Identifying priority protection areas of key food resources of the giant panda

Animals that live in seasonal environments adjust their reproduction cycle to optimize seasonal forage quality.Giant pandas(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)are seasonal altitudinal migrants that feed on bamboo shoots and leaves with different nutritional quality.However,the importance of bamboo shoots to giant pandas,especially small and isolated populations,is not fully appreciated.Here,we explored whether mating time of giant pandas is shaped by bamboo shoot phenology.We also assessed the intensity of ongoing bamboo shoot harvesting by local communities in 42 giant panda reserves based on questionnaire surveys.Varying intensity and protection levels of bamboo shoot harvesting were found.From these data,we developed a priority ranking scheme of protection areas for this key food resource.Our study showed that pandas time their mating behavior to coincide with bamboo shoot phenology due to the high nutritional demands associated with mating and pregnancy.We also found that bamboo shoots were not well protected in many places.Liangshan,Daxiangling,and Xiaoxiangling,containing the most isolated panda populations,were identified as the areas with the most urgent need of protection.Furthermore,equal attention should be paid to the Qiong L-B population,as this region holds considerable potential to serve as a corridor between the Minshan and Qionglai populations.To address the challenges posed by bamboo shoot harvesting,we recommend establishing more practical bamboo shoot management policies,increasing public awareness of bamboo shoot protection,and providing alternative sources of income for local communities.

滇金丝猴夜宿树的选择及夜宿地的利用方式

野生灵长类夜宿地的利用方式可以明确地反映一个物种特有的生境利用方式和生存之道。2003年12月至2004年10月,我们利用可自动脱落GPS无线电项圈对云南省丽江市金丝厂的一个滇金丝猴(Rhinopithecus bieti)群体的活动进行了持续跟踪记录。本研究着重于对所研究猴群夜宿树的选择和夜宿地的利用方式的考查,并结合可能影响夜宿地选择和利用的环境因素,比如天气、季节、日均温度等做了系统分析。研究群计有180余只个体,家域面积约27.8 km^(2)。GPS项圈记录到夜宿树的有272个夜晚,由此我们确认了131个夜宿地。其中70个(54.3%)夜宿地仅利用了一次,剩余的则不同程度地多次利用(2~9次)。在这些重复利用的夜宿地中,持续利用同一夜宿点的情形共发生了19次,其中连续3个夜晚在同一夜宿地过夜的现象出现了3次,剩下的16次是连续利用同一夜宿地2次。这种连续利用同一夜宿地的情况占重复利用同一夜宿的7.0%,发生频率不高,而且几乎都出现在冬季(84.0%)。滇金丝猴对于同一夜宿地的重复造访的时间间隔约50 d。一旦发生连续重复利用的情况,猴群当天的移动距离显著缩短(527 m vs.884 m),降低了群体移动所必需的能量消耗。明显地,滇金丝猴夜宿点的选择受其当天下午和第二天早上觅食点的位置的影响。鉴于较大的群体和明显回避夜宿地重复利用的特性,提示这是猴群对家域内食物分布的行为响应,避免对同一地点的过度利用造成食物的不足。采用大量(131个)而分散的夜宿地利用方式会保证猴群能够获得充足的食物供应。此外,相较于其他树种,滇金丝猴更喜欢在云南铁杉(Tsuga dumosa)树上过夜,而且尽量不以夜宿点作为觅食点,可能与卫生和安全有关。

Design methods for antimicrobial peptides with improved performance

The recalcitrance of pathogens to traditional antibiotics has made treating and eradicating bacterial infections more difficult.In this regard,developing new antimicrobial agents to combat antibiotic-resistant strains has become a top priority.Antimicrobial peptides(AMPs),a ubiquitous class of naturally occurring compounds with broadspectrum antipathogenic activity,hold significant promise as an effective solution to the current antimicrobial resistance(AMR)crisis.Several AMPs have been identified and evaluated for their therapeutic application,with many already in the drug development pipeline.Their distinct properties,such as high target specificity,potency,and ability to bypass microbial resistance mechanisms,make AMPs a promising alternative to traditional antibiotics.Nonetheless,several challenges,such as high toxicity,lability to proteolytic degradation,low stability,poor pharmacokinetics,and high production costs,continue to hamper their clinical applicability.Therefore,recent research has focused on optimizing the properties of AMPs to improve their performance.By understanding the physicochemical properties of AMPs that correspond to their activity,such as amphipathicity,hydrophobicity,structural conformation,amino acid distribution,and composition,researchers can design AMPs with desired and improved performance.In this review,we highlight some of the key strategies used to optimize the performance of AMPs,including rational design and de novo synthesis.We also discuss the growing role of predictive computational tools,utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning,in the design and synthesis of highly efficacious lead drug candidates.

