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PloS One 2020Coral reef ecosystems have suffered an unprecedented loss of habitat-forming hard corals in recent decades. While marine conservation has historically focused on passive... (Review)
Review
Coral reef ecosystems have suffered an unprecedented loss of habitat-forming hard corals in recent decades. While marine conservation has historically focused on passive habitat protection, demand for and interest in active restoration has been growing in recent decades. However, a disconnect between coral restoration practitioners, coral reef managers and scientists has resulted in a disjointed field where it is difficult to gain an overview of existing knowledge. To address this, we aimed to synthesise the available knowledge in a comprehensive global review of coral restoration methods, incorporating data from the peer-reviewed scientific literature, complemented with grey literature and through a survey of coral restoration practitioners. We found that coral restoration case studies are dominated by short-term projects, with 60% of all projects reporting less than 18 months of monitoring of the restored sites. Similarly, most projects are relatively small in spatial scale, with a median size of restored area of 100 m2. A diverse range of species are represented in the dataset, with 229 different species from 72 coral genera. Overall, coral restoration projects focused primarily on fast-growing branching corals (59% of studies), and report survival between 60 and 70%. To date, the relatively young field of coral restoration has been plagued by similar 'growing pains' as ecological restoration in other ecosystems. These include 1) a lack of clear and achievable objectives, 2) a lack of appropriate and standardised monitoring and reporting and, 3) poorly designed projects in relation to stated objectives. Mitigating these will be crucial to successfully scale up projects, and to retain public trust in restoration as a tool for resilience based management. Finally, while it is clear that practitioners have developed effective methods to successfully grow corals at small scales, it is critical not to view restoration as a replacement for meaningful action on climate change.
Topics: Animals; Anthozoa; Climate Change; Conservation of Natural Resources; Ecosystem
PubMed: 31999709
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226631 -
The Science of the Total Environment Feb 2021Climate change (CC) is a key, global driver of change of marine ecosystems. At local and regional scales, other local human stressors (LS) can interact with CC and...
Climate change (CC) is a key, global driver of change of marine ecosystems. At local and regional scales, other local human stressors (LS) can interact with CC and modify its effects on marine ecosystems. Understanding the response of the marine environment to the combined effects of CC and LS is crucial to inform marine ecosystem-based management and planning, yet our knowledge of the potential effects of such interactions is fragmented. At a global scale, we explored how cumulative effect assessments (CEAs) have addressed CC in the marine realm and discuss progress and shortcomings of current approaches. For this we conducted a systematic review on how CEAs investigated at different levels of biological organization ecological responses, functional aspects, and the combined effect of CC and HS. Globally, the effects of 52 LS and of 27 CC-related stressors on the marine environment have been studied in combination, such as industrial fisheries with change in temperature, or sea level rise with artisanal fisheries, marine litter, change in sediment load and introduced alien species. CC generally intensified the effects of LS at species level. At trophic groups and ecosystem levels, the effects of CC either intensified or mitigated the effects of other HS depending on the trophic groups or the environmental conditions involved, thus suggesting that the combined effects of CC and LS are context-dependent and vary among and within ecosystems. Our results highlight that large-scale assessments on the spatial interaction and combined effects of CC and LS remain limited. More importantly, our results strengthen the urgent need of CEAs to capture local-scale effects of stressors that can exacerbate climate-induced changes. Ultimately, this will allow identifying management measures that aid counteracting CC effects at relevant scales.
Topics: Climate Change; Ecosystem; Fisheries; Humans; Introduced Species; Temperature
PubMed: 33035971
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142564 -
Biological Reviews of the Cambridge... Apr 2021Evolutionary convergence provides natural opportunities to investigate how, when, and why novel traits evolve. Many convergent traits are complex, highlighting the...
