Projected ocean temperatures impair key proteins used in vision of octopus hatchlings.

Global warming is one of the most significant and widespread effects of climate change. While early life stages are particularly vulnerable to increasing temperatures, little is known about the molecular processes that underpin their capacity to adapt to temperature change during early development. Using a quantitative proteomics approach, we investigated the effects of thermal stress on octopus embryos. We exposed Octopus berrima embryos to different temperature treatments (control 19°C, current summer temperature 22°C, or future projected summer temperature 25°C) until hatching. By comparing their protein expression levels, we found that future projected temperatures significantly reduced levels of key eye proteins such as S-crystallin and retinol dehydrogenase 12, suggesting the embryonic octopuses had impaired vision at elevated temperature. We also found that this was coupled with a cellular stress response that included a significant elevation of proteins involved in molecular chaperoning and redox regulation. Energy resources were also redirected away from non-essential processes such as growth and digestion. These findings, taken together with the high embryonic mortality observed under the highest temperature, identify critical physiological functions of embryonic octopuses that may be impaired under future warming conditions. Our findings demonstrate the severity of the thermal impacts on the early life stages of octopuses as demonstrated by quantitative proteome changes that affect vision, protein chaperoning, redox regulation and energy metabolism as critical physiological functions that underlie the responses to thermal stress.

Effects of warming on rice production and metabolism process associated with greenhouse gas emissions.

Evaluating the impact of global warming on rice production and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is critical for ensuring food security and mitigating the consequences of climate change. Nonetheless, the impacts of warming on crop production, GHG emissions, and microbial mechanisms in the single-cropping rice systems remain unclear. Here, a two-year field experiment was conducted to explore the effects of warming (increased by 2.7-3.0 °C on average) in the rice growing season on crop production and functional microorganisms associated with GHG emissions. Results showed that warming resulted in significant reduction (p < 0.01) in the aboveground biomass and grain yield as well as in grain weight, the number of spikelets per panicle, and the seed-setting rate. However, it caused a significant increase (p < 0.01) in the number of panicles by 15.6 % and 34.9 %, respectively. Furthermore, warming significantly increased (p < 0.01) seasonal methane (CH4) emissions but reduced nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, particularly in 2022.The relative abundance of genes associated with CH4 metabolism and nitrogen metabolism was increased by 40.7 % and 32.7 %, respectively, in response to warming. Moreover, warming had a positive impact on the abundance of genes related to CH4 production and oxidation processes but did not affect the denitrification processes associated with N2O production. These results showed that warming decreased rice yield and biomass in the single cropping rice system but increased CH4 emissions and global warming potential. Taken together, to address the increasing food demand of a growing population and mitigate the impacts of global warming, it is imperative to duce GHG emissions and enhance crop yields.

Contrasting responses of Thermocyclops crassus and T. oithonoides (Crustacea, Copepoda) to thermal stress.

Thermal tolerance is a critical factor influencing the survival of living organisms. This study focuses on the thermal resistance of copepod species, Thermocyclops crassus (Fischer, 1853) and T. oithonoides (Sars G.O., 1863), with overlapping distribution ranges in Europe. Short-term heat shock experiments were conducted to assess the thermal resistance of these copepods, considering various temperature increments and exposure durations. Additionally, the study explored the influence of heat shock on egg sac shedding, a vital indicator of population dynamics. Results indicate that widely distributed T. crassus exhibits higher thermal tolerance compared to narrowly distributed T. oithonoides, with survival rates varying under different heat shock conditions. Furthermore, T. crassus demonstrated a quicker response in dropping egg sacs in response to thermal stress, suggesting a potential adaptive mechanism for the survival of adults. However, rapid egg sac droppings pose high risks for eggs facing unfavorable conditions. T. crassus, inhabiting environments with greater temperature fluctuations such as the littoral and pelagial zones, exhibited better survival mechanisms compared to T. oithonoides, which predominantly resides in the pelagic zone. The findings have implications for understanding copepod responses to global warming and thermal pollution. This research contributes insights into the adaptive strategies of thermophilic copepod species and their ecological consequences.

