Article
Ecology
Carlo Ricotta, Sandrine Pavoine
Summary: Community ecologists often find Euclidean distance inappropriate for studying the multivariate structure of species abundance data due to the counterintuitive result it may produce. To address this issue, normalization of species abundances is necessary. The Bray-Curtis dissimilarity is the most commonly used measure among ecologists for analyzing assemblage data, as it normalizes the species-wise differences between two plots by the total species abundance in both plots. This study proposes a parametric dissimilarity measure that is suitable for handling community composition data, and shows how it can be extended to measure functional dissimilarity between plots.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Lu Wang, Jiaxu Li, Lin Tan, Bo -Ping Han
Summary: Functional redundancy is important for ecological insurance, and it is influenced by environmental disturbance and interspecific competition. In this study, we investigated the functional alpha and beta redundancies of macroinvertebrates in a (sub)tropical river under wet and dry seasons. Our results showed that functional alpha redundancy decreased significantly under high hydrological disturbance, while there were no significant seasonal changes in functional beta redundancy.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tadeusz Malewski, Piotr Borowik, Ireneusz Olejarski, Artur Rutkiewicz, Adam Okorski, Tomasz Oszako
Summary: This study investigated the effect of adding organic material on soil mycobiome in post-agricultural land. The results showed that the addition of bark compost, wood waste, and sawdust altered the composition and diversity of soil fungi, promoting symbiotic relationships between pine roots and fungi, and improving soil biodiversity for sustainable afforestation.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sandrine Pavoine, Carlo Ricotta
Summary: Functional traits determine species' responses to environmental change and/or determine species' effects on ecosystem functions. To include functional distinctiveness as a criterion in conservation strategies, we need formal quantification of species' degree of distinctiveness while incorporating extinction risk. Our framework is particularly relevant at the local scale, where species extinctions impact ecosystem functioning and where conservation policies are developed.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Zoology
S. Hardersen, G. La Porta
Summary: The paper investigates the effect of undersampling on the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index and proposes a solution using dummy species. Through simulation, it is found that undersampling leads to underestimation of assemblage similarities, but the addition of dummy species can mitigate this issue and increase accuracy.
EUROPEAN ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Carlo Ricotta, Laszlo Szeidl, Sandrine Pavoine
Summary: The concept of generalized means has been identified as an effective tool in unifying the parameterized diversity and dissimilarity measures, including various diversity coefficients and dissimilarity coefficients.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yi Zou, Jan Christoph Axmacher
Summary: In this study, a new method (TESS) was introduced to estimate the true number of species shared between two incompletely sampled communities, showing high accuracy and precision in simulated sampling and empirical data scenarios.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Lotanna M. Nneji, Josue A. R. Azevedo, Oyetola O. Oyebanji, Liang Ma, Paul R. Elsen, Segun O. Oladipo, Gabriel Salako, Robert Puschendorf, Robert M. Pringle
Summary: The African Guineo-Congolian (GC) region is a biodiversity hotspot with high species endemism. Turnover in endemic amphibians in this region is primarily influenced by geographic distance between grid cells and secondarily by rainfall and temperature variables.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Juan Lu, Haoning Wang, Chunmei Wang, Min Zhao, Rong Hou, Quan Shen, Shixing Yang, Likai Ji, Yuwei Liu, Xiaochun Wang, Songrui Liu, Tongling Shan, Wen Zhang
Summary: This study analyzed the gut phageome of giant pandas and compared it with other relevant species. The results showed that giant pandas possess a more diverse and abundant gut phageome. Phylogenetic analysis revealed highly genetic diversity of Caudovirales phages in giant pandas. This research contributes to the understanding of phage diversity and lays the foundation for molecular evolution studies of bacteriophages in mammals.
