Innovative approach highlights marine heatwaves’ impacts on seagrass ecosystems
Seagrass meadows, essential to marine biodiversity and ecosystem services, are increasingly threatened by climate change, especially marine heatwaves.
Researchers have introduced a cutting-edge methodology combining Dynamic Bayesian Networks with climate models to assess ecosystem resilience. This study developed innovative metrics to measure seagrass shoot density and biomass relative to baseline conditions, incorporating recovery time projections and uncertainties.
The findings revealed variable resilience in Zostera muelleri within Gladstone Harbour, Australia, under different Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). Optimistic scenarios like SSP1-1.9 showed potential for partial recovery within 12 to 18 years, while pessimistic SSP5-8.5 scenarios indicated irreversible decline after 2038.
Published in PLOS ONE, this research offers a significant advancement in ecological forecasting and climate adaptation strategies applicable to diverse marine environments.
Journal Reference:
Hatum PS, McMahon K, Mengersen K, K. McWhorter J, Wu PP-Y, ‘In hot water: Uncertainties in projecting marine heatwaves impacts on seagrass meadows’, PLOS ONE 19 (11): e0298853 (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298853
Article Source: PLOS
Human values linked to social value orientation in behavioral study
A new study investigates the interplay between personal human values and social value orientation (SVO) using data from 1,655 university students.
The research found that pro-social individuals scored significantly higher on Benevolence, Universalism, and Conformity values, reflecting their focus on others’ well-being. In contrast, pro-self individuals, including Competitors and Individualists, prioritized Hedonic, Achievement, and Power values. Notably, no differences emerged for Tradition, Security, Self-direction, or Stimulation values.
Published in PLOS ONE, the study advances understanding of the psychological processes behind SVO, providing insights into how personal values influence social and self-oriented behaviors.
Journal Reference:
Nezlek JB, ‘Relationships between personal human values and social value orientation’, PLOS ONE 19 (11): e0312795 (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312795
Article Source: PLOS
Cultural tightness offers insights into disaster resilience
Understanding how cultural adaptations enable resilience against environmental shocks, a recent study utilized mathematical modeling to explore norm strength in nonindustrial societies.
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the findings highlight that cultural looseness facilitates adaptation to mild, slow-onset shocks, while intermediate tightness levels are essential for coping with severe, fast-onset shocks.
Societies with high norm tightness performed well in predictable environments but struggled with novel challenges. These insights are critical for crafting localized strategies to mitigate climate-related disasters affecting vulnerable communities, including indigenous groups.
Journal Reference:
D. Tverskoi, C.R. Ember, M.J. Gelfand, E.C. Jones, I. Skoggard, L. Toutée, S. Gavrilets, ‘Cultural tightness and resilience against environmental shocks in nonindustrial societies’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121 (49): e2403386121 (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2403386121
Article Source: PNAS
Paddy soil phages enhance global carbon sequestration under stress
Paddy soils play a critical role in global carbon cycling, but the impact of phage-host interactions on carbon sequestration under environmental stress remains poorly understood.
Researchers demonstrated that heavy metal contamination elevates the expression of carbon fixation auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) in soil phages, increasing microbial biomass carbon by 35.4% and reducing CO2 emissions by 17.9%.
Published in PNAS, the study underscores the potential of lysogenic phages to enhance carbon sequestration, offering innovative avenues for mitigating climate change in polluted environments.
Journal Reference:
D. Zhu, S. Liu, M. Sun, X. Yi, G. Duan, M. Ye, M.R. Gillings, Y. Zhu, ‘Adaptive expression of phage auxiliary metabolic genes in paddy soils and their contribution toward global carbon sequestration’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121 (49): e2419798121 (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2419798121
Article Source: PNAS
Continental freshwater flow impacts salinity near global megadeltas
Continental freshwater discharge significantly influences sea surface salinity (SSS) near the world’s megadeltas, according to a global analysis of 48 global deltas using satellite and observational datasets.
Published in PNAS, the study revealed robust negative correlations between streamflow and SSS, with variations linked to climate zones, basin size, and anthropogenic factors.
The findings of this study have important implications for global hydrology, freshwater ecosystems, and marine environments. They suggest that freshwater discharge into the ocean plays a significant role in shaping sea surface salinity, which is a key factor in the thermohaline circulation of oceans. Understanding this relationship contributes to broader knowledge about the interconnected nature of land and ocean systems and the potential impacts of human activity on these systems.
The study calls for more sustainable water management practices and policies to ensure equitable access to freshwater as climate change progresses.
