Biodiversity in the Azores: A Whole Biota Assessment

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Azores Islands form an isolated volcanic archipelago that is home to a unique biodiversity, with a high number of endemic species, unique evolutionary lineages and fascinating species interactions. Today, the native terrestrial and marine biotas of these species are affected by various drivers of global change, including land use changes and fragmentation (in the terrestrial biotas), the introduction of exotic invasive species, habitat pollution and climatic changes. Therefore, it is essential to improve our understanding of the drivers of the biodiversity observed in the Azorean Islands so as to inform and adopt the most appropriate conservation management practices for these terrestrial and marine ecosystems. In this Topic, we aim to incorporate diverse contributions covering areas such as taxonomy, species inventories and updated checklists, ecology, biogeographical analyses, evolutionary studies and conservation. Furthermore, we aim to assess the effects of conservation-related activities on the protection of Azorean biodiversity, as well as the value afforded to it, on the species and community levels. Both original research articles and reviews are welcome for submission to this Special Issue. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Rosalina Gabriel
Dr. João Pedro Barreiros
Prof. Dr. Paulo A. V. Borges
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Diversity diversity	3.031	2.9	2009	15.6 Days	2000 CHF	Submit
Ecologies ecologies	-	-	2020	26.8 Days	1000 CHF	Submit
Insects insects	3.141	3.1	2010	14.8 Days	2000 CHF	Submit
Plants plants	4.658	3.6	2012	14.1 Days	2400 CHF	Submit
Taxonomy taxonomy	-	-	2021	19.4 Days	1000 CHF	Submit

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Open AccessArticle

Characterizing and Quantifying Water Content in 14 Species of Bryophytes Present in Azorean Native Vegetation

by

Márcia C. M. Coelho

,

Rosalina Gabriel

and

Claudine Ah-Peng

Diversity 2023, 15(2), 295; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020295 - 17 Feb 2023

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Abstract

Bryophytes are an important component of plant diversity, may be found from sea level to mountaintops, and are particularly conspicuous on the Azores islands. These plants rely on environmental water, which acquires intercepting rain and dew (liquid water) and uses fog (water vapor), [...] Read more.

Bryophytes are an important component of plant diversity, may be found from sea level to mountaintops, and are particularly conspicuous on the Azores islands. These plants rely on environmental water, which acquires intercepting rain and dew (liquid water) and uses fog (water vapor), and transports both externally, by capillary forces, and internally, in different cells (specialized or not). This study characterizes and quantifies the ability of six liverworts and eight mosses to retain water, through different pathways, and to lose water by evaporation. Twelve replicates of each species were collected in Azorean native vegetation during the summer of 2016. The absolute water content (AWC) was obtained through measurements of specimens saturated, without free water, and completely dry. Most of the 14-target species showed an ectohydric behavior pattern retaining more than 60% of water through gametophyte surface. The AWC value ranged from 646% in Polytrichum commune to 5584% in Sphagnum subnitens. The water loss by direct evaporation showed, for most of species, an exponential decay curve along time. Understanding how much native bryophytes, acquire, store, and release water into the system contributes not only to the knowledge of native vegetation resilience but also to potential impacts on the availability and quality of water—a major ecosystem service performed by bryophytes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Biodiversity in the Azores: A Whole Biota Assessment)

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Open AccessArticle

The Importance of Including Spatial Autocorrelation When Modelling Species Richness in Archipelagos: A Bayesian Approach

by

Diogo Duarte Barros

,

Maria da Luz Mathias

,

Paulo A. V. Borges

and

Luís Borda-de-Água

Diversity 2023, 15(2), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15020127 - 17 Jan 2023

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Abstract

One of the aims of island biogeography theory is to explain the number of species in an archipelago. Traditionally, the variables used to explain the species richness on an island are its area and distance to the mainland. However, increasing evidence suggests that [...] Read more.

One of the aims of island biogeography theory is to explain the number of species in an archipelago. Traditionally, the variables used to explain the species richness on an island are its area and distance to the mainland. However, increasing evidence suggests that accounting for other variables is essential for better estimates. In particular, the distance between islands should play a role in determining species richness. This work uses a Bayesian framework using Gaussian processes to assess whether distance to neighbouring islands (spatial autocorrelation) can better explain arthropod species richness patterns in the Azores Archipelago and in the Canary Islands. This method is flexible and allows the inclusion of other variables, such as maximum altitude above sea level (elevation). The results show that accounting for spatial autocorrelation provides the best results for both archipelagos, but overall, spatial autocorrelation seems to be more important in the Canary archipelago. Similarly, elevation plays a more important role in determining species richness in the Canary Islands. We recommend that spatial autocorrelation should always be considered when modelling an archipelago’s species richness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Biodiversity in the Azores: A Whole Biota Assessment)

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