Evolutionary convergence provides natural opportunities to investigate how, when, and why novel traits evolve. Many convergent traits are complex, highlighting the importance of explicitly considering convergence at different levels of biological organization, or 'multi-level convergent evolution'. To investigate multi-level convergent evolution, we propose a holistic and hierarchical framework that emphasizes breaking down traits into several functional modules. We begin by identifying long-standing questions on the origins of complexity and the diverse evolutionary processes underlying phenotypic convergence to discuss how they can be addressed by examining convergent systems. We argue that bioluminescence, a complex trait that evolved dozens of times through either novel mechanisms or conserved toolkits, is particularly well suited for these studies. We present an updated estimate of at least 94 independent origins of bioluminescence across the tree of life, which we calculated by reviewing and summarizing all estimates of independent origins. Then, we use our framework to review the biology, chemistry, and evolution of bioluminescence, and for each biological level identify questions that arise from our systematic review. We focus on luminous organisms that use the shared luciferin substrates coelenterazine or vargulin to produce light because these organisms convergently evolved bioluminescent proteins that use the same luciferins to produce bioluminescence. Evolutionary convergence does not necessarily extend across biological levels, as exemplified by cases of conservation and disparity in biological functions, organs, cells, and molecules associated with bioluminescence systems. Investigating differences across bioluminescent organisms will address fundamental questions on predictability and contingency in convergent evolution. Lastly, we highlight unexplored areas of bioluminescence research and advances in sequencing and chemical techniques useful for developing bioluminescence as a model system for studying multi-level convergent evolution.
Topics: Biological Evolution; Multifactorial Inheritance; Phenotype
PubMed: 33306257
DOI: 10.1111/brv.12672 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Jul 2022Freshwater periphytic biofilms (FPBs), existing widely in various aquatic environments, have attracted extensive attention for many years. In the present study, a... (Review)
Review
Freshwater periphytic biofilms (FPBs), existing widely in various aquatic environments, have attracted extensive attention for many years. In the present study, a bibliometric analysis based on Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) was used to understand the research progress, trends, and hot topics of FPBs qualitatively and quantitatively. The results indicated that publications on FPBs have increased from 1991 to 2020 rapidly, and researchers have focused more on the areas of environmental sciences, microbiology, and marine freshwater biology. The most influential countries were mainly the USA, Spain, France, and Germany. Cooperation network analysis reflected that the USA and its affiliated institutions played crucial roles in the research of FPB cooperation, but the collaboration between core author groups still fell short. Based on the analysis of top 20 high-cited FPB documents over the last 30 years, research hotspots mainly included micro-observation and assembly mechanisms of FPBs; interactions of FPBs and pollutants including heavy metals, antibiotic resistance genes, pathogens, organic pollutants, and nanoparticles; and the role of FPBs for biogeochemical cycling, especially nitrogen cycling. Additionally, future research directions were proposed. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of FPBs, which is useful for research development and researchers who are interested in this area.
Topics: Bibliometrics; Biofilms; Environmental Pollutants; Fresh Water; Metals, Heavy
PubMed: 35522418
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-20238-6 -
Hellenic Journal of Cardiology : HJC =... 2021Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) constitutes an emerging imaging technique, which can be utilized in cardiovascular medicine to study in-detail the microstructure of... (Review)
Review
Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) constitutes an emerging imaging technique, which can be utilized in cardiovascular medicine to study in-detail the microstructure of heart and vessels. This paper aims to systematically review the clinical utility of micro-CT in cardiovascular imaging and propose future applications of micro-CT imaging in cardiovascular research. A systematic scoping review was conducted by searching for original studies written in English according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews. Medline, Scopus, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the Cochrane library were systematically searched through December 11, 2020 to identify publications concerning micro-CT applications in cardiovascular imaging. Preclinical-animal studies and case reports were excluded. The Newcastle-Ottawa assessment scale for observational studies was used to evaluate study quality. In total, the search strategy identified 30 studies that report on micro-CT-based cardiovascular imaging and satisfy our eligibility criteria. Across all included studies, the total number of micro-CT scanned specimens was 1,227. Six studies involved postmortem 3D-reconstruction of congenital heart defects, while eleven studies described atherosclerotic vessel (coronary or carotid) characteristics. Thirteen other studies employed micro-CT for the assessment of medical devices (mainly stents or prosthetic valves). In conclusion, micro-CT is a novel imaging modality, effectively adapted for the 3D visualization and analysis of cardiac soft tissues and devices at high spatial resolution. Its increasing use could make significant contributions to our improved understanding of the histopathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases, and, thus, has the potential to optimize interventional procedures and technologies, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
Topics: Animals; Autopsy; Heart; Humans; X-Ray Microtomography
PubMed: 33991670
DOI: 10.1016/j.hjc.2021.04.006 -
Frontiers in Pharmacology 2023Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most common type of ovarian cancer. About 90% of ovary tumors are epithelial. The current treatment for EOC involves surgical...
