First-ever report of Nesting of incredibly rare and endangered giant turtle

Biologists have discovered a breeding population of a Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle, as part of conservation efforts in the south of India

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH

 

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CANTOR'S GIANT SOFTSHELL TURTLE (PELOCHELYS CANTORII) TAKEN ALONG THE CHANDRAGIRI RIVER IN KERALA, INDIA.

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CREDIT: AYUSHI JAIN

Knowledge from local communities has resulted in the first-ever nesting evidence and discovery of a breeding population of an incredibly rare turtle in India.

The Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle (Pelochelys cantorii) is native to the rivers of South and Southeast Asia. Known for its rarity and secretive nature, this species has long been a subject of fascination and concern among conservationists.

Habitat destruction has made it disappear from much of its environment. They are also heavily harvested by locals for meat and are often killed by fishermen when caught in fishing gear.

Currently, the freshwater turtle is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, and its numbers today are decreasing.

To uncover the whereabouts of the species, a team of conservationists turned to those who live in and share their habitat, and this journey took them to the verdant banks of the Chandragiri River in Kerala.

By talking to local villagers, the group were able to systematically document sightings of the turtle and engaged communities in conservation efforts.

This work led to the first documentation of a female nesting, and the rescue of eggs from flooded nests. The hatchlings were later released into the river.

The study, published in the journal Oryx, was led by conservationists from the University of Portsmouth and Zoological Society of London in England, University of Miami, Museum of Zoology at the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research in Germany, Florida Museum of Natural History in the USA, and Wildlife Institute of India.

Corresponding author, Dr Francoise Cabada-Blanco from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Portsmouth, said: “For years, the Cantor turtle’s existence has barely been a murmur against the backdrop of India's bustling biodiversity, with sightings so scarce that the turtle's very presence seemed like a ghost from the past.

“Following several unsuccessful attempts at tracking one down using conventional ecological survey methods, we took a different approach by tapping into local knowledge.

“The team, led by Ayushi Jain were able to engage the community really effectively, so much so that they shared tales of historical sightings, provided leads on current occurrences, and even aided in the live release of individuals accidentally caught as by-catch.”

Ayushi’s team is now working on setting up a community hatchery and nursery.

Ayushi Jain, from the Zoological Society of London’s Edge of Existence Programme, added: “Through household interviews and the establishment of a local alert network, we did not just listen; we learned”.

“The community’s willingness to engage formed the backbone of our project, allowing us to record not just fleeting glimpses of the turtles but evidence of a reproductive population—a discovery that rewrites the narrative of a species thought to be vanishing from India's waters.”

The paper says the implications of the findings underscore the invaluable role of local knowledge in conservation science—a tool as critical as any satellite tag or camera trap in the quest to understand and protect our planet's biodiversity.

The establishment of the alert network represents a pioneering approach in the area, where community involvement leads to real-time insights and immediate action, paving the way for a more responsive and inclusive model of wildlife conservation in Kerala.

“Uniting traditional wisdom with scientific inquiry can certainly illuminate the path forward for the conservation of the Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle”, added Dr Cabada-Blanco.

“Our study is a narrative of rediscovery, of finding hope in the stories told by the river and its people, and of laying the groundwork for a future where this magnificent species can thrive, not just survive.”

Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle hatchling taken along the Chandragiri river in Kerala, India.

CREDIT

Ayushi Jain

Ayushi Jai interviewing members of the local community.

CREDIT

Akshay V Anan

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JOURNAL

Oryx

DOI

10.1017/S0030605323001370 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Using local ecological knowledge to determine the status of Cantor's giant softshell turtle Pelochelys cantorii in Kerala, India

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Feb-2024

 

Plastic recycling with a protein anchor

Peptide with a cobalt complex oxidizes polystyrene microparticles

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WILEY

Polystyrene is a widespread plastic that is essentially not recyclable when mixed with other materials and is not biodegradable. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a German research team has introduced a biohybrid catalyst that oxidizes polystyrene microparticles to facilitate their subsequent degradation. The catalyst consists of a specially constructed “anchor peptide” that adheres to polystyrene surfaces and a cobalt complex that oxidizes polystyrene.

