This study investigates the impact of crude oil contamination on the fungal community dynamics in the Evrona Nature Reserve, situated in Israel’s hyper-arid Arava Valley. The reserve experienced petroleum-hydrocarbon-spill pollution at two neighboring sites in 1975 and 2014. The initial contamination was left untreated, providing a unique opportunity to compare its effects to those of the second contamination event. In 2022, soil samples were collected from both contaminated areas and nearby clean (control) sites, 47 and 7 years after the spills. The taxonomic diversity of fungal community and functional guilds, as well as various properties of the soil, were analyzed. We focused on three functional groups within fungal communities: saprotrophs, symbiotrophs, and pathotrophs. The results revealed a significant decrease in number of fungal species in the contaminated samples over time. Consequently, prolonged effect of crude oil-contaminated soils can facilitate the development of a distinct fungal community, which has adapted to the conditions of oil contamination. This study aims to elucidate the dynamics of fungal communities in oil-contaminated soils, contributing to a better understanding of their behavior and adaptation in such environments.

Ecotypic differentiation, reflected in substantial trait differences across populations, has been observed in various plant species distributed across aridity gradients. Nevertheless, ecotypic differentiation in leaf silicon concentration, known to alleviate drought stress in plants, remained hardly explored. Here, we provide a systematic test for ecotypic differentiation in leaf silicon concentration along two aridity gradients in the grass Brachypodium hybridum in Israel. Seed material was sampled in 15 sites along a macroclimatic aridity gradient (89 – 926 mm mean annual rainfall) and from corresponding north (moister) and south (more arid) exposed slopes (microclimatic gradient) at similar altitudes (mean north: 381 m a.s.l., mean south: 385 m a.s.l.). Plants were subsequently grown under common conditions and their leaf silicon concentration was analysed. Leaf silicon concentration increased with increasing aridity across the macroclimatic gradient, but did not differ between north and south slopes. The higher leaf silicon concentrations under more arid conditions can enhance the ability of plants to cope with more arid conditions by two mutually not exclusive mechanisms: (i) withstanding drought by reducing water loss and increasing water uptake or (ii) escaping drought by facilitating fast growth. Our study highlights that leaf silicon concentration contributes to ecotypic differentiation in annual grasses along macroclimatic aridity gradients.

Seagrasses native to the Mediterranean Sea are anticipated to be adversely affected by climate warming, while the invasive tropical seagrass species Halophila stipulacea is projected to proliferate and alter the region's underwater seascape. Despite the significant implications of this transition, it is surprisingly rare to include H. stipulacea in long-term monitoring programs across the Mediterranean. In July 2023, we conducted a follow-up study at a seagrass meadow in Limassol, Cyprus, which in 2017 was home to two native seagrass species, Cymodocea nodosa and Posidonia oceanica, alongside the invasive H. stipulacea. We assessed the seagrass cover of all present species and examined the characteristics of the H. stipulacea meadow, comparing our findings with data from 2017. Our results indicated a total loss of both native seagrass species, while H. stipulacea nearly doubled its coverage and exhibited substantial increases in shoot density, as well as above- and below-ground biomasses. Although our study is limited in scope, it supports earlier predictions regarding the anticipated transformations in the eastern Mediterranean's underwater landscape. This study highlights the urgent need to incorporate H. stipulacea into long-term seagrass monitoring efforts in the Mediterranean.

Biofouling is the main challenge in the operation of anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs). Biofouling strongly depends on temperature; therefore, we hypothesize that the interactions and viscoelastic properties of soluble microbial products (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) vary with temperature, consequently influencing membrane permeability. This study compares the performance of an AnMBR operated at a similar permeate flux at two temperatures. The transmembrane pressure (TMP) rose rapidly after 5 ± 2 days at 25 °C but only after 18 ± 2 days at 35 °C, although the reactor's biological performance was similar at both temperatures, in terms of the efficiency of dissolved organic carbon removal and biogas composition, which were obtained by changing the hydraulic retention time. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), a higher biofilm amount was detected at 25 °C than at 35 °C, while quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) showed a more adhesive, but less viscous and elastic EPS layer. In situ optical coherence tomography (OCT) of an ultra-filtration membrane, fed with the mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) at the two temperatures, revealed that while a higher rate of TMP increase was obtained at 25 °C, the attachment of biomass from MLSS was markedly less. Increased EPS adhesion to the membrane can accelerate TMP increase during the operation of both the AnMBR and the OCT filtration cell. EPS's reduced viscoelasticity at 25 °C suggests reduced floc integrity and possible increased EPS penetration into the membrane pores. Analysis of the structures of the microbial communities constituting the AnMBR flocs and membrane biofilms reveals temperature's effects on microbial richness, diversity, and abundance, which likely influence the observed EPS properties and consequent AnMBR fouling.

