A conceptual framework to help choose appropriate blue nature-based solutions.

Biodiversity loss and climate change have severely impacted ecosystems and livelihoods worldwide, compromising access to food and water, increasing disaster risk, and affecting human health globally. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have gained interest in addressing these global societal challenges. Although much effort has been directed to NbS in urban and terrestrial environments, the implementation of NbS in marine and coastal environments (blue NbS) lags. The lack of a framework to guide decision-makers and practitioners through the initial planning stages appears to be one of the main obstacles to the slow implementation of blue NbS. To address this, we propose an integrated conceptual framework, built from expert knowledge, to inform the selection of the most appropriate blue NbS based on desired intervention objectives and social-ecological context. Our conceptual framework follows a four incremental steps structure: Step 1 aims to identify the societal challenge(s) to address; Step 2 highlights ecosystem services and the underlying biodiversity and ecological functions that could contribute to confronting the societal challenge(s); Step 3 identify the specific environmental context the intervention needs to be set within (e.g. the spatial scale the intervention will operate within, the ecosystem's vulnerability to stressors, and its ecological condition); and Step 4 provides a selection of potential blue NbS interventions that would help address the targeted societal challenge(s) considering the context defined through Step 3. Designed to maintain, enhance, recover, rehabilitate, or create ecosystem services by supporting biodiversity, the blue NbS intervention portfolio includes marine protection (i.e., fully, highly, lightly, and minimally protected areas), restorative activities (i.e., active, passive, and partial restoration; rehabilitation of ecological function and ecosystem creation), and other management measures (i.e., implementation and enforcement of regulation). Ultimately, our conceptual framework guides decision-makers toward a versatile portfolio of interventions that cater to the specific needs of each ecosystem rather than imposing a rigid, one-size-fits-all model. In the future, this framework needs to integrate socio-economic considerations more comprehensively and be kept up-to-date by including the latest scientific information.

The impact of mobile demersal fishing on carbon storage in seabed sediments.

Subtidal marine sediments are one of the planet's primary carbon stores and strongly influence the oceanic sink for atmospheric CO2 . By far the most widespread human activity occurring on the seabed is bottom trawling/dredging for fish and shellfish. A global first-order estimate suggested mobile demersal fishing activities may cause 0.16-0.4 Gt of organic carbon (OC) to be remineralized annually from seabed sediment carbon stores (Sala et al., 2021). There are, however, many uncertainties in this calculation. Here, we discuss the potential drivers of change in seabed sediment OC stores due to mobile demersal fishing activities and conduct a literature review, synthesizing studies where this interaction has been directly investigated. Under certain environmental settings, we hypothesize that mobile demersal fishing would reduce OC in seabed stores due to lower production of flora and fauna, the loss of fine flocculent material, increased sediment resuspension, mixing and transport and increased oxygen exposure. Reductions would be offset to varying extents by reduced faunal bioturbation and community respiration, increased off-shelf transport and increases in primary production from the resuspension of nutrients. Studies which directly investigated the impact of demersal fishing on OC stocks had mixed results. A finding of no significant effect was reported in 61% of 49 investigations; 29% reported lower OC due to fishing activities, with 10% reporting higher OC. In relation to remineralization rates within the seabed, four investigations reported that demersal fishing activities decreased remineralization, with three reporting higher remineralization rates. Patterns in the environmental and experimental characteristics between different outcomes were largely indistinct. More evidence is urgently needed to accurately quantify the impact of anthropogenic physical disturbance on seabed carbon in different environmental settings and to incorporate full evidence-based carbon considerations into global seabed management.

Addressing Criticisms of Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas.

Designated large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs, 100,000 or more square kilometers) constitute over two-thirds of the approximately 6.6% of the ocean and approximately 14.5% of the exclusive economic zones within marine protected areas. Although LSMPAs have received support among scientists and conservation bodies for wilderness protection, regional ecological connectivity, and improving resilience to climate change, there are also concerns. We identified 10 common criticisms of LSMPAs along three themes: (1) placement, governance, and management; (2) political expediency; and (3) social-ecological value and cost. Through critical evaluation of scientific evidence, we discuss the value, achievements, challenges, and potential of LSMPAs in these arenas. We conclude that although some criticisms are valid and need addressing, none pertain exclusively to LSMPAs, and many involve challenges ubiquitous in management. We argue that LSMPAs are an important component of a diversified management portfolio that tempers potential losses, hedges against uncertainty, and enhances the probability of achieving sustainably managed oceans.

