Modeling individual growth reveals decreasing gray whale body length and correlations with ocean climate indices at multiple scales.

Changes in body size have been documented across taxa in response to human activities and climate change. Body size influences many aspects of an individual's physiology, behavior, and ecology, ultimately affecting life history performance and resilience to stressors. In this study, we developed an analytical approach to model individual growth patterns using aerial imagery collected via drones, which can be used to investigate shifts in body size in a population and the associated drivers. We applied the method to a large morphological dataset of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) using a distinct foraging ground along the NE Pacific coast, and found that the asymptotic length of these whales has declined since around the year 2000 at an average rate of 0.05-0.12 m/y. The decline has been stronger in females, which are estimated to be now comparable in size to males, minimizing sexual dimorphism. We show that the decline in asymptotic length is correlated with two oceanographic metrics acting as proxies of habitat quality at different scales: the mean Pacific Decadal Oscillation index, and the mean ratio between upwelling intensity in a season and the number of relaxation events. These results suggest that the decline in gray whale body size may represent a plastic response to changing environmental conditions. Decreasing body size could have cascading effects on the population's demography, ability to adjust to environmental changes, and ecological influence on the structure of their community. This finding adds to the mounting evidence that body size is shrinking in several marine populations in association with climate change and other anthropogenic stressors. Our modeling approach is broadly applicable across multiple systems where morphological data on megafauna are collected using drones.

A bioadhesive pacing lead for atraumatic cardiac monitoring and stimulation in rodent and porcine models.

Current clinically used electronic implants, including cardiac pacing leads for epicardial monitoring and stimulation of the heart, rely on surgical suturing or direct insertion of electrodes to the heart tissue. These approaches can cause tissue trauma during the implantation and retrieval of the pacing leads, with the potential for bleeding, tissue damage, and device failure. Here, we report a bioadhesive pacing lead that can directly interface with cardiac tissue through physical and covalent interactions to support minimally invasive adhesive implantation and gentle on-demand removal of the device with a detachment solution. We developed 3D-printable bioadhesive materials for customized fabrication of the device by graft-polymerizing polyacrylic acid on hydrophilic polyurethane and mixing with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) to obtain electrical conductivity. The bioadhesive construct exhibited mechanical properties similar to cardiac tissue and strong tissue adhesion, supporting stable electrical interfacing. Infusion of a detachment solution to cleave physical and covalent cross-links between the adhesive interface and the tissue allowed retrieval of the bioadhesive pacing leads in rat and porcine models without apparent tissue damage. Continuous and reliable cardiac monitoring and pacing of rodent and porcine hearts were demonstrated for 2 weeks with consistent capture threshold and sensing amplitude, in contrast to a commercially available alternative. Pacing and continuous telemetric monitoring were achieved in a porcine model. These findings may offer a promising platform for adhesive bioelectronic devices for cardiac monitoring and treatment.

Adhesive anti-fibrotic interfaces on diverse organs.

Implanted biomaterials and devices face compromised functionality and efficacy in the long term owing to foreign body reactions and subsequent formation of fibrous capsules at the implant-tissue interfaces1-4. Here we demonstrate that an adhesive implant-tissue interface can mitigate fibrous capsule formation in diverse animal models, including rats, mice, humanized mice and pigs, by reducing the level of infiltration of inflammatory cells into the adhesive implant-tissue interface compared to the non-adhesive implant-tissue interface. Histological analysis shows that the adhesive implant-tissue interface does not form observable fibrous capsules on diverse organs, including the abdominal wall, colon, stomach, lung and heart, over 12 weeks in vivo. In vitro protein adsorption, multiplex Luminex assays, quantitative PCR, immunofluorescence analysis and RNA sequencing are additionally carried out to validate the hypothesis. We further demonstrate long-term bidirectional electrical communication enabled by implantable electrodes with an adhesive interface over 12 weeks in a rat model in vivo. These findings may offer a promising strategy for long-term anti-fibrotic implant-tissue interfaces.

