Explore the latest insights from top science journals in the Muser Press daily roundup (July 1, 2025), featuring impactful research on climate change challenges.
In brief:
Hurricane ecology research reveals critical vulnerabilities of coastal ecosystems
A recently published article in the journal BioScience reveals that endangered longleaf pine ecosystems – among North America’s most biodiverse habitats – face mounting threats from intensifying hurricane regimes driven by climate change.
An interdisciplinary team of authors headed by Nicole Zampieri (Tall Timbers and The Jones Center at Ichauway) describe the urgent situation: The North American Coastal Plain was once characterized by extensive longleaf pine savannas covering approximately 36 million hectares. Today, these ecosystems “now occupy less than 5% of their historic distribution, primarily because of habitat fragmentation, widespread unsustainable logging, land-use conversion, and fire suppression during the past half millennium.”
The remaining savannas are now under threat, say the authors: “Endangered coastal ecosystems, such as biodiverse longleaf pine savannas, have historically been resistant and resilient to the impacts of tropical cyclones. But changing hurricane regimes, coupled with little remaining habitat and detrimental management actions, threaten their persistence.”
The research team analyzed the remaining habitat, finding that the overwhelming majority faces frequent hurricane disturbance. “Almost all extant longleaf habitat (more than 90%) has experienced, on average, cyclonic winds every decade,” the authors say. These ecosystems’ vulnerability was starkly demonstrated in 2018 when Hurricane Michael affected “more than 25% of all remaining longleaf pine savannas and woodlands.”
Linked disturbances, often involving fire, post-hurricane salvage operations, and insect outbreaks, can worsen the damage. Intensive salvage logging can lead to a damaged understory, compacted soils, and colonization by nonnative species, say the authors, who recommend the conversion of even-aged stands to more resilient uneven-aged forests, strategic prescribed fire management, and comprehensive post-storm response plans coordinated across public and private lands.
As climate change intensifies hurricane activity, the fate of these crucial ecosystems – and the “hyper-diverse ground layer plant communities” they host – hangs in the balance.
Journal Reference:
Nicole E Zampieri, Jeffery B Cannon, William J Platt, Christine C Fortuin, Frank S Gilliam, Ajay Sharma, ‘Advancing hurricane ecology to improve ecological resilience in endangered systems’, BioScience biaf086 (2025). DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaf086
Article Source:
Press Release/Material by American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS)
Seasonal allergies caused by fungal spores now start three weeks earlier under climate change
Although many of us spend allergy season cursing out plant pollen, spores from mold and other fungi also deserve some of that same disdain. These invisibly small agitators tend to fly under the radar, despite being capable of causing the same sneezes, sniffles and, in some cases, severe respiratory issues.
And these stealthy allergens are sneaking up on us earlier than ever before, according to new research led by the University of Michigan and published in the journal GeoHealth.
“Over the past two decades, fungal spore seasons in the U.S. have shifted significantly due to climate change. This has implications for both ecosystem processes and human health,” said Ruoyu Wu, a leader of the research project while earning her master’s degree at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability. She is now pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of Florida.
Against a backdrop of changing temperatures and precipitation patterns, Wu and her colleagues performed the first large-scale systematic study of outdoor fungal spore abundance across the continental United States between 2003 and 2022. This was made possible by data collected at 55 pollen counting stations associated with the U.S. National Allergy Bureau.
The researchers found that, on average, spore allergy season was kicking off 22 days earlier in 2022 than it had been in 2003.
“This is the first time that we’ve been able to show that the fungal spore seasons have changed, and the change is pretty big. That’s three weeks over the past two decades,” said study senior author Kai Zhu, U-M associate professor of sustainability and environment and of ecology and evolutionary biology.
A 2023 epidemiological study found that, out of clinical samples collected from more than 1.6 million patients in the U.S., roughly 1 in 5 showed signs of sensitivity to fungal allergens.
That means folks who have suspected their respiratory distress is creeping up in the calendar likely aren’t imagining things and may want to start their remedies sooner, the researchers said. This finding is also important for doctors and health care professionals who offer guidance to patients and the public on preparations for allergy season.
“We also know that buildings and vegetation are huge sources of fungal spores in the air,” said Yiluan Song, another leader of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society. That means another practical action item, beyond people preparing earlier for the “natural” spore season, is alleviating and preventing mold in our built environments.
