Distribution Of Taxa Research Articles

Mitochondrial and nuclear multilocus phylogeny of Rhipicephalus ticks from Kenya

The morphological diversity of African ticks of the genus Rhipicephalus and subgenus Boophilus have been studied in detail. However, their taxonomy remains poorly resolved with limited molecular studies performed to improve inter-species discrimination. Herein, ribosomal cytochrome c oxidase I (COI), 12S ribosomal DNA (12S rDNA) and nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcriber spacer 2 (ITS2) were analyzed in Rhipicephalus tick populations in Kenya. While the morphological and molecular criteria separated R. e. evertsi, R. pulchellus and R. appendiculatus from other members of the genus, except the morphologically similar sibling species R. zambeziensis, this was not the case for other tick populations. COI sequences of Rhipicephalus ticks from Ruma National Park (RNP) in Southwestern Kenya, that were morphologically similar to R. praetextatus/R. simus, a formed distinct clade and barcode gap group. 12S rDNA haplotypes of this population were 99% identical to a GenBank accession of R. muhsamae which is thought to be endemic in West and Central Africa. However, the ITS2 locus indicated that the RNP samples were genetically closest to ticks identified morphologically as R. praetextatus. The COI and 12S rDNA haplotype sequences of R. praetextatus clustered closely with R. simus reference sequences though the two species occurred in distinct barcode gap groups. Our results suggest that the R. simus/R. praetextatus/R. muhsamae comprise a closely related tick species complex found across sub-Saharan Africa and includes the yet to be described RNP population. More studies on the biology, ecology and genomics of all life stages of tick species in the complex may clarify their taxonomic status. A continent-wide study that combines morphology, DNA marker sequencing and emerging methods, such as mass spectrometry and whole-genome resequencing may reveal the diversity and distribution of taxa within the genus Rhipicephalus in sub-Saharan Africa.

Evolutionary inferences about the genus Abax (Coleoptera, Carabidae: Pterostichini) based on molecular data and geographic distribution of taxa.

A molecular analysis of the genus Abax (Pterostichidae) has been carried out based on the sequencing of a mitochondrial cox gene fragment and the nuclear its-2 or 28S genes. The three subgenera which are included within Abax on morphological grounds, namely Abacopercus, Abax s. str. and Pterostichoabax were partially supported. Abacopercus is a monotypic subgenus including A. schueppeli and is sister to the other species of the genus. Pterostichoabax is sister to a clade made up by species of the ‘parallelus’ group (parallelus, carinatus, baenningeri, pilleri, oblongus, and continuus), which are currently members of the subgenus Abax. The other species of this subgenus (parallelepipedus, fiorii, ovalis and pyrenaeus) make up a separate clade, what renders the subgenus Abax as polyphyletic. The geographic framework of these results suggests that the ancestors of Abax appeared in the Carpathian area, where they gave rise to A. schueppeli. Successive cladogenetic events and expansion from the Carpathians to the Alps and the Pyrenees may have originated two main lineages, Abax sensu stricto and Pterostichoabax plus the ‘parallelus’ group. All these lineages have originated a number of species in temperate forests mostly concentrated in the southern axis of Eastern and Central Alps, but all the Pterostichoabax species and two taxa of the parallelus group shifted its habitat into the alpine grass mats above the treeline during one or more ice age times.

On the Influence of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem Habitats on Peracarid Crustacean Assemblages in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation Regulatory Area

Vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) are considered hotspots of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the deep sea, but are also characterised by a high vulnerability to disturbance and a low recovery potential. Since 2006, a series of United Nations General Assembly resolutions have been developed, attempting to ensure the protection of VMEs in international waters. In the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (NAFO) Regulatory Area, large areas of seabed have been closed to bottom-contact fishing to protect VMEs. However, knowledge of the influence of VME-indicator taxa on macrofaunal assemblages, and the appropriateness of current fishery closures for protecting macrofaunal biodiversity in this area is limited. Here we investigate relationships between the prevalence of VME-indicator taxa (poriferans [sponges], gorgonian corals and pennatulaceans [sea pens]) and an extensive suite of peracarid crustacean biodiversity metrics in the NAFO Regulatory Area. We also examine whether the current NAFO VME closures protect areas of significantly elevated peracarid diversity. Of the VME-indicator taxa analysed, poriferans were found to have by far the greatest influence over peracarid assemblages. Assemblage structure was altered, and peracarid abundance, biomass, richness, diversity, and variability were enhanced in areas of elevated poriferan biomass, whilst assemblage evenness was slightly depressed in these areas. These findings reaffirm the perception of poriferans as crucial components of VMEs. In contrast, gorgonian coral density had little influence over the faunal assemblages investigated, perhaps reflecting their relatively low prevalence in the study area. Similarly, pennatulaceans were found to influence peracarid assemblages only weakly. This too may reflect a moderately low density of Pennatulacea in the study area. Our results highlight that the application of taxon distribution model outputs to ecological investigations and management decisions in data-limited environments should be treated with caution. Finally, our results indicate that the current system of fishery closures in the NAFO Regulatory Area may not be optimal in terms of providing adequate protection to VMEs against the impacts of bottom trawling.

Hidden areas of endemism: Small units in the South-eastern Neotropics

This study aimed to establish if the Lower Río de la Plata Basin (LRPB) wetlands can be considered a biogeographic unit. The species of this area were compiled and segregated according to the habitat, selecting only 87 endemic taxa restricted to the LRPB and linked to wetlands. Distributional data of species obtained from the literature, web databases, biological collections, and field trips were georeferenced. The areas of endemism were established as those areas where the distribution of two or more taxa overlaps in groups of rivers’ sections with geographic continuity and were tested with a cluster analysis. This congruence is due to ecological, geomorphological, and historical factors. Four areas of endemism were found: a broad area that comprises the whole study area (Riverine district), which is divided into three nested smaller areas (Paraguay–Paraná Flooding Valleys, Uruguay Basin, and Paraná Delta subdistricts). Then, we analysed 170 taxa distributions to evaluate the relationship between the study area and the neighbouring biogeographic units. According to the results, the study area belongs to the Paraná biogeographic province. Some areas of endemism are hidden inside broader areas and are hardly detected with the currently used biogeographic grid-methods. We propose to combine the information about ecological requirements of each taxon with its georeferenced records to estimate their areas of distribution as a primary step for searching areas of endemism in intracontinental studies.

The intertidal gastropods (Gastropoda: Mollusca) diversity and taxa distribution in Alas Purwo National Park, East Java, Indonesia

Abstract. Susintowati, Puniawati N, Poedjirahajoe, Handayani NSN, Hadisusanto S. 2019. The intertidal gastropods (Gastropoda: Mollusca) diversity and taxa distribution in Alas Purwo National Park, East Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 2016-2027. Gastropods play an essential role in the ecosystem and can be used as bioindicators of environmental pollution. Understanding of their behavior, habitat, and distribution, and how these factors evolve, is crucial. This paper aimed to describe the diversity of the gastropod community and their spatial taxa distribution, based on the specimen frequency across all observed samples, in the diverse environment of Alas Purwo National Park (APNP), East Java, Indonesia. We studied eight beaches and two mangroves areas, and the study areas of the intertidal zone divided into upper, middle, and lower zones towards the sea. The purposive sampling was used to determine the locations and multi-plot quadrats for observations. The diversity of gastropods was elucidated by using the Shannon and Simpson indexes, while the Morisita index was applied for analyzing their spatial distribution pattern. However, the correspondence analysis and principal component analysis were performed using the software of PAST 3.22 for describing the diversity profile and individual rarefaction of gastropods together with environmental quality. There were three beach types: rocky, sandy, and muddy beaches were found in APNP. The highest diversity index (H’) was found on Pancur beach: H’ = 3.271, D = 0.947 of 67 species. The spatial distribution pattern of gastropods species was weakly clumped to random, with Ip: 0.165 - 0.016. Gastropods, both predators and scavengers, were distributed from the upper to lower zones. The distribution of gastropods in APNP is mostly in type B. These results expand our knowledge of gastropods diversity and distribution of Indonesia’s beach and can contribute to the future environmental assessments of biodiversity of tropical intertidal zones worldwide.

