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Amphibians are threatened globally and emerging diseases are some of the most important drivers of their catastrophic situation. There is increasing evidence that the international trade in live amphibians is one of the most important mechanisms driving pathogen pollution. Here, we report the presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Ranavirus in 11% of tested individuals in legal amphibian trade fairs in Spain. Although none of the Bd infected animals in trade fairs presented disease symptoms, symptoms of ranavirosis were observed in some specimens, which were nonetheless still offered for sale. None of the traders who were selling infected animals showed interest in engaging in collaboration to control infections when offered for free. In addition, a large private urodele collection confiscated by the police in Barcelona comprised a number of illegally wild-caught species. Many confiscated individuals presented signs of poor welfare and several were positive for Bd. Our results indicate the urgent need for implementation of real sanitary regulations or effective legislation governing the practice of trade in living amphibians to prevent pathogen spread in Europe. ; Peer reviewed

Introduction of alien fish is a major problem for the conservation of amphibians inhabiting originally fishless mountain streams. While fish eradication programs in lakes and ponds have proven successful for the recovery of amphibian populations, there is no such information for stream-dwelling amphibians, possibly because fish removal from streams is difficult and costly. Here, we show the first case of successful recovery of a stream-dwelling amphibian (Rana iberica) in a mountain area of central Spain, following eradication of introduced brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and native brown trout (Salmo trutta) translocated from downstream reaches by local anglers. Electrofishing for 12 consecutive years eradicated both fish species in the introduced area, and allowed the recovery of the R. iberica population as a result of natural recolonization from nearby streams and reintroduction of captive-reared individuals. Our results demonstrate how electrofishing can be a costly but effective method for the eradication of introduced fish and the conservation of stream-dwelling amphibians. ; Funding was provided by Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. Additional funding was provided by Basque Government funds (IT951-16) to Jesús Pozo.

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a fungal pathogen which causes the emerging infectious disease chytridiomycosis. Bd presents low host specificity and threatens amphibians worldwide, thus systematic inventory is the key in order to detect and mitigate the effects of the disease. Extensive data collection was conducted in Hungary in 2009-2015 from fourteen different areas. Combined data – recent field sampling on sixteen taxa and the examination of archived Bombina spp. specimens – from 1360 individuals were analysed with qPCR. Two sentinel taxa, Bombina variegata and the members of the Pelophylax esculentus complex were marked to monitor the occurrence of Bd in two core areas (Bakony Mts and Hortobágy National Park, respectively) of sampling. Climatic variables were also examined in core areas to test their effect on prevalence and infection intensity. Among the sixteen sampled amphibian taxa seven tested positive for Bd and the overall prevalence in Hungary was 7.46%. Among the ethanol-fixed Bombina spp. individuals Bd was not detected. In the first core area (Bakony Mts) the overall prevalence in B. variegata was 10.32% and juvenile individuals showed significantly higher prevalence than adults. On the other hand there was a significant negative relationship between infection prevalence and monthly mean air temperature. Finally, in the other core area (Hortobágy National Park) the overall prevalence in P. esculentus complex was 13.00%, and no differences were found in prevalence or infection intensity between sexes, sampling years or age classes. ; During the project JV was supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA K77841) and by the Bolyai János Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (BO/00579/14/8). DH was supported by the European Union and co-financed by the European Social Fund through the Social Renewal Operational Programme under the projects TÁMOP–4.2.2/B–10/1–2010–0024 and SROP-4.2.2.B-15/1/KONV-2015-0001. AF was sup-ported by the Hungarian National Research, Develop-ment and Innovation Office (OTKA grant no. K112527). Research permit was issued by the National Inspectorate of Environment, Nature Conservation and Water Man-agement (14/3535/2/2010) and the Tisza Region Inspec-torate of Environment, Nature Conservation and Water Management (4633/OH/2012). ; Peer Reviewed

Microplastics (MPs), a new class of pollutants that pose a threat to aquatic biodiversity, are of increasing global concern. In tandem, the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) causing the disease chytridiomycosis is emerging worldwide as a major stressor to amphibians. We here assess whether synergies exist between this infectious disease and MP pollution by mimicking natural contact of a highly susceptible species (midwife toads, Alytes obstetricans) with a Bd-infected reservoir species (fire salamanders, Salamandra salamandra) in the presence and absence of MPs. We found that MP ingestion increases the burden of infection by Bd in a dose‑dependent manner. However, MPs accumulated to a greater extent in amphibians that were not exposed to Bd, likely due to Bd‑damaged tadpole mouthparts interfering with MP ingestion. Our experimental approach showed compelling interactions between two emergent processes, chytridiomycosis and MP pollution, necessitating further research into potential synergies between these biotic and abiotic threats to amphibians. ; This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry for Science, Innovation and Universities (BioLoss project, Ref. RTI2018-095023-B-I00) and the Basque Government (Ref. IT951-16). MCF is funded by the UK Natural Envi- ronmental Research Council NERC NE/S000992/1 and is a fellow in the Canadian CIFAR program. ; Peer reviewed

