High Percentage Of Species Research Articles

Blinded by the bright: How species‐poor habitats contribute to regional biodiversity across a tropical seascape

AbstractAimConservation efforts have traditionally addressed the threat of biodiversity loss by prioritizing regions and habitats with high endemic species richness. However, species‐poor habitats often harbour distinct, valuable and/or functionally unique species that contribute to regional diversity. In the tropical marine realm, the ‘mangrove‐seagrass‐coral reef continuum’ has dominated both the scientific literature and marine spatial planning. Bare sediment habitats are also part of this continuum and often comprise the majority of bottom area, as they do in most regions worldwide, but are understudied and rarely considered in conservation. To address this information gap, we partition the relative contributions of five habitats in the coastal mosaic (forereefs, patch reefs, seagrass, mangroves and bare sand) to fish diversity across a tropical seascape.LocationCarrie Bow Cay, Belize Barrier Reef.MethodsUsing diver visual censuses, we assessed fish community composition at three replicate sites from each of the five habitats annually for 5 years. We then partitioned diversity into within (α) and between (β) habitat contributions, and further partitioned β‐diversity into components attributed to species replacement and richness difference. Finally, we determined the local contributions to β‐diversity (LCBD) by each habitat and identified the key individual species behind these contributions.Main ResultsTropical sand flats contributed uniquely and disproportionately to regional fish species diversity, despite having the fewest species overall. Sand flats also had higher‐than‐expected local contributions to β‐diversity (LCBD) and had the highest percentage of species not found in other habitats.Main ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that previously understudied sand habitats harbour a relatively unique assemblage of species compared with other nearby habitats. Marine spatial planning aimed at maximizing the preservation of total biodiversity (including unique species) in the tropics should consider sand habitats.

Patterns of fish community structure in protected and non-protected marine areas of mainland Tanzania

Information on the benefits of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for the condition of fish stocks is not well documented in Tanzania. Fish landing sites located in Tanga and Mtwara regions were surveyed to assess patterns of fish community structure; particularly fish abundance, species diversity, growth patterns, and maturity stages, based on catches landed at sites with different protection status. Fish abundance in the catch from protected areas was significantly lower than in non-protected areas (p=0.002). Species diversity was relatively higher in catches from non-protected (H=2.742) compared to protected areas (H=2.232). A high percentage of species (63.24 %) exhibiting negative allometric growth was observed in catches from non-protected areas. Further, a large number of mature fish was observed in catches from protected areas compared to non-protected areas (p<0.01). These indices are useful indicators of the performance of MPAs. The observed negative allometric growth and reduced number of mature fishes in the non-protected areas suggest that extractive pressure and disturbances from fishing gears have negative impacts on the fish stock. Continued high extraction may induce a decline in general fish size due to the constant selection for large-trait fish specimens, potentially causing evolutionally change in morphological traits. In contrast, the lower abundance and species diversity from the protected areas reflected low catch effort as a result of regulated fishing pressure in MPAs, rather than indicating the actual diversity in the fish stocks in these protected waters. Based on these findings it is recommended that more regulatory strategies are implemented in non-protected waters to allow more time for fish to attain appropriate harvest sizes and to ensure the effective protection of marine resources.

Sexual systems of Tropical Dry Forest trees in restored habitats

Background: Obligate outcrossing species (such as dioecious species) are more vulnerable to habitat fragmentation than self-compatible hermaphrodite trees.
 Questions: What is the effect of restoration intervention in the populations of dioecious, monoecious, and hermaphrodite tree species in permanent agricultural landscapes?
 Study site and dates: 8-year-old restoration settings in the seasonally dry tropical forest in Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve, Morelos, Mexico.
 Methods: We measure richness and density of dioecious, monoecious, and hermaphrodite tree species with Diameter at Breast Height ≥ 2.5 cm in perturbed, 8-year-old restoration settings (plantings and natural succession) and conserved habitats.
 Results: Overall habitats, 2,042 trees from 46 species in 18 families were identified; the highest percentage of species and trees were hermaphrodites (63 % of species and 78 % of trees), the lowest percentage of species were monoecious (9 %) and the lowest percentage of trees (10 %) were dioecious. In the plantings were registered the largest number of species (37 species) and in the conserved habitat the largest number of trees (852 trees). Density and richness of dioecious, monoecious, and hermaphrodite species did not differ by habitat, contrary to our predictions. For dioecious trees, the restored and conserved habitats showed similar composition heterogeneity. Composition of hermaphrodites in agricultural landscapes differed the most with the conserved habitat.
 Conclusions: Dioecious and monoecious species are favored in agricultural landscapes due to their use value. Selection of species for restoration plantings should consider sexual systems of trees to recover not only forest structure but also ecosystem function.