Hidden impacts of ocean warming and acidification on biological responses of marine animals revealed through meta-analysis.

Conflicting results remain on the impacts of climate change on marine organisms, hindering our capacity to predict the future state of marine ecosystems. To account for species-specific responses and for the ambiguous relation of most metrics to fitness, we develop a meta-analytical approach based on the deviation of responses from reference values (absolute change) to complement meta-analyses of directional (relative) changes in responses. Using this approach, we evaluate responses of fish and invertebrates to warming and acidification. We find that climate drivers induce directional changes in calcification, survival, and metabolism, and significant deviations in twice as many biological responses, including physiology, reproduction, behavior, and development. Widespread deviations of responses are detected even under moderate intensity levels of warming and acidification, while directional changes are mostly limited to more severe intensity levels. Because such deviations may result in ecological shifts impacting ecosystem structures and processes, our results suggest that climate change will likely have stronger impacts than those previously predicted based on directional changes alone.

Density-dependent species interactions modulate alpine treeline shifts.

Species interactions such as facilitation and competition play a crucial role in driving species range shifts. However, density dependence as a key feature of these processes has received little attention in both empirical and modelling studies. Herein, we used a novel, individual-based treeline model informed by rich in situ observations to quantify the contribution of density-dependent species interactions to alpine treeline dynamics, an iconic biome boundary recognized as an indicator of global warming. We found that competition and facilitation dominate in dense versus sparse vegetation scenarios respectively. The optimal balance between these two effects was identified at an intermediate vegetation thickness where the treeline elevation was the highest. Furthermore, treeline shift rates decreased sharply with vegetation thickness and the associated transition from positive to negative species interactions. We thus postulate that vegetation density must be considered when modelling species range dynamics to avoid inadequate predictions of its responses to climate warming.

Global warming-related response after bacterial challenge in Astroides calycularis, a Mediterranean thermophilic coral.

A worldwide increase in the prevalence of coral diseases and mortality has been linked to ocean warming due to changes in coral-associated bacterial communities, pathogen virulence, and immune system function. In the Mediterranean basin, the worrying upward temperature trend has already caused recurrent mass mortality events in recent decades. To evaluate how elevated seawater temperatures affect the immune response of a thermophilic coral species, colonies of Astroides calycularis were exposed to environmental (23 °C) or elevated (28 °C) temperatures, and subsequently challenged with bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Using immunolabeling with specific antibodies, we detected the production of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB), molecules involved in coral immune responses, and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) activity, involved in general responses to thermal stress. A histological approach allowed us to characterize the tissue sites of activation (epithelium and/or gastroderm) under different experimental conditions. The activity patterns of the examined markers after 6 h of LPS stimulation revealed an up-modulation at environmental temperature. Under warmer conditions plus LPS-challenge, TLR4-NF-kB activation was almost completely suppressed, while constituent elevated values were recorded under thermal stress only. An HSP70 up-regulation appeared in both treatments at elevated temperature, with a significantly higher activation in LPS-challenge colonies. Such an approach is useful for further understanding the molecular pathogen-defense mechanisms in corals in order to disentangle the complex interactive effects on the health of these ecologically relevant organisms related to global climate change.

Mitigating methane emissions and global warming potential while increasing rice yield using biochar derived from leftover rice straw in a tropical paddy soil.

The sustainable management of leftover rice straw through biochar production to mitigate CH4 emissions and enhance rice yield remains uncertain and undefined. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of using biochar derived from rice straw left on fields after harvest on greenhouse gas emissions, global warming potential (GWP), and rice yield in the paddy field. The experiment included three treatments: chemical fertilizer (CF), rice straw (RS, 10 t ha-1) + CF, and rice straw-derived biochar (BC, 3 t ha-1 based on the amount of product remaining after pyrolysis) + CF. Compared with CF, BC + CF significantly reduced cumulative CH4 and CO2 emissions, net GWP, and greenhouse gas emission intensity by 42.9%, 37.4%, 39.5%, and 67.8%, respectively. In contrast, RS + CF significantly increased cumulative CH4 emissions and net GWP by 119.3% and 13.8%, respectively. The reduced CH4 emissions were mainly caused by the addition of BC + CF, which did not increase the levels of dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon, consequently resulting in reduced archaeal abundance, unlike those observed in RS + CF. The BC + CF also enhanced soil total organic carbon content and rice grain yield. This study indicated that using biochar derived from leftover rice straw mitigates greenhouse gas emissions and improves rice productivity in tropical paddy soil.