Comparative analysis reveals epigenomic evolution related to species traits and genomic imprinting in mammals

DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that plays a crucial role in various regulatory processes,including gene expression regulation,transposable element repression,and genomic imprinting.However,most studies on DNA methylation have been conducted in humans and other model species,whereas the dynamics of DNA methylation across mammals remain poorly explored,limiting our understanding of epigenomic evolution in mammals and the evolutionary impacts of conserved and lineage-specific DNA methylation.Here,we generated and gathered comparative epigenomic data from 13 mammalian species,including two marsupial species,to demonstrate that DNA methylation plays critical roles in several aspects of gene evolution and species trait evolution.We found that the species-specific DNA methylation of promoters and noncoding elements correlates with species-specific traits such as body patterning,indicating that DNA methylation might help establish or maintain interspecies differences in gene regulation that shape phenotypes.For a broader view,we investigated the evolutionary histories of 88 known imprinting control regions across mammals to identify their evolutionary origins.By analyzing the features of known and newly identified potential imprints in all studied mammals,we found that genomic imprinting may function in embryonic development through the binding of specific transcription factors.Our findings show that DNA methylation and the complex interaction between the genome and epigenome have a significant impact on mammalian evolution,suggesting that evolutionary epigenomics should be incorporated to develop a unified evolutionary theory.

Why China is important in advancing the field of primatology

Over the past few decades, field studies conducted by Chinese primatologists have contributed significant new theoretical and empirical insights into the behavior, ecology, biology, genetics, and conservation of Iorises, macaques, langurs, snubnosed monkeys, and gibbons. With the recent establishment and inaugural meeting of the China Primatological Society in 2017, China has emerged as a leading nation in primate research. Several research teams have conducted long-term studies despite the difficult challenges of habituating and observing wild primates Inhabiting mountainous temperate forests, and the fact that some 80% of China＇s 25-27 primate species are considered vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered and are distributed in small isolated subpopulations. In going forward, it is recommended that primatologists in China increase their focus on seasonal differences in the social, ecological, physiological, and nutritional challenges primates face in exploiting high altitude and cold temperate forests. In addition, provisioning as a habitation tool should be minimized or eliminated, as it is difficult to control for its effects on group dynamics, patterns of habitat utilization, and feeding ecology. Finally in the next decade, Chinese primatologists should consider expanding the taxonomic diversity of species studied by conducting research in other parts of Asia, Africa, and the Neotropics.

Global patterns of phylogenetic diversity and transmission of bat coronavirus

Bats are reservoirs for multiple coronaviruses(Co Vs).However,the phylogenetic diversity and transmission of global bat-borne Co Vs remain poorly understood.Here,we performed a Bayesian phylogeographic analysis based on 3,594 bat Co V Rd Rp gene sequences to study the phylogenetic diversity and transmission of bat-borne Co Vs and the underlying driving factors.We found that host-switching events occurred more frequently forα-Co Vs than forβ-Co Vs,and the latter was highly constrained by bat phylogeny.Bat species in the families Molossidae,Rhinolophidae,Miniopteridae,and Vespertilionidae had larger contributions to the cross-species transmission of bat Co Vs.Regions of eastern and southern Africa,southern South America,Western Europe,and Southeast Asia were more frequently involved in cross-region transmission events of bat Co Vs than other regions.Phylogenetic and geographic distances were the most important factors limiting Co V transmission.Bat taxa and global geographic hotspots associated with bat Co V phylogenetic diversity were identified,and bat species richness,mean annual temperature,global agricultural cropland,and human population density were strongly correlated with the phylogenetic diversity of bat Co Vs.These findings provide insight into bat Co Vevolution and ecological transmission among bat taxa.The identified hotspots of bat Co V evolution and transmission will guide early warnings of bat-borne Co V zoonotic diseases.

Bioactive peptides from scorpion venoms:therapeutic scaffolds and pharmacological tools

Evolution and natural selection have endowed animal venoms,including scorpion venoms,with a wide range of pharmacological properties.Consequently,scorpions,their venoms,and/or their body parts have been used since time immemorial in traditional medicines,especially in Africa and Asia.With respect to their pharmacological potential,bioactive peptides from scorpion venoms have become an important source of scientific research.With the rapid increase in the characterization of various components from scorpion venoms,a large number of peptides are identified with an aim of combating a myriad of emerging global health problems.Moreover,some scorpion venom-derived peptides have been established as potential scaffolds helpful for drug development.In this review,we summarize the promising scorpion venoms-derived peptides as drug candidates.Accordingly,we highlight the data and knowledge needed for continuous characterization and development of additional natural peptides from scorpion venoms,as potential drugs that can treat related diseases.