Species Distribution and Antifungal Susceptibility of Candida spp. responsible for Pulmonary Candidiasis

Fungal infection can occur in almost all parts of the human body, including the respiratory system. One group of fungi causing opportunistic infections in the lungs also known as pulmonary candidiasis is Candida spp. This study aimed to determine species diversity and antifungal sensitivity of Candida sp. causing pulmonary candidiasis from sputum specimen isolates in the Zainoel Abidin Hospital (ZAH). The sputum specimens were from inpatients and outpatients during a period of January 2019 to January 2021. Identification of Candida spp. and the antifungal sensitivity were carried out using culture and Gram Staining as well as the VITEK® 2 Compact. The results of this study indicated that there were six species of Candida sp. obtained from the study period. Of total 73 isolates, the highest percentage of species was Candida albicans (56.16%). The percentage of pulmonary candidiasis based on age was dominated by the early-late age category 46-65 years (50.68%) and based on sex was dominated by men (71.23%). Antifungal susceptibility assays revealed that the Candida species remained highly susceptible to the antifungals (amphotericin B, caspofungin, flucytosine, fluconazole, micafungin, and voriconazole), i.e., greater than 91 percent. Overall, the results of this study indicated that pulmonary candidiasis were predominantly related to C. albicans and C. tropicalis infections in ZAH and the sensitivity of antifungal drugs remained empirically and definitively effective. This research might be important as a part of infection prevention and control strategies, as well as the administration of empirical antifungals to combat Candida-mediated lung infections.

Diversity of Medicinal Plants Resources to be Useb by the Kho Mu Community in Special Use Forest, Sop Cop District, Son La Province

This research was conducted to assess the diversity of medicinal plant resources in special use forest, Sop Cop district, Son La province.By traditional botanical research method that we carried out since July 2019 to March 2020.The results showed that, there were 389 species of medicinal plants belonging to 294 genera and 109 families of 4 divisions of vascular plant. There were 10 families with the high number of species. The medicinal plants were used differently by the Kho Mu ethnic to treat 18 groups of diseases, of which the plants were used to treat gastrointestinal diseases had the highest percentage of species, 102 species (26,22%). In the parts used as medicine, leaves are most used accounting for from 26,74%. The whole trees and roots were used also quite large, including whole tree with 77 species, roots with 66 species. There were 28 medicinal species (accounting for 7,19%) that had been identified in the Vietnam’s Red Data Book (2007), have 18 species listed in the Vietnam’s Red List of Medicinal Plants,that wrote by Nguyen Tap (2019) and 12 species listed in the Governmental Decree 06/2019/NĐ-CP. These species had limited individuals that need to have policies for conservation and development.

Impacts of the Physico-chemical Properties of Al-Chibayish Water Marshes on The Biodiversity of Phytoplankton

Phytoplankton, as one of the most important primary producers in aquatic ecosystems, has been widely used to indicate the health of ecosystems. Nine physico-chemical parameters of water, as well as the phytoplankton community, of Al-Chibayish marsh were studied. Samples were collected from four sites and analyzed every two months from January to October 2019.
 Seasonal variations in physical and chemical properties were observed at all sites during the study period. The results indicated that 154 species of phytoplankton were recorded. The highest percentage of species was recorded to be 64.28% for Bacillariophyceae (diatoms) (Centrales 3.24% and Pennales 61.03%), followed by Chlorophyceae (16.23%), Cyanophyceae (11.68%), and Charophyceae and Euglenophyceae (3.24%), while Pyrrophyceae recorded the lowest value (1.29%) The numbers of phytoplankton species were 102, 94, 102, 99 in sites 1, 2, 3 and 4 ,respectively, during the study period. The total density of phytoplankton ranged from 223.769 cells x103 during January to 2784.693 cells x103 during September in site 2, with a clear increase during March and September, while the lowest number was 223.796 - 237.248 cells x103 in January and May, respectively. The dominance of diatoms was observed in all sites by 49.07% of the total density of phytoplankton, while the lowest abundance was 0.04% for the Pyrrophyceae. The results of the statistical analysis showed significant differences among sites and months, concerning the physical, chemical, and biological factors measured during the study period, at p-value <0.05.