Defoliation management and grass growth habits modulated the soil microbial community of turfgrass systems.

Grass species selection and regular mowing are essential for maintaining aesthetic and environmentally sound turfgrass systems. However, their impacts on the soil microbial community, the driving force for soil N cycle and thus the environmental fate of N, are largely unknown. Here, the high throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was used to evaluate how long-term defoliation management and grass growth habits (propagation types and photosynthetic pathways) modulated the soil microbial community. The investigation included three cool-season C3 grasses (creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and tall fescue) and three warm-season C4 grasses (bermudagrass, St. Augustinegrass, and zoysiagrass). Creeping bentgrass and bermudagrass were managed as putting greens with a lower mowing height; tall fescue spread in a tussock manner via tiller production whereas other grasses propagated in a creeping manner via rhizomes and/or stolons. Ordination analysis showed that both bacterial and fungal communities were primarily separated between putting green and non-putting green systems; and so were N-cycle gene relative abundances, with the putting greens being greater in N mineralization but lower in nitrification. Compared to warm-season grasses, cool-season grasses slightly and yet significantly enhanced the relative abundances of Chloroflexi, Verrucomicrobia, and Glomeromycota. Tall fescue yielded significantly greater bacterial and fungal richness than non-tussock grasses. As the main explanatory soil property, pH only contributed to < 18% of community compositional variations among turfgrass systems. Our results indicate that defoliation management was the main factor in shaping the soil microbial community and grass growth habits was secondary in modulating microbial taxon distribution.

SPECIES: Supporting big-data-driven research

SPECIES (Stephens et al. 2019) is a tool to explore spatial correlations in biodiversity occurrence databases. The main idea behind the SPECIES project is that the geographical correlations between the distributions of taxa records have useful information. The problem, however, is that if we have thousands of species (Mexico's National System of Biodiversity Information has records of around 70,000 species) then we have millions of potential associations, and exploring them is far from easy. Our goal with SPECIES is to facilitate the discovery and application of meaningful relations hiding in our data. The main variables in SPECIES are the geographical distributions of species occurrence records. Other types of variables, like the climatic variables from WorldClim (Hijmans et al. 2005), are explanatory data that serve for modeling. The system offers two modes of analysis. In one, the user defines a target species, and a selection of species and abiotic variables; then the system computes the spatial correlations between the target species and each of the other species and abiotic variables. The request from the user can be as small as comparing one species to another, or as large as comparing one species to all the species in the database. A user may wonder, for example, which species are usual neighbors of the jaguar, this mode could help answer this question. The second mode of analysis gives a network perspective, in it, the user defines two groups of taxa (and/or environmental variables), the output in this case is a correlation network where the weight of a link between two nodes represents the spatial correlation between the variables that the nodes represent. For example, one group of taxa could be hummingbirds (Trochilidae family) and the second flowers of the Lamiaceae family. This output would help the user analyze which pairs of hummingbird and flower are highly correlated in the database. SPECIES data architecture is optimized to support fast hypotheses prototyping and testing with the analysis of thousands of biotic and abiotic variables. It has a visualization web interface that presents descriptive results to the user at different levels of detail. The methodology in SPECIES is relatively simple, it partitions the geographical space with a regular grid and treats a species occurrence distribution as a present/not present boolean variable over the cells. Given two species (or one species and one abiotic variable) it measures if the number of co-occurrences between the two is more (or less) than expected. If it is more than expected indicates a signal of a positive relation, whereas if it is less it would be evidence of disjoint distributions. SPECIES provides an open web application programming interface (API) to request the computation of correlations and statistical dependencies between variables in the database. Users can create applications that consume this 'statistical web service' or use it directly to further analyze the results in frameworks like R or Python. The project includes an interactive web application that does exactly that: requests analysis from the web service and lets the user experiment and visually explore the results. We believe this approach can be used on one side to augment the services provided from data repositories; and on the other side, facilitate the creation of specialized applications that are clients of these services. This scheme supports big-data-driven research for a wide range of backgrounds because end users do not need to have the technical know-how nor the infrastructure to handle large databases. Currently, SPECIES hosts: all records from Mexico's National Biodiversity Information System (CONABIO 2018) and a subset of Global Biodiversity Information Facility data that covers the contiguous USA (GBIF.org 2018b) and Colombia (GBIF.org 2018a). It also includes discretizations of environmental variables from WorldClim, from the Environmental Rasters for Ecological Modeling project (Title and Bemmels 2018), from CliMond (Kriticos et al. 2012), and topographic variables (USGS EROS Center 1997b, USGS EROS Center 1997a). The long term plan, however, is to incrementally include more data, specially all data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The code of the project is open source, and the repositories are available online (Front-end, Web Services Application Programming Interface, Database Building scripts). This presentation is a demonstration of SPECIES' functionality and its overall design.

