Deep-sea trawl samples collected from the west coast of India have revealed several previously undetected species inhabiting the deep waters. This study reports the first record of Bathycongrus nasicus from the western Indian waters and the second record from the entire western Indian Ocean. A single specimen of B. nasicus was collected from the Neendakara fishery harbour in southern Kerala. The species identity was confirmed morphometrically by comparing it with previous records, and the study provides the first molecular identification of this rare congrid eel. The presence of B. nasicus in the western Indian waters suggests its potential distribution throughout the northern Indian Ocean, with prior records from the Bay of Bengal and the western Arabian Sea. This new record indicates that there might be occurrences of several previously unknown fish species in the non-commercial fishery of this region, underscoring the importance of survey collections of non-commercial fishes, which play a crucial role in marine ecosystems.

Pygoscelis penguins are valuable indicators of the effects of rapid warming in the Antarctic Peninsula. In the western Antarctic Peninsula, Adélie penguins show a declining population trend, whereas gentoo penguins are expanding. The notably low reproductive success of Adélie but not gentoo penguins at Ardley Island during the 2023/2024 breeding season provided an opportunity to explore the potential effects of weather conditions and food availability as possible determinants of reproductive output. We explore associations between reproductive output, air temperature, wind speed, wind chill temperature and accumulated rain and snow. As a proxy for food availability, we used data of penguins’ foraging trips, which reflect krill abundance. A late-winter storm at the end of October 2023 led to a record-low wind chill temperature and sustained snow cover, negatively affecting the number of eggs that hatched successfully and/or the number of chicks that survived the first days after hatching. The effects were similar for both species, yet for gentoo penguins chick survival in the late stage of the chick-rearing phase was remarkably higher, possibly due to high food availability and a longer nestling period. As previously suggested, the greater plasticity of gentoo penguins may allow them to mitigate the negative effects of environmental variability, potentially explaining this divergent breeding success despite unusually harsh meteorological conditions.

This study is the first report on the monotypic Codonaria cistellula (Fol, 1883) Kofoid & Campbell, 1939 from the North-Eastern Arabian Sea (NEAS), Indian Ocean. The species was recorded at a water temperature of 25–26 °C and a salinity of 36‰, from a depth of 75–100 m in the NEAS. Two morphotypes were encountered from the region, yet the lorica opening diameter (LOD) remained within a narrow range of 46–50 µm. Moreover, as the original description lacks information on LOD, the circumscription of the species is difficult due to the lorica polymorphism, warranting further genetic analyses.

The seed science community currently defines germination as radicle emergence of 2 mm from the dispersal unit. Consequently, most seed researchers abruptly terminate germination experiments after radicle emergence, concluding that the seed has germinated. However, this approach underestimates epicotyl dormancy and often leads to dormancy misclassification, or worse, a failure to identify epicotyl dormancy altogether. To address these limitations, we propose extending germination studies to the point of first leaf emergence; we term this the “full germination” period. Our methodology involves germinating fully matured, freshly collected seeds and depending on the time required for radicle emergence, the seeds are categorized into (1) viviparous, where seeds germinate prematurely while they are still attached to the parent plant or within the fruit; (2) Morphological dormancy (MD) or Non-dormant (ND), where seeds germinate within 30 days; and (3) physiological dormancy (PD) and morphophysiological dormancy (MPD), where germination does not occur within 30 days. The absence of shoot emergence within 30 days following radicle protrusion indicates the presence of epicotyl dormancy. Thus, species initially classified as ND, MD, or viviparous may be miscategorized if shoot emergence is not assessed. Likewise, seeds exhibiting PD or MPD may possess an additional epicotyl dormancy component, possibly leading to placing them in incorrect subclass or level. A comprehensive assessment of shoot development is imperative for accurate dormancy characterization. We strongly recommend monitoring seed germination until first true leaf emergence should be adopted to ensure correct conclusions about dormancy, plant life cycles and ecological adaptations.

Italian ryegrass [Lolium perenne L. ssp. multiflorum (Lam.) Husnot], a pernicious weed in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) fields, has evolved severe resistance to the acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides, like pyroxsulam. Here, the derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (dCAPS) markers were developed to detect two distinct mutations at the 197th position of the ALS gene. The method was used to examine and purify the resistant population. Homozygous populations with different 197 site mutations from the same population were obtained, and the target site–resistance mechanisms were investigated. Whole-plant dose–response bioassays show that the resistance index (RI) of the Pro-197-Thr mutant population to pyroxsulam was 508.92, whereas that of the Pro-197-Gln population was 9.75. Similar trends were observed for different herbicides within same mode of action. In vitro ALS assays demonstrated that the Pro-197-Thr population exhibited lower sensitivity to pyroxsulam than the Pro-197-Gln population, consistent with plant bioassays. Furthermore, ALS gene expression of the Pro-197-Thr population analysis is significantly higher than that in the Pro-197-Gln population, which may also explain why the Pro-197-Thr population exhibits a higher resistance level than the Pro-197-Gln population. Our findings suggest that different amino acid substitutions at one ALS gene locus can confer herbicide resistance with different levels in L. perenne ssp. multiflorum. This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of herbicide resistance in L. perenne ssp. multiflorum.