Courtship and mating behaviour of manta rays Mobula alfredi and M. birostris in the Maldives.

The aim of this 14 year study was to elucidate the entire courtship and mating behaviour of manta rays Mobula alfredi and M. birostris using behavioural observations, video and photographic records. From 2003 to 2016, over 11,000 surveys were undertaken at known manta ray aggregation sites in the Maldives to record any observed manta rays reproductive activity. From 47,591 photo-ID sightings, 4,247 individual M. alfredi were identified and 226 individual M. birostris from 229 photo-ID sightings, all recorded at 22 atolls across 265 different sites. Courtship activity was observed on 206 surveys at 30 different sites. A total of 229 courtship events were recorded, with 90% (n = 205) of them occurring at cleaning sites. The observed courtship activity was categorised into seven distinct stages which are described in detail: initiation, endurance, evasion, pre-copulatory positioning, copulation, post-copulatory holding and separation. Photographs provide the first scientific record of the entirety of manta rays courtship and mating. Both M. alfredi and M. birostris appear to engage in the same elaborate courtship rituals, exhibiting the same behaviours during all stages of the courtship and mating process.

Identifying species at extinction risk using global models of anthropogenic impact.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Endangered Species employs a robust, standardized approach to assess extinction threat focussed on taxa approaching an end-point in population decline. Used alone, we argue this enforces a reactive approach to conservation. Species not assessed as threatened but which occur predominantly in areas with high levels of anthropogenic impact may require proactive conservation management to prevent loss. We matched distribution and bathymetric range data from the global Red List assessment of 632 species of marine cone snails with human impacts and projected ocean thermal stress and aragonite saturation (a proxy for ocean acidification). Our results show 67 species categorized as 'Least Concern' have 70% or more of their occupancy in places subject to high and very high levels of human impact with 18 highly restricted species (range <100 km(2)) living exclusively in such places. Using a range-rarity scoring method we identified where clusters of endemic species are subject to all three stressors: high human impact, declining aragonite saturation levels and elevated thermal stress. Our approach reinforces Red List threatened status, highlights candidate species for reassessment, contributes important evidential data to minimize data deficiency and identifies regions and species for proactive conservation.

Discovery of imidazo[1,5-a]pyridines and -pyrimidines as potent and selective RORc inverse agonists.

The nuclear receptor (NR) retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor gamma (RORγ, RORc, or NR1F3) is a promising target for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. RORc is a critical regulator in the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-17. We discovered a series of potent and selective imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine and -pyrimidine RORc inverse agonists. The most potent compounds displayed >300-fold selectivity for RORc over the other ROR family members, PPARγ, and NRs in our cellular selectivity panel. The favorable potency, selectivity, and physiochemical properties of GNE-0946 (9) and GNE-6468 (28), in addition to their potent suppression of IL-17 production in human primary cells, support their use as chemical biology tools to further explore the role of RORc in human biology.

Phylogenies reveal predictive power of traditional medicine in bioprospecting.

There is controversy about whether traditional medicine can guide drug discovery, and investment in bioprospecting informed by ethnobotanical data has fluctuated. One view is that traditionally used medicinal plants are not necessarily efficacious and there are no robust methods for distinguishing those which are most likely to be bioactive when selecting species for further testing. Here, we reconstruct a genus-level molecular phylogenetic tree representing the 20,000 species found in the floras of three disparate biodiversity hotspots: Nepal, New Zealand, and the Cape of South Africa. Borrowing phylogenetic methods from community ecology, we reveal significant clustering of the 1,500 traditionally used species, and provide a direct measure of the relatedness of the three medicinal floras. We demonstrate shared phylogenetic patterns across the floras: related plants from these regions are used to treat medical conditions in the same therapeutic areas. This finding strongly indicates independent discovery of plant efficacy, an interpretation corroborated by the presence of a significantly greater proportion of known bioactive species in these plant groups than in random samples. We conclude that phylogenetic cross-cultural comparisons can focus screening efforts on a subset of traditionally used plants that are richer in bioactive compounds, and could revitalize the use of traditional knowledge in bioprospecting.