Outcome-based Risk Assessment of Non-HLA Antibodies in Heart Transplantation: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Current monitoring after heart transplantation (HT) employs repeated invasive endomyocardial biopsies (EMB). Although positive EMB confirms rejection, EMB fails to predict impending, subclinical, or EMB-negative rejection events. While non-human leukocyte antigen (non-HLA) antibodies have emerged as important risk factors for antibody-mediated rejection after HT, their use in clinical risk stratification has been limited. A systematic review of the role of non-HLA antibodies in rejection pathologies has the potential to guide efforts to overcome deficiencies of EMB in rejection monitoring. METHODS: Databases were searched to include studies on non-HLA antibodies in HT recipients. Data collected included the number of patients, type of rejection, non-HLA antigen studied, association of non-HLA antibodies with rejection, and evidence for synergistic interaction between non-HLA antibodies and donor-specific anti-human leukocyte antigen antibody (HLA-DSA) responses. RESULTS: A total of 56 studies met the inclusion criteria. Strength of evidence for each non-HLA antibody was evaluated based on the number of articles and patients in support versus against their role in mediating rejection. Importantly, despite previous intense focus on the role of anti-major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A (MICA) and anti-angiotensin II type I receptor antibodies (AT1R) in HT rejection, evidence for their involvement was equivocal. Conversely, the strength of evidence for other non-HLA antibodies supports that differing rejection pathologies are driven by differing non-HLA antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review underscores the importance of identifying peri-HT non-HLA antibodies. Current evidence supports the role of non-HLA antibodies in all forms of HT rejection. Further investigations are required to define the mechanisms of action of non-HLA antibodies in HT rejection.

Exploring indirect effects of a classic trophic cascade between urchins and kelp on zooplankton and whales.

Kelp forest trophic cascades have been extensively researched, yet indirect effects to the zooplankton prey base and gray whales have not been explored. We investigate the correlative patterns of a trophic cascade between bull kelp and purple sea urchins on gray whales and zooplankton in Oregon, USA. Using generalized additive models (GAMs), we assess (1) temporal dynamics of the four species across 8 years, and (2) possible trophic paths from urchins to kelp, kelp as habitat to zooplankton, and kelp and zooplankton to gray whales. Temporal GAMs revealed an increase in urchin coverage, with simultaneous decline in kelp condition, zooplankton abundance and gray whale foraging time. Trophic path GAMs, which tested for correlations between species, demonstrated that urchins and kelp were negatively correlated, while kelp and zooplankton were positively correlated. Gray whales showed nuanced and site-specific correlations with zooplankton in one site, and positive correlations with kelp condition in both sites. The negative correlation between the kelp-urchin trophic cascade and zooplankton resulted in a reduced prey base for gray whales. This research provides a new perspective on the vital role kelp forests may play across multiple trophic levels and interspecies linkages.

Three decades of nearshore surveys reveal long-term patterns in gray whale habitat use, distribution, and abundance in the Northern California Current.

The nearshore waters of the Northern California Current support an important seasonal foraging ground for Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG) gray whales. We examine gray whale distribution, habitat use, and abundance over 31 years (1992-2022) using standardized nearshore (< 5 km from shore) surveys spanning a large swath of the PCFG foraging range. Specifically, we generated density surface models, which incorporate detection probability into generalized additive models to assess environmental correlates of gray whale distribution and predict abundance over time. We illustrate the importance of coastal upwelling dynamics, whereby increased upwelling only yields higher gray whale density if interspersed with relaxation events, likely because this combination optimizes influx and retention of nutrients to support recruitment and aggregation of gray whale prey. Several habitat features influence gray whale distribution, including substrate, shelf width, prominent capes, and river estuaries. However, the influence of these features differs between regions, revealing heterogeneity in habitat preferences throughout the PCFG foraging range. Predicted gray whale abundance fluctuated throughout our study period, but without clear directional trends, unlike previous abundance estimates based on mark-recapture models. This study highlights the value of long-term monitoring, shedding light on the impacts of variable environmental conditions on an iconic nearshore marine predator.

