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1. New insights into biodiversity, biogeography, ecology, and evolution of marine zooplankton based on molecular approaches

   https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab198  

   Bucklin, Ann ; Peijnenburg, Katja T. C. A. ; Kosobokova, Ksenia ; Machida, Ryuji J. ; Browman, ed., Howard ( October 2021 , ICES Journal of Marine Science)

   Marine zooplankton are key players in pelagic food webs, central links in ecosystem function, useful indicators of water masses, and rapid responders to environmental variation and climate change. Characterization of biodiversity of the marine zooplankton assemblage is complicated by many factors, including systematic complexity of the assemblage, with numerous rare and cryptic species, and high local-to-global ratios of species diversity. The papers in this themed article set document important advances in molecular protocols and procedures, integration with morphological taxonomic identifications, and quantitative analyses (abundance and biomass). The studies highlight several overarching conclusions and recommendations. A primary issue is themore »continuing need for morphological taxonomic experts, who can identify species and provide voucher specimens for reference sequence databases, which are essential for biodiversity analyses based on molecular approaches. The power of metabarcoding using multi-gene markers, including both DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) and RNA (Ribonucleic Acid)templates, is demonstrated. An essential goal is the accurate identification of species across all taxonomic groups of marine zooplankton, with particular concern for detection of rare, cryptic, and invasive species. Applications of molecular approaches include analysis of trophic relationships by metabarcoding of gut contents, as well as investigation of the underlying ecological and evolutionary forces driving zooplankton diversity and structure.

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2. Marine Population Genomics: Challenges and Opportunities

   https://doi.org/10.1007/13836_2019_70  

   Oleksiak, M.F. ; Rajora, O.P. ( January 2020 , Population Genomics: Marine Organisms)

   Population genomics has provided unprecedented opportunities to unravel the mysteries of marine organisms in the oceans' depths. The world's oceans, which make up 70% of our planet, encompass diverse habitats and host numerous unexplored populations and species. Population genomics studies of marine organisms are rapidly emerging and have the potential to transform our understanding of marine populations, species, and ecosystems, providing insights into how these organisms are evolving and how they respond to different stimuli and environments. This knowledge is critical for understanding the fundamental aspects of marine life, how marine organisms will respond to environmental changes, and how wemore »can better protect and preserve marine biodiversity and resources. This book brings together leading experts in the field to address critical aspects of fundamental and applied research in marine species and share their research and insights crucial for understanding marine ecosystem diversity and function. It also discusses the challenges, opportunities and future perspectives of marine population genomics.« less
3. Molecular phylogenetic estimates of evolutionary affinities and the first reports of phenotypic variation in two secretive, endemic reptiles from the Romblon Island Group, central Philippines) from Luzon Island, the Philippines

   https://doi.org/10.26757/pjsb2020b14002  

   Meneses, C.G. ( January 2020 , Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology)

   We report on the first molecular estimates of phylogenetic relationships of Brachymeles dalawangdaliri (Scincidae) and Pseudogekko isapa (Gekkonidae), and present new data on phenotypic variation in these two poorly known taxa, endemic to the Romblon Island Group of the central Philippines. Because both species were recently described on the basis of few, relatively older, museum specimens collected in the early 1970s (when preservation of genetic material was not yet standard practice in biodiversity field inventories), neither taxon has ever been included in modern molecular phylogenetic analyses. Likewise, because the original type series for each species consisted of only a fewmore »specimens, biologists have been unable to assess standard morphological variation in either taxon, or statistically assess the importance of characters contributing to their diagnoses and identification. Here we ameliorate both historical shortfalls. First, our new genetic data allowed us to perform novel molecular phylogenetic analyses aimed at elucidating the evolutionary relationships of these lineages; secondly, with population level phenotypic data, from the first statistical sample collected for either species, and including adults of both sexes. We reaffirm the distinctiveness of both named taxa as valid species, amend their diagnoses to facilitate the recognition of both, distinguish them from congeners, and consider the biogeographic affinities of both lineages. Our contribution emphasizes the conservation significance of Sibuyan Island’s Mt. Guiting-Guiting Natural Park, the diverse, idiosyncratic biogeographic histories of its variably-assembled, highly endemic reptile fauna, and the critical importance of multiple, repeated, survey–resurvey studies for understanding forest community species composition and the evolutionary history of Philippine biodiversity.« less
4. BII-Implementation: The causes and consequences of plant biodiversity across scales in a rapidly changing world

   https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.7.e63850  

   Cavender-Bares, Jeannine ; Reich, Peter ; Townsend, Philip ; Banerjee, Arindam ; Butler, Ethan ; Desai, Ankur ; Gevens, Amanda ; Hobbie, Sarah ; Isbell, Forest ; Laliberté, Etienne ; et al ( February 2021 , Research Ideas and Outcomes)

