New Publication: Assessment of genetic and morphological differentiation among populations of the Diederik Cuckoo Chrysococcyx caprius – Dr Desire Dalton

Migration strategies within the tropics are poorly understood as are the drivers of movement and the degree of connectivity between sites in migrant birds that have their global range and life cycle exclusively on a single continent (intra-continental migrants). Dr Desiré Lee Dalton (Lecturer, Teesside University), Dr Jamie Bojko (Senior Lecturer, Teesside University) and collaborators have conducted a study on Diederik Cuckoo, an African bird species that is widely distributed south of the Sahara which migrates seasonally between breeding and nonbreeding sites. The aim of the study was to determine if the species is a single panmictic population or if it is genetically structured. Assessment of five morphometric measures did not identify differences between locality or sex. We additionally identified a lack of phylogeographic structure between populations from the northern and southern ends of the distribution which may be attributed to high levels of contemporary gene flow. However, we detected two genetic lineages that occurred in sympatry at a single location in South Africa (Limpopo). The sympatric lineages in the Diederik Cuckoo could be linked to maternal divergence in host selection of these brood parasites — a hypothesis requiring additional data to be tested.

Access the publication through the publisher’s website with this link (https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2023.2222230)

New Publication in Nature – TU Press Release

Date of historic volcanic eruption wrong by 130 years? 

New research involving Teesside University has found the eruption date of a historic volcano is wrong by 130 years and that this miscalculation could impact our understanding of climate change.

The study, published in leading journal Nature on Thursday, 6 July 2023, argues that the Laacher See volcanic eruption in Germany took place 12,880 years ago – 130 years after the date previously reported.

The eruption of the Laacher See volcano is one of central Europe’s largest eruptions over the past 100,000 years.

The research team believe that having the wrong date impacts the ability to evaluate natural climate change in the past, impacting how scientists predict future, human caused, climate change.

Dr Lisa Baldini, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science in Teesside University’s School of Health & Life Sciences, who co-authored the study, said: “A correct age for this eruption is critical because the volcanic material that was deposited across Europe during the event is used to date numerous important sedimentary archives of past climates.

“Getting the date wrong will impact on our ability to evaluate the drivers of natural climate change in the past, which is critical for developing models that accurately predict future, human-caused, climate change.”

The research team, led by Durham University and including scientists from Teesside University, University of Oxford, Royal Holloway University of London, and SYSTEMIQ Ltd, suggest that the eruption date may have been compromised by volcanic carbon.

They argue that volcanoes outgas carbon dioxide from the underlying magma chamber, which filters through the soil and is absorbed by any vegetation, including trees. This magmatic carbon dioxide has no radiocarbon in it, because it is ancient carbon that has been in the ground for millions of years. Incorporation of this dead carbon into the tree will produce a date which will be too old.

Professor James Baldini, of Durham University, who led the study, said: “Our new study notes that the recent date for the eruption does not consider dead carbon which is emitted by the volcano and is absorbed by trees. Therefore, the trees used in the Reinig et al. were contaminated by this volcanic carbon, producing an age that was around 130 years too old.”

“This perspective is supported by the presence of a very large sulphur spike found in the Greenland ice sheet with all the characteristics of the Laacher See eruption, dated 130 years after the new Reinig et al. date.

“The eruption, therefore, is still a viable trigger for the Younger Dryas Event.”

The Laacher See volcanic eruption was similar in size to the cataclysmic Mt Pinatubo eruption in 1991 (pictured).

The ash resulting from the eruption is widely used as a time marker in sedimentary sequences across Europe, so the timing of the eruption affects the reported timing of environmental change as reconstructed from these European lake cores.

New Publication: Biological clocks as age estimation markers in animals: a systematic review and meta-analysis – Dr Desire Dalton

How do you determine how old an animal is? One way is to look at the teeth (tooth layer annulation and otolith layering). However, these methods are invasive and can generally only be used post-mortem, especially in wild animals as an age-at-death estimation. Two DNA based methods have been suggested as appropriate to determine age. Telomeres occur at the ends of chromosomal DNA and shorten as an animal ages. Aging is also correlated with changes in DNA methylation where a small molecule called a methyl group are added to the DNA. Louis-Stéphane IV Le Clercq a PhD student of Dr Desiré Lee Dalton (Lecturer in Forensic Science, Teesside University) has conducted a meta-analysis study that included 40 species and 60 age-estimation models. The study indicated that both methods can be used in studying age in animals and do not suffer significantly from variation due to differences in the lifespan of the species, genome size, karyotype, or tissue type but rather that quantitative method, patterns of inheritance, and environmental factors should be the main considerations. However, methylation may be superior to telomere length in terms of accuracy and cross-taxa portability; however, costs may be higher depending on the technique use to study methylation.