A longitudinal study of endocrinology and foraging ecology of subadult gray whales prior to death based on baleen analysis.

Individual-level assessments of wild animal health, vital rates, and foraging ecology are critical for understanding population-wide impacts of exposure to stressors. Large whales face multiple stressors, including, but not limited to, ocean noise, pollution, and ship strikes. Because baleen is a continuously growing keratinized structure, serial extraction, and quantification of hormones and stable isotopes along the length of baleen provide a historical record of whale physiology and foraging ecology. Furthermore, baleen analysis enables the investigation of dead specimens, even decades later, allowing comparisons between historic and modern populations. Here, we examined baleen of five sub-adult gray whales and observed distinct patterns of oscillations in δ15N values along the length of their baleen plates which enabled estimation of baleen growth rates and differentiation of isotopic niche widths of the whales during wintering and summer foraging. In contrast, no regular patterns were apparent in δ13C values. Prolonged elevation of cortisol in four individuals before death indicates that chronic stress may have impacted their health and survival. Triiodothyronine (T3) increased over months in the whales with unknown causes of death, simultaneous with elevations in cortisol, but both hormones remained stable in the one case of acute death attributed to killer whale predation. This parallel elevation of cortisol and T3 challenges the classic understanding of their interaction and might relate to increased energetic demands during exposure to stressors. Reproductive hormone profiles in subadults did not show cyclical trends, suggesting they had not yet reached sexual maturity. This study highlights the potential of baleen analysis to retrospectively assess gray whales' physiological status, exposure to stressors, reproductive status, and foraging ecology in the months or years leading up to their death, which can be a useful tool for conservation diagnostics to mitigate unusual mortality events.

Organic matter biofiltration performance modeling: Influence of influent water quality, operating conditions, and biomass.

The impact of source water dissolved organic matter (DOM) origin, empty bed contact time (EBCT), temperature, and pretreatment methods on biofiltration performance was evaluated and predictive models based on experimental data were developed. Three DOM source water types, terrestrial, microbial, and treated wastewater (WW) effluent, were utilized. A model was developed to predict biofilter performance for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal based on the influent biodegradable DOC (BDOC) fraction, a single active biomass measurement from the top of the filter and the filter EBCT. A biomass distribution model was developed to predict total active biomass throughout the filter based on a single biomass measurement from the top of the filter. The measured BDOC fractions were 21 % for the nonWW impacted source waters, 36 % for the WW effluents and 62 % for the ozonated WW effluents. At an EBCT of 15 min, biofilters removed between 7 and 21 % of the DOC (19 to 50 % for BDOC) depending on the DOM type and use of ozonation. When the EBCT decreased to 5 min DOC removal decreased by 40 % and when increased to 30 min removal increased by 42 %. When the temperature decreased from 22 °C to 6 °C DOC removal was 33 % lower and when increased to 28 °C removal was 42 % higher. ATP values were found to be a function of temperature and DOM origin, as the average ATP values from the WW effluent biofilters were almost double that of the non-WW impacted sources and pre-ozonation of the WW effluent yielded values three times higher. The model was applied to the results of 27 different biofilter runs at three EBCTs yielding one distinct rate constant for the non-WW impacted source waters and one rate constant for the WW effluents. The model was successfully applied to the results of 19 filter runs from the literature and to those from a pilot plant over 6 months of operation.

Assessing variation in faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in gray whales exposed to anthropogenic stressors.

