High Functional Diversity Research Articles

Photoredox Catalyzed Trifluoromethyl Radical‐Triggered Trifunctionalization of 5‐HexenenitrilesviaCyano Migration

AbstractA photoredox catalyzed trifluoromethyl radical‐triggered trifunctionalization of 5‐hexenenitrilesviacyano group migration is reported. The cyano group migration is of high chemo‐selectivity even in the presence of aryl or heteroaryl groups as competitors. This protocol provides a facile access to a broad scope of CF3‐containing compounds with high molecular complexity and functional group diversity. The success of gram‐scale reaction and the versatility of products in derivative synthesis illustrate the potential value of this transformation in synthetic chemistry.magnified image

The Centriole's Role in Miscarriages.

Centrioles are subcellular organelles essential for normal cell function and development; they form the cell’s centrosome (a major cytoplasmic microtubule organization center) and cilium (a sensory and motile hair-like cellular extension). Centrioles with evolutionarily conserved characteristics are found in most animal cell types but are absent in egg cells and exhibit unexpectedly high structural, compositional, and functional diversity in sperm cells. As a result, the centriole’s precise role in fertility and early embryo development is unclear. The centrioles are found in the spermatozoan neck, a strategic location connecting two central functional units: the tail, which propels the sperm to the egg and the head, which holds the paternal genetic material. The spermatozoan neck is an ideal site for evolutionary innovation as it can control tail movement pre-fertilization and the male pronucleus’ behavior post-fertilization. We propose that human, bovine, and most other mammals–which exhibit ancestral centriole-dependent reproduction and two spermatozoan centrioles, where one canonical centriole is maintained, and one atypical centriole is formed–adapted extensive species-specific centriolar features. As a result, these centrioles have a high post-fertilization malfunction rate, resulting in aneuploidy, and miscarriages. In contrast, house mice evolved centriole-independent reproduction, losing the spermatozoan centrioles and overcoming a mechanism that causes miscarriages.

Functional profiles of soil microbial communities in the alpine and temperate grasslands of China

AbstractGrassland ecosystems in cold regions are typical of short growing seasons and limited primary productivity, rendering soil microorganisms as major ecosystem engineers in governing biogeochemical cycling. Climate warming and extensive livestock grazing have dramatically influenced soil microbial diversity and function in grassland worldwide, but it remains elusive how functional microbial communities exist and respond to global changes. Here, we present a review to highlight similarities and differences in soil functional microbial communities between alpine grasslands in the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and temperate grasslands in the Inner Mongolian Plateau, both of which are major plateaus in China, but differ substantially in geography. We show that many specialized functional groups thrive under harsh conditions, exhibiting a high functional diversity. Their community compositions mirror the heterogeneity and complexity of grassland soils. Moreover, functional microbial responses to environmental changes have been extremely variable, with few consistent patterns across both plateaus. Because we identify a lack of technical standardization that prevents in‐depth comparative studies for functional microbial communities, we conclude the review by outlining several research gaps that need to be filled in future studies.

Positive impacts of rangeland abandonment on dung beetle functional diversity

We assessed the effect of rangeland abandonment on dung beetle biodiversity and functional diversity in an African semi-desert region. Dung beetles were sampled on farms that were abandoned either over 10 years ago, abandoned one year ago, or not abandoned. We sampled from tree dominant landscape features including dry riverbeds, flatlands, and hills. We hypothesised that rangeland abandonment would decrease dung beetle biodiversity and functional diversity, also testing whether this pattern holds true across the dominant landscape features. Preference experiments revealed that all dung beetle species preferred dung resources other than sheep dung. Contrary to expectations, dung beetle biodiversity and functional richness was higher on abandoned rangelands. The landscape features that were particularly significant in sustaining high dung beetle diversity and functional diversity in this ecosystem were the flatlands and dry riverbeds, the main corridors of movement of animals. We speculate that rangeland abandonment improved conditions for most dung beetle species, due to decreased pressures on remaining native mammal populations. Despite this, larger species that need greater dung resources for development became rare after abandonment. Reintroductions of native mammals should therefore be encouraged to promote dung beetle biodiversity and functional diversity in this semi-desert ecosystem.