Chinese stellara (Stellera chamaejasme L.) is an indicator plant of degraded grasslands. With its robust vitality, once it emerges in grassland ecosystems, it undergoes extensive growth and rapid expansion, inevitably leading to grassland degradation. The establishment and invasion of S. chamaejasme disrupts the ecological balance of grasslands in the Qilian Mountains. This study was conducted in a grassland on the eastern slope of the Qilian Mountains, employing point pattern analysis to investigate the spatial distribution patterns of S. chamaejasme and the relationships among different age classes. The population was categorized into three growth stages: young, subadult, and mature plants. The results revealed that the spatial distribution of this population is primarily dominated by subadult plants, accounting for up to 75.48% of the total, with an overall transition trend from aggregated to random distribution. No significant spatial correlations were observed among different age groups (young, subadult, and mature plants), indicating that mature plants do not exert significant inhibitory effects on the growth of young individuals. In high-density areas, the population exhibited a distribution radiating outward from mature plants as the center, with high-density cores predominantly concentrated within 0 to 5 m. Significant density variations were observed between regions, with the highest total density estimated at approximately 9.57 plants m−2 and the lowest at 2.68 plants m−2. The invasion mechanism of S. chamaejasme is closely associated with the spatial independence of its age groups and a distribution pattern dominated by subadult plants. During the initial invasion phase, S. chamaejasme spreads predominantly around mature plants. After securing sufficient growing space (0 to 1 m), it further competes for territory through shifts in distribution patterns—transitioning from aggregated to random distribution. Additionally, significant differences in distribution density and expansion patterns across regions provide critical theoretical foundations for targeted ecological management strategies.

Climate conditions are known to modulate infectious disease transmission, yet their impact on measles transmission remains underexplored. In this study, we investigate the extent to which climate conditions modulate measles transmission, utilizing measles incidence data during 2005–2008 from China. Three climate-forced models were employed: a sinusoidal function, an absolute humidity (AH)-forced model, and an AH and temperature (AH/T)-forced model. These models were integrated into an inference framework consisting of a susceptible–exposed–infectious–recovered (SEIR) model and an iterated filter (IF2) to estimate epidemiological characteristics and assess climate influences on measles transmission. During the study period, measles epidemics peaked in spring in northern China and were more diverse in the south. Our analyses showed that the AH/T model better captured measles epidemic dynamics in northern China, suggesting a combined impact of humidity and temperature on measles transmission. Furthermore, we preliminarily examined the impact of other factors and found that population susceptibility and incidence rate were both positively correlated with migrant worker influx, suggesting that higher susceptibility among migrant workers may sustain measles transmission. Taken together, our study supports a role of humidity and temperature in modulating measles transmission and identifies additional factors in shaping measles epidemic dynamics in China.

This work investigated the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles functionalized with curcumin (ZnO(np)+CUR) supplementation during the in vitro maturation (IVM) of bovine oocytes on the in vitro embryo production and the cellular antioxidant response. A total of 1,625 cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were cultured in the maturation medium in the absence (0 µM - control) or presence of different concentrations of ZnO(np)+CUR (3 µM, 6 µM or 12 µM). After IVM, COCs were destined either to 1) in vitro embryo production or 2) analysis of reactive oxygen species production, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, catalase (CAT) activity and total antioxidant capacity (FRAP). The results demonstrated that the addition of 6 and 12 µM ZnO(np)+CUR during in vitro maturation showed a higher rate of blastocyst production when compared to the control (p < 0.05). However, only 12 µM ZnO(np)+CUR treatment showed higher rates of embryo production when compared to 3µM ZnO(np)+CUR treatment. Supplementation of IVM medium with 6 µM ZnO(np)+CUR reduced ROS production (p < 0.05) compared to control and 12 µM ZnO(np)+CUR treatments. Also, the treatment containing ZnO(np)+CUR at 12 µM had lower SOD activity after IVM than control treatment. In conclusion, the best outcome for in vitro embryo production was obtained when 6 and 12 µM ZnO(np)+CUR was added during IVM of bovine oocytes. However, this improvement in in vitro embryo production was not associated with either the reduction of ROS production or SOD and CAT activities.