The evolution of traditional knowledge: environment shapes medicinal plant use in Nepal.

Traditional knowledge is influenced by ancestry, inter-cultural diffusion and interaction with the natural environment. It is problematic to assess the contributions of these influences independently because closely related ethnic groups may also be geographically close, exposed to similar environments and able to exchange knowledge readily. Medicinal plant use is one of the most important components of traditional knowledge, since plants provide healthcare for up to 80% of the world's population. Here, we assess the significance of ancestry, geographical proximity of cultures and the environment in determining medicinal plant use for 12 ethnic groups in Nepal. Incorporating phylogenetic information to account for plant evolutionary relatedness, we calculate pairwise distances that describe differences in the ethnic groups' medicinal floras and floristic environments. We also determine linguistic relatedness and geographical separation for all pairs of ethnic groups. We show that medicinal uses are most similar when cultures are found in similar floristic environments. The correlation between medicinal flora and floristic environment was positive and strongly significant, in contrast to the effects of shared ancestry and geographical proximity. These findings demonstrate the importance of adaptation to local environments, even at small spatial scale, in shaping traditional knowledge during human cultural evolution.

Molecular phylogeny and evolutionary history of the Eurasiatic orchid genus Himantoglossum s.l. (Orchidaceae).

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Lizard orchids of the genus Himantoglossum include many of Eurasia's most spectacular orchids, producing substantial spikes of showy flowers. However, until recently the genus had received only limited, and entirely traditional, systematic study. The aim of the current work was to provide a more robust molecular phylogeny in order to better understand the evolutionary relationships among species of particular conservation concern. METHODS: All putative species of Himantoglossum s.l. were sampled across its geographical range. A large subsample of the 153 populations studied contributed to an initial survey of nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) ribotypes. Smaller subsets were then sequenced for four plastid regions and the first intron of the low-copy-number nuclear gene LEAFY. Rooted using Steveniella as outgroup, phylogenetic trees were generated using parsimony and Bayesian methods from each of the three datasets, supplemented with a ribotype network. KEY RESULTS: The resulting trees collectively determined the order of branching of the early divergent taxa as Himantoglossum comperianum > H. robertianum group > H. formosum, events that also involved significant morphological divergence. Relaxed molecular clock dating suggested that these divergences preceded the Pleistocene glaciations (the origin of the H. robertianum group may have coincided with the Messinian salinity crisis) and occurred in Asia Minor and/or the Caucasus. Among more controversial taxa of the H. hircinum-jankae clade, which are only subtly morphologically divergent, topological resolution was poorer and topological incongruence between datasets was consequently greater. CONCLUSIONS: Plastid sequence divergence is broadly consistent with prior, morphologically circumscribed taxa and indicates a division between H. hircinum-adriaticum to the west of the Carpathians and H. jankae-caprinum (plus local endemics) to the east, a distinction also suggested by nrITS ribotypes. LEAFY phylogenies are less congruent with prior taxonomic arrangements and include one likely example of paralogy. Himantoglossum metlesicsianum fully merits its IUCN Endangered status. Potentially significant genetic variation was detected within Steveniella satyrioides, H. robertianum and H. hircinum. However, confident circumscription of the more derived species of Himantoglossum s.s., including local endemics of hybrid origin, must await future morphometric and population-genetic analyses.

Identification of tertiary sulfonamides as RORc inverse agonists.

Screening a nuclear receptor compound subset in a RORc biochemical binding assay revealed a benzylic tertiary sulfonamide hit. Herein, we describe the identification of compounds with improved RORc biochemical inverse agonist activity and cellular potencies. These improved compounds also possessed appreciable selectivity for RORc over other nuclear receptors.

A reversed sulfonamide series of selective RORc inverse agonists.

The identification of a new series of RORc inverse agonists is described. Comprehensive structure-activity relationship studies of this reversed sulfonamide series identified potent RORc inverse agonists in biochemical and cellular assays which were also selective against a panel of nuclear receptors. Our work has contributed a compound that may serve as a useful in vitro tool to delineate the complex biological pathways involved in signalling through RORc. An X-ray co-crystal structure of an analogue with RORc has also provided useful insights into the binding interactions of the new series.

