NatureServe Explorer Species Reports &#8212; NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/changing-ocean-soundscapes-impact-animals-worldwide/">animals</a> too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.
ITIS Reports &#8212; ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of <a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=north+america&amp;cvid=6af7b47b706a421cbff7d45ac370e984&amp;aqs=edge.0.69i59l2j69i57j69i60l3j0.971j0j4&amp;FORM=ANAB01&amp;PC=HCTS">North America</a> and the world.The Cicek Minnow (Acanthorutilus handlirschi) is a species of concern belonging in the species group &#8220;fishes&#8221; and found in the following area (s): Turkey. This species is also known by the following name (s): Pseudophoxinus handlirschi, Oreoleuciscus handlirschi, Phoxinellus handlirschi. Source: Federal Register, U.S. Fish &amp; Wildlife Service (various authors), series (version undefined) Acquired: 1996 : Notes: Various listings from the Federal Register on the legal status of species : Reference for: Acanthorutilus handlirschi, cicek [English] Source: NODC Taxonomic Code, database (
FWS Digital Media Library &#8212; The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service&#8217;s National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video.This species is also known by the following name(s): Pseudophoxinus handlirschi, Oreoleuciscus handlirschi, Phoxinellus handlirschi.

Acanthorutilus handlirschi

In a new study, experts report that a boost in the number of pink pigeons in recent decades will not be enough to save the species from a high risk of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rosewood-trees-in-southeast-asia-face-the-risk-of-extinction/">extinction</a>.&nbsp;



An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> worked with organizations in Mauritius to investigate the impacts of what ultimately became a genetic "bottleneck" across the island nation's endemic population of pink pigeons. Across Mauritius, there was a rapid collapse in the number of pink pigeons in the late 1980s. This decline worsened until there were only 12 birds surviving in the wild.



Since then, conservation efforts by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the Government of Mauritius’ National Parks and Conservation Service paid off. The number of wild pink pigeons reached around 500 birds.



The experts analyzed genetic samples that were collected from 175 pink pigeons over nearly two decades, as conservation efforts took place. Based on the analysis of the DNA, the experts found some disappointing news.&nbsp;



The researchers discovered that, despite an increase in population, the pink pigeon now has a high genetic load of bad mutations. They explained that these mutations put the birds at considerable risk of extinction in the wild within 100 years without continued conservation actions.



“By studying the genome of a recovered species that was once critically endangered, we can learn how to help other species to bounce back from a population collapse,” said study co-lead author Professor Cock van Oosterhout.



“During the pigeon’s population bottleneck, the gene pool lost a lot of variation, and many bad mutations increased in frequency. This genetic load still poses a severe threat, even though the population has recovered in numbers.”



“The problem is that all individuals are somehow related to each other. They are the descendants of the few ancestors that managed to survive the bottleneck. Hence, it becomes virtually impossible to stop inbreeding, and this exposes these bad mutations. In turn, this can increase the mortality rate, and it could cause the population to collapse again.”



The researchers warn that "genetic rescue" is needed to recover lost genetic variation caused by inbreeding and to reduce the effects of the harmful mutations. This could be achieved by releasing captive-bred birds from UK and EU zoos, they said.



“A captive population of pink pigeons in the Gerald Durrell Endemic Wildlife Sanctuary in Mauritius, jointly managed by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation and the National Parks and Conservation Service, was established in the 1970s," said Professor Jim Groombridge from the University of Kent.



“This was used to breed birds for release into the wild, which boosted population numbers. The team also restored habitat by controlling introduced species and provided supplementary food as part of a field programme of intensive conservation management, which further increased the free-living population.”



“We didn’t know how many bad mutations the population carried initially, before the bottleneck,” said co-author Dr. Hernan Morales from University of Copenhagen. “We first had to simulate the ancestral population to find out how many bad mutations could have evolved. We then checked this data with data on inbreeding depression data from zoo populations of the pink pigeon.”



The researchers compared pedigree and fitness data to that of more than 1,000 birds at the Jersey Zoo. The analysis showed that the pink pigeon carried a high genetic load of 15 lethal equivalents.&nbsp;



“The computer simulations clearly show that just boosting numbers isn’t enough,” said Dr. Morales. “The population also needs ‘genetic rescue’ from more genetically diverse birds bred in European zoos. These birds are not as closely related, and they can help to reduce the level of inbreeding. However, there is a risk that we could introduce other bad mutations from the zoo population into the wild.”



According to study co-author Sam Speak, the team is now analyzing the genome of the pink pigeon from zoo populations in the UK, trying to locate these bad mutations. "We can do this now using bioinformatics tools developed for studying human genetics and the genomes of other model bird species such as the chicken."