An animal cell indicating the mechanisms of cellular ageing at the molecular level that are currently used as molecular biomarkers for age.

Access the publication through the publisher’s website with this link (DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12992)

New Publication: Genetic diversity and origin of captive lion (Panthera leo) in South Africa: an assessment and comparison to wild populations

In the last five decades, African lions (Panthera leo) have declined by almost 75% due to habitat fragmentation and prey declines. In South Africa, there are more than 3500 lions in the wild and approximately 7,400 individuals in captivity. Plans have been put in place to start processes to end captive lion activities. There are contrasting views on the potential conservation value of captive lions, with some suggesting that captive lions could be integrated into wild populations to restore populations, while others have argued that captive lions have no conservation value. Thus, collaborators with Dr Desiré Lee Dalton (Lecturer in Forensic Science, Teesside University) have analysed the genetic diversity and origin of captive lion in South Africa. Captive lions were found to be genetically similar to existing wild South African lions. However, the captive population are showing signs of genetic drift with the potential risk of inbreeding the future as they have been managed in isolation from wild populations. Thus, the reintroduction of captive individuals into wild populations may have detrimental impacts and these factors would need to be studied prior to the consideration of re-wilding.

Access the publication through the publisher’s website with this link (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10592-023-01530-5)

New paper alert from Dr Desire Dalton

New Publication: PAReTT: a Python package for the Automated Retrieval and management of divergence time data from the TimeTree resource for downstream analyses

Louis-Stéphane IV Le Clercq a PhD student of Dr Desiré Lee Dalton (Lecturer in Forensic Science, Teesside University) has developed PAReTT – a Python Automated Retrieval of TimeTree data. In order to study speciation (emergence of a new species, sub-species, or ecotypes) accurate fossil-calibrated, estimates of divergence times are needed. PAReTT is a biologist-friendly, easily accessible, and freely available algorithm that can be used to retrieve (1) divergence times, between an individual pair or between all species in a list, (2) evolutionary timelines, for individuals or a list species, and (3) time trees of the divergence times, either for all available species within a specified taxon or between individual species supplied as a list. Future updates will include the ability to switch between scientific names and common names for species as well as the ability to calculate diversification rates for a table of multiple lineages.

Access the publication through the publishers website with this link (DOI: 10.1007/s00239-023-10106-3)

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00239-023-10106-3

 

New Publication: Proglacial lake expansion and glacier retreat in Arctic Sweden

Dr Adrian Dye (Lecturer in Environmental Science, Teesside University) and colleagues report an increase in proglacial lakes in Arctic Sweden as glaciers have retreated. These lakes have grown in size and extent over time, which now form an important store of water (previously unmapped) in mountainous catchments. Some lakes have also enhanced glacier retreat rates… Glacial lakes in the southern region (Sarek) are significantly smaller than those in the northern region (Kebnekaise), so it cannot be assumed that glacial lakes will develop uniformly across an area. More work needs to be done to predict where proglacial lakes are likely to form, particularly where populations currently depend on glaciers for water resources.

Access the publication through the publishers website with this link.

Dr Jamie Bojko’s latest publications

A series of new publications by our very own prolific Dr Jamie Bojko are presented here:

Bojko et al. 2022. Pathology and genetic connectedness of the mangrove crab (Aratus pisonii) – a foundation for understanding mangrove disease ecology.

Bojko et al. 2022. ‘Candidatus Mellornella promiscua’ n. gen. n. sp. (Alphaproteobacteria:
Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae): An intracytoplasmic, hepatopancreatic, pathogen of the flatback mud crab, Eurypanopeus depressus.

Stratton et al. 2022. Revising the Freshwater Thelohania to Astathelohania gen. et comb. nov., and Description of Two New Species.

Stratton et al. 2022. The plot thickens: Ovipleistophora diplostomuri infects two additional species of Florida crayfish.

