics of soil ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) communities in the three restoration stages [i.e., Mallotus paniculatus community (early stage), Millettia leptobotrya community (middle stage), and Syzygium oblatum community (later stage)] of Xishuangbanna tropical forest ecosystems. We analyzed the effects of soil physicochemical characteristics on AOB community composition and diversity during tropical forest restoration. The results showed that tropical forest restoration significantly affected the relative abundance of dominant AOB phyla and their dry-wet seasonal variation. The maximum relative abundance of Proteobacteria (71.3%) was found in the early recovery stage, while that of Actinobacteria was found in the late recovery stage (1.0%). The abundances of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria had the maximum ranges of dry-wet seasonal variation in the early and late stages, respectively. The abundance of dominant AOB genera and its dry-wet seasonal variation varied across tropical forest restoration stages. The maximum average relative abundance of Nitrosospira and Nitrosomonas in the late recovery stage was 66.2% and 1.5%, respectively. In contrast, the abundance of Nitrosovibrio reached its maximum (25.6%) in the early recovery stage. The maximum dry-wet seasonal variation in relative abundance of Nitrosospira and Nitrosomonas occurred in the early recovery stage, while that of Nitrosovibrio occurred in the middle recovery stage. The Chao1, Shannon, and Simpson diversity indices of AOB communities increased along the restoration stages, which were significantly higher in the wet season than in the dry season. The results of canonical correspondence analysis showed that soil easily oxidized carbon was the main factor controlling AOB community diversity and Actinobacteria abundance. Soil bulk density and temperature were the main factors affecting Proteobacteria abundance. Soil pH, microbial biomass carbon, water content, ammonium nitrogen, bulk density, and temperature were the main factors controlling the abundances of Nitrosospira, Nitrosomonas, and Nitrosovibrio. Therefore, tropical forest restoration can regulate the change of relative abundance of dominant AOB taxa via mediating the changes of soil temperature, bulk density, and readily oxidized carbon, leading to an increase in soil AOB community diversity.
本研究以西双版纳热带森林生态系统恢复前期的白背桐群落、中期的崖豆藤群落和后期的高檐蒲桃群落为研究对象,采用高通量测序技术测定土壤氨氧化细菌(AOB)群落的干湿季变化特征,分析热带森林生态系统恢复过程中土壤理化环境变化对AOB群落组成及多样性的影响。结果表明: 热带森林恢复显著影响土壤AOB优势门的相对丰度及其季节变化。变形菌门相对丰度均值在恢复前期达最大(71.3%),而放线菌门则在恢复后期达最大(1.0%);变形菌门和放线菌门丰度的干湿季变幅分别在恢复前期和后期达最大。热带森林恢复显著影响土壤AOB优势属相对丰度及其季节变化。亚硝化螺菌属和亚硝化毛杆菌属相对丰度均值在恢复后期达到最大,分别为66.2%和1.5%,而亚硝化弧菌属则在恢复前期达最大,为25.6%;亚硝化螺菌属和亚硝化弧菌属相对丰度的干湿季变幅最大值出现在恢复前期,而亚硝化毛杆菌属丰度的变幅则在恢复中期达最大。AOB群落Chao1、Shannon和Simpson指数均沿热带森林恢复进程显著增加且在湿季高于干季。典范对应分析表明,土壤易氧化碳是AOB群落多样性和放线菌门丰度变化的主控因子;土壤容重和温度是变形菌门丰度变化的主要影响因子;土壤pH、微生物生物量碳、含水率、铵态氮、容重和温度是亚硝化螺菌属、亚硝化毛杆菌属和亚硝化弧菌属的主控因子。因此,热带森林恢复主要通过改变土壤温度、容重及易氧化碳含量而调控优势类群的丰度变化,从而促进AOB群落多样性。.