Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Michel V. Garey, Thiago Goncalves-Souza, Fausto Nomura, Franco Leandro Souza, Mirco Sole, Marcelo Menin, Denise C. Rossa-Feres
Summary: Determining drivers of beta diversity is a complex task that involves processes acting synergistically across multiple scales. This study examined the beta diversity patterns of pond-living tadpoles across multiple scales in five Brazilian biomes and identified the relative influence of environmental and spatial factors.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pedro A. Salgueiro, Francesco Valerio, Carmo Silva, Antonio Mira, Joao E. Rabaca, Sara M. Santos
Summary: The study examined how landscape functional connectivity determines the spatial distribution of a bird community in a production forest. It found that multispecies connectivity had more consistent effects on community parameters than single-species connectivity, and that habitat size and quality were also important factors in explaining community parameters. This suggests that both habitat and landscape filters play a role in governing community assembly processes.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Zelong Zhao, Hongjun Li, Yi Sun, Aibin Zhan, Wenlu Lan, Sau Pinn Woo, Aileen Tan Shau-Hwai, Jingfeng Fan
Summary: This study investigated the benthic microbial community composition in a typical subtropical coast area in Southern China using metabarcoding and physicochemical analysis. The results showed that stochastic processes were the dominant ecological driver in shaping the community assembly of both bacteria and fungi. Environmental factors explained a considerable portion of variation in bacterial communities, while spatial factors were more influential in structuring fungal communities. Furthermore, a random forest model based on bacterial communities was able to predict the concentrations of heavy metals. These findings provide new insights into the factors influencing coastal ecosystems and support the integration of biological information into routine ecological monitoring.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Guohao Liu, Zongwei Lin, Xinxin Qi, Yixia Wang, Yaochun Wang, Wanxiang Jiang, Fengzhi He, Naicheng Wu
Summary: The relative importance of environmental filtering, spatial processes, and biotic interactions in shaping macroinvertebrate communities in subtropical streams in Eastern China was investigated. It was found that spatial processes had a stronger influence than environmental filtering, and biotic interactions had a smaller but significant effect. The impact of these ecological processes also varied depending on the traits of the macroinvertebrates.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Zachary A. A. Mitchell, Karl Cottenie, Astrid N. N. Schwalb
Summary: This study focused on examining the distribution patterns of unionid freshwater mussels based on their life history strategies and environmental factors at different spatial scales and positions in a river. The results showed that the variation in the distribution patterns was mainly explained by environmental factors when there were significant environmental differences between sites, while smaller scale spatial factors played a more important role when environmental heterogeneity was lower, likely due to stochastic processes. Different life history groups of mussels had predictable distribution patterns driven by environmental heterogeneity, especially between river segments and mesohabitats.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiao Chen, Zhengfei Li, Pal Boda, Izaias Medice Fernandes, Zhicai Xie, E. Zhang
Summary: This study examined the seasonal metacommunity dynamics of freshwater fishes in Lake Dongting and found that the relative contribution of environmental filtering and spatial structuring varied depending on the season. The results highlight the importance of conserving local habitats during the dry and normal seasons, and maintaining the flood pulse of the lake during the wet season.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Fuying Deng, Lijun Xiao, Jing Huang, Honghao Luo, Runguo Zang
Summary: This study explores the relative importance of environmental factors in shaping community composition and functional trait variations in monsoon forests. The results highlight the different strategies adopted by secondary, ecotone, and old growth forests to persist in distinct habitats. Environmental filters play a crucial role in selecting plant species with specific traits and ecological strategies. Analyzing leaf functional traits can enhance our understanding of forest dynamics in tropical monsoon forests.
Review
Developmental Biology
Robert K. Browne, Svetlana A. Kaurova, Karthikeyan Vasudevan, Dale McGinnity, Govindappa Venu, Manuel Gonzalez, Victor K. Uteshev, Ruth Marcec-Greaves
Summary: This article reviews the use of reproduction technologies in supporting the conservation of threatened salamanders and caecilian biodiversity. It discusses the application of these technologies in stimulating mating, collecting sperm or eggs, in vitro fertilisation, cryopreservation, cloning, and transplantation. The study highlights the need for further research and development in applying these technologies to different species and emphasizes the importance of developing technologies to recover female individuals from cryopreserved or biobanked cells or tissues.
REPRODUCTION FERTILITY AND DEVELOPMENT
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Rodolfo Mei Pelinson, Denise de Cerqueira Rossa-Feres, Michel Varajao Garey
Summary: This study evaluated the importance of environmental and spatial variables in shaping tadpole metacommunities at different spatial scales in the Atlantic Forest. The results showed that tadpole communities had more spatial structure at larger spatial scales. Environmental filtering processes played an equally important role at both large and small scales, but spatially structured environmental variables were more important at larger scales, while non-spatially structured ones were more important at smaller scales. Local environmental filters were also more important in the ecoregion with harsher environmental conditions.
