TY - JOUR A1 - Nendel, Claas A1 - Reckling, Moritz A1 - Debaeke, Philippe A1 - Schulz, Susanne A1 - Berg-Mohnicke, Michael A1 - Constantin, Julie A1 - Fronzek, Stefan A1 - Hoffmann, Munir A1 - Jakšić, Snežana A1 - Kersebaum, Kurt-Christian A1 - Klimek-Kopyra, Agnieszka A1 - Raynal, Hélène A1 - Schoving, Céline A1 - Stella, Tommaso A1 - Battisti, Rafael T1 - Future area expansion outweighs increasing drought risk for soybean in Europe JF - Global change biology N2 - The European Union is highly dependent on soybean imports from overseas to meet its protein demands. Individual Member States have been quick to declare self-sufficiency targets for plant-based proteins, but detailed strategies are still lacking. Rising global temperatures have painted an image of a bright future for soybean production in Europe, but emerging climatic risks such as drought have so far not been included in any of those outlooks. Here, we present simulations of future soybean production and the most prominent risk factors across Europe using an ensemble of climate and soybean growth models. Projections suggest a substantial increase in potential soybean production area and productivity in Central Europe, while southern European production would become increasingly dependent on supplementary irrigation. Average productivity would rise by 8.3% (RCP 4.5) to 8.7% (RCP 8.5) as a result of improved growing conditions (plant physiology benefiting from rising temperature and CO2 levels) and farmers adapting to them by using cultivars with longer phenological cycles. Suitable production area would rise by 31.4% (RCP 4.5) to 37.7% (RCP 8.5) by the mid-century, contributing considerably more than productivity increase to the production potential for closing the protein gap in Europe. While wet conditions at harvest and incidental cold spells are the current key challenges for extending soybean production, the models and climate data analysis anticipate that drought and heat will become the dominant limitations in the future. Breeding for heat-tolerant and water-efficient genotypes is needed to further improve soybean adaptation to changing climatic conditions. KW - genotypes KW - legumes KW - maturity groups KW - protein crops KW - protein transition KW - resilience Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16562 SN - 1354-1013 SN - 1365-2486 VL - 29 IS - 5 SP - 1340 EP - 1358 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Ocford [u.a] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Shikangalah, Rosemary A1 - Mapani, Benjamin A1 - Mapaure, Isaac A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Responsiveness of Dichrostachys cinerea to seasonal variations in temperature and rainfall in central Namibia JF - Flora N2 - Woody plants provide natural archives of climatic variation which can be investigated by applying dendroclimatological methods. Such studies are limited in Southern Africa but have great potential of improving our understanding of past climates and plant functional adaptations in the region. This study therefore investigated the responsiveness of Dichrostachys cinerea to seasonal variations in temperature and rainfall at two sites in central Namibia, Waterberg and Kuzikus. Dichrostachys cinerea is one of the encroacher species thriving well in Namibia. A moving correlation and response function analysis were used to test its responsiveness to seasonal climatic variations over time. Dichrostachys cinerea growth rings showed relationships to late summer warming, lasting up to half of the rainy season. The results also revealed that past temperatures had been fluctuating and their influence on growth rings had been intensifying over the years, but to varying extents between the two sites. Temperature was a more important determinant of ring growth at the drier site (Kuzikus), while rainfall was more important at the wetter site (Waterberg). Growth ring responsiveness to rainfall was not immediate but showed a rather lagged pattern. We conclude that D. cinerea differentially responds to variations in rainfall and temperature across short climatic gradients. This study showed that the species, due to its somewhat wide ecological amplitude, has great potential for dendroclimatological studies in tropical regions. KW - Dendroclimatology KW - Dichrostachys cinerea KW - Growth rings KW - Namibia KW - Seasonal