Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yunfeng Yang
Summary: Functional traits are measurable characteristics that affect an organism's fitness under certain environmental conditions. They offer great potential for improving our ability to develop biogeochemical models and predict ecosystem responses to global changes in microbial ecology. These traits can be decoupled from taxonomic relatedness and are influenced by environmental changes, highlighting the need for further research and understanding in utilizing functional traits in microbial ecology.
TRENDS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Daniel G. Dick
Summary: Over the years, various metrics have been proposed to quantify the amount of functional redundancy in a community. Two popular metrics involve comparing taxonomic diversity measures with a generalized form that accounts for functional differences. However, these metrics are susceptible to interpretation issues, which can be overcome by using a Hill numbers framework. This framework provides a more intuitive definition of functional redundancy and enables researchers to control the influence of rare taxa on the output value.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Wen Song, Jihua Liu, Wei Qin, Jun Huang, Xiaoli Yu, Mengzhao Xu, David Stahl, Nianzhi Jiao, Jizhong Zhou, Qichao Tu
Summary: This study uses Tara Oceans shotgun metagenomes to describe the global biogeography of marine N-cycling microbial communities. It finds that marine N-cycling communities exhibit functional redundancy properties and are influenced by depth as a major factor. Taxonomic groups show latitudinal diversity gradients, while functional traits display less variation. Functional traits are determined by environmental factors, while taxonomic groups show more stochasticity.
Article
Microbiology
Bu Xu, Lu Fan, Wenxiu Wang, Yuanqing Zhu, Chuanlun Zhang
Summary: In this study, 234 non-redundant magroviral genomes were obtained from brackish surface waters, revealing the vast diversity of this novel viral group. Phylogenetic analysis identified six taxonomic groups with close evolutionary connection to both haloviruses and the viruses of Marine Group I archaea. Magroviruses were abundantly present in both brackish and open ocean samples, with some showing habitat specification and others having broad spectrums of distribution. Genome annotation suggests their involvement in regulating multiple metabolic pathways of MGII archaea.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Gonzalo Sotomayor, Henrietta Hampel, Raill F. Vazquez, Marie Anne Eurie Forio, Peter L. M. Goethals
Summary: This study investigated the functional diversity of macroinvertebrate families for river water quality assessment in the Paute River Basin, Ecuador. The best performing functional density index based on physical, chemical, microbiological and hydro-geomorphological variables was identified. The Random Forest algorithm and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to determine the best predictors, resulting in the identification of 12 variables. This approach successfully assessed the stream water quality and can be applied to other tropical basins.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Cerren Richards, Robert S. C. Cooke, Amanda E. Bates
Summary: The study shows that seabirds segregate in trait space based on IUCN threat status, with threatened species having higher trait redundancy and non-threatened species having relatively limited redundancy. Species with narrow habitat breadths, fast reproductive speeds, and varied diets are more likely to be threatened, while species with no threats are non-pelagic specialists.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Arnaud Auber, Conor Waldock, Anthony Maire, Eric Goberville, Camille Albouy, Adam C. Algar, Matthew McLean, Anik Brind'Amour, Alison L. Green, Mark Tupper, Laurent Vigliola, Kristin Kaschner, Kathleen Kesner-Reyes, Maria Beger, Jerry Tjiputra, Aurele Toussaint, Cyrille Violle, Nicolas Mouquet, Wilfried Thuiller, David Mouillot
Summary: This study presents a functional vulnerability framework that incorporates uncertainty and reference conditions, allowing for the quantification of vulnerability to a wide range of threats. Through case studies on marine fishes and mammals, the study demonstrates the relevance and operationality of the framework, as well as the geographic and temporal patterns of functional vulnerability.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Astra Labuce, Anda Ikauniece, Iveta Jurgensone, Juris Aigars
Summary: The study on the Gulf of Riga found that there are significant differences between open waters and coastal areas in terms of hydrological conditions, cyanobacterial dominance, abundance of mesozooplankton functional groups, and mesozooplankton FD indices. Competition over resources, hydrodynamic features, and predation by adult herring seem to be the central structuring mechanisms behind the dynamics of FD metrics within coastal mesozooplankton communities. Meanwhile, predation by young herring is an important driver only for mesozooplankton in open waters.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Pablo Moreno-Garcia, Benjamin Baiser
Summary: Functional redundancy (FR) is a key mechanism for ecological resilience, but its extension to multiple functions and variation among ecological assemblages in this study of Eurasian small mammals showed that small mammal assemblages are complementary across five trait sets, with FR primarily varying along geographic gradients. The positive correlation between FR based on certain traits suggests response to environmental filtering processes, while negative relationships may be due to landscape homogeneity in certain regions.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anne-Christine Monnet, Kevin Cilleros, Frederic Medail, Marwan Cheikh Albassatneh, Juan Arroyo, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Francesca Bagnoli, Zoltan Barina, Manuel Cartereau, Nicolas Casajus, Panayotis Dimopoulos, Gianniantonio Domina, Aggeliki Doxa, Marcial Escudero, Bruno Fady, Arndt Hampe, Vlado Matevski, Stephen Misfud, Toni Nikolic, Daniel Pavon, Anne Roig, Estefania Santos Barea, Ilaria Spanu, Arne Strid, Giovanni Giuseppe Vendramin, Agathe Leriche
