The vascular flora of Rome

The aim of this paper is to document plant diversity in the metropolitan area of Rome (Italy) by providing a comprehensive inventory of the present-day vascular flora and an overview of its composition and species diversity. We compiled the floristic catalogue by including all vascular plant entities that occur spontaneously within the administrative boundaries of the Rome municipality. The data, which were gathered from extensive field surveys, from a broad review of the literature and from herbaria records, were updated and integrated in a comprehensive account. The inventory of the flora of metropolitan Rome lists 1649 entities, from 139 families and 677 genera. The flora contains 228 taxa that are non-native to the Italian flora, 81 of which are established in the study area. The overview of flora reveals a remarkable species diversity and outlines the main characteristics of the flora of Rome, which may be summarized as (1) a large number of taxa of high conservation value which occur in remnants of near-natural vegetation, (2) the loss or decline of some species, particularly of native freshwater plants, (3) a remarkably high native species richness within the urban area, which includes many native woody species and (4) a rich ruderal flora, prevalently composed of native species that are well adapted to human disturbance, along with a variety of taxa of non-native or uncertain origin. The large set of data and the overview presented in this paper represent a fundamental framework for future research and for the conservation of plant diversity in metropolitan Rome.     

A comparative analysis of global, national, and state red lists for threatened amphibians in Brazil

The knowledge about the conservation status of species is an important data for conservation biology. Therefore, threatened species lists are a powerful tool for conservation planning and prioritization. Our objective is to compare the global, the national and state red lists of amphibians in Brazil. Threatened species were categorized according to their listing in one or several of these lists. We analyzed for true inconsistencies across lists in order to evaluate practical consequences of such incongruences on amphibian conservation in Brazil. We recorded a total of 61 threatened amphibian species in Brazil (across all red lists). Only one species, Phrynomedusa fimbriata, was listed as Extinct (both in IUCN, Brazil and S?o Paulo lists). A total of eleven endemic species are listed as threatened by the global red list, but do not appear in Brazil’s national red list, which represent an inconsistence among these lists. Besides that, the threat category of Thoropa lutzi and Thoropa petropolitana, two endemic species, differ among both lists, which also represents a problem between both lists. These mismatches may be due to several reasons such as different interpretation of the criteria; different methodologies used; different data availability on species; differences in the dates of assessments processes; the assessors’ attitudes to uncertainty; outdated red lists. Harmonization among red lists permits a better picture of threatened amphibian diversity across scales and to develop global, national and state plans to complement conservation actions in order to maximize the chance of success of these initiatives.     

Grids versus regional species lists: are broad-scale patterns of species richness robust to the violation of constant grain size?

Where distribution maps do not exist ecologists often use regional species lists to examine geographic patterns of species richness, despite the fact that inconsistent grain sizes across areas may complicate interpretation of the results. We compare patterns of species richness of European butterflies and dragonflies using regional species lists (varying grain size) and regular grids (constant grain size). We asked if species lists give results comparable to the gridded data when used in simple macroecological analysis of environmental correlates of species richness. We generated two equal-area grids (220 × 220 km and 440 × 440 km) to map the richness gradients and model species richness as a function of actual evapotranspiration (AET) and range in elevation. Then we used species checklists of 33 administrative regions of unequal sizes to construct the same environmental models while accounting for differences in area. Analysis of butterfly checklist data produced comparable results to the analysis of gridded data. In contrast, dragonfly checklist data had a distorted spatial pattern and much weaker associations with environmental variables than the gridded data. The robustness of checklist data appears to be variable, even within a single geographical region, and may not generate patterns congruent with those found using equal-area grids.     

Are species lists derived from modeled species range maps appropriate for macroecological studies? A case study on data from BIEN

Because survey-based species lists for fine-scale areas are generally lacking, ecologists have been using species lists derived from modeled range maps in macroecological studies. Here I evaluate whether it is appropriate to use species lists derived from modeled range maps in macroecological studies. I compared species lists derived from about 90,000 range maps in the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) for over 180 geographic regions (12 broad regions covering the whole of the New World; 172 smaller regions, i.e. Taxonomic Databases Working Group units) with those representing complete or nearly complete species lists obtained from the literature for the regions. I determined the completeness of native species composition and proportion of false presences and exotic (non-native) species in species lists derived from range maps in BIEN. I determined whether errors in species lists derived from modeled range maps affect macroecological inferences by comparing the relationships of α- and β-diversity with geographic and climatic variables between different datasets (i.e. species lists derived from range maps versus complete or nearly complete species lists derived from the literature). The completeness for native species lists derived from range maps was 60–74%, depending on spatial scale. On average, 65% of the species in a species list derived from BIEN for a geographic area are false presences or non-native species to the area. The relationships of α- and β-diversity derived from the BIEN dataset with geographic and climatic variables differ significantly from those derived from complete species lists. This study shows that the results of a macroecological study based on species lists derived from modeled range maps may be substantially incorrect due to high percentages of missing native species, and high numbers of non-native species and false presences. Thus, it may not be appropriate to use species lists derived from modeled range maps in the macroecological studies that require complete or nearly complete species lists.     