Will fungi solve the carbon dilemma?

Soils are hotspots of diversity and sustain many globally important functions. Here we focus on the most burning issue: how to keep soils as carbon sinks while maintaining their productivity. Evidence shows that life in soils plays a crucial role in improving soil health yet soil ecological processes are often ignored in soil sciences. In this review, we highlight the potential of fungi to increase soil carbon sequestration while maintaining crop yield, functions needed to sustain human population on Earth and at same time keep the Earth livable. We propose management strategies that steer towards more fungal activity but also high functional diversity of fungi which will lead to more stable carbon sources in soil but also affects the structure of the soil food web up to ecosystem level. We list knowledge gaps that limit our ability to steer soil fungal communities such that stabilising carbon in top soils becomes more effective. Using the natural capacity of a biodiverse soil community to sequester carbon delivers double benefit: reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide by storing photosynthesized carbon in soil and increasing agricultural yields by restoring organic matter content of degraded soils.

Megabenthic communities distributed in the outer margins of the Yucatan shelf and their relationship to environmental variables

ABSTRACT Megabenthic communities on continental margins benefit from structural complexity of the seafloor and sedimentary dynamics. These communities were tested in the outer margins of the Yucatan continental shelf (YCS) during August 2016 to evaluate the relationships between community attributes with environmental variables. The total capture was 1,366 103 ind km−2 and 2,078 kg ash free dry weight (AFDW) km−2, distributed among 319 species. Crustaceans and molluscs were co-dominant in abundance (576,629 ind km−2 ∼42.2% and 481,372 ind km−2 ∼35.2%), while crustaceans and sponges were the greatest contributors to community biomass (699.84 kg AFDW km−2 ∼33.6% and 47.8 kg AFDW km−2 ∼23.0%). Local diversity was higher than reported for other areas of the GoM, showing a pseudo-latitudinal gradient of richness related to the karstic bottom and autogenic species. Beta diversity showed no species loss in these communities. The BIOENV test pointed to longitude, temperature, sorting, vanadium, 2.6-dimethyl naphthalene, latitude, chlorophyll, average grain size, n-C16 and n-C23 as the most important variables. Hydrocarbons were recorded at lower concentrations than the threshold effects level (TEL) reference values; however, the significant correlation between richness and dibenzothiophene must be evaluated. Beta diversity exhibited a high turnover and functional diversity showed an absence of regional distribution. Differences in benthic megafauna among sites were because of gradients in latitude and concentrations of aliphatic compounds which can be attributed to the distance from the stations to the coastline or groundwater flow. Environmental monitoring programmes are recommended because of petrogenic compounds that influence the community structure.

Functionally diverse tree stands reduce herbaceous diversity and productivity via canopy packing

Abstract There is extensive experimental evidence for the importance of biodiversity in sustaining ecosystem functioning. However, such experiments typically prevent immigration by continuously removing non‐target species, thereby questioning the generality of these findings to real‐world ecosystems. This is particularly true in forest ecosystems where understorey herbaceous species are key biodiversity components but are usually weeded in tree diversity experiments. Consequently, little is known about how tree diversity influences the natural dynamics of understorey herbaceous layers. We conducted a 3‐year non‐weeded tree diversity experiment composed of eight woody species differing widely in plant economic strategies. We examined how the functional diversity and identity of tree species mixtures drive the temporal dynamics of understorey productivity, functional diversity and composition through canopy packing (CP). Tree mixtures with high functional diversity experienced increased CP over time, thereby decreasing understorey productivity and diversity. Furthermore, herbaceous communities were dominated by species with functional traits typical of low‐light conditions [lower community‐weighted mean (CWM) of maximum plant height, but larger CWM of specific leaf area] in response to increased CP. Our results provide mechanistic insights into the role of tree functional diversity in shaping the dynamics of biomass, functional diversity and composition of the understorey herbaceous layer during the early successional period. It is expected that the effects of tree functional diversity would also be relevant over time due to the increasing usage of canopy space. This study highlights the significance of natural community processes in determining the effects of tree diversity on the temporal dynamics of previously neglected ecosystem structures and functioning. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Functional diversity of reef fish assemblages in the Galapagos Archipelago