Summary: Trees are crucial in ecosystems worldwide, but the biodiversity of Mediterranean trees is not well understood. The WOODIV database provides reliable data on occurrences, functional traits, and genetic information for 210 Euro-Mediterranean tree species, benefiting research in conservation, biogeography, and community ecology.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Shuzi Zhang, Runguo Zang
Summary: The study found that functional diversity, redundancy and over-redundancy were positively correlated with species richness, while functional vulnerability was negatively correlated with species richness in old-growth tropical forests. The null model tests revealed that species in each forest type were packed into a few functional entities, resulting in functional over-redundancy and vulnerability. Functionally diverse tropical forests may have high probability of redundancy, but it cannot fully offset functional vulnerability in the ecosystems.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Benjamin Alric, Olivier Geffard, Arnaud Chaumot
Summary: Freshwater ecosystems are crucial for sustaining life and providing valuable goods and services to human populations. This study used an innovative biomonitoring approach to quantify and compare the levels of bioavailable metal contamination in streams in the South West of France. The findings revealed a decoupling between taxonomic and functional diversity of macroinvertebrate communities in response to metal contamination, with functional diversity being maintained through species replacement at the regional scale.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Maria Lazarina, Danai-Eleni Michailidou, Mariana Tsianou, Athanasios S. Kallimanis
Summary: Biodiversity plays a crucial role in promoting ecosystem functioning. This study on British butterflies found that species-rich communities exhibit functional redundancy. Temperature and landscape variables significantly affect diversity and redundancy, with a non-linear relationship for the latter. Taxonomic diversity explains more variation along the environmental gradient, while functional diversity is more influenced by stochasticity. Warmer areas show lower levels of functional redundancy.
Article
Ecology
Shenglai Yin, Ning Li, Wenjie Xu, Daniel J. Becker, Willem F. de Boer, Chi Xu, Taej Mundkur, Nicholas M. Fountain-Jones, Chunlin Li, Guan-zhu Han, Qiang Wu, Diann J. Prosser, Lijuan Cui, Zheng Y. X. Huang
Summary: Species functional traits can affect pathogen transmission, host status, and infection risk. Our study on European waterbird species found that traits like diet guild and dispersal ability influence host status and pathogen diversity. We also discovered a correlation between community-level risk of HPAI H5Nx occurrence and the community-weighted means of functional traits. Additionally, we found that functional diversity can reduce infection risk. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating trait-based ecology in understanding diversity-disease relationships and provide insights for HPAI prediction and prevention.
Article
Ecology
Carlo Ricotta, Janos Podani, Denes Schmera, Giovanni Bacaro, Simona Maccherini, Sandrine Pavoine
Summary: In this study, an additive diversity decomposition method is proposed to partition the diversity structure of a given community into three components: functional diversity, functional redundancy, and species dominance. These components can be used to portray the community structure in a ternary diagram. The value of this diversity decomposition is demonstrated through the analysis of actual abundance data on plant assemblages in grazed and ungrazed grasslands in Tuscany, Italy.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Panagou Theodore, Hasiotis Thomas, Velegrakis Adonis, Karambas Theophanis, Oikonomou Emmanouel, Dimitriadis Charalampos
JOURNAL OF COASTAL CONSERVATION
(2020)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Athanasios Evagelopoulos, Ioannis E. Batjakas, Drosos Koutsoubas
Summary: This study provides baseline information on the structure and diversity of demersal fish assemblages off the island of Psara in the Central Aegean Sea. Conservation concern was raised for certain Elasmobranchii species. The assemblages showed similarities to those reported in the Cretan Sea and the South Aegean Sea, with depth being a key factor in structuring the communities.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Charalampos Dimitriadis, Ivoni Fournari-Konstantinidou, Laurent Sourbes, Drosos Koutsoubas, Stelios Katsanevakis
Summary: The study shows evidence of significant changes in the rocky reef associated biota in a Mediterranean MPA from 2009 to 2019 due to the presence of invasive species altering the ecosystem structure and triggering complex long-term effects. The low population levels of native high-level predators were accompanied by an increase in the population and performance of native and invasive fish herbivores, leading to overgrazing and habitat degradation that resulted in a decline of native and invasive invertebrate grazers. This study demonstrates how invasive species can coexist or compete with native species and other established invaders.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Kostas Papafitsoros, Charalampos Dimitriadis, Antonios D. Mazaris, Gail Schofield
Summary: This study presents the first direct evidence of polyandry in sea turtles, highlighting the potential of photo-identification in contributing to less known aspects of sea turtle biology.