Historical population decline and habitat loss in a critically endangered species, the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis)

Habitat loss and degradation are among the leading causes of local extinctions, so it is crucially important to preserve and restore the remaining critical habitat increasingly critical to conserve biodiversity. However, mechanisms driving species extinction often begin with habitat loss and seldom are well understood, which is greatly limits our ability to mitigate their impacts. The Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis) is a critically endangered crocodilian, which is narrowly distributed in very small six regions of Anhui province, China. In the present study, we used 9 nuclear microsatellite loci genotyped across the taxon's distribution area to investigate genetic variation and population demography in A. sinensis. The Chinese Alligator showed unusually low levels of genetic diversity (Na, 5.44; Ne, 1.97; He, 0.47) based on 793 individuals. Msvar analyses found recent signals of population decline reflecting a bottleneck (an approximately 9-fold decrease) about 25,000 years ago. Ecological niche modelling indicated that the habitat area has declined (about 8–15 fold) for A. sinensis when compared with that under different historical climatic conditions. Our results indicated that population decline and habitat loss in critically endangered Chinese Alligators may have acted as intrinsic and extrinsic factors that have impacted the current status of A. sinensis. In addition, these two unfavorable factors may have also directly contributed to a reduction in the genetic diversity of A. sinensis.

Statistical Modeling of Distribution Patterns: A Markov Random Field Implementation and Its Application on Areas of Endemism.

A statistical framework to infer areas of endemism from geographic distributions is proposed. This novel method is based on hidden Markov random fields (HMRFs), a type of undirected graph model commonly used in computer vision. This framework assumes areas of endemism are the states of the hidden layer of the model, whereas taxon distributions are emitted values in the observed layer. Taxon distributions are associated to the observed layer through a clustering procedure based on the extent of overlap. Observations are emitted by the hidden layer according to a Gaussian distribution, whereas the joint distribution of the hidden layer follows a Potts model. State and parameter inference of the maximum a posteriori configuration is performed through a modified version of the expectation-maximization algorithm. The optimal number of areas of endemism in the data set is estimated through the pseudolikelihood information criterion, a model selection procedure that uses an approximation to likelihood. The performance of the new algorithm was assessed on simulated data, and compared with the most popular methods for delimitation of areas of endemism: biotic element analysis, parsimony analysis of endemism, and endemicity analysis. HMRFs efficiently recovered the true pattern across a wide range of uncertainty values. The performance was also examined on empirical data: South African weevils (Sciobius) and Central American ground beetles and funnel-web tarantulas (Carabidae and Dipluridae, respectively). HMRFs uncovered six areas of endemism from the weevil data set, whereas eight were estimated for the Central American arthropods (compared with 3-5 and 3-14 from the other methods, respectively).