Polystyrene—alone or in combination with other polymers—has many applications, from yogurt containers to instrument housings. In its foam form, mainly known under the trademarked name Styrofoam, it is, for example, used for insulation and packaging. A big disadvantage of polystyrene is its poor biodegradability, which leads to environmental pollution. When clean and not mixed with other materials, polystyrene is recyclable, but not when it is contaminated, or combined with other materials. In municipal recycling programs, mixed polystyrene plastic waste and degradation products, such as polystyrene nano- and microparticles, are difficult to process. The problem lies in the fact that polystyrene is water-repellent and nonpolar and thus cannot react with common polar reactants.

For a simple, economical, and energy efficient process to break down mixed polystyrene waste, the polystyrene must first be equipped with polar functional groups. A team led by Ulrich Schwaneberg and Jun Okuda at the RWTH in Aachen (Germany) has now developed a novel biohybrid catalyst to carry out this step. The catalyst is based on compounds known as anchor peptides coupled with a cobalt complex.

Anchor peptides are short peptide chains than can attach to surfaces. The team developed a special anchor peptide (LCI, Liquid Chromatography Peak I) that binds to the surface of polystyrene. One gram of this peptide is enough to coat a surface of up to 654 m2 with a monolayer within minutes by either spraying or dipping.

A catalytically active cobalt complex is attached to the anchor peptide via a short linking piece. The cobalt atom is “surrounded” by a macrocyclic ligand, a ring made of eight carbon and four nitrogen atoms (TACD, 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane). The catalyst accelerates oxidation of the C–H bonds in polystyrene to form polar OH groups (hydroxylation) by reaction with Oxone (potassium peroxymonosulfate), a common oxidizing agent. The binding of the anchor peptides is material-specific so in this case they immobilize the catalytically active cobalt near the polystyrene surface, which accelerates the reaction. This simple, inexpensive, and energy-efficient process is scalable through dipping and spray applications and is suitable for use on an industrial scale.

Through the use of conjugated chemical catalysts, this hybrid catalyst concept employing material-specific binding by anchor peptides could allow for the material-specific breakdown of further hydrophobic polymers such as polypropylene and polyethylene that cannot be economically broken down by enzymes.

(3145 characters)

About the Author

Prof. Ulrich Schwaneberg and Prof. Jun Okuda at RWTH Aachen University (Germany) have combined their expertise in protein engineering, design of metallozymes, and polymerization catalysis to jointly develop the field of biohybrid catalysts. This research has been focused on teaching enzymes new reactions and thereby developing sustainable processes for the synthesis and depolymerization of polymers.

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JOURNAL

Angewandte Chemie International Edition

DOI

10.1002/anie.202317419 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Engineered Anchor Peptide LCI with a Cobalt Cofactor Enhances Oxidation Efficiency of Polystyrene Microparticles

 

The director of the U.S. National Science Foundation on the future of AI

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PNAS NEXUS

 

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SETHURAMAN PANCHANATHAN, DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

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CREDIT: U.S. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION/PHOTO BY STEPHEN VOSS

In an editorial, Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), calls for the responsible and equitable development of artificial intelligence (AI) and promises to use the agency’s resources to work toward democratizing AI research. NSF spends $800 million on AI research in the public interest each year. Panchanathan summarizes some of the benefits AI can offer to scientific research—from accelerating discovery to automating routine tasks—but emphasizes that AI must be safe and accessible. Toward that end, NSF and its partners launched the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot in January, the first step toward a shared national research infrastructure that will make AI computational resources, data, software, training, and education widely available to US researchers. NAIRR will help shape a future where AI catalyzes equitable growth, ethical innovation, and global collaboration. Panchanathan also calls for the AI community to incorporate a broad range of perspectives, backgrounds, and problem-solving approaches, as such a diverse AI ecosystem will be more likely to create transparent and trustworthy AI systems. Panchanathan concludes that responsibly democratizing AI research is imperative for ensuring AI’s benefits are broadly and fairly realized. 

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JOURNAL

PNAS Nexus

ARTICLE TITLE

Envisioning the future of the AI research ecosystem

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

20-Feb-2024

Unlocking the energetic secrets of collective animal movement: How group behavior reduces energy costs in fish

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HARVARD UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF ORGANISMIC AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

 

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A SCHOOL OF GIANT DANIO (DEVARIO AEQUIPINNATUS) SWIMMING IN THE ‘WATER TREADMILL’ ­– SWIM-TUNNEL RESPIROMETER – FOR THE MEASUREMENTS OF THE WHOLE-ANIMAL METABOLIC RATE WHILE THE WATER VELOCITY IS REGULATED.

