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Capacity building needed to reap the benefits of access to biodiversity collections
Get PDF•Societal Impact Statement: Global conservation efforts increasingly depend on digitised natural history collections, yet the benefits of this digital data are not equally shared. We analysed biodiversity specimens and citation data from Montserrat and the Cayman Islands to assess who collected these specimens, how they are used, and by whom. We found that despite increased accessibility, research using these data is still dominated by institutions in the Global North, with limited involvement or benefit for local communities. Our findings underscore the urgent need for investment in training, infrastructure, and equitable partnerships to ensure long‐term conservation capacity in biodiverse but under‐resourced regions.
•Summary: This research examines biodiversity specimens from two areas of the Caribbean to understand patterns of collection and the roles of the people involved. Using open data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Wikidata, we aimed to uncover geographic and historical trends in specimen use. This study aims to provide concrete evidence to guide collaboration between collection‐holding institutions and the communities that need their resources most.
•We analysed biodiversity specimens from Montserrat and the Cayman Islands in three steps. First, we extracted specimen data from GBIF, disambiguated collector names, and linked them to unique biographical entries. Next, we connected collectors to their publications and specimens. Finally, we analysed the modern use of these specimens through citation data, mapping author affiliations and research themes.
•Specimens are predominantly housed in the Global North and were initially used by their collectors, whose focus was largely on taxonomy and biogeography. With digitisation, use of these collections remains concentrated in the Global North and covers a broader range of subjects, although Brazil and China stand out as significant users of digital collection data compared to other similar countries.
•The availability of open digital data from collections in the Global North has led to a substantial increase in the reuse of these data across biodiversity science. Nonetheless, most research using these data is still conducted in the Global North. For the non‐monetary benefits of digitisation to extend to the countries of origin, capacity building in the Global South is crucial, and Open Data alone are insufficient
Surveillance of avian influenza through bird guano in remote regions of the global south to uncover transmission dynamics
Get PDFAvian influenza viruses (AIVs) pose a growing global health threat, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where limited surveillance capacity and under-resourced healthcare systems hinder timely detection and response. Migratory birds play a significant role in the transboundary spread of AIVs, yet data from key regions along migratory flyways remain sparse. To address these surveillance gaps, we conducted a study between December 2021 and February 2023 using fresh bird guano collected across 10 countries in the Global South. Here, we show that remote, uninhabited regions in previously unsampled areas harbor a high diversity of AIV strains, with H5N1 emerging as the most prevalent. Some of these H5N1 samples also carry mutations that may make them less responsive to the antiviral drug oseltamivir. Our findings documented the presence of AIVs in several underrepresented regions and highlighted critical transmission hotspots where viral evolution may be accelerating. These results underscore the urgent need for geographically targeted surveillance to detect emerging variants, inform public health interventions, and reduce the risk of zoonotic spillover
Precision ecology for targeted conservation action
No full textAddressing the coupled threats of catastrophic climate change and biodiversity loss requires implementation of conservation and restoration actions globally. However, on-the-ground action is hindered by context dependency: the ubiquitous challenge that implementation outcomes vary from place to place due to complex dependencies among social and ecological drivers. Policymakers and practitioners recognize the need to tailor solutions to contexts, and target actions to places where they will work effectively. To provide information for decision-making, applied ecologists can learn from medicine and marketing, which aim to provide healthcare tailored to individual patients, and advertisements targeting individual tastes. These disciplines exploit big data and rapidly developing computational advances to predict treatment effects for individual units. Here we argue why and how ecological disciplines can begin to capitalize on these rich advances, to equip ecologists with a potentially powerful toolkit for applying big data to site-specific interventions, allowing effective conservation over large extents. We review approaches that hold promise for applied ecology, identify hurdles that must be overcome and propose a roadmap for establishing the conditions that will permit adoption of precision ecology
Geotechnical data-driven possibility reliability assessment
Get PDFManaging scarce, incomplete, or corrupted data is a persistent challenge in geotechnical engineering, often leading to conservative designs. However, the ongoing digitalization has enabled access to large, national-scale databases of indirect geotechnical data containing both qualitative and quantitative information, which can be exploited to support optioneering, site characterization, and design.
Based on a newly proposed concept of possibilistic data-driven reliability, this Technical Note outlines a practical, fast, and accessible implementation procedure that does not require specialized expertise. Step-by-step guidance is provided for reliability-based assessment and design of geotechnical problems, ensuring consistency with standard code safety prescriptions.