“By using conservation genomics, future reintroduction programmes can avoid releasing individuals with high genetic load," said Speak. "This would help reduce inbreeding and improve the long-term recovery of threatened species such as the pink pigeon.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15231739">Conservation Biology</a>.&nbsp;



---



By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pink pigeons need a "genetic rescue" to survive extinction

In a new study, experts report that a boost in...

Our school textbooks teach us that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-grow-plants-in-lunar-soil-for-the-first-time/">plants</a> make their own food using water from the soil, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and energy from sunlight. This process, known as photosynthesis, would thus be limited by the availability of these three resources. But it seems that plant growth is not as simple as this. For trees, growth can also be limited by the rate at which new cells can form in the trunks and branches, a process that is affected by temperature.&nbsp;



Understanding the factors that limit the growth of the world’s forests will become more critical as the effects of global warming take hold. Will increased atmospheric carbon dioxide help trees to grow? Or will extremes in temperature and precipitation restrict this growth? Until now, the question of whether plant growth is limited by the rate of photosynthesis or by the environmental conditions that affect cell growth was not adequately answered, despite its fundamental nature.



A new study led by <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> researchers, along with an international team of collaborators, has now attempted to answer this question. They have measured and compared the rates of photosynthesis and woody growth in forest trees at sites in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia. Their results, published today in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abm4875">Science</a>, suggest that we need to rethink the way we forecast forest growth in a changing climate, and that forests in the future may not be able to absorb as much carbon from the atmosphere as we hoped.



“A tree growing is like a horse and cart system moving forward down the road,” said Professor William Anderegg, who is the principal investigator of the study. “But we basically don’t know if photosynthesis is the horse most often, or if it’s cell expansion and division. This has been a longstanding and difficult question in the field. And it matters immensely for understanding how trees will respond to climate change.”



The scientists distinguish between a tree’s carbon source and its carbon sink. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the carbon source – the tree uses this during photosynthesis to make food for its own use. Some of the carbon-based food is then used to grow new wood cells, and to enlarge existing ones. The tree’s wood is thus its carbon sink.&nbsp;



If the growth of trees is source-limited, then the amount of carbon dioxide available in the air is what would determine the rate of photosynthesis, and tree growth would be relatively easy to predict in a mathematical model. In this case, rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere would be a good thing and forests would be expected to expand and proliferate.&nbsp;



However, if tree growth is sink-limited then they can only grow as fast as their cells can divide and mature. Many environmental factors can impact cell growth rate, including temperature, the supply of water and nutrients, and the rate of photosynthesis. In this case, modeling potential tree growth in future would have to take into account the impacts of these different factors.&nbsp;



In order to find out whether tree growth is limited by source or sink factors, the researchers compared the rates of photosynthesis and cell growth at forest sites on different continents. Measuring cell growth (sink) rates was done by sampling the growth rings of the trees.&nbsp;



“Extracting wood cores from tree stems and measuring the width of each ring on these cores essentially lets us reconstruct past tree growth,” said study lead author Antoine Cabon.&nbsp;



Measuring carbon sources was more difficult. Source data was measured with 78 eddy covariance towers, 30 feet tall or more, that record carbon dioxide concentrations and wind speeds in three dimensions at the top of forest canopies. “Based on these measurements and some other calculations, we can estimate the total forest photosynthesis of a forest stand," explained Cabon.



The researchers expected to find that the processes of photosynthesis and cell growth were coupled – that when photosynthesis increased (or decreased), a corresponding increase (or decrease) would be seen in cell growth. They did not find this. Trees did not necessarily add more growth when the photosynthetic rate increased.



“Strong coupling between photosynthesis and tree growth would be expected in the case where tree growth is source-limited,” said Cabon. “The fact that we mostly observe a decoupling is our principal argument to conclude that tree growth is not source-limited.”



Although the decoupling of these two processes was recorded in environments across the globe, there were instances where it was weaker. The researchers were interested in what conditions led to stronger or weaker decoupling. Fruit-bearing and flowering trees, for example, exhibited different source-sink relationships to those of conifers. Greater diversity in a forest increased coupling, whereas dense leaf canopies decreased it.



Finally, coupling between photosynthesis and growth increased in warm and wet environments, while in cold, dry conditions the processes were decoupled and tree growth was more limited by the rate of cell growth.&nbsp;



According to Cabon, this last finding suggests that the source vs. sink issue depends on the tree’s environment and climate. “This means that climate change may reshape the distribution of source and sink limitations of the world’s forests," he said.&nbsp;



The key finding from this study is that vegetation models, which use mathematical equations and plant characteristics to estimate future forest growth, may need to be updated. “Virtually all these models assume that tree growth is source-limited,” said Cabon.



