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Metabarcoding of lake sediments have been shown to reveal current and past biodiversity, but little is known about the degree to which taxa growing in the vegetation are represented in environmental DNA (eDNA) records. We analysed composition of lake and catchment vegetation and vascular plant eDNA at 11 lakes in northern Norway. Out of 489 records of taxa growing within 2 m from the lake shore, 17-49% (mean 31%) of the identifiable taxa recorded were detected with eDNA. Of the 217 eDNA records of 47 plant taxa in the 11 lakes, 73% and 12% matched taxa recorded in vegetation surveys within 2 m and up to about 50 m away from the lakeshore, respectively, whereas 16% were not recorded in the vegetation surveys of the same lake. The latter include taxa likely overlooked in the vegetation surveys or growing outside the survey area. The percentages detected were 61, 47, 25, and 15 for dominant, common, scattered, and rare taxa, respectively. Similar numbers for aquatic plants were 88, 88, 33 and 62%, respectively. Detection rate and taxonomic resolution varied among plant families and functional groups with good detection of e.g. Ericaceae, Roseaceae, deciduous trees, ferns, club mosses and aquatics. The representation of terrestrial taxa in eDNA depends on both their distance from the sampling site and their abundance and is sufficient for recording vegetation types. For aquatic vegetation, eDNA may be comparable with, or even superior to, in-lake vegetation surveys and may therefore be used as an tool for biomonitoring. For reconstruction of terrestrial vegetation, technical improvements and more intensive sampling is needed to detect a higher proportion of rare taxa although DNA of some taxa may never reach the lake sediments due to taphonomical constrains. Nevertheless, eDNA performs similar to conventional methods of pollen and macrofossil analyses and may therefore be an important tool for reconstruction of past vegetation.

Sedimentary DNA (sedDNA) has recently emerged as a new proxy for reconstructing past vegetation, but its taphonomy, source area and representation biases need better assessment. We investigated how sedDNA in recent sediments of two small Scottish lakes reflects a major vegetation change, using well-documented 20th Century plantations of exotic conifers as an experimental system. We used next-generation sequencing to barcode sedDNA retrieved from subrecent lake sediments. For comparison, pollen was analysed from the same samples. The sedDNA record contains 73 taxa (mainly genus or species), all but one of which are present in the study area. Pollen and sedDNA shared 35% of taxa, which partly reflects a difference in source area. More aquatic taxa were recorded in sedDNA, whereas taxa assumed to be of regional rather than local origin were recorded only as pollen. The chronology of the sediments and planting records are well aligned, and sedDNA of exotic conifers appears in high quantities with the establishment of plantations around the lakes. SedDNA recorded other changes in local vegetation that accompanied afforestation. There were no signs of DNA leaching in the sediments or DNA originating from pollen.

It is commonly believed that trees were absent in Scandinavia during the last glaciation and first recolonized the Scandinavian Peninsula with the retreat of its ice sheet some 9000 years ago. Here, we show the presence of a rare mitochondrial DNA haplotype of spruce that appears unique to Scandinavia and with its highest frequency to the west—an area believed to sustain ice-free refugia during most of the last ice age. We further show the survival of DNA from this haplotype in lake sediments and pollen of Trondelag in central Norway dating back ~10,300 years and ch loro plast DNA of pine and spruce in lake sediments adjacent to the ice-free Andeya refugium in northwestern Norway as early as ~22,000 and 17,700 years ago, respectively. Our findings imply that conifer trees survived in ice-free refugia of Scandinavia during the last glaciation, challenging current views on survival and spread of trees as a response to climate changes.

Background: A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Team at a university health science library created a checklist for inclusive language and conducted an assessment of their library’s website, LibGuides, and physical and digital signage. Inclusive language was defined as “language that is free from words, phrases or tones that reflect prejudiced, stereotyped or discriminatory views of particular people or groups”. 1BCase Presentation: The 32-item checklist facilitated the identification of gendered language, stereotypes, ableist language, racist language, stigmatizing language, slang, acronyms, and out-of-date terminology regarding physical and mental health conditions. From the library’s website, 20 instances were noted for which improvements were necessary. Out of the 130 LibGuides reviewed, 23 LibGuides had no changes needed and 107 had changes identified relating to language inclusivity (14 strongly recommended changes and 116 suggested changes). Regarding the signage, one flyer was removed for reprinting. 2BConclusion: The checklist enabled the team to implement a number of improvements to the library’s website and LibGuides. The checklist has been shared with Library Technology Services and the wider campus libraries’ Usability Committee for future use, and has also been added to the DEI Team’s LibGuide for use by others outside of the university.