   The proposed Biology Integration Institute will bring together two major research institutions in the Upper Midwest—the University of Minnesota (UMN) and University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW)—to investigate the causes and consequences of plant biodiversity across scales in a rapidly changing world —from genes and molecules within cells and tissues to communities, ecosystems, landscapes and the biosphere. The Institute focuses on plant biodiversity, defined broadly to encompass the heterogeneity within life that occurs from the smallest to the largest biological scales. A premise of the Institute is that life is envisioned as occurring at different scales nested within several contrasting conceptions ofmore »biological hierarchies, defined by the separate but related fields of physiology, evolutionary biology and ecology. The Institute will emphasize the use of ‘spectral biology’—detection of biological properties based on the interaction of light energy with matter—and process-oriented predictive models to investigate the processes by which biological components at one scale give rise to emergent properties at higher scales. Through an iterative process that harnesses cutting edge technologies to observe a suite of carefully designed empirical systems—including the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and some of the world’s longest running and state-of-the-art global change experiments—the Institute will advance biological understanding and theory of the causes and consequences of changes in biodiversity and at the interface of plant physiology, ecology and evolution. INTELLECTUAL MERIT The Institute brings together a diverse, gender-balanced and highly productive team with significant leadership experience that spans biological disciplines and career stages and is poised to integrate biology in new ways. Together, the team will harness the potential of spectral biology, experiments, observations and synthetic modeling in a manner never before possible to transform understanding of how variation within and among biological scales drives plant and ecosystem responses to global change over diurnal, seasonal and millennial time scales. In doing so, it will use and advance state-of-the-art theory. The institute team posits that the designed projects will unearth transformative understanding and biological rules at each of the various scales that will enable an unprecedented capacity to discern the linkages between physiological, ecological and evolutionary processes in relation to the multi-dimensional nature of biodiversity in this time of massive planetary change. A strength of the proposed Institute is that it leverages prior federal investments in research and formalizes partnerships with foreign institutions heavily invested in related biodiversity research. Most of the planned projects leverage existing research initiatives, infrastructure, working groups, experiments, training programs, and public outreach infrastructure, all of which are already highly synergistic and collaborative, and will bring together members of the overall research and training team. BROADER IMPACTS A central goal of the proposed Institute is to train the next generation of diverse integrative biologists. Post-doctoral, graduate student and undergraduate trainees, recruited from non-traditional and underrepresented groups, including through formal engagement with Native American communities, will receive a range of mentoring and training opportunities. Annual summer training workshops will be offered at UMN and UW as well as training experiences with the Global Change and Biodiversity Research Priority Program (URPP-GCB) at the University of Zurich (UZH) and through the Canadian Airborne Biodiversity Observatory (CABO). The Institute will engage diverse K-12 audiences, the general public and Native American communities through Market Science modules, Minute Earth videos, a museum exhibit and public engagement and educational activities through the Bell Museum of Natural History, the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (CCESR) and the Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Association.« less
5. Ecological limits to evolutionary rescue

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0453  

   Klausmeier, Christopher A. ; Osmond, Matthew M. ; Kremer, Colin T. ; Litchman, Elena ( December 2020 , Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)

   Environments change, for both natural and anthropogenic reasons, which can threaten species persistence. Evolutionary adaptation is a potentially powerful mechanism to allow species to persist in these changing environments. To determine the conditions under which adaptation will prevent extinction (evolutionary rescue), classic quantitative genetics models have assumed a constantly changing environment. They predict that species traits will track a moving environmental optimum with a lag that approaches a constant. If fitness is negative at this lag, the species will go extinct. There have been many elaborations of these models incorporating increased genetic realism. Here, we review and explore the consequencesmore »of four ecological complications: non-quadratic fitness functions, interacting density- and trait-dependence, species interactions and fundamental limits to adaptation. We show that non-quadratic fitness functions can result in evolutionary tipping points and existential crises, as can the interaction between density- and trait-dependent mortality. We then review the literature on how interspecific interactions affect adaptation and persistence. Finally, we suggest an alternative theoretical framework that considers bounded environmental change and fundamental limits to adaptation. A research programme that combines theory and experiments and integrates across organizational scales will be needed to predict whether adaptation will prevent species extinction in changing environments. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Integrative research perspectives on marine conservation’.« less