Cantos de las ranas y los sapos de Colombia: estado actual del conocimiento y perspectivas de investigación en ecoacústica

ABSTRACT Vocalizations are one of the most important communication modalities in amphibian biology, and advertisement call is the type of vocalization mostly emitted by anurans (frogs and toads). In the present study, we carried out a scientometric analysis of the advertisement call in species of anurans in Colombia to determine the state of knowledge of this science in the country. We recorded the number of call descriptions and its trend throughout more than 60 years; in addition, we identified how many species there are with the call described per taxonomic family, geographic units and threat status. According to our review, between 1958 and June 30 of 2021, at least 296 studies have been published that describe the advertisement call of 307 species (of 785 in the country); only 130 descriptions come from recordings to individuals in Colombian populations. Leptodactylidae and Hylidae are the families with the highest percentage of species whose call has been described (84.6% and 68.4%, respectively). On the contrary, Bufonidae (19.5%) and Craugastoridae (12.9%) exhibit a low percentage of described calls. The Central and Eastern cordilleras were the regions with the best knowledge of advertisement calls, while the least known were the Caribbean – interAndean valleys, Orinoquía, and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. In terms of the threat status, the species with the least concern (LC) were the ones that presented the highest number of species with the call described. Despite an increase in the most recent two decades, our findings still reveal notable gaps in knowledge of the advertisement calls in Colombian anurans, which constitutes an incentive to develop future research on this subject. Finally, based on this meta-analysis, we highlight some recommendations that we hope that we hope stimulate new studies in ecoacoustics, using anurans in Colombia as a study model.

Analysis of spontaneous vegetation in semi-arid cattle fields of the middle valley of Río Negro

Abstract The advance of the agricultural frontier in the north of Río Negro led to the land on the plateau being used for dryland livestock production. Livestock practices such as these result in an ecological imbalance that involves the spontaneous plant species in the scrublands. In this study, the species that grow spontaneously in this area were identified, as well as their specific richness and distribution. The native species were related to cattle consumption and the exotic species to toxic potential. The Sörensen similarity index was calculated to express the degree of similarity between the sites. The study area included 59 families, 197 genera and 300 species of vascular plants. The most representative families being the Asteraceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Verbenaceae and Chenopodiaceae. The highest percentage of species consumed were native and 66% of the exotic species are potentially toxic to cattle. The Riparian Zone presented a greater number of exotic species. The highest similarity was between the Plateau Plain and the Foot of Escarpment. The information provided is a basis for evaluative studies between dryland cattle production and plant conservation in the Middle Valley of Río Negro.

JENIS-JENIS JAMUR MAKROSKOPIS KELOMPOK DIVISIO BASIDIOMYCETES DI TAMAN HUTAN RAYA BUKIT BARISAN TONGKOH KABUPATEN KARO SUMATERA UTARA

Introduction: Mycology is one of subject Medical Laboratoty Tecnology Study Program..Some of students especially Medical Laboratory TechnologyStudy Program are not familiar with macroscopic fungi. So far, they know about macroscopic fungi from several sources such as:the internet and reserach journals. Add more, mushroom habitat in North Sumatera is very good for its growth, it is worth doing research to determine the types of macroscopic fungi that live and grow in it. Method:The researchmethod used isCruise method.There are two observation stations with 4 point route cruises. The fungal samples found were analyzed by descriptive method (Mueller et al., 2004). Fungal specimens are collected and identified in the field and laboratory. Basidiomycetes identification using several macroscopic fungal identification books like David Arora (1986) dan Simon & Schuster’s (1979)and thesis and journals on macroscopic fungi. Data analysis was done descriptively, the data from the identification results are tabulated and presented in tabular form. Result: Based on the results of research that has been done, obtained 49 types of macroscopic fungi that are included in the Basidiomycetes.Discussion: Macroscopic fungi usually found in hygrophyte habitats are the Basidiomycetes group of fungi. Basidiomycetes found were 5 orders, 17 families and 49 spesies. The most common species of fungi are members of the Order of Agaricales which consists of 29 species and the Order of Aphyllophorales of 15 species. This is because the Agaricales and Aphyllophorales groups have the ability to adapt well compared to other orders. The families that had the highest percentage of species were the Tricholomataceae and Polyporaceae families. This fungus is easy to find because it can grow in various habitats.