DNA-based snapshots of ancient vegetation have shown that the composition of high-latitude plant communities changed considerably during the late Quaternary. However, parallel changes in biotic interactions remain largely uninvestigated. Here we show how mutualisms involving plants and heterotrophic organisms varied during the last 50,000 years. During 50–25 ka BP, a cool period featuring stadial-interstadial fluctuations, arbuscular mycorrhizal and non-N-fixing plants predominated. During 25-15 ka BP, a cold, dry interval, the representation of ectomycorrhizal, non-mycorrhizal and facultatively mycorrhizal plants increased, while that of N-fixing plants decreased further. From 15 ka BP, which marks the transition to and establishment of the Holocene interglaciation, representation of arbuscular mycorrhizal plants decreased further, while that of ectomycorrhizal, non-mycorrhizal, N-fixing and wind-pollinated plants increased. These changes in the mutualist trait structure of vegetation may reflect responses to historical environmental conditions that are without current analogue, or biogeographic processes, such as spatial decoupling of mutualist partners. Recently, an eDNA metabarcoding data set was used to describe northern high-latitude vegetation during the past 50,000 years. Here, Zobel et al. use the data set to examine how the abundance of key plant mutualistic traits changed during this period and discuss possible environmental drivers.

In the two decades or so since ancient sedimentary DNA (sedaDNA) took its place as a new Quaternary paleo-proxy, there have been large advances in the scope of its applications and its reliability. The two main approaches, metabarcoding and shotgun sequencing, have contributed exciting insights into areas such as floristic diversity change, plant-herbivore interactions, extinction, conservation baselines and impacts of invasive species. Early doubts as to its potential to contribute novel information have been dispelled; more is now understood about the passage of sedaDNA from the original organism to a component of soil or sediment and about the range of uncertainties that must be addressed in the interpretation of data. With its move into the mainstream, it is now time to develop effective data archives for sedaDNA, refine our understanding of central issues such as taphonomy, and further expand the potential for describing, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the history of past ecosystems.

The Sahel region is projected to be highly impacted by the more frequent hazards associated with climate change, including increased temperature, drought and flooding. This systematic review examined the evidence for climate change-related health consequences in the Sahel. The databases used were Medline (PubMed), Embase (Ovid), Web of Science (Clarivate) and CABI Global Health. Hand searches were also conducted, which included directly engaging Sahelian researchers and hand-searching in the African Journals Online database. Of the 4153 studies found, 893 were identified as duplicates and the remaining 3260 studies were screened (title and abstract only) and then assessed for eligibility. A total of 81 studies were included in the systematic review. Most studies focused on vector-borne diseases, food security, nutrition and heat-related stress. Findings suggest that mosquito distribution will shift under different climate scenarios, but this relationship will not be linear with temperature, as there are other variables to consider. Food insecurity, stunting (chronic malnutrition) and heat-related mortality are likely to increase if no action is taken owing to the projected impact of climate change on environmental factors and agriculture. Seventy-one per cent of manuscripts ( n = 58) had first authors from institutions in North America or Europe, of which 39.7% ( n = 23) included co-authors from African institutions.

