Wednesday, June 18, 2025

New research examines the impact protected areas have on preserving biodiversity

Do designated safe spaces really protect our wildlife for the future?

Swansea University

Just how effective protected areas are at safeguarding habitats and the species that live within them is the focus of a new Swansea University study.

Establishing protected areas has become a conservation priority to mitigate the extinction crisis. The strategy has improved distinct aspects of biodiversity including species richness and abundance across ecosystems. However, researchers from the Department of Biosciences wanted gain a better understanding of how these areas are helping with the conservation of entire food webs: the networks of ecological interactions that focus on predator-prey relationships

Their study analysed hundreds of thousands of observational citizen science records from online databases such as eBird of 509 bird species distributed across 45 networks of European PAs located from Spain to Finland. They combined these observational data with information on predator-prey relationships between these species.

The team compared food webs in protected versus non-protected environments, relating any differences to environmental, geographical, and conservation status conditions of the protected areas. These included factors such as remoteness, habitat diversity, percentage cover of forests, agriculture, human pressure, or the specific designation of the protected areas.

Their findings have just been published by prestigious journal Proceedings B of the Royal Society.

The scientists discovered that whereas for some food web properties the effects of protection were positive, in general these effects were mixed across European bioregions, with no consistent trends in whether food webs were better off inside rather than outside protected areas.

In general, protected food webs had more species, with a larger fraction of those at intermediate levels of the food web. Importantly, the body size of both intermediate and top predator species was larger inside protected areas. However, for other relevant food web properties such as the mean length of food chains or the connectivity of the network, there were no clear trends.

In terms of drivers behind these patterns, the authors found that remoteness of the protected areas, their habitat diversity, human pressure and fraction of agricultural land were highly correlated with changes in food webs. Interestingly, the effects of protection were stronger in protected areas designated as part of the European Bird Directives initiative, highlighting the importance of having clear management goals in mind when setting up protected areas.

Co-author Dr Miguel Lurgi, lead of the Computational Ecology Lab said: "Studies like ours highlight the complexity of conservation action and the importance of considering key aspects of biodiversity beyond species richness, such as ecological interactions and the tangled networks that they form, into biodiversity assessments.

“These networks not only structure communities and enable their persistence, but they also play important roles in the functions that ecosystems fulfil in nature."

Journal

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

DOI

10.1098/rspb.2025.0614

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Mixed effects of protected areas on avian food webs

Article Publication Date

17-Jun-2025

Researchers examine the impact of mycoestrogen exposure on birth outcomes

Rutgers Health scientists call for greater awareness of the matter and the potential effects on maternal and fetal health

Rutgers University

Exposure to mycotoxins – a broad group of harmful substances produced by mold – during pregnancy may impact placental function, which could result in lower birthweight in humans, according to Rutgers Health researchers.

One such mycotoxin is zearalenone, a compound with estrogen-like activity. Zearalenone, more specifically classified as a mycoestrogen, contaminates food sources, as its synthetic form is given to livestock in the United States to promote metabolic growth. Because it mimics estrogen, a hormone critical to pregnancy and fetal development, zearalenone may interfere with crucial biological processes during gestation.

Zearalenone is an emerging and understudied environmental health concern that enters the body through food and diet – and it has been detected in humans around the world, the researchers said.

Their study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, investigated the presence of these compounds in pregnant individuals and assessed whether genetic differences influence their impact on fetal development. The researchers said it is the first study to examine prenatal exposure to mycoestrogens in relation to placental and birth outcomes.

“Our findings emphasize the need for greater awareness of mycoestrogen exposure and its potential impact on maternal and fetal health,” said Zorimar Rivera-Núñez, an assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and lead author of the study. “This research underscores the importance of considering genetic factors when evaluating environmental exposures and their health effects.”

Researchers analyzed data from a cohort of pregnant participants and found widespread exposure to mycoestrogens. Notably, the study examined the role of a genetic variant, ABCG2 Q141K, that affects the body's ability to transport and eliminate certain compounds. Individuals carrying this variant showed altered birth outcomes, suggesting genetic predisposition may play a crucial role in the effects of mycoestrogen exposure during pregnancy.

