Search results for " biodiversity."
showing 10 items of 313 documents
Ecological dependencies make remote reef fish communities most vulnerable to coral loss
2021
Ecosystems face both local hazards, such as over-exploitation, and global hazards, such as climate change. Since the impact of local hazards attenuates with distance from humans, local extinction risk should decrease with remoteness, making faraway areas safe havens for biodiversity. However, isolation and reduced anthropogenic disturbance may increase ecological specialization in remote communities, and hence their vulnerability to secondary effects of diversity loss propagating through networks of interacting species. We show this to be true for reef fish communities across the globe. An increase in fish-coral dependency with the distance of coral reefs from human settlements, paired with…
Thirty years unmanaged green roofs: Ecological research and design implications
2016
Abstract The variations in species composition and assemblage of unmanaged simple-intensive green roofs in Hannover, Germany, were investigated over a thirty year period, in order to assess the persistence of the initial seed mixture and to evaluate floristic changes. The roofs were greened in 1985 with soil-based turf rolls sown with a mixture of five grasses (Festuca rubra, Festuca ovina, Agrostis capillaris, Lolium perenne and Poa pratensis). Three sets of 120 phytosociological releves, sampled in 1987, 1999 and 2014, have been compared to assess: (1) nestedness vs spatial turnover, (2) functional diversity and (3) the importance of vegetation dynamics on green roof performance and desig…
The impact of Carpobrotus cfr. acinaciformis (L.) L. Bolus on soil nutrients, microbial communities structure and native plant communities in Mediter…
2016
Background and aims: Carpobrotus spp. are amongst the most impactful and widespread plant invaders of Mediterranean habitats. Despite the negative ecological impacts on soil and vegetation that have been documented, information is still limited about the effect by Carpobrotus on soil microbial communities. We aimed to assess the changes in the floristic, soil and microbial parameters following the invasion by Carpobrotus cfr. acinaciformis within an insular Mediterranean ecosystem. Methods: Within three study areas a paired-site approach, comparing an invaded vs. a non-invaded plot, was established. Within each plot biodiversity indexes, C and N soil content, pH and microbial biomass and st…
Updated checklist and distribution of large branchiopods (Branchiopoda: Anostraca, Notostraca, Spinicaudata) in Tunisia
2016
Temporary ponds are the most peculiar and representative water bodies in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, where they often represent diversity hotspots that greatly contribute to the regional biodiversity. Being indissolubly linked to these ecosystems, the so-called “large branchiopods” are unanimously considered flagship taxa of these habitats. Nonetheless, updated and detailed information on large branchiopod faunas is still missing in many countries or regions. Based on an extensive bibliographical review and field samplings, we provide an updated and commented checklist of large branchiopods in Tunisia, one of the less investigated countries of the Maghreb as far as inland w…
Distribution of sea urchins living near shallow water CO2 vents is dependent upon species acid-base and ion-regulatory abilities.
2013
To reduce the negative effect of climate change on Biodiversity, the use of geological CO2 sequestration has been proposed; however leakage from underwater storages may represent a risk to marine life. As extracellular homeostasis is important in determining species' ability to cope with elevated CO2, we investigated the acid-base and ion regulatory responses, as well as the density, of sea urchins living around CO2 vents at Vulcano, Italy. We conducted in situ transplantation and field-based laboratory exposures to different pCO2/pH regimes. Our results confirm that sea urchins have some ability to regulate their extracellular fluid under elevated pCO2. Furthermore, we show that even in cl…
Intégrer la connectivité paysagère dans la séquence ERC : une approche par la quantité d'habitat atteignable
2019
Des engagements nationaux, européens et internationaux ont été pris pour maintenir et restaurer la connectivité entre habitats naturels face à la perte et à la fragmentation de ces habitats. Dans le même temps, les politiques environnementales dans différents pays mettent en oeuvre la séquence Eviter-Réduire-Compenser (ERC) pour atteindre l’objectif d’absence de perte nette de biodiversité (PPN). La séquence ERC a pour principe d’évaluer l’ensemble des impacts écologiques d’un aménagement, mais les critères et indicateurs permettant de quantifier les impacts sur la connectivité paysagère ne sont pas satisfaisants. Nous proposons une démarche opérationnelle pour évaluer les impacts environne…
Descriptors of Posidonia oceanica meadows: Use and application
2005
This work benefited partly from the financial support of the European program ΓNTERREG IIIA Corsica, Sardinia. Tuscany
Molecular phylogeny of the extinct giant deer, Megaloceros giganteus.
2006
a Centre de Genetique Moleculaire et Cellulaire (CGMC), CNRS UMR 5534, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France b Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Populations du Passe, CNRS UMR 5199 PACEA, Universite Bordeaux 1, Talence, France c UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, UCD, BelWeld, Dublin 4, Ireland d Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Hydrosystemes Fluviaux, CNRS UMR 5023, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France e Biogeosciences-Dijon, CNRS UMR 5561, Universite de Bourgogne, Centre des Sciences de la Terre, Dijon, France f Department of Palaeontology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium g Department of Biology, University College Lo…
New national and regional Annex I Habitat records: from #13 to #15
2020
New data on the distribution of the Annex I Habitats 3160, 7210* and 9320 are reported in this contribution. In detail, 24 new occurrences in Natura 2000 Sites are presented and 42 new cells in the EEA 10 km x 10 km Reference grid are added. The new data refer to Italy and in particular to the Administrative Regions Lombardy, Sardinia, and Sicily.