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
Agronomy
Sebastian Mira, Mathieu Emily, Christophe Mougel, Morgane Ourry, Edith Le Cadre
Summary: A new indicator (REI) was developed to estimate and monitor the intensity of plant-soil-microbiota interactions. The study found that REI can reliably monitor rhizosphere effect and serve as a complementary tool for agroecological cropping system design and evaluation.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tajamul Islam, Maroof Hamid, Irshad A. Nawchoo, Anzar Ahmad Khuroo
Summary: The variation of plant leaf functional traits among different growth forms and vegetation zones in the Himalayas was investigated in this study. Significant differences in leaf functional traits were found among different growth forms and vegetation zones. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of trait-trait, trait-growth form, and trait-vegetation zone relationships.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2024)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Fei Ma, Lei Yang, Chang Zhang, Min Tao, Hongwei Yu, Chunhua Liu, Dan Yu
Summary: Biodiversity is declining rapidly globally, and the relationship between macrophyte community productivity and trait-based biodiversity has been explored. The study found that functional evenness and community-weighted mean traits were closely associated with community productivity, while species diversity and other biodiversity indices showed no significant correlation.
Article
Biology
Fletcher W. Halliday, Mikko Jalo, Anna-Liisa Laine
Summary: Research shows that increasing temperature associated with lower elevation can increase disease transmission by relaxing constraints on parasite growth and reproduction, determining which host species are present, and strengthening the positive effect of host community pace-of-life on disease.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexey Ryabov, Bernd Blasius, Helmut Hillebrand, Irina Olenina, Thilo Gross
Summary: Monitoring functional diversity is crucial in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. This study demonstrates the use of diffusion maps to reconstruct species traits directly from monitoring data and estimate functional diversity. The wider application of this method to existing data could greatly advance the analysis of changes in functional biodiversity.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
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
Soil Science
Simone Giachello, Isabel Cantera, Alexis Carteron, Silvio Marta, Cristina Cipriano, Alessia Guerrieri, Wilfried Thuiller, Gentile Francesco Ficetola
Summary: Protists are important in soil communities but their functional diversity is not well understood. This study proposes a functional framework for soil protists and applies it to a global dataset. The results reveal different nutritional and habitat preferences among soil protists. The framework can be used to estimate functional diversity and analyze food webs.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Simon J. Brandl, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Amanda E. Bates, Douglas B. Rasher, Tommy Norin
Summary: All animals compete for energy, and the use of metabolic traits can provide a better understanding of species coexistence and the functioning of animal communities, improving our ability to predict their responses to environmental change.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Xin Gong, Dingyi Wang, Maogang Xu, Yan Du, Xiaoyun Chen, Feng Hu, Manqiang Liu
Summary: Resource limitation hinders soil biota to sustain multiple ecosystem functions. Earthworms are known for their ecotype diversity and the ability to accelerate nutrient cycling. However, the roles of earthworm ecotype diversity in alleviating soil resource limitations have yet to be discovered.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
J. C. Fisher, M. Dallimer, K. N. Irvine, S. G. Aizlewood, G. E. Austen, R. D. Fish, P. M. King, Z. G. Davies
Summary: People depend on functioning ecosystems for essential services that support human health and well-being, making biodiversity loss a significant concern. Understanding the species and traits that contribute to well-being responses is a critical question. This study analyzes a database of species' effect traits and their impacts on various types of well-being.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Xiaohua Wan, Zaipeng Yu, Mengjuan Wang, Yu Zhang, Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja, Zhiqun Huang
Summary: This study explored how tree species richness affects soil microbial biomass and community composition through functional trait variation and community-weighted trait means. The findings indicated that an increase in tree species richness decreased total microbial biomass in the soil, with implications on gram-positive to gram-negative bacteria ratio and fungi to bacteria ratio based on leaf nitrogen content and leaf dry matter content traits.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Zhiming Zhong, Gang Fu
Summary: This study investigated the impact of diurnal asymmetric warming on soil fungal diversity in an alpine agricultural system in Tibet. The results showed that nighttime warming significantly increased the abundance and species richness of soil fungi. However, warming did not have a significant effect on phylogenetic and functional diversity or composition. The study also found a correlation between soil fungal diversity and crop yield.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Robert P. Streit, David R. Bellwood
Summary: Functional traits can quantify an organism's ecology and predict ecosystem functions based on local communities. However, many functional traits seem to be characterized by availability and implied importance rather than ecological information content. It is necessary to identify functions of interest first and then identify traits as quantifiable proxies.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Feilun Wu, Yuanchi Ha, Andrea Weiss, Meidi Wang, Jeffrey Letourneau, Shangying Wang, Nan Luo, Shuquan Huang, Charlotte T. Lee, Lawrence A. David, Lingchong You
Summary: Spatial partitioning modulates the dynamics of microbial communities, promoting the persistence of populations with negative interactions and suppressing those with positive interactions. An intermediate level of partitioning maximizes the overall diversity of the community.