Article
Ecology
Zhenyuan Liu, Tingting Zhou, Yongde Cui, Zhengfei Li, Weimin Wang, Yushun Chen, Zhicai Xie
Summary: Our study examined the impacts of ecological factors and seasonal differences on the assembly of macroinvertebrate metacommunities in subtropical urban river networks. The results showed that seasonal variation had minimal effect on macroinvertebrate community composition, with strong influences from both environmental filtering and spatial processes in structuring the metacommunity. Additionally, degraded habitat conditions and water quality were identified as key factors affecting macroinvertebrate communities, emphasizing the importance of improving local abiotic conditions for sustaining biodiversity.
ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kyle A. O'Connell, Ivan Prates, Lauren A. Scheinberg, Kevin P. Mulder, Rayna C. Bell
Summary: A period of isolation in allopatry typically precedes local adaptation and subsequent divergence among lineages. Alternatively, locally adapted phenotypes may arise and persist in the face of gene flow, resulting in strong correlations between ecologically-relevant phenotypic variation and corresponding environmental gradients. Quantifying genetic, ecological, and phenotypic divergence in such lineages can provide insights into the abiotic and biotic mechanisms that structure populations and drive the accumulation of phenotypic and taxonomic diversity.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Vitezslav Moudry, Katerina Gdulova, Lukas Gabor, Eliska Sarovcova, Vojtech Bartak, Francois Leroy, Olga Spatenkova, Duccio Rocchini, Jiri Prosek
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of atmospheric scattering, snow presence, canopy cover, terrain slope, beam strength, and solar angle on LiDAR data accuracy, providing recommendations on data filtering to minimize errors.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Katrin Kiemel, Guntram Weithoff, Ralph Tiedemann
Summary: This study used a DNA metabarcoding approach to investigate the spatial and temporal connectivity of zooplankton communities and the environmental factors influencing their assembly. The results showed that community composition was primarily determined by pH, kettle hole size, surrounding field crops, and permanency. Environmental filtering based on specific conditions in individual kettle holes seemed to be the dominant process in community assembly in the studied zooplankton metacommunity.
Article
Ecology
Duarte S. Viana, Petr Keil, Alienor Jeliazkov
Summary: Community ecologists and macroecologists have long been interested in assessing the importance of environmental conditions in determining species distributions, community composition, and diversity. This study compared different statistical models in estimating the contributions of environment and space to variation in species occurrence and abundance. The results showed that generalized linear models and tree-based machine learning methods were the most reliable for partitioning the variation explained by environmental and spatial effects.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Muhammad Farooq, Xianfu Li, Zhengfei Li, Ronglong Yang, Zhen Tian, Lu Tan, Davide Fornacca, Yanpeng Li, Nima Cili, Zhongyong Ciren, Shuoran Liu, Wen Xiao
Summary: This study assessed the impact of ecological factors and temporal dynamics on the macroinvertebrate meta-community assembly in an alpine stream in China. The results showed that both spatial structuring and environmental filtering contribute to the structure of the meta-community, with their relative contributions changing over time. Environmental variables were found to be the most important predictors of community organization, but spatial determinants also played a significant role.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
R. Alexander Pyron, Kyle A. O'Connell, Sophie C. Duncan, Frank T. Burbrink, David A. Beamer
Summary: Significant progress has been made in species delimitation and there are various methods available for testing speciation models. However, the integration of phylogeography and taxonomy is sometimes incomplete. The emerging consensus is to consider distinct genealogical clusters in genome-scale data as strong initial evidence of speciation, which needs to be tested and falsified under explicit evolutionary models. With larger datasets, it is now possible to test speciation hypotheses and examine the relationship between trait differentiation and divergence mechanisms. This integration of evolutionary processes and integrative taxonomies can lead to a better understanding of speciation.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Noe U. de la Sancha, Jose F. Gonzalez-Maya, Sarah A. Boyle, Pastor E. Perez-Estigarribia, J. Nicolas Urbina-Cardona, Nancy E. McIntyre
Summary: Deforestation in eastern Paraguay has resulted in a fragmented landscape highly influenced by forest edges. This study examined the edge effects on small mammalian diversity and found that species richness and abundance increased along the forest edge gradient. Forest edges showed higher phylogenetic and functional diversity, with a spillover effect of non-forest and invasive species.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Henrique Couto, Madalena Macara Madeira, Omar Hernandez Ordonez, Victor Hugo Reynoso, Goncalo M. Rosa
Summary: This article describes the use of karst ecosystems and cavernicolous environments by the monstrous rainfrog Craugastor pelorus in Chiapas and Tabasco (Mexico). The frogs were found in crevices and wall depressions within the twilight zone of the cave, both during the day and at night. Despite being threatened by human activities and being understudied, caves serve as the last refuge for some endangered species. This report expands the known distribution of the species, contributes to our knowledge of a threatened species, and enhances our understanding of the biodiversity and ecology of cave environments.