Comprehensive assessment of copper's effect on marine organisms under ocean acidification and warming in the 21st century.

Copper (Cu) has sparked widespread global concern as one of the most hazardous metals to aquatic animals. Ocean acidification (OA) and warming (OW) are expected to alter copper's bioavailability based on pH and temperature-sensitive effects; research on their effects on copper on marine organisms is still in its infancy. Therefore, under representative concentration pathways (RCP) 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5, we used the multiple linear regression-water quality criteria (MLR-WQC) method to assess the effects of OA and OW on the ecological risk posed by copper in the Ocean of East China (OEC), which includes the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between temperature and copper toxicity, while there was a negative correlation between pH and copper toxicity. The short-term water quality criteria (WQC) values were 1.53, 1.41, 1.30 and 1.13 µg·L-1, while the long-term WQC values were 0.58, 0.48, 0.40 and 0.29 µg·L-1 for 2020, 2099-RCP2.6, 2099-RCP4.5 and 2099-RCP8.5, respectively. Cu in the OEC poses a moderate ecological risk. Under the current copper exposure situation, strict intervention (RCP2.6) only increases the ecological risk of copper exposure by 20 %, and no intervention (RCP8.5) will increase the ecological risk of copper exposure by nearly double. The results indicate that intervention on carbon emissions can slow down the rate at which OA and OW worsen the damage copper poses to marine creatures. This study can provide valuable information for a comprehensive understanding of the combined impacts of climate change and copper on marine organisms.

The dawn of the tropical Atlantic invasion into the Mediterranean Sea.

The Mediterranean Sea is a marine biodiversity hotspot already affected by climate-driven biodiversity collapses. Its highly endemic fauna is at further risk if global warming triggers an invasion of tropical Atlantic species. Here, we combine modern species occurrences with a unique paleorecord from the Last Interglacial (135 to 116 ka), a conservative analog of future climate, to model the future distribution of an exemplary subset of tropical West African mollusks, currently separated from the Mediterranean by cold upwelling off north-west Africa. We show that, already under an intermediate climate scenario (RCP 4.5) by 2050, climatic connectivity along north-west Africa may allow tropical species to colonize a by then largely environmentally suitable Mediterranean. The worst-case scenario RCP 8.5 leads to a fully tropicalized Mediterranean by 2100. The tropical Atlantic invasion will add to the ongoing Indo-Pacific invasion through the Suez Canal, irreversibly transforming the entire Mediterranean into a novel ecosystem unprecedented in human history.

Soil warming-induced reduction in water content enhanced methane uptake at different soil depths in a subtropical forest.

Global warming can significantly impact soil CH4 uptake in subtropical forests due to changes in soil moisture, temperature sensitivity of methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB), and shifts in microbial communities. However, the specific effects of climate warming and the underlying mechanisms on soil CH4 uptake at different soil depths remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a soil warming experiment (+4 °C) in a natural forest. From August 2020 to October 2021, we measured soil temperature, soil moisture, and CH4 uptake rates at four different soil depths: 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm, and 40-60 cm. Additionally, we assessed the soil MOB community structure and pmoA gene (with qPCR) at the 0-10 and 10-20 cm depths. Our findings revealed that warming significantly enhanced soil net CH4 uptake rate by 12.28 %, 29.51 %, and 61.05 % in the 0-10, 20-40, and 40-60 cm soil layers, respectively. The warming also led to reduced soil moisture levels, with more pronounced reductions observed at the 20-40 cm depth compared to the 0-20 cm depth. At the 0-10 cm depth, warming increased the relative abundance of upland soil cluster α (a type of MOB) and decreased the relative abundance of Methylocystis, but it did not significantly increase the pmoA gene copies. Our structural equation model analysis indicated that warming directly regulated soil CH4 uptake rate through the decrease in soil moisture, rather than through changes in the pmoA gene and MOB community structure at the 0-20 cm depth. In summary, our results demonstrate that warming enhances soil CH4 uptake at different depths, with soil moisture playing a crucial role in this process. Under warming conditions, the drier soil pores allow for better CH4 penetration, thereby promoting more efficient activity of MOB.