Cymodocea nodosa is a temperate seagrass that grows in shallow and sheltered waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Although it is found in both the western and eastern basins, it was thought to be absent from the extremely warm and salty waters along the Israeli coastline, the most eastern part of the Mediterranean. We conducted methodical, seasonal, towed-diver surveys along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, recording position, depth, presence/absence of C. nodosa, seabed characteristics, and habitat complexity. We used general additive models (GAMs) to understand how the combination of depth, latitude (space), and season (time), explained the distribution of local meadows. We then compared the habitat affinity of these Israeli meadows with other sites in the Eastern Mediterranean by conducting a systematic literature review and using Species Distribution Models (SDMs). Underwater surveys unveiled the extensive distribution of C. nodosa over a narrow depth range of 8-21m (with peak occurrence at 14m) in exposed habitats. These locations are distinct from other Eastern Mediterranean populations, in which C. nodosa is found in shallower and sheltered habitats. SDMs confirmed the increase in the geographical range also reflects an increase in realized niche breadth into higher values of temperatures, salinity, and current velocity. Considering that the eastern tip of the Mediterranean is a climate change hotspot, finding C. nodosa populations surviving these harsh conditions holds implications for seagrass conservation and restoration in the entire Mediterranean. However, the low density of observed meadows suggests that these populations require careful monitoring to prevent local extirpation.

High abundance of legumes in drylands suggests that symbiotic nitrogen fixation provides an advantage in water-limited environments. However, the interactive effect of nitrogen availability and water scarcity on the nitrogen fixation strategies of dryland legumes remain largely unexplained. We conducted two experiments to test the effects of nitrogen availability and drought on symbiotic nitrogen fixation in two drought-adapted Acacia tree species. Seedlings were grown under deficient and sufficient levels of nitrogen and with and without an imposed drought to test the effect of resource availability on nitrogen fixation and plant growth. We found that seedlings that grew in extreme deficiency of nitrogen reached a similar biomass as seedling that grew with a sufficient supply of nitrogen, showing a high nitrogen-use efficiency. Nitrogen fixation was strongly downregulated (reduction of 90% in biomass allocation to nodules) when plants received sufficient nitrogen supply. Under nitrogen deficiency, drought had a slight negative effect on nodule biomass and total biomass. Under sufficient nitrogen, drought reduced nitrogen availability enough to induce an increase in symbiotic nitrogen fixation in the risk-averse A. raddiana but not in the risk-taking A. tortilis. We conclude that strong regulation of nitrogen fixation together with low nitrogen demand, and flexible strategies of carbon and nitrogen allocation, increase the chance of legume tree survival and establishment in dry and unpredictable environments.

Grey wolf (Canis lupus) populations are beginning to increase globally after centuries of decline. While protective legislations and policy implementations have been driving this increase, evidence suggests that these work because of a general rise in public acceptance of wolves. As people have become more knowledgeable of the important ecological roles played by wolves, protection has gained increasing community support, with human-wolf coexistence now being achieved in some areas. However, this is not universal, and some subspecies remain endangered. This is the case for the little-known Arabian wolf (Canis lupus arabs), which inhabits arid regions of the southern Levant and Arabian Peninsula: a geopolitically diverse region crossing multiple jurisdictions with disparate cultures, legislations, and attitudes towards wildlife and conservation. Here we review global efforts within the wolf conservation sphere to explore potential opportunities and challenges in the Middle East, acknowledging and accounting for the unique geopolitical complexity of this region. We bring together what is known about this wolf's taxonomic status, distribution, ecology, and conservation across eleven countries in which it resides, collating decades of legislation, governmental, and non-governmental conservation efforts, and summarising literature pertinent to the Arabian wolf. Cross-border collaborations remain challenging in the Middle East, but we identify practical and culturally-based solutions that may improve coexistence and conservation goals, building upon areas where coexistence already occurs. We write this review in the hope that it will highlight the synergies, opportunities, and obstacles that require more serious deliberation and collaboration to conserve one of the region's remaining apex predators.