The Galapagos Archipelago's unique reef biodiversity and distribution patterns are relatively well understood compared to the study of local functional diversity processes. We investigated functional diversity patterns in coastal reef fish communities using stereo Baited Remote Underwater Videos systems (stereo-BRUVs). We collected relative abundance data based on 41,594 individual fish belonging to 121 reef fish species and assessed functional diversity using seven functional traits and a combination of functional alpha-diversity and beta-diversity indices. We found differences between bioregions; however, we observed no differences in reef fish assemblages between the geographic strata (distinct habitat types) within regions. Low functional alpha-diversity within assemblages but high environmental variability at small spatial scales has resulted in a consistent moderate functional beta-diversity between assemblages and high functional diversity at an archipelago-wide scale. While there is a low diversity of functional roles, the most abundant species represent a few distinct and supportive functional roles in Galapagos reef ecosystems. Such functional roles likely have redundancy; however, many other functional roles are likely under-represented and vulnerable. The variable functional diversity between Galapagos bioregions facilitates an ecological interpretation that supplements traditional species diversity indices. Therefore, we suggest a combination of species compositions and functional diversity metrics be used in the future management of Galapagos marine communities.

Functional niche constraints on carnivore assemblages (Mammalia: Carnivora) in the Americas: What facilitates coexistence through space and time?

AbstractAimMammalian carnivores are among the best studied groups in terms of evolutionary history. However, the effects of species interactions in shaping community assemblages remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that indirect interactions via ecological trait filtering play a key role in structuring carnivoran assemblages, mediate coexistence and thus should show high functional diversity (FD) in space and time at continental scales.LocationThe Americas.TaxonMammalian carnivores (Mammalia: Carnivora).MethodsWe followed a macroecological perspective via ecological network analyses for indirect interactions and assessed the underlying FD across space and from the last interglacial to the present in the Americas. We analysed the potential distributions and six ecological traits of 88 species to establish possible mechanisms that enables species to coexist and the underlying diversity patterns. We compared the empirical results with two null models and two sensitivity analyses.ResultsCo‐occurring carnivore species presented ecological segregation driven mainly by a size ratio (SR) relationship, called here the body size spatialanti‐clusteringeffect. The underlying FD patterns showed low redundancy towards the tropics and the poles during the times evaluated. However, during the last glacial maximum, shifts occurred primarily at high latitudes in North America. This shift affected theSRrelationship and therefore changed FD patterns. These local‐to‐continental interactions mediated by theSRare significant from an ecological and biogeographic perspective, suggesting a robust and consistent trend in which carnivore species of similar size have a lower probability of occupying the same area unless they differentiate in other ecological trait spaces.Main conclusionsTheSRrelationship is potentially a primary mechanism limiting carnivore coexistence, reflecting functional filtering. TheSRtends to be conservative across different ecological trait groups and through time and space. We propose that the body‐size spatialanti‐clusteringeffect can directly measure species' coexistence and mediate FD patterns in the Americas.

Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of plant apocarotenoids.

Apocarotenoids (APOs) are a class of carotenoid oxidation products with high structural and functional diversity. Apart from serving as precursors of phytohormones, fungal pheromones and vitamin A, several APOs act as signaling molecules involved in stress response and growth as regulators in plants. To comprehensively profile plant APOs, we established an improved ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS) analytical platform. The improved APO analytical platform consists of an optimized sequential APO sample preparation and multiple UHPLC-MS detection methods and was successfully used to identify and quantify multiple subclasses of APOs from tomato fruits. By integrating ultrasound-assisted extraction, solid phase extraction, and chemical derivatization, the improved sequential APOs sample preparation facilitates the simultaneous preparation of different subclasses of APOs from plant materials. In addition, multiple UHPLC-MS detection methods enables high throughput analysis of APOs. Application of this analytical strategy can make important contributions to understanding the function of these compounds and significantly facilitate the elucidation of plant APO metabolism.