MARINE ECOLOGY-AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE
(2022)
Article
Oceanography
Charalampos Dimitriadis, Antonios D. Mazaris, Stelios Katsanevakis, Andreas Iosifakis, Efthimios Spinos, Elpiniki Kalli, Laurent Sourbes, Stamatis Ghinis, Kadiani Kapellaki, Evangelia Mpeka, Athanasios Evagelopoulos, Drosos Koutsoubas
Summary: This study analyzes stranding data of sea turtles in the eastern Ionian Sea and identifies potential risk hotspots in their critical habitats. The results show that the Ionian Sea faces intense anthropogenic pressures, and there is higher sea turtle mortality in high-risk areas. The findings provide key information for the effective conservation of sea turtles.
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Charalampos Dimitriadis, Aikaterini Karditsa, Vasiliki Almpanidou, Marianthi Anastasatou, Stelios Petrakis, Serafeim Poulos, Drosos Koutsoubas, Laurent Sourbes, Antonios D. Mazaris
Summary: Sea level rise poses a major threat to coastal habitats and species, including marine turtles. A study on the Ionian Archipelagos found that more than 60% of stable nesting sites for loggerhead turtles are likely to be lost due to projected sea level rise by 2100. The efficiency of shifting to new nesting sites would also be limited. Conservation and restoration efforts should prioritize beaches with higher resilience to sea level rise.
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Stefanos Kalogirou, Charalampos Dimitriadis, Christos D. Maravelias, Dimitrios Poursanidis, Mihalis Margaritis, Helen Miliou, Leif Pihl
Summary: Small-scale fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black seas have a significant impact on the social and economic aspects, but also affect the bycatch species. The study on catch dynamics and the number of bycatch species can provide insights into more sustainable management measures.
Article
Fisheries
Antonio Calo, Antonio Di Franco, Federico Quattrocchi, Charalampos Dimitriadis, Patricia Ventura, Marco Milazzo, Paolo Guidetti
Summary: Maintaining the sustainability of small-scale fisheries is crucial for sustaining livelihoods, local economies, social wealth, and cultural heritage in coastal areas. However, the lack of information on these fisheries hinders proper assessment and may lead to inappropriate conclusions and ineffective policies. A multi-disciplinary assessment of small-scale fisheries in 11 areas across 6 Mediterranean EU countries revealed that despite high species diversity, these fisheries economically rely on a limited number of species. Additionally, some fishing communities depend on a restricted number of fishing gears. This emphasizes the need to reconsider assumptions about small-scale fisheries, particularly from a broader socio-ecological perspective, to reduce the risk of socio-ecological inequalities.
FISH AND FISHERIES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Aikaterini Konsta, Anastasia Chatzimentor, Mingli Lin, Charalmpos Dimitriadis, Amalia Kyprioti, Mingming Liu, Songhai Li, Aggeliki Doxa, Antonios D. Mazaris
Summary: Extreme regional ocean warming events, such as marine heatwaves, could have severe and long-lasting impacts on species and ecosystems, especially on foraging areas of green turtles. The Southeast Asian region is likely to experience prolonged and intense marine heatwaves in the future, calling for improved understanding of species' response and the design of climate adaptation strategies.
