Limited environmental and yield benefits of intercropping practices in smallholder fields: Evidence from multi-source data (2023)
Journal Article
Li, C., Kambombe, O., Gulule Chimimba, E., Fawcett, D., Brown, L., Yu, L., …Dash, J. (2023). Limited environmental and yield benefits of intercropping practices in smallholder fields: Evidence from multi-source data. Field Crops Research, 299, Article 108974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2023.108974

Context To ensure food security in sub-Saharan Africa, it is necessary to improve crop yields while minimizing environmental impacts. Intercropping has been demonstrated to deliver such outcomes, but their performance in smallholder fields has recei... Read More about Limited environmental and yield benefits of intercropping practices in smallholder fields: Evidence from multi-source data.

Assessment of active LiDAR data and passive optical imagery for double-layered mangrove leaf area index estimation: a case study in Mai Po, Hong Kong (2023)
Journal Article
Li, Q., Kwan, F., Wong, K., Fung, T., Brown, L. A., & Dash, J. (2023). Assessment of active LiDAR data and passive optical imagery for double-layered mangrove leaf area index estimation: a case study in Mai Po, Hong Kong. Remote Sensing, 15, Article 2551. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15102551

Remote sensing technology is a timely and cost-efficient method for leaf area index (LAI) estimation, especially for less accessible areas such as mangrove forests. Confounded by the poor penetrability of optical images, most previous studies focused... Read More about Assessment of active LiDAR data and passive optical imagery for double-layered mangrove leaf area index estimation: a case study in Mai Po, Hong Kong.

Effect of metal fractions on rice grain metal uptake and biological parameters in mica mines waste contaminated soils (2023)
Journal Article
Ghosh, S., Mondal, S., Mandal, J., Mukherjee, A., & Bhattachryya, P. (2023). Effect of metal fractions on rice grain metal uptake and biological parameters in mica mines waste contaminated soils. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 136, 313-324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2022.10.038

Heavy metals from mica waste not only deteriorate the soil quality but also results in the uptake of metals in the crop. The present investigation was conducted to evaluate the effects of different fractions of metals on the uptake in rice, soil micr... Read More about Effect of metal fractions on rice grain metal uptake and biological parameters in mica mines waste contaminated soils.

Problem-solving and spontaneous tool-using ability in European Brown Bears (Ursus arctos arctos) (2023)
Journal Article
Chambers, H., & O'Hara, S. Problem-solving and spontaneous tool-using ability in European Brown Bears (Ursus arctos arctos). Animal Behavior and Cognition, 10(1), 40-61. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.10.01.03.2023

Little is known about the cognitive abilities of bears, despite possessing relatively large brains for their body size. One reason this group is perhaps overlooked is because they are thought to fail to conform to the “social brain” hypothesis, by be... Read More about Problem-solving and spontaneous tool-using ability in European Brown Bears (Ursus arctos arctos).

The Toxoplasma micropore mediates endocytosis for selective nutrient salvage from host cell compartments (2023)
Journal Article
Wan, W., Dong, H., Lai, D., Yang, J., He, K., Tang, X., …Long, S. (in press). The Toxoplasma micropore mediates endocytosis for selective nutrient salvage from host cell compartments. Nature communications, 14(1), 997. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36571-4

Apicomplexan parasite growth and replication relies on nutrient acquisition from host cells, in which intracellular multiplication occurs, yet the mechanisms that underlie the nutrient salvage remain elusive. Numerous ultrastructural studies have doc... Read More about The Toxoplasma micropore mediates endocytosis for selective nutrient salvage from host cell compartments.

Good practice guidelines for long-term ecoacoustic monitoring in the UK (2023)
Report
Metcalf, O., Abrahams, C., Ashington, B., Baker, E., Bradfer-Lawrence, T., Browning, E., …Smith, S. Good practice guidelines for long-term ecoacoustic monitoring in the UK

The popularity of ecoacoustics as an innovative environmental discipline has enjoyed immense growth within the last five years, to a point where it is now becoming difficult to keep up with all the new research papers published. What soon becomes a... Read More about Good practice guidelines for long-term ecoacoustic monitoring in the UK.

