Diversity

Invasive alien species are considered the second greatest global threat to biodiversity. This study is aimed at determining the impacts of Parthenium hysterophorus on herbaceous and woody plant species diversity in the Ginir district, southeast Ethiopia. Data on vegetation were collected from the three study sites’ four land use types, with each land use type having invaded and non-invaded land units. A systematic random sampling method was used for establishing sampling plots. To examine the impacts of the invasive on native plant diversity, a total of 160 plots (120 plots of 1 m² on grazing lands, roadsides, and abandoned agricultural lands and 40 plots of 20 m² for sampling herbaceous and tree (shrub) species, respectively) were established. The number of plots was equally distributed in both invaded and adjacent non-invaded areas. Plant species from each plot were recorded and identified. In each plot, all the individuals of P. hysterophorus were counted, the heights of the five tallest individuals were measured, and the mean height was calculated. The percentage cover of P. hysterophorus was visually estimated. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. A total of 105 plant species (45 trees/shrubs and 60 herbaceous) belonging to 84 genera and 42 families were documented in the study area. The result showed a strong negative relationship between the density of P. hysterophorus and other plant species richness (r = −0.82, p = 0.013) and species abundance (r = −0.917, p = 0.001) per study site of the invaded community. Species richness in the non-invaded site was higher (105 species) than in the invaded area (63 species), demonstrating the negative impact of P. hysterophorus on local biodiversity. Furthermore, the number of plant families was 42 in the non-invaded area, in contrast to only 32 in the invaded areas, a 23.8% decline. Of the plant communities, similarity indices between non-invaded and invaded sites among different land use types were >50%. It was concluded that P. hysterophorus was one of the most dominant invasive alien species in the study area that reduced the species diversity of various plant species. Putting in place a strategy and effective planning for the control and management of this invasive alien species is strongly recommended. Full article

Land subsidence caused by underground coal mining critically influences the structure and function of ecosystems in mining areas. However, knowledge on the aquatic bacterial community structure and interspecies interactions in subsidence lakes are still limited. To address this issue, we collected water samples from a coal mining subsidence lake and its connected river and investigated the spatial distribution and co-occurrence patterns of the bacterial community using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. The results revealed that the bacterial α-diversity in the subsidence lake was higher than that in the river. The bacterial community composition was also significantly different between the subsidence lake and its connected river. Total nitrogen explained 21.4% of the bacterial community composition variation, while sulfate explained 38.4% of the bacterial functional composition variation. Co-occurrence network analysis indicated that the modularity indices and stability of the microbial network in the subsidence lake were significantly higher than those in rivers, which presented more resistance to environmental disturbance. Keystone bacterial taxa in the subsidence lake and river included the Clostridiaceae 1 family, and the Shewanella, Flavobacterium, and Limnohabitans genera, which play vital roles in the carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen cycles. Moreover, functional analysis showed that assimilatory sulfate reduction processes had a major role in the sulfur cycle of the subsidence lake and its connected river ecosystem. Overall, our findings provide new insights into the microbial community structure and assembly in subsidence lakes and its connected river ecosystems, with significant implications for the responsible utilization of water resources and the promotion of sustainable development in mining areas. Full article

Heterobasidion root rot is one of the most economically important conifer diseases in the Northern Hemisphere, and stump removal is considered to be one of most effective control methods. However, the impact of stump removal on the diversity of mycorrhizal and soil fungi should be evaluated. From 2011 to 2012, a stump removal trial was established in six different sample plots in two regions of Latvia. The stump removal sites and control sites were replanted with spruce seedlings in 2012. Seven years later, soil samples were collected in the stump removal and control sample plots to compare the diversity of mycorrhizal and soil fungi. Fungal communities were analyzed using next-generation sequencing methods. Our results showed that there are no significant differences in mycorrhizal and soil fungal communities between the stump removal area and the clear-felled control area seven years later. The mycorrhizal fungi were the most commonly sequenced fungal ecological group, and their diversity was similar to clear-felled control sites. However, there were some differences in the fungal species composition. Full article

