Endemic Ecosystems Research Articles

Regaining habitats from invasive weeds by planting limited-recruitment endemic trees on an oceanic island: successes and failures 11 years later

The degradation of biodiversity caused by anthropic habitat destruction is a global issue. The recovery of natural habitats from invasive alien weeds in order to conserve endemic ecosystems is especially important on small oceanic islands. Planting of endemic trees may be an effective measure, but a complete restoration process within the island is essential to avoid accidental introduction of invasive aliens. To test planting techniques, we planted two endemic tree species whose regeneration was hindered by alien species on degraded lands on Chichi-jima (Ogasawara Islands) and monitored vegetation changes. During an 11-year period, about half of the Elaeocarpus photiniifolius seedlings survived in gap areas, but all Morus boninensis failed. The E. photiniifolius trees reached a height of 4.7 ± 2.4 m. The restored canopy created a dark environment that greatly reduced the volume of the predominant invasive weeds. These results suggest that E. photiniifolius is suitable for restoration of forests on degraded land and for the suppression of weeds on the island. Low species diversity in the restored forests, however, was a remaining issue to be addressed. Herein we discuss potential improvement measures to facilitate the recovery of species diversity, including other native tree candidates.

Getting turfed: The population and habitat impacts of Lophocladia lallemandii invasions on endemic Posidonia oceanica meadows

We examined the extent and mechanism of impact of the invasive alga Lophocladia lallemandii in two otherwise healthy shallow seagrass meadows (Es Caló de s’Oli and Cala Torreta) in a Marine Natural Reserve on Formentera Island (Balearic Islands, Spain). The algae epiphytically invaded healthy seagrass leaves and rhizomes, and occasionally coalesced to form dense turf patches that trapped dead leaves, sediment and debris. Turf density was 0.21 turfsm−2 and 0.43 turfsm−2, and median individual turf size was 0.14m2 and 0.12m2 at Es Caló de s’Oli and Cala Torreta, respectively. These turfs occupied 3.5–10.9% of the area of sampled meadows. We examined the ramet- and population-level impacts of these turfs on P. oceanica along a gradient of turf size. Under these turfs, annual seagrass shoot mortality was, on average, 2.5 to 5 times higher than turf-free sites, with mortality rates that ranged from 8% per year to 10% per year. Seagrass shoot mortality rates rapidly increased when the biomass of L. lallemandii turf and accumulated debris exceeded 200–300gDWm−2. In addition, the size of P. oceanica shoots, aboveground biomass and rhizome growth significantly decreased with increasing turf area (Least squares regression analyses, p<0.05). Our results indicate that the turf-forming nature of L. lallemandii directly modifies vital demographic parameters of P. oceanica and may have significant consequences for the meadow. L. lallemandii could represent an important yet largely unrecognized threat to the resilience of this endemic ecosystem that is already subject to a plethora of other anthropogenic stresses.

Carbapenem Resistant Acinetobacter Baumanii Versus MRSA Isolates in ICU in Clinical Center Skopje

Backgorund: Acinetobacter baumannii is often referred to as the “Gram-negative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus”, because it is frequently resistant to antibiotics. Clonal outbreaks of carbapenem-resistant and OXA-23–producing A. baumannii have been reported worldwide. Aim: The goal of this study was to promote the phenomenon of disbalance in endemic hospital ECO system which included increase of carbapenemase-resistant Acinetobacter baumanii on account of reduction of MRSA rate in surgical ICU and it’s clonal relatedness as well as the specific precautions. Material nad Methods: Computer database from 1994 – 2012 from surgical ICU patients in the Clinical Center Skopje was used as basic material for this study. Comparative study indicated 2007/8 as a break point period in which almost a twofold decrease of MRSA rates (from over 80% to 45%) versus increased rates of Acinetobacter baumanii (from 29% to 40%) was observed. In 2011 the very first eight strains of carbapenem resistant (resistant to imipenem and meropenem) A. baumannii, were observed. Disc diffusion and VITEK were used for antibiotic susceptibility testing. Resultes: Three distinct strains were detected by PFEGE and were designated as UKIM01AC-1 (5 strains), UKIM01AC-2 (two strains) and 642/2 (one strain). UKIM01AC-1 representatives were PCR positive for bla (OXA-23-like), in addition to the bla (OXA- 51-like) gene which is intrinsic in Acinetobacter baumannii. All isolated strains belonged to European clone II lineage. Conclusion: This clone dispersed very fast in 2012 and achieved the rate of 61.9%. This implicated changes in infection control precautions.

