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- Abila, R., et al.
(författare)
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Oil extraction imperils Africa’s Great Lakes
- 2016
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 354:6312, s. 561-562
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As the world's demands for hydrocarbons increase (1), remote areas previously made inaccessible by technological limitations are now being prospected for oil and gas deposits. Virtually unnoticed by the public, such activities are ongoing in the East African Great Lakes region, threatening these ecosystems famed for their hyper-diverse biota, including the unique adaptive radiations of cichlid fishes (2). Countries in the region see exploitation of hydrocarbon reserves as a vital economic opportunity. In the Lake Albert region of Uganda, for example, the government foresees a $3.6 billion oil profit per year starting in 2018—a sum almost as high as the country's current annual budget (3). However, oil extraction in the East African Great Lakes region poses grave risks to the environment and local communities.
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| 2. |
- Adrian-Kalchhauser, I., et al.
(författare)
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The round goby genome provides insights into mechanisms that may facilitate biological invasions
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMC Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1741-7007. ; 18:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The invasive benthic round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is the most successful temperate invasive fish and has spread in aquatic ecosystems on both sides of the Atlantic. Invasive species constitute powerful in situ experimental systems to study fast adaptation and directional selection on short ecological timescales and present promising case studies to understand factors involved the impressive ability of some species to colonize novel environments. We seize the unique opportunity presented by the round goby invasion to study genomic substrates potentially involved in colonization success. Results We report a highly contiguous long-read-based genome and analyze gene families that we hypothesize to relate to the ability of these fish to deal with novel environments. The analyses provide novel insights from the large evolutionary scale to the small species-specific scale. We describe expansions in specific cytochrome P450 enzymes, a remarkably diverse innate immune system, an ancient duplication in red light vision accompanied by red skin fluorescence, evolutionary patterns of epigenetic regulators, and the presence of osmoregulatory genes that may have contributed to the round goby's capacity to invade cold and salty waters. A recurring theme across all analyzed gene families is gene expansions. Conclusions The expanded innate immune system of round goby may potentially contribute to its ability to colonize novel areas. Since other gene families also feature copy number expansions in the round goby, and since other Gobiidae also feature fascinating environmental adaptations and are excellent colonizers, further long-read genome approaches across the goby family may reveal whether gene copy number expansions are more generally related to the ability to conquer new habitats in Gobiidae or in fish.
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| 3. |
- Fox, Anthony D., et al.
(författare)
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Recent changes in the abundance of Common Pochard Aythya ferina breeding in Europe
- 2016
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Ingår i: Wildfowl. - 0954-6324. ; 66, s. 22-40
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- National accounts suggest that the Common Pochard Aythya ferina was an uncommon breeding bird throughout western Europe before 1850. Extensions to the breeding range in the late 19th century were potentially aided by the rapid development of managed fish-ponds in eastern Europe, which provided suitable novel habitat at that time. Expansion into western Europe followed in subsequent decades. Wetland and waterbody eutrophication throughout Europe, which likely provided food and cover for the birds, may have accelerated the rapid expansion from the 1950s until the early 1980s. Widespread declines in the last 30 years, especially in eastern Europe, where breeding numbers are highest, are possibly linked to intensification and/or abandonment of freshwater fish farming and changes in water quality. Studies show that Pochard gain fitness benefits from nesting in Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus colonies and hence has been affected by major losses of European gull colonies in the last 30 years. The spread of alien fish species such as the Carp Cyprinus carpio, which compete with Pochard for food resources, is a problem in the Mediterranean region. Changing predation pressures (in some cases linked to invasive alien mammals) are also implicated in some areas. Relatively modest numbers breeding in the UK, France and the Netherlands have remained stable or increased over the same recent span of years, confirming that different factors currently affect Pochard breeding abundance throughout its range. We urgently need better information relating to key factors affecting Pochard breeding success and abundance, which is currently showing an unfavourable conservation status throughout much of Europe.
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