Understanding how individual animals respond to stressors behaviourally and physiologically is a critical step towards quantifying long-term population consequences and informing management efforts. Glucocorticoid (GC) metabolite accumulation in various matrices provides an integrated measure of adrenal activation in baleen whales and could thus be used to investigate physiological changes following exposure to stressors. In this study, we measured GC concentrations in faecal samples of Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG) gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) collected over seven consecutive years to assess the association between GC content and metrics of exposure to sound levels and vessel traffic at different temporal scales, while controlling for contextual variables such as sex, reproductive status, age, body condition, year, time of year and location. We develop a Bayesian Generalized Additive Modelling approach that accommodates the many complexities of these data, including non-linear variation in hormone concentrations, missing covariate values, repeated samples, sampling variability and some hormone concentrations below the limit of detection. Estimated relationships showed large variability, but emerging patterns indicate a strong context-dependency of physiological variation, depending on sex, body condition and proximity to a port. Our results highlight the need to control for baseline hormone variation related to context, which otherwise can obscure the functional relationship between faecal GCs and stressor exposure. Therefore, extensive data collection to determine sources of baseline variation in well-studied populations, such as PCFG gray whales, could shed light on cetacean stress physiology and be used to extend applicability to less-well-studied taxa. GC analyses may offer greatest utility when employed as part of a suite of markers that, in aggregate, provide a multivariate measure of physiological status, better informing estimates of individuals' health and ultimately the consequences of anthropogenic stressors on populations.

The variable influence of anthropogenic noise on summer season coastal underwater soundscapes near a port and marine reserve.

Monitoring soundscapes is essential for assessing environmental conditions for soniferous species, yet little is known about sound levels and contributors in Oregon coastal regions. From 2017 to 2021, during June-September, two hydrophones were deployed near Newport, Oregon to sample 10-13,000 Hz underwater sound. One hydrophone was deployed near the Port of Newport in a high vessel activity area, and another 17 km north within a protected Marine Reserve. Vessel noise and whale vocalizations were detected at both sites, but whales were recorded on more days at the Marine Reserve. Median sound levels in frequencies related to noise from various vessel types and sizes (50 - 4,000 Hz) were up to 6 dB higher at the Port of Newport, with greater diel variability compared to the Marine Reserve. In addition to documenting summer season conditions in Oregon waters, these results exemplify how underwater soundscapes can differ over short distances depending on anthropogenic activity.

Current Challenges and Future Promise for Use of Extracellular Matrix Scaffold to Achieve the Whole Organ Tissue Engineering Moonshot.

Whole organ tissue engineering encompasses a variety of approaches, including 3D printed tissues, cell-based self-assembly, and cellular incorporation into synthetic or xenogeneic extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffolds. This review article addresses the importance of whole organ tissue engineering for various solid organ applications, focusing on the use of extracellular (ECM) matrix scaffolds in such engineering endeavors. In this work, we focus on the emerging barriers to translation of ECM scaffold-based tissue-engineered organs and highlight potential solutions to overcome the primary challenges in the field. The 3 main factors that are essential for developing ECM scaffold-based whole organs are (1) recapitulation of a functional vascular tree, (2) delivery and orientation of cells into parenchymal void spaces left vacant in the scaffold during the antigen elimination and associated cellular removal processes, and (3) driving differentiation of delivered cells toward the appropriate site-specific lineage. The insights discussed in this review will allow the potential of allogeneic or xenogeneic ECM scaffolds to be fully maximized for future whole organ tissue-engineering efforts.

Screening for the social determinants of health: Referring patients to community-based services.

BACKGROUND: Screening patients for the social determinants of health (SDOH) allows clinicians to identify those needs and tailor referral efforts. Due to constraints on clinic time and monetary resources, a simple screening tool incorporated into existing clinic workflow increases its usefulness and impact. LOCAL PROBLEM: Our free, nurse-led, mobile health clinic (MHC) needed an enhanced process or tool for screening patients for SDOH. The purpose of this quality-improvement project was to screen adult patients in the MHC for SDOH needs and to increase volunteer staff perceptions of their knowledge and confidence in referring patients to relevant community-based services. METHODS: A screening process and tool was developed using guidelines from the Health Leads to identify patients' SDOH needs and related requests for assistance. The tool was introduced to and tested among volunteer staff through pretest/posttest surveys. INTERVENTIONS: Patients who visited the clinic were screened for the SDOH within the project period, and volunteer staff were surveyed about their perceptions of the screening tool. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients were screened for SDOH needs. Twenty-three percent reported food insecurity, 27% housing insecurity, 14% difficulty obtaining utilities, and 17% difficulty obtaining transportation; 28% requested assistance with their reported SDOH needs. Seventeen percent of patients reported two or more SDOH needs. At posttest, 100% of volunteer staff ( N = 9) indicated satisfaction with the SDOH screening questions, reported feeling knowledgeable about resources to use for patient referrals, and were confident in referring patients to needed resources. CONCLUSION: The screening tool aptly guided practice and was evaluated as "easy to use" for clinic patients and volunteer staff.