Journal Reference:
F.K. Khadim, A. Getirana, R. Bindlish, N. Kumar Biswas, W. Nie, T.M. Lahmers, S.V. Kumar, ‘Continental freshwater discharge influences sea surface salinity variability near world’s megadeltas’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121 (49): e2412551121 (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2412551121
Article Source: PNAS
Other science articles published this week
Understanding differential heat tolerance of the threatened mountainous star coral Orbicella faveolata from inshore and offshore reef sites in the Florida Keys using gene network analysis (Aguilar C, Enochs IC, Cohen K, Chomiak L, Kolodziej G, Baker AC, et al. (2024) PLOS Climate 3 (11): e0000403) | DOI: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000403
A multi-year analysis of acoustic occurrence and habitat use of blue and fin whales in eastern and central Fram Strait (Meister M, Schall E, Dziak R, Spiesecke S, Thomisch K, (2024) PLoS ONE 19 (11): e0314369) | DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314369
Quantitative modelling for dengue and Aedes mosquitoes in Africa: A systematic review of current approaches and future directions for Early Warning System development (Njotto LL, Senyoni W, Cronie O, Alifrangis M, Stensgaard A-S (2024) PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 18 (11): e0012679) | DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012679
Computing the social costs of carbon through Coase bargaining in the context of an offsetting program in the Venetian lagoon (Onofri, L., Markandya, A. (2024) Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 11, 1630) | DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024-03870-0
Multigenerational hybridisation results in heterosis and facilitates adaptive introgression, with no evidence of outbreeding depression in a pair of marine gastropods (Cummins, D., Johnson, M.S., Tomkins, J.L. et al. (2024) Heredity) | DOI: 10.1038/s41437-024-00736-8
The mortality impacts of greening Italy (Giannico, O.V., Sardone, R., Bisceglia, L. et al. (2024) Nature Communications 15, 10452) | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54388-7
Identification of climate change hotspots in the Mediterranean (Lazoglou, G., Papadopoulos-Zachos, A., Georgiades, P. et al. (2024) Scientific Reports 14, 29817) | DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-80139-1
Future land carbon removals in China consistent with national inventory (He, Y., Piao, S., Ciais, P. et al. (2024) Nature Communications 15, 10426) | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54846-2
A technical survey on practical applications and guidelines for IoT sensors in precision agriculture and viticulture (Pascoal, D., Silva, N., Adão, T. et al. (2024) Scientific Reports 14, 29793) | DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-80924-y
Promoting sustainable cities through creating social empathy between new urban populations and planners (Szaboova, L., Adger, W.N., Safra de Campos, R. et al. (2024) npj Urban Sustainability 4, 52) | DOI: 10.1038/s42949-024-00189-2
Informative risk analyses of radiative forcing geoengineering require proper counterfactuals (Lee, W.R., Diamond, M.S., Irvine, P. et al. (2024) Communications Earth & Environment 5, 748) | DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01881-y
The timing of marine heatwaves during the moulting cycle affects performance of decapod larvae (Bruning, M.J., Véliz, D., Rojas-Hernández, N. et al. (2024) Scientific Reports 14, 29800) | DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-81258-5
Predictability of tropical Pacific decadal variability is dominated by oceanic Rossby waves (Wu, X., Yeager, S.G., Deser, C. et al. (2024) npj Climate and Atmospheric Science 7, 292) | DOI: 10.1038/s41612-024-00851-7
Internal variability of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation longitudinal displacements (Santolaria-Otín, M., García-Serrano, J. (2024) npj Climate and Atmospheric Science 7, 291) | DOI: 10.1038/s41612-024-00842-8
Impact of computing infrastructure on carbon emissions in China (Mao, F., Wei, Y. & Wang, Y. (2024) Scientific Reports 14, 29814) | DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-81677-4
Soil fungi remain active and invest in storage compounds during drought independent of future climate conditions (Canarini, A., Fuchslueger, L., Schnecker, J. et al. (2024) Nature Communications 15, 10410) | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54537-y
Unraveling the relation between carbon emission and carbon footprint: A literature review and framework for sustainable transportation (Ling, C., Tang, J., Zhao, P. et al. (2024) npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport 1, 13) | DOI: 10.1038/s44333-024-00013-5
Potential increase of neurotoxic mercury risk in global blue carbon nature-based solutions (Ci, Z., Shen, W., Chen, B. et al. (2024) Nature Sustainability) | DOI: 10.1038/s41893-024-01471-y
Enhanced wind mixing and deepened mixed layer in the Pacific Arctic shelf seas with low summer sea ice (Wang, Y., Feng, Z., Lin, P. et al. (2024) Nature Communications 15, 10389) | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54733-w
Effects of fine particulate matter air pollution on survival of Heliconius ethilla (Godart, 1819) (Charpinel, A.M.M., Féres, J.C. & Barreto, F.C.C. (2024) Scientific Reports 14, 29710) | DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-78347-w
Sea level rise and coastal flooding risks in the Gulf of Guinea (Ghomsi, F.E.K., Nyberg, B., Raj, R.P. et al. (2024) Scientific Reports 14, 29551). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-80748-w
Deep learning for predicting rate-induced tipping (Huang, Y., Bathiany, S., Ashwin, P. et al. (2024) Nature Machine Intelligence) | DOI: 10.1038/s42256-024-00937-0
Inefficient transfer of diatoms through the subpolar Southern Ocean twilight zone (Williams, J.R., Giering, S.L.C., Baker, C.A. et al. (2024) Nature Geoscience) | DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01602-2
Coordination between deformation, precipitation, and erosion during orogenic growth (Yuan, X., Li, Y., Brune, S. et al. (2024) Nature Communications 15, 10362) | DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54690-4
Enhanced warming and bacterial biomass production as key factors for coastal hypoxia in the southwestern Baltic Sea (Hepach, H., Piontek, J., Bange, H.W. et al. (2024) Scientific Reports 14, 29442) | DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-80451-w
Featured image credit: kjpargeter | Freepik
