To assess the time scales and relative importance of temporal decoupling between hillslope erosion and the introduction of sediment to streams in a Yangtze River headwater basin, we used multiple techniques to date sediments in alluvial fans and terraces in a third-order stream valley draining a 30-km2 catchment in SW Sichuan, China. Poorly sorted angular sediments in tributary-junction alluvial fans ranged in age from 11261 BCE to 1844 CE, and predominantly fine-grained overbank sediments in alluvial terraces date to approximately 1700–1950. Ethnographic observations and field mapping of hillslope soil depths indicate that terrace sediments and upper strata of several fans correspond to a period of hillslope erosion associated with the intensification of hillslope swidden agriculture. Contemporary sediment production is dominated by lateral fluvial erosion of valley-bottom landforms rather than by hillslope erosion. The long-term temporal decoupling by valley storage of hillslope erosion from sediment delivery to streams has relevance to contemporary hillslope erosion and sedimentation control efforts in the Yangtze Basin. It also motivates investigating whether valley-filling anthropogenic “legacy sediments” may play a role in decoupling hillslope erosion from sediment production in other Yangtze Basin headwater basins.

This study investigates the influence of interlayer cations on the thermodynamics and sorption mechanisms of water in a reference Wyoming montmorillonite. The behaviour of the montmorillonite exchanged with monovalent cations (Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+) or divalent cations (Mg2+, Ca2+, Ba2+) is compared. The analysis combines X-ray diffraction (XRD), water sorption isotherms at various temperatures and mid-infrared spectroscopy. Li+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ promote greater water uptake and swelling, whereas K+, Rb+ and Cs+ significantly limit these processes. The behaviour of Na+ and Ba2+ stands out, demonstrating intermediate water uptake and high swelling. Mid-infrared spectral analysis supports these observations. It is shown that a cation’s effect on water uptake and swelling correlates best with the product of its elementary charge and ionic radius rather than with other properties such as the electrostatic potential, solvation enthalpy or chemical hardness. However, differences in isotherm shapes, hysteresis between adsorption and desorption and the variation of isosteric heat with water content suggest the presence of two distinct sorption mechanisms: one involving Li+, Cs+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and Ba2+, and another involving Na+, K+ and Rb+. These findings indicate that isotherm shape and swelling alone do not directly reflect water uptake capacity. These findings thus outline that the chaotropic (structure-breaking) or kosmotropic (structure-making) nature of the cations, along with the complex interplay between cation hydration and TOT layer attraction, may explain the complex observed differences.

Residents’ attitudes towards wildlife and their management can be crucial in population control. Using a novel approach, we examined East Tennessee residents’ tolerance for American black bears and attitudes towards hunting. Most residents viewed black bears positively, tolerated their presence and preferred seeing them in their area. Attitudes were influenced by concern about future encounters, the values and benefits attributed to bears, prior experiences and perceptions of human–bear conflict and conflict frequency, whereas sociodemographic factors were less influential. Support for regulated hunting was influenced by sociodemographic factors more so than cognitive factors. Our findings suggest opportunities for managers to increase tolerance of black bears among residents through outreach emphasizing the benefits of living with the bears and guidance for avoiding negative encounters. Greater trust in the wildlife agency may result from such outreach, potentially leading to greater levels of tolerance among residents of bear-inhabited areas.

A new species of the genus Verdeia is described from the continental slope of the Potiguar Basin, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil at a depth of 150 m. Verdeia setosa sp. nov. is readily distinguished from its congeners by the ornamentation of the larger gnathopod 2 in males and the densely setose basis of pereopods 6–7. This is also a new record of the genus from Brazilian waters. We presented an amended diagnosis of the genus to accommodate all Verdeia species and discuss these changes. Furthermore, an identification key to the family Melitidae from Brazil is provided.

Anapachydiscus (Anapachydiscus) haegerti n. sp., an ammonite belonging to the Pachydiscidae, is reported for the first time from the upper Campanian Northumberland Formation of Hornby Island, British Columbia. Thirty-five specimens have allowed for the complete ontogenetic reconstruction of the taxon as well as thanatocoenosic (death assemblage) observations with paleoecological implications for ammonoid early life. Although isolated juvenile specimens occur, instances of concretions containing a multitude of individuals are typical. One concretion yielding twenty-six early-stage juveniles lends support to a mode of preservation reflective of life association through a taphonomic process of capture and burial. The new species presents age-diagnostic utility as a distinct fossil within the molluscan assemblage of the Nostoceras (Didymoceras?) adrotans regional subzone; a highly constrained interval of the upper Campanian in the eastern North Pacific. A specimen attributed to Anapachydiscus (Anapachydiscus) cf. A. (A.) fascicostatus from the upper Campanian of the Cedar District Formation on Denman Island is also described, and the genus Anapachydiscus is retained with an emended diagnosis. Additional collections have enabled revised conceptualizations of Pachydiscus (Pachydiscus) hornbyense and Pachydiscus (Pachydiscus) ootacodensis accounting for the spectrum of variance within these species. Recognition of an upper Campanian P. (P.) ootacodensis–Pachydiscus (Pachydiscus) suciaensis Concurrent-range Zone is proposed for the eastern North Pacific to assist broader efforts of interregional biostratigraphic correlation given the endemic limitation of the latter taxon.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/d8eb27f6-7221-4efb-9548-ec2001986b19