Early childhood household instability, adolescent structural neural network architecture, and young adulthood depression: A 21-year longitudinal study.

Unstable and unpredictable environments are linked to risk for psychopathology, but the underlying neural mechanisms that explain how instability relate to subsequent mental health concerns remain unclear. In particular, few studies have focused on the association between instability and white matter structures despite white matter playing a crucial role for neural development. In a longitudinal sample recruited from a population-based study (N = 237), household instability (residential moves, changes in household composition, caregiver transitions in the first 5 years) was examined in association with adolescent structural network organization (network integration, segregation, and robustness of white matter connectomes; Mage = 15.87) and young adulthood anxiety and depression (six years later). Results indicate that greater instability related to greater global network efficiency, and this association remained after accounting for other types of adversity (e.g., harsh parenting, neglect, food insecurity). Moreover, instability predicted increased depressive symptoms via increased network efficiency even after controlling for previous levels of symptoms. Exploratory analyses showed that structural connectivity involving the left fronto-lateral and temporal regions were most strongly related to instability. Findings suggest that structural network efficiency relating to household instability may be a neural mechanism of risk for later depression and highlight the ways in which instability modulates neural development.

Assessing performance of ZCTA-level and Census Tract-level social and environmental risk factors in a model predicting hospital events.

Predictive analytics are used in primary care to efficiently direct health care resources to high-risk patients to prevent unnecessary health care utilization and improve health. Social determinants of health (SDOH) are important features in these models, but they are poorly measured in administrative claims data. Area-level SDOH can be proxies for unavailable individual-level indicators, but the extent to which the granularity of risk factors impacts predictive models is unclear. We examined whether increasing the granularity of area-based SDOH features from ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA) to Census Tract strengthened an existing clinical prediction model for avoidable hospitalizations (AH events) in Maryland Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. We created a person-month dataset for 465,749 beneficiaries (59.4% female; 69.8% White; 22.7% Black) with 144 features indexing medical history and demographics using Medicare claims (September 2018 through July 2021). Claims data were linked with 37 SDOH features associated with AH events from 11 publicly-available sources (e.g., American Community Survey) based on the beneficiaries' ZCTA and Census Tract of residence. Individual AH risk was estimated using six discrete time survival models with different combinations of demographic, condition/utilization, and SDOH features. Each model used stepwise variable selection to retain only meaningful predictors. We compared model fit, predictive performance, and interpretation across models. Results showed that increasing the granularity of area-based risk factors did not dramatically improve model fit or predictive performance. However, it did affect model interpretation by altering which SDOH features were retained during variable selection. Further, the inclusion of SDOH at either granularity level meaningfully reduced the risk that was attributed to demographic predictors (e.g., race, dual-eligibility for Medicaid). Differences in interpretation are critical given that this model is used by primary care staff to inform the allocation of care management resources, including those available to address drivers of health beyond the bounds of traditional health care.

Antisocial behavior is associated with reduced frontoparietal network efficiency in youth.

