Search results for " status"
showing 10 items of 2435 documents
Living on the edge of a shrinking habitat: the ivory gull, Pagophila eburnea, an endangered sea-ice specialist.
2016
International audience; The ongoing decline of sea ice threatens many Arctic taxa, including the ivory gull. Understanding how ice-edges and ice concentrations influence the distribution of the endangered ivory gulls is a prerequisite to the implementation of adequate conservation strategies. From 2007 to 2013, we used satellite transmitters to monitor the movements of 104 ivory gulls originating from Canada, Greenland, Svalbard-Norway and Russia. Although half of the positions were within 41 km of the ice-edge (75% within 100 km), approximately 80% were on relatively highly concentrated sea ice. Ivory gulls used more concentrated sea ice in summer, when close to their high-Arctic breeding …
Allium istanbulense, a new autumnal species of A. sect. Codonoprasum (Amaryllidaceae) from Turkey and its taxonomic position among allied species
2018
Allium istanbulense, a new species of Allium sect. Codonoprasum, is described and illustrated from Istanbul surroundings (European Turkey). It is a late-flowering diploid species (2n = 16), occurring in the undergrowth of oak or pine woods mainly on sandy or incoherent soils. Its morphology, karyology, leaf anatomy, seed micromorphology, ecology, conservation status and taxonomic relationships are examined. A taxonomic comparison with the most allied late flowering species of sect. Codonoprasum and identification keys of the group are also provided.
Predicting the effectiveness of oil recovery strategies in the marine polluted environment
2018
Abstract Many recent studies have focused their attention on the physiological stress experienced by marine organisms in measuring ecotoxicological responses. Here we suggest a new approach for investigating the effects of an anthropogenic pollutant on Life-History (LH) traits of marine organisms, to provide stakeholders and policy makers an effective tool to evaluate the best environmental recovery strategies and plans. A Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB), coupled with a biophysical model was used to predict the effects of a six-month oil spill on Mytilus galloprovincialis' LH traits and to test two potential recovery strategies in the central Mediterranean Sea. Oxygen consumption rates were use…
Effectiveness of Posidonia oceanica biotic indices for assessing the ecological status of coastal waters in the Saronikos Gulf (Aegean Sea, Eastern M…
2017
Biotic indices are considered key assessment tools in most national and European policies aimed at improving the quality of coastal waters. At present, several Water Framework Directive (WFD)-compliant biotic indices based on the marine angiosperm Posidonia oceanica have been developed and applied in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of four different P. oceanica indices (POMI, PREI, Valencian CS, and BiPo) in evaluating the ecological status of coastal waters in a case study area of Greece. The evaluation, comparison, and validation of the Ecological Status Class (ESC) assessments obtained by each index were based on a set of eight common sites that en…
Landscape-scale simulation experiments test Romanian and Swiss management guidelines for mountain pasture-woodland habitat diversity
2016
Distinct guidelines have been proposed in Romania and Switzerland for the management of pasture woodlands that either focused on the regulation of grazing pressure (Romanian production perspective) or overall tree cover (Swiss conservation perspective). However, the landscape structural diversity and the cover of forest-grassland ecotones, which are both crucial for nature conservation value, were not explicitly considered. We aimed to compare the country-specific management guidelines regarding their efficiency for the conservation of the structurally diverse forest-grassland mosaics in the light of recent land-use and climate change. In strategic simulation experiments using the process-b…
Nardostachys jatamansi (D.Don) DC.: An invaluable and constantly dwindling resource of the Himalayas
2020
International audience; The use of medicinal plant species for different therapeutic effects is well recognized around the globe. Nardostachys jatamansi (D.Don) DC. (Family: Caprifoliaceae Juss.), commonly known as Indian spikenard is a critically endangered medicinal plant which grows at high altitudes in the alpine and sub-alpine regions of the Himalayas. Its medicinal use is well-recognized in the Bhutanese, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Nepalese and Tibetan medicine. Moreover, its medicinal properties are well established in traditional medicines including Ayurveda, Ben-Cao- Shi-Yi, Homer's Iliad, the Old Testament, as in conventional systems. The increasing national and international dema…
Gas Exchanges and Stem Water Potential Define Stress Thresholds for Efficient Irrigation Management in Olive (Olea europea L.)
2018
With climate change and decreased water supplies, interest in irrigation scheduling based on plant water status is increasing. Stem water potential (ΨSWP) thresholds for irrigation scheduling in olive have been proposed, however, a physiologically-based evaluation of their reliability is needed. A large dataset collected at variable environmental conditions, growing systems, and genotypes was used to characterize the relation between ΨSWP and gas exchanges for olive. Based on the effect of drought stress on the ecophysiological parameters monitored, we described three levels of stress: no stress (ΨSWP above about −2 MPa), where the high variability of stomatal conductance (gs) suggests a ti…
Research priorities for freshwater mussel conservation assessment
2018
Freshwater mussels are declining globally, and effective conservation requires prioritizing research and actions to identify and mitigate threats impacting mussel species. Conservation priorities vary widely, ranging from preventing imminent extinction to maintaining abundant populations. Here, we develop a portfolio of priority research topics for freshwater mussel conservation assessment. To address these topics, we group research priorities into two categories: intrinsic or extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are indicators of organismal or population status, while extrinsic factors encompass environmental variables and threats. An understanding of intrinsic factors is useful in monitor…
The conservation status of the world's freshwater molluscs
2021
With the biodiversity crisis continuing unchecked, we need to establish levels and drivers of extinction risk, and reassessments over time, to effectively allocate conservation resources and track progress towards global conservation targets. Given that threat appears particularly high in freshwaters, we assessed the extinction risk of 1428 randomly selected freshwater molluscs using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, as part of the Sampled Red List Index project. We show that close to one-third of species in our sample are estimated to be threatened with extinction, with highest levels of threat in the Nearctic, Palearctic and Australasia and among gastropods. Threat levels were hi…
Hierarchy of factors impacting grape berry mass: separation of direct and indirect effects on major berry metabolites
2018
Final berry mass, a major quality factor in wine production, is determined by the integrated effect of biotic and abiotic factors that can also influence berry composition. Under field conditions, interactions between these factors complicate study of the variability of berry mass and composition. Depending on the observation scale, the hierarchy of the impact degree of these factors can vary. The present work examines the simultaneous effects of the major factors influencing berry mass and composition to create a hierarchy by impact degree. A second objective was to separate the possible direct effects of factors on berry composition from an indirect effect mediated through their impact on…