Article
Biology
Angela Burrow, John Maerz
Summary: Plant communities can have significant effects on the distribution, abundance, and performance of amphibians through various direct and indirect pathways, including influencing abiotic conditions, resource availability, and interspecific interactions. Research on the mechanistic and trait-based aspects of how plants influence amphibian ecology is lacking, highlighting the need for further study and integration of plant and amphibian ecology to improve conservation and management efforts for amphibians.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrew J. Hamer
Summary: By conducting frog surveys at 65 ponds along an urban-rural gradient in the greater Melbourne region, it was found that the proportion of total greenspace within a 1000-m radius of a pond was positively correlated with local species occupancy, while the presence of a vertical pond wall had a negative impact on community occupancy. Moreover, barriers did not seem to affect occupancy, suggesting that urban areas may be more permeable for movement by some species than anticipated.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
E. J. J. Sieben, R. P. Glen, H. van Deventer, A. Dayaram
Summary: The study investigated the diversity of wetland plants in South Africa, Lesotho, and eSwatini, and found a correlation between precipitation and wetland plant species diversity. Higher precipitation was associated with an increase in wetland habitats, leading to greater diversity of wetland plant species.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lin Yuan, Dongyan Liu, Bo Tian, Xiao Yuan, Shunqi Bo, Qiang Ma, Wei Wu, Zhiyuan Zhao, Liquan Zhang, John K. Keesing
Summary: Loss of coastal wetland habitats has been directly linked to a decline in waterbird populations, leading to calls to reverse this trend by restoring these habitats, which have been hindered by sediment scarcity. This study in the Yangtze River Delta proposes feasible solutions to solve the sediment shortage in habitat restoration, with three different approaches adopted for rehabilitation sites to promote sediment deposition and settle-ment and using dredged sediments to create new habitats. The comparison and assessment results show that proper coastal silting structures and ecological utilization of nearby dredged sediments are effective solutions to restore coastal habitats and increase waterbird diversity and abundance.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Valeria Tomaselli, Giuseppe Veronico, Maria Adamo
Summary: This study analyzed and evaluated changes in two coastal wetlands in Southern Italy over a seven-year period. Different Land Cover and habitat taxonomies were compared for mapping changes, with a post-mapping method used to detect changes. The study found that landscape richness and complexity trends differed in the two sites, and that combining EUNIS and LCCS for monitoring these environments is recommended.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Hyun Woo Kim, Pradeep Adhikari, Min Ho Chang, Changwan Seo
Summary: Amphibian species in South Korea are predicted to face significant impacts from climate change, with wetland amphibians showing more resistance while forest-dwelling amphibians being the most vulnerable. Conservation strategies are urgently needed to protect these species as suitable habitats decline in the future.
Article
Plant Sciences
Zihan Xing, Xiaoyan Li, Dehua Mao, Ling Luo, Zongming Wang
Summary: This study examined the spatiotemporal changes in wetland vegetation in the Amur River basin and its response to climate change. The findings revealed a significant increase in wetland vegetation from 1982 to 2020, with a positive correlation to daily mean temperature. However, the asymmetric effects of diurnal warming were weak in the region.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nick Luymes, Patricia Chow-Fraser
Summary: Forested vernal pools play a crucial role in amphibian recruitment in glaciated northeastern North America. In south-central Ontario, vernal pools exist in relatively unimpacted forest networks, but the amphibian communities face uncertain challenges from anthropogenic-induced climate change. The structure of amphibian communities is dynamic and influenced by hydroperiod length, canopy openness, and changes in vegetation communities within pools.