Determination of bioavailable arsenic threshold and validation of modelled permissible total arsenic in paddy soil using machine learning (2023)
Journal Article
Mandal, J., Jain, V., Sengupta, S., Rahman, M. A., Bhattacharyya, K., Rahman, M., …Mondal, D. (in press). Determination of bioavailable arsenic threshold and validation of modelled permissible total arsenic in paddy soil using machine learning. Journal of Environmental Quality, https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20452

Minimizing arsenic intake from food consumption is a key aspect of the public health response in As-contaminated regions. In many of these regions, rice is the predominant staple food. Here we present a validated maximum allowable concentration of to... Read More about Determination of bioavailable arsenic threshold and validation of modelled permissible total arsenic in paddy soil using machine learning.

Effects of an IgE receptor polymorphism acting on immunity, susceptibility to infection, and reproduction in a wild rodent (2023)
Journal Article
Wanelik, K., Begon, M., Bradley, J., Friberg, I., Jackson, J., Taylor, C., & Paterson, S. (2023). Effects of an IgE receptor polymorphism acting on immunity, susceptibility to infection, and reproduction in a wild rodent. eLife, 12, https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.77666

The genotype of an individual is an important predictor of their immune function, and subsequently, their ability to control or avoid infection and ultimately contribute offspring to the next generation. However, the same genotype, subjected to diffe... Read More about Effects of an IgE receptor polymorphism acting on immunity, susceptibility to infection, and reproduction in a wild rodent.

Taxonomic review of Saguinus mystax (Spix, 1823) (Primates, Callitrichidae), and description of a new species (2023)
Journal Article
Lopes, G., Rohe, F., Bertuol, F., Polo, E., Lima, I., Valsecchi, J., …Hrbek, T. (2023). Taxonomic review of Saguinus mystax (Spix, 1823) (Primates, Callitrichidae), and description of a new species. PeerJ, 11, e14526. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14526

Although the Amazon has the greatest diversity of primates, there are still taxonomic uncertainties for many taxa, such as the species of the Saguinus mystax group. The most geographically broadly distributed and phenotypically diverse species in thi... Read More about Taxonomic review of Saguinus mystax (Spix, 1823) (Primates, Callitrichidae), and description of a new species.

Investigation into the potential of using UV-treated sporulated oocysts of Eimeria tenella as a local solution to immunization of chickens against caecal coccidiosis (2023)
Journal Article
Djemai, S., Mekroud, A., Hide, G., Khelifi, D., & Bellil, I. (in press). Investigation into the potential of using UV-treated sporulated oocysts of Eimeria tenella as a local solution to immunization of chickens against caecal coccidiosis. Journal of Parasitic Diseases, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-022-01562-7

In this study, we aim to evaluate the immune response of chickens to UV-treated sporulated oocysts as a means of protection against caecal coccidiosis caused by field strains of Eimeria tenella. Two groups of chicks were immunized using prepared UV-t... Read More about Investigation into the potential of using UV-treated sporulated oocysts of Eimeria tenella as a local solution to immunization of chickens against caecal coccidiosis.

Total evidence phylogeny of platyrrhine primates and a comparison of undated and tip-dating approaches (2022)
Journal Article
Beck, R., de Vries, D., Janiak, M., Goodhead, I., & Boubli, J. (2022). Total evidence phylogeny of platyrrhine primates and a comparison of undated and tip-dating approaches. Journal of Human Evolution, 174, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103293

There have been multiple published phylogenetic analyses of platyrrhine primates (New World monkeys) using both morphological and molecular data, but relatively few that have integrated both types of data into a total evidence approach. Here, we pr... Read More about Total evidence phylogeny of platyrrhine primates and a comparison of undated and tip-dating approaches.

Changes in morphological disparity in eutherian mammals across the K-Pg boundary and Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum using discrete morphofunctional characters (2022)
Thesis
morphofunctional characters. (Dissertation). University of Salford

The mammalian clade Eutheria comprises placental mammals (the dominant group of mammals today, with >6000 living species, ~93% of living diversity) plus their stem relatives. A major event in Earth history that had a profound influence on Eutheria wa... Read More about Changes in morphological disparity in eutherian mammals across the K-Pg boundary and Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum using discrete morphofunctional characters.

Snapping shrimp and their crustaceous cacophony (2022)
Journal Article
Jones, C., Benvenuto, C., & Kendrick, P. (2022). Snapping shrimp and their crustaceous cacophony. Frontiers for Young Minds, 10, https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2022.856579

We humans are a noisy bunch. Our sounds fill the land and air around us, and even the oceans and seas. But we are not the only ones filling the sea with sound. Tiny snapping shrimp, also known as pistol shrimp, are some of the loudest an... Read More about Snapping shrimp and their crustaceous cacophony.