Distribución altitudinal de musgos en algunos sustratos en Tipacoque, Colombia.

Objetivo. Determinar la diversidad y abundancia de musgos en un gradiente altitudinal del Parque Natural Municipal “Robledales de Tipacoque”. Alcance. Inventario de los musgos encontrados en tres sustratos del Parque. Metodología. mediante levantamientos sobre tres sustratos: roca, raíz aflorante y suelo, en transectos lineales de 100 m, separados altitudinalmente cada 200 m, con la toma de datos de cobertura en cm2 y la elaboración de una matriz de datos ecológicos, se evaluó la abundancia y la riqueza de las especies. Principales resultados. Se realizaron 110 levantamientos, donde se registraron 75 especies, distribuidas en 48 géneros y 20 familias; el 50,6 % son musgos pleurocárpicos y el 49,3 % musgos acrocárpicos. Las familias con el mayor número de géneros y especies son Leucobryaceae (2 géneros-14 especies), seguida por Sematophyllaceae (5-10) y Brachytheciaceae (5-6). Los géneros más ricos en especies son Campylopus con 13 y Sematophyllum con seis. El sustrato con el mayor porcentaje de especies fue roca con 66.6. Conclusiones. La composición florística por franjas altitudinales evidencia que, el sector vía al Alto del Gallo (2771 m) presentó mayor diversidad; en cuanto a la similitud entre los transectos, los más correlacionados fueron, 2771 m y 3030 m con un valor de 40 %, en general la flora de musgos está bien diferenciada, por lo que, se encontraron especies restringidas a un rango.

ETNOZOOLOGI MASYARAKAT DAYAK JELAI HULU EMBULU LIMA DI DESA MEKAR UTAMA KECAMATAN KENDAWANGAN KABUPATEN KETAPANG

The use of fauna has been carried out by various ethnic groups in Kalimantan for a long time to fulfill their daily needs, one of which is as a source of food, medicine, ritual facilities, mysticism and art. The Dayak Jelai Hulu Embulu Lima tribe located in Mekar Utama Village, Kendawangan District are one of the original ethnic groups of West Kalimantan, also have diversity in the use of fauna both for food, medicine, traditional and supernatural ceremonies. The purpose of this study is to list the types of animals that are used and examine the use of animals. Data collection techniques are done by in-depth interviews with selected respondents using survey methods. The selection of respondents was carried out using snowball sampling techniques. Respondents in this study were 9 people. The interview results obtained as many as 48 types of data used in the village. Utilization varies starting from the utilization of consumption of as many as 35 animals, which has 9 artistic values, for the treatment of 12 animals, as much as 4 mystical animals, and for rituals as many as 3 animals. Based on the high percentage of species of animals utilized by the Embulu Lima Upper Barley community, namely consumption. The high percentage of consumption utilization is 58%, the part that is used is meat and the way it is processed is more cooked and fried. Meeting the needs of the most protein is from game animals. Utilization of animals for the treatment of ways such as, among others, drunk, smeared, and eaten. Processing methods include drying, scraping, diluting and cooking.Keywords: Dayak Jelai Hulu Embulu Lima, Ethnozoolgy, Utilization.

Colonization and extinction dynamics among the plant species at tree bases in Paris (France).