Anthropogenic land‐use change shapes bird diversity along the eastern Himalayan altitudinal gradient

Abstract Globally, the conversion of natural forest into agricultural land and human settlement has altered avian diversity and structure often leading to functional and/or phylogenetic homogenisation. While the effects of land‐use change on avian functional diversity (FD) and phylogenetic diversity (PD) is well studied in the tropics, it is poorly understood and scarcely studied in the Himalayas let alone in eastern Himalayan bird communities. Using data from replicated transect surveys, we investigated the effects of land‐use change (agriculture, settlement and forest) on the community diversity and structure of 336 bird species while accounting for imperfect detection across 679‐point count locations along an elevational gradient in the eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot of Bhutan. The main findings of our study are (a) bird community occupancy along the elevational gradient is negatively associated with human land use (agriculture and settlement), (b) bird assemblages at higher elevations were functionally and phylogenetically clustered and (c) agriculture and settlement harboured disproportionately higher FD and PD whereas forest had phylogenetically diverse communities within functionally convergent traits. Synthesis and applications. Our findings suggest that high functional diversity in agriculture and settlement offers an opportunity for a broad range of ecosystem services such as pollination, insect‐ and rodent‐pest control. Agricultural practices that protect and improve bird‐friendly habitats (particularly for insectivores) should be promoted. To facilitate coexistence, educational programmes on the importance of the functional roles of birds should be implemented to raise farmers' awareness of the importance of farmland biodiversity. Management interventions should seek to integrate bird conservation and farm production. Safeguarding edge habitats and forests abutting human settlements would be key to promoting phylogenetically diverse assemblages and ecological functions in Himalayan working landscapes.

Plant biodiversity and the regeneration of soil fertility

Fertile soils have been an essential resource for humanity for 10,000 y, but the ecological mechanisms involved in the creation and restoration of fertile soils, and especially the role of plant diversity, are poorly understood. Here we use results of a long-term, unfertilized plant biodiversity experiment to determine whether biodiversity, especially plant functional biodiversity, impacted the regeneration of fertility on a degraded sandy soil. After 23 y, plots containing 16 perennial grassland plant species had, relative to monocultures of these same species, ∼30 to 90% greater increases in soil nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, cation exchange capacity, and carbon and had ∼150 to 370% greater amounts of N, K, Ca, and Mg in plant biomass. Our results suggest that biodiversity, likely in combination with the increased plant productivity caused by higher biodiversity, led to greater soil fertility. Moreover, plots with high plant functional diversity, those containing grasses, legumes, and forbs, accumulated significantly greater N, K, Ca, and Mg in the total nutrient pool (plant biomass and soil) than did plots containing just one of these three functional groups. Plant species in these functional groups had trade-offs between their tissue N content, tissue K content, and root mass, suggesting why species from all three functional groups were essential for regenerating soil fertility. Our findings suggest that efforts to regenerate soil C stores and soil fertility may be aided by creative uses of plant diversity.

High bee functional diversity buffers crop pollination services against Amazon deforestation

Predicting outcomes of land use change on biodiversity and ecosystem services remains a key priority for ecologists, but may be particularly challenging in diverse tropical ecosystems. Trait-based approaches are a key tool to meet this challenge. Such approaches seek functional mechanisms underpinning species’ responses to environmental disturbance and contributions to ecosystem services. Here, we use a functional trait approach to study effects of land use change on stingless bee communities and on pollination services to açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea, Arecaceae) in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. We compared traits of stingless bees visiting açaí inflorescences across a land use intensity gradient (low to high forest cover) to determine: (1) the role of traits in bee species’ responses to deforestation; (2) how deforestation affects functional composition of bee communities; and (3) whether bee traits better explain variation in açaí fruit production than species diversity metrics. We found that bee species’ responses to deforestation were non-random and predicted by body size, with small-sized bees more susceptible to forest loss, and changes in functional diversity of bee communities were important for pollination services. However, not all changes in functional diversity were associated with forest loss. Together, these results suggest that: (1) large tracts of minimally disturbed tropical rainforest are vital for the conservation of diverse stingless bee communities; (2) efficient pollination is contingent on bee species not only having divergent trait values (functional dispersion), but also traits’ relative abundance in communities (functional evenness); and (3) high functional diversity in stingless bee communities buffers açaí pollination services to loss of sensitive species. Thus, conservation strategies must focus on protecting wider biodiversity, not just ecosystem services, to guarantee conservation of native eusocial bee taxa. Doing so will safeguard crop pollination services, the pollination of native plant communities, and the long-term resilience of Amazon forest ecosystems.