Article
Microbiology
Shannon Buttimer, Obed Hernandez-Gomez, Erica Bree Rosenblum
Summary: Host-associated microbial communities can influence disease resistance in macroorganisms, with differences in microbiome composition contributing to variations in susceptibility to pathogens. Environmental factors play a role in shaping the skin microbial communities of salamanders, with different salamander families potentially selecting distinct anti-pathogen bacteria. Consideration of host identity and environmental factors is important when selecting probiotics for wildlife disease treatment.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Cristina Soares, Joao M. N. Silva, Joana Boavida-Portugal, Sofia Cerasoli
Summary: The study assesses the biophysical properties of different vegetation types in cork oak woodland using remote sensing data. The analysis of temporal trends in spectral vegetation indices reveals the impact of temperature and precipitation on vegetation. The findings are important for informing policies to improve resilience to drought.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Emily P. Hoffmann, Kim Williams, Matthew R. Hipsey, Nicola J. Mitchell
Summary: The study found that dry season soil moisture is an important factor affecting the abundance of two threatened frog species, and it also explains the extinction of one species. Considering dry season soil moisture when selecting future translocation sites can increase the probability of population establishment.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tomasz Berezowski, Martin Wassen
Summary: Distinctive zones of inundation water during floods in major floodplains around the world were found to originate from different sources. This study used a fully-coupled groundwater-surface water integrated hydrological model to provide standard hydrological predictors and the extent of inundation zones having a certain water source. The model that used both water source extent and standard predictors performed the best overall and was sensitive to future trends.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ying Huang, Xin-sheng Chen, Ye-ai Zou, Ping-yang Zhang, Feng Li, Zhi-yong Hou, Xu Li, Jing Zeng, Zheng-miao Deng, Jia-rong Zhong, Yong-hong Xie
Summary: Hydrological regimes and climatic factors have complex influences on plant phenology in floodplain wetlands. Warmer temperature tends to advance the start of the pre-flooding growing season, while flood regimes play a dominant role in determining the phenology in the post-flooding growing season. Carex phenology is more affected by hydrology in high-elevation areas compared to low-elevation areas. These findings provide insights for the conservation and management of floodplain wetlands in the Yangtze River.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Maria Mas, Carles Flaquer, Xavier Puig-Montserrat, Xavier Porres, Hugo Rebelo, Adria Lopez-Baucells
Summary: This study assessed the effects of weather and landscape composition on winter bat activity, highlighting wetlands and urban areas as the most active foraging habitats. The researchers found that bat activity significantly increased when nocturnal temperatures reached around 11 degrees Celsius. Historical weather data also revealed a steady increase in winter temperatures in the Ebro Delta, which could potentially interrupt or eliminate bat hibernation in coastal Mediterranean habitats in the future. The study emphasizes the importance of wetlands in bat conservation under climate change scenarios.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Christos Theodoropoulos, Georgios Vagenas, Ioanna Katsogiannou, Konstantinos Gritzalis, Anastasios Stamou
Summary: This study provides hydraulic and habitat information to develop vegetation-adapted ecohydraulic models (i4 models) for simulating the distribution of stream vegetation and their associated biota.
Article
Ecology
Raquel F. Freiry, Mateus M. Pires, Andressa Gouvea, Pedro H. O. Hoffman, Cristina Stenert, Leonardo Maltchik
Summary: In subtropical seasonal ponds, the alpha diversity of zooplankton hatchling communities is primarily related to substrate heterogeneity, and the beta diversity of the total community is influenced by annual rainfall and substrate heterogeneity. The beta diversity of Cladocera is solely affected by annual rainfall, while substrate heterogeneity influences the overall beta diversity of Rotifera. Overall, the distinct relationships of the zooplankton groups with the explanatory datasets suggest differing sensitivities to impacts in habitat structure and climatic conditions in subtropical seasonal ponds.
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Luis Esteban Krause Lanes, Matheus Vieira Volcan, Leonardo Maltchik
Summary: Two new species of Austrolebias, Austrolebias botocudo and Austrolebias nubium, are described in this study. They are found in high-altitude areas in southern Brazil and are easily distinguished from congeners by their color patterns and other morphological features. The conservation status of these new species is discussed and an identification key for the subgenus Acrolebias is provided.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mateus M. Pires, Marta G. Grech, Cristina Stenert, Leonardo Maltchik, Luis B. Epele, Kyle I. McLean, Jamie M. Kneitel, Douglas A. Bell, Hamish S. Greig, Chase R. Gagne, Darold P. Batzer
Summary: The study found that family-level resolution can be used as a surrogate of finer taxonomic resolutions to describe invertebrate community structure patterns in New World freshwater wetlands without significant information loss. However, conclusions on biodiversity patterns derived from datasets with different numerical resolutions should be critically considered.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mateus Marques Pires, Goran Sahlen, Eduardo Perico
Summary: Expansion of farming has negative impacts on freshwater biodiversity, with effects varying across taxa and regions. Research on the effects of agricultural expansion in the Neotropics, particularly in South American grasslands, is limited. The study found that landscape modification due to increased agricultural land use was associated with taxonomic homogenization in odonate communities in waterbodies within the Brazilian Pampa region, highlighting the importance of maintaining mixed-grassland and cropland land uses to limit negative effects on Odonata communities.
JOURNAL OF INSECT CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Roberta Emanuele Meneghel, Mateus Marques Pires, Cristina Stenert, Leonardo Maltchik
Summary: This study investigates the impact of different fallow periods and wetlands on the community structure of aquatic insects in rice fields. The results show that changing the fallow period can have varying effects on the community structure of aquatic insects in irrigated rice fields.
JOURNAL OF INSECT CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Daiane Vendramin, Mateus M. Pires, Raquel F. Freiry, Ana E. B. Schneider, Lidiane Martins, Elvio S. F. Medeiros, Odete Rocha, Cristina Stenert, Leonardo Maltchik
Summary: The termination of dormancy in aquatic invertebrates depends on multiple environmental cues, and the response to flooding can vary among taxa. In this study, the authors tested how multiple hydration events affect hatching dynamics and assemblage structure of invertebrate fauna. The results showed that the hatchling composition, but not richness, differed among hydration events and also varied within each hydration event. These findings have important implications for biodiversity assessment and the management of temporary ponds.