In addition to its public health implications, the study also revealed ecological concerns. Beyond looking at when spore concentrations reached a threshold that would trigger allergic reactions in people, the team also examined a flexible threshold based on the accumulated spore count in the year, which might be more relevant to the timing of fungal reproduction.
Through the lens of that ecological threshold, the team still observed a season shift in spore season: Ecological spore season starts an average of 11 days earlier in 2022 across the U.S. compared with 2003.
Nevertheless, the study found that the accumulated spore count declined over the survey period. Spores are microscopic particles that fungi use to reproduce and fungi are a vital link in many of nature’s food webs, as both a food source and decomposers of organic material. As climate change affects the production of these tiny organisms, it could have outsize impacts on broader ecosystems.
It appears that warming temperatures are driving the advance of spore season, while drought conditions may be responsible for decreasing spore production, Song said.
“Here, we see a very visible fingerprint of climate change,” she said. “So another key action item is to try to curb climate change.”
***
Collaborators at U-M included Jennifer Head, assistant professor of epidemiology, and Kerby Shedden, professor of statistics. Daniel Katz, assistant professor at Cornell University, and Kabir Peay, professor at Stanford University, also contributed to the study. The research was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S Department of Energy, Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society, and the Schmidt Sciences program.
Journal Reference:
Wu, R., Song, Y., Head, J. R., Katz, D. S. W., Peay, K. G., Shedden, K., & Zhu, K., ‘Fungal spore seasons advanced across the US over two decades of climate change’, GeoHealth 9, e2024GH001323 (2025). DOI: 10.1029/2024GH001323
Article Source:
Press Release/Material by University of Michigan
Climate change alters distribution of sea life
The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) established, through genetic connectivity analysis, that a northward shift in the habitat of Turbo sazae, from the southern coast to the eastern coast of Korea, is closely related to rising sea temperatures caused by climate change.
The research findings were published in the international academic journal Animals.
According to the National Comprehensive Investigation into Marine Ecosystems conducted by the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation, T. sazae, which had primarily inhabited the southern coast of Korea, were found to have expanded their habitat 37 degrees north (near Uljin) as of 2018. This suggests that climate change-driven rises in sea temperatures are gradually expanding northward the inhabitable environment for sea life, which a research team at KIOST verified through genetic connectivity analysis.
A team of researchers led by Dr. Hyun-sung Yang of the Tropical and Subtropical Research Center at KIOST and another research team led by Dr. Young-Ghan Cho of the Tidal Flat Research Institute at the National Institute of Fisheries Science collaborated on the study, which predicted the impact of barren ground1 caused by climate change on marine benthic life and analyzed the physiological, ecological, and genetic characteristics of T. sazae accordingly. They found that the T. sazae found around Jeju Island and on the eastern coast were varieties with identical genetic characteristics.
In addition, a research team at the Jeju Bio Research Center at KIOST found the main cause of an observed decline in T. sazae population to be a decrease in immune function caused by rising sea temperatures. Previously, it had been speculated that urchin barrens changed the feeding patterns of T. sazae living around Jeju Island, causing the decline in their population, but the research findings2 indicate that the changed feeding patterns do not impact T. sazae’s reproduction or physiology, and that the real cause is compromised immune function of the mollusk as a result of warmer waters.
The findings are scientific evidence that T. sazae larvae likely move northward along ocean currents such as the Tsushima Current to settle on the eastern coast, resulting in an expansion of their habitat. These findings are also a significant achievement in that they clarify some of the impacts of climate change on the distribution of sea life through a comprehensive analysis of the morphological features and genetic information of the T. sazae populations around Jeju Island and along the eastern coast.
In particular, the fact that rising sea temperatures allow the northward expansion of T. sazae’s habitat is expected to be key information in understanding climate-adaptive mechanisms of sea life as well as in forming climate change response strategies.
KIOST President Hyi Seung Lee explained: “Climate change-driven rises in sea temperatures are a core variable in the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems.” He added: “KIOST will use its latest research findings to gain a scientific understanding of patterns of change in the distribution of sea life and continue the scientific mission to protect sea life.”
Notes:
1 – The phenomenon in which kelp disappears from coastal rocky areas to be replaced by white calcareous algae, leaving the affected areas white. An element of marine desertification.
