Search results for "species diversity."

Modelling landscape constraints on farmland bird species range shifts under climate change

2018

Several studies estimating the effects of global environmental change on biodiversity are focused on climate change. Yet, non-climatic factors such as changes in land cover can also be of paramount importance. This may be particularly important for habitat specialists associated with human-dominated landscapes, where land cover and climate changes may be largely decoupled. Here, we tested this idea by modelling the influence of climate, landscape composition and pattern, on the predicted future (2021–2050) distributions of 21 farmland bird species in the Iberian Peninsula, using boosted regression trees and 10-km resolution presence/absence data. We also evaluated whether habitat specialist…

What are the effects of even-aged and uneven-aged forest management on boreal forest biodiversity in Fennoscandia and European Russia? A systematic r…

2021

Abstract Background Forest harvesting changes forest habitat and impacts forest dependent species. Uneven-aged management is often considered better for biodiversity than even-aged management, but there is an ongoing discourse over the benefits and disadvantages of different silvicultural systems. This systematic review contributes to the public discussion and provides evidence for policy making by synthesising current evidence on impacts of even-aged and uneven-aged forest management on biodiversity in boreal forests of Fennoscandia and European Russia. In this review even-aged and uneven-aged forest management are compared directly to each other as well as to natural forest to provide a b…

Genomic characterization of the Braque Français type Pyrénées dog and relationship with other breeds

2018

The evaluation of genetic variability is a useful research tool for the correct management of selection and conservation strategies in dog breeds. In addition to pedigree genealogies, genomic data allow a deeper knowledge of the variability and genetic structure of populations. To date, many dog breeds, such as small regional breeds, still remain uncharacterized. Braque Français type Pyrénées (BRA) is a dog breed originating from a very old type of gun-dog used for pointing the location of game birds to hunters. Despite the ancient background, the knowledge about levels of genetic diversity, degree of inbreeding and population structure is scarce. This may raise concerns on the possibility …

“Out of the can”: a draft genome assembly, liver transcriptome, and nutrigenomics of the european sardine, sardina pilchardus

2018

Clupeiformes, such as sardines and herrings, represent an important share of worldwide fisheries. Among those, the European sardine (Sardina pilchardus, Walbaum 1792) exhibits significant commercial relevance. While the last decade showed a steady and sharp decline in capture levels, recent advances in culture husbandry represent promising research avenues. Yet, the complete absence of genomic resources from sardine imposes a severe bottleneck to understand its physiological and ecological requirements. We generated 69 Gbp of paired-end reads using Illumina HiSeq X Ten and assembled a draft genome assembly with an N50 scaffold length of 25,579 bp and BUSCO completeness of 82.1% (Actinoptery…

Loss of habitats, naturalness and species diversity in Eurasian forest landscapes

2010

Abstract Man has exploited land and forests in Western and Central Europe longer and more intensively than in Northern Europe and further east in Eurasia. We estimated forest naturalness and modelled expected biodiversity loss in seven different landscapes (2500 km2 each) in the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Poland, St. Petersburg (Western European Russia), Perm (Eastern European Russia), and Irkutsk (Central Siberia) across the distribution of Pinus sylvestris L. in Eurasia. Field inventories showed that the mean living tree volumes were relatively similar in the studied sites, but the volumes of dead wood differed greatly. In Irkutsk and Perm the volume of dead trees per ha was about 5–10…

2010

The diversity–stability hypothesis states that current losses of biodiversity can impair the ability of an ecosystem to dampen the effect of environmental perturbations on its functioning. Using data from a long-term and comprehensive biodiversity experiment, we quantified the temporal stability of 42 variables characterizing twelve ecological functions in managed grassland plots varying in plant species richness. We demonstrate that diversity increases stability i) across trophic levels (producer, consumer), ii) at both the system (community, ecosystem) and the component levels (population, functional group, phylogenetic clade), and iii) primarily for aboveground rather than belowground pr…

Möglichkeiten und Grenzen einer Ökosystem-Rekonstruktion am Beispiel des spätpaläozoischen lakustrinen Paläo-Ökosystems. 1. Theoretische und methodis…

1998

In analogy to ecosystems, palaeoecosystems are defined here as the palaeocommunities of a given area and their relationships to the abiotic variables of their respective environments. They are characterized by (a) their species diversity, (b) the trophic structure of their palaeocommunities, based on their food webs, and (c), based on their detailed historical development, ecosystem functions such as stability, resilience, and succession. Due to numerous taphonomic biases, palaeocommunities can only be reconstructed from very few fossil horizons (taphocoenoses). Important conditions for such reconstructions are an uninterrupted vertical sequence of taphocoenoses with little time-averaging, …

Biogeography and diversity of South Atlantic Cretaceous echinoids: implications for circulation patterns

2000

Abstract This survey of echinoid species living on the African and South American margins of the South Atlantic Ocean in Cretaceous times is based on a review of published species and abundant unpublished material. The synthetic approach is used to ascertain how the South Atlantic was colonised by echinoids from the time it first opened in the Early Cretaceous until communications were established with the North Atlantic and Mediterranean–Tethys in the Late Cretaceous. The survey focuses on the biogeographical origin of immigrant species and their relations with Indo-Madagascan, North Atlantic and Mediterranean–Tethyan faunas. Qualitative variations in species diversity are also studied whe…

Determinants and Congruence of Species Richness Patterns across Multiple Taxonomic Groups on a Regional Scale

2012

Applying multiple generalized regression models, we studied spatial patterns in species richness for different taxonomic groups (amphibians, reptiles, grasshoppers, plants, mosses) within the German federal state Rhineland-Palatinate (RP). We aimed (1) to detect their centres of richness, (2) to rate the influence of climatic and land-use parameters on spatial patterns, and (3) to test whether patterns are congruent between taxonomic groups in RP. Centres of species richness differed between taxonomic groups and overall richness was the highest in the valleys of large rivers and in different areas of southern RP. Climatic parameters strongly correlated with richness in all taxa whereas land…

Biodiversity of wood-decay fungi in Italy

2011

Abstract Current knowledge about Italian wood-decay fungi (Basidiomycota and Ascomycota) is surveyed: 1582 taxa belonging to Ascomycota (341) and Basidiomycota (1241) have been reported, including 23 species new to science of Basidiomycota described from Italy within the last five years. Evaluating diversity of wood-decay fungi can provide a more accurate estimation of species richness for fungi which are an important functional component of ecosystems. Aphyllophoroid and Ascomycota species play an important role in habitat conservation and management. Sardinia, Sicily, the Alps and the Apennines are “hot spots” for wood-decay Basidiomycota in Italy.