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CREDIT: CREDIT YANGFAN ZHANG

Many animals, including apex predators, move in groups. We know this collective behavior is fundamental to the animal’s ability to move in complex environments, but less is known about what drives the behavior because many factors underlie its evolution. Scientists wonder, though, if all these animals share a fundamental drive such as for mating, safety, or perhaps even to save energy.

“The keyword is perhaps,” said Yangfan Zhang, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) at Harvard, “because no one has actually measured this and compared it directly across all animal groups, mainly because it’s difficult to have a system that can measure not just a group, but individuals in that group. But, we do know that, evolutionarily, there is some pressure to optimize for efficiency of energy use.”

In a new study published in eLife, Zhang and co-author Professor George Lauder, also in OEB and Curator of Ichthyology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, questioned if coordinated group movements by animals moving through a fluid could reduce the energy cost of locomotion. By combining biomechanics and bioenergetics (measuring metabolic energy consumption and animal movement simultaneously in a highly specialized experimental platform) the researchers found not only a significant amount of energy conservation, but also identifed the reduced energy use per tail beat.

Terrestrial vertebrates evolved from fish, transitioning from fins to limbs and modifying respiratory organs from aquatic breathing to air. Despite different environments and breathing systems, all vertebrates and fish share the same metabolic pathways to produce energy. One pathway uses oxygen called aerobic metabolism. The other pathway, called anaerobic, is used when oxygen is limited, or cannot supply sufficient energy to move at the high speeds. Combined, they contribute to the total energy expenditure of movement. Fish, however, have a greater need to optimize their locomotion than for animals moving in the air or on land. This is because water is 50 times more viscous a fluid than air and demands considerable energy to overcome fluid resistance during movement. Water also contains five times less oxygen per kilogram compared to air; meaning aquatic animals are “squeezed” by a lower ceiling of oxygen availability and have a higher pressure on energetic demand.

To test the energy cost of locomotion in fish, Zhang and Lauder designed a sealed water “treadmill” that controlled water velocity. By measuring the rate at which oxygen is removed from the sealed “treadmill”, the researchers were able to distinguish the rate of oxygen uptake by the animals.

“The system is designed to have the measuring sensitivity to capture the energetic cost of an individual fish compared directly to the cost for a group of eight fish,” said Zhang.  “By standardizing the biomass of the fish in the water treadmill with controlled water velocity, we can directly compare the cost of swimming between fish schools and an individual fish.”

The “treadmill” also employed two high-speed orthogonal cameras to capture unique locomotion features—one a side view, the other from the bottom. This helped to measure the three-dimensional positions of the fish and allowed the researchers to measure the distance between fish in the school.

“What we discovered is that the total cost for the group to move as a whole is much lower per biomass compared with an individual, and the group expended the least amount of energy at a median speed of one body length per second,” Zhang said.  “When we look at studies that track wild animals, we find that a lot of animals migrate at a speed of around one body length per second.”

The researchers found that moving quickly required more energy, but so did moving slowly. However, at a medium speed of one body length per second, they saw a dip in the energetic curve where swimming was at a minimum cost, which increased at both faster and slower speeds presenting a J-shaped relationship.

As the most diverse vertebrate group, fish species have an immense cultural and commercial value to human society. Yet, changing climates are a direct challenge to the biodiversity of fish.

“Projections on the future abundance of fish species cannot be based only on the biology of the individuals,” Lauder said, “we also need a fundamental understanding of collective movement that accounts for the interactions among the individuals within a group. Studying the energetics of aquatic locomotion under environmental constraints offers insight not only into highly conserved features of vertebrate physiology, but also into the inner workings of fluid dynamics principles and animal locomotion.”

“I think the beautiful thing about this study is that we captured the full spectrum of the energy expenditure in a holistic way that enabled us to account for an energy cost moving at high speeds,” said Zhang. “Scientists have been looking at this question for decades, but we found that the key lay in measuring not just the aerobic, but also the anaerobic costs. That is a huge part for any organism and, without measuring both, you get only half the story.

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JOURNAL

eLife

DOI

10.1101/2022.11.09.515731 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Energy conservation by group dynamics in schooling fish.

 

Study reveals molecular mechanisms behind hibernation in mammals

Researchers have characterised changes in the structure of motor proteins, called myosins, and energy consumption that occur during hibernation, highlighting key differences in large and small hibernators.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ELIFE

 

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IMAGE SHOWING A SLEEPING BROWN BEAR (URSOS ARCTOS) LAYING ON A BLANKET, WITH SNOWFLAKES RESTING ON ITS FUR.