In cities, trees planted along streets could play an important ecological role for spontaneous plants growing at their bases. For example, these trees could represent corridors by potentially connecting large green spaces (e.g., parks, gardens), which allow species to move within the urban matrix. We considered sets of urban trees in 15 streets in Paris, France, as metapopulations for 15 plant species. Our objective was to determine the factors influencing the dynamics of colonization and extinction of populations based on the distance of the streets to green spaces and biological traits of each species.Plant species in 1,324 tree bases of the Bercy District of Paris were surveyed annually from 2009 to 2015. For each species and each street, we used SPOMSIM software to identify the best‐fit metapopulation model between four models with different colonization and extinction functions: propagule rain model (PRM) and Levins’ model with or without rescue effect.Results demonstrated that species more often conformed to the PRM in streets near green spaces, which suggested that green spaces could act as sources for the populations in those streets. Species with seeds with long‐term persistence more often conformed to the PRM, indicating that a soil seed bank helps species invade entire streets. Finally, a higher percentage of species with a short height conformed to models with a rescue effect, which indicated that those small species resisted the effects of weeding by the city technical services better than taller species.Synthesis and applications. This study showed how biological traits of species and geography of the district determine the dynamics of plants in the streets, and these results may provide important information for biodiversity management in cities.

Woody species composition and diversity of riparian vegetation along the Walga River, Southwestern Ethiopia.

The primary objective of this study was to examine the status of woody species composition and diversity along the Walga River of Wonchi, Southwestern Ethiopia. Fifty quadrats of 10 m x 50 m were laid at 500 m interval through systematic sampling method along the river line. Vegetation height (≥2.5 m) and DBH (≥2.5 cm) of only tree species were measured and altitude, ecological disturbances such as, grazing intensity and human impacts were included as main environmental variables at each of the sampled plots. The data was analyzed using different R statistical packages. Ninety-nine woody vascular plant species belonged to 81 genera and 45 familieswere recorded in Walga riparian vegetation. Only 10% of specieswere endemic to the Flora area. Asteraceae and Fabaceae had the highest number of species. Majority of the species (52.5%) were shrubs. Four major plant community types were identified: Euclea divinorum-Maytenus arbutifolia (1), Pterolobium stellatum- Calpurnia aurea (2), Brucea antidysenterica-Prunus africana (3), Erica arborea-Hagenia abyssinica (4). Species richness, true diversity and importance values were highestin community type 2(the lowest altitude ranges between 1976–2212 m a.s.l.) while evenness was highestin community type 3(mid altitude ranges between 2359–2676 m a.s.l.). Both community typeswere comprised of 56% of all recorded species and all endemic taxa except two. The highest percentage of species in lower frequency classes indicates a higher degree of floristic heterogeneity. There was a strong negative correlation (r = -0.65, p<0.001) between species richness and altitude with 42% of the variation in species richness per plot being explained by altitude. Our findings suggest that human disturbances and excessive livestock grazing are the main threats in community types1 and 2. We conclude that identifying major plant community types and underlying environmental conditions may help to manage and conserve forest resources in the area.

Seed dispersal syndromes in the Madagascan flora: the unusual importance of primates

AbstractMadagascar is one of the most threatened biodiversity hotspots, and protection of its biodiversity is becoming increasingly urgent as deforestation of the island continues. For the long-term success of conservation efforts it is essential that key ecological processes, such as seed dispersal, are protected and restored. Therefore, the identification of ecological gaps is a vital task. For Madagascar, only little is known about plant–animal interactions, and traditional methods of ecological research are too time-consuming to provide crucial information about breakdowns in these interactions. To identify likely dispersal gaps we therefore used a theoretical approach to analyse plant–disperser interactions in Madagascar. We used data science tools to impute missing data on relevant plant traits to subsequently predict the most likely dispersal agents for each of Madagascar's endemic plant species. We found that 38% of the endemic species (N = 8,784) are endozoochorous, and among these 26–41% display a primate syndrome and 17–19% a bird syndrome (depending on the definition of syndromes). This lower percentage of endozoochorous species and higher percentage of species with a primate syndrome in Madagascar compared to other tropical areas reflects the unusual disperser guild on the island. Only five bird species but 20 lemur species are frugivorous, and 16 of those lemur species are currently threatened with extinction. The disappearance of frugivorous lemurs would significantly change the vegetation dynamics of Madagascar's ecosystems, and a high proportion of Madagascar's endemic plants would enter an extinction vortex.