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ernesto Azzurro, Tosca Ballerini, Chryssanthi Antoniadou, Giulia Domizia Aversa, Jamila Ben Souissi, Andrea Blaskovic, Valentina Cappanera, Marina Chiappi, Maria-Francesca Cinti, Francesco Colloca, Ivan Cvitkovic, Manuela D'Amen, Marija Despalatovic, Antonio Di Franco, Charalampos Dimitriadis, Branko Dragicevic, Emanuela Fanelli, Laura Figuerola, Tomaso Fortibuoni, Giulio Franzitta, Joaquim Garrabou, Tatiana Geloso, Raouia Ghanem, Andrea Gori, Martina Hervat, Andres Izquierdo-Munoz, Cristina Linares, Gabriele La Mesa, Lorenzo Merotto, Reno Micallef, Anastasia Miliou, Annalisa Minelli, Paula Moschella, Federica Pannacciulli, Pieraugusto Panzalis, Miso Pavicic, Antonis Petrou, Alfonso A. Ramos-Espla, Luca Saponari, Giuseppe Scarcella, Marco Spoto, Nika Staglicic, Dario Vrdoljak, Boris Weitzmann, Patrick Joseph Schembri
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Antonios D. Mazaris, Charalampos Dimitriadis, Maria Papazekou, Gail Schofield, Aggeliki Doxa, Anastasia Chatzimentor, Oguz Turkozan, Stelios Katsanevakis, Aphrodite Lioliou, Sara Abalo-Morla, Mustapha Aksissou, Antonella Arcangeli, Vincent Attard, Hedia Attia El Hili, Fabrizio Atzori, Eduardo J. Belda, Lobna Ben Nakhla, Ali A. Berbash, Karen A. Bjorndal, Annette C. Broderick, Juan A. Caminas, Onur Candan, Luis Cardona, Ilija Cetkovic, Nabigha Dakik, Giuseppe Andrea de Lucia, Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos, Salih Diryaq, Costanza Favilli, Caterina Maria Fortuna, Wayne J. Fuller, Susan Gallon, Abdulmaula Hamza, Imed Jribi, Manel Ben Ismail, Yiannis Kamarianakis, Yakup Kaska, Kastriot Korro, Drosos Koutsoubas, Giancarlo Lauriano, Bojan Lazar, David March, Adolfo Marco, Charikleia Minotou, Jonathan R. Monsinjon, Nahla M. Naguib, Andreas Palialexis, Vilma Piroli, Karaa Sami, Bektas Sonmez, Laurent Sourbes, Dogan Sozbilen, Frederic Vandeperre, Pierre Vignes, Michail Xanthakis, Vera Kopsel, Myron A. Peck
Summary: As climate-related impacts threaten marine biodiversity globally, it is important to adjust conservation efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Translating scientific knowledge into practical management is often complicated due to resource, economic and policy constraints, generating a knowledge-action gap. However, this study in the Mediterranean region demonstrates successful convergence of perceptions among key actors regarding prioritizing adaptation and mitigation measures for marine turtle conservation.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Antonio Calo, Antonio Di Franco, Charalampos Dimitriadis, Lea Piacentini, Patricia Ventura, Alexis Pey, Jose Antonio Garcia-Charton, Eric Charbonnel, Victor Decugis, Francesco De Franco, Ivoni Fournari-Konstantinidou, Josipa Grbin, Luka Kastelic, Lorenzo Merotto, Ilaria Rinaudo, Marie-Catherine Santoni, Francisco Sobrado-llompart, Maria Trujillo-Alarcon, Federico Quattrocchi, Marco Milazzo, Paolo Guidetti
MEDITERRANEAN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Charalampos Dimitriadis, Erika F. Neave, Peter Shum, Stefano Mariani, Manuela D'Amen, Ernesto Azzurro
Summary: In 2021, the presence of three Lessepsian yellowstripe barracuda and eight Indo-Pacific needle-spined sea urchin specimens were observed along the coasts of Zakynthos Island, with some of them found within the Marine Protected Area.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Michail Ragkousis, Argyro Zenetos, Jamila Ben Souissi, Razy Hoffman, Raouia Ghanem, Ergun Taskin, Mihaela Muresan, Evgeniia Karpova, Elena Slynko, Ertan Dagli, Ana Fortic, Victor Surugiu, Vesna Macic, Domen Trkov, Wafa Rjiba Bahri, Konstantinos Tsiamis, Alfonso A. Ramos-Espla, Slavica Petovic, Jasmine Ferrario, Agnese Marchini, Renato Sconfietti, Izdihar Ammar, Alaa Alo, Dori Edelist, Tatiana Begun, Adrian Teaca, Gokhan Tari, Mehmet Fatih Huseyinoglu, Paraskevi K. Karachle, Aikaterini Dogrammatzi, Giorgos A. Apostolopoulos, Fabio Crocetta, Eleni Kytinou, Markos Digenis, Grigorios