Article
Ecology
Hugo Salinas, Victor Hugo Reynoso
Summary: Sun exposure is a significant threat to cacti seed survival in desertic environments. We compared the germination percentage of wild seeds exposed to the sun with that of seeds collected directly from the fruit and from iguana scats. The results show that direct sun exposure drastically reduces seed germination, but this negative effect is reduced when seeds are shielded inside feces, although it comes with a cost on germination. We discuss the implications of seed shielding in the population of P. pringlei.
JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS
(2023)
Article
Zoology
R. Alexander Pyron, David A. Beamer
Summary: Shovel-nosed Salamanders were initially considered a single species from the southern Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. However, molecular analysis revealed four distinct lineages, which have now been redefined as three species. Recent fieldwork found a morphologically distinct population of Shovel-nosed Salamanders in the New River Gorge of West Virginia, far away from the nearest populations in Virginia.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maria Moreno-Rubiano, Juan Gomez-Sanchez, Daniel Robledo-Buitrago, Miguel De Luque-Villa, J. Nicolas Urbina-Cardona, Hernan Granda-Rodriguez
Summary: This study assessed the attitudes and perceptions of inhabitants in the Andean region of Colombia towards 17 native terrestrial vertebrate species. Data was collected through semi-structured surveys of 100 participants, evaluating five variables on a Likert scale. The study found variations in perceptions between town and countryside, as well as differences in species preferences based on locality and gender. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding people's perceptions and beliefs for effective conservation strategies.
ETHNOBIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Nicolas Urbina-Cardona, Vivian Ochoa Cardona, Sergio Cuellar
Summary: The application of ecosystem services mapping is growing rapidly, but there are still knowledge shortfalls in conservation, leading to gaps in decision-making and public policy. This study describes thematic changes in mapped ecosystem services and highlights the emerging contributions from Europe and the global South.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Mario R. Moura, Fellipe A. O. do Nascimento, Lucas N. Paolucci, Daniel P. Silva, Braulio A. Santos
Summary: Climate emergency poses a significant threat to biodiversity, particularly in dryland plant assemblages. This study modeled the current and future distribution of plant species in a tropical dry forest, and projected a decrease in species richness and changes in woodiness patterns due to climate change. The findings emphasize the importance of long-term conservation planning for maintaining tropical dry forests.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jennifer A. Luedtke, Janice Chanson, Kelsey Neam, Louise Hobin, Adriano O. Maciel, Alessandro Catenazzi, Amael Borzee, Amir Hamidy, Anchalee Aowphol, Anderson Jean, Angel Sosa-Bartuano, Ansel G. Fong, Anslem de Silva, Antoine Fouquet, Ariadne Angulo, Artem A. Kidov, Arturo Munoz Saravia, Arvin C. Diesmos, Atsushi Tominaga, Biraj Shrestha, Brian Gratwicke, Burhan Tjaturadi, Carlos C. Martinez Rivera, Carlos R. Vasquez Almazan, Celsa Senaris, S. R. Chandramouli, Christine Strussmann, Claudia Fabiola Cortez Fernandez, Claudio Azat, Conrad J. Hoskin, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Damion L. Whyte, David J. Gower, Deanna H. Olson, Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia, Diego Jose Santana, Elizah Nagombi, Elnaz Najafi-Majd, Evan S. H. Quah, Federico Bolanos, Feng Xie, Francisco Brusquetti, Francisco S. Alvarez, Franco Andreone, Frank Glaw, Franklin Enrique Castaneda, Fred Kraus, Gabriela Parra-Olea, Gerardo Chaves, Guido F. Medina-Rangel, Gustavo Gonzalez-Duran, H. Mauricio Ortega-Andrade, Ibere F. Machado, Indraneil Das, Iuri Ribeiro Dias, J. Nicolas Urbina-Cardona, Jelka Crnobrnja-Isailovic, Jian-Huan Yang, Jiang Jianping, Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal, Jodi J. L. Rowley, John Measey, Karthikeyan Vasudevan, Kin Onn Chan, Kotambylu Vasudeva Gururaja, Kristiina Ovaska, Lauren C. Warr, Luis Canseco-Marquez, Luis Felipe Toledo, Luis M. Diaz, M. Monirul H. Khan, Madhava Meegaskumbura, Manuel E. Acevedo, Marcelo Felgueiras Napoli, Marcos A. Ponce, Marcos Vaira, Margarita Lampo, Mario H. Yanez-Munoz, Mark D. Scherz, Mark-Oliver Rodel, Masafumi Matsui, Maxon Fildor, Mirza D. Kusrini, Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, Muhammad Rais, N'Goran G. Kouame, Nieves Garcia, Nono Legrand Gonwouo, Patricia A. Burrowes, Paul Y. Imbun, Philipp Wagner, Philippe J. R. Kok, Rafael L. Joglar, Renoir J. Auguste, Reuber Albuquerque Brandao, Roberto Ibanez, Rudolf von May, S. Blair Hedges, S. D. Biju, S. R. Ganesh, Sally Wren, Sandeep Das, Sandra V. Flechas, Sara L. Ashpole, Silvia J. Robleto-Hernandez, Simon P. Loader, Sixto J. Inchaustegui, Sonali Garg, Soumphthone Phimmachak, Stephen J. Richards, Tahar Slimani, Tamara Osborne-Naikatini, Tatianne P. F. Abreu-Jardim, Thais H. Condez, Thiago R. De Carvalho, Timothy P. Cutajar, Todd W. Pierson, Truong Q. Nguyen, Ugur Kaya, Zhiyong Yuan, Barney Long, Penny Langhammer, Simon N. Stuart