2 – Title of publication: ‘Effect of Diet Changes in Benthic Ecosystems Owing to Climate Change on the Physiological Responses of Turbo sazae in Waters Around Jeju Island, Korea’. Yong-kyun Ryu, Chulhong Oh, Hyun-sung Yang, KIOST. Marine Environmental Research 205, 107001, Feb. 6, 2025.
Journal Reference:
Cho, Y.-G., Kwon, K., Rho, H. S., Min, W.-G., Jeung, H.-D., Hwang, U.-K., Ryu, Y.-K., Park, A., Hong, H.-K., Shin, J.-S., & Yang, H.-S., ‘Insights into the Genetic Connectivity and Climate-Driven Northward Range Expansion of Turbo sazae (Gastropoda: Turbinidae) Along the Eastern Coast of Korea’, Animals 15(9), 1321 (2025). DOI: 10.3390/ani15091321
Article Source:
Press Release/Material by Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST)
Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species
Using whole genome sequencing and cutting-edge analyses researchers at Stockholm University have uncovered the surprising evolutionary history of the Norwegian lemming (Lemmus lemmus), revealing it to be one of the most recently evolved mammal species. The results published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveal that the Norwegian lemming is a distinct species that split from its closest relative, the Western Siberian lemming, approximately 35,000 years ago – just before the peak of the last Ice Age.
“The Norwegian lemming is a key ecological species in the Fennoscandian tundra. Among other things, it serves as primary food for many predator species, including some threatened ones such as the Arctic fox. However, it is also a very interesting species from an evolutionary perspective, which so far has not been studied using genomics. Our study starts to fill that gap,” says David Díez del Molino, Researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics and the Department of Zoology at Stockholm University, senior author of the study.
The study, that compared genomes from nine modern and two ancient lemming specimens, not only confirms that the Norwegian and Siberian lemmings are separate evolutionary lineages, but also finds no evidence of interbreeding – a surprising result given how recently they diverged and that their distributions nearly overlap. This lack of gene flow stands in contrast to many other mammalian species, where recent splits are often accompanied by hybridization.
“Our findings indicate that the Norwegian lemming is among the most recently evolved mammals, diverging from its sister taxon, the Western Siberian lemming, at a remarkably shallow time depth. After this, these species seem to have remained isolated, as we don’t find any indication of interbreeding between them,” says Edana Lord, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics and the Department of Zoology at Stockholm University lead author of the study.
The researchers also identified hundreds of mutations unique to the Norwegian lemming, particularly in genes related to coat colour, fat metabolism, and possibly even behaviour. These genomic differences likely contribute to its iconic black-yellow fur, as well as helping the lemmings stay active during winter, traits thought to be adaptations to the harsh Fennoscandian tundra and to predator pressure.
In resolving the phylogeny of the Lemmus genus, the study also supports the classification of the Eastern Siberian lemming as a separate species – Lemmus paulus – and clarifies the taxonomy of a group long muddled by uncertain evolutionary relationships.
“This work represents a big step in our understanding of lemming speciation and evolution. It paves the way for exciting future research, particularly in exploring ancient gene flow and precisely dating the emergence of the unique genetic adaptations we see in the Norwegian lemming,” says Love Dalén, Professor in Evolutionary Genomics at the Centre for Palaeogenetics and the Department of Zoology at Stockholm University, co-author of the study.
This work highlights the powerful insights genomic tools can bring to longstanding evolutionary questions and shows how even recent climatic changes can drive rapid species formation and isolation.
Journal Reference:
E. Lord, I.S. Feinauer, A.E.R. Soares, V.K. Lagerholm, K. Näsvall, E. Ersmark, R. Olsen, S. Prost, E.A. Kuzmina, N.G. Smirnov, J.R. Stewart, M.V. Knul, P. Noiret, M. Germonpré, D. Ehrich, I. Pokrovsky, V.B. Fedorov, A.V. Goropashnaya, L. Dalén & D. Díez-del-Molino, ‘Genome analyses suggest recent speciation and postglacial isolation in the Norwegian lemming’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 122 (28) e2424333122 (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2424333122
Article Source:
Press Release/Material by Stockholm University
Featured image credit: Gerd Altmann | Pixabay