For example, he explained, current vegetation models predict that forests will thrive with higher atmospheric carbon dioxide. “The fact that tree growth is often sink-limited means that for many forests this may not actually happen.”



That has additional implications: forests absorb and store about a quarter of our current carbon dioxide emissions. If the growth of forests slows down, their ability to take in carbon and mitigate the effects of climate change may be significantly reduced.



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

We still have much to learn about tree growth

Our school textbooks teach us that plants make their own...

What are the impacts of reforestation or converting other lands to new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hotter-drier-deadlier-how-much-can-forests-tolerate/">forests</a>? We know that such a move can help sequester carbon, but what is the impact on the water cycle? A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ngeo/">Nature Geoscience</a> attempts to answer this question.&nbsp;



Martin Herold from the <a href="https://www.gfz-potsdam.de/en/">GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences</a> contributed to the study, which was led by Anne Hoek van Dijke from Wageningen University &amp; Research.&nbsp;



“Restoration and planting more trees is seen as a viable solution for enhancing carbon storage and the biodiverse functioning of ecosystems," said Herold. "With innovative data and analysis, our interdisciplinary analysis highlights that the hydrological effects are important for how and where such nature-based solutions are more suitable to achieve towards more climate-smart and sustainable future landscapes."



The scientists looked at a global model which focused on 900 million hectares of land where trees could grow given local climatic conditions. The change in evaporation given new tree cover was calculated across these locations. The researchers estimated the amount of water that would evaporate and that which would go to streams.&nbsp;



“These models include a vegetation parameter for forest and non-forest conditions that was calibrated to a range of different evaporation and streamflow measurements," said van Dijke. "Afterwards, we calculated where, and to what extent, the increased evaporation would return to the land surface as increased precipitation.”



The results show that increases in water evaporation vary depending on the local climate. In the tropics, water evaporation can increase by 250 liters of water per square meter of land. In other areas, the increase is a more modest 10 liters.&nbsp;



Around 70 percent of this water is rained back down on land, while 30 percent is precipitated over oceans. Worldwide, this means that reforestation could lead to a loss of water availability.&nbsp;



On the local scale, the impact is more complex. In some watersheds, reforestation leads to a decrease in stream flow. In others, such as the Amazon, the increase in rainflow is enough that the streamflow reduction is nearly zero.&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Reforestation may reduce water availability in some places

What are the impacts of reforestation or converting other lands...

Genes contain all the instructions living organisms need to survive, grow and reproduce. While identifying genes is becoming a rather simple scientific procedure, learning what are the functions of these genes is a more complicated matter. A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a> has now discovered the functions of hundreds of genes in algae, many of which are also present in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-grow-plants-in-lunar-soil-for-the-first-time/">plants</a>, where they play similar roles.&nbsp;



The findings could help scientists genetically engineer algae for biofuel production and develop agricultural crops which can better withstand the effects of climate change.



“Plant and algae genetics are understudied. These organisms make the foods, fuels, materials, and medicines that modern society relies on, but we have a poor understanding of how they work, which makes engineering them a difficult task,” said study senior author Robert Jinkerson, an assistant professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at UC Riverside. “A common way to learn more about biology is to mutate genes and then see how that affects the organism. By breaking the biology we can see how it works.”



Professor Jinkerson and his colleagues used a variety of algal mutants and automated tools in order to perform experiments that generated millions of data points. By analyzing this vast dataset, the scientists learned the functional role of hundreds of poorly characterized genes and discovered new functions of previously known genes.&nbsp;



Several of the genes found in algae have counterparts in plants with similar roles, including photosynthesis, heat stress response, DNA damage response, or response to toxic chemicals and predators.



Better understanding how these genes function in algae could help engineer plants that are more resilient to heat or cold stress, have improved photosynthesis capacities, and grow well even in some contaminated soils. Such features which will be increasingly important as climate change advances and threatens the world’s food supply. Moreover, a deeper knowledge of algal genetics will also improve engineering strategies making them produce more biofuels.



“The data and knowledge generated in this study is already being leveraged to engineer algae to make more biofuels and to improve environmental stress tolerance in crops,” concluded Professor Jinkerson.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01052-9">Nature Genetics</a>.&nbsp;



----



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Algae genetics could help engineer more resilient plants

Genes contain all the instructions living organisms need to survive,...

Cavefish are surface-dwelling river fish which flooded into underground cave systems over 100,000 years ago. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> has investigated how cavefish developed a series of unique metabolic adaptations, allowing them to survive in nutrient-scarce environments. Better understanding these peculiar fish’s metabolism could shed more light on human metabolic disorders, such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/healthy-plant-based-diets-reduce-the-risk-of-type-2-diabetes/">diabetes</a>, heart disease, or stroke, and open new therapeutic pathways.