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most common type of ovarian cancer. About 90% of ovary tumors are epithelial. The current treatment for EOC involves surgical debulking of the tumors followed by a combination of chemotherapy. While most patients achieve complete remission, many EOCs will recur and develop chemoresistance. The cancer cells can adapt to several stress stimuli, becoming resistant. Therefore, new ways to fight resistant cells during the disease are being studied. Recently, exosomes, which reflect cell behavior in normal and pathological conditions such as epithelial ovarian cancer, are of academic interest as new biomarkers for diagnosis and therapy. Consequently, the current study aimed to investigate the research output of exosomes in EOC. A bibliometric method was used for analyzing publications on exosome and epithelial ovarian cancer from the beginning to 15 October 2022 by searching keywords in Scopus, PubMed and Google scholar. Annual scientific publications, authors, citations, journals, co-authorships, and keywords co-occurrence were analyzed and plotted using Microsoft Office Excel and VOS viewer. 39 original journal articles and 3 reviews have been published since 2015 up to 15 October 2022. The findings showed that China is the top country in research output, international collaborations, organization, author, and sponsorship. The top journals were the Journal of Ovarian Research, Oncotarget, and Tumor Biology, all in the United States. The top institution was Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. The top author was Xipeng Wang. Co-occurrence analysis showed that academics' interest is toward:1) 1) Exosomes as prognostic biomarkers of EOC as well as their role in the proliferation and migration of cells. 2) The role of exosomes in metastasis through different mechanisms; 3) The role of exosomes in epithelial-mesenchymal transition of ovarian cancer cells; 4) The diagnostic role of EVs in EOC; and 5) Conferring chemoresistance in EOC through the exosomal transfer of miRNAs. Research on the exosome and EOC has an increasing trend, and China is much more involved than other countries in research, financial support, and international cooperation. These findings could aid researcher in understanding novel ideas and subjects interested by sponsors in this field.
PubMed: 36969852
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1082066 -
Science Advances Jan 2019Demand for models in biodiversity assessments is rising, but which models are adequate for the task? We propose a set of best-practice standards and detailed guidelines...
Demand for models in biodiversity assessments is rising, but which models are adequate for the task? We propose a set of best-practice standards and detailed guidelines enabling scoring of studies based on species distribution models for use in biodiversity assessments. We reviewed and scored 400 modeling studies over the past 20 years using the proposed standards and guidelines. We detected low model adequacy overall, but with a marked tendency of improvement over time in model building and, to a lesser degree, in biological data and model evaluation. We argue that implementation of agreed-upon standards for models in biodiversity assessments would promote transparency and repeatability, eventually leading to higher quality of the models and the inferences used in assessments. We encourage broad community participation toward the expansion and ongoing development of the proposed standards and guidelines.
Topics: Biodiversity; Environmental Monitoring; Guidelines as Topic; Models, Theoretical; Peer Review; Spatio-Temporal Analysis
PubMed: 30746437
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat4858 -
Global Change Biology Mar 2022Non-random community changes are becoming more frequent in many ecosystems. In coral reefs, changes towards communities dominated by other than hard corals are... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Non-random community changes are becoming more frequent in many ecosystems. In coral reefs, changes towards communities dominated by other than hard corals are increasing in frequency, with severe impacts on ecosystem functioning and provision of ecosystem services. Although new research suggests that a variety of alternative communities (i.e. not dominated by hard corals) exist, knowledge on the global diversity and functioning of alternative coral reef benthic communities, especially those not dominated by algae, remains scattered. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 523 articles, we analyse the different coral reef benthic community changes reported to date and discuss the advantages and limitations of the methods used to study these changes. Furthermore, we used field cover data (1116 reefs from the ReefCheck database) to explore the biogeographic and latitudinal patterns in dominant benthic organisms. We found a mismatch between literature focus on coral-algal changes (over half of the studies analysed) and observed global natural patterns. We identified strong biogeographic patterns, with the largest and most biodiverse biogeographic regions (Western and Central Indo-Pacific) presenting previously overlooked soft-coral-dominated communities as the most abundant alternative community. Finally, we discuss the potential biases associated with methods that overlook ecologically important cryptobenthic communities and the potential of new technological advances in improving monitoring efforts. As coral reef communities inevitably and swiftly change under changing ocean conditions, there is an urgent need to better understand the distribution, dynamics as well as the ecological and societal impacts of these new communities.
Topics: Animals; Anthozoa; Biodiversity; Coral Reefs; Ecosystem
PubMed: 34951504
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16034 -
Biological Reviews of the Cambridge... Oct 2022Identification of ecosystem services, i.e. the contributions that ecosystems make to human well-being, has proven instrumental in galvanising public and political...