Finding the needle in the haystack: iterative sampling and modeling for rare taxa

Much like finding a needle in a haystack, the effort required to detect a rare and endangered species increases inversely with limited taxa distribution. The infrequency of detections combined with limited fiscal resources often leaves scientists with knowledge gaps about the ecological niche and habitat requirements necessary for conserving rare species. The Arsapnia arapahoe snowfly (A. arapahoe), was thought to be a rare and cryptic aquatic invertebrate for which only 13 individuals from two locations were known to exist in Colorado. In response to potential listing by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a threatened species, we sought to implement an improved sampling protocol and tested an iterative predictive modeling approach. Species distribution models successively employed annual presence data collected from 2015 to 2017 and detections improved. Although now understood to be a hybrid taxa, the model predicted the locations of seven additional localities while concurrently narrowing the search area and expanding the known geographic range of A. arapahoe. Given our results, we recommend an iterative species distribution modeling and sampling strategy to refine search areas and improve detection rates for rare and endangered species.

Do phytogeographic patterns reveal biomes or biotic regions?

We present the largest comparative biogeographical analysis that has complete coverage of Australia's geography (20 phytogeographical subregions), using the most complete published molecular phylogenies to date of large Australian plant clades (Acacia, Banksia and the eucalypts). Two distinct sets of areas within the Australian flora were recovered, using distributional data from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) and the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA): younger Temperate, Eremaean and Monsoonal biomes, and older southwest+west, southeast and northern historical biogeographical regions. The analyses showed that by partitioning the data into two sets, using either a Majority or a Frequency method to select taxon distributions, two equally valid results were found. The dataset that used a Frequency method discovered general area cladograms that resolved patterns of the Australian biomes, whereas if widespread taxa (Majority method, with >50% of occurrences outside a single subregion) were removed the analysis then recovered historical biogeographical regions. The study highlights the need for caution when processing taxon distributions prior to analysis as, in the case of the history of Australian phytogeography, the validity of both biomes and historical areas have been called into question.

Ontogeny and variation of a protoceratopsid dinosaur Bagaceratops rozhdestvenskyi from the Late Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert

ABSTRACT Bagaceratops rozhdestvenskyi is a ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of the Gobi Desert, closely related to Protoceratops spp. Several Bag. rozhdestvenskyi skulls demonstrate a wide range of variation in their morphology and size. Here I argue that the observed variability is most likely of intraspecific nature. Specimens classified in a few allegedly distinct species from the same or near-contemporary sediments, namely Gobiceratops minutus, Lamaceratops tereschenkoi and Platyceratops tatarinovi from Baruungoyot Formation, and Magnirostris dodsoni from Bayan Mandahu, are younger subjective synonyms of Bag. rozhdestvenskyi. They plausibly represent an ontogenetic series within the latter. Breviceratops kozlowskiiis a distinct taxon. The evolutionary relationships within Protoceratopsidae are complicated by the mosaic distribution of plesiomorphic and derived features in distinct species. I suggest that taxa distribution and observed changes in morphology are an evidence for the ancestral position of Protoceratops andrewsi among protoceratopsids. It implies possible temporary separation between the geological formations of the Gobi Desert yielding distinct protoceratopsid species. The novel evolutionary scenario suggests number of convergences that occurred in Protoceratopsidae and Ceratopsoidea (reduction of the premaxillary dentition, fusion of nasals, development of the accessory antorbital fenestra). Present study reveals the significance of the intraspecific and ontogenetic variation in the study of the neoceratopsian taxonomy.