国家濒危物种红色名录的生物多样性保护意义

IUCN濒危物种红色名录与国家濒危物种红色名录都是物种灭绝风险的测度, 前者是全球性评估, 后者则是国别研究。IUCN濒危物种红色名录预警了全球物种的濒危状况, 为全球生物多样性研究提供了大数据; 国别红色名录确定了各国物种受威胁状况, 填补了前者的知识空缺, 两份名录互为补充。目前对国家濒危物种红色名录重视不够。基于如下原因, 应当重视国别濒危物种红色名录的意义: (1)国家是濒危物种保护的行为主体, 物种在一个国家的生存状况是确定其保护级别、开展濒危物种保育的依据; (2)对于仅分布于一个国家的特有物种来说, 其国别濒危物种红色名录等级即是其全球濒危等级; (3)对于跨国境分布的物种来说, 国别濒危物种红色名录等级则确定了该物种在本国的生存状况; (4)结合IUCN濒危物种红色名录, 国别濒危物种红色名录为建立跨国保护地、保护迁徙物种的栖息地与跨国迁徙洄游通道提供依据; (5)国别濒危物种红色名录所特有的“区域灭绝”等级, 反映了一个物种边缘种群在该国的区域灭绝, 恢复“区域灭绝”物种是该物种原分布国重引入保育工作的重点; (6)国别濒危物种红色名录提供了该国物种编目、分类、分布和生存状况的最新信息。然而, 国别濒危物种红色名录的重要性在许多情况下被忽视了。目前正值全球新冠肺炎大流行, 人们正在重新审视人与野生动物的关系。我国将修订有关野生动物保护与防疫法法律以及《国家重点保护野生动物名录》, 防控新的人与野生动物共患疾病再次暴发。对于确定国家重点保护野生动物物种名录来言, 物种受威胁程度是物种列为国家重点保护物种的特征之一。重视国别红色名录有特别的意义。     

Do McKinnon lists provide reliable data in bird species frequency? A comparison with transect-based data

Although occurrence-based listing methods could provide reliable lists of species composition for a site, the effective reliability of this method to provide more detailed information about species frequency (and abundance) has been rarely tested. In this paper, we compared the species frequencies obtained for the same set of species-rich sites (wetlands of central Italy) from two different methods: McKinnon lists and line transects. In all sites we observed: (i) rapid cumulating curves of line transect abundance frequencies toward the asymptote represented by the maximum value in McKinnon occurrence frequency; (ii) a large amount of species having a low frequency with line transect method showing a high range of variation in frequency obtained by McKinnon lists; (iii) a set of species having a subdominant (>0.02-<0.05) and dominant species (>0.05) frequency with line transect showed all the highest value in McKinnon frequency. McKinnon lists provides only a coarse-grained proxy of species frequency of individuals distinguishing only between common species (having the highest values of McKinnon frequency) and rare species (all the other species). Although McKinnon lists have some points of strength, this method does not discriminate the frequencies inside the subset of common species (sub-dominant and dominant species). Therefore, we suggest a cautionary approach when McKinnon frequencies should be used to obtain complex univariate metrics of diversity.     

A digital flora of Rome

A complete guide to the rich flora of the metropolitan area of Rome (more than 1600 infrageneric taxa) was made available both as an online multi-entry query interface and as a stand-alone dichotomous key for mobile devices. From the general key, it will be possible to derive many smaller (and hence easier) guides to different parks and gardens of Rome, while teachers have been provided with additional software which permits them to create their own keys for any subset of species.     