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CREDIT: OLE FRØBERT, AARHUS UNIVERSITY

Researchers have shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying hibernation, publishing their findings today as a Reviewed Preprint in eLife.

Their research, in small and large hibernating mammals, is described by the editors as an important study advancing our knowledge of the role of myosin structure and energy consumption on the molecular mechanisms of hibernation, backed by solid methodology and evidence. The findings also suggest myosin – a type of motor protein involved in muscle contraction – plays a role in non-shivering thermogenesis during hibernation, where heat is produced independent of the muscle activity of shivering.

Hibernation is a survival strategy used by many animals, characterised by a state of deep dormancy and profound reductions in metabolic activity, body temperature, heart rate and respiration. During hibernation, animals rely on stored energy reserves, particularly fats, to sustain their bodily functions. The metabolic slowdown allows hibernators to conserve energy and endure long periods of food scarcity and harsh environmental conditions during winter. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms behind hibernation remain incompletely understood.  

Smaller hibernating mammals experience extended bouts of a hypo-metabolic state called torpor, which significantly decreases their body temperature and is punctuated by spontaneous periods of interbout euthermic arousals (IBA) – where they temporarily raise their body temperature to restore some physiological functions, such as eliminating waste and eating more food. This contrasts with larger mammals, whose body temperature is much less reduced during hibernation and remains fairly consistent. Skeletal muscle, which comprises around half of a mammal’s body mass, plays a key role in determining their heat production and energy use.

“Until recently, energy consumption in skeletal muscles was thought to be primarily linked to the activity of myosin, which is involved in muscle contraction. However, there is growing evidence that, even when they are relaxed, skeletal muscles still use a small amount of energy,” explains lead author Christopher Lewis, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. “Myosin heads in passive muscles can be in different resting states: the ‘disordered-relaxed’, or DRX state, and the ‘super-relaxed’, or SRX state. Myosin heads in the DRX state use up ATP – the energy currency of the cell – between five to ten times faster than those in the SRX state.” 

Lewis and colleagues hypothesised that changes in the proportion of myosin in the DRX or SRX states may contribute to the reduced energy use seen during hibernation. To test this, they took skeletal muscle samples from two small hibernators – the Thirteen-lined ground squirrel and the Garden dormouse – and two large hibernators – the American black bear and brown bear. 

First, they looked to establish whether the myosin states, and their respective ATP consumption rates, were different between active periods and hibernation. They looked at muscle fibres taken from the two bear species during their active summer phase (SA), and their winter hibernation period. They found no differences in the proportion of myosin in the DRX or SRX state between the two phases. To measure the rate of ATP consumption by myosin, they used a specialised test called the Mant-ATP chase assay. This revealed that there were also no changes in the energy consumption rates of myosin. This may be to prevent the onset of significant muscular wastage in bears during hibernation. 

The team also conducted the Mant-ATP chase assay on samples taken from the small mammals during SA, IBA and torpor. As in the larger hibernators, they did not observe any differences in the percentage of myosin heads in the SRX or DRX formation between the three phases. However, they did discover that the ATP turnover time of myosin molecules in both formations was lower in IBA and torpor compared to the SA phase, leading to an unexpected overall increase in ATP consumption. 

As small mammals undergo a more significant drop in body temperature during hibernation than large mammals, the team tested whether this unexpected increase in ATP consumption also occurred at a lower temperature. They re-ran the Mant-ATP chase assay at 8°C, compared to the ambient lab temperature of 20°C used previously. Lowering the temperature decreased DRX and SRX-linked ATP turnover times in SA and IBA, leading to an increase in ATP consumption. Metabolic organs, such as skeletal muscle, are well known to increase core body temperature in response to significant cold exposure, either by inducing shivering or through non-shivering thermogenesis. Cold exposure caused an increase in ATP consumption by myosin in samples obtained during SA and IBA, suggesting that myosin may contribute to non-shivering thermogenesis in small hibernators. 

The team did not observe cold-induced changes in myosin energy consumption in samples obtained during torpor. They suggest that this is likely a protective mechanism to maintain the low core body temperature, and wider metabolic shutdown, seen during torpor.