During history, humans have been able to adapt to periods of both feast and famine. Nowadays, in many regions of the globe, feast has largely replaced famine, leading to a rise of diseases related to metabolism, collectively called “metabolic syndrome,” and including cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, and stroke. These conditions are associated with genetic mutations in regions of DNA which regulate how genes work to keep us healthy. Since, from an evolutionary standpoint, the “feast state” is in its early infancy, it frequently causes such metabolic disruptions in humans.



According to the experts, cavefish are ideal for studying metabolism and its disorders. During periodic flooding of their caves, these fish consume and store all the nutrients they need in order to survive until the next nutrient inundation, which rarely happens more than once per year.&nbsp;



Surprisingly, despite highly elevated fat and blood glucose levels during these periods of feasting, cavefish remain vibrant and healthy. “The fact that these fish are apparently healthy, despite having these extreme traits is, by definition, a good place to ask how they deal with that,” said study senior author Nicolas Rohner, an associate investigator at the Stowers Institute.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In order to understand the genetic basis of starvation resistance and metabolism, Professor Rohner and his team created a genome-wide map of liver tissue for two independent colonies of cavefish that evolved strikingly similar metabolic adaptations to survive in dark, nutrient-scarce environments. Since multiple cavefish populations appeared to evolve in a very similar manner completely independent from each other, they may exhibit universal adaptation mechanisms which could be potentially triggered in other species, including humans.



“We know only a handful of genes that could be therapeutic targets,” said study lead author Jaya Krishnan, a senior research associate in Professor Rohner’s lab. “This means we need to adopt novel ways to identify such potential genes so that we can investigate them, and cavefish are a very powerful system for us to do that.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01049-4">Nature Genetics</a>.&nbsp;



----



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Cavefish may provide therapeutic insights for metabolic disorders

Cavefish are surface-dwelling river fish which flooded into underground cave...

A nationwide study monitored <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vegetable-consumption-before-pregnancy-lowers-risk-of-preterm-birth/">pregnant</a> women for chemical exposure over 12 years. Disturbingly, the research showed an increased exposure to harmful chemicals, including those from plastics and pesticides. Many of these chemicals were meant to replace other chemicals which are banned. Ironically, some of these replacements are as dangerous as the originals.&nbsp;



The scientists tested the women for 103 chemicals using a urine sample. Chemicals from pesticides, plastics, and replacements for BPA were among those that were tested for.&nbsp;



Overall, 171 women tested were from California, Georgia, Illinois, New Hampshire, New York and Puerto Rico. Over 80 percent of the chemicals were detected in at least one of the women, and more than one third of the chemicals were found in most of the women. Some of the chemicals were also detected at higher than historic levels.



Study senior author Dr. Tracey J. Woodruff is the director of the <a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/">University of California, San Francisco</a> (UCSF) Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment and co-director of the UCSF EaRTH Center.



“This is the first time we’ve been able to measure the amounts of chemicals in such a large and diverse group of pregnant women – not just identify chemicals,” said Dr. Woodruff. “Our findings make clear that the number and scope of chemicals in pregnant women are increasing during a very vulnerable time of development for both the pregnant person and the fetus.”



Unsurprisingly, the researchers found that non-white women had higher exposures to chemicals. Women with lower education, were single parents or exposed to tobacco also had higher exposure levels. Latinas, in particular, had high levels of exposure to parabens, phthalates and bisphenols.&nbsp;



“While pesticides and replacement chemicals were prevalent in all women, we were surprised to find that Latinas had substantially higher levels of parabens, phthalates and bisphenols,” said study first author Dr. Jessie Buckley. “This could be the result of higher exposures to products with chemicals, such as processed foods or personal care products."



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Chemical exposure is increasing among pregnant women

A nationwide study monitored pregnant women for chemical exposure over...

Scientists have made an incredible discovery. For the first time in history, researchers at the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> have grown plants in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lunar-soil-could-be-the-basis-of-moon-life-support-system/">soil</a> taken from the Moon. The experts have also learned how plants respond to lunar soil on biological and genetic levels.&nbsp;



After trying for 11 years, the researchers finally acquired just 12 grams of lunar soil. They filled tiny pots with a few Arabidopsis plant seeds, added nutrients, and exposed them to light. Much to their surprise, the seeds began to sprout. Through this experiment, the scientists have been able to gather further information.



The researchers noticed that plants grown in lunar soil were smaller and grew more slowly. There was also more variation in their sizes.&nbsp;



The experts used the Arabidopsis plant because its genetic code has been fully mapped. This means that the researchers could learn whether growing in lunar soil affected plants genetically.&nbsp;



“At the genetic level, the plants were pulling out the tools typically used to cope with stressors, such as salt and metals or oxidative stress, so we can infer that the plants perceive the lunar soil environment as stressful,” said study co-author Anna-Lisa Paul.