Running waters contribute substantially to global carbon fluxes through decomposition of terrestrial plant litter by aquatic microorganisms and detritivores. Diversity of this litter may influence instream decomposition globally in ways that are not yet understood. We investigated latitudinal differences in decomposition of litter mixtures of low and high functional diversity in 40 streams on 6 continents and spanning 113° of latitude. Despite important variability in our dataset, we found latitudinal differences in the effect of litter functional diversity on decomposition, which we explained as evolutionary adaptations of litter-consuming detritivores to resource availability. Specifically, a balanced diet effect appears to operate at lower latitudes versus a resource concentration effect at higher latitudes. The latitudinal pattern indicates that loss of plant functional diversity will have different consequences on carbon fluxes across the globe, with greater repercussions likely at low latitudes. ; This study was part of the DecoDiv project conducted by the GLoBE network (www.globenetwork.es), which is coordinated by L.B. Most research was based on crowdfunding (details on specific funding sources at each region are given in the Supplementary Materials). Project coordination was funded by Basque Government funds (ref. IT951-16) to the Stream Ecology Group (UPV/EHU, Spain). Litter trait analyses were funded by the 2014–2020 Operational Programme FEDER Andalusia, Spain (ref. UAL18-RNM-B006-B to J.J.C.) and the Portuguese Science Foundation, Portugal (ref. UIDB/04292/2020 to MARE). ; Peer reviewed

he relationship between detritivore diversity and decomposition can provide information on how biogeochemical cycles are affected by ongoing rates of extinction, but such evidence has come mostly from local studies and microcosm experiments. We conducted a globally distributed experiment (38 streams across 23 countries in 6 continents) using standardised methods to test the hypothesis that detritivore diversity enhances litter decomposition in streams, to establish the role of other characteristics of detritivore assemblages (abundance, biomass and body size), and to determine how patterns vary across realms, biomes and climates. We observed a positive relationship between diversity and decomposition, strongest in tropical areas, and a key role of abundance and biomass at higher latitudes. Our results suggest that litter decomposition might be altered by detritivore extinctions, particularly in tropical areas, where detritivore diversity is already relatively low and some environmental stressors particularly prevalent. ; This study was part of the DecoDiv project conducted by the GLoBE network (www.globenetwork.es), which is coordinated by L. B. Most research was based on crowdfunding (details on specific funding sources at each region are given in Supplementary Information). Project coordination was funded by Basque Government funds (Ref. IT951-16) to the Stream Ecology Group (UPV/EHU, Spain). ; Peer reviewed

African Swine Fever (ASF) is one of the most complex and significant diseases from a sanitary-economic perspective currently affecting the world's swine-farming industry. ASF has been endemic in Sardinia (Italy) since 1978, and several control and eradication programmes have met with limited success. In this traditional ASF endemic area, there are three susceptible host populations for this virus sharing the same habitat: wild boar, farmed domestic pigs and non-registered free-ranging pigs (known as "brado" animals). The main goal of this study was to determine and predict fine-scale spatial interactions of this multi-host system in relation to the epidemiology of ASF in the main endemic area of Sardinia, Montes-Orgosolo. To this end, simultaneous monitoring of GPS–GSM collared wild boar and free-ranging pigs sightings were performed to predict interaction indexes through latent selection difference functions with environmental, human and farming factors. Regarding epidemiological assessment, the spatial inter-specific interaction indexes obtained here were used to correlate ASF notifications in wild boar and domestic pig farms. Daily movement patterns, home ranges (between 120.7 and 2,622.8 ha) and resource selection of wild boar were obtained for the first time on the island. Overall, our prediction model showed the highest spatial interactions between wild boar and free-ranging pigs in areas close to pig farms. A spatially explicit model was obtained to map inter-specific interaction over the complete ASF-endemic area of the island. Our approach to monitoring interaction indexes may help explain the occurrence of ASF notifications in wild boar and domestic pigs on a fine-spatial scale. These results support the recent and effective eradication measures taken in Sardinia. In addition, this methodology could be extrapolated to apply in the current epidemiological scenarios of ASF in Eurasia, where exist multi-host systems involving free-ranging pigs and wild boar. ; The present work was financially supported by the European project ASFORCE (FP7 - KBBE.2012) and Spanish project RTA2015-00033-C02-02 Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA). JB is supported by postdoctoral "Juan de la Cierva" contracts FJCI-2015-23643 from MINECO-UCM and IJCI-2017-33539 from MINECO-UCLM. EC-F and CJ are recipients of Spanish Government-funded PhD fellowships for the Training of Future Scholars (FPU) given by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. We also thank the EU project (H2020 VACDIVA 862874). ; Peer reviewed

