http://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity/special_issues/biodiversity-feature-papers/ Submission Information All manuscripts should be submitted to diversity@mdpi.com with a copy to the Guest Editor. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI. For the first two issues, to be published in 2009 and 2010, the Article Processing Charges (APC) will be waived for well-prepared manuscripts. English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections. http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/2/2/233/ The area of the Aegean can be described as one of nature’s most active laboratories. The contemporary geomorphology of the Aegean is a result of diverse and still ongoing geological events, which coupled with climate changes, have created mountains and thousands of islands. The Aegean bridges three continents, where human activity has been recorded for at least 10,000 years. Herpetofauna diversity offered early researchers the possibility of describing patterns in the Aegean, especially as the distributional limit for several species and faunal elements. The patterns initially described at a rather coarse scale formed the frame on which the application of new techniques opened new views and permitted finer analyses. Here, we assess recent works on the Aegean’s herpetofauna, outlining the role of sea barriers, especially the Mid Aegean Trench (MAT). We propose four basic patterns (pre-MAT, post-MAT, newcomers, and that of an outlier) and discuss exceptions to these patterns, to interpret the diversity recorded. The interdisciplinary study of taxonomy helps explaining the observed diversity and provides powerful arguments for how exploring diversity can be used to explain more than biological processes. http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/2/2/233/ Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 CET Diversity 2010-02-16 2 2 Article 233 255 1424-2818 Three Continents Claiming an Archipelago: The Evolution of Aegean’s Herpetofaunal Diversity 2010-02-16 doi: 10.3390/d2020233 Petros Lymberakis Nikos Poulakakis http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/1/2/182/ Biodiversity is one of the most fundamental properties of Nature. It underpins the stability of ecosystems, provides vast bioresources for economic use, and has important cultural significance for many people. The Pampa biome, located in the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, illustrates the direct and indirect interdependence of humans and biodiversity. The Brazilian Pampa lies within the South Temperate Zone where grasslands scattered with shrubs and trees are the dominant vegetation. The soil, originating from sedimentary rocks, often has an extremely sandy texture that makes them fragile—highly prone to water and wind erosion. Human activities have converted or degraded many areas of this biome. In this review we discuss our state-of-the-art knowledge of the diversity and the major biological features of this regions and the cultural factors that have shaped it. Our aim is to contribute toward a better understanding of the current status of this special biome and to describe how the interaction between human activities and environment affects the region, highlighting the fragility of the Brazilian Pampa. http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/1/2/182/ Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 CET Diversity 2009-12-21 1 2 Review 182 198 1424-2818 The Brazilian Pampa: A Fragile Biome 2009-12-21 doi: 10.3390/d1020182 Luiz Fernando Wurdig Roesch Frederico Costa Beber Vieira Vilmar Alves Pereira Adriano Luis Schünemann Italo Filippi Teixeira Ana Julia Teixeira Senna Valdir Marcos Stefenon http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/1/2/133/ Extinction forecasting is one of the most important and challenging areas of conservation biology. Overestimates of extinction rates or the extinction risk of a particular species instigate accusations of hype and overblown conservation rhetoric. Conversely, underestimates may result in limited resources being allocated to other species/habitats perceived as being at greater risk. In this paper I review extinction models and identify the key sources of uncertainty for each. All reviewed methods which claim to estimate extinction probabilities have severe limitations, independent of if they are based on ecological theory or on rather subjective expert judgments. http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/1/2/133/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CET Diversity 2009-11-26 1 2 Review 133 150 1424-2818 Forecasting Extinctions: Uncertainties and Limitations 2009-11-26 doi: 10.3390/d1020133 Richard J. Ladle http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/1/1/7/ In mammals, members of the TLR gene family play a primary role in the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns from bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi. Recently, cattle TLR genes have been mapped to chromosomes using a radiation hybrid panel. Nucleotide sequences of bovine TLR2, TLR4 and TLR6 genes were screened to identify novel SNPs that can be used in studies of cattle resistance to diseases. In total, 8 SNPs were identified and were submitted to the NCBI dbSNP database. The frequencies of the SNPs were assessed in 16 different bovine European cattle breeds and a phylogenetic analysis carried out to describe the relationships between the breeds. Even if from our analysis the SNPs do not appear located in loci under selection, a deviation of three SNPs from Hardy Weinberg equilibrium was observed, and we hypothesize that some of the polymorphisms may be fixated since many generations. The described variations in immune function related genes will contribute to research on disease response in cattle. In fact, the SNPs can be used in association studies between polymorphisms and cattle resistance to diseases. http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/1/1/7/ Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 CEST Diversity 2009-07-30 1 1 Article 7 18 1424-2818 Polymorphisms within the Toll-Like Receptor (TLR)-2, -4, and -6 Genes in Cattle 2009-07-30 doi: 10.3390/d1010007 Marco Mariotti John L. Williams Susana Dunner Alessio Valentini Lorraine Pariset