The study’s results suggest a need for further research into dietary guidelines and public health policies aimed at reducing exposure to mycoestrogens, particularly among pregnant individuals who may be more vulnerable due to genetic variations.

“We know that ultra-processed foods are associated mycoestrogen content, so pregnant people can lower their exposure by avoiding those foods when possible,” said Rivera-Núñez, citing another study she was involved with. “Ultra-processed foods that may contain zearalenone are derived from grains and grain-based products, such as pasta, breakfast cereals, baked goods and breads.”

The study adds to an expanding body of evidence that environmental factors, coupled with genetic predisposition, can influence birth outcomes.

“We expect mycoestrogen exposure to increase worldwide due to climate change, as the presence of mycoestrogens in crops increases with warmer temperatures,” said Rivera-Núñez. “In fact, mycoestrogen exposure has been documented in many populations around the world, and in the past decade, the number of scientific studies characterizing exposure in humans has increased as a reflection of increasing concern about this emergent exposure.”

Future research will explore potential interventions that could mitigate these risks to protect pregnant women and their babies, including regulating the use of mycoestrogens and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

For more information on this study and other public health research at Rutgers, visit the School of Public Health website.

Explore more of the ways Rutgers research is shaping the future.

Journal

Environmental Health Perspectives

DOI

10.1289/EHP14478

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Mycoestrogen Exposure during Pregnancy: Impact of the ABCG2 Q141K Variant on Birth and Placental Outcomes

Couples who co-create a shared worldview find greater meaning in life

McGill-led study shows that being ‘on the same page’ reduces uncertainty in tumultuous times and increases satisfaction with life and work

McGill University

Fostering shared understanding between romantic partners may be a powerful way for people to navigate uncertainty and build a more meaningful life, a study by McGill researchers suggests.

The study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that co-creating a shared worldview can buffer against distress, even in highly charged social and political contexts. For example, front-line health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Americans during the Black Lives Matter movement reported less uncertainty and more meaning when they understood the world around them in the same way as their partners. Sharing a perception of reality with a partner makes one’s view of reality seem true.

While previous research has shown that people overwhelmingly cite personal relationships as their primary source of meaning in life, it has been less clear which aspects of relationships contribute to this feeling.

“Our approach was different from earlier work on how relationships promote meaning, which tended to focus on aspects like belonging or support,” said M. Catalina Enestrom, lead author of the article, written while she was a doctoral student in psychology at McGill. She is now a post-doctoral fellow at IESE Business School in Barcelona. “We set out to explore whether sharing thoughts, ideas and concerns about the world with a romantic partner could enhance meaning by reducing uncertainty about one’s environment.”

A new understanding of the benefits of relationships

“As couples accumulate shared experiences, shared feelings, goals, and memories, they develop a generalized shared reality,” said senior author John Lydon, a psychology professor at McGill University. “This is different from simply feeling close or supported. It’s not just ‘my partner gets me,’ it’s ‘we get it.’”

Enestrom explained that shared reality can emerge from both shared experiences and shared interpretations.

“Shared reality can form, for instance, when a couple watches a horror movie together and one or both partners perceive that they both find it scary. But shared reality doesn’t necessarily require shared experiences. One partner can describe a stressful event they experienced, and if the other partner sees it the same way, this too can foster shared reality. As couples accumulate these shared reality experiences, they come to develop a sense of shared understanding about the world in general.”

A sense of coherence and purpose

Although there is no single definition of “meaning,” researchers often describe it as a sense of coherence and purpose. Prior studies have shown that experiencing meaning in life is associated with better coping, greater happiness and improved health outcomes.

To arrive at their findings, the researchers conducted five studies involving nearly 1,300 adults in Canada and the U.S, using a variety of methods, from lab-based tasks to online surveys and experiments, to test their hypothesis. They consistently found that a shared sense of reality reduced uncertainty, which in turn increased participants’ sense of meaning.

The study

“Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty” by M Catalina Enestrom, Maya Rossignac-Milon, Amanda L Forest,, John E Lydon

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Interpersonal Relations and Group Processes

DOI: 10.1037/pspi0000472

Funding

The research was funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the University of Pittsburgh.