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Maxime Louzon, Benjamin Pauget, Frederic Gimbert, Nadia Morin-Crini, Janine W. Y. Wong, Benat Zaldibar, Tiago Natal-da-Luz, Natalia Neuwirthova, Christina Thiemann, Bernard Sarrazin, Mireia Irazola, Caroline Amiot, Dominique Rieffel, Jose P. Sousa, Michel Chalot, Annette de Vaufleury
Summary: This study compared the results provided by in situ and ex situ bioassays for assessing the environmental risk of contaminated soils using land snails. The in situ bioassay was found to be more reflective of environmental parameters affecting bioavailability, while ex situ bioassay generally yielded higher risk coefficients. Both approaches were complementary in evaluating the environmental risk of contaminated soils.
INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Ricardo S. Ceia, Nuno Faria, Pedro B. Lopes, Joana Alves, Antonio Alves da Silva, Carlos Valente, Catarina Goncalves, Vanessa A. Mata, Sonia A. P. Santos, Henrique M. V. S. Azevedo-Pereira, Jose P. Sousa, Luis P. da Silva
Summary: The study revealed that elevation has a significant positive effect on the presence and abundance of Gonipterus platensis, while stand-level variables could also influence the activity of this pest on eucalypt trees.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Ketrin Lorhayne Kubiak, Jose Alberto Pereira, Dineia Tessaro, Sonia A. P. Santos, Jacinto Benhadi-Marin
Summary: This study investigated the community structure of ground-inhabiting spiders in olive groves and surrounding shrublands in Tras-os-Montes. Ground hunters such as Lycosidae and Gnaphosidae were dominant in the spider community. The two habitats exhibited low complementarity of spider families, suggesting that Mediterranean shrubland areas may serve as a reservoir for potential pest biocontrol agents.
ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Daniel Paredes, Joao Frederico Alves, Sara Mendes, Jose Miguel Costa, Joana Alves, Antonio Alves da Silva, Jose Paulo Sousa
Summary: This study analyzed the seasonal population dynamics of the olive pest B. oleae in a typical olive landscape in Portugal. The results showed that B. oleae is present in all land uses within the landscape, and its dynamics are similar to those in the olive groves. However, the presence of other land uses in the landscape does not lead to an increase in B. oleae abundance within the olive groves. On the contrary, a landscape dominated by olive groves increases the abundance of this pest. Importantly, more diverse landscapes surrounding olive groves can reduce the abundance of the olive fly.
JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mathieu Renaud, Tiago Natal-da-Luz, Rui Ribeiro, Jose Paulo Sousa
Summary: This study introduces and validates the concept of recolonization concentration for soil organisms, which can be used to evaluate the recolonization potential of contaminated sites and address the spatial and temporal recovery dynamics of contaminated soil when combined with spatial modelling tools.
Article
Agronomy
Ketrin Lorhayne Kubiak, Jose Alberto Pereira, Dineia Tessaro, Sonia A. P. Santos, Jacinto Benhadi-Marin
Summary: The olive tree is perfectly adapted to the Mediterranean region and olive orchards have high economic, social, and landscape importance. This study compares the assemblage of beetle families between olive groves and their surrounding semi-natural landscape and finds that the richness of families is significantly greater in the olive grove.
