Abstract: Stress exposure and stress response are likely to vary according to life history strategies and environmental contexts. Although the acute release of glucocorticoids in response to unpredictable environmental conditions may lead to adaptative behavioral and physiological responses, exposure to high glucocorticoid levels on the long-term usually leads to deleterious cascading effects on animal’s physiology, behavior and fitness. Yet, some species may be more adapted to cope with challenging events than others and might naturally possess protective mechanisms limiting the adverse consequences of prolonged exposure to high glucocorticoid levels. King penguin chicks being naturally exposed to harsh weather, prolonged fasting and constant predation pressure, we investigated the life-history, behavioral and physiological consequences of an experimental increase in corticosterone levels on the medium and long-term (after removing implants), predicting to find relatively few costs associated with such treatment. Although non-significant, CORT-treated chicks were slightly larger, fledged slightly earlier and had slightly higher survival chances than placebo chicks. CORT-treated chicks were significantly more aggressive and displayed lower corticosterone response to acute stress on the medium term, while their physical activity and whole-body energetics were not significantly affected. While mitochondrial density was not significantly affected by the CORT treatment, CORT-treated chicks had lower oxidative stress levels on the long-term than placebo ones, and no significant impact was observed on telomere shortening. Finally, the expression of several genes (i.e. CORT receptor, HSP90, mTOR, NRF2 and TERF2) was up regulated in treated chicks, which could potentially mediate the apparent ‘stress’ resistance we observed at the phenotypic level.

Abstract: Changes in mass, extent, duration, and physical properties of snow are key elements for studying associated climate change feedbacks in northern regions. In this study, we analyzed snowpack physical properties along a ‘mega’ transect from 47°N to 83°N (4,000 km) in northeastern Canada, which includes marked transitions between ecozones from boreal forest to subarctic and arctic ecosystems. Our unique dataset of 391 detailed snowpits acquired over the last 20 years, complemented with snow data from weather stations, shows that snowpack properties such as snow water equivalent, snow depth, density, grain size and basal depth hoar fraction (DHF) are strongly linked to vegetation type. Based on these results, we propose an updated classification of snow types in three classes: boreal forest snow (47–58°N), tundra snow (58–74°N) and polar desert snow (74–83°N), which is more appropriate to the study area than the general north hemisphere classification commonly used. We also show that shrub presence along the transect contributes to a significant increase in DHF development which contributes most strongly to the thermal insulation properties of the snowpack. Overall, our analysis suggests that snow–vegetation interactions have a positive feedback effect on warming at northern latitudes.

Abstract: We contend that the exclusive focus on the English language in scientific research might hinder effective communication between scientists and practitioners or policy makers whose mother tongue is non-English. This barrier in scientific knowledge and data transfer likely leads to significant knowledge gaps and may create biases when providing global patterns in many fields of science. To demonstrate this, we compiled data on the global economic costs of invasive alien species reported in 15 non-English languages. We compared it with equivalent data from English documents (i.e., the InvaCost database, the most up-to-date repository of invasion costs globally). The comparison of both databases (~7500 entries in total) revealed that non-English sources: (i) capture a greater amount of data than English sources alone (2500 vs. 2396 cost entries respectively); (ii) add 249 invasive species and 15 countries to those reported by English literature, and (iii) increase the global cost estimate of invasions by 16.6% (i.e., US$ 214 billion added to 1.288 trillion estimated from the English database). Additionally, 2712 cost entries — not directly comparable to the English database — were directly obtained from practitioners, revealing the value of communication between scientists and practitioners. Moreover, we demonstrated how gaps caused by overlooking non-English data resulted in significant biases in the distribution of costs across space, taxonomic groups, types of cost, and impacted sectors. Specifically, costs from Europe, at the local scale, and particularly pertaining to management, were largely under-represented in the English database. Thus, combining scientific data from English and non-English sources proves fundamental and enhances data completeness. Considering non-English sources helps alleviate biases in understanding invasion costs at a global scale. Finally, it also holds strong potential for improving management performance, coordination among experts (scientists and practitioners), and collaborative actions across countries. Note: non-English versions of the abstract and figures are provided in Appendix S5 in 12 languages.

Abstract: The vertebrate mitochondrial genomes generally present a typical gene order. Exceptions are uncommon and important to study the genetic mechanisms of gene order rearrangements and their consequences on phylogenetic output and mitochondrial function. Antarctic notothenioid fish carry some peculiar rearrangements of the mitochondrial gene order. In this first systematic study of 28 species, we analyzed known and undescribed mitochondrial genome rearrangements for a total of eight different gene orders within the notothenioid fish. Our reconstructions suggest that transpositions, duplications, and inversion of multiple genes are the most likely mechanisms of rearrangement in notothenioid mitochondrial genomes. In Trematominae, we documented an extremely rare inversion of a large genomic segment of 5,300 bp that partially affected the gene compositional bias but not the phylogenetic output. The genomic region delimited by nad5 and trnF, close to the area of the Control Region, was identified as the hot spot of variation in Antarctic fish mitochondrial genomes. Analyzing the sequence of several intergenic spacers and mapping the arrangements on a newly generated phylogeny showed that the entire history of the Antarctic notothenioids is characterized by multiple, relatively rapid, events of disruption of the gene order. We hypothesized that a pre-existing genomic flexibility of the ancestor of the Antarctic notothenioids may have generated a precondition for gene order rearrangement, and the pressure of purifying selection could have worked for a rapid restoration of the mitochondrial functionality and compactness after each event of rearrangement.

Abstract: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are associated with several disrupted physiological and endocrine parameters. Regarding endocrine mechanisms, laboratory studies suggest that PFAS could disrupt the thyroid hormone system and alter circulating thyroid hormone concentrations. Thyroid hormones play a ubiquitous role—controlling thermoregulation, metabolism, and reproduction. However, evidence for disruption of thyroid hormones by PFAS remains scarce in wildlife. The present study investigated the associations between concentrations of PFAS, thyroid hormones, and body condition in an arctic seabird, the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). We collected blood from kittiwakes sampled in Svalbard, Norway (2013 and 2014). Plasma samples were analyzed for total thyroxine (TT4) and total triiodothyronine (TT3) concentrations; detected PFAS included branched and linear (lin) C8 perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (i.e., perfluoroctane sulfonate [PFOS]) and C9-C14 perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs). The dominant PFAS in the kittiwakes were linPFOS and C11- and C13-PFCAs. Generally, male kittiwakes had higher concentrations of PFAS than females. We observed positive correlations between linPFOS, C10-PFCA, and TT4 in males, whereas in females C12-14-PFCAs were positively correlated to TT3. Interestingly, we observed contrasted correlations between PFAS and body condition; the direction of the relationship was sex-dependent. Although these results show relationships between PFAS and circulating thyroid hormone concentrations in kittiwakes, the study design does not allow for concluding on causal relationships related to effects of PFAS on the thyroid hormone system. Future experimental research is required to quantify this impact of PFAS on the biology of kittiwakes. The apparently different associations among PFAS and body condition for males and females are puzzling, and more research is required. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:820–831. © 2020 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.