Hydroperiod and species-sorting influence metacommunity composition of crustaceans in temporary rock pools in India

ABSTRACTMost studies on crustacean metacommunity ecology do not consider constituent higher-level taxa separately, despite ecological differences among them. This oversight, coupled with the fact that observed patterns can vary in different regions, prompted our study in the megadiverse, yet understudied, Western Ghats region in India. We studied temporary rock pools on a lateritic outcrop to identify factors influencing species richness, metacommunity structure, and spatial patterns of constituent crustacean groups. We used Spearman’s correlation, ordination-based methods, partial Mantel tests, distance-decay patterns, and β-diversity partitioning to analyse the influence of spatial and ecological factors on distribution of taxa and community composition. Overall crustacean species richness was strongly influenced by hydroperiod; some influence of other parameters such as maximum surface area and depth on species richness of individual taxa was also observed. Hydroperiod had the strongest influence on the community composition, and community dissimilarity increased with environmental and interpool distance. High turnover among the communities and significant influence of environmental factors indicated species-sorting processes were structuring the crustacean metacommunity. The communities of copepods and cladocerans showed higher nestedness while those of ostracods and large branchiopods showed higher turnover. We discuss the metacommunity structure observed at a small spatial scale in relation to the ecology of constituent crustacean groups, habitat, and landscape features.

Macrofungal diversity in an isolated and fragmented Mediterranean Forest ecosystem

Agricultural transformation has led to scarcity and fragmentation of Mediterranean forests with unknown effects on the fungal diversity they harbour. La Orbada forest is an isolated holm-oak forest in the province of Salamanca, in western Iberian Peninsula. This forest is threatened by various factors, mainly: habitat fragmentation, the possible barrier effects caused by geographical isolation and pressure from humans and livestock. In order to assess the state of conservation of the ecosystem’s macrofungal community and its ecological integrity, the fruitbodies of epigeous macromycetes were studied over a five-year time series (2009–2013). One hundred and eighty-nine species were identified, dominating Basidiomycetes (Tricholomataceae, Cortinariaceae and Russulaceae families). We also analysed: (i) the seasonal and annual behaviour of each species, ii) distribution of taxa according to their mode of nutrition, iii) the similarity of biodiversity between various plots inside the forest and with other ecosystems dominated by Quercus species. The data obtained indicate a greater fungal diversity than in other Mediterranean ecosystems and a good degree of conservation, with no signs of barrier or forest edge effects. One plot has been identified as a macrofungal biodiversity hotspot. The main factors threatening the area have been analysed and conservation measures proposed.

Water quality parameters and aquatic insect diversity in Aahoo stream, southwestern Nigeria

BackgroundThe role of water in the maintenance of an aquatic ecosystem is indispensable. In this study, aquatic insect biodiversity and the physico-chemical parameters of Aahoo stream, in southwestern Nigeria, were investigated from March to August 2017. Seven physico-chemical parameters were examined in six study sites.ResultsThere were significant effects (p < 0.0001) of flow rate (F5, 12 = 2221.9), electrical conductivity (F5, 12 = 276.3), air temperature (F5, 12 = 110.3), water temperature (F5, 12 = 55.5) and pH (F5, 12 = 31.45) on the quantity of aquatic insects at the study sites in Aahoo stream. Dissolved oxygen (F2, 12 = 7.82) also had a significant impact (p = 0.002) on the quantity of aquatic insects at the stream. Three aquatic insect orders, Diptera (most dominant), Odonata (median dominant) and Hemiptera (least dominant)], nine families and 12 genera were found occurring in the stream. Chironomus sp. (Chronomidae, 55.29%), Brachithemis sp. and Orthetrum sp. (Libellulidae, 21.84%) which are usually associated with polluted water showed the highest occurrence in the stream. Low values of diversity indices were observed across the six study sites, which suggest that the six sites were in unstable conditions. Site 5 has the richest (Simpson 1-D 0.77, Shannon H 1.81, Margalef 1.91) and best taxa distribution (Equitability J: 0.73), while site 3 was the poorest (Simpson 1-D 0.52 and Shannon H 1.31) and the least in taxa distribution (Equitability J 0.55).ConclusionThis study has provided information on the assemblage and copiousness of various aquatic insects as well as the physico-chemical parameters of Aahoo stream. It could therefore be concluded that the stream could be somewhat polluted and unsafe for human consumption without being properly treated.

