Testing for genetic assimilation with phylogenetic comparative analysis: Conceptual, methodological, and statistical considerations

Genetic assimilation is a process that leads to reduced phenotypic plasticity during adaptation to novel conditions, a potentially important phenomenon under global environmental change. Null expectations when testing for genetic assimilation, however, are not always clear. For instance, the statistical artifact of regression to the mean could bias us towards detecting genetic assimilation when it has not occurred. Likewise, the specific mechanism underlying plasticity expression may affect null expectations under neutral evolution. We used macroevolutionary numerical simulations to examine both of these important issues and their interaction, varying whether or not plasticity evolves, the evolutionary mechanism, trait measurement error, and experimental design. We also modified an existing reaction norm correction method to account for phylogenetic non-independence. We found: 1) regression to the mean is pervasive and can generate spurious support for genetic assimilation; 2) experimental design and post-hoc correction can minimize this spurious effect; and 3) neutral evolution can produce patterns consistent with genetic assimilation without constraint or selection, depending on the mechanism of plasticity expression. Additionally, we re-analyzed published macroevolutionary data supporting genetic assimilation, and found that support was lost after proper correction. Considerable caution is thus required whenever investigating genetic assimilation and reaction norm evolution at macroevolutionary scales.

Evaluating the Consistency and Continuity of Pixel-Scale Cloud Property Data Records From Aqua and SNPP

The Aqua, SNPP, and JPSS satellites carry a combination of hyperspectral infrared sounders (AIRS, CrIS) and high-spatial-resolution narrowband imagers (MODIS, VIIRS). They provide an opportunity to acquire high-quality long-term cloud data records and are a key component of the existing Program of Record of cloud observations. By matching observations from sounders and imagers across different platforms at pixel scale, this study evaluates the self-consistency and continuity of cloud retrievals from Aqua and SNPP by multiple algorithms, including the AIRS Version-7 retrieval algorithm and the Community Long-term Infrared Microwave Combined Atmospheric Product System (CLIMCAPS) Version-2 for sounders, and the Standard Aqua-MODIS Collection-6.1 and the NASA MODIS-VIIRS continuity cloud products for imagers. Metrics describing detailed statistical distributions at sounder field of view (FOV) and the joint histograms of cloud properties are evaluated. These products are found highly consistent despite their retrieval from different sensors using different algorithms. Differences between the two sounder cloud products are mainly due to cloud clearing and treatment of clouds in scenes with unsuccessful atmospheric profile retrievals. The sounder subpixel cloud heterogeneity evaluated using the standard deviation of imager retrievals at sounder FOV shows good agreement between the standard and continuity products from different satellites. However, impact of algorithm and instrument differences between MODIS and VIIRS is revealed in cloud top pressure retrievals and in the imager cloud distribution skewness. Our study presents a unique aspect to examine NASA’s progress toward building a continuous cloud data record with sufficient quality to investigate clouds’ role in global environmental change.

The natural bitumen additive Selenizza® SLN: A promising alternative for producing high-performance asphalt mixes

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the benefits of using natural bitumen in the context of global environmental change and increasing transportation demands in terms of traffic volume and loads. Despite the advantages of using these additives as binder modifiers to implement high modulus asphalt mixes characterized by high stiffness, high durability, superior resistance to permanent deformation, and good fatigue resistance, they remain still largely unknown and far from being effectively exploited. The paper displays for the first time a collection of scientific data based on previously published research works, enriched by new laboratory testing, whose results are not published yet. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of various aspects of the natural bitumen Selenizza® (extracted from the deposit located in southeast Albania) and the role that this natural additive plays in achieving the desired asphalt pavement performance. The dynamic rheological and Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry (MDSC) analysis proved that natural bitumens are fully compatible with straight-run bitumen and contribute to increasing the consistency, viscosity, and stability of natural bitumen-modified binders. The Rolling Thin-Film Oven Test (RTFOT), followed by Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV) aging analysis of road bitumen modified with Selenizza®, revealed that the resulting binders are resistant to aging and relatively efficient at low temperatures. A Life Cycle Assessment study compared the environmental impact of the Albanian natural bitumen production process with that of conventional crude oil bitumen, leading to the conclusion that the CO2 emission released during the production of Selenizza® is reduced by approximately 44 % compared to that of crude oil bitumen. The various research works described in this paper provide evidence that the natural bitumen-based asphalt mixes feature enhanced quality in terms of mechanical and rheological properties compared to reference asphalt mixes produced with equivalent traditional paving grade bitumen.