New Output: Unique chemical parameters and microbial activity lead to increased archaeological preservation

Orr, C.H., Williams, R., Halldórsdóttir, H.H. et al. Unique chemical parameters and microbial activity lead to increased archaeological preservation at the Roman frontier site of Vindolanda, UK. Sci Rep 11, 15837 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94853-7

Published: 04 August 2021

Abstract: Waterlogged burial conditions impact upon artefact preservation. One major determinant of preservation is presence and behaviour of microorganisms, however, unravelling the mechanisms, especially in waterlogged conditions is challenging. In this study, we analysed elemental composition, bacterial diversity and community structure from excavation trenches at the Roman Site of Vindolanda, Northumberland, UK, using pXRF and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Excavation trenches provide information of different occupation periods. The results indicated that microbial communities were dominated by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria at a phylum level. Samples which also had visible vivianite presence showed that there were marked increases in Methylophilus. Methylophilus might be associated with favourable preservation in these anaerobic conditions. More research is needed to clearly link the presence of Methylophilus with vivianite production. The study emphasises the need for further integration of chemical and microbiome approaches, especially in good preservation areas, to explore microbial and chemical degradation mechanisms.

New paper: Heterogeneity enables coexistence of native and invasive aquatic plants

Salgado, J., Sayer, C. D., Willby, N., Baker, A. G., Goldsmith, B., McGowan, S., Davidson, T. A., Bexell, P., Patmore, I. R. & Okamura, B. (2021) Habitat heterogeneity enables spatial and temporal coexistence of native and invasive macrophytes in shallow lake landscapes. River Research and Applications. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3839

First published: 15 July 2021
Abstract:
Macrophyte invasive alien species (IAS) fitness is often hypothesised to be associated with beneficial environmental conditions (environmental matching) or species-poor communities. However, positive correlations between macrophyte IAS abundance and native plant richness can also arise, due to habitat heterogeneity (defined here as variation in abiotic and native biotic conditions over space and time). We analysed survey and palaeoecological data for macrophytes in satellite lakes along the Upper Lough Erne (ULE) system (Northern Ireland, UK), covering a gradient of eutrophication and connectivity to partition how environmental conditions, macrophyte diversity and habitat heterogeneity explained the abundance of Elodea canadensis, a widely distributed non-native macrophyte in Europe. E. canadensis abundance positively correlated with macrophyte richness at both the within- and between-lake scales indicating coexistence of native and invasive species over time. E. canadensis was also more prolific in highly connected and macrophyte-rich lakes, but sparser in the more eutrophic-isolated ones. Partial boosted regression trees revealed that in eutrophic-isolated lakes, E. canadensis abundances correlated with water clarity (negatively), plant diversity (positively), and plant cover (negatively) whereas in diverse-connected lakes, beta diversity (both positively and negatively) related to most greatly E. canadensis abundance. Dense macrophyte cover and unfavourable environmental conditions thus appear to confer invasibility resistance and sufficient habitat heterogeneity to mask any single effect of native biodiversity or environmental matching in controlling E. canadensis abundance. Therefore, in shallow lake landscapes, habitat heterogeneity variously enables the coexistence of native macrophytes and E. canadensis, reducing the often-described homogenisation effects of invasive macrophytes.

Geographies of Comfort

A volume edited by McNally, Price and Crang.

Bringing together conceptual and empirical research from leading thinkers, this book critically examines ‘comfort’ in everyday life in an era of continually occurring social, political and environmental changes.

Comfort and discomfort have assumed a central position in a range of works examining the relations between place and emotion, the senses, affect and materiality. This book argues that the emergence of this theme reflects how questions of comfort intersect humanistic, cultural-political and materialist registers of understanding the world. It highlights how geographies of comfort becomes a timely concern for Human Geography after its cultural, emotional and affective aspects. More specifically, comfort has become a vital theme for work on mobilities, home, environment and environmentalism, sociability in public space and the body. ‘Comfort’ is recognized as more than just a sensory experience through which we understand the world; its presence, absence and pursuit actively make and un-make the world. In light of this recognition, this book engages deeply with ‘comfort’ as both an analytic approach and an object of analysis.

This book offers international and interdisciplinary perspectives that deploys the lens of comfort to make sense of the textures of everyday life in a variety of geographical contexts. It will appeal to those working in human geography, anthropology, feminist theory, cultural studies and sociology.