Identification of ecosystem services, i.e. the contributions that ecosystems make to human well-being, has proven instrumental in galvanising public and political support for safeguarding biodiversity and its benefits to people. Here we synthesise the global evidence on ecosystem services provided and disrupted by freshwater bivalves, a heterogenous group of >1200 species, including some of the most threatened (in Unionida) and invasive (e.g. Dreissena polymorpha) taxa globally. Our systematic literature review resulted in a data set of 904 records from 69 countries relating to 24 classes of provisioning (N = 189), cultural (N = 491) and regulating (N = 224) services following the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). Prominent ecosystem services included (i) the provisioning of food, materials and medicinal products, (ii) knowledge acquisition (e.g. on water quality, past environments and historical societies), ornamental and other cultural contributions, and (iii) the filtration, sequestration, storage and/or transformation of biological and physico-chemical water properties. About 9% of records provided evidence for the disruption rather than provision of ecosystem services. Synergies and trade-offs of ecosystem services were observed. For instance, water filtration by freshwater bivalves can be beneficial for the cultural service 'biomonitoring', while negatively or positively affecting food consumption or human recreation. Our evidence base spanned a total of 91 genera and 191 species, dominated by Unionida (55% of records, 76% of species), Veneroida (21 and 9%, respectively; mainly Corbicula spp.) and Myoida (20 and 4%, respectively; mainly Dreissena spp.). About one third of records, predominantly from Europe and the Americas, related to species that were non-native to the country of study. The majority of records originated from Asia (35%), with available evidence for 23 CICES classes, as well as Europe (29%) and North America (23%), where research was largely focused on 'biomonitoring'. Whilst the earliest record (from 1949) originated from North America, since 2000, annual output of records has increased rapidly in Asia and Europe. Future research should focus on filling gaps in knowledge in lesser-studied regions, including Africa and South America, and should look to provide a quantitative valuation of the socio-economic costs and benefits of ecosystem services shaped by freshwater bivalves.
Topics: Animals; Biodiversity; Bivalvia; Ecosystem; Fresh Water; Humans; Water Quality
PubMed: 35770724
DOI: 10.1111/brv.12878 -
Preventive Veterinary Medicine Jan 2024The direct methods for diagnosis of bovine brucellosis have several limitations, therefore serological tests are the basis for the diagnosis of the disease. However, a... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
The direct methods for diagnosis of bovine brucellosis have several limitations, therefore serological tests are the basis for the diagnosis of the disease. However, a meta-analysis estimating the diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) and diagnostic specificity (DSp) on the main tests used in bovine brucellosis control programs worldwide has not been performed. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the DSe, DSp and thereby accuracy of serological tests individually used in the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis. The databases CABI, Cochrane Library, PubMed/MEDLINE, SciELO, Scopus and Web of Science were used to select articles. The search resulted in 5308 studies, of which 71 were selected for systematic review using quality assessment tools and 65 studies were included in the meta-analysis. For the meta-analysis, 178 assays and 11 different serological tests were considered. To estimate DSe and DSp of the tests, studies were divided according to animal selection for the studies: (1) studies that carried out a random or consecutive selection of participants (noncasecontrol studies) and (2) all studies, including casecontrol studies. Considering only the non-case-control studies to estimate the DSe, the tests that exhibited the best and worst performance were the iELISA test (indirect enzyme immunoassay - bacterial suspension as antigen - BS) (96.5%, 95% CI: 94.1-97.9%) and 2ME (2- mercaptoethanol test) (85.0%, 95% CI: 79.6-89.1%), respectively; while for DSp, the FPA (fluorescence polarization assay) (99, 7%, 95% CI: 99.5-99.8%) and PCFIA tests (protein concentration fluorescence immunoassay) (78.5%, 95% CI: 70.0-85.1%) showed better and worse performance, respectively. Overall, our results showed an overestimation in the DSe and DSp of the eleven serological tests assessed when casecontrol studies were included in the meta-analysis, which is a concern considering its impacts on the time and costs associated with populational diagnosis of the diseases, since several of these tests are routinely used in the control and eradication programs of bovine brucellosis worldwide. Furthermore, the tests that exhibited the best DSe and DSp, iELISA (BS) and FPA, respectively, are relatively easy to perform and interpret and the test which showed the best overall accuracy was FPA.
Topics: Cattle; Animals; Sensitivity and Specificity; Brucellosis, Bovine; Fluorescence Polarization Immunoassay; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Serologic Tests; Brucellosis; Antibodies, Bacterial; Cattle Diseases
PubMed: 38056065
DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2023.106079