The procedure demonstrates how to utilize possibility distributions generated from Big Indirect Databases managed by third-party administrators, such as the British Geological Survey, to derive design input values for deterministic evaluations of geotechnical capacity or limit state domains. Engineering judgement is rigorously incorporated through a three-tier ‘degree of understanding’ framework worked example of an axially-loaded pile in bilayer soil, characterized using cone penetration test data, is also provided
A multi‐scale approach to integrating rewilding into agricultural landscapes
Get PDFFinding ways to improve the sustainability of modern agriculture by recovering nature in agricultural landscapes is critical for conserving biodiversity and enhancing human well‐being. Rewilding principles could be applied to any type of landscape, which raises the possibility of employing rewilding approaches in agricultural areas while maintaining some degree of food production therein. Moving beyond the simple dichotomy of land sparing versus land sharing, here we propose a multi‐scale approach that integrates rewilding principles into agricultural landscapes by combining the creation of wilder ecosystems in separate set‐aside recovered areas with the implementation of farming approaches that are more sustainable, such as precision farming, ecologically intensified farming, and extensive farming, in adjacent areas. Adoption of such approaches would allow for more biodiversity elements to persist within the agricultural matrix. We explain how this approach could support the three critical components of rewilded land—dispersal, trophic complexity, and stochastic disturbances—and create agroecological landscapes that are biodiverse, resilient, and functionally connected at multiple scales
Pervasive speleogenetic modification of cave passages by nitrification of biogenic ammonia
Get PDFIt has long been known that guano deposits from animals in caves can cause localised biogenic modification through a combination of acidity and altered environmental conditions, such as increased humidity and CO2. Geomorphological and geochemical evidence from the caves in the Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, suggest this biogenic overprint may be far more widespread than previously thought due to microbial metabolic activity. Based on our observations, we propose a novel method of secondary cave enlargement by the conversion of highly soluble ammonia gas released by bat and swiftlet guano to NOx on surfaces by microbial ammonia oxidation. Our data suggest this activity produces aggressive nitric acid solutions on moist cave walls, accelerating limestone dissolution. This previously undescribed cave enlargement process has potentially profound geomorphological implications, as the original passage morphologies (which are used to interpret speleogenesis and landscape evolution) are erased and replaced with a distinctive suite of biogenic corrosion features. Such findings significantly alter our understanding of post-speleogenetic modification and secondary enlargement of caves in tropic environments
Sedimentary evolution of debris avalanche deposits of the Lower Cretaceous Xiguayuan Formation, Luanping Basin, North China
No full textDebris avalanche or mass transport processes form sedimentologically and lithologically heterogeneous deposits that are commonly observed in lacustrine and marine basins. Debris avalanche and mass transport deposits have been recorded and extensively described in various marine settings, where they are well‐known for forming both reservoir and sealing lithologies. In comparison, there are far fewer studies that focus upon coarse‐grained debris avalanche deposits and mass transport deposits in semi‐deep to deep‐lacustrine settings, and in particular examples formed within small rift basins where their character and distribution remain relatively under‐explored. This study characterizes the Wangying Debris Avalanche Deposit, which is located on the northern margin of the Yanshan Orogenic Belt, within the North China Block. This study employs detailed analytical techniques, including core observations, thin section analysis, grain‐size analysis, detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology and field outcrop studies. The studied interval is divided into 18 lithofacies, which together comprise eight separate facies associations, including the slope system (Facies Association 1), internal Wangying Debris Avalanche Deposit (Facies Association 2), fringe of the Wangying Debris Avalanche Deposit (Facies Association 3), distal fringe of the Wangying Debris Avalanche Deposit (Facies Association 4), jigsaw‐fractured conglomerate (Facies Association 5), deformed bedded gravelly sandstone (Facies Association 6), channelized gravity flow deposits (Facies Association 7) and pyroclastic deposits (Facies Association 8); the latter two facies associations comprise the substrate of the Wangying Debris Avalanche Deposit. Based on this, the Wangying Debris Avalanche Deposit is divided into four ‘depozones’, including the slope system, proximal zone, central zone and distal zone; the distal zone is subdivided into the inner distal zone and outer distal zone. Intermediate transitional belts exist between each zone, which display structural (kinematic) characteristics, including extension at the head of the proximal zone, compression in the front of the proximal zone, shearing in the central zone, compression in the inner distal zone and extension in the outer distal zone. The sedimentological products of multiple rheological transitions were identified and recorded within each debris avalanche deposit, including the evolution from debris avalanches to high‐density turbidity currents and debris flows. Overall, with increasing transport distance of the Wangying Debris Avalanche Deposit, the amount of preserved coarse debris decreased, while the matrix content increased. Based on maximum depositional ages estimated from new detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology data, the Wangying Debris Avalanche Deposit was formed between 124.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 127.6 ± 1.7 Ma. The findings contribute to the general understanding of flow processes of coarse‐grained sub‐aqueous debris avalanches and more specifically the development of debris avalanches in ancient deep‐lake settings. Such deposits are important to understand within deep‐lacustrine rift basin settings as they are increasingly important sedimentary systems for hydrocarbon exploration and other subsurface utilization purposes