Healthcare in the era of climate change and the need for environmental sustainability.

ABSTRACT: Climate change is an existential threat to humanity. While the healthcare sector must manage the health-related consequences of climate change, it is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for up to 4.6% of global emission, aggravating global warming. Within the hospital environment, the three largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions are the operating theatre, intensive care unit and gastrointestinal endoscopy. Knowledge of the health-related burden of climate change and the potential transformative health benefits of climate action is important to all health professionals, as they play crucial roles in effecting change. This article summarises the available literature on the impact of healthcare on climate change and efforts in mitigation, focusing on the intrinsic differences and similarities across the operating theatre complex, intensive care unit and gastrointestinal endoscopy unit. It also discusses strategies to reduce carbon footprint.

"Inherently Limited by Our Imaginations": Health Anxieties, Politics, and the History of the Climate Crisis.

As global warming became a cause of concern in the 1980s, researchers and climate activists initially paid little attention to the possible health effects of a warmer world. This changed quickly between 1985 and 1989, when scientists working on contracts with the US Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency extrapolated from existing knowledge about the impact of weather on health to speculate about how global warming would impact health. However, they downplayed the impact of their contributions by highlighting the uncertainty in their models and the adaptability of human societies. Since that time, physicians and other health scientists have maintained a steady drumbeat of warnings about the health effects of global warming. They have published widely in the medical literature and participated actively in international scientific collaborations. Their research has significantly increased the breadth and depth of climate-health science and shown that measurable impacts of global warming have already begun. But as the many climate crises of 2023 show, action against global warming remains inadequate. Is it still reasonable to hope that health advocacy will incite communities and politicians to act? The history of climate and health advocacy reveals many obstacles that must be overcome.

Dependence of evolution of Cyanobacteria superiority on temperature and nutrient use efficiency in a meso-eutrophic plateau lake.

Algal blooms in lakes have been a challenging environmental issue globally under the dual influence of human activity and climate change. Considerable progress has been made in the study of phytoplankton dynamics in lakes; The long-term in situ evolution of dominant bloom-forming cyanobacteria in meso-eutrophic plateau lakes, however, lacks systematic research. Here, the monthly parameters from 12 sampling sites during the period of 1997-2022 were utilized to investigate the underlying mechanisms driving the superiority of bloom-forming cyanobacteria in Erhai, a representative meso-eutrophic plateau lake. The findings indicate that global warming will intensify the risk of cynaobacteria blooms, prolong Microcystis blooms in autumn to winter or even into the following year, and increase the superiority of filamentous Planktothrix and Cylindrospermum in summer and autumn. High RUETN (1.52 Biomass/TN, 0.95-3.04 times higher than other species) under N limitation (TN < 0.5 mg/L, TN/TP < 22.6) in the meso-eutrophic Lake Erhai facilitates the superiority of Dolichospermum. High RUETP (43.8 Biomass/TP, 2.1-10.2 times higher than others) in TP of 0.03-0.05 mg/L promotes the superiority of Planktothrix and Cylindrospermum. We provided a novel insight into the formation of Planktothrix and Cylindrospermum superiority in meso-eutrophic plateau lake with low TP (0.005-0.07 mg/L), which is mainly influenced by warming, high RUETP and their vertical migration characteristics. Therefore, we posit that although the obvious improvement of lake water quality is not directly proportional to the control efficacy of cyanobacterial blooms, the evolutionary shift in cyanobacteria population structure from Microcystis, which thrives under high nitrogen and phosphorus conditions, to filamentous cyanobacteria adapted to low nitrogen and phosphorus levels may serve as a significant indicator of water quality amelioration. Therefore, we suggest that the risk of filamentous cyanobacteria blooms in the meso-eutrophic plateau lake should be given attention, particularly in light of improving water quality and global warming, to ensure drinking water safety.