Youth antisocial behavior (AB) is associated with deficits in socioemotional processing, reward and threat processing and executive functioning. These deficits are thought to emerge from differences in neural structure, functioning and connectivity, particularly within the default, salience and frontoparietal networks. However, the relationship between AB and the organization of these networks remains unclear. To address this gap, the current study applied unweighted, undirected graph analyses to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data in a cohort of 161 adolescents (95 female) enriched for exposure to poverty, a risk factor for AB. As prior work indicates that callous-unemotional (CU) traits may moderate the neurocognitive profile of youth AB, we examined CU traits as a moderator. Using multi-informant latent factors, AB was found to be associated with less efficient frontoparietal network topology, a network associated with executive functioning. However, this effect was limited to youth at low or mean levels of CU traits, indicating that these neural differences were specific to those high on AB but not CU traits. Neither AB, CU traits nor their interaction was significantly related to default or salience network topologies. Results suggest that AB, specifically, may be linked with shifts in the architecture of the frontoparietal network.

Health care provider bias in the Appalachian region: The frequency and impact of contraceptive coercion.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the frequency and impact of contraceptive coercion in the Appalachian region of the United States. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING: In fall 2019, we collected primary survey data with participants in the Appalachian region. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted an online survey including patient-centered measures of contraceptive care and behavior. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: We used social media advertisements to recruit Appalachians of reproductive age who were assigned female at birth (N = 622). After exploring the frequency of upward coercion (pressure to use contraception) and downward coercion (pressure not to use contraception), we ran chi-square and logistic regression analyses to explore the relationships between contraceptive coercion and preferred contraceptive use. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Approximately one in four (23%, n = 143) participants reported that they were not using their preferred contraceptive method. More than one-third of participants (37.0%, n = 230) reported ever experiencing coercion in their contraceptive care, with 15.8% reporting downward coercion and 29.6% reporting upward coercion. Chi-square tests indicated that downward (χ2 (1) = 23.337, p < 0.001) and upward coercion (χ2 (1) = 24.481, p < 0.001) were both associated with a decreased likelihood of using the preferred contraceptive method. These relationships remained significant when controlling for sociodemographic factors in a logistic regression model (downward coercion: Marginal effect = -0.169, p = 0.001; upward coercion: Marginal effect = -0.121, p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: This study utilized novel person-centered measures to investigate contraceptive coercion in the Appalachian region. Findings highlight the negative impact of contraceptive coercion on patients' reproductive autonomy. Promoting contraceptive access, in Appalachia and beyond, requires comprehensive and unbiased contraceptive care.

Optimization of a high-throughput shotgun immunoproteomics pipeline for antigen identification.

Identification of proteins which initiate and/or perpetuate adaptive immune responses has potential to greatly impact pre-clinical and clinical work across numerous fields. To date, however, the methodologies available to identify antigens responsible for driving adaptive immune responses have been plagued by numerous issues which have drastically limited their widespread adoption. Therefore, in this study, we sought to optimize a shotgun immunoproteomics approach to alleviate these persistent issues and create a high-throughput, quantitative methodology for antigen identification. Three individual components of a previously published approach, namely the protein extraction, antigen elution, and LC-MS/MS analysis steps, were optimized in a systematic manner. These studies determined that preparation of protein extracts using a one-step tissue disruption method in immunoprecipitation (IP) buffer, eluting antigens from affinity chromatography columns with 1% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), and TMT-labeling & multiplexing equal volumes of eluted samples for LC-MS/MS analysis, resulted in quantitative longitudinal antigen identification, with reduced variability between replicates and increased total number of antigens identified. This optimized pipeline provides a multiplexed, highly reproducible, and fully quantitative approach to antigen identification which is broadly applicable to determine the role of antigenic proteins in inciting (i.e., primary antigens) and perpetuating (i.e., secondary antigens) a wide range of diseases. SIGNIFICANCE: Using a systematic, hypothesis-driven approach, we identified potential improvements for three individual steps of a previously published approach for antigen-identification. Optimization of each step created a methodology which resolved many of the persistent issues associated with previous antigen identification approaches. The optimized high-throughput shotgun immunoproteomics approach described herein identifies more than five times as many unique antigens as the previously published method, greatly reduces protocol cost and mass spectrometry time per experiment, minimizes both inter- and intra-experimental variability, and ensures each experiment is fully quantitative. Ultimately, this optimized antigen identification approach has the potential to facilitate novel antigen identification studies, allowing evaluation of the adaptive immune response in a longitudinal manner and encourage innovations in a wide array of fields.