Squamate faunas from the lower Eocene of Europe are rare. We here describe pleurodontan iguanian (potentially Geiseltaliellus Kuhn, 1944), scincoid, and Squamata indet. jaw remains from Cos locality (near the Caylus village, southwestern France). The age of the Cos deposit has been proposed to fit the MP 10−11 interval (MP 10b; late Ypresian). Thus, it either corresponds to the end of the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) or slightly postdates it. Although very fragmentary, the finds represent the first evidence of these clades in this locality, which is one of the oldest from Phosphorites du Quercy, adding to the squamate paleobiodiversity of the site. Besides iguanians and scincoids, the fauna also includes gekkotans, glyptosaurids, varanoids, and a constrictor snake. Some of the genera from Cos are known solely from this locality, revealing a crucial part of the squamate history in Europe. In the last few years, our knowledge of the Paleocene and especially early Eocene lizard faunas has increased. This allows a better understanding of the faunas and their changes due to temperature changes and migrations. Records are still very sketchy at European localities, but the overall picture is somewhat clearer, even on a smaller scale. A small but visible drop in lizard diversity appears to be present at localities from MP 8−9 relative to those from MP 7, whereas at MP 10, the diversity slightly increased. This appears to correlate well with observed changes in temperature.

A new species of syngnathiform fish, Gerpegezhus daniaoriundus n. sp., from the Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark is described herein. The description is based on 17 specimens preserved in either soft diatomite or carbonate concretions. The two lithologies result in different preservation of the morphological features. Gerpegezhus daniaoriundus n. sp. exhibits a set of diagnostic features of the extinct monotypic family Gerpegezhidae and of the genus Gerpegezhus, including (1) greatly elongated body, (2) presence of ossified myoseptal tendons, (3) lower procurrent caudal-fin rays absent, (4) dorsal- and anal-fin spines absent, and (5) pelvic fin and girdle absent. It can be separated from the species Gerpegezhus paviai by having a much slenderer body bearing unpaired leaf-like appendages protruding from its ventral side, and completely different meristic values, including up to 39 (or 40) vertebrae, a total of 16 unbranched caudal-fin rays, dorsal and anal fins with 5 and 16 unbranched rays, respectively, and a different organization of body armor comprising two dorsal bilateral series of dermal plates. The occurrence of the genus Gerpegezhus from the Fur Formation provides a remarkable example of the biogeographic relationships between the North Sea realm and the Tethys in the earliest Eocene.

http://zoobank.org/3a57ae6b-faae-44c6-9a0a-aaeea03b57b3

The current study records a new distributional range for Elysia cf. leucolegnote Jensen, 1990, which was previously reported only from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India. The collection was carried out in the mangroves of Kali Estuary situated in Karnataka (14°50ʹ55.27″N, 74° 9ʹ44.04″E & 14°50ʹ16.36″N, 74°10ʹ8.81″E), southwest coast of India. Prior studies had documented the distribution of this species in the tropical West Pacific and East Indian Oceans; this study reports the first record of E. cf. leucolegnote in the Northwestern Indian Ocean, expanding its documentation of a wider distribution range. The species was first discovered in Hong Kong and described in 1990. It was identified by its distinctive morphological characteristics, which featured black eyes situated proximally at the base of the rhinophores and a flattened, generally green body with a distinct white border line along the rhinophores and parapodia.

Rivers act as long-term plastic storage and a pathway for land-based plastic pollution into the ocean. Monitoring river plastic at a global scale remains challenging, with only limited large-scale and long-term monitoring efforts to date. Citizen science approaches may ensure a more continuous basic knowledge of plastic pollution in rivers, which can be used to assess the efficacy of reduction measures. We evaluated the suitability of several river plastic monitoring methods for citizen science, through field monitoring and a subsequent survey with citizen scientists in Accra, Ghana. Four measurement techniques (visual counting, macroplastic net sampling, microplastic net sampling and hydrometric measurements) were tested in the field and evaluated by citizen scientists. The visual counting method, used to estimate floating macroplastic transport, emerged as the most promising method for citizen science–based river plastic monitoring. Using the data collected by citizens, we quantify the variability in transport and concentration of both macroplastic and microplastic.

Malacostracan crustaceans are very diverse today, but their evolutionary history and biodiversity during the Paleozoic remain understudied. One clade within Malacostraca is Belotelsonidea, crustaceans with a shrimp-like body plan only known from the Carboniferous. We describe the fourth species of this group, Lobetelson feldmanni n. sp., from the Pennsylvanian (Kasimovian) of the Kinney Brick Quarry, New Mexico, USA. The holotype is a flattened, relatively complete specimen with an eye preserved. A second, less well-preserved specimen from the same locality might be referable to the new species. This record represents the youngest record of Belotelsonidea, now ranging from the upper Tournaisian to the Kasimovian, equivalent to ca. 40 Myr. Paleobiogeographically, belotelsonids are only known from Scotland and various parts of the USA thus far, located near the equator to ~20° south during the Carboniferous. Whereas most belotelsonids are thought to have lived in a marine environment, some of the oldest specimens from Scotland are interpreted to have inhabited areas with limited to no marine influence.

UUID: https://zoobank.org/6c52b87d-9259-4b19-85c7-71b425bb6187

Parachute science is the problematic and extractive practice of non-local researchers taking data, knowledge and information from communities of which they are not members, failing to engage the local community and local scientists, marginalizing them in most aspects of the research, and using the results to their own benefit. Perpetuated by colonialism and unequal access to resources such as funding, education and data, it is harmful to local scientists and undervalues the contributions of the community as a whole. Ultimately, it erodes trust within the scientific community and, more broadly, builds dependence on foreign researchers and makes science less global and collaborative. Increasing international and cross-cultural collaborations while being careful to avoid parachute science can help minimize these impacts. Here, we offer our perspectives on parachute science and suggestions on how to avoid it, based on our experiences conducting research internationally with diverse scientists and communities, including both academics and non-academics. Instead of a parachute, we suggest opening the scientific “umbrella” to incorporate diverse perspectives and local contributions in generating relevant and impactful scientific insight.