Skouradakis, Fiona Tomas, Michel Bariche, Alexandros Kaminas, Kassiani Konida, Alan Deidun, Alessio Marrone, Simonetta Fraschetti, Vesselina Mihneva, Carlo Nike Bianchi, Carla Morri, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Lovrenc Lipej, Maria Sini, Luisa Mangialajo, Maria Zotou, Marius Skolka, Ernesto Azzurro, Adriana Vella, Thanos Dailianis, Panos Grigoriou, Carlos Jimenez, Konstantinos Tsirintanis, Georgios Oikonomidis, Emanuele Mancini, Orestis Papadakis, Vincenzo Di Martino, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Mohamed Mourad Ben Amor, Emmanouela Vernadou, Yaprak Arda, Vasileios Minasidis, Annalisa Azzola, Louis Hadjioannou, Monica Montefalcone, Yacopo Baldacchino, Bessy Stancanelli, Andrea Bonifazi, Anna Occhipinti-Ambrogi, Sonia Smeraldo, Julian Evans, Gerasimos Kondylatos, Manuela Falautano, Luca Castriota, Aggelos Lamprou, Jamila Rizgalla, Borut Mavric, Evangelos Papadimitriou, Diego K. Kersting, Patrick J. Schembri, Faten Khamassi, Athanasios Nikolaou, Enric Ballesteros, Charalampos Dimitriadis, Maria Garcia, Athanasios Anastasiadis, Stefanos Kalogirou, Melina Nalmpanti, Maria Altamirano, Daniele Grech, Dimitrios Mavrouleas, Noel Vella, Sandra Agius Darmanin, Branko Dragicevic, Dimitris Poursanidis, Alexandros Tsatiris, Maria Corsini-Foka, Martina Orlando-Bonaca, Gianni Insacco, Alexandros Tsalapatis, Danilo Scannella, Francesco Tiralongo, Jana Verdura, Sergio Vitale, Michail-Aggelos Valsamidis, Hocein Bazairi, Anna Maria Mannino, Riccardo Virgili, Fabio Collepardo Coccia, Radhouan El Zrelli, Savvas Nikolidakis, Lotfi Jilani Rabaoui, Sercan Yapici, Jeanne Zaouali, Bruno Zava, Neophytos Agrotis, Murat Bilecenoglu, Michele Luca Cinar, Manos L. Moraitis, Paolo G. Albano, Nassir Kaddouri, Ioanna Kosma, Fabio Falsone, Valentina Fossati, Michele Luca Geraci, Leon Lojze Zamuda, Francesco Paolo Mancuso, Antonis Petrou, Vasilis Resaikos, Ilker Aydin, Ioannis E. Batjakas, Arthur R. Bos, Najib El Ouamari, Giovanni Giallongo, Thodoros E. Kampouris, Khadija Ounifi-Ben Amor, Alper Dogan, Jakov Dulcic, Emine Sukran Okudan, Gil Rilov, Antonietta Rosso, Laura Royo, Mohamed Selfati, Martina Gaglioti, Sylvaine Giakoumi, Vasiliki Kousteni, Dragos Micu, Mircea Nicoara, Sotiris Orfanidis, Magdalene Papatheodoulou, Jonathan Tempesti, Maria Triantaphyllou, Theodora Tsourou, Ferhat Yalgin, Emanuel Baltag, Hasan Cerim, Halit Filiz, Constantinos G. Georgiadis, Paschalis Papadamakis, Dimitra Lida Rammou, Manuela Diana Samargiu, Francesco Sciuto, Mauro Sinopoli, Ali Turker, Antonia Chiarore, Laura Tamburello, Sahar Karray, Bilel Hassen, Stelios Katsanevakis
Summary: In order to enhance the understanding of the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collaborative effort involving 173 marine scientists was conducted. A dataset containing 12,649 records from 23 countries was collected and harmonized, providing valuable information to the scientific community. The most abundant taxonomic groups were Chordata, Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida, and the most numerous species included Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, and Caulerpa cylindracea.
BIOINVASIONS RECORDS
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
Antonio Calo, Antonio Di Franco, Charalampos Dimitriadis, Lea Piacentini, Patricia Ventura, Alexis Pey, Jose Antonio Garcia-charton, Eric Charbonnel, Victor Decugis, Francesco de Franco, Ivoni Fournari-konstantinidou, Josipa Grbin, Luka Kastelic, Lorenzo Merotto, Ilaria Rinaudo, Marie-Catherine Santoni, Francisco Sobrado-llompart, Maria Trujillo-alarcon, Federico Quattrocchi, Marco Milazzo, Paolo Guidetti
Summary: This study assessed the socio-ecological dimension of small-scale fisheries operating within and around 11 Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The findings identified commonalities and differences in fishing practices, targeted species, and socio-ecological characteristics among the study areas.
MEDITERRANEAN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