Environmental conditions and marine heatwaves influence blue whale foraging and reproductive effort.

Animal behavior is motivated by the fundamental need to feed and reproduce, and these behaviors can be inferred from spatiotemporal variations in biological signals such as vocalizations. Yet, linking foraging and reproductive effort to environmental drivers can be challenging for wide-ranging predator species. Blue whales are acoustically active marine predators that produce two distinct vocalizations: song and D calls. We examined environmental correlates of these vocalizations using continuous recordings from five hydrophones in the South Taranaki Bight region of Aotearoa New Zealand to investigate call behavior relative to ocean conditions and infer life history patterns. D calls were strongly correlated with oceanographic drivers of upwelling in spring and summer, indicating associations with foraging effort. In contrast, song displayed a highly seasonal pattern with peak intensity in fall, which aligned with the timing of conception inferred from whaling records. Finally, during a marine heatwave, reduced foraging (inferred from D calls) was followed by lower reproductive effort (inferred from song intensity).

Long-term stability in the circumpolar foraging range of a Southern Ocean predator between the eras of whaling and rapid climate change.

Assessing environmental changes in Southern Ocean ecosystems is difficult due to its remoteness and data sparsity. Monitoring marine predators that respond rapidly to environmental variation may enable us to track anthropogenic effects on ecosystems. Yet, many long-term datasets of marine predators are incomplete because they are spatially constrained and/or track ecosystems already modified by industrial fishing and whaling in the latter half of the 20th century. Here, we assess the contemporary offshore distribution of a wide-ranging marine predator, the southern right whale (SRW, Eubalaena australis), that forages on copepods and krill from ~30°S to the Antarctic ice edge (>60°S). We analyzed carbon and nitrogen isotope values of 1,002 skin samples from six genetically distinct SRW populations using a customized assignment approach that accounts for temporal and spatial variation in the Southern Ocean phytoplankton isoscape. Over the past three decades, SRWs increased their use of mid-latitude foraging grounds in the south Atlantic and southwest (SW) Indian oceans in the late austral summer and autumn and slightly increased their use of high-latitude (>60°S) foraging grounds in the SW Pacific, coincident with observed changes in prey distribution and abundance on a circumpolar scale. Comparing foraging assignments with whaling records since the 18th century showed remarkable stability in use of mid-latitude foraging areas. We attribute this consistency across four centuries to the physical stability of ocean fronts and resulting productivity in mid-latitude ecosystems of the Southern Ocean compared with polar regions that may be more influenced by recent climate change.

School connectedness as a protective factor against childhood exposure to violence and social deprivation: A longitudinal study of adaptive and maladaptive outcomes.

School connectedness, a construct indexing supportive school relationships, has been posited to promote resilience to environmental adversity. Consistent with prominent calls in the field, we examined the protective nature of school connectedness against two dimensions of early adversity that index multiple levels of environmental exposure (violence exposure, social deprivation) when predicting both positive and negative outcomes in longitudinal data from 3,246 youth in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (48% female, 49% African American). Child and adolescent school connectedness were promotive, even when accounting for the detrimental effects of early adversity. Additionally, childhood school connectedness had a protective but reactive association with social deprivation, but not violence exposure, when predicting externalizing symptoms and positive function. Specifically, school connectedness was protective against the negative effects of social deprivation, but the effect diminished as social deprivation became more extreme. These results suggest that social relationships at school may compensate for low levels of social support in the home and neighborhood. Our results highlight the important role that the school environment can play for youth who have been exposed to adversity in other areas of their lives and suggest specific groups that may especially benefit from interventions that boost school connectedness.