Effects of rodent abundance and richness on cache pilfering

Scatterhoarding is a common behavioral strategy to conserve food during periods of scarcity,but this type of food storage is vulnerable to theft or pilferage.A variety of environmental factors and cache characteristics influence the rate of pilferage.Here we investigate 2 environmental factors,which heretofore have not received much attention:the abundance and species richness of scatterhoarding animals in the vicinity of scatterhoarded seeds.We measured the rate of cache pilferage at 7 sites that differed in the number and species composition of granivorous rodents in western Nevada using local native seeds and sunflower seeds.We found that there was no difference between the pilferage rate of native seeds and sunflower seeds,but that sites with different rodent abundances had different pilferage rates.Pilferage rates were proportional to the abundance of scatterhoarding rodents.Scatterhoarding rodents removed seeds at the rate of 1.3%/day/rodent individual.Species richness of scatterhoarding rodents was not correlated with rates of pilferage.These results suggest that density-dependent competition for scatterhoarded seeds is a strong determinant of pilferage rates.

Detecting trends in body size: empirical and statistical requirements for intraspecific analyses

Attributing biological explanations to observed ecogeographical and ecological patterns require eliminating potential statistical and sampling artifacts as alternative explanations of the observed patterns.Here,we assess the role of sample size,statistical power,and geographic inclusivity on the general validity and statistical significance of relationships between body size and latitude for 3 well-studied species of turtles.We extend those analyses to emphasize the importance of using statistically robust data in determining macroecological patterns.We examined intraspecific trends in body size with latitude in Chelydra serpentina,Chrysemys picta,and Trachemys scripts using Pearson's correlations,diagnostic tests for influential points,and resampling.Existing data were insufficient to ascertain a latitudinal trend in body size for C.serpentina or T.scripts.There was a significant relationship for C.picta,however,resampling analyses show that,on average,16 of the 23 available independent populations were needed to demonstrate a significant relationship and that at least 20 of 23 populations were required to obtain a statistically powerful correlation between body size and latitude.Furthermore,restricting the latitudes of populations resampled shows that body size trends of C.picta were largely due to leveraging effects of populations at the edge of the species range.Our results suggest that broad inferences regarding ecological trends in body size should be made with caution until underlying(intraspecific)patterns in body size can be statistically and conclusively demonstrated.

Comprehensive Knowledge of Reservoir Hosts is Key to Mitigating Future Pandemics

Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)and other epidemics(such as severe acute respiratory syndrome[SARS],Ebola,and H1N1)are stark reminders that knowledge of animal behavior and ecosystem health are key to controlling the spread of zoonotic diseases early in their onset.However,we have very limited information about the set of behavioral and ecological factors that promote viral spillover and the effects that has on ecosystem health and disease transmission.Thus,expanding our current knowledge of reservoir hosts and pandemics represents an urgent and critical tool in ecological epidemiology.We also propose to create an integrative database that ranks animal species in terms of their likelihood as hosts for specific infectious diseases.We call for a global and cooperative effort of field and laboratory scientists to create,maintain,and update this information in order to reduce the severity of future pandemics.

Refined families of Dothideomycetes:orders and families incertae sedis in Dothideomycetes

Numerous new taxa and classifications of Dothideomycetes have been published following the last monograph of families of Dothideomycetes in 2013.A recent publication by Honsanan et al.in 2020 expanded information of families in Dothideo-mycetidae and Pleosporomycetidae with modern classifications.In this paper,we provide a refined updated document on orders and families incertae sedis of Dothideomycetes.Each family is provided with an updated description,notes,including figures to represent the morphology,a list of accepted genera,and economic and ecological significances.We also provide phylogenetic trees for each order.In this study,31 orders which consist 50 families are assigned as orders incertae sedis in Dothideomycetes,and 41 families are treated as families incertae sedis due to lack of molecular or morphological evidence.The new order,Catinellales,and four new families,Catinellaceae,Morenoinaceae Neobuelliellaceae and Thyrinulaceae are introduced.Seven genera(Neobuelliella,Pseudomicrothyrium,Flagellostrigula,Swinscowia,Macroconstrictolumina,Pseudobogoriella,and Schummia)are introduced.Seven new species(Acrospermum urticae,Bogoriella complexoluminata,Dothiorella ostryae,Dyfrolomyces distoseptatus,Macroconstrictolumina megalateralis,Patellaria microspora,and Pseu-domicrothyrium thailandicum)are introduced base on morphology and phylogeny,together with two new records/reports and five new collections from different families.Ninety new combinations are also provided in this paper.