Article
Entomology
Luisa Taranto, Isabel Rodrigues, Sonia Santos, Maria Villa, Jose Alberto Pereira
Summary: This study evaluated the response of the Coleoptera community to the landscape surrounding vineyards in Portugal and found that intermediate levels of habitat fragmentation favored beetle biodiversity in wine-producing regions.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Dennis Goss-Souza, Siu Mui Tsai, Jorge Luiz Mazza Rodrigues, Osmar Klauberg-Filho, Jose Paulo Sousa, Dilmar Baretta, Lucas William Mendes
Summary: Understanding the effects of forest-to-agriculture conversion on microbial diversity has been a major goal in soil ecological studies. However, linking community assembly to the ruling ecological processes at local and regional scales remains challenging. Here, we evaluated bacterial community assembly patterns and the ecological processes governing niche specialization in a gradient of geography, seasonality, and land-use change, totaling 324 soil samples, 43 habitat characteristics (abiotic factors), and 16 metabolic and co-occurrence patterns (biotic factors), in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, a subtropical biome recognized as one the world's largest and most threatened hotspots of biodiversity. Pairwise beta diversities were lower in pastures than in forest and no-till soils. Pasture communities showed a predominantly neutral model, regarding stochastic processes, with moderate dispersion, leading to biotic homogenization. Most no-till and forest microbial communities followed a niche-based model, with low rates of dispersal and weak homogenizing selection, indicating niche specialization or variable selection. Historical and evolutionary contingencies, as represented by soil type, season, and dispersal limitation were the main drivers of microbial assembly and processes at the local scale, markedly correlated with the occurrence of endemic microbes. Our results indicate that the patterns of assembly and their governing processes are dependent on the niche occupancy of the taxa evaluated (generalists or specialists). They are also more correlated with historical and evolutionary contingencies and the interactions among taxa (i.e., co-occurrence patterns) than the land-use change itself.
ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GENERAL AND MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Nuno Capela, Yoko L. Dupont, Agnes Rortais, Artur Sarmento, Alexandra Papanikolaou, Christopher J. Topping, Gerard Arnold, M. Alice Pinto, Pedro J. Rodrigues, Simon J. More, Simone Tosi, Thiago S. Alves, Jose Paulo Sousa
Summary: Honey bees are important insect pollinators with great economic and ecological value. Most current assessment methods for honey bee colonies rely on visual assessments, which are subjective and prone to bias. This study presents a new method that quantifies colony size based on bee weight and assesses brood and food storage through image analysis. The method is accurate, standardized, and independent of observer bias.
JOURNAL OF APICULTURAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Lara A. Pinheiro, Jose Alberto Pereira, Pilar Medina, Sonia A. P. Santos
Summary: This study found that the consumption of single sugars and honeydew has a positive effect on the survival of the parasitoid. Male and female parasitoids benefit differently from different sugar sources, and honeydew plays an important role in the longevity of the parasitoid. Sucrose increases the percentage of non-emerged hosts and parasitism rate, while melezitose significantly decreases these percentages.
Article
Agronomy
Luisa Taranto, Isabel Rodrigues, Sonia A. P. Santos, Maria Villa, Jose Alberto Pereira
Summary: This study evaluated the response of the Coccinellidae community in vineyards to different landscape contexts and found that the presence of seminatural habitat benefits Coccinellidae while habitat fragmentation is detrimental. Some Coccinellidae species may have important roles in pest control in vineyards.
Letter
Zoology
Fernanda Garcia, Antonio Alves Da Silva, Ruben Heleno, Jose Paulo Sousa, Joana Alves
INTEGRATIVE ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Janaina Mattge Broring, Dennis Goss-Souza, Carolina Riviera Duarte Maluche Baretta, Jose Paulo Sousa, Dilmar Baretta, Luis Carlos Iunes Oliveira Filho, Osmar Klauberg-Filho
Summary: This study evaluated the changes in microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial respiration in soils under different land-use systems in Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil. The results showed that land-use intensity, season, and location were the main drivers of changes in microbial carbon dynamics. Forest and grassland sites had higher values of MBC and microbial activity, while grassland sites showed lower values of the metabolic quotient (qCO(2)) and higher values of the microbial quotient.
SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Artur R. M. Serrano, Martim Baptista, Rui Carvalho, Mario Boieiro, Sara Mendes, Marie Bartz, Sergio Timoteo, Henrique M. V. S. Azevedo-Pereira, Carlos A. S. Aguiar, Antonio Alves da Silva, Joana Alves, Maria Jesus I. Briones, Paulo A. V. Borges, Jose P. Sousa, Pedro Martins da Silva
Summary: The Gorongosa National Park is a significant protected area in Africa, known for its biodiversity and ecology restoration efforts. However, there is limited research on the invertebrate biodiversity in the park. This study aims to assess the diversity of Caraboidea beetles and provide insights for conservation planning and climate change assessment.