variation Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2021.151974 SN - 0367-2530 SN - 1618-0585 VL - 286 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pohanková, Eva A1 - Hlavinka, Petr A1 - Kersebaum, Kurt-Christian A1 - Rodríguez, Alfredo A1 - Balek, Jan A1 - Bednařík, Martin A1 - Dubrovský, Martin A1 - Gobin, Anne A1 - Hoogenboom, Gerrit A1 - Moriondo, Marco A1 - Nendel, Claas A1 - Olesen, Jørgen E. E. A1 - Rötter, Reimund Paul A1 - Ruiz-Ramos, Margarita A1 - Shelia, Vakhtang A1 - Stella, Tommaso A1 - Hoffmann, Munir Paul A1 - Takáč, Jozef A1 - Eitzinger, Josef A1 - Dibari, Camilla A1 - Ferrise, Roberto A1 - Bláhová, Monika A1 - Trnka, Miroslav T1 - Expected effects of climate change on the production and water use of crop rotation management reproduced by crop model ensemble for Czech Republic sites JF - European journal of agronomy N2 - Crop rotation, fertilization and residue management affect the water balance and crop production and can lead to different sensitivities to climate change. To assess the impacts of climate change on crop rotations (CRs), the crop model ensemble (APSIM,AQUACROP, CROPSYST, DAISY, DSSAT, HERMES, MONICA) was used. The yields and water balance of two CRs with the same set of crops (winter wheat, silage maize, spring barley and winter rape) in a continuous transient run from 1961 to 2080 were simulated. CR1 was without cover crops and without manure application. Straw after the harvest was exported from the fields. CR2 included cover crops, manure application and crop residue retention left on field. Simulations were performed using two soil types (Chernozem, Cambisol) within three sites in the Czech Republic, which represent temperature and precipitation gradients for crops in Central Europe. For the description of future climatic conditions, seven climate scenarios were used. Six of them had increasing CO & nbsp;concentrations according RCP 8.5, one had no CO2 increase in the future. The output of an ensemble expected higher productivity by 0.82 t/ha/year and 2.04 t/ha/year for yields and aboveground biomass in the future (2051-2080). However, if the direct effect of a CO2 increase is not considered, the average yields for lowlands will be lower. Compared to CR1, CR2 showed higher average yields of 1.26 t/ha/year for current climatic conditions and 1.41 t/ha/year for future climatic conditions. For the majority of climate change scenarios, the crop model ensemble agrees on the projected yield increase in C3 crops in the future for CR2 but not for CR1. Higher agreement for future yield increases was found for Chernozem, while for Cambisol, lower yields under dry climate scenarios are expected. For silage maize, changes in simulated yields depend on locality. If the same hybrid will be used in the future, then yield reductions should be expected within lower altitudes. The results indicate the potential for higher biomass production from cover crops, but CR2 is associated with almost 120 mm higher evapotranspiration compared to that of CR1 over a 5-year cycle for lowland stations in the future, which in the case of the rainfed agriculture could affect the long-term soil water balance. This could affect groundwater replenishment, especially for locations with fine textured soils, although the findings of this study highlight the potential for the soil water-holding capacity to buffer against the adverse weather conditions. KW - Yields KW - Evapotranspiration KW - Winter wheat KW - Silage maize KW - Spring barley KW - Winter oilseed rape Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2021.126446 SN - 1161-0301 SN - 1873-7331 VL - 134 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, Enli A1 - He, Di A1 - Wang, Jing A1 - Lilley, Julianne M. A1 - Christy, Brendan A1 - Hoffmann, Munir P. A1 - O'Leary, Garry A1 - Hatfield, Jerry L. A1 - Ledda, Luigi A1 - Deligios, Paola A. A1 - Grant, Brian A1 - Jing, Qi A1 - Nendel, Claas A1 - Kage, Henning A1 - Qian, Budong A1 - Rezaei, Ehsan Eyshi A1 - Smith, Ward A1 - Weymann, Wiebke A1 - Ewert, Frank T1 - How reliable are current crop models for simulating growth and seed yield of canola across global sites and under future climate change? JF - Climatic change N2 - To better understand how climate change might influence global canola production, scientists from six countries have completed the first inter-comparison of eight