Taste shaped the use of botanical drugs.

The perception of taste and flavour (a combination of taste, smell, and chemesthesis), here also referred to as chemosensation, enables animals to find high-value foods and avoid toxins. Humans have learned to use unpalatable and toxic substances as medicines, yet the importance of chemosensation in this process is poorly understood. Here, we generate tasting-panel data for botanical drugs and apply phylogenetic generalised linear mixed models to test whether intensity and complexity of chemosensory qualities as well as particular tastes and flavours can predict ancient Graeco-Roman drug use. We found chemosensation to be strongly predictive of therapeutic use: botanical drugs with high therapeutic versatility have simple yet intense tastes and flavours, and 21 of 22 chemosensory qualities predicted at least one therapeutic use. In addition to the common notion of bitter tasting medicines, we also found starchy, musky, sweet, and soapy drugs associated with versatility. In ancient Greece and Rome, illness was thought to arise from imbalance in bodily fluids or humours, yet our study suggests that uses of drugs were based on observed physiological effects that are often consistent with modern understanding of chemesthesis and taste receptor pharmacology.

In ancient times people used trial and error to identify medicinal plants as being effective. Later, diseases were believed to arise from imbalances in body fluids (or 'humours'), and botanical drugs were thought to restore this balance through the power of their taste. Modern science rejects this theory but does recognise the importance of chemosensation ­ our sensitivity to chemicals through taste and smell. These senses evolved in humans to help us seek out nutrients and avoid toxins and may also have guided the ancient uses of botanical drugs. There are many records of historical medicinal plant use and ailments, which makes it possible to explore possible relationships between therapeutic uses of botanical drugs and their chemosensory qualities. To investigate if therapeutic uses of botanical drugs could indeed be predicted by taste and flavour, Leonti, Baker et al. collected 700 botanical drugs identified in an ancient text, named De Materia Medica, which dates back to the 1^st century CE. The researchers asked volunteer tasters to classify the botanical drugs using 22 taste descriptions, such as bitter, aromatic, burning/hot, and fresh/cooling. The volunteers were also asked to score the strength of these tastes. Leonti, Baker et al. then used statistical modelling to see if the participant's taste descriptions could be used to predict the therapeutic uses of the drugs identified in the ancient text. This revealed that of the 46 therapeutic indications described in the text, 45 showed significant associations with at least one taste quality. Botanical drugs with stronger and simpler tastes tended to be used for a wider range of therapeutic indications. This suggests that chemosensation influenced therapeutic expectations in ancient, prescientific medicine. The study of Leonti, Baker et al. brings ancient medicine to life, offering valuable insights into the chemosensory aspects of medicinal plants and their potential applications in modern medicine. A next step would be to explore whether these insights could have relevance to modern science.

An account of the genus Cistanche (Orobanchaceae) in Iraq and taxonomic considerations in the Middle East.

Species limits in the genus Cistanche are poorly understood, despite the plants' long history of use in traditional herbal medicine and food across their range. Here we present a taxonomic account for the genus Cistanche in Iraq, where several taxa have been reported, most of them doubtfully. Using herbarium specimens, images of living material, and taxonomic literature, we found evidence of only one species occurring with certainty in Iraq: Cistanchetubulosa. We found no evidence for the occurrence of other Cistanche species in Iraq, including a putative new entity reported for the region. Our work highlights inconsistencies in the literature, and underscores the importance of examining multiple stable characters for delimiting species in the genus Cistanche.

Repeated upslope biome shifts in Saxifraga during late-Cenozoic climate cooling.