The experiment also revealed that plant growth may be affected by where the soil was gathered. It appears that plants grow better in less mature soil, which hasn’t been exposed to as much cosmic wind as mature soil.



The ability to grow a plant in Moon soil has significant implications for space travel and possible off-planet colonization.&nbsp;



“For future, longer space missions, we may use the Moon as a hub or launching pad. It makes sense that we would want to use the soil that’s already there to grow plants,” said study co-author Rob Ferl. “So, what happens when you grow plants in lunar soil, something that is totally outside of a plant’s evolutionary experience? What would plants do in a lunar greenhouse? Could we have lunar farmers?”



Furthermore, the research is vital for the Artemis Program, led by NASA, which aims to return humans to the Moon. Ferl believes the findings will help inform that mission.&nbsp;



This breakthrough is fantastic in its own right. We can be sure the scientific community will continue to build upon these findings.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/commsbio/">Communications Biology</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists grow plants in lunar soil for the first time

Scientists have made an incredible discovery. For the first time...

Blueberries have often been touted as a superfood as they are full of antioxidants, vitamins and healthy plant compounds. Their apparent health benefits include improved blood sugar regulation, lower blood pressure and reduced risk of heart attacks. And now, a recent study from the <a href="https://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a>&nbsp;has found that supplementing the diets of middle-aged people with blueberries may lower their risk of developing late-life <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-dementia-cases-may-triple-by-2050/">dementia</a>.&nbsp;



Previous research led by UC’s Dr. Robert Krikorian had focused on the benefits of berries for people with a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, but their studies had involved older people. For the current study, the experts investigated the potential benefits among middle-aged individuals, in terms of dementia prevention and risk reduction.&nbsp;



Blueberries have particularly high levels of micronutrients and antioxidants, and also contain certain vitamins and minerals. Among the beneficial plant compounds are quercetin and myricetin, flavonols that have been linked to reduction in blood pressure and prevention of cancer, respectively. Blueberries are also very rich in anthocyanins, a type of antioxidant that protects the plant against excess radiation, infectious agents and other threats.&nbsp;



These same properties that benefit blueberries also provide benefits to humans, Dr. Krikorian said, such as reducing inflammation, improving metabolic function and enhancing energy production within cells.&nbsp;



Dr. Krikorian explained that about 50 percent of individuals in the U.S. develop insulin resistance, commonly referred to as prediabetes, around middle age. Prediabetes has been shown to be a factor in chronic diseases, he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We had observed cognitive benefits with blueberries in prior studies with older adults and thought they might be effective in younger individuals with insulin resistance,” said Dr. Krikorian, an expert in the UC College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience. “Alzheimer’s disease, like all chronic diseases of aging, develops over a period of many years, beginning in midlife.”&nbsp;



In order to find out whether consuming blueberries had any effect on the cognitive abilities of middle-aged people, the researchers enrolled 33 patients between the ages of 50 and 65 from around the Cincinnati area. All the participants were overweight, prediabetic and had noticed mild memory decline in themselves. Dr. Krikorian said this population has an increased risk for developing late-life dementia and other common conditions.&nbsp;



The participants abstained from eating any berries over a period of 12 weeks, and were instead given a daily packet of supplement powder, to be mixed with water and drunk at breakfast of dinner time. Half of the participants received powder that contained the equivalent of one-half cup of whole blueberries, while the other half received a placebo.&nbsp;



The cognitive abilities of the participants were tested by assessing aspects of their executive functioning, such as their working memory, mental flexibility and self-control. Cognitive dysfunction in these areas is often associated with aging and with the development of late-life dementia.&nbsp;



The results of the research, published recently in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/8/1619">Nutrients</a>, showed that those individuals whose diet was supplemented with blueberries had improved performance on cognitive tasks that depend on executive control.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“This was evident as reduced interference of extraneous information during learning and memory,” Krikorian explained.&nbsp;



Patients in the blueberry group also had lower fasting levels of insulin, indicating that they had improved metabolic function and were more able to utilize fat as an energy source.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Krikorian said the blueberry group also displayed an additional slightly higher levels of mitochondrial uncoupling, a cellular process that has been associated with greater longevity and reduced oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can lead to symptoms like fatigue and memory loss.&nbsp;



“This last finding was exploratory but points to an interesting, potential mechanism for blueberry benefits,” he said.&nbsp;



Dr. Krikorian said that, in future, he would like to investigate the exact biochemical mechanisms whereby blueberry compounds help improve cognitive performance and metabolic function. But the most important conclusion from the current study is that regular blueberry supplementation into the diets of at-risk, middle-aged people may lower their chances of developing late-life dementia.&nbsp;



“The sample size is an obvious limitation of the study, so it will be important to reproduce these findings, especially by other investigators,” said Dr. Krikorian. “In the meantime, it might be a good idea to consume blueberries on a regular basis.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Blueberries may protect our brains against dementia

Blueberries have often been touted as a superfood as they...

