Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment最新文献

{"title":"Spiders in oyster shells: shellfish farming benefits an endangered terrestrial species","authors":"Julien Pétillon,&nbsp;Nela Gloríková","doi":"10.1002/fee.2744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2744","url":null,"abstract":"<p>\u0000 <i>Image credits: ©N Gloríková</i>\u0000 </p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2744","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140820505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"India's Forest Conservation Amendment Act raises important questions","authors":"Jithu K Jose","doi":"10.1002/fee.2741","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2741","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Of the planet's terrestrial area, nearly 33% and 7% are covered by forests and tropical forests, respectively (Lee and Jarvis &lt;span&gt;1996&lt;/span&gt;). Forests in general provide ecological, economic, social, and aesthetic benefits to people, and tropical forests specifically hold more than 50% of the planet's biodiversity (Singh and Sharma &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;). Worldwide, 15.8 million hectares of tropical forests are lost annually (Weisse and Goldman &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;). Nearly all tropical forests occur within the Global South, which includes some of the most densely populated and economically impoverished nations. The growing need for forest resources in developing countries places tremendous strain on forests therein. India is one example of a country that exerts such pressure on its forests (Figure 1). In India, total (tropical and subtropical) forest and tree cover spans 80.9 million hectares, which is equivalent to nearly 25% of the country's areal extent (Sharma &lt;i&gt;et al&lt;/i&gt;. &lt;span&gt;2023&lt;/span&gt;). Between 2015 and 2020, India lost 668,400 hectares of forest, placing it second to Brazil in terms of global losses (Ritchie &lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;). Various laws, acts, and policies have been formulated and adopted in India to incorporate forests within legal and policy frameworks—these range from the colonial-era Indian Forest Act of 1865 to the more recent Forest Conservation Amendment Act of 2023 (hereafter, the Act), which modified the existing Forest Conservation Act of 1980. Since its inception, the Act has prompted many conservation-related questions across the world. More discussions and greater transparency on the Act are desperately needed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In India, government land records generally refer to forests as belonging to one of three legal classifications: “reserved”, “protected”, or “unclassed” (FAO &lt;span&gt;2005&lt;/span&gt;). Reserved and protected forests “by definition are owned by [the] government [and by the] ‘Public’ at large”; as for unclassed forests, “the status of their ownership and control varies among various States in India” (FAO &lt;span&gt;2005&lt;/span&gt;). Many Indian forests are further categorized as “deemed” forests: that is, those that fall under the “dictionary meaning” of a forest (a subjective description) but do not merit official recognition in any government record. The Act rescinds protection completely for deemed forests, limiting protection only to “notified” forests (that is, reserved and protected forests for which there is “a legal notification in a government gazette under [the] Indian Forest Act [of 1927 that] creates or defines [their] boundaries” [FAO &lt;span&gt;2005&lt;/span&gt;]) and those documented in official records as of or after 25 October 1980. The Act encourages commercial activity in any area not officially acknowledged as a “forest”. As a consequence, up to 25% of the country's forests are now vulnerable to mining, urbanization, infrastructure development, and other destructive land-use changes due to the passage of the Act, ","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2741","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140820510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cockroaches interact with night-blooming flowers in the Caatinga dry forest","authors":"Arthur Domingos-Melo,&nbsp;Paulo Milet-Pinheiro","doi":"10.1002/fee.2743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2743","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140820504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ghost corals of tropical reefs","authors":"Kathryn C Scafidi,&nbsp;Peter J Edmunds","doi":"10.1002/fee.2745","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2745","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140820506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Losing flow in free-flowing Mediterranean-climate streams","authors":"Stephanie M Carlson,&nbsp;Albert Ruhí,&nbsp;Michael T Bogan,&nbsp;Cleo Wölfle Hazard,&nbsp;Jessica Ayers,&nbsp;Theodore E Grantham,&nbsp;Ramon J Batalla,&nbsp;Celso Garcia","doi":"10.1002/fee.2737","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fee.2737","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Stream drying is happening globally, with important ecological and social consequences. Most examples of stream drying come from systems influenced by dam operations or those with highly exploited aquifers. Stream drying is also thought to be driven by anthropogenic climate change; however, examples are surprisingly limited. We explored flow trends from the five recognized Mediterranean-climate regions of the world with a focus on unregulated (non-dammed or non-diverted) streams with long-term gauge records. We found consistent evidence of decreasing discharge trends, increasing zero-flow days, and steeper downward discharge trends in smaller basins. Beyond directional trends, many systems have recently undergone shifts in flow state, including some streams that have transitioned from perennial to intermittent flow states. Our analyses provide evidence of stream drying consistent with climate change but also highlight knowledge gaps and challenges in empirically and statistically documenting flow regime shifts. We discuss the myriad consequences of losing flow and propose strategies for improving detection of and adapting to flow change.