Mountains are among the most biodiverse places on Earth, and plant lineages that inhabit them have some of the highest speciation rates ever recorded. Plant diversity within the alpine zone - the elevation above which trees cannot grow-contributes significantly to overall diversity within mountain systems, but the origins of alpine plant diversity are poorly understood. Here, we quantify the processes that generate alpine plant diversity and their changing dynamics through time in Saxifraga (Saxifragaceae), an angiosperm genus that occurs predominantly in mountain systems. We present a time-calibrated molecular phylogenetic tree for the genus that is inferred from 329 low-copy nuclear loci and incorporates 73% (407) of known species. We show that upslope biome shifts into the alpine zone are considerably more prevalent than dispersal of alpine specialists between regions, and that the rate of upslope biome shifts increased markedly in the last 5 Myr, a timeframe concordant with a cooling and fluctuating climate that is likely to have increased the extent of the alpine zone. Furthermore, alpine zone specialists have lower speciation rates than generalists that occur inside and outside the alpine zone, and major speciation rate increases within Saxifraga significantly pre-date increased rates of upslope biome shifts. Specialisation to the alpine zone is not therefore associated with speciation rate increases. Taken together, this study presents a quantified and broad scale perspective of processes underpinning alpine plant diversity.

Convergent evolution of floral signals underlies the success of Neotropical orchids.

The great majority of plant species in the tropics require animals to achieve pollination, but the exact role of floral signals in attraction of animal pollinators is often debated. Many plants provide a floral reward to attract a guild of pollinators, and it has been proposed that floral signals of non-rewarding species may converge on those of rewarding species to exploit the relationship of the latter with their pollinators. In the orchid family (Orchidaceae), pollination is almost universally animal-mediated, but a third of species provide no floral reward, which suggests that deceptive pollination mechanisms are prevalent. Here, we examine floral colour and shape convergence in Neotropical plant communities, focusing on certain food-deceptive Oncidiinae orchids (e.g. Trichocentrum ascendens and Oncidium nebulosum) and rewarding species of Malpighiaceae. We show that the species from these two distantly related families are often more similar in floral colour and shape than expected by chance and propose that a system of multifarious floral mimicry--a form of Batesian mimicry that involves multiple models and is more complex than a simple one model-one mimic system--operates in these orchids. The same mimetic pollination system has evolved at least 14 times within the species-rich Oncidiinae throughout the Neotropics. These results help explain the extraordinary diversification of Neotropical orchids and highlight the complexity of plant-animal interactions.

Survey data of public awareness on climate change and the value of marine and coastal ecosystems.

The long-term provision of ocean ecosystem services depends on healthy ecosystems and effective sustainable management. Understanding public opinion about marine and coastal ecosystems is important to guide decision-making and inform specific actions. However, available data on public perceptions on the interlinked effects of climate change, human impacts and the value and management of marine and coastal ecosystems are rare. This dataset presents raw data from an online, self-administered, public awareness survey conducted between November 2021 and February 2022 which yielded 709 responses from 42 countries. The survey was released in four languages (English, French, Spanish and Italian) and consisted of four main parts: (1) perceptions about climate change; (2) perceptions about the value of, and threats to, coasts, oceans and their wildlife, (3) perceptions about climate change response; and (4) socio-demographic information. Participation in the survey was voluntary and all respondents provided informed consent after reading a participant information form at the beginning of the survey. Responses were anonymous unless respondents chose to provide contact information. All identifying information has been removed from the dataset. The dataset can be used to conduct quantitative analyses, especially in the area of public perceptions of the interlinkages between climate change, human impacts and options for sustainable management in the context of marine and coastal ecosystems. The dataset is provided with this article, including a copy of the survey and participant information forms in all four languages, data and the corresponding codebook.

Combined phylogenetic analyses reveal interfamilial relationships and patterns of floral evolution in the eudicot order Fabales.

Relationships between the four families placed in the angiosperm order Fabales (Leguminosae, Polygalaceae, Quillajaceae, Surianaceae) were hitherto poorly resolved. We combine published molecular data for the chloroplast regions matK and rbcL with 66 morphological characters surveyed for 73 ingroup and two outgroup species, and use Parsimony and Bayesian approaches to explore matrices with different missing data. All combined analyses using Parsimony recovered the topology Polygalaceae (Leguminosae (Quillajaceae + Surianaceae)). Bayesian analyses with matched morphological and molecular sampling recover the same topology, but analyses based on other data recover a different Bayesian topology: ((Polygalaceae + Leguminosae) (Quillajaceae + Surianaceae)). We explore the evolution of floral characters in the context of the more consistent topology: Polygalaceae (Leguminosae (Quillajaceae + Surianaceae)). This reveals synapomorphies for (Leguminosae (Quillajaceae + Surianaceae)) as the presence of free filaments and marginal/ventral placentation, for (Quillajaceae + Surianaceae) as pentamery and apocarpy, and for Leguminosae the presence of an abaxial median sepal and unicarpellate gynoecium. An octamerous androecium is synapomorphic for Polygalaceae. The development of papilionate flowers, and the evolutionary context in which these phenotypes appeared in Leguminosae and Polygalaceae, shows that the morphologies are convergent rather than synapomorphic within Fabales.