Multidecadal, Continent-level Analysis Found No Impact of Climate Warming on Wheat Aphids

Temperature drastically determines insect abundances, thus under climate change, identifying major drivers affecting pest insect populations is critical to world food security and agricultural ecosystem health. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis with data obtained from 120 studies across China and Europe from 1970 to 2017 to reveal the roles of climate and agricultural practices in determining populations of wheat aphids. We showed aphid loads on wheat had distinct patterns between these two regions, with a significant increase in China but decrease in Europe over this time period. Although average winter and growing season temperatures increased over this period in both regions, we found no evidence showing climate warming affected aphid loads. Rather, differences in pesticide use, fertilization, land use, and natural enemies between China and Europe may be key factors accounting for differences in aphid pest populations. These findings provide insights for developing effective agroecosystem management under global change. These long-term data suggest that climate change may not be the most important driver of agricultural pest loads. Therefore, under global environmental change, consideration of multiple factors at large spatial-temporal scales will likely provide more insights for developing effective agroecosystem management to safeguard world food security.

Geomorphology and Earth System Science

This chapter surveys the history of geomorphology and Earth system science 1965-2000. With roots in Enlightenment thought from Hutton, Somerville, Humboldt and Darwin we see a preoccupation with a holistic form of Earth system science develop through the reductionist, mechanistic ideas of the 19th and 20th century to be re-awoken in the 1960 and 1970s environmental movements and the space age, culminating in the major research programmes set by NASA and others subsequently. At the same time the chapter charts the evolution in geomorphology to consider plate tectonics and the origins of mountain ranges, geochemistry and its links between surfaces systems and the atmosphere, to later ideas emphasising the interplay between landforms and life. This chapter surveys changing interconnected ideas within this field and draws parallels and contrasts between the holistic depictions of Earth system science in the early part of the subject's history and the fundamental challenges facing us today as we grapple to find science-led solutions to global environmental change.

Preface

The 2021 7th International Conference on Advances in Environment Research (ICAER 2021) was held as a virtual meeting from August 26-28, 2021. Despite being an online conference, it was well received and a great success. The secretariat of the conference was in Building 38, No.1 Shilibao, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. This conference was originally set to be hosted and held face-to-face in Sapporo, Japan. However, due to the spread of covid-19 in the world, the epidemic situation in various countries was complicated, and the entry-exit management of the local government was strict. Hence, the conference committee finally decided to hold ICAER 2021 as a virtual conference. In the context of epidemic, ICAER 2021 online could not only effectively guarantee safety, but also arouse the enthusiasm of participants, and effectively avoid the situation of being unable to attend the meeting due to travel restrictions, control of the epidemic, and other problems. ICAER 2021 covers online Opening Ceremony, Keynote Speeches, Oral Presentations, and Closing Ceremony. All sessions in this virtual conference were presented by Zoom. Under the theme of “Environment Research”, many researchers, engineers, academicians as well as industrial professionals from all over the world had the opportunity to present their research results and development activities. Keynote speakers were allocated 40 minutes to deliver their speeches and 5 minutes for discussion and in the oral sessions, each author had 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions and answers. During question time, the participants can use the “Raise Hand” function or “chat” function to ask questions. There were 6 sessions for all the presentations. It was a golden opportunity for the students, researchers and engineers to interact with the experts and specialists to get their advice or consultation on technical matters, academic theories and models, sales and marketing strategies. The ICAER 2021 proceedings is a collection of outstanding submissions from universities, research institutes and industries. All of the papers were subjected to peer-review by conference committee members and international reviewers. The final papers selected depended on their quality and their relevancy to the conference. The volume tends to present to the readers the advances in Environment Research and various related areas, such as Environmental Science and Technology, Environmental dynamics, Global environmental change and ecosystems, Soil decontamination, Environmental sustainability, Health and the Environment, Environmental dynamics etc… The organizers would like to acknowledge all the conference participants for their support to ICAER 2021. Especially we would like to thank the organizing committee, reviewers, speakers, chairpersons, and sponsors for their valuable advice in the organization and the professional peer review of the papers. Prof. Ngai Weng Chan Chairman Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia October 27, 2021 List of Conference Committee are available in this pdf.