Uso de las plantas por comunidades campesinas en la ruralidad de Bogotá D.C., Colombia

Los campesinos colombianos poseen un valioso conocimiento etnobotánico que constituye parte del patrimonio biocultural e identitario que está en riesgo de desaparecer, producto del cambio en el uso de suelo, migraciones internas y dinámicas del mercado. En este estudio se documentaron usos de las plantas por parte de comunidades campesinas que viven en las áreas rurales de la ciudad de Bogotá. Basados en métodos de investigación cualitativa aplicados en entrevistas y en caminatas etnobotánicas se visitaron las áreas de aprovechamiento de 18 sabedores quienes proporcionaron información de 231 especies de plantas útiles asociadas a 320 nombres comunes. Estas especies corresponden a 86 familias botánicas y 191 géneros. Las familias Asteraceae (11%) y Lamiaceae (6%) son las que presentan mayor porcentaje de especies. Se determinaron 12 categorías de uso, dentro de las que predominó el uso medicinal (39%). La categorización de valor relativo indica que las variedades de “Cubio” (Tropaeolum tuberosum) están definidas como muy importantes, mientras que el “Encenillo” (Weinmannia tomentosa), proveniente de áreas boscosas circundantes, con cinco usos reportados, fue el que mayor número de registros presentó. Entre las especies útiles reportadas el 58% son sembradas en las huertas, mientras que el 42% son especies silvestres. En ese sentido en la ruralidad de Bogotá las huertas campesinas junto con la vegetación silvestre adyacente cumplen un papel fundamental para el autoconsumo y el mantenimiento de la agrobiodiversidad local, sugiriendo la importancia de la valoración y la integración de los conocimientos campesinos en planes de manejo y conservación de la biodiversidad de los ecosistemas altoandinos.*Anexo 1

In vitro propagation as a tool to enhance the use of native ornamentals in archaeological sites of Greece

This work, as a part of a research programme on the integrated management of vegetation at archaeological sites of Greece, aims at study the micropropagation protocols for small shrubby species belonging to the Greek macchia vegetation. The following species were selected: Anthyllis barba-jovis (A. splendens), A. hermanniae, Atriplex halimus, Ballota acetabulosa, Calamintha cretica, C. nepeta, Lomelosia cretica, L. hymettia, Limoniastrum monopetalum, Teucrium capitatum, Thymelaea hirsute and T. tartonraira. A satisfactory in vitro initiation (80-100%) was obtained using node explants excised from young seedlings grown in vitro. Higher percentage of species (80%) was successfully established on hormone-free (HF) MS medium, but most species showed higher multiplication rate on media supplemented with benzyladenine (BA), kinetin (KIN) and zeatin (ZEA). Shoots grown on multiplication medium supplemented with BA, show the best performance at low BA concentrations (0.25-0.5 mg L-1); this was not the case for shoots grown on ZEA-media which had satisfactory multiplication at ZEA concentration 1.0-4.0 mg L-1. When KIN was added to the medium, the best performance was scored for the concentration 2 mg L-1. The rooting process was genotype-dependent: almost half of the species rooted successfully at 80-100%, while A. halimus showed poor rooting, and T. hirsuta and T. tartonraira failed to root. Although 50% of the species rooted efficiently on HF-half strength MS medium, 3-indolebutyric acid (IBA) increased the rate of rooted species. The highest rate of rooted species (80%) was observed with 1.0 mg L-1 IBA. Ex vitro acclimatization on a peat:perlite (1:1, v/v) mixture was highly successful (90-100%) for all rooted species.

Biodiversity assessment: selecting sampling techniques to access anuran diversity in grassland ecosystems