Journal

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

DOI

10.1037/pspi0000472

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Meaning-making with romantic partners: Shared reality promotes meaning in life by reducing uncertainty

Article Publication Date

17-Jun-2025

Satisfaction in romantic relationships significantly fluctuates over several days and even within a 24-hour period

Willingness to recognize and respond to the partner's needs is a key factor determining relationship satisfaction

Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz

14days — image:
Two couples with average (top) versus strong (bottom) fluctuations in relationship satisfaction, measured once a day over 14 days
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Credit: ill./©: Louisa Scheling

In romantic relationships, the partners' satisfaction with their relationship can vary considerably over several days and even in the course of a single day. This is the result of a new psychological study on short-term satisfaction in romantic relationships. "Fluctuations are quite normal. However, they may also indicate unsatisfied needs in the relationship," said Louisa Scheling of the Institute of Psychology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), lead author of the corresponding article. According to Scheling, fluctuations in relationship satisfaction can be a good starting point for partners to talk about their own expectations and, at the same time, become aware of the partner's needs, thus contributing to an overall improvement in the quality of the relationship. The study was mainly conducted at JGU and has been published recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Also involved were researchers at Heidelberg University, Brigham Young University in the USA, the University of Basel in Switzerland, and the German Center of Gerontology (DZA) in Berlin.

High-frequency surveys to assess relationship satisfaction

For most individuals, romantic relationships are among the most important relationships in their lives. Relationship satisfaction plays an important role not only for the relationship itself, but also for health outcomes and life satisfaction. In the Western world, however, 30 to 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. Separation rates among unmarried couples are even higher. In the search for the root causes of this development, research has to date focused primarily on relationship satisfaction over periods of months and years. "In contrast, we have decided to take a narrow chronological approach to determine how satisfied partners were with their situation over the course of a few days and even within a 24-hour period," explained Louisa Scheling.

The research team evaluated data from two individual surveys of couples who reported on their individual relationship satisfaction on a daily basis or even several times each day. A total of 593 couples participated in the first survey and 150 couples in the second. The results of analysis of the data showed that partners experience substantial fluctuations in terms of how satisfied they are with their relationship. These fluctuations tend to be greater over periods of several days than during a single 24-hour period. Interestingly, the up and down swings of the degree of satisfaction reported turned out to be relatively synchronous for both partners over the course of time.

Mutual recognition of needs contributes to satisfaction

The researchers then considered various possible factors that might affect the outcome, such as age, gender, relationship duration, and attachment style. In fact, the perceived responsiveness of the partner proved to be a key parameter determining the course of satisfaction, while the emotional instability of male partners also had a notable effect. Louisa Scheling summarizes the findings of this part of the study as follows: "The reliable perception and fulfillment of the partner's needs contributes significantly to stable relationship satisfaction in everyday life. It's similar to a parent-child relationship: if needs are consistently met, satisfaction stabilizes at a high level."

The observed fluctuations in relationship satisfaction can, over the short term, be accompanied by thoughts of separation. Over the longer term, however, these have merely a limited effect on the course of the relationship over time. "It is possible that fluctuations in relationship satisfaction tend on the whole to mimic the current relationship dynamics between partners, rather than predicting the future development of the relationship," added Scheling. In her view, the findings of the study can help to support couples and show them, for example in the context of relationship counseling, that fluctuations in relationship satisfaction are normal but may serve as signals that there is room for improvement. "If this is to work, the partners have to be well aware of their needs and be able to express them clearly," the psychologist concluded.

https://press.uni-mainz.de/transition-point-in-romantic-relationships-signals-the-beginning-of-their-end/ – press release "Transition point in romantic relationships signals the beginning of their end" (21 March 2025)
https://press.uni-mainz.de/adolescents-today-are-more-satisfied-with-being-single/ – press release "Adolescents today are more satisfied with being single" (25 June 2024)
https://press.uni-mainz.de/new-emmy-noether-junior-research-group-focuses-on-couple-relationships/ – press release "New Emmy Noether junior research group focuses in couple relationships" (4 Oct.2023)