Tropical forests such as the Atlantic Forest are under constant threats from the impact of human activities, mostly being caused by the loss of native forest areas for other land uses. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of changes in land use for pasture and cacao cultivation on the richness and composition of Odonata assemblages in comparison to native forest areas. We also evaluated the species as possible indicators of these different land uses. In total, 64 streams were sampled in southern Bahia, Brazil. A total of 84 species were recorded. The results indicated that changes in land use modify the richness and composition of Odonata assemblages. Regarding composition, our results indicated a difference among the assemblages in the three land use areas and that the native areas maintain more stable assemblages. According to the indicator species analysis, 13 species were recorded as possible bioindicators for different land uses. Changes in aquatic ecosystems and their surroundings caused by different land uses a select group of different species groups, modifying Odonata diversity among these areas. Notably, land uses that maintain a certain integrity of the environment, as in the case of cacao cultivation, are the best alternatives for conserving Odonata biodiversity in comparison with pasture. Full article

The taxonomy of O. dichroantha, O. nervosa, and their allied species is extremely controversial among authors. The delimitation of these species was extremely confusing, and closely related species were separated by weak and non-diagnostic morphological traits. A taxonomic revision of these taxa is presented here based on our fieldwork and a thorough study of herbaria specimens. The species O. dichroantha and O. sharifii are regarded as synonyms of O. setosa, and O. maculata is reduced to synonymy with O. nervosa. In addition, the typification of accepted names and relevant synonyms, detailed morphological descriptions and brief comments on the relationships between species are provided. Besides, it is accentuated that the introduction of any new species should be based on complete evidence to avoid systematic complexity. The results of this study play an important role in solving the problems of plant diversity and in the conservation of plant diversity. Full article

Wood distillate (WD) is an environmentally safe bio-based product stimulating plant growth and yield and allowed in Italy in organic farming. To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies on the effects of WD on spontaneous plants growing among crops, including their functional traits such as biomass. To test such effects, we carried out a lab experiment on artificially reconstructed arable plant communities composed of five species of conservation interest, which are specialist winter cereal crops: Bromus secalinus L., Centaurea cyanus L., Lathyrus aphaca L., Legousia speculum-veneris (L.) Chaix, and Scandix pecten-veneris L. After sowing 45 pots under controlled conditions, we applied WD at three concentrations (0%, 0.2%, and 0.5%) six times over 7 weeks. The number of emerged plants in each pot was counted every two weeks. Finally, we harvested all plants and measured the fresh and dry above-ground weight of each species in each pot. The resulting data were analyzed by Permutational Analysis of Variance. The application of 0.2% and 0.5% WD modified the community composition after two weeks, but such differences later disappeared. Both 0.2% and 0.5% WD had a positive effect on the dry weight of S. pecten-veneris and a negative effect on that of L. speculum-veneris. Moreover, 0.2% and 0.5% WD increased seedling emergence in L. aphaca, and 0.5% WD increased seedling emergence in S. pecten-veneris. Both 0.2% and 0.5% WD enhanced seedling emergence in the entire community. We suggest that the use of WD at low concentrations in winter cereals may be a sustainable agricultural practice that benefits crops without harming the associated plant diversity. Full article

Mangrove forests have proven to be resilient to most environmental change, surviving catastrophic climate events over time. Our study aimed to evaluate the chemical variability of pore water and its effect on phenological production in three mangrove species (Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia germinans, and Laguncularia racemosa) along the coast of the state of Campeche during a year of severe drought (2009) and a year of average precipitation (2010). Pore water salinity and redox potential were measured monthly in a mangrove forest in 2009 and 2010. Litterfall production and reproductive phenology was measured monthly. We determined the relationships among litterfall production, reproductive phenology, pore water chemistry and precipitation of three species between years. Precipitation, pore water salinity and redox potential significantly differed among years, seasons and sites, and also showed significant interaction between years and seasons (p < 0.05). Significant variation was observed in litterfall production, propagules, flowers, and leaf litter among sites (p < 0.05). A significant change was observed in propagules and flowers among years, and in total litterfall and leaf litter between seasons and species (p < 0.05). Under severe drought, salinity had the strongest effect on total litterfall and propagules in R. mangle, while A. germinans, had the strongest effect on propagule/flower precipitation. Both A. germinans and L. racemosa showed higher resilience than R. mangle at all sites under severe drought conditions. These findings can support activity allocation for mangrove conservation and restoration by providing the tolerance thresholds of the three species that dominate in the regional area of Campeche state. Likewise, this research provides knowledge to the Intergovernmental Experts Group on climate change about drought intensity and its magnitude of impact on mangrove productivity, reproduction and integrity. Full article