Woody vegetation of a Peruvian tropical dry forest along a climatic gradient depends more on soil than annual precipitation

Tropical dry forests are the most threatened ecosystem in the tropics. Tropical dry forests possess an outstand ing beta diversity, which can live up to rain forests standards, yet they are still vastly understudied. In northern Peru, El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) fundamentally shapes these unique and highly endemic ecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine (i) if a main gradient was detectable in the woody plant composition in this hyperto semi-arid environment; and (ii) to which extent climatic and edaphic variables account for it. Sampling was done on 50 30 x 30 m2 random plots along a humidity gradient. A sodium-soil texture gradient correlated with the first Isomap axis. Potassium and pH, mainly representing precipitation, characterized the second axis. A cluster analysis detected two plant functional groups: a tropical desert formation and a shrub and dry forest formation. Variation partitioning revealed edaphic variables to be more important in structuring vegetation than mean annual rainfall. Extending irrigation in parts of the study area may possibly be beneficial for local residents. However, it will almost certainly trigger the extinction of the last remnants of the highly endemic tropical dry forest formations.

Madagascar Flatidae (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha): state-of-the-art and research challenges

The paper provides a historical review of the research on Flatidae in Madagascar and indicates future prospects. While the first two species of Madagascar Flatidae were described by Guérin-Méneville (1844), it was Signoret (1860) who made the first real attempt to enhance our knowledge of the Hemiptera fauna of Madagascar by describing several additional species. Over the following century and a half, several investigators have turned their attention to this group of insects, with the final number of species recorded for the island reaching 79. Despite this long history of research, it is evident that much still remains to be done. Detailed taxonomic research will allow the natural history of Madagascar and changes in the biological diversity of its endemic ecosystems to be better understood. This paper should be considered as an introduction to a complex study on the systematics and phylogeny of worldwide Flatidae planthoppers.

Biomass and carbon attributes of downed woody materials in forests of the United States

Due to burgeoning interest in the biomass/carbon attributes of forest downed and dead woody materials (DWMs) attributable to its fundamental role in the carbon cycle, stand structure/diversity, bioenergy resources, and fuel loadings, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has conducted a nationwide field-based inventory of DWM. Using the national DWM inventory, attributes (e.g., carbon stock totals and biomass density) were summarized by state and common tree species along with evaluations of residue pile metrics and relationships between DWM and other stand attributes (e.g., live tree biomass, relative density, and climate). Results indicate that DWM are ubiquitous in US forests with individual components (e.g., fine woody debris and piles) varying by region as influenced by endemic ecosystem dynamics and management practices. Eastern forests, particularly in the southeast, have fine woody debris and residue piles biomass densities that often exceed those of west coast forests. Rocky Mountain forests have coarse woody biomass densities approaching those of west coast forests, which have the largest amounts nationally. There is a complex relationship between the standing dead, standing live, and down dead wood biomass densities per unit area in the context of changing stand relative densities and average annual precipitation/minimum temperatures. As evidenced by this initial exploration, a publicly available national dataset comprised of DWM attributes may inform decision makers with objective estimates of DWM resources and facilitate further DWM dynamics research.

El derecho ambiental en la integración regional de Suramérica

Environmental law has two main features: the regulation and control of the activities of raw material extraction and conservation of endemic ecosystems and special care. The harmonization of national environmental rights becomes an urgent task in the context of regional integration processes experienced by South America, as the ecosystems in the territory are of great importance and are vulnerable according to the type of development that poses. Currently, the Environmental Law is a subject that has not been intensively discussed between countries, but at international summits, countries have established this subject as a focus of global concern. Therefore, it is essential that this issue is placed on the political agenda to define what are the environmental guidelines in the context of regional integration in South America. This document provides the reader an approach to some of the challenges and difficulties faced by countries, when dealing in the South American political agenda, the issue of harmonization of environmental regulatory frameworks.

The commercial red seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii—an overview on farming and environment

Commercial cultivation of the red alga Kappaphycus alvarezii (Doty) Doty has been satisfying the demand of the carrageenan industry for more than 40 years. For the past four decades, this species has been globally introduced to many maritime countries for experimental and commercial cultivation as a sustainable alternate livelihood for coastal villagers. Accompanying the introduction is an increasing concern over the species effects on the biodiversity of endemic ecosystems. The introductions of non-endemic cultivars have resulted in the adaptation of quarantine procedures to minimize bioinvasions of additional invasive species. The present review focuses on Kappaphycus farming techniques through the application of biotechnological tools, ecological interactions with endemic ecosystems, future K. alvarezii farming potentials in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, and the challenges for prospective farmers, i.e., low raw material market value, diseases, grazing, etc. The introduction of Kappaphycus cultivation to tropical countries will continue due to the high production values realized, coastal villages searching for alternative livelihoods, and the increased global industrial demand for carrageenan.