Analysis of the Colosseum's floristic changes during the last four centuries

ABSTRACT

Different floristic lists of the Colosseum have been carried out starting from the XVII century (Panaroli, 1643; Sebastiani, 1815; Deakin, 1855; Fiorini Mazzanti, 1874; Anzalone, 1951; and recently Celesti Grapow et al., 2001). The comparison among these investigations reveals the rich plant colonisation, due to the great variety of habitats present in the monument and to its state of abandon. The maximum peak of 418 species can be referred in Deakin's list, and the minimum are the current 242 species, mainly distributed in the hypogeans. The total amount of colonising species in time was 684 vascular plants. The species listed for the monument in all the studies are 135, and all the common ones are 192. These are mainly herbaceous plants of ruderal habitats, widely distributed in more or less nitrophylous pastures or pioneer on rocks and walls. 426 species were enumerated before the XX century and later disappeared from the places. 117 species no longer belong to the Roman flora, and 24 species are no longer listed in the regional flora. These were mainly herbaceous and woody species typical of dynamically developed stages, belonging to forest and border line communities. Typical species of very disturbed habitats are also frequent. 66 species were collected only in more recent times. These belong to the synanthropic flora, though less nitrophylous compared with the previous, or are cultivated plants capable of becoming spontaneous under favourable conditions. The comparison among the different floras indicates not only the change in use of the monument, but also that climatic and microclimatic changes occurred in the last centuries. The relative biological and chorological spectra confirm the progressive warming and average reduction of humidity of the site.     

Context-dependence of diagnostic species: A case study of the central european spruce forests

In the phytosociological literature, there are numerous different approaches to the designation of diagnostic species. Frequently, this results in discrepancies between the lists of diagnostic species published for one and the same community. We examined different approaches to determining diagnostic species using as an examplePicea abies forests within the broader context of all Central European forests. Diagnostic species of spruce forests were determined from a data set of 20,164 phytosociological relevés of forests from the Eastern Alps, Western Carpathians, and the Bohemian Massif, which included 3,569 relevés of spruce forests. Phi coefficient of association was used to measure species fidelity, and species with the highest fidelities were considered as diagnostic. Diagnostic species were determined in four ways, including (A) comparison of spruce forests among the three mountain ranges, (B) comparison between spruce forests and other forests, performed separately in each of the mountain ranges, (C) simultaneous comparison of spruce forests of each of the mountain ranges with spruce forests of the other two ranges and with the other forests of all ranges, (D) comparison of spruce forests with the other forests, using pooled data sets from the three mountain ranges. The sets of diagnostic species of spruce forests yielded in comparisons A and B were sharply different; the set resulting from comparison C was intermediate between the first two and comparison D resulted in similar diagnostic species as comparison B. In comparison A, spruce forests of the Eastern Alps had a number of diagnostic species, while the spruce forests of the other two mountain ranges had only few diagnostic species. In comparison B, by contrast, the number and quality of diagnostic species decreased from the Bohemian Massif to the Eastern Alps. This exercise points out that lists of diagnostic species published in phytosociological literature are dependent on the context, i.e. the underlying data sets and comparisons: some of these lists are useful for identification of vegetation units at a local scale, some others for distinguishing units within a narrowly delimited community type over a large area. The thoughtless application of published lists of diagnostic species outside of the context for which they were intended should therefore be avoided.     

The role of taxonomy in species conservation

Taxonomy and species conservation are often assumed to be completely interdependent activities. However, a shortage of taxonomic information and skills, and confusion over where the limits to 'species' should be set, both cause problems for conservationists. There is no simple solution because species lists used for conservation planning (e.g. threatened species, species richness estimates, species covered by legislation) are often also used to determine which units should be the focus of conservation actions; this despite the fact that the two processes have such different goals and information needs. Species conservation needs two kinds of taxonomic solution: (i) a set of practical rules to standardize the species units included on lists; and (ii) an approach to the units chosen for conservation recovery planning which recognizes the dynamic nature of natural systems and the differences from the units in listing processes that result. These solutions are well within our grasp but require a new kind of collaboration among conservation biologists, taxonomists and legislators, as well as an increased resource of taxonomists with relevant and high-quality skills.     

Effects of fragmentation on vascular plant diversity in a Mediterranean forest archipelago

Abstract

We analysed the effects of patch size and isolation on vascular plants in Quercus cerris forest surrounding Rome (Italy). We randomly sampled 96 plots within 18 forest patches with homogeneous environmental variables; the patches ranged from 1.4 ha to 424.5 ha and were divided into four size classes. We performed the analyses at the patch level using linear regression. At the size class level, the analysis of species richness response to fragmentation (area effect) was performed with ANOVA, while the effect on community composition was analysed by means of PERMANOVA. We also investigated which species could be used as indicator species for each size class. Lastly, to evaluate the advantages of conserving several small patches as opposed to few large ones, we used a cumulative area approach ranking forest fragments. The correlation between species richness and patch area was positive, with a significant difference between the “large” and “small” size classes, while analysis on community composition showed that “large” versus “medium” and “large” versus “small” were significantly different. Nemoral species were recognised as indicators in the “large” class, and shrub and edge species in the “small” class. Our results indicate that 10 ha may be a suitable forest size threshold for planning and conservation.     