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2737","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140601966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) spawns regularly in salt marshes","authors":"Daniel A Sasson,&nbsp;Christopher C Chabot,&nbsp;Jennifer H Mattei,&nbsp;Jeff F Brunson,&nbsp;Fletcher K Hall,&nbsp;Jeanette H Huber,&nbsp;Jo-Marie E Kasinak,&nbsp;Cole McShane,&nbsp;Paul T Puckette,&nbsp;Gary Sundin,&nbsp;Peter R Kingsley-Smith,&nbsp;Michael R Kendrick","doi":"10.1002/fee.2738","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fee.2738","url":null,"abstract":"<p>While considered ecological generalists in most aspects of their life history, horseshoe crabs (<i>Limulus polyphemus</i>) have traditionally been regarded as reproductive habitat specialists, given that spawning is thought to occur primarily on beaches where conditions for embryonic development are considered optimal. Observations of horseshoe crabs spawning in other habitats were deemed isolated and the behavior non-adaptive. Here, we used spawning and egg surveys to compare the use of beach and salt marsh habitats for spawning by the horseshoe crab in three US states along the Atlantic coast. We found similar spawning and egg densities in both habitats but were more likely to find eggs in marsh habitats, indicating that spawning in marsh habitats is common and geographically widespread. These results suggest that the conservation of salt marshes may be critical for the protection of this species and that management strategies should be revised to incorporate this generalist behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2738","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140601374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fulfilling the promise of digital tools to build rangeland resilience","authors":"Brandon T Bestelmeyer,&nbsp;Sarah E McCord,&nbsp;Dawn M Browning,&nbsp;Laura M Burkett,&nbsp;Emile Elias,&nbsp;Rick E Estell,&nbsp;Jeffrey E Herrick,&nbsp;Darren James,&nbsp;Sheri Spiegal,&nbsp;Santiago A Utsumi,&nbsp;Nicholas P Webb,&nbsp;Jeb Williamson","doi":"10.1002/fee.2736","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fee.2736","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The world's rangelands and drylands are undergoing rapid change, and consequently are becoming more difficult to manage. Big data and digital technologies (digital tools) provide land managers with a means to understand and adaptively manage change. An assortment of tools—including standardized field ecosystem monitoring databases; web-accessible maps of vegetation change, production forecasts, and climate risk; sensor networks and virtual fencing; mobile applications to collect and access a variety of data; and new models, interpretive tools, and tool libraries—together provide unprecedented opportunities to detect and direct rangeland change. Accessibility to and manager trust in and knowledge of these tools, however, have failed to keep pace with technological advances. Collaborative adaptive management that involves multiple stakeholders and scientists who learn from management actions is ideally suited to capitalize on an integrated suite of digital tools. Embedding science professionals and experienced technology users in social networks can enhance peer-to-peer learning about digital tools and fulfill their considerable promise.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2736","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140601464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Centering socioecological connections to collaboratively manage post-fire vegetation shifts","authors":"Kimberley T Davis,&nbsp;Monique Wynecoop,&nbsp;Mary Ann Rozance,&nbsp;Katherine B Swensen,&nbsp;Drew S Lyons,&nbsp;Charlotte Dohrn,&nbsp;Meade Krosby","doi":"10.1002/fee.2739","DOIUrl":"10.1002/fee.2739","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Climate change is altering fire regimes and post-fire conditions, contributing to relatively rapid transformation of landscapes across the western US. Studies are increasingly documenting post-fire vegetation transitions, particularly from forest to non-forest conditions or from sagebrush to invasive annual grasses. The prevalence of climate-driven, post-fire vegetation transitions is likely to increase in the future with major impacts on social–ecological systems. However, research and management communities have only recently focused attention on this emerging climate risk, and many knowledge gaps remain. We identify three key needs for advancing the management of post-fire vegetation transitions, including centering Indigenous communities in collaborative management of fire-prone ecosystems, developing decision-relevant science to inform pre- and post-fire management, and supporting adaptive management through improved monitoring and information-sharing across geographic and organizational boundaries. We highlight promising examples that are helping to transform the perception and management of post-fire vegetation transitions.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2739","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140602201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The wonders of hair ice and needle ice","authors":"L Von Hagen","doi":"10.1002/fee.2732","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2732","url":null,"abstract":"<p>While hiking in the Carolinas of the southeastern US, I was baffled by curious strands emerging from the forest floor, covered in fresh snow. Later, I learned that I had observed “needle ice” (see image), a form of ice that is related to a different phenomenon known as “hair ice”.