Working outdoors during extreme heat is a growing concern for Southwestern cities like Las Vegas, where summer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/changes-in-vegetation-are-a-key-driver-of-global-temperatures/">temperatures</a> are rising each year. However, the risks of working outdoors in extreme heat are not distributed evenly. Female workers are facing disproportionate impacts, and more experienced outdoor workers are at higher risk than those with fewer years on the job.&nbsp;



In a new study led by the <a href="https://www.dri.edu/">Desert Research Institute</a>, scientists have investigated how extreme heat is impacting the workforce in three of the hottest cities in North America – Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The results share important findings for policymakers and employers across the US.&nbsp;



Heat index data combines temperature and humidity as a measure of how people feel the heat. To assess the relationship between extreme heat and workplace heat-related illness, the study compared occupational injuries and illnesses from 2011-2018 with heat index data.&nbsp;



This type of analysis has not been completed in the past, which allowed the research team to identify interesting social implications.&nbsp;



The experts found a significant increase in heat index at two of the three locations (Phoenix and Las Vegas) during the study period. In these locations, average heat index values for June to August increased from “extreme caution” in 2012 to “danger” by 2018. Over the same period, the number of nonfatal heat-related workplace injuries and illnesses increased steadily, climbing above the national average in 2018.&nbsp;



“Our data indicate that the increases in heat are happening alongside increases in the number of nonfatal occupational injuries across these three states,” said lead author Erick Bandala. “Every year we are seeing increased heat waves and higher temperatures, and all of the people who work outside in the streets or in gardens or agriculture are exposed to this.”&nbsp;



Next, the team wanted to learn about the number of male and female workers affected. At the beginning of the study in 2011, 26 to 50 percent of the people affected were female. By 2018, 42 to 86 percent of the people affected were female.&nbsp;



This could be a result of more women entering the outdoor workforce, or, it could be related to the vulnerability of women to certain heat-related effects, like hyponatremia -- a condition that develops when too much plain water is consumed under high heat conditions and sodium levels in blood get too low.&nbsp;



“As the number of female workers exposed to extreme temperatures increases, there is an increasing need to consider the effect of gender and use different approaches to recommend prevention measures as hormonal factors and cycles that can be exacerbated during exposure to extreme heat,” said study co-author Dr. Kebret Kebede, an associate professor of Biology at Nevada State College.



The researchers also examined the length of an employee’s service and found that those who had more than five years of experience were at greater risk than those with less than one year. This may be due to a reduced perception of risk, or could be a cumulative effect of years of chronic heat exposure.



In severe cases, heat-related illness or injury can cause extensive damage to all tissues and organs, disrupting the central nervous system, blood-clotting mechanisms, and liver and kidney functions. In these cases, lengthy recoveries are keeping many outdoor workers away from work for more than 30 days.&nbsp;



“These lengthy recovery times are a significant problem for workers and their families, many of whom are living day-to-day,” said Bandala. “When we have these extreme heat conditions coming every year and a lot of people working outside, we need to know what are the consequences of these problems, and we need the people to know about the risk so that they take proper precautions.”



The team hopes that their results will be useful to policymakers to protect outdoor workers by adopting regulation to address heat illness. The need for public policy is clear to alleviate health and the economic impacts of rising temperatures.&nbsp;



The experts also hope that the information will inform outdoor workers to stay safe during extreme heat, and employers who rely on a healthy workforce to keep their businesses operating. In the future, the team hopes to continue research to better support people who are most vulnerable to the impacts of extreme heat.&nbsp;



The <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13762-022-04180-1">study</a> is published in the International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology.



---



By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Extreme heat poses extreme risks for outdoor workers

Working outdoors during extreme heat is a growing concern for...

Previous studies of violent coastal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-exposes-coastal-cities-to-more-deadly-storms/">storms</a> have tended to focus exclusively on the extensive damage caused to beaches, dunes, properties, and surrounding infrastructure. However, new research led by the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">University of New South Wales</a> (UNSW) has found that extreme weather events could actually help protect beaches from the impact of sea level rise, by bringing in new sand from deep waters or nearby beaches.



“We know that extreme storms cause major coastal erosion and damage to beachfront properties. For the first time we looked not just above water, where the impacts of extreme storms are easy to see, but also deep down below the water as well,” said study lead author Mitchell Harley, an expert in continental shelf dynamics at UNSW.