Two couples with average (top) versus strong (bottom) fluctuations in relationship satisfaction, measured five times a day over ten days

Credit

ill./©: Louisa Scheling

Journal

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

DOI

10.1037/pspp0000559

Article Title

Within-person variability and couple synchrony in state relationship satisfaction: Testing predictors and implications

Article Publication Date

17-Jun-2025

Clearing out the clutter: how people retain important information from memories

Mechanism for how people actively remove unneeded information from their memories to retain what is important to remember

Society for Neuroscience

Removing information from memories may help people retain what they want to remember. Studies focus on how the brain removes information by subconsciously not paying attention to these details, but sometimes there is a need to consciously remove unneeded details from memories. This is especially true when details in a memory are perceptibly harmful and lead to, for example, people combating rumination, intrusive negative thoughts, or hallucinations. In a new JNeurosci paper, Jiangang Shan and Bradley Postle, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explored how the brain actively removes unneeded memory content.

The researchers recorded the brain activity of nearly 30 study participants as they performed a memory task. In this task, participants were initially given two items to remember. Experimental conditions either did or did not encourage participants to actively remove the memory of one of these items. Following these conditions, they were given a third item to remember. Finally, participants were tested on their memory of the relevant first and final items. The findings indicate a mechanism linked to consciously removing information from a memory: less excitable brain circuits that initially process unneeded memory content.

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Please contact media@sfn.org for full-text PDF.

About JNeurosci

JNeurosci was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today, the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact, while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship.

About The Society for Neuroscience

The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 35,000 members in more than 95 countries.

Journal

JNeurosci

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2414-24.2025

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

EEG Correlates of Active Removal from Working Memory

Article Publication Date

16-Jun-2025

Exposure to low levels of arsenic in public drinking water linked to lower birthweight, preterm birth, study finds

Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes

image:
NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes
view more
Credit: The ECHO Program

Babies born to mothers potentially exposed to low levels of arsenic in public drinking water—even at levels below the federal safety standard—were more likely to be born preterm, with lower birthweight, or be smaller than expected, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health’s Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets a maximum contaminant level of 10 micrograms per liter for arsenic in public water systems, this study examines how even lower-level arsenic exposures may still affect pregnancy outcomes in a large population. Previous research largely focused on private wells or smaller study groups.

Because arsenic occurs naturally, water that comes in contact with certain rocks and soils may contain it. Contamination from various industrial processes also contributes to increased levels of arsenic in some areas.

“Most U.S. residents rely on public drinking water, and our findings suggest that further reducing arsenic in public water systems could be an important step to improve infant health across the U.S.,” said Anne Nigra, PhD, of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “Even low levels of arsenic in public drinking water were associated with low birthweight and other adverse birth outcomes in U.S. infants.”

Key takeaways include:

Potential arsenic exposure during pregnancy—even at levels below the current federal safety standard—may be linked to adverse birth outcomes.
Mothers exposed to higher levels of arsenic in public drinking water were more likely to have babies born with low birthweight or smaller than expected for the number of weeks of pregnancy.
These patterns were seen across several racial and ethnic groups, including White, Black, and Hispanic/Latino families. Similar risks were also observed among babies born to American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander parents.
Babies born to Black parents faced higher risks of being born early, having low birthweight, or being smaller than expected.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 14,000 mother-infant pairs from the ECHO Cohort. Arsenic exposures during pregnancy were estimated by combining water quality data with the residential histories of participants. No actual arsenic levels were tested for these participants.

This collaborative research was published in JAMA Network Open.

Nigra, A., et al. (2025) Public water arsenic and birth outcomes in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Cohort. JAMA Network Open. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.14084

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About ECHO
The ECHO Cohort Consortium is a research program supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the mission to enhance the health of children for generations to come. ECHO Cohort investigators study the effects of a broad range of early environmental influences on child health and development. For more information, visit echochildren.org.

Journal

JAMA Network Open

DOI

10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.14084

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Public water arsenic and birth outcomes in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Cohort

Article Publication Date

16-Jun-2025