Inflammation and oxidative stress play a key role in the pathophysiology of advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD) and portal hypertension (PH). Considering the current lack of effective treatments, we evaluated an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutraceutical rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as a possible therapy for ACLD. We investigated the effects of twoweek DHA supplementation (500 mg/kg) on hepatic fatty acids, PH, oxidative stress, inflammation, and hepatic stellate cell (HSC) phenotype in rats with ACLD. Additionally, the effects of DHA were evaluated in murine macrophages and human HSC. In contrast to vehicle-treated animals, cirrhotic rats receiving DHA reestablished a healthy hepatic fatty acid profile, which was associated with an improvement in PH. The mechanisms underlying this hemodynamic improvement included a reduction in oxidative stress and inflammation, as well as a marked HSC deactivation, confirmed in human HSC. Experiments with cultured macrophages showed that treatment with DHA protects against pro-inflammatory insults. The present preclinical study demonstrates that a nutraceutical rich in DHA significantly improves PH in chronic liver disease mainly by suppressing inflammation and oxidative stress-driven HSC activation, encouraging its evaluation as a new treatment for PH and cirrhosis. ; This work was funded by Brudy Technology, Barcelona. Parts of the study were funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI17/00012), the European Union FEDER Funds, "una manera de hacer Europa", the CERCA Program from the Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Secretaria d'Universitats i Recerca del Departament d'Economia i Coneixement (2017 SGR-517) Barcelona, Spain. CIBEREHD is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.

Pollinators face multiple pressures and there is evidence of populations in decline. As demand for insect-pollinated crops increases, crop production is threatened by shortfalls in pollination services. Understanding the extent of current yield deficits due to pollination and identifying opportunities to protect or improve crop yield and quality through pollination management is therefore of international importance. To explore the extent of "pollination deficits," where maximum yield is not being achieved due to insufficient pollination, we used an extensive dataset on a globally important crop, apples. We quantified how these deficits vary between orchards and countries and we compared "pollinator dependence" across different apple varieties. We found evidence of pollination deficits and, in some cases, risks of overpollination were even apparent for which fruit quality could be reduced by too much pollination. In almost all regions studied we found some orchards performing significantly better than others in terms of avoiding a pollination deficit and crop yield shortfalls due to suboptimal pollination. This represents an opportunity to improve production through better pollinator and crop management. Our findings also demonstrated that pollinator dependence varies considerably between apple varieties in terms of fruit number and fruit quality. We propose that assessments of pollination service and deficits in crops can be used to quantify supply and demand for pollinators and help to target local management to address deficits although crop variety has a strong influence on the role of pollinators. ; This project was funded by the Sustainable Pollination in Europe Super-B COST Action (FA1307), Project Kennisimpuls Bestuivers (funded by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality; BO-43-011.06-007), BBSRC, Defra, NERC, the Scottish Government and the Wellcome Trust, under the Insect Pollinators Initiative (BB/I000348/1), the "Sustainable Management of Orchard Pollination Services" Project (BB/P003664/1), the Stapledon Memorial Trust, the Volkswagen Foundation "Identifying functional pollinator biodiversity and threats to its decline in Georgia and Kyrgyzstan" (AZ: 86880), Georgian National Science Foundation "Functional pollinator biodiversity and their number, decline and threats in Georgia" (DO/372/10-101/14), the NKFIH project (FK123813), the Bolyai János Fellowship of the MTA, the ÚNKP-19-4-SZIE-3 New National Excellence Program of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund OTKA 101940, Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, BiodivERsA/FACCE-JPI (agreement# BiodivERsA-FACCE2014-74) EcoFruit project, Swedish Research Council Formas (grant# 2014-1784), German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (PT-DLR/BMBF) (grant# 01LC1403), the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) (project# PCIN-2014-145-C02), The Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Fonds de recherche nature et technologies du Québec, Hort Innovation Pollination Fund project PH15001: Healthy bee populations for sustainable pollination in horticulture, Smith Lever and Hatch Funds administered by Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station and by a USDA-AFRI grant (USDA 2010-03689, B.N. Danforth, PI), the Walloon Region (Belgium) Direction générale opérationnelle de l'Agriculture, des Ressources naturelles et de l'Environnement (DGO3) for the Modèle permaculturel project on biodiversity in micro-farms, FNRS/FWO joint program EOS—Excellence Of Science CliPS: Climate change and its impact on Pollination Services (project 30947854), MinECo and FEDER (INIA-RTA2013-00139-C03-01), Formas (grant #2014-1784), Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd (BB/K012843/1) and RR acknowledges the receipt of a fellowship from OECD Co-operative Research Programme: Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems in 2016