The rough-toothed dolphin genome provides new insights into the genetic mechanism of its rough teeth

The rough-toothed dolphin(Steno bredanensis)is characterized by having teeth covered infinely wrinkled vertical ridges,which is a general manifestation of amelogenesis imperfecta.The rough surfaces are hypothesized to be an evolutionary morphological trait of feeding adaptation to increase the dolphin’s grip on prey.Here,we assembled a rough-toothed dolphin genome and performed the comparative genomic analysis to reveal the genetic basis of the special enamel.Results showed that genes related to enamel development or dental diseases have undergone diver-sified adaptive changes that may shape the special enamel morphology of this dolphin species,including positive selection(CLDN19,PRKCE,SSUH2,and WDR72),rapid evolution(LAMB3),or unique amino acid substitutions(AMTN,ENAM,MMP20,and KLK4).Meanwhile,the historical demography of rough-toothed dolphin indicated several distinct populationfluctuations associated with climate change.The genome-wide heterozygosity of this dolphin is in the middle of all published data for cetaceans.Although the population is considerable,there may be population or subspecies differentiation,and with the global warming and the increasing disturbance of human activities,we should pay more attention to protection in the future.Together,our study brings new insights into the genetic mechanisms that may have driven the evolution of the special enamel morphology in rough-toothed dolphins and provides thefirst results of genetic heterozygosity and population historical dynamics of this species,which have important guiding implications for the conservation of this dolphin species.

Seed value influences cache pilfering rates by desert rodents

Some rodents gather and store seeds.How many seeds they gather and how they treat those seeds is largely determined by seed traits such as mass,nutrient content,hardness of the seed coat,presence of secondary compounds,and germination schedule.Through their consumption and dispersal of seeds,rodents act as agents of natural selection on seed traits,and those traits influence how rodents forage.Many seeds that are scatter-hoarded by rodents are pilfered,or stolen,by other rodents,and seed traits also likely influence pilfering rates and seed fates of pilfered seeds.To clarify coevolutionary relationships between rodents and the plants that they disperse,one needs to understand the role of seed traits in rodent foraging decisions.We compared how the seeds of 4 species of plants that are dispersed by scatter-hoarding animals and that differ in value(singleleaf piñon pine,Pinus monophylla;desert peach,Prunus andersonii;antelope bitterbrush,Purshia tridentata;Utah juniper,Juniperus osteosperma)were pilfered and recached by rodents.One hundred artificial caches of the 4 seed species(25 per species)were prepared,and removal by rodents was monitored.Rodents pilfered high-value seeds more rapidly than the other seeds.Desert peach seeds,which contain toxic secondary compounds,were more frequently recached.Relatively low value seeds like Utah juniper and antelope bitterbrush were pil-fered more slowly and were sometimes left at cache sites,and seeds of the latter species were transported shorter distances to new cache sites.The background density of seeds also appeared to influence the relative value of seeds.

Specialized digestive adaptations within the hindgut of a colobine monkey

In mammal herbivores,fiber digestion usually occurs predominantly in either the foregut or the hindgut.Reports of mechanisms showing synergistic function in both gut regions for the digestion of fiber and other nutrients in wild mammals are rare because it requires integrative study of anatomy,physiology,and gut microbiome.Colobine monkeys(Colobinae)are folivorous,with high-fiber foods fermented primarily in their foreguts.

Infant attraction:why social bridging matters for female leadership in Tibetan macaques

Leadership is a key issue in the study of collective behavior in social animals.Affiliation-leadership models predict that dyadic partner preferences based on grooming relationships or allianee formation positively affect an in dividua I's decision to follow or support a con spec ific.In the case of many primate species,females without young infants are attracted to mother-infant dyads.However,the effects of mother-infant-female associations on affiliation-leadership models remain less clear.In free-rangi ng Tibeta n macaques Macaca thibetana,we used social network analysis to examine the importance of mother-inf a nt-adult female"social bridging eve nts as a predictor of who leads and who follows during group movement.Social bridging is a common behavior in Tibetan macaques and occurs whe n 2 adults,gen erally females,engage in coordinated in fa nt handling.Using eigenvector centrality coefficients of social bridging as a measure of social affiliation,we found that among lactating females,initiating bridging behavior with another female played a sign讦icant role in leadership success,with the assisting female following the mother during group movement.Among non lactati ng females,this was not the case.Our results in dicate that in fa nt attracti on can be a strong trigger in collective action and directing group movement in Tibetan macaques and provides benefits to mothers who require helpers and social support in order to ensure the safety of their infants.Our study provides new insights into the importance of the third-party effect in rethinking affiliation-leadership models in group-living animals.