Seed extracts are becoming more important due to their beneficial biological activities. The main constituents of seed extracts are flavan-3-ols, compounds important in winemaking. The coastal region in Croatia is rich in native grapevine varieties, which are used in wine production. The aim of the research was to analyze the flavan-3-ol profiles of 20 native varieties, and to evaluate the potential use of grape seeds as a source of flavan-3-ols. The flavan-3-ols from seeds were analyzed by HPLC. The predicted yield of flavan-3-ols was calculated using the analyzed profiles. In total, eight compounds were identified, with the most abundant compounds being catechin, epicatechin, and procyanidin B2. In general, the red grape varieties had higher content of flavan-3-ols than the white varieties, which was confirmed by PCA. The coastal region could potentially yield up to 73.97 kg/ha of flavan-3-ols, depending on the variety. The results show the diversity of flavan-3-ol profiles among Croatian varieties and their potential usage as a source of valuable nutraceuticals. Full article

Trigonobalanus doichangensis is a rare and endangered species with important evolutionary value and extremely small populations. We investigated the genetic diversity of T. doichangensis to provide information on its effective preservation. We used genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology to assess the genetic diversity, genetic structure and gene flow of the six populations of T. doichangensis. Analysis of SNPs indicated that there was high genetic diversity in the ML and XSBN populations of T. doichangensis. F_ST values showed moderate genetic differentiation among the populations of T. doichangensis. Meanwhile, admixture, principal components and gene flow analyses indicated that the populations of T. doichangensis are not genetically separated in accordance with their geographical distributions. Habitat destruction and excessive exploitation may have led to a low gene flow, which has in turn resulted in the differences in seed and seedling morphological traits among populations. Based on these findings, we recommend that T. doichangensis be conserved through in situ approaches and artificial seedlings, including preservation of each extant population. Particularly, the ML and XSBN populations have high diversity and more ancestral information, so these two populations should be considered as conservation priorities, and seeds should be collected to obtain germplasm and increase the genetic diversity. Full article

Although Central America is one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world, booming road construction is driving roadkill mortality that threatens to alter the demography, genetic diversity, and viability of wild mammalian populations. Costa Rica has the highest road density in Central America, but the effectiveness of wildlife crossings in mitigating roadkill mortality has not been assessed with controlled experimental studies. Hacienda Baru National Wildlife Refuge is located along a critical biological corridor bisected by one of the busiest highways in the country. The first wildlife underpasses in Costa Rica were built here in 2010 as part of the expansion of Route 34 and subsequently documented by camera-trap and roadkill surveys. Using a control-impact design, we demonstrate a considerable reduction in wildlife mortality in the presence of the crossing structures compared with controls, with the underpasses and overpasses eventually used by 21 mammalian species. Some species made use of the structures right away, while others took over a year to learn to use them. This is the first controlled study in Central America to document the effectiveness of wildlife crossings and provides evidence that well-designed mitigation structures can contribute to wildlife-friendly roadways. Full article

Anhydrobiosis is induced by loss of water and indicates dehydration tolerance. Survival of dehydration is possible through changes at different levels of organism organization, including a remarkable reduction in metabolic activity at the cellular level. Thus, anhydrobiosis may be regarded as an anti-aging strategy. Accordingly, two hypotheses named after popular stories, “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, were proposed to explain the effect of anhydrobiosis on aging. The two hypotheses predict the presence (The Picture of Dorian Gray) or absence (Sleeping Beauty) of observable aging symptoms for animals undergoing anhydrobiosis. Predictions of these hypotheses have rarely been tested, and the cellular level has not been addressed. Tardigrades appear to be a useful model for studying the effect of anhydrobiosis on aging, as they are able to enter and survive anhydrobiosis at any stage of life, although not with the same success for all species. In this review, we discuss anhydrobiosis and aging mechanisms as well as tardigrade diversity and indicate possible multilevel markers that can be used to study the impact of anhydrobiosis on tardigrade aging. This review provides data on tardigrade diversity that may also be useful for human aging studies. Full article