Evolution: the evolutionary rat race in New Guinea and Australia (2022)
Journal Article
Beck, R., & Eldridge, M. (2022). Evolution: the evolutionary rat race in New Guinea and Australia. Current Biology, 32(19), R1010-R1012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.056

A new molecular phylogeny of a remarkable radiation of New Guinean and Australian rodents indicates multiple transitions between biomes and biogeographical regions within the group, and suggests that a key role was played by the geological history of... Read More about Evolution: the evolutionary rat race in New Guinea and Australia.

Exploring waste tyres problems and sustainable waste management in the Tunisian context (2022)
Journal Article
Abuzukhar, M., Hardman, M., & Clark, A. (2022). Exploring waste tyres problems and sustainable waste management in the Tunisian context. Current journal of applied science and technology, 41(35), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.9734/cjast/2022/v41i353956

Waste tyres represent one of the environmentally damaging fractions of the solid waste stream in Tunisia, where the problem of inefficient waste tyre management is endemic. This is easily identified by the piles of accumulating tyre waste located on... Read More about Exploring waste tyres problems and sustainable waste management in the Tunisian context.

Edge effects and vertical stratification of aerial insectivorous bats across the interface of primary-secondary Amazonian rainforest (2022)
Journal Article
Yoh, N., Clarke, J., López-Baucells, A., Mas, M., Bobrowiec, P., Rocha, R., & Meyer, C. (2022). Edge effects and vertical stratification of aerial insectivorous bats across the interface of primary-secondary Amazonian rainforest. PLoS ONE, 17(9), e0274637. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274637

Edge effects, abiotic and biotic changes associated with habitat boundaries, are key drivers of community change in fragmented landscapes. Their influence is heavily modulated by matrix composition. With over half of the world’s tropical forests pred... Read More about Edge effects and vertical stratification of aerial insectivorous bats across the interface of primary-secondary Amazonian rainforest.

Local and landscape scale effects of fragmentation on aerial insectivorous bats in the Amazon (2022)
Thesis
Rowley, S. Local and landscape scale effects of fragmentation on aerial insectivorous bats in the Amazon. (Dissertation). The University of Salford

Deforestation is the main driver of the biodiversity crisis. Resulting landscapes are left fragmented with isolated remnant forest patches embedded in a human-modified matrix which has the propensity to regenerate into successional forest. The Biolog... Read More about Local and landscape scale effects of fragmentation on aerial insectivorous bats in the Amazon.

Interplay between local and landscape-scale effects on the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of aerial insectivorous Neotropical bats (2022)
Journal Article
López-Baucells, A., Rowley, S., Rocha, R., Bobrowiec, P., Palmeirim, J., Farneda, F., & Meyer, C. (2022). Interplay between local and landscape-scale effects on the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of aerial insectivorous Neotropical bats. Landscape Ecology, 37(11), 2861-2875. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-022-01493-x

Context Human-modified landscapes are globally ubiquitous. It is critical to understand how habitat loss and fragmentation impact biodiversity from both a local habitat context and landscape-scale perspective to inform land management and conservat... Read More about Interplay between local and landscape-scale effects on the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of aerial insectivorous Neotropical bats.

Estimating the population density of Eurasian lynx in the Ukrainian part of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone using camera trap footage (2022)
Journal Article
Gashchak, S., Barnett, C., Beresford, N., Paskevych, S., & Wood, M. (2022). Estimating the population density of Eurasian lynx in the Ukrainian part of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone using camera trap footage. Theriologia Ukrainica (Online), 23, 47-65. https://doi.org/10.15407/TU2307

The study reports the first estimation of the Eurasian lynx population inhabiting the Ukrainian Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ, 2600 km2 ) in 2013–2018. Although lynx were once common in this region, anthropogenic impacts reduced their numbers subs... Read More about Estimating the population density of Eurasian lynx in the Ukrainian part of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone using camera trap footage.

Recent advances in the bioremediation of arsenic‐contaminated soils: a mini review (2022)
Journal Article
Laha, A., Sengupta, S., Bhattacharya, P., Mandal, J., Bhattacharyya, S., & Bhattacharyya, K. (in press). Recent advances in the bioremediation of arsenic‐contaminated soils: a mini review. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 38(189), https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-022-03375-5

The carcinogenic metalloid arsenic (As), owing to its persistent behavior in elevated levels in soils, aggravates environmental and human health concerns. The current strategies used in the As decontamination involve several physical and chemi- cal a... Read More about Recent advances in the bioremediation of arsenic‐contaminated soils: a mini review.