Exploring environmental predictors of aquatic macrophytes in water‐dependent Natura 2000 sites of high conservation value: Results from a long‐term study of macrophytes in Greek lakes

Abstract Aquatic macrophytes play a key role in lake dynamics, but human activities and eutrophication have resulted in macrophyte loss in many lakes throughout Europe. In this study, the relationships between aquatic macrophytes and gradients of environmental factors were explored using an extensive set of data collected from 13 lakes of the Greek mainland that are part of the European network Natura 2000. The main objectives were to assess the importance of key abiotic predictors and estimate possible environmental thresholds of macrophyte richness, diversity, and abundance using boosted regression trees (BRTs), as well as to explore further the distribution of dominant macrophyte taxa along environmental gradients. The results reveal conductivity as a significant predictor of macrophyte total cover and diversity. In addition, orthophosphate and nitrate nitrogen appear to play an important role for several macrophyte species and assemblages, reflecting a major effect of eutrophication on the distribution of taxa. The majority of macrophyte assemblages were found in waters characterized by high nutrient content, although their distribution extends along a wide range of phosphorus and nitrogen concentration. In contrast, charophyte species show the optimum of their distribution in clear, oligotrophic waters. This integrated study can be used for ranking environmental factors that influence macrophyte distribution in the lakes of Greece and for identifying taxa or macrophyte assemblages that can be used as effective indicators of changes in the abiotic environment. In addition, the results can contribute to the conservation of freshwater habitats in the protected areas studied. In particular, measures that aim to improve water quality are expected also to restore oligotrophic habitats that are characterized by benthic charophyte vegetation. Overall, the links between macrophyte assemblages and abiotic factors are critically important in improving freshwater biodiversity management and environmental policies in east Mediterranean lakes.

Insights on data collection for soil microbial diversity analyses

Soil bacterial communities have long been recognized as important ecosystem components, and have been the focus of many local and regional studies. However, there is a lack of data at large spatial scales, on the biodiversity of soil microorganisms; national or more extensive studies to date have typically consisted of low replication of haphazardly collected samples. This has led to large spatial gaps in soil microbial biodiversity data. Using a pre-existing dataset of bacterial community composition across a 16-km regular sampling grid in France, we show that the number of detected OTUs changes little under different sampling designs (grid, random, or representative), but increases with the number of samples collected. All common OTUs present in the full dataset were detected when analyzing just 4 % of the samples, yet the number of rare OTUs increased exponentially with sampling effort. We show that far more intensive sampling, across all global biomes, is required to detect the biodiversity of soil microorganisms. We propose avenues such as citizen science to ensure these large sample datasets can be more realistically achieved. Furthermore, we argue that taking advantage of pre-existing resources and programs, utilizing current technologies efficiently and considering the potential of future technologies will ensure better outcomes from large and extensive sample surveys. Overall, decreasing the spatial gaps in global soil microbial diversity data will increase our understanding on what governs the distribution of soil taxa, and how these distributions, and therefore their ecosystem contributions, will continue to change into the future.