Context Species richness is a relevant diversity component of community ecology and many standardised techniques are available for data estimations. However, each technique is appropriate to a few environment types and has its own sampling biases. Thus, it is necessary to test the effectiveness of traditional and heterodox sampling techniques in different habitat types, especially for highly diverse taxonomic groups, such as anurans. Aims We present a comparison based on species richness and detection between the following techniques: acoustic survey with visual encounter of adults (ASVE), automated digital recorders (ADR) and dip net survey of larvae (DSL). We sought to determine: (1) the most efficient sampling technique to survey species richness in ponds of grasslands habitats; and (2) whether efficiency is related to the particular life history traits of species. Methods During 2014 and 2015, we sampled 47 ponds distributed in vulnerable Brazilian grassland areas using ASVE, ADR and DSL. Anuran species were surveyed across two seasons that coincide with the peak of anuran breeding activity in the region. Key results Species richness recorded by ADR and ASVE was higher when compared with DSL. In terms of combined utilisation, ADR with DSL was as efficient as using all techniques together. However, species detection differed among sampling techniques. ADR had the higher percentage of species that were sampled exclusively in at least one breeding pond and DSL detected two species that were not detected by the other techniques. Conclusions Our findings suggest that ADR includes most species whose males call for only a few hours during the night or day, and DSL exclusively detects ‘explosive breeders’, incorporating a wide range of life history traits. ASVE becomes unnecessary since it does not include specific variations of species’ calling behaviour. It is susceptible to a discrepancy of survey data among observers and potentially causes a human disturbance effect in the estimated data. Implications We strongly recommended the use of ADR rather than ASVE, and we recommended DSL as a supplementary technique for population monitoring and surveys in grassland areas. We encourage researchers to include ADR and DSL in future works to survey biologic data outside of the short sampling event for which ASVE is commonly utilised, thereby improving the interpretation of biological patterns.

Floristic study of the Al-Shafa Highlands in Taif, Western Saudi Arabia

The Al-Shafa Highlands, a formerly undersuerveyed region, lie on the edges of the Sarawat mountain series, 25km southwest of Taif City, Saudi Arabia. In this study, the floristic composition, life forms, and chorological categories of species distribution were analysed within belts of different elevations in the Al-Shafa area. A total of 222 species in 167 genera representing 54 families of vascular plants were listed. Most species were therophytes (54%), followed by phanerophytes (15%). The highest percentage of species was Saharo-Sindian, with monoregional, biregional and multiregional species occurring. Three endemic species were also recorded: Aloe armatissima, Centaurothamnus maximus, and Picris scabra. The family Compositae contributed most species at high elevations. A hierarchical classification showed that high elevation belts were floristically more homogenous than low elevation belts. With increasing elevation, the proportions of therophytes and hemicryptophytes increased, while the Sudano-Zambesian and tropical elements decreased and Mediterranean elements increased with increasing elevation. Primarily, this study highlighted the importance of the flora of the Al-Shafa Highlands and likely improved the understanding of the distribution and ecology of plant taxa within the region. Moreover, this study provides baseline information to help the authorities plan proper strategies for the management and conservation of the Al-Shafa Highlands, which were recently identified as a region for internal tourism.

Exotic longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) established in New Zealand

Over the past 175 years, 10 species of exotic longhorn beetles have become established in New Zealand. Despite considerable increases in travel and transport of goods and materials throughout this time, the rate of establishment of exotic longhorn beetles in New Zealand shows no associated pattern. What is notable, although not surprising, is the high percentage of species that originate from Australia. These are mostly Eucalyptus feeders, which are presented with ample resources in New Zealand. These 10 Cerambycidae species are presented and discussed.

Land-mollusc forest communities along an altitudinal transect in northern Italy

While central and northern European land-mollusc forest communities have received considerable research effort, southern Europe has enjoyed much less attention. Despite the extent of Italian forests in terms of altitude and latitude, there has been only one previous quantitative study of their molluscan faunas. This paper describes the molluscan communities of six forest habitats in northern Italy along an altitudinal transect. Species richness had its highest values at low elevations, especially in maritime woodland and in riverine poplar woodland. Species abundance decreased from lowland to montane habitats, possibly as a consequence of a transition from eutrophic to oligotrophic habitats and from calcareous to acidic soils. Compared with the central and northern European forests, the Italian forests were poorer as far as species richness is concerned, but showed greater diversity among locations as the Jaccard presence/absence similarity index among habitats is equal or lower than 0.5. Considering abundances, all molluscan communities were significantly different in pairwise comparisons, with the single exception of the montane mixed-deciduous and beech forests. The low faunal similarity among sites and the high percentage of species found in only one habitat support the need for a network of diverse protected areas to preserve land-mollusc biodiversity.