crop models for simulating growth and seed yield of canola, based on experimental data from six sites across five countries. A sensitivity analysis was conducted with a combination of five levels of atmospheric CO2 concentrations, seven temperature changes, five precipitation changes, together with five nitrogen application rates. Our results were in several aspects different from those of previous model inter-comparison studies for wheat, maize, rice, and potato crops. A partial model calibration only on phenology led to very poor simulation of aboveground biomass and seed yield of canola, even from the ensemble median or mean. A full calibration with additional data of leaf area index, biomass, and yield from one treatment at each site reduced simulation error of seed yield from 43.8 to 18.0%, but the uncertainty in simulation results remained large. Such calibration (with data from one treatment) was not able to constrain model parameters to reduce simulation uncertainty across the wide range of environments. Using a multi-model ensemble mean or median reduced the uncertainty of yield simulations, but the simulation error remained much larger than observation errors, indicating no guarantee that the ensemble mean/median would predict the correct responses. Using multi-model ensemble median, canola yield was projected to decline with rising temperature (2.5-5.7% per degrees C), but to increase with increasing CO2 concentration (4.6-8.3% per 100-ppm), rainfall (2.1-6.1% per 10% increase), and nitrogen rates (1.3-6.0% per 10% increase) depending on locations. Due to the large uncertainty, these results need to be treated with caution. We further discuss the need to collect new data to improve modelling of several key physiological processes of canola for increased confidence in future climate impact assessments. KW - AgMIP KW - Brassica napus L. KW - Model calibration KW - Model improvement; KW - Multimodel ensemble KW - Sensitivity analysis Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-022-03375-2 SN - 0165-0009 SN - 1573-1480 VL - 172 IS - 1-2 PB - Springer Nature CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - McHuron, Elizabeth A. A1 - Adamczak, Stephanie A1 - Arnould, John P. Y. A1 - Ashe, Erin A1 - Booth, Cormac A1 - Bowen, W. Don A1 - Christiansen, Fredrik A1 - Chudzinska, Magda A1 - Costa, Daniel P. A1 - Fahlman, Andreas A1 - Farmer, Nicholas A. A1 - Fortune, Sarah M. E. A1 - Gallagher, Cara A. A1 - Keen, Kelly A. A1 - Madsen, Peter T. A1 - McMahon, Clive R. A1 - Nabe-Nielsen, Jacob A1 - Noren, Dawn P. A1 - Noren, Shawn R. A1 - Pirotta, Enrico A1 - Rosen, David A. S. A1 - Speakman, Cassie N. A1 - Villegas-Amtmann, Stella A1 - Williams, Rob T1 - Key questions in marine mammal bioenergetics JF - Conservation physiology N2 - Bioenergetic approaches are increasingly used to understand how marine mammal populations could be affected by a changing and disturbed aquatic environment. There remain considerable gaps in our knowledge of marine mammal bioenergetics, which hinder the application of bioenergetic studies to inform policy decisions. We conducted a priority-setting exercise to identify high-priority unanswered questions in marine mammal bioenergetics, with an emphasis on questions relevant to conservation and management. Electronic communication and a virtual workshop were used to solicit and collate potential research questions from the marine mammal bioenergetic community. From a final list of 39 questions, 11 were identified as 'key'questions because they received votes from at least 50% of survey participants. Key questions included those related to energy intake (prey landscapes, exposure to human activities) and expenditure (field metabolic rate, exposure to human activities, lactation, time-activity budgets), energy allocation priorities, metrics of body condition and relationships with survival and reproductive success and extrapolation of data from one species to another. Existing tools to address key questions include labelled water, animal-borne sensors, mark-resight data from long-term research programs, environmental DNA and unmanned vehicles. Further validation of existing approaches and development of new methodologies are needed to comprehensively address some key questions, particularly for cetaceans. The identification of these key questions can provide a guiding framework to set research priorities, which ultimately may yield more accurate information to inform policies and better conserve marine mammal populations. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coac055 SN - 2051-1434 VL - 10 IS - 1 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sporbert, Maria A1 - Jakubka, Desiree A1 - Bucher, Solveig Franziska A1 - Hensen, Isabell A1 - Freiberg, Martin A1 - Heubach, Katja A1 - König, Andreas A1 - Nordt, Birgit A1 - Plos, Carolin A1 - Blinova, Ilona A1 - Bonn, Aletta A1 - Knickmann, Barbara A1 - Koubek, Tomáš A1 - Linstädter, Anja A1 - Mašková, Tereza A1 - Primack, Richard B. A1 - Rosche, Christoph A1 - Shah, Manzoor A. A1 - Stevens, Albert-Dieter A1 - Tielbörger, Katja A1 - Träger, Sabrina A1 - Wirth, Christian A1 - Römermann, Christine T1 - Functional traits influence patterns in vegetative and reproductive plant phenology - a multi-botanical garden study JF - New phytologist N2 - Phenology has emerged as key indicator of the biological impacts of climate change, yet the role of functional traits constraining variation in herbaceous species' phenology has received little attention. Botanical gardens are ideal places in which to investigate large numbers of species growing under common climate conditions. We ask whether interspecific variation in plant phenology is influenced by differences in functional traits. We recorded onset, end, duration and intensity of initial growth, leafing out, leaf senescence, flowering and fruiting for 212 species across five botanical gardens in Germany. We measured functional traits, including plant height, absolute and specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf carbon and nitrogen content and seed mass and accounted for species' relatedness. Closely related species showed greater similarities in timing of phenological events than expected by chance, but species' traits had a high degree of explanatory power, pointing to paramount importance of species' life-history strategies. Taller plants showed later timing of initial growth, and flowered, fruited and underwent leaf senescence later. Large-leaved species had shorter flowering and fruiting durations. Taller, large-leaved species differ in their phenology and are more competitive than smaller, small-leaved species. We assume climate warming will change plant communities' competitive hierarchies with consequences for biodiversity. KW - botanical gardens KW - first flowering day KW - growing season length KW - leaf KW - traits KW - PhenObs phenological network KW - phylogeny Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18345 SN - 0028-646X SN - 1469-8137 VL - 235 IS - 6 SP - 2199 EP - 2210 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vences, Miguel A1 - Köhler, Jörn A1 - Crottini, Angelica A1 - Hofreiter, Michael A1 - Hutter, Carl R. A1 - du Preez, Louis A1 - Preick, Michaela A1 - Rakotoarison, Andolalao A1 - Rancilhac, Loïs A1 - Raselimanana, Achille P. A1 - Rosa, Gonçalo M. A1 - Scherz, Mark D. A1 - Glaw, Frank T1 - An integrative taxonomic revision and redefinition of Gephyromantis (Laurentomantis) malagasius based on archival DNA analysis reveals four new mantellid frog species from Madagascar JF - Vertebrate zoology N2 - The subgenus Laurentomantis in the genus Gephyromantis contains some of the least known amphibian species of Madagascar. The six currently valid nominal species are rainforest frogs known from few individuals, hampering a full understanding of the species diversity of the clade. We assembled data on specimens collected during field surveys over the past 30 years and integrated analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded genes of 88 individuals, a comprehensive bioacoustic analysis, and morphological comparisons to delimit a minimum of nine species-level lineages in the subgenus. To clarify the identity of the species Gephyromantis malagasius, we applied a target-enrichment approach to a sample of the 110 year old holotype of Microphryne malagasia Methuen and Hewitt, 1913 to assign this specimen to a lineage based on a mitochondrial DNA barcode. The holotype clustered unambiguously with specimens previously named G. ventrimaculatus. Consequently we propose to consider Trachymantis malagasia ventrimaculatus Angel, 1935 as a junior synonym of Gephyromantis malagasius. Due to this redefinition of