Anticipating the potential impacts of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans on Neotropical salamander diversity

AbstractEmergent infectious disease caused by the fungal pathogens Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) represents one of the major causes of biodiversity loss in amphibians. While Bd has affected amphibians worldwide, Bsal remains restricted to Asia and Europe, but also could be a major threat for salamanders in the Western hemisphere, including the 320 bolitoglossine species described. Here, we predict the suitable areas for Bsal in the Neotropics and assess its potential impact on bolitoglossine diversity. For this, we determined the geographic patterns of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity for bolitoglossines and modeled the potential distribution of Bsal in the Neotropics. We identified which species and regions could be at risk from an eventual introduction of Bsal in the region, quantified the degree of overlap between regions of high diversity and the suitable conditions for the pathogen, and considered species IUCN Red List status, and geographic range size. We found that regions of high taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity are concentrated in the Trans‐Mexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre Oriental, the southern portion of Sierra Madre del Sur and the mountains of Oaxaca in México, as well as the Chiapan‐Guatemalan highlands, and the Cordilleras of Costa Rica and Panama. Alarmingly, the regions of high diversity for bolitoglossines and over 75% of the ranges of the more threatened species could be affected by Bsal. Given the unknown vulnerability of these species, we strongly recommend measures to avoid the introduction of Bsal in the continent.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.

Disordered regions tune order in chromatin organization and function

Intrinsically disordered proteins or hybrid proteins with ordered domains and disordered regions (both collectively designated as IDP(R)s) defy the well-established structure-function paradigm due to their ability to perform multiple biological functions even in the absence of a well-defined 3D structure. IDP(R)s have a unique ability to exist as a functional heterogeneous ensemble, where they adopt multiple thermodynamically stable conformations with low energy barriers between states. The resultant structural plasticity or conformational adaptability provides them with a high functional diversity and ease of regulation. Hence, IDP(R)s are highly efficient biological machinery to mediate intricate cellular functions such as signaling, gene expression, and assembly of complex structures. One such structure is the nucleoprotein complex known as Chromatin. Interestingly, the proteins involved in shaping up the structure and function of chromatin are abundant in disordered regions, which serve more than just as mere flexible linkers. The disordered regions are involved in crucial processes such as gene expression regulation, chromatin architecture maintenance, and liquid-liquid phase separation initiation. This review is an attempt to explore the advantages and the functional and regulatory roles of intrinsic disorder in several Chromatin Associated Proteins from a mechanistic standpoint.

The Biogeography of Forest Soil Microbial Functional Diversity Responds to Forest Types across Guangxi, Southwest China

Vegetation and soil have spatial distributions at different scales, while the spatial distribution of soil microorganisms and factors driving their distribution are still unclear. We aimed to reveal the spatial pattern of microbial functional diversity and to identify its drivers in forest soils at a regional scale. Here, we performed an investigation of microbes across several forest types covering an area of 236,700 km2 in Guangxi, southwest China. We examined a total of 185 samples for soil microbial functional diversity using Biolog EcoPlates. The soil microbial functional diversity had strong spatial heterogeneity across the Guangxi region. The distribution of microorganisms in forest soils was mainly determined by total nitrogen, available N, and C:N ratio, and stand age. We found that coniferous forests, especially pine forest, exhibited lower functional diversity, but the reverse was true for deciduous broadleaf forest/mixed evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forest. Our findings suggested that a heterogeneous distribution of microbial functional diversity in forest soils is related to forest types in Guangxi, China. In conclusion, high soil microbial functional diversity is favored in subtropical forests with looser soil structure, lower soil C:N ratio, greater total soil nitrogen and available nitrogen concentration, and broad-leaved tree species.