A megaslump at Batagaika, in northern Yakutia, exposes a remarkable stratigraphic sequence of permafrost deposits ~50–80 m thick. To determine their potential for answering key questions about Quaternary environmental and climatic change in northeast Siberia, we carried out a reconnaissance study of their cryostratigraphy and paleoecology, supported by four rangefinder 14C ages. The sequence includes two ice complexes separated by a unit of fine sand containing narrow syngenetic ice wedges and multiple paleosols. Overall, the sequence developed as permafrost grew syngenetically through an eolian sand sheet aggrading on a hillslope. Wood remains occur in two forest beds, each associated with a reddened weathering horizon. The lower bed contains high amounts of Larix pollen (>20%), plus small amounts of Picea and Pinus pumila, and is attributed to interglacial conditions. Pollen from the overlying sequence is dominated by herbaceous taxa (~70%–80%) attributed to an open tundra landscape during interstadial climatic conditions. Of three hypothetical age schemes considered, we tentatively attribute much of the Batagaika sequence to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. The upper and lower forest beds may represent a mid–MIS 3 optimum and MIS 5, respectively, although we cannot discount alternative attributions to MIS 5 and 7.

Pronounced glacial and interglacial climate cycles characterized northern ecosystems during the Pleistocene. Our understanding of the resultant community transformations and past ecological interactions strongly depends on the taxa found in fossil assemblages. Here, we present a shotgun metagenomic analysis of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) to infer past ecosystem‐wide biotic composition (from viruses to megaherbivores) from the Middle and Late Pleistocene at the Batagay megaslump, East Siberia. The shotgun DNA records of past vegetation composition largely agree with pollen and plant metabarcoding data from the same samples. Interglacial ecosystems at Batagay attributed to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 17 and MIS 7 were characterized by forested vegetation (Pinus, Betula, Alnus) and open grassland. The microbial and fungal communities indicate strong activity related to soil decomposition, especially during MIS17. The local landscape likely featured more open, herb‐dominated areas, and the vegetation mosaic supported birds and small omnivorous mammals. Parts of the area were intermittently/partially flooded as suggested by the presence of water‐dependent taxa. During MIS 3, the sampled ecosystems are identified as cold‐temperate, periodically flooded grassland. Diverse megafauna (Mammuthus, Equus, Coelodonta) coexisted with small mammals (rodents). The MIS 2 ecosystems existed under harsher conditions, as suggested by the presence of cold‐adapted herbaceous taxa. Typical Pleistocene megafauna still inhabited the area. The new approach, in which shotgun sequencing is supported by metabarcoding and pollen data, enables the investigation of community composition changes across a broad range of taxonomic groups and inferences about trophic interactions and aspects of soil microbial ecology. As the past is the key to the future, to understand community transformations and ecological interactions, we reconstructed ecosystem‐wide biotic composition (from viruses to megaherbivores) between glacials and interglacials from the Middle and Late Pleistocene at the Batagay megaslump, east Siberia. We present a new approach in which shotgun sequencing is supported by metabarcoding and pollen data, enabling us to build snapshots of past ecosystems identifying interglacial and glacial communities as well as make inferences about trophic interactions and aspects of soil microbial ecology at geological time scales up to the Marine Isotope Stage 17.

Objective: A mixed methods survey was conducted at a health sciences library to assess patrons’ perceptions of the library’s digital and physical environments in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Methods: Developed by the library’s DEI Team and preceded by a pilot assessment, the survey posed 17 Likert Scale questions and 2 free-text response questions on the topics of belonging, inclusivity, equitability, emotional and physical safety, and commitment to DEI. The survey was created in Qualtrics, pilot tested, and launched in February 2020 for approximately 12 weeks. Results: Objective question responses were received from 101 individuals, with 24 open-ended responses. The quantitative findings showed largely positive perceptions of the DEI climate. Questions about feeling welcome and feeling physically safe were among those with the highest responses. The three lower-scoring questions indicate areas for improvement, including services for people whose native language is not English, for individuals with disabilities, and for families. The qualitative findings indicate the library’s strengths include its exhibitions, welcoming atmosphere, and LGBTQ+ inclusivity initiatives. In contrast, opportunities for enhancement encompass non-English language resources, website updates, and accessibility to some physical spaces. Conclusions: The DEI Team is using the online survey data to enhance HSCL’s services, staffing, programming, policies, and spaces. Employee DEI training is ongoing and the Team is currently analyzing results from a training needs survey to identify unanticipated knowledge gaps. HSCL has a long history of partnering with campus entities, which will help the DEI Team to continually move forward with their work.