</p><p>Hair ice, also called ice wool or frost beard, originates from the fungus <i>Exidiopsis effusa</i>. In 1918, Alfred Wegener (who earlier had proposed continental drift theory) suggested a fungus as the suspected source of the delicate strands of hair ice. However, <i>E effusa</i> was not identified as the responsible fungal agent until 2015 by Hofmann <i>et al</i>., whose seminal work (<i>Biogeosciences</i> 2015; doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4261-2015) provides an excellent review of discoveries related to hair ice, including: (i) <i>E effusa</i>'s gossamer-like hair ice is fragile (disintegrating if handled) and ephemeral (lasting for hours or a few days under ideal conditions); (ii) <i>E effusa</i> emerges only from decomposing branches of broadleaf trees and in temperatures at or below 0°C; (iii) the fungus has been reported in multiple countries between the latitudes of 45° and 55°N; (iv) the mycelium of <i>E effusa</i> appears to provide the supporting structure for the hairs of ice, which have a diameter of around only 0.02 mm; (v) hair ice forms from a dense concentration of mycelium, drawing water from the porous substrate of the wood; (vi) a recrystallization inhibitor is likely responsible for the stabilization of the fine hairs; and (vii) <i>E effusa</i>'s fruiting body typically appears macroscopically weeks later on the wood surface as a thin, white rot coating.</p><p>The specimen featured in the accompanying photograph is needle ice. Often mistaken for hair ice, needle ice is a related ice type that grows from soil instead of wood, has slightly stiffer needles, and forms columns (Mätzler C, Wagner G, Preuss G, and Hofmann D. 2013. Enlightening the mystery of hair ice. IAP Research Report 2013-01-MW. Bern, Switzerland: Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern). The source of needle ice formations is not associated with a fungus; rather, it is groundwater, which rises to the surface by capillary action and freezes. The phenomenon occurs in areas that experience frequent thaw–freeze cycles (<i>Cold Regions Sci Technol</i> 1988; doi.org/10.1016/0165-232X(88)90076-6). Needle ice is also recognized as a cause of soil disturbance, though its unusual appearance, like that of hair ice, is especially captivating.</p><p>Special thanks to Diana Hofmann for help with identification.</p>","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2732","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140333130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can we coevolve with AI?","authors":"Joshua E Lerner,&nbsp;Rusty A Feagin","doi":"10.1002/fee.2733","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2733","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Ecologists have been using AI in research for decades (machine-learning is a more boring name for it), and today it is not uncommon for ecology graduate students to run their statistics using iterative, problem-solving AI algorithms. At its core, AI-based prediction is simply an automated version of the scientific method, designed to be an iterative learning process that becomes more refined with each iteration based on feedback and experience. In machine learning, selection for an optimized solution occurs with every iteration, somewhat similar to how natural selection operates on each generation of a species. With each iteration, the model attempts to minimize differences between its output and what it was trained to believe should be the “correct” output. Ultimately, humans control the inputs and impose artificial selection pressures (such as model parameters, thresholds, and goals for the training) that drive evolution of the outputs in a desired direction. A relevant question is whether humans can sensibly guide this evolution in a manner that parallels evolution and adaptation by natural selection.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Those worried about AI fear that we humans will end up on the wrong side of this selection process, in a zero-sum game between biology and technology. But the reality is that selection is driving biology and computing more closely together, toward an obligate symbiosis rather than a divergence. One could argue that this coevolution has already commenced and that we are already part human, part machine. For example, many of us have instant and unrestricted access to the vast knowledge of the internet via smartphones in the palms of our hands. It is relatively easy to imagine that humans will become more integrated with and dependent on AI in the future, because AI can help humans optimize solutions for complex problems (whether for morally good or bad reasons). If a hypothetical tipping point is crossed in which AI surpasses human intelligence and gains some degree of autonomy and sentience, it is unlikely that AI will annihilate humans, because that would be akin to attacking itself.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Instead, the more likely risk is that humans are becoming, and will continue to become, something new. Who better to understand the limits than ecologists, with their understanding of the fundamental principles of adaptation and evolution? In &lt;i&gt;The Origin of Species&lt;/i&gt;, Darwin described natural selection as a process analogous to selective breeding in domesticated pigeons and horses, and this analogy can be further generalized to our coevolution with AI. If humanity becomes entangled within a mutualistic association with AI, its outputs and capabilities will be refined and its early forms will eventually either become extinct or morph into better adapted versions. This evolution is likely to be slow, though punctuated by moments of rapid and drastic change.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Are there risks? Of course, but they are more likely of the variety that we currently fa","PeriodicalId":171,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment","volume":"22 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.3,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2733","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140333132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}