Functional plasticity of carabids can presume better the changes in community composition than taxon-based descriptors.

Although the functional trait approach can facilitate the understanding of mechanisms that underline community responses to habitat alteration, only a few studies used this way on exploring the structure of insect assemblages compared to taxon-based analyses. We compared the descriptive power of medium-term effects (2014-2018) of forestry treatments in a temperate managed oak-dominated forest on taxon- vs. trait-based descriptors of ground beetle assemblages. The treatments included rotation forestry (partial preparation cutting, clear-cutting, retention-tree group, and mature closed forest as control) and continuous cover forestry (gap cutting) operations. The species composition was only slightly influenced by the treatments; on the ordination biplot, the control, retention tree group, and clear-cutting treatments formed relatively homogeneous groups, well separated from each other, while the others were scattered randomly in the ordination space. Over time, the species richness decreased in all treatments, but it was higher in the retention tree group treatment than in others in 2016 and 2017. The activity density also declined between years, but an immediate mass effect was revealed after the implementation of treatment types especially in the control, gap, and preparation cuts. We found that assemblages in the clear-cutting and retention-tree group had similar characteristics: high functional diversity; more open-habitat, generalist, and omnivore species and fewer carnivore species; while those in the control, gap, and preparation cutting groups had the opposite: lower functional diversity, more forest species, and more carnivorous species. Our findings will demonstrate that the simultaneous use of the two approaches will allow the most articulate understanding of the status of ground beetles assemblages in managed forests.

Deciphering the composite morphological diversity ofLophelia pertusa, a cosmopolitan deep‐water ecosystem engineer

AbstractCold‐water coral reefs constitute important biodiversity hotspots in aphotic waters around the world. The complex, highly variable morphology of the reef habitat‐forming species has important implications for the communities they harbor and for the physical processes occurring therein.Lophelia pertusa(Desmophyllum pertusum) is one of the most common reef‐building cold‐water corals, but its morphological diversity has never been characterized on a broad scale. We qualitatively and quantitatively explored the patterns of morphological variation of this species over a wide geographic and ecological range, addressing corallite and colony traits and their interrelation. Geographic variation is evident at both corallite and colony level, although with distinct trends. By linking branching patterns to colony morphology, we identified three main morphotypes (asymmetrical, bushy, and columnar) with substantial geometric and architectural differences, which suggest high functional diversity of cold‐water coral reefs across regions. Colony morphology appears strongly governed by asexual budding of individual polyps, but largely decoupled from corallite morphology. We hypothesize that colony morphology is primarily driven by local hydrodynamic conditions and associated food supply.

Perylene Diimide-Based Multicomponent Metallacages as Photosensitizers for Visible Light-Driven Photocatalytic Oxidation Reaction

Perylene Diimide-Based Multicomponent Metallacages as Photosensitizers for Visible Light-Driven Photocatalytic Oxidation Reaction

Functional composition of ant assemblages in habitat islands is driven by habitat factors and landscape composition

Fragmented natural habitats within human-transformed landscapes play a key role in preserving biodiversity. Ants as keystone species are essential elements of terrestrial ecosystems; thus, it is important to understand the factors influencing their presence. In a large-scale multi-site study, we surveyed ant assemblages using sweep netting and D-vac sampling on 158 ancient burial mounds preserving grassland habitats in agricultural landscapes in East-Hungary. We asked the following questions: (1) How do habitat factors and landscape composition affect species richness and functional diversity of ants? (2) Which ant traits are affected by habitat factors and landscape composition? Despite their small sizes, mounds as permanent and relatively undisturbed landscape elements could provide safe havens for diverse ant assemblages even in transformed agricultural landscapes. The complex habitat structure of wooded mounds supported high species and functional diversity of ant assemblages. Ant species on wooded mounds had small or medium-sized colonies, enabling the co-existence of more species. The effect of landscape composition on ant assemblages was mediated by habitat factors: steep slopes buffered the negative effect of the cropland matrix and enabled higher ant diversity.