This study investigates the diet of copper miners at Naḥal ‘Amram (southern Negev Desert), through the examination of the well-preserved remains of plants, mammal and fish bones, dating to the Roman-Byzantine periods (1st–5th centuries CE), recovered during excavations undertaken in three different localities at this mining complex.

Our analyses revealed that the miners enjoyed a varied and nutritious diet, comprising nine species of fruits and vegetables, alongside meat from two domestic animal taxa and representatives of eight different families of fish. While the fish and animal foods were brought to the mines from the Red Sea and neighboring regions, the vegetal food originated from a variety of different sources, some nearby, others quite distant.

We suggest that since copper was traded from Naḥal ‘Amram, the foods arrived at the mines via the same trade routes, from settlements along the ‘Arabah, and these foodstuffs were likely bartered in exchange for copper. The results imply that the people engaged in copper mining were likely a local desert population, Nabataeans, supplementing their food needs from external sources and so enjoying improved nutritional status.

Beyond its findings, the importance of this study lies in the combination of several disciplines, a methodology which can be useful for future research and provide a more reliable understanding of reconstructing the ancient diet.

Silicon (Si) content in plant tissues is considered a functional trait that can provide multiple morpho-physiological benefits to plant individuals. However, it is still unclear whether and how these individual benefits extend to plant community processes and ecosystem functioning. Here we investigated how plant Si content is associated with plant community properties and the ecosystem structure of herbaceous communities in Israel. We sampled 15 sites across the Mediterranean and desert ecosystems and built models to evaluate how plant silicon content (community-weighted mean and standard variation) is associated with variables such as species richness, biomass production, plant cover, and functional diversity. Finally, we used model selection techniques to test whether models depicting plant Si content perform better than models using data on soil Si instead. Sites with lower susceptibility to drought had significantly more Si-accumulating grass species and higher soils Si content. Models with plant Si content instead of soil Si, always performed better, although those considering Si content variation had overall stronger associations with community properties than only mean Si content. For instance, up to 51% of plant Si content variation was explained by climate, biomass production, and species richness, combined. Still, mean plant Si content and plant cover combined explained up to 42% of plant functional diversity. Our results suggest the that plant Si content serves as a proxy for understanding the ecological properties and functioning of arid and Mediterranean ecosystems. Nevertheless, the significance of Si has not been fully explored in other ecosystem types, where its influence may be less pronounced compared with the ecosystems examined in this study. In light of various global change scenarios, enhancing our understanding of Si as a plant functional trait could help bridge existing knowledge gaps and improve ecological modeling, thus enabling more accurate forecasts of changes in plant distributions.

Premature aging can be partially explained by inefficient autophagy (the process of cellular self-digestion that recycles intracellular components) and premature senescence (cease of cellular division without cell death activation). Autophagy and senescence are among the basic biochemical pathways in plants and fungi suggesting that some of their metabolites have the potential to act as autophagy inducers (AI) and senescence inhibitors (SI) and to inhibit inflammation and human aging. Several compounds have already been identified: trehalose and resveratrol are natural compounds that act as AI; flavonoids found in fruit and vegetables (curcumin, quercetin, and fisetin) are among the first SI discovered so far. New AI/SI can be identified using various approaches like hypothesis-driven approach for screening receptor agonists using an in-silico library of thousands of natural compounds; cheminformatics studies of phytochemicals using docking and molecular dynamics simulation, structure similarities/mimicry in vitro, “blind” high throughput screening (HTS) of libraries of natural metabolites against relevant models, and more. This article aims to promote the use of plant and fungi novel resources to identify bioactive molecules relevant for healthy aging based on the knowledge that plants and fungi use autophagy and senescence mechanisms for their own survival and homeostasis. As autophagy and senescence are interconnected, how drugs targeting autophagy, senescence, or both could contribute to healthy aging in humans will be speculated.