Floristic Diversity of the Natural Forests of Dimbokro Region, Centre-Eastern Côte d’Ivoire

This study, carried out in three types of forest types (reserve, riparian and of plateaus) in a savannah and forest mosaic region of Cote d’Ivoire, aims to arise up the floristical characteristics of these natural forests. Trees and lianas with DBH≥10 cm were sampled into 30 plots of 50mx20m per forest type and named botanically. The floristic diversity and taxa distribution were analyzed using various coefficients and a Factorial Correspondence Analysis respectively. We found 89 species belonging to 77 genera and 36 families. The most abundant taxa were Verbenaceae family (43%), LeguminosaeCaesalpinioideae subfamily (19%), Leguminosae-Mimosoideae subfamily (6%), Malvaceae family (6%), Sapotaceae family (6%), Moraceae family (4%) and Leguminosae-Papilionoideae subfamily (3%). Both riparian forests and forests of plateaus showed higher species richness and diversity and were similar for these parameters. Average species richness varied from 5 in forest reserve to 9 in both riparian forests and forests of plateaus respectively. Shannon-Weaner’s diversity index was set between 0.832 in the forest reserves and 1.723 in the riparian forests while the equitability index of Pielou varied from 0.516 in the forest reserves to 0.789 in the riparian forests. The forest reserves and of plateaus showed similar spatial distribution of the woody plants with DBH ≥ 10 cm.

The influence of the Gondwanan breakup on the biogeographic history of the ziziphoids (Rhamnaceae)

AbstractAimWe investigated whether the fossil‐rich and cosmopolitan buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae, dating back to the Cretaceous) was influenced by vicariance events following the Gondwanan breakup. To answer this question, we focused on the ziziphoid lineage of the buckthorn family, because extant ziziphoid taxa comprise tribes and genera exclusively or at least predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, Africa, and South America).LocationWorld‐wide.MethodsWe generated a DNA alignment of 26,989 bp (from plastid, mitochondrial, and nuclear genomes), comprising 575 taxa of Rhamnaceae and related families, including all major lineages within Rhamnaceae and closely related families. We used nine internal fossils to set constraints in our molecular dating analyses. We used ‘BioGeoBEARS’ in R to reconstruct ancestral areas in order to infer the impact of vicariance events on the ziziphoids caused by Gondwanan fragmentation.ResultsOur biogeographic analyses illustrate that the ziziphoid lineage was influenced by both long‐distance dispersal and Gondwanan breakup vicariance events. Yet, these vicariance events cannot explain all divergence events at the backbone of this lineage.Main conclusionsOur study highlights that a taxon's distribution throughout the Northern Hemisphere can be the result of vicariance, but this process may be obliterated by more recent long‐distance dispersal (LDD). Our study also highlights that sufficiently old taxa may sometimes constitute better models to investigate the impact of Gondwanan‐driven vicariance than taxa with a current disjunct distribution in the Southern Hemisphere.

English

Detecting and understanding patterns in the distribution of taxa is a fundamental element in implementing biodiversity conservation. Regarding fungi, understanding how functional diversity varies with forest types helps to define their niche and allows predicting the impact of forest degradation on communities of macrofungi. It also allows better understanding of the way in which they realize their ecological function and nourishment purpose. This study aimed to assess the species richness and functional diversity of macrofungi within rainforests from Yangambi Biosphere reserve and Yoko reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Results from this study show significant differences in number of macrofungi species between forest stand types (p-value<0.001). Based on all macrofungi functional groups, the most species-rich forest stand was the Gilbertiodendron dewevrei. Of the five reported functional groups (saprotrophic fungi, ectomycorrhizal fungi, insect parasitic fungi, plant parasitic fungi and termites’ symbiotic fungi), the saprotrophic fungi were the most abundant trophic group represented 210 species of a total of 341 fungal taxa. The results revealed also that woody decaying and terrestrial saprotrophic are mainly characteristic of mixed forests while the occurrence of ectomycorrhizal taxa depends on the presence of ectomycorrhizal trees. In addition, strong relation has been demonstrated between fungal composition and the composition in vascular plants. Each forest stand type is characterized by specific floristic composition which has a corresponding and fairly predictable mycological composition. The study gave evidence that species richness and functional diversity of macrofungi are strongly influenced by vascular plants composition. The various reported functional groups differently intervene in nutrients cycling, and then play key role in forests functioning. Key words: Species richness, functional diversity, macrofungi, rainforests, DR Congo.