The food industry is not the only sphere of human activity where inorganic food additives are globally used. In certain concentrations, they are safe for people and agricultural animals. Nonetheless, they impose a negative impact on other classes of living organisms. Therefore, our objective was to determinine the influence of some inorganic food additives (alkalis, acids, salts) on the vitality of nematode larvae that parasitize agricultural animals: Strongyloides papillosus, Haemonchus contortus and Muellerius capillaris. We studied the effects of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, boric acid, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium nitrite, potassium nitrite, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, ammonium bicarbonate, sodium bisulfite, sodium bisulfate, sodium sulfate, potassium sulfate, calcium sulfate, sodium thiosulfate, sodium metabisulfite, potassium metabisulfite, copper sulfate pentahydrate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, sodium triphosphate, sodium borate decahydrate and talc. In in vitro experiments, the strongest effects were produced by alkalis sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. In 24 h, 1% solutions of those substances killed 69% of larvae of S. papillosus, H. contortus and M. capillaris of various development stages. Sodium sulfate was effective against all stages of larvae of S. papillosus, and also against first-age M. capillaris. Nematocidal properties only against all stages of S. papillosus were exerted by copper sulfate pentahydrate. Non-invasive stages of S. papillosus nematodes were affected only by phosphoric acid, ammonium bicarbonate, calcium chloride, sodium nitrite, calcium sulfate, potassium metabisulfite, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, sodium triphosphate and the same stages of M. capillaris—by phosphoric acid, sodium bisulfite and potassium nitrite. Full article

Circadian rhythms of Neotropical lizards have been poorly studied, which represents a problem when designing ecological studies or monitoring such species based on direct observations. In this work, 1000 m-long transects were established in an agroecosystem area of the Ecuadorian coast region to study the activity patterns of Stenocercus iridescens. The number of individuals (as a response variable) was correlated with local weather conditions: temperature, precipitation, and heliophany (duration of the solar brightness). We carried out the study in both dry and rainy seasons, and during different time ranges. The time range in which the transects were performed was the most important predictor, and the activity peak was established between 16:00 h and 18:00 h. Heliophany negatively affected lizard activity, but only on the days with higher heliophany during the dry season, whereas temperature was not a significant predictor. Our results suggest that in an area where temperature is relatively constant and the solar radiation is high, particularly during the dry season, the heliophany (an indirect measure of solar radiation) can affect ectotherm activity patterns more than temperature, particularly in open habitats such as agroecosystems. Full article

Understanding the potential habitat of Meconopsis, their species richness distribution patterns, and their influencing factors are critical for the conservation and rational exploitation of this valuable resource. In this study, we applied the MaxEnt model to predict their potential distribution, mapped the distribution pattern of species richness, and analyzed the variation of species richness along environmental gradients. Finally, we calculated the landscape fragmentation indices between the five subregions. Our results found that: (1) the medium- and high-suitable habitats of Meconopsis were mainly distributed in the central and eastern Himalaya, the Hengduan Mountains, and the southeast edge of the plateau platform, with suitable habitats ranged from 3200 m to 4300 m, whose most important factor is precipitation of the warmest quarter; (2) species richness showed a hump pattern along the environmental gradients except for longitude that showed an increasing trend, mainly concentrated in the south and southeast; and (3) the subregions are in the descending order of species richness: plateau platform, Hengduan Mountains, central, eastern, and western Himalaya; the highest and lowest degree of landscape fragmentation were in the western Himalaya and eastern Himalaya, respectively. Our study provides a theoretical background for the conservation and sustainable exploitation of Meconopsis in the wild. Full article

Although much is known about the ecology and functional importance of canopy arthropods in temperate forests, few studies have tried to assess the overall diversity and investigate the composition and dynamics of tree-specific communities. This has impeded a deeper understanding of the functioning of forests, and of how to maintain system services. Here, we present the first comprehensive data of whole arthropod communities, collected by insecticidal knockdown (fogging) from 1159 trees in 18 study areas in Central Europe during the last 25 years. The data includes 3,253,591 arthropods from 32 taxa (order, suborder, family) collected on 24 tree species from 18 genera. Fogging collects free-living, ectophytic arthropods in approximately the same number as they occur in the trees. To our knowledge, these are the most comprehensive data available today on the taxonomic composition of arboreal fauna. Assigning all arthropods to their feeding guild provided a proxy of their functional importance. The data showed that the canopy communities were regularly structured, with a clear dominance hierarchy comprised of eight ‘major taxa’ that represented 87% of all arthropods. Despite significant differences in the proportions of taxa on deciduous and coniferous trees, the composition of the guilds was very similar. The individual tree genera, on the other hand, showed significant differences in guild composition, especially when different study areas and years were compared, whereas tree-specific traits, such as tree height, girth in breast height or leaf cover, explained little of the overall variance. On the ordinal level, guild composition also differed significantly between managed and primary forests, with a simultaneous low within-group variability, indicating that management is a key factor determining the distribution of biodiversity and guild composition. Full article