Determinants of native and alien species richness in the urban flora of Rome

Until now, analytical studies on European urban floras have mostly concentrated on the central and north‐western parts of the continent. In this paper, factors determining species richness of urban flora were studied for the city of Rome, Italy, based on a comprehensive floristic survey carried out between 1985 and 1994, and updated in 2005. All species were recorded in grid cells of 1.6 km² and classified into native and alien (the latter divided into archaeophytes and neophytes). The grids were classified with respect to the prevailing habitat type, area available to vegetation, level of disturbance and geographical position within the city. Data were analysed using minimal adequate models. Total species number was determined by habitat and its interaction with position on the north‐west gradient; other variables explained much less variance. Holding other variables constant, the average species number per grid cell was highest in archaeological sites and parks, followed by woodlands and rivers, and grasslands and recent developments. Residential areas and the historical centre were poorest in species number. Towards the north of the city, species richness in corresponding habitats increases because of higher landscape heterogeneity and closer association with diaspore pools in the surroundings. Native species make up on average 84% of the total species numbers, and trends opposite to those for the total number of species were found for the proportional representation of aliens. The occurrence of alien and native species in the flora of Rome is driven by similar factors, but factors that increase representation of aliens decrease that of natives and vice versa. The representation of neophytes and native species in grid cells was easier to explain (74% of variation accounted for) than that of archaeophytes (27%); this result reflects that in terms of ecology and response to factors, archaeophytes take an intermediate position between native plants and neophytes. Proportional representation of neophytes decreased with increasing area available to vegetation, reflecting that semi‐natural vegetation is better developed where less fragmented.     

Site-occupancy models may offer new opportunities for dragonfly monitoring based on daily species lists

Monitoring biodiversity is necessary but difficult to achieve in practice, in part because standardized field work is often demanding for volunteer field workers. Collecting opportunistic data on presence and absence of species is much less demanding, but such data may suffer from a number of biases, such as variation in observation effort over time. Here we explore whether site-occupancy models may be helpful to reduce such biases in opportunistic data, especially those caused by temporal variation of observation effort and by incomplete reporting of sightings. Site-occupancy models represent a generalisation of classical metapopulation models to account for imperfect detection; they estimate the probability of sites to be occupied (and of the rates of change, colonisation and extinction rates) while taking into account imperfect detection of a species. The models require so-called presence–absence data from replicated visits for a number of sites (e.g., 20–50). We tested whether these models provide reliable trend estimates if collectors of opportunistic data do not report all species detected. We applied the models to three opportunistic datasets of dragonfly species (1999–2007) in the Netherlands: (1) one-species records, (2) short daily species lists and (3) comprehensive daily species lists. Trend estimates based on a fourth dataset from a standardized monitoring scheme were used as a yardstick to judge the results.The analyses showed that occupancy trends based on comprehensive daily species lists in combination with site-occupancy models were generally similar to those based on the monitoring scheme. But trends based on one-species records and short daily lists were too imprecise to be very useful. In addition, site-occupancy models lead to more realistic occupancy estimates than those obtained from conventional logistic regression analysis. We conclude that comprehensive daily species lists can be useful surrogates for monitoring schemes to assess distributional trends.     

Harpacticoida (Crustacea: Copepoda) of the South China Sea: faunistic and biogeographical analysis

Based on original and on published databases, a compendium of the Harpacticoida of the South China Sea is presented, and the distributional range of species is discussed. Up to now, a total of 77 harpacticoid species belonging to 57 genera and 19 families have been recorded in this region. Twenty of these species, collected in Nha-Trang Bay (Vietnam), have not hitherto been described. The most speciose families are the Miraciidae (20 species) and the Laophontidae (9 species). Thirteen families were represented by one to three species only and six families by four to seven species. A brief comparison is presented between the harpacticoid fauna of the South China Sea, the Philippine Islands, the inner Malayan Archipelago (Java, Flores, Banda, and Celebes Seas), New Guinea, the Yellow Sea, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The overall similarity between the species lists of these areas was observed to be extremely low (average value of Simpson index is 0.15 ± 0.08). The lists of planktonic species from the different areas showed the highest similarity. The lowest similarity (highest endemism) was observed between the lists of interstitial species. It is likely that one of the factors determining the differences between the faunas is the poor knowledge about the composition and distribution of benthic harpacticoids in tropical latitudes.     