Finally, the researchers wanted to understand the changes that occur at the protein level during the different hibernating phases. They assessed whether hibernation affects the structure of two myosin proteins from the Thirteen-lined ground squirrel: Myh7 and Myh2. Although they did not observe any hibernation-related changes in the structure of Myh7, they discovered that Myh2 underwent significant phosphorylation – a process crucial for energy storage – during torpor, compared to SA and IBA. They also analysed the structure of the two proteins in the brown bear, finding no structural differences between SA and hibernation. They therefore conclude that Myh2 hyper-phosphorylation is specifically associated with torpor, rather than hibernation in general, and propose that this serves to increase myosin stability in small mammals. This may act as a potential molecular mechanism to mitigate myosin-associated increases in skeletal muscle expenditure in response to cold exposure during periods of torpor.

eLife’s editors note that some areas of the study warrant further study. Namely, the muscle samples were taken exclusively from the legs of the animals studied. Given the core body and limbs have different temperatures, investigating muscle samples from other areas of the body would further validate the team’s findings. 

“Altogether, our findings suggest that ATP turnover adaptations in DRX and SRX myosin states occur in small mammals like the Thirteen-lined ground squirrel during hibernation in cold environments. In contrast, larger mammals like the American black bear show no such changes, likely due to their stable body temperature during hibernation,” concludes senior author  Julien Ochala, Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. “Our results also suggest that myosin may act as a contributor to skeletal muscle non-shivering thermogenesis during hibernation.” 

 

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About eLife

eLife transforms research communication to create a future where a diverse, global community of scientists and researchers produces open and trusted results for the benefit of all. Independent, not-for-profit and supported by funders, we improve the way science is practised and shared. In support of our goal, we’ve launched a new publishing model that ends the accept/reject decision after peer review. Instead, papers invited for review will be published as a Reviewed Preprint that contains public peer reviews and an eLife assessment. We also continue to publish research that was accepted after peer review as part of our traditional process. eLife receives financial support and strategic guidance from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Max Planck Society and Wellcome. Learn more at https://elifesciences.org/about.

To read the latest Biochemistry and Chemical Biology research in eLife, visit https://elifesciences.org/subjects/biochemistry-chemical-biology.

And for the latest in Cell Biology, see https://elifesciences.org/subjects/cell-biology.

 

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JOURNAL

eLife

DOI

10.7554/eLife.94616.1 

ARTICLE TITLE

Remodelling of skeletal muscle myosin metabolic states in hibernating mammals

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

20-Feb-2024

 

“Integrating engineering philosophy into medical education will empower future physicians”

Transformation in medical training will contribute to a higher caliber of physicians, increase the quality of healthcare

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

(Boston)—Traditional medical school curriculum consists of two years spent learning basic science followed by two years learning to apply such knowledge in the clinical realm. Though effective at delivering a massive volume of information in a short time, this model often struggles to engender critical thinking and problem-solving skills in preclinical medical students. This results in a difficult transition to clinical thinking in the third year, as evidenced by feedback from third-year medical students and their clerkship directors.

 

By comparison, engineering education is built on repeated exposure to problems with increasingly complex solutions. Students are first taught basic physics under ideal conditions and then gradually introduced to real-world problems with unknown solutions.

 

A new article by researchers from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine discusses how engineering education could be applied to medical education to improve medical student’s critical thinking and problem-solving ability.

 

“Incorporating open-response questions with partial credit grading into their pre-clerkship curriculum (the first two years of medical school that are classroom-based) goes against traditional medical pre-clerkship curriculum, which is multiple-choice-based to best mimic medical licensing exams,” explains co-corresponding author Sarah Schroter, BSBME, MS, a 2nd-year medical student at the school. “An open-response method will give medical students the opportunity to display their ability to think through a problem.”

 

The researchers looked at traditional education requirements for engineering students and then compared it to the traditional American medical education. Based on the experiences of students in both education systems, suggestions for improvement in the medical education system were offered. The goal of these suggestions was to encourage medical students to learn how to think critically and emphasize problem solving early on, prior to medical student’s clinical years.

 

In the article, the researchers suggest medical schools can borrow learning techniques from engineering school to make medical students more efficient and resilient thinkers. “This should reduce the steep learning curve seen in the third year of medical school, as students transition from their pre-clerkship years to clerkship (hospital based), as well as the learning curve seen in doctors' first year of residency after completion of medical school,” added co- author Riley Kolus, MD, a recent alumnus of the school. “Ultimately, this makes the general public’s doctors better problem solvers who are able to incorporate new and ever-changing data into their diagnoses.”

 

These findings appear online in the journal Medical Teacher.