“What we found was that hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of sand were entering these beach systems during these events – that’s similar to the scale of what engineers use to nourish a beach artificially. This could potentially be enough to offset some of the impacts of sea level rises caused by climate change, such as retreating coastlines, and by several decades in the long-term. It’s a new way of looking at extreme storms.”



These findings emerged after Dr. Harley’s team examined three coastlines across Australia, the United Kingdom, and Mexico, which were all subjected to a series of extreme storms or extended storm clusters, followed by periods of beach recovery. High-resolution measurements of the beaches and seabed have revealed that sediment gains from the storms were sufficient to theoretically offset decades of projected shoreline retreat.



How much a coastline may change due to sea level rise is a crucial question facing coastline managers, as they plan to protect coastlines from the escalating impacts of climate change. To estimate this, scientists have previously used the Bruun rule, which states that, for a given meter of sea-level rise, the coastline is expected to retreat between 20 and 100 meters, depending on the steepness of the coast.



“The Bruun rule however has been criticized for its simplicity, as it doesn’t take into account the many complex factors about how individual beaches respond to sea-level rise,” said study co-author Geerd Masselink, a professor of Coastal Geomorphology at the <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/">University of Plymouth</a>.&nbsp; “This includes the presence of sand stored in deeper water immediately off the coast – and its potential to be mobilized during extreme weather events.”



For the moment, there are so few measurements of the seabed immediately off the coastlines that it is difficult to tell how much sand could be mobilized in the future.&nbsp;



“We’re only scraping the surface here. We need to repeat these types of monitoring measurements for more storms and different types of coastal settings under various conditions. Only then, will we be able to get a clearer understanding of how much sand is stored off the coast that could potentially help buffer the impacts of sea level rise – and a clearer picture of what our beaches could look like in the year 2100 and beyond,” concluded Dr. Harley.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00437-2">Nature Communications</a>.



----



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Major storms nourish beaches with enormous loads of sand

Previous studies of violent coastal storms have tended to focus...

Microbes which have developed resistance to common antibiotics such as tetracycline or aminoglycoside are a major source of risk for people worldwide. Scientists have long known that antimicrobial resistance in humans is largely based on their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-gut-microbiome-is-shaped-by-what-we-eat/">gut microbiome</a>, where various microbes carry genetically encoded strategies to survive exposure to antibiotics.&nbsp;



A research team led by the <a href="https://www.ars.usda.gov/">Agricultural Research Service</a> (ARS) has now found that healthy adults who eat a diverse diet containing at least 8-10 grams of soluble fiber each day have fewer antibiotic-resistant microbes in their guts.



“The results lead directly to the idea that modifying the diet has the potential to be a new weapon in the fight against antimicrobial resistance,” said study senior author Danielle Lemay, a molecular biologist at the <a href="https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/davis-ca/whnrc/">ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center</a> in Davis, California. “And we’re not talking about eating some exotic diet either, but a diverse diet, adequate in fiber, that some Americans already eat.”



By analyzing a cohort of 290 healthy adult participants, Dr. Lemay and her colleagues discovered that regularly eating a diet with higher levels of soluble fiber (found in grains like barley and oats, legumes such as beans, lentils, and peas, as well as in nuts and seeds) and lower levels of animal protein was significantly correlated with lower levels of antimicrobial resistance genes (AMR) among participants’ gut microbes.



“Surprisingly, the most important predictor of low levels of ARG, even more than fiber, was the diversity of the diet. This suggests that we may want to eat from diverse sources of foods that tend to be higher in soluble fiber for maximum benefit,” explained Dr. Lemay.



On the other hand, people who had the highest level of antimicrobial resistance in their gut microbiomes were found to have a significantly less diverse gut microbiomes compared to those with low and medium levels of ARG. “Our diets provide food for gut microbes. This all suggests that what we eat might be a solution to reduce antimicrobial resistance by modifying the gut microbiome,”&nbsp;said Dr. Lemay.



“But this is still just a beginning because what we did was an observational study rather than a study in which we provided a particular diet for subjects to eat, which would allow more head-to-head comparisons. In the end, dietary interventions may be useful in lessening the burden of antimicrobial resistance and might ultimately motivate dietary guidelines that will consider how nutrition could reduce the risk of antibiotic-resistant infections,” she concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mbio.00101-22">mBio</a>.&nbsp;



----



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fiber-rich diets reduce antimicrobial resistance in the gut

Microbes which have developed resistance to common antibiotics such as...

The monotremes belong to an ancient order of mammals represented by only five living species – the duckbilled platypus and four species of echidna (or spiny anteater). All of these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/greater-risk-of-extinction-for-large-bodied-mammals-in-the-past/">mammals</a> have several things in common. They are endemic to Australia, have some primitive skeletal features, and lay eggs. Today we recognize this order as being one of the three orders of mammals, along with marsupials and placental mammals, but it was not always this way in the past.