Structural and biophysical studies of PCSK9 and its mutants linked to familial hypercholesterolemia.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9) lowers the abundance of surface low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor through an undefined mechanism. The structure of human PCSK9 shows the subtilisin-like catalytic site blocked by the prodomain in a noncovalent complex and inaccessible to exogenous ligands, and that the C-terminal domain has a novel fold. Biosensor studies show that PCSK9 binds the extracellular domain of LDL receptor with K(d) = 170 nM at the neutral pH of plasma, but with a K(d) as low as 1 nM at the acidic pH of endosomes. The D374Y gain-of-function mutant, associated with hypercholesterolemia and early-onset cardiovascular disease, binds the receptor 25 times more tightly than wild-type PCSK9 at neutral pH and remains exclusively in a high-affinity complex at the acidic pH. PCSK9 may diminish LDL receptors by a mechanism that requires direct binding but not necessarily receptor proteolysis.

Dataset of pollination traits in Fabales.

The data presented in this paper is supporting the research article "Reconstructing an historical pollination syndrome: keel flowers" (Aygören Uluer et al., 2022). We present a dataset containing information on number of species, geographic distribution, floral type (keeled or not), presence or absence of fused petals, floral symmetry, presence or absence of a pentamerous corolla (petals+petaloid sepals in Polygalaceae), androecium type, presence or absence of enclosed reproductive organs, presence or absence of three distinct petal types (petals+ petaloid sepals in Polygalaceae), flower size, corolla size (i.e., in open flower) and/or filament size (i.e., entire filament size particularly in subfamily Caesalpinioideae), flower colour, UV reflectance, habit, height, inflorescence type and inflorescence size for 758 Fabales genera. The information was obtained from hundreds of appropriate, previously published sources. This the largest morphological dataset constructed for Fabales to date, and the data presented in this article can be used for morphology, biogeography, ancestral state, ancestral area analyses of any Fabales clades.

Reconstructing an historical pollination syndrome: keel flowers.

BACKGROUND: Keel flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, pentamerous flowers with three different petal types and reproductive organs enclosed by keel petals; generally there is also connation of floral parts such as stamens and keel petals. In this study, the evolution of keel flowers within the order Fabales is explored to investigate whether the establishment of this flower type within one of the species-rich families, the Fabaceae (Leguminosae), preceded and could have influenced the evolution of keel flowers in the Polygalaceae. We conducted molecular dating, and ancestral area and ancestral state analyses for a phylogeny constructed for 678 taxa using published matK, rbcL and trnL plastid gene regions. RESULTS: We reveal the temporal and spatial origins of keel flowers and traits associated with pollinators, specifically floral symmetry, the presence or absence of a pentamerous corolla and three distinct petal types, the presence or absence of enclosed reproductive organs, androecium types, inflorescence types, inflorescence size, flower size, plant height and habit. Ancestral area reconstructions show that at the time keel flowers appeared in the Polygaleae, subfamily Papilionoideae of the Fabaceae was already distributed almost globally; at least eight clades of the Papilionoideae had keel flowers with a functional morphology broadly similar to the morphology of the first evolving Polygaleae flowers. CONCLUSIONS: The multiple origins of keel flowers within angiosperms likely represent convergence due to bee specialization, and therefore pollinator pressure. In the case of the Fabales, the first evolving keel flowers of Polygaleae have a functional morphology that corresponds with keel flowers of species of the Papilionoideae already present in the environment. These findings are consistent with the keel-flowered Polygaleae exploiting pollinators of keel-flowered Papilionoideae. The current study is the first to use ancestral reconstructions of traits associated with pollination to demonstrate that the multiple evolutionary origins of the keel flower pollinator syndrome in Fabales are consistent with, though do not prove, mimicry.