Every breath you take:assessing metabolic costs of toxin resistance in garter snakes(Thamnophis)

Trait specialization often comes at the expense of original trait function,potentially causing evolutionary tradeoffs that may render specialist populations vulnerable to extinction.However,many specialized adaptations evolve repeatedly,suggesting selection favors specialization in specific environments.Some garter snake(Thamnophis)populations possess specialized mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels that allow them to consume Pacific newts(Taricha)defended by a highly potent neurotoxin(tetrodotoxin).These mutations,however,also decrease protein and muscle function,suggesting garter snakes may suffer evolutionary tradeoffs.We measured a key physiological process,standard metabolic rate(SMR),to investigate whether specialized adaptations in toxin-resistant garter snakes affect baseline energy expenditure.In snakes,skeletal muscles influence metabolism and power ventilation,so inefficiencies of sodium channels in these muscles might impact whole-animal energy expenditure.Further,because sodium channels are membrane-bound proteins,inefficiencies of channel kinetics and performance might be exacerbated at suboptimal temperatures.We measured SMR in 2 species,Thamnophis atratus and Thamnophis sirtalis,that independently evolved tetrodotoxin resistance through unique mutations,providing replicate experiments with distinct underlying genetics and potential physiological costs.Despite our expectations,neither resistance phenotype nor sodium channel genotype affected metabolism and resistant snakes did not perform worse under suboptimal body temperature.Instead,T.atratus and T.sirtalis show nearly identical rates of mass-adjusted energy expenditure at both temperatures,despite differing eco-morphologies,life histories,and distant phylogenetic positions.These findings suggest SMR may be a conserved feature of Thamnophis,and that any organismal tradeoffs may be compensated to retain whole-animal function.

A framework for considering ecological interactions for common non-timber forest product species:a case study of mountain date palm(Phoenix loureiroi Kunth)leaf harvest in South India

Introduction:Many economically important non-timber forest products(NTFPs)come from widespread and common plant species.Harvest of these species often is assumed to be sustainable due to their commonness.However,because of the ecological roles of common species,harvest may affect and be affected by ecological interactions at broader scales,which are rarely considered when evaluating the sustainability of harvest.We use a case study of the mountain date palm(Phoenix loureiroi Kunth),harvested in South India to produce brooms,to present a conceptual framework illustrating how intensive harvest of a common species interacts with other anthropogenic management practices,plant-animal interactions and surrounding environmental conditions.Methods:We apply this framework to understanding the impacts of mountain date palm harvest in the southern Western Ghats regions of the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.We integrate data on the extent and levels of commercial harvest,local management practices,the ecological context in which harvest occurs,and research on harvest effects.We use this information to document the intensity and extent of mountain date palm harvest in the study area,identify the ecological implications of harvest,and demonstrate how a framework that considers harvest in the context of ecological communities and ecosystems is important for assessing the impacts of harvest of common NTFP species.Results:We show that mountain date palm leaves are heavily harvested from natural areas in the southern Western Ghats but that harvest levels have declined in recent years.Mountain date palm management and harvest occur within a network of ecological interactions,linking human activities to population-,community-,and ecosystem-level processes.We demonstrate that understanding the effects of return interval of anthropogenic fire,herbivory by wild animals and livestock,as well as the light environment in which harvest occurs are critical to assessing the sustainability of mountain date palm harvest.Conclusions:By considering mountain date palm leaf harvest in the context of ecological interactions at multiple scales,our findings show that sustainability cannot be assessed only from a population-level perspective.This general framework highlights the need to incorporate ecosystem-and community-level properties and processes more frequently into assessments of the sustainability of NTFP harvest—especially for widespread and common species—to ensure that their important economic and ecological roles are maintained.

Digital Noah's Ark:last chance to save the endangered species

Global biodiversity is undergoing dramatic loss,mostly due to anthropogenic actions and climate change.Around 2.3seed plants died out each year in the past 2.5 centuries(Humphreys et al.,2019).Current species extinction rates are about 1,000 times the likely background rate of extinction(Pimm et al.,2014).

Exploring marine endosymbiosis systems with omics techniques

Endosymbiosis is the phenomenon where one organism lives inside another,usually in a mutualistic way.In this system,the hosts provide shelter and nutrients to the endosymbionts,who could affect the hosts in a physiological(Sommer and B?ckhed,2013),behavioral(Ezenwa et al.,2012),and evolutionary(Perlmutter and Bordenstein,2020)way.