Summary: The second Global Amphibian Assessment reveals that amphibians, especially salamanders in the Neotropics, are the most threatened vertebrate class, with 40.7% of species globally threatened. The deteriorating status of amphibians is predominantly driven by climate change, disease, and habitat loss.
Article
Zoology
R. Alexander Pyron, David A. Beamer
Summary: Based on taxonomic history and molecular analysis, it was found that Spotted and Northern Dusky Salamanders encompass 13 distinct lineages and 8 new species. Furthermore, it was discovered that there may be additional cryptic diversity within these species and others in the genus.
Article
Entomology
Angela M. Cortes-Gomez, Adrian Gonzalez-Chaves, Nicolas Urbina-Cardona, Lucas A. Garibaldi
Summary: Pollination is crucial for food and nutritional security, and its different functional traits in insects remain poorly understood. This study investigates the relationship between insect functional traits and pollen transport in sweet granadilla crops. Bees were the most abundant insects and carried the highest amounts of pollen, with exotic honeybees being the most common species but carrying less pollen than native bees. Large-bodied native bees, such as Bombus hortulanus, carried more sweet granadilla pollen despite their low abundance. Body size was the most important trait influencing pollen transport, while traits related to body hairs had no significant effect.
NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Nicolas Urbina-Cardona, Liliana Saboya Acosta, Claudia P. Camacho-Rozo, Augusto Rafael Acosta Pena, Angelica Arenas-Rodriguez, Juan Felipe Albarracin-Caro, Ana Maria Moreno-Cabal, Natalia Maria Novoa-Salamanca, Maria Jose Camacho-Duran, Nicolas Giraldo Echeverry, Maria Jose Hernandez-Gallego, Laura Pirateque Lopez, Valentina Aldana Varon, Daniela Echeverry Pareja, Fabio Andres Zabala-Forero
Summary: Colombian herpetology has a long history of research, with a notable increase in scientific publications since 2000. The most influential journals in this field are Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales, Caldasia, Catalogo de Anfibios y Reptiles de Colombia, and Zootaxa. The majority of studies focus on natural history, geographic distribution, systematics, and taxonomy, primarily in Anura and Squamata. Further research is needed on the ecology and conservation of caecilians, salamanders, and amphisbaenids, as well as the development of conservation strategies based on quantitative analyses of community ecology and long-term population studies. Additionally, studies on ethnobiology and environmental education are crucial to change public perceptions and foster local community engagement in habitat conservation. It is also important to advance research on governance systems to effectively utilize scientific knowledge in decision-making processes.
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Liliana Patricia Saboya Acosta, J. Nicolas Urbina-Cardona
Summary: This study consolidates literature and databases on amphibians in Colombia's Paramos. The results show significant knowledge gaps in taxonomy, spatial information, and conservation actions on Paramos amphibians. More research is needed in areas such as population ecology, infectious disease, and ecophysiology to effectively conserve these species.
TROPICAL CONSERVATION SCIENCE
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Zoology
J. M. Huie, R. A. Pyron, S. M. Kawano
INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
R. Alexander Pyron, Anvith Kakkera, David A. Beamer, Kyle A. O'Connell
Summary: Mechanisms and processes can drive speciation and differentiation, as well as stabilize population structures. Genetic and phenotypic differences among individuals can change with environmental changes. Processes that maintain geographic genetic diversity while facilitating high rates of migration and limiting phenotypic differentiation often do not result in reproductive isolation, but rather population genetic structures. This framework can be used to unify the study of population genetics, species delimitation, and speciation.