FRESHWATER SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Luis B. Epele, Marta G. Grech, Emilio A. Williams-Subiza, Cristina Stenert, Kyle McLean, Hamish S. Greig, Leonardo Maltchik, Mateus Marques Pires, Matthew S. Bird, Aurelie Boissezon, Dani Boix, Eliane Demierre, Patricia E. Garcia, Stephanie Gascon, Michael Jeffries, Jamie M. Kneitel, Olga Loskutova, Luz M. Manzo, Gabriela Mataloni, Musa C. Mlambo, Beat Oertli, Jordi Sala, Erica E. Scheibler, Haitao Wu, Scott A. Wissinger, Darold P. Batzer
Summary: Climate change has multiple effects on wetland macroinvertebrate diversity, mainly through increasing maximum temperature and changing precipitation patterns. Wetlands located in warm-dry regions are the most vulnerable, while montane and high-latitude wetlands are also susceptible but not expected to experience complete extirpation at the family level.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Thaise Boelter, Leonardo Felipe Bairos Moreira, Mateus Marques Pires, Cristina Stenert, Leonardo Maltchik
Summary: This study used geometric morphometrics to analyze the intraspecific morphological variation in tadpoles of Scinax squalirostris in southern Brazil and assessed the relative influence of spatial and environmental factors on their body size and shape. The results showed that tadpole size was affected by spatial factors and pH, while tadpole shape changes were associated with both wetland and upland factors.
Article
Ecology
Mateus M. Pires, Daiane Vendramin, Elvio S. F. Medeiros, Cristina Stenert, Darold P. Batzer, Leonardo Maltchik
Summary: Bet-hedging is an ecological risk-aversion strategy that spreads the risk of reproduction to multiple events or conditions. This strategy is commonly observed in aquatic invertebrates in dry wetlands, where a subset of propagules hatch in the first flood and the rest hatch in subsequent floods. Harsh environmental conditions increase the reliance on bet-hedging. However, community-level assessments are needed to provide more robust support for the range of hatching strategies that exist in nature.
Article
Fisheries
Robson Souza Godoy, Vinicius Weber, Luis Esteban Krause Lanes, Mateus Marques Pires, Cristina Stenert, Leonardo Maltchik
Summary: Climate change projections predict that warm temperatures and increased frequency of heat waves will strongly impact the embryonic development of aquatic species. A study on two Neotropical annual fish species found that temperatures above 27 degrees C were critical for embryo survival, while exposure to heat waves had similar effects on both species. The high-altitude species was more sensitive to increasing temperatures, indicating a higher threat to their population persistence under warming scenarios.
ECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mateus M. Pires, Patricia E. Garcia, Leonardo Maltchik, Cristina Stenert, Luis B. Epele, Kyle I. McLean, Jamie M. Kneitel, Sophie Racey, Darold P. Batzer
Summary: Wetlands are under threat worldwide due to climate change and land-use conversion. The existence of habitat complexes with different hydroperiods is crucial for the regional biodiversity of temporary wetlands. Loss of short-hydroperiod wetlands has the most significant impact on invertebrate beta diversity, but loss of long-hydroperiod wetlands is also important. Both hydroperiod extremes should be considered in assessing potential biodiversity declines associated with wetland loss.
JOURNAL FOR NATURE CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Everton Nei Lopes Rodrigues, Mateus Marques Pires, Milton de Souza Mendonca
Summary: The study investigated seasonal variation in spider communities in subtropical riparian forest in Brazil. It found that spider abundance differed between seasons and ontogenetic stages, with more spiderlings in autumn and similar numbers of adults year-round. Species richness was highest in spring and summer. Abiotic factors did not show a strong direct influence on spider diversity changes.
JOURNAL OF ARACHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Daiane Vendramin, Mateus M. Pires, Elvio S. F. Medeiros, Cristina Stenert, Leonardo Maltchik
Summary: The hatching patterns of zooplankton dormant stages in intermittent wetlands of the Brazilian tropical semiarid showed marked short-term dynamics after hydration cues. Hatchling abundance and richness peaked on the third and fourth weeks, while the composition varied weekly over the hydration period. Different taxa predominated in different phases, with large Branchiopoda and Moina sp. dominating in the early phase and most taxa of Ostracoda, Rotifera, and Cladocera dominating in the middle-to-late phase.
JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Jordan Tuparai Talhaferro, Mateus Marques Pires, Cristina Stenert, Leonardo Maltchik, Alessandra Angelica de Padua Bueno, Carla Bender Kotzian
Summary: This study investigated the diversity and distribution of Hyalella species in subtropical temporary wetlands in the southern Brazilian Coastal Plain. Six species were recorded, including three new species. The study found that the hydrographic region is an important driver of the geographic distribution of the species. The study also expanded the distribution ranges of several species and provided a taxonomic key for Hyalella species in southern Brazil.
STUDIES ON NEOTROPICAL FAUNA AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Soraya Ribeiro, Leonardo F. B. Moreira, Gerhard E. Overbeck, Leonardo Maltchik
Summary: The study reveals that most Pampa protected areas are subject to both internal and external human pressures. Human land uses are prevalent in both the protected areas and buffer zones, posing challenges to the biodiversity and natural attributes of the Pampa region.
JOURNAL OF LAND USE SCIENCE
(2021)