G. malagasius, no scientific name is available for any of the four deep lineages of frogs previously subsumed under this name, all characterized by red color ventrally on the hindlimbs. These are here formally named as Gephyromantis fiharimpe sp. nov., G. matsilo sp. nov., G. oelkrugi sp. nov., and G. portonae sp. nov. The new species are distinguishable from each other by genetic divergences of >4% uncorrected pairwise distance in a fragment of the 16S rRNA marker and a combination of morphological and bioacoustic characters. Gephyromantis fiharimpe and G. matsilo occur, respectively, at mid-elevations and lower elevations along a wide stretch of Madagascar's eastern rainforest band, while G. oelkrugi and G. portonae appear to be more range-restricted in parts of Madagascar's North East and Northern Central East regions. Open taxonomic questions surround G. horridus, to which we here assign specimens from Montagne d'Ambre and the type locality Nosy Be; and G. ranjomavo, which contains genetically divergent populations from Marojejy, Tsaratanana, and Ampotsidy. KW - Amphibia KW - Anura KW - archival DNA KW - Mantellidae KW - new species KW - phylogeography Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e78830 SN - 1864-5755 SN - 2625-8498 VL - 72 SP - 271 EP - 309 PB - Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung CY - Frankfurt am Main ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Esmaeilishirazifard, Elham A1 - Usher, Louise A1 - Trim, Carol A1 - Denise, Hubert A1 - Sangal, Vartul A1 - Tyson, Gregory H. A1 - Barlow, Axel A1 - Redway, Keith F. A1 - Taylor, John D. A1 - Kremyda-Vlachou, Myrto A1 - Davies, Sam A1 - Loftus, Teresa D. A1 - Lock, Mikaella M. G. A1 - Wright, Kstir A1 - Dalby, Andrew A1 - Snyder, Lori A. S. A1 - Wuster, Wolfgang A1 - Trim, Steve A1 - Moschos, Sterghios A. T1 - Bacterial adaptation to venom in snakes and arachnida JF - Microbiology spectrum N2 - Notwithstanding their 3 to 5% mortality, the 2.7 million envenomation-related injuries occurring annually-predominantly across Africa, Asia, and Latin America-are also major causes of morbidity. Venom toxin-damaged tissue will develop infections in some 75% of envenomation victims, with E. faecalis being a common culprit of disease; however, such infections are generally considered to be independent of envenomation. Animal venoms are considered sterile sources of antimicrobial compounds with strong membrane-disrupting activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria. However, venomous bite wound infections are common in developing nations. Investigating the envenomation organ and venom microbiota of five snake and two spider species, we observed venom community structures that depend on the host venomous animal species and evidenced recovery of viable microorganisms from black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis) and Indian ornamental tarantula (Poecilotheria regalis) venoms. Among the bacterial isolates recovered from N. nigricollis, we identified two venom-resistant, novel sequence types of Enterococcus faecalis whose genomes feature 16 virulence genes, indicating infectious potential, and 45 additional genes, nearly half of which improve bacterial membrane integrity. Our findings challenge the dogma of venom sterility and indicate an increased primary infection risk in the clinical management of venomous animal bite wounds. IMPORTANCE Notwithstanding their 3 to 5% mortality, the 2.7 million envenomation-related injuries occurring annually-predominantly across Africa, Asia, and Latin America-are also major causes of morbidity. Venom toxin-damaged tissue will develop infections in some 75% of envenomation victims, with E. faecalis being a common culprit of disease; however, such infections are generally considered to be independent of envenomation. Here, we provide evidence on venom microbiota across snakes and arachnida and report on the convergent evolution mechanisms that can facilitate adaptation to black-necked cobra venom in two independent E. faecalis strains, easily misidentified by biochemical diagnostics. Therefore, since inoculation with viable and virulence gene-harboring bacteria can occur during envenomation, acute infection risk management following envenomation is warranted, particularly for immunocompromised and malnourished victims in resource-limited settings. These results shed light on how bacteria evolve for survival in one of the most extreme environments on Earth and how venomous bites must be also treated for infections. KW - drug resistance evolution KW - extremophiles KW - genome analysis KW - microbiome KW - multidrug resistance KW - venom Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02408-21 SN - 2165-0497 VL - 10 IS - 3 PB - American Society for Microbiology CY - Birmingham, Ala. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Riemann, Lasse A1 - Rahav, Eyal A1 - Passow, Uta A1 - Grossart, Hans-Peter A1 - de Beer, Dirk A1 - Klawonn, Isabell A1 - Eichner, Meri A1 - Benavides, Mar A1 - Bar-Zeev, Edo T1 - Planktonic aggregates as hotspots for heterotrophic diazotrophy: the plot thickens JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - Biological dinitrogen (N-2) fixation is performed solely by specialized bacteria and archaea termed diazotrophs, introducing new reactive nitrogen into aquatic environments. Conventionally, phototrophic cyanobacteria are considered the major diazotrophs in aquatic environments. However, accumulating evidence indicates that diverse non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs (NCDs) inhabit a wide range of aquatic ecosystems, including temperate and polar latitudes, coastal environments and the deep ocean. NCDs are thus suspected to impact global nitrogen cycling decisively, yet their ecological and quantitative importance remain unknown. Here we review recent molecular and biogeochemical evidence demonstrating that pelagic NCDs inhabit and thrive especially on aggregates in diverse aquatic ecosystems. Aggregates are characterized by reduced-oxygen microzones, high C:N ratio (above Redfield) and high availability of labile carbon as compared to the ambient water. We argue that planktonic aggregates are important loci for energetically-expensive N-2 fixation by NCDs and propose a conceptual framework for aggregate-associated N-2 fixation. Future studies on aggregate-associated diazotrophy, using novel methodological approaches, are encouraged to address the ecological relevance of NCDs for nitrogen cycling in aquatic environments. KW - aggregates KW - nitrogen fixation KW - heterotrophic bacteria KW - marine KW - aquatic KW - NCDs Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.875050 SN - 1664-302X VL - 13 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schulte, Luise A1 - Meucci, Stefano A1 - Stoof-Leichsenring, Kathleen R. A1 - Heitkam, Tony A1 - Schmidt, Nicola A1 - von Hippel, Barbara A1 - Andreev, Andrei A. A1 - Diekmann, Bernhard A1 - Biskaborn, Boris A1 - Wagner, Bernd A1 - Melles, Martin A1 - Pestryakova, Lyudmila A. A1 - Alsos, Inger G. A1 - Clarke, Charlotte A1 - Krutovsky, Konstantin A1 - Herzschuh, Ulrike T1 - Larix species range dynamics in Siberia since the Last Glacial captured from sedimentary ancient DNA JF - Communications biology N2 - Climate change is expected to cause major shifts in boreal forests which are in vast areas of Siberia dominated by two species of the deciduous needle tree larch (Larix). The species differ markedly in their ecosystem functions, thus shifts in their respective ranges are of global relevance. However, drivers of species distribution are not well understood, in part because paleoecological data at species level are lacking. This study tracks Larix species distribution in time and space using target enrichment on sedimentary ancient DNA extracts from eight lakes across Siberia. We discovered that Larix sibirica, presently dominating in western Siberia, likely migrated to its northern distribution area only in the Holocene at around 10,000 years before present (ka BP), and had a much wider eastern distribution around 33 ka BP. Samples dated to the Last Glacial Maximum (around 21 ka BP), consistently show genotypes of L. gmelinii. Our results suggest climate as a strong determinant of species distribution in Larix and provide temporal and spatial data for species projection in a changing climate. Using ancient sedimentary DNA from up to 50 kya, dramatic distributional shifts are documented in two dominant boreal larch species, likely guided by environmental changes suggesting climate as a strong determinant of species distribution. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03455-0 SN - 2399-3642 VL - 5 IS - 1 PB - Springer Nature CY - London ER -