Article
Ecology
Jochen Fruend
Summary: Comparing variation in species interaction networks across space and time can lead to a better understanding of how species communities respond to global change. It is suggested to partition network dissimilarity into components driven by species turnover and rewiring, using a flexible R function to calculate these components accurately. Studies need to be cautious in choosing methods for analyzing network dissimilarity and interpreting the results, as different methods may overestimate the importance of rewiring in network dynamics.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Matheus Belchior, Frederico Siqueira Neves, Wesley Dattilo, Flavio Camarota
Summary: The beta-diversity of ant-trophobiont interactions increases with geographical distance, mainly due to species turnover. However, interaction rewiring between the same species in different locations is low and not influenced by distance. These findings suggest that low habitat connectivity and limited mobility and dispersal capacities of mutualistic partners contribute to the unique interactions in ant-trophobiont interaction networks across space.
INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Vinicius Londe, Paulo Weslem Portal Gomes, Fernando Roberto Martins
Summary: This study examines the impact of edaphic differences on life zones, vegetation types, beta-diversity, and indicator species in the Caatinga region in northeast Brazil. The results show that soil type plays a secondary role in species distribution compared to climatic variables.
Article
Ecology
Pavel Sebek, Lukas Cizek, David Hauck, Jan Miklin, Ondrej Konvicka, Stepan Vodka, Simon Thorn
Summary: Understanding the processes that structure biological communities along environmental gradients is the main aim of this ecological research. The study examined how differences in species composition (beta-diversity) change along environmental gradients and how these changes vary with species relative abundances. The results showed that community dissimilarities were positively correlated with dissimilarities in major environmental variables, and the response of rare and dominant species had opposite effects on beta-diversity. The study also found significant community dissimilarities when comparing communities in different locations of the environmental gradients.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jack C. Yue, Murray K. Clayton, Chi-Ruei Hung
Summary: This study proposes two Turing-type estimators and two jackknife-type estimators for evaluating the number of shared species in two populations. The jackknife-type estimators provide stable and reliable estimates, and are compared with sample coverage estimates. The study also shows that the jackknife-type estimates, combined with a stopping rule based on the probability of observing new shared species, can provide better coverage probability for the true number of shared species.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Ranjita Thapa, Matthew Edwards, Matthew W. Blair
Summary: This study evaluated the genetic diversity in a collection of cultivated and wild species of Amaranthus using SNP markers, revealing high variability with an average polymorphism information content of 0.365. Population structure analysis identified two sub populations, and phylogeny demonstrated the relationships among the different species.
Article
Forestry
Cecilia Cacciatori, Giovanni Bacaro, Ewa Checko, Jakub Zaremba, Jerzy Szwagrzyk
Summary: This study investigated the impact of wind disturbance on functional diversity, trait values, and species richness of herbaceous species, revealing that the effects of wind disturbance vary across different forest habitat types.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
F. Petruzzellis, E. Tordoni, A. Di Bonaventura, M. Tomasella, S. Natale, F. Panepinto, G. Bacaro, A. Nardini
Summary: The study identified physiological traits such as turgor loss point and vulnerability to xylem embolism that can explain and predict species-specific vulnerability to climate change in urban habitats. It found that tree species with less negative TLP and P-50 values are at higher risk of decline due to climate change in urban settings, highlighting the utility of these indicators for species selection in urban tree plantations to mitigate negative impacts of climate change.
