Cascading effects of pesticide use: It is now well known that neonicotinoids negatively affect pollinators. As research has expanded, it has become clear that these globally used insecticides directly affect other ecosystem components, including vertebrates. Yamamuro et al. now show that these compounds are indirectly affecting species through trophic cascades (see the Perspective by Jensen). Since the application of neonicotinoids to agricultural fields began in the 1990s, zooplankton biomass has plummeted in a Japanese lake surrounded by these fields. This decline has led to shifts in food web structure and a collapse of two commercially harvested freshwater fish species. The authors argue that such dynamics are likely occurring widely. Science , this issue p. 620 ; see also p. 566

A rapid technique is presented for measuring organic C and N in carbonate-bearing sediments. Organic C and N were determined with a Yanaco MT-5 CHN analyzer after removing carbonate by acidification ...

To examine the importance of new primary production and nitrogen fixation in coral reef ecosystems, we compared δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values of various organic materials (coral tissues, macrophytes, particulate organic materials, and zooplankton) from Palau (7°N) and Ishigaki (24°30′N) coral reefs in the western Pacific Ocean. The δ¹⁵N (4–6‰) abundance of coral tissues suggests that zooplankton was not the main source of N for these corals. Low δ¹⁵N values of other benthic primary producers (2–6‰) indicate that their nitrogen originates from nitrogen fixation. These values and the high δ¹³C (−6 to −9‰) of macrophytes sampled at the landward part of both coral reefs lead us to conclude that coral reef ecosystems are sinks of CO₂ because of primary production accompanied by uptake of new nitrogen.