An Integrated CNN Model for Reconstructing and Predicting Land Use/Cover Change: A Case Study of the Baicheng Area, Northeast China

Land use and land cover change (LUCC) modeling has continuously been a major research theme in the field of land system science, which interprets the causes and consequences of land use dynamics. In particular, models that can obtain long-term land use data with high precision are of great value in research on global environmental change and climate impact, as land use data are important model input parameters for evaluating the effect of human activity on nature. However, the accuracy of existing reconstruction and prediction models is inadequate. In this context, this study proposes an integrated convolutional neural network (CNN) LUCC reconstruction and prediction model (CLRPM), which meets the demand for fine-scale LUCC reconstruction and prediction. This model applies the deep learning method, which far exceeds the performance of traditional machine learning methods, and uses CNN to extract spatial features and provide greater proximity information. Taking Baicheng city in Northeast China as an example, we verify that CLRPM achieved high-precision annual LUCC reconstruction and prediction, with an overall accuracy rate 9.38% higher than that of the existing models. Additionally, the error rate was reduced by 49.5%. Moreover, this model can perform multilevel LUCC classification category reconstructions and predictions. This study casts light on LUCC models within the high-precision and fine-grained LUCC categories, which will aid LUCC analyses and help decision-makers better understand complex land-use systems and develop better land management strategies.

An Agro-Based Society after Post-Industrial Society: From a Perspective of Economic Growth Paradigm

Since the Industrial Revolution, a new era has arisen called the Anthropocene, in which human actions have become the main driver of global environmental change outside the stable environmental state of the Holocene. During the Holocene, environmental change occurred naturally, and the Earth’s regulatory capacity maintained the conditions that enabled human development. Resource overexploitation of the industrial “Anthropocene”, under the principle of profit maximization, has led to planetary ecological crises, such as overloaded carbon sinks and climate changes, vanishing species, degraded ecosystems, and insufficient natural resources. Agro-based society, in which almost all demands of humans can be supported by agriculture, is characterized by life production. The substitution of Agro-based society for a post-industrial society is an evolutionary result of social movement, it is an internal requirement of a sustainable society for breaking through the resource constraint of economic growth. The core feature of agriculture is to use organisms as production objects and rely on life processes to achieve production goals. The substitution of Agro-based society for a post-industrial society is the precondition for a sustainable carbon cycle, breaking through the resource limits of the industrial “Anthropocene”, alleviating the environmental pressure of economic development, and promoting society from increasing disorderly entropy to orderly decreasing entropy. Meanwhile, technological advancements and growing environmental awareness of society make it feasible for the substitution of an agro-based society for a post-industrial society.

Characterising the Anthropocene: Ecological Degradation in Italian Twenty-First Century Literary Writing

<p>The twenty-first century has witnessed the exacerbation of ecological issues that began to manifest themselves in the mid-twentieth century. It has become increasingly clear that the current environmental crisis poses an unprecedented existential threat to civilization as well as to Homo sapiens itself. Whereas the physical and social sciences have been defining the now inevitable transition to a different (and more inhospitable) Earth, the humanities have yet to assert their role as a transformative force within the context of global environmental change. Turning abstract issues into narrative form, literary writing can increase awareness of environmental issues as well as have a deep emotive influence on its readership. To showcase this type of writing as well as the methodological frameworks that best highlights the social and ethical relevance of such texts alongside their literary value, I have selected the following twenty-first century Italian literary works: Roberto Saviano’s Gomorra, Kai Zen’s Delta blues,Wu Ming’s Previsioni del tempo, Simona Vinci’s Rovina, Giancarlo di Cataldo’s Fuoco!, Laura Pugno’s Sirene, and Alessandra Montrucchio’s E poi la sete, all published between 2006 and 2011. The main goal of this study is to demonstrate how these works offer an invaluable opportunity to communicate meaningfully and accessibly the discomforting truths of global environmental change, including ecomafia, waste trafficking, illegal building, arson, ozone depletion, global warming and the dysfunctional relationship between humanity and the biosphere.</p>