Understanding the resource partitioning and diet of sympatric species is vital for conservation and management. From April 2020 to March 2021, a study on the dietary consumption of Rhabdomys dilectus and Lophuromys acquilus was conducted on Mount Kilimanjaro. Rodent trapping was conducted in agricultural fields, fallow land, and moorland habitats during dry and wet seasons. Sherman live traps and snap traps were alternately placed in transect lines for three consecutive nights. We calculated the percentage occurrence and contribution of dietary items, niche breadth, and niche overlap of the two species across habitats and seasons. Both species consumed all the examined food items. The most abundant components were vegetative materials and seeds/starch, followed by invertebrates. R. dilectus and L. acquilus preferably consumed seeds and invertebrates, respectively, as their primary food source. Niche breadth differed significantly between species (W = 650, p = 0.002), habitat (Kruskal–Wallis chi-squared = 6.82, df = 2, p = 0.03), and season (W = 700, p = 0.000). There was a considerable niche overlap in diet (ranging from 0.84 to 0.98) between the species and was relatively higher in the dry season compared with wet season. Despite the observed niche overlap, spatial-temporal variations in dietary consumption between the two species can serve as a mechanism of resource portioning enabling their coexistence. Full article

The impact of invasive species is not limited to the loss of biodiversity; it also represents significant threats to agriculture on a global scale. The Japanese beetle Popillia japonica (native to Japan but an invasive agricultural pest in North America) recently occurred in the Po plain (Italy), one of the most cultivated areas in southern Europe. Thus, our aims were to identify (i) the main landscape predictors related to the occurrence of the Japanese beetle and (ii) the areas of potential invasion of the Japanese beetle in the two Northern Italian regions in which this invasive species currently occurs, Piedmont and Lombardy. Specifically, we combined Japanese beetle occurrences available in the citizen science online platform iNaturalist with high-resolution landscape predictors in an ensemble approach and averaged the results of Bayesian generalized linear and additive models developed with the integrated nested Laplace approximation (with stochastic partial differential equation). We found that the occurrence of the Japanese beetle was negatively related to the percentage of broadleaf forests and pastures, while it was positively related to sparse and dense human settlements as well as intensive crops. Moreover, the occurrence of the Japanese beetle increased in relation to the percentage of rice fields until a peak at around 50%. The Japanese beetle was likely to occur in 32.49% of our study area, corresponding to 16,000.02 km², mainly located in the Po plain, low hills, and mountain valleys. We stress that the Japanese beetle is a high-risk invasive species in human-dominated landscapes. Thus, we strongly recommend that local administrations quickly enact pest management in order to reduce further spread. Full article

The construction of new roads opens access to native environments, resulting in changes to the landscape. These roads cause the death of native wildlife due to collisions with vehicles, which is the main cause of human-induced vertebrate death. This work aimed to investigate the spatial distribution of roadkills on the BR-163 highway, Mato Grosso, Brazil, an Amazonia–Cerrado transition zone, to identify roadkill hotspots. The study area consisted of 244 km of road. Twenty-five trips were made totaling 6100 km of surveyed roadway between 2008 and 2011. A total of 1005 individuals from 65 species was recorded in this study. Mammals were the most affected, both in number of individuals and species, followed by birds, reptiles, and amphibians. The species with the highest roadkill rates were Cerdocyon thous and Tyto furcata. Identified endangered mammals included Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Chrysocyon brachyurus, Priodontes maximus, Speothos venaticus, Tapirus terrestris, Pteronura brasiliensis, and Ateles marginatus. The highest rates of roadkill were recorded during the wet season. The location and number of hotspots varied among classes and were related to different environmental variables such as waterbodies, forest fragments, and agricultural areas. Roadkills may be a major threat for vulnerable species and should therefore be studied to define conservation plans for local species and road traffic. Full article