BIODIVERSITY DATA JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yongcui Lan, Jinliang Wang, Qianwei Liu, Fang Liu, Lanfang Liu, Jie Li, Mengjia Luo
Summary: This study focuses on the five major plateau lake basins in central Yunnan, China, and constructs an ecological security pattern using the source-resistance surface-corridor-pinch point framework. The study simulates land use/cover change in the region and identifies early warning regions where future urban expansion poses a threat to current ecological source areas and corridors.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Pingping Huang, Feng Zhao, Bailing Zhou, Kuidong Xu
Summary: This study investigates the distribution of benthic microeukaryotes in the China Seas and finds that they can stride over the ecological barrier of 32 degrees N. The study also highlights the significant influence of depth, temperature, and latitude on communities in the China Seas.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Federico Morelli, Yanina Benedetti, Jesse Stanford, Leszek Jerzak, Piotr Tryjanowski, Paolo Perna, Riccardo Santolini
Summary: Species distribution models (SDMs) are numerical tools used for predicting species' spatial distribution. This study found that ecological characteristics, such as habitat specialization, play a role in improving the accuracy of SDMs.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xiaoxuan Wu, Hang Liu, Wei Liu
Summary: Global climate change, urbanization, and economic development have increased the need for sustainable human development, urban ecological governance, and low-carbon energy transformation. This study analyzes the green ecological transition in Chengdu based on panel data from 2010 to 2020, exploring its spatiotemporal evolution and key factors. The results show an overall upward trend in Chengdu's green ecological development and positive spatial autocorrelation in certain districts.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Castaldi Simona, Formicola Nicola, Mastrocicco Micol, Morales Rodriguez Carmen, Morelli Raffaella, Prodorutti Daniele, Vannini Andrea, Zanzotti Roberto
Summary: Sustainable agricultural practices are increasingly important for global and national environmental policies and economy. This study compared the sustainability of grape production under integrated and organic management using multiple indicators. The results showed that organic management was more beneficial for most environmental aspects of the agroecosystem compared to integrated management, without affecting grape yield.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Gaia Vaglio Laurin, Alexander Cotrina-Sanchez, Luca Belelli-Marchesini, Enrico Tomelleri, Giovanna Battipaglia, Claudia Cocozza, Francesco Niccoli, Jerzy Piotr Kabala, Damiano Gianelle, Loris Vescovo, Luca Da Ros, Riccardo Valentini
Summary: Phenology monitoring is important for understanding forest functioning and climate impacts. This research compares the phenological behavior of European beech forests using Tree-Talker (TT+) and Sentinel 2 satellite data. The study finds differences in the information derived by the two sensor types, particularly in terms of season length, phenology changepoints, and leaf period variability. TT+ with its higher temporal resolution demonstrates precision in capturing the phenological changepoints, especially when satellite image availability is limited.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Huanhuan Pan, Ziqiang Du, Zhitao Wu, Hong Zhang, Keming Ma
Summary: The land use and cover changes resulting from coal mining activities and ecological restoration have had a significant impact on ecosystem services in mining areas. This study investigates the relationship between ecosystem services and land use intensity in coal mining areas, emphasizing the importance of understanding this interdependence for balanced human-land system development. The research examines the evolving relationship across different reclamation stages in Shanxi, China, using a coupling coordination degree model. The findings suggest the need for timely and judicious reclamation of coalfields, considering the land's bearing capacity.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jingjuan He, Yijun Shi, Lihua Xu, Zhangwei Lu, Mao Feng
Summary: This study examines the spatial interplay between changes in the blue-green spatial distribution and modifications in land surface temperature grades in Shanghai. The findings reveal that the transformation of the blue-green spatial pattern differs between different sectors of the city, and the impact on the thermal environment varies spatially.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yi Xu, Di Zhang, Junqiang Lin, Qidong Peng, Xiaohui Lei, Tiantian Jin, Jia Wang, Ruifang Yuan
Summary: This study analyzed the response relationship between phytoplankton growth and water environmental parameters in the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China using long-term monitoring data and machine learning models. The results revealed the differences between monitoring sites and identified the key parameters that affect phytoplankton growth.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