Until the time that Europeans first encountered platypuses and echidnas in the 1790s, it was assumed that all mammals give birth to live young. The proposal that some mammals reproduce by laying eggs was considered preposterous in early 19th century zoological circles. But then, the subject became the topic of great debate and naturalists were encouraged to find evidence of these egg-laying mammals.&nbsp;



“In the nineteenth century, many conservative scientists didn’t want to believe that an egg-laying mammal could exist, because this would support the theory of evolution – the idea that one animal group was capable of changing into another,” said Jack Ashby, assistant director at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> Museum of Zoology.



“Lizards and frogs lay eggs, so the idea of a mammal laying eggs was dismissed by many people – I think they felt it was degrading to be related to animals that they considered ‘lower life forms.’”



For 85 years, European naturalists attempted to find proof that platypuses and echidnas lay eggs. They sought the help of Aboriginal Australians and sent reports home to Europe – all their results were either ignored or dismissed as fantastical. However, in 1883, William Caldwell, a Scottish zoologist working at Cambridge University went to Australia to resolve the burning question.&nbsp;



Caldwell set up camp on the banks of the Burnett River in northern Queensland and began hunting for platypus and echidna specimens and eggs. After extensive searching, and assisted by a team of 150&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_Australians">Aborigines</a>, he collected around 1,400 specimens to be sent back to Cambridge. In 1884, the team eventually found an echidna with an egg in her pouch and a platypus with one egg in her nest and another in her body, just about to be laid.&nbsp;



Caldwell sent news of his triumphant findings back to his mentor at the university. Monotremes were indeed oviparous! The confirmation spread around the world, as though the colonial scientific establishment could now believe this evidence because it had been confirmed by "one of their own."



While doing recent research on a book about Australian mammals, Ashby began to wonder what had happened to those original specimens collected by Caldwell during his fact-finding mission in Australia. He considered it most likely that they had been brought to the University Museum but there was no record of them in the Museum’s catalogue. He asked Collections Manager Mathew Lowe to look out for specimens that would fit the description and, three months later, was rewarded with a box of jars, each one containing a tiny platypus or echidna specimen.&nbsp;



“I knew from experience that there isn’t a natural history collection on Earth that actually has a comprehensive catalogue of everything in it, and I suspected that Caldwell’s specimens really ought to be here,” explained Ashby, who was delighted at this exciting find.



“It’s one thing to read the 19th&nbsp;century announcements that platypuses and echidnas actually lay eggs. But to have the physical specimens here, tying us back to that discovery almost 150 years ago, is pretty amazing."



At the time of their collection, these specimens were key to proving that some mammals lay eggs – a fact that changed the course of scientific thinking and supported the theory of evolution. But the unique assemblage of jars had not been catalogued by the Museum so, until recently, staff had been unaware of its existence.&nbsp;



The newly discovered collection includes echidnas, platypuses and marsupials at varying life stages, from fertilized egg to adolescence. Caldwell was the first to make complete collections of every life stage of these species – although not all of the 1,400 specimens have been found in the Museum. Details of the specimens that have recently been rediscovered among the Museum’s collections are published today in the



Ashby says that over the last two centuries, scientists have consistently belittled Australian mammals by describing them as strange and inferior. He believes that this language continues to affect how we describe them today, and undermines efforts to conserve them.



“Platypuses and echidnas are not weird, primitive animals – as many historic accounts depict them – they are as evolved as anything else. It’s just that they’ve never stopped laying eggs,” he said. “I think they’re absolutely amazing and definitely worth valuing.”



The quill-covered echidnas are the most widespread mammal in Australia. They inhabit different ecosystems over the whole continent and have adapted to live in all climates, from snow-covered mountains to the driest deserts.



Platypuses are unique among mammals in that they can detect electricity, and can produce venom. With a tail like a beaver, a flat bill, and webbed feet like a duck, the first specimens brought to Europe were considered to be fakes that had been sewn together.



Ashby’s new book,&nbsp;Platypus Matters: The Extraordinary Story of Australian Mammals, was published in the UK on May, 12 2022 by HarperCollins.&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Unique museum collection of platypuses resurfaces after 150 years

The monotremes belong to an ancient order of mammals represented...

Date	Citation Page	Title
06/02/1970	35 FR 8491 8498	Part 17 - Conservation of Endangered Species and Other Fish or Wildlife (First List of Endangered Foreign Fish and Wildlife as Appendix A)
04/14/1970	35 FR 6069	Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Endangered Species Conservation); 35 FR 6069