Search results for " Planetary"
showing 10 items of 5408 documents
Pathways towards a sustainable future envisioned by early-career conservation researchers
2021
Scientists have warned decision-makers about the severe consequences of the global environmental crisis since the 1970s. Yet ecological degradation continues and little has been done to address climate change. We investigated early-career conservation researchers' (ECR) perspectives on, and prioritization of, actions furthering sustainability. We conducted a survey (n = 67) and an interactive workshop (n = 35) for ECR attendees of the 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology (2018). Building on these data and discussions, we identified ongoing and forthcoming advances in conservation science. These include increased transdisciplinarity, science communication, advocacy in conservati…
Food availability and temperature optima shaped functional composition of chironomid assemblages during the Late Glacial–Holocene transition in North…
2021
Abstract Non-biting midges (Chironomidae) are the most diverse and abundant invertebrate group in boreal lakes and are strongly responsive to climate change, thus they are a valuable palaeoecological proxy for studying aquatic biodiversity response in the face of climate change. Here, we aim to decipher the influence of climate-induced changes on temporal patterns in chironomid assemblages. We apply a novel approach combining traditional taxon-based analysis and species-trait framework to subfossil chironomid assemblages in a sediment core covering the Late Glacial–Holocene transition in Northern Europe. We produce pollen-based July and January temperature reconstructions to characterize pa…
Late Quaternary changes in bat palaeobiodiversity and palaeobiogeography under climatic and anthropogenic pressure: new insights from Marie-Galante, …
2016
25 pages; International audience; Data on Lesser Antillean Late Quaternary fossil bat assemblages remains limited, leading to their general exclusion from studies focusing on Caribbean bat palaeobiodiversity and palaeobiogeography. Additionally, the role of climatic versus human pressure driving changes in faunal communities remains poorly understood. Here we describe a fossil bat assemblage from Blanchard Cave on Marie-Galante in the Lesser Antilles, which produced numerous bat remains from a well-dated, stratified context. Our study reveals the occurrence of at least 12 bat species during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene on Marie-Galante, whereas only eight species are currently kn…
A continuous multi-millennial record of surficial bivalve mollusk shells from the São Paulo Bight, Brazilian shelf
2014
AbstractTo evaluate the potential of using surficial shell accumulations for paleoenvironmental studies, an extensive time series of individually dated specimens of the marine infaunal bivalve mollusk Semele casali was assembled using amino acid racemization (AAR) ratios (n = 270) calibrated against radiocarbon ages (n = 32). The shells were collected from surface sediments at multiple sites across a sediment-starved shelf in the shallow sub-tropical São Paulo Bight (São Paulo State, Brazil). The resulting 14C-calibrated AAR time series, one of the largest AAR datasets compiled to date, ranges from modern to 10,307 cal yr BP, is right skewed, and represents a remarkably complete time series…
New data on bat fossils from Middle and Upper Pleistocene localities of France
2011
We describe the bat fossils preserved in four sites from the middle and upper Pleistocene, three of them being well-known French localities: the rock shelter of Les Valerots, the caves of l’Escale at Saint Estève Janson and ‘‘du Prince’’ at Grimaldi (Italy), and the filling of Combe-Grenal, all of them containing microvertebrate assemblages with yet undescribed bat fossils. All species represented in these four localities are still presently distributed in France and had been previously recorded in other Pleistocene localities of central and western Europe, including France. The four assemblages differ both in the abundance of bat fossils as in species composition. The characteristics of ea…
An integrative identification guide to the Hydrozoa (Cnidaria) of Bocas del Toro, Panama
2018
This work is the first attempt to assess the biodiversity of the Hydrozoa in the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro (Panamá, Caribbean Sea) using morphology and molecular taxonomy, and to produce field identification tools to help future identification and monitoring efforts in the area. We sampled, identified, vouchered, and barcoded 112 specimens of Hydrozoa from shallow coastal waters (0–22 m depth) in the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro. The specimens belong to 70 taxa, of which 53 were identified at the species level, and 17 were identified at the genus or family level. We produced 64 sequences of the large ribosomal subunit of the mitochondrial RNA (mt lsu-rRNA, 16S), the genetic marker ge…
From microbial eukaryotes to metazoan vertebrates: Wide spectrum paleo-diversity in sedimentary ancient DNA over the last ~14,500 years
2018
Most studies that utilize ancient DNA have focused on specific groups of organisms or even single species. Instead, the whole biodiversity of eukaryotes can be described using universal phylogenetic marker genes found within well-preserved sediment cores that cover the post-glacial period. Sedimentary ancient DNA samples from Lake Lielais Svētiņu, eastern Latvia, at a core depth of 1,050 cm in ~150 year intervals were used to determine phylotaxonomy in domain Eukaryota. Phylotaxonomic affiliation of >1,200 eukaryotic phylotypes revealed high richness in all major eukaryotic groups-Alveolata, Stramenopiles, Cercozoa, Chlorophyta, Charophyta, Nucletmycea, and Holozoa. The share of organisms t…
Patterns of genetic diversity and structure in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Nacella (Patellogastropoda: Nacellidae) species.
2016
10 pages; International audience; The biogeography of the Southern Ocean reflects complex interactions between major macro-evolutionary forces and biotic elements. Major gateway openings, the establishment of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and climate cooling are deeply connected to the composition, abundance and distribution of the Southern Ocean marine benthic fauna. Glacial episodes of the Quaternary heavily impacted the distribution of the genetic variation of the Southern Ocean biota. The genus Nacella includes 12 nominal species in different provinces of the Southern Ocean. In this study, we compared patterns of mitochondrial DNA diversity in three Nacella species from Antarctic Pe…
Estimating the genetic diversity and structure ofQuercus trojanaWebb populations in Italy by SSRs: implications for management and conservation
2017
Studying the genetic diversity and structure of the current forest populations is essential for evaluating the ability to survive to future biotic and abiotic changes and planning conservation strategies. Quercus trojana is an eastern Mediterranean tree species with a fragmented distribution range, and its westernmost outposts are located in southern Italy. The demand for timber and cropland over the centuries has severely reduced it s occurrence in this part of the range. We assessed the genetic diversity and structure of the extant Italian populations of Q. trojana and derived conservation guidelines. A total of 322 samples were genotyped with six polymorphic nuclear microsatellite marker…
Gastrointestinal parasites of two populations of Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) from north-east Greenland
2017
Parasitological examination of 275 faecal samples from Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) collected at Zackenberg Valley and Karupelv Valley in north-east Greenland from 2006 to 2008 was conducted using sieving and microscopy. Overall, 125 (45.5%) samples contained parasite eggs of Taenia crassiceps, Taenia serialis, Toxascaris leonina, Eucoleus boehmi, Physalopteridae and Ancylostomatidae, and Strongyloides-like larvae. As long-term ecological studies are conducted at both sampling locations, the present findings constitute a baseline data set for further parasitological monitoring.