Seasonally migrating zooplankton strongly enhance Southern Ocean carbon sequestration
No full textHigh‐latitude zooplankton can sequester millions of tons of carbon due to their seasonal migration from the surface ocean to depth, and their respiration and mortality during overwintering. This seasonal vertical migration pump (SVMP) efficiently removes carbon but not limiting nutrients such as iron from the surface layers. However, this process is not included in Earth System Models and whole Southern Ocean estimates are still lacking. Here, we compile large datasets of Southern Ocean zooplankton biomass and physiology to estimate that the SVMP transports 65 Mt carbon annually to sequestration‐achieving depths of > 500 m. Mesozooplankton are the main agents (80%), followed by krill (14%), and salps (6%), with respiration and mortality at depth contributing a similar share. This SVMP adds greatly to existing modeled or measured estimates of Southern Ocean carbon sequestration, equating to 38–56% of particulate organic carbon flux at 500 m and 78–103% of the flux at 1000 m. Given their large biomass but projected change under polar warming, understanding how zooplankton transport carbon and nutrients will underpin improved model projections of ocean carbon storage in a warmer world
What evidence exists on the application of biocultural approaches within infectious disease research from low- and middle-income countries? A scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature
Get PDFThere is increasing research interest in bio or socio-cultural approaches in the context of infectious disease challenges, predicated on the notion that addressing health inequities in poor and marginalised populations requires nuanced, place-based understanding of the burden and impacts of health problems and associated factors determining health status and outcomes. Yet, to date, there is no systematic synthesis of how extant studies have used a biocultural approach to characterise social vulnerability in the context of zoonoses affecting humans, especially in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). We conducted a scoping review of the scientific literature that have applied biocultural approaches within zoonoses research from LMICs. In total 43 studies were reviewed mostly from Africa (n = 24), followed by Asia (n = 12) and Latin America (n = 1). Ebola virus disease (n = 13) was the topmost disease of research interest, with reported studies mostly led by authors affiliated to Global North higher education institutions (particularly in the USA). Overall, the review showed that place-based differences and cultural systems are important determinants of vulnerability to many reported disease hazards across LMIC settings. Biocultural approaches are not holistically considered within zoonoses research and largely inclined towards the ‘cultural’ (n = 38) relative to the ‘biological’ (n = 5) aspect that influenced place-based resource use and health decision-making. The top three biocultural categories used were: livelihood practices, beliefs and knowledge systems. Twenty-five social vulnerability indicators (categorised into 6 components) were identified of which at-risk population demography (e.g. children, % of adults), education and socioeconomic status were commonly reported. Altogether, the review highlights the untapped potential of bio-culturally-informed research in advancing granular, place-based understanding of the complex socioecological, political and cultural factors that can lead to differences in disease vulnerabilities and capacities of different populations to adapt
Constraining the fluid sources of gold-bearing veins in orogenic belts using sulfur and lead isotopes: a case study from Loch Tay, Scotland (UK)
Get PDFUnpicking the fluid and metal sources, and the number of mineralizing events, can be challenging because fluids from different origins mix and can overprint existing mineralization. Crustal and/or basinal fluids may play a role in “diluting” magmatic or mantle fluids and can have a significant impact on the isotope composition of the precipitated phases in an ore deposit, which ultimately leads to difficulties in classifying the deposit style. We present a case study of this problem from the southern margin of Loch Tay (Scotland). The results from sulfur and lead isotope studies indicate that magmatic-hydrothermal processes were responsible for the establishment of the mineralizing system, but this signature gets progressively obscured in some localities due to mixing between magmatic-hydrothermal and crustal fluids. Indications of two separate mineralization events have been observed, but differentiating the first stage from the second one is challenging. Our study demonstrates the need to understand the characteristics of the mineral system and the geological setting to support robust interpretation. The results also have implications for regional exploration models: we suggest that the majority of the auriferous vein occurrences at Loch Tay are probably of a magmatic origin, rather than of an “orogenic gold” type. Furthermore, the veins around Loch Tay provide a case study of how vein-hosted gold mineralization with some orogenic characteristics may be related to magmatism, suggesting that isotope data from other auriferous veins globally may be misinterpreted due to fluid mixing, particularly if the regional context is poorly understood
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