Epidemiological Patterns of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Worldwide

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) is a clinical syndrome in animals due to FMD virus that exists in seven serotypes, whereby recovery from one sero-type does not confer immunity against the other six. So when considering intervention strategies in endemic settings, it is important to take account of the characteristics of the different serotypes in different ecological systems. FMD serotypes are not uniformly distributed in the regions of the world where the disease still occurs. For example, the cumulative incidence of FMD serotypes show that six of the seven serotypes of FMD (O, A, C, SAT-1, SAT-2, SAT-3) have occurred in Africa, while Asia contends with four sero-types (O, A, C, Asia-1), and South America with only three (O, A, C). Periodically there have been incursions of Types SAT-1 and SAT-2 from Africa into the Middle East. This paper describes the global dynamics for the seven sero-types and attempts to define FMD epidemiological clusters in the different regions of the world. These have been described on a continent by continent basis. The review has reaffirmed that the movement of infected animals is the most important factor in the spread of FMD within the endemically infected regions. It also shows that the eco-system based approach for defining the epidemiological patterns of FMD in endemic, which was originally described in South America, can apply readily to other parts of the world. It is proposed that any coordinated regional or global strategy for FMD control should be based on a sound epidemiological assessment of the incidence and distribution of FMD, identifying risk sources as either primary or secondary endemic eco-systems.

Plant‐pollinator interactions in New Caledonia influenced by introduced honey bees

The flora of New Caledonia is characterized by remarkably high species diversity, high endemicity, and an unusual abundance of archaic plant taxa. To investigate community-level pollination mutualism in this endemic ecosystem, we observed flower visitors on 99 plant species in 42 families of various types of vegetation. Among the 95 native plant species, the most dominant pollination system was melittophily (bee-pollinated, 46.3%), followed by phalaenophily (moth-pollinated, 20.0%), ornithophily (bird-pollinated, 11.6%), cantharophily (beetle-pollinated, 8.4%), myophily (fly-pollinated, 3.2%), chiropterophily (bat-pollinated, 3.2%), and anemophily (wind-pollinated, 3.2%). The prevalence of ornithophily by honeyeaters shows an ecological link to pollination mutualism in Australia. The relative dominance of phalaenophily is unique to New Caledonia, and is proposed to be related to the low diversity of the original bee fauna and the absence of long-tongued bees. Although some archaic plants maintain archaic plant-pollinator interactions, e.g., Zygogynum pollinated by micropterigid moths, or Hedycarya pollinated by thrips and staphylinid beetles, the most dominant organism observed on flowers was the introduced honey bee, Apis mellifera. The plant species now visited by honey bees are thought to have originally been pollinated by native solitary short-tongued bees. Our data suggest that the unique systems of pollination mutualism in New Caledonia are now endangered by the establishment of highly invasive honey bees.

A possible role of capybaras ( Hydrochoerus hydrochoeris hydrochoeris) in foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) endemicity

The susceptibility of capybaras exposed to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus by the intramuscular route and the rodents' close coexistence with cattle in FMD endemic ecosystems suggested that the species might play an important role in the virus' survival in the field. In the present study 2 capybaras and 2 cattle were exposed by contact to a capybara inoculated intramuscularly with FMD virus. Both pairs of exposed animals were then used as a contact source with another 2 cattle and 2 capybaras, respectively. All the animals became infected prior to the appearance of clinical lesions in the respective donor animals and developed generalized FMD clinical lesions. Specific neutralizing antibodies and antibodies to virus-infection-associated antigen (VIA) were also developed. Virus was isolated from feces and from throat swabs of 1 of the capybaras up to 17, but not at 23 days post-contact. Virus was isolated from the remaining animals up to 7–14 days post-contact. The results indicate that these rodents might transmit virus over long distances due to their migratory movements, but probably do not act as natural virus reservoirs.

TheRubusLeafhopper and its Egg Parasitoid: An Endemic Biotic System Useful in Grape-Pest Management

The leafhopper Dikrella cruentata (Gillette) breeds throughout the year in the leaves of wild Rubus spp. in California, where its eggs are continually under attack by the parasitoid Anagrus epos Girault. In summer the Anagrus population has a seasonal numerical response to eggs of its alternative host, the grape leafhopper, Erythroneura elegantula Osborn, in Vitis spp. This response occurs regularly in the endemic eco-system where these 3 arthropods, together with native Vitis and Rubus , are commonly associated elements of the natural riparian biota. There is a valuable seasonal bridge of Anagrus to nearby commercial vineyards, but these parasitoids face formidable ecological barriers, including time and space, in reaching their grape leafhopper hosts in distant. unfavorably situated vineyards. The relationship of this host/parasitoid system to the pest management program on grapes is described.