A multi-objective optimization approach for green supply chain network design for the sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) industry.

In China, aquatic supply chain network design does not include the green concept or the coordination of environmental and economic performance. Sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) is an aquatic product of high economic value; however, studies on sea cucumber supply chain network optimization are lacking. This study is the first to design the sea cucumber supply chain and construct an optimization model. Considering the characteristics of the sea cucumber industry, LCA for Experts software and the CML-IA-Aug. 2016-world method were used to assess each aquaculture model's global warming potential (GWP), as the environmental performance indicator. In addition, multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) coupled with Modified Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (M-TOPSIS) integrates yield production, economic benefits, and environmental performance. The results demonstrated that cage seed rearing (CSR) combined bottom sowing aquaculture (BSA) represents the best production strategy upstream of the sea cucumber supply chain. In the downstream, the best proportion of sales channels in supermarkets, boutique stores and online shops accounted for 14.79 %, 58.02 % and 27.19 % of the production, respectively. The proposed optimization scenario 4 (S4) can increase product profit by 27.88 % and reduce GWP by 56.89 %. The following improvement measures are proposed: using sea cucumber aquaculture industry standards (cleaner production and green supplier selection) to regulate the behavior of enterprises, adopting an ecological and green production strategy, eliminating high-energy consumption and high emission production practices, and promoting widespread adoption of green consumption concepts. Finally, these measures may improve the sea cucumber supply chain, achieve coordinated environmental and economic performance development in the sea cucumber industry, and provide guidance for green optimization of other aquatic product supply chains in China.

What influences the performance of carbon emissions in China?-Research on the inter-provincial carbon emissions' conditional configuration impacts.

The severe global warming issue currently threatens humans' existence and development. Countries and international organizations have effectively implemented policies to reduce carbon emissions and investigate low-carbon growth strategies. Reducing carbon emissions is a hot topic that academics and government policy-making departments are concerned about.Through necessary condition analysis (NCA) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis(fsQCA), this paper investigates local governments' configuration linkage effect and path choice to improve carbon emission performance from six dimensions: energy consumption, industrial structure, technological innovation, government support, economic development, and demographic factors. The research findings include the following: (1) Individual condition does not represent necessary conditions for the government's carbon performance. Among the two sets of second-order equivalence configurations(S and Q) (five high-level carbon performance configurations), those dominated by economic development or low energy consumption can produce high-level carbon performance. Therefore, the six antecedent conditions dimensions work together to explain how the government can create high levels of carbon performance. (2)According to the regional comparison, China's eastern, central, and western regions exhibit similarities and differences in the driving forces behind high carbon emission performance. All three regions can demonstrate carbon emission performance when all the factors are combined. However, when constrained by the conditions of each region's resource endowment, the eastern region emphasizes the advantage of economic and technological innovation, the central region favors government support and demographic factors, and the western region prefers upgrading industrial structure based on a specific level of economic development.

Alpine Rhododendron population contractions lead to spatial distribution mismatch with their pollinators under climate change.

The effect of global climate change on plant-pollinator interaction is not limited to changes in phenology and richness within communities but also includes the spatial mismatch caused by the inconsistency of geographical distribution changes. Subsequently, the pollinator interaction network may be remodeled or even disrupted. In this study, we simulated the suitable habitat niche of 15 Rhododendron species and their eight pollinator species as well as their overlapping versus geographical mismatch under the current and three future climate change scenarios in 2090s, using MaxEnt. Results showed that the suitable habitat of all Rhododendron species would decrease in 2090s. In particular, 10, 8, and 13 Rhododendron-pollinator assemblages would have a reduced spatial match region under the climate change scenarios, mainly due to the contraction of the suitable habitat of Rhododendron species. The results provide novel insights into the response of plant-pollinator interactions to global warming, useful to prioritize conservation actions of alpine plant ecosystems.