 

Funding for this study was provided by the generosity of the John E. and Sarah M. McGinty Foundation, the Campbell Foundation, and the anonymous benefactors who donated to the Boston University Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine, Anatomy and Neurobiology Start-up fund to support student mentored research.

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JOURNAL

Medical Teacher

DOI

10.1080/0142159X.2024.2316200 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Incorporating engineering educational methods into medical education

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Feb-2024

 

Spy-satellite images offer insights into historical ecosystem changes

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF FREIBURG

 

IMAGE: 

A LARGE FOREST CLEARCUT FROM THE 1960S IN THE VICINITY OF A ONE-HECTARE FOREST RESEARCH PLOT IN THE SOUTHERN BLACK FOREST REGION. ALTHOUGH MUCH OF THE AREA IS FORESTED TODAY, HISTORICAL HARVESTS HAVE CHANGED THE FOREST STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION. 
LEFT: HISTORICAL SPY-SATELLITE IMAGE. RIGHT: CURRENT GOOGLE EARTH IMAGE.

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CREDIT: LEFT: HISTORICAL SPY-SATELLITE IMAGE. RIGHT: CURRENT GOOGLE EARTH IMAGE.

A large number of historical spy-satellite photographs from the Cold War Era were declassified decades ago. This valuable remote sensing data has been utilised by scientists across a wide range of disciplines from archaeology to civil engineering. However, its use in ecology and conservation remains limited. A new study led by Dr. Catalina Munteanu from the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Freiburg, Germany, aims to advance the application of declassified satellite data in the fields of ecology and conservation. Leveraging recent progress in image processing and analysis, these globally available black-and-white images can offer better insights into the historical changes of ecosystems, species populations or changes in human influences on the environment dating back to the 1960s, the researchers suggest.

Historical satellite images cover nearly the entire globe across all seasons

In their study, the researchers initially evaluated the spatial, temporal, and seasonal coverage of over one million declassified images from four historical US spy-satellite programmes, showing that this data spans nearly the entire globe and is available across all seasons. Upon reviewing how spy-satellite imagery is currently employed in ecology-related fields, the team then identified potential future applications. Crucially, the broad spatial-temporal scale of the satellite images could enhance the understanding of ecological concepts such as shifting baselines, lag effects, and legacy effects. This improved understanding could lead to better mapping of the historical extent and structure of ecosystems, aid in the reconstruction of past habitats and species distributions as well as offer new insights into historical human impacts on present ecosystem conditions. Going forward, this knowledge can also be helpful for conservation planning and ecosystem restoration efforts by helping identify, for example, meaningful ecological baselines, the researchers explain.

Challenges to overcome

However, the use of spy-satellite data in ecological research faces several challenges. The study highlights issues such as limited access to and sharing of data, high costs, the necessity of pre-processing and rectifying images, and the absence of consistent workflows within the scientific community. To address these challenges, the researchers call for collaborative efforts between data holders, remote sensing experts, and the ecological research community. “This piece is a call for interdisciplinary collaboration between ecologists, conservationists, and remote sensing specialists to explore the full potential of these incredible datasets. Our few prior studies have revealed that without considering the past, we may draw erroneous conclusions about the current state of the environment,” says Munteanu. In a 2020 study that attracted international media attention, a research group led by the same scientists had already presented an example of how satellite images can be used in ecology to reveal unexpected declines in steppe marmot populations due to historical agricultural conversions. “To enable these scientific inquiries, we call on support from the data holders in releasing and pre-processing the data,” adds Munteanu.

 

• Original publication: Catalina Munteanu, Benjamin M. Kraemer, Henry H. Hansen, Sofia Miguel, E. J. Milner-Gulland, Mihai Nita, Igor Ogashawara, Volker C. Radeloff, Simone Roverelli, Oleksandra O. Shumilova, Ilse Storch, Tobias Kuemmerle. The potential of historical spy-satellite imagery to support research in ecology and conservation. BioScience (2024). DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biae002
• Dr. Catalina Munteanu is a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Management at the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Freiburg. Her main areas of research are historical land use changes and their implications for contemporary ecosystems and their management.
• The research project was supported by the European Commission under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Program, the German Science Foundation (DFG) Research Training Group ConFoBi, the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries and the NASA Land-Cover and Land-Use Change (LCLUC) Program.

 

Contact:
Office of University and Science Communications
University of Freiburg
Tel.: 0761/203-4302
e-mail: kommunikation@zv.uni-freiburg.de

 

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JOURNAL

BioScience

DOI

10.1093/biosci/biae002