Article
Zoology
Federica Fonda, Giovanni Bacaro, Silvia Battistella, Gianpasquale Chiatante, Stefano Pecorella, Marco Pavanello
Summary: This study provides the first report on European wildcat population density in NE Italy, with an estimated density of 0.35 individuals per km(2) using camera trapping data and spatially explicit capture-recapture models. The research also evaluates the robustness of the sampling design and suggests important considerations for planning future studies, showing that short sampling periods or greater spacing of detectors may lead to inadequate estimates.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Michele Dalle Fratte, Marco Caccianiga, Carlo Ricotta, Bruno E. L. Cerabolini
Summary: This study proposes a protocol for the identification of typical plant species based on functional traits and dark diversity probability, applicable to plant-dominated habitat types. The functional-based method allows for the recognition of more exclusive species, while species with higher dark diversity probability serve as early warning indicators of changes in habitat conditions.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Giacomo Puglielli, Carlos P. Carmona, Laura Varone, Lauri Laanisto, Carlo Ricotta
Summary: In trait-based ecology, it is common to use measures to quantify phenotypic variation between populations. However, these measures overlook the within-population trait variability and some of them cannot be partitioned between populations. This study proposes a new measure called the phenotypic dissimilarity (PhD) index to address these issues and provide a tool for quantifying phenotypic variation within and between species.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Enrico Tordoni, Francesco Petruzzellis, Azzurra Di Bonaventura, Nicola Pavanetto, Martina Tomasella, Andrea Nardini, Francesco Boscutti, Fabrizio Martini, Giovanni Bacaro
Summary: Predicting the consequences of climate change is important to mitigate impacts on vulnerable ecosystems. This study assessed current and future patterns of leaf water potential across different plant species in NE Italy and found that different plant clades respond differently to climate change, which can lead to reassembly of natural communities.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Francesco Liccari, Francesco Boscutti, Giovanni Bacaro, Maurizia Sigura
Summary: This study analyzed the influence of connectivity and landscape structure on plant diversity in an agricultural landscape. It found that high connectivity leads to higher species richness but also increases plant community similarity. The composition of semi-natural land cover showed a positive effect on species diversity, while anthropogenic elements had a negative effect.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Francesco Liccari, Maurizia Sigura, Giovanni Bacaro
Summary: This study investigates the potential of using the Spectral Variation Hypothesis (SVH) to capture plant diversity in a complex landscape. By utilizing two new methodological approaches to estimate alpha and beta spectral diversity and ecosystem spectral heterogeneity, the study analyzes and compares the diversity and heterogeneity of an ecological network in northeast Italy using remotely sensed and field-collected data. The results show that both spectral diversity and heterogeneity can provide reliable information for assessing and monitoring plant diversity, and can effectively identify biodiversity-rich areas and areas at risk of biological invasion.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Emanuele Fanfarillo, Simona Maccherini, Claudia Angiolini, Leopoldo de Simone, Tiberio Fiaschi, Antonella Tassinari, Leonardo Rosati, Giovanni Bacaro
Summary: The changes in agriculture have significantly impacted the diversity of arable plant communities. Factors such as agronomic, climatic, geographic, and landscape features all play a role in determining the characteristics of these communities. Understanding the importance of these drivers is crucial for conservation and restoration efforts.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Carlo Ricotta, Michele Dalle Fratte, Simon Pierce, Marta Carboni, Bruno E. L. Cerabolini, Sandrine Pavoine
Summary: Specialization is the adaptation of a species to specific environmental conditions, while generalist species can thrive in a wide range of habitats and utilize various resources. It is a result of a functional syndrome that involves traits working together to effectively exploit specific resources. In plant ecology, Grime's CSR theory classifies plant adaptive strategies into three principal categories based on easily measurable trait combinations. This paper presents a method that uses inequality measures to summarize the functional specialization of plant species and communities based on Grime's CSR strategies.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
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
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Barbara Sladonja, Ivana Tlak Gajger, Mirela Uzelac, Danijela Poljuha, Clara Garau, Nediljko Landeka, Miroslav Bartak, Giovanni Bacaro
Summary: Our study provides baseline information on Diptera and Vespidae diversity in the Mediterranean mosaic of agroecosystems and summarizes the impact of human activities on insect diversity. Through trapping near beehives, we conducted an inventory of Diptera in Croatia and identified pests and newly introduced species. The results indicate that species richness of Diptera and pests is influenced by human activities. The number of honeybee colonies negatively correlates with species richness, while anthropogenic influence has a positive effect.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Roberto De Carolis, Lucia Muggia, Giovanni Bacaro
Summary: Lichens are a great example of fungal symbiosis, forming long-lived structures called thalli hosting various microorganisms. Among them, microfungi establish diverse trophic relationships with their lichen hosts. Parasitic lichenicolous fungi are the most specialized, and their diversity is still not fully understood as a proxy for lichen species diversity.
Review
Ecology
Denes Schmera, Carlo Ricotta, Janos Podani
Summary: This study reviews relevant literature and provides new definitions for the components of functional diversity, including functional richness, functional divergence, and functional regularity. In addition, a classification method suitable for quantifying these components in binary cases is presented.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