Using simple species lists to monitor trends in animal populations: new methods and a comparison with independent data

There is an urgent need to develop simple and inexpensive methods for monitoring wildlife populations in resource-poor countries. List-based methods have been advocated as simple yet potentially useful biodiversity monitoring tools, and systems have recently been launched in a number of countries to collect species lists. We attempt to advance the use of systematic list-based monitoring by (1) suggesting improvements to the way in which list reporting rates are calculated; (2) assessing the extent to which degrading effort-corrected measures of abundance into simple species lists results in loss of information on population trends; (3) comparing long-term trends in list reporting rates with population trends from a wholly independent monitoring scheme. Daily species lists of birds were derived from regular trapping at a nature reserve in southern England. Most species showed a strong correlation across years between the proportion of lists on which they occurred, adjusted for list length (adjusted list reporting rate; ALRR), and an effort-corrected measure of abundance (captures per unit effort; CPUE). ALRR revealed almost as much about annual variation in abundance as CPUE for all but the most frequently captured species. Long-term (>20 years) trends in ALRRs at the nature reserve were positively correlated with UK national population trends recorded over the same period by an independent, labour-intensive monitoring scheme that counted birds at a large number of widely spread sites. Our results support previous claims that simple species lists could generate data useful for monitoring long-term population trends, particularly where such lists are collected systematically. However, further research on the efficiency of list reporting rates relative to more sophisticated methods is necessary, before list-based methods can be advocated for dedicated monitoring schemes in resource-poor regions.     

Influence of photoperiod on development and maturation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Macrolophus pygmaeus</Emphasis> (Hemiptera,Miridae)

The effects of day length on development and reproductive maturation of zoophytophagous bug Macrolophus pygmaeus (= M. nubilis) were investigated under laboratory conditions using two strains originated from the environs of Rome, Italy (41.75°N, 12.30°E and 41.95°N., 12.80°E) and Sochi, Krasnodar Territory, Russia (43.9°N, 39.3°E). The insects were kept under day length of either 10 or 16 h at a constant temperature of 20°C. Nymphs and adults were fed on the grain moth eggs. Embryonic development lasted 18–20 days, nymphal development, 25–30 days, and reproductive maturation of females, 4–6 days. The short day length (10 h) resulted in 1–2-day prolongation of nymphal development and a longer maturation time in individuals from both strains, whereas the duration of embryo development was independent of photoperiod. Under both photoperiods, males developed faster than females. Under the short day length, females of the Rome strain matured markedly faster than those of the Sochi strain. Faster development under low temperature and stronger tendency to delay the reproductive maturation observed in the Sochi strain could be explained by a relatively fast (when compared with Rome) autumnal decrease in temperature. The mechanism and adaptive value of the long-day acceleration of development are not yet clear.     

Predator-prey ratios in communities of freshwater invertebrates: the role of enemy free space

SUMMARY.

• 1 The ratio: number of predator species/number of prey species is reviewed using comprehensive faunal lists for a range of freshwater habitats in Britain and North America. Prey species are defined as detritivores, herbivores and fungivores; predators eat metazoan animals as the main component of their diet. Our data refer only to invertebrates.
• 2 The numbers of predators and prey species are apparently very closely correlated in freshwater communities (r=0.84, In transformed data), with an average ratio of predators to prey of 0.36. The average ratio of predators to prey changes from 0.48 in small (species-poor) collections to 0.29 in large (species-rich) collections.
• 3 We suggest that an approximately constant ratio of predators to prey may be generated by: (a) the number of predator species being a function of the number of broad classes or kinds of prey; and (b) the number of prey species being constrained by competition between prey for ‘enemy free space’, i.e. species that are too similar are unable to coexist with shared predators.

     

Global versus Local Conservation Focus of U.S. State Agency Endangered Bird Species Lists

The development of species priorities for conservation at local or regional scales (for example, within a state or province) poses an interesting paradox. One the one hand, locally or regionally-derived species priorities may lead to greater interest in and resources directed to biodiversity conservation by local or regional institutions. On the other hand, locally or regionally-derived species priorities could overlook national or global priorities. We assessed U.S. state government agency endangered-threatened bird lists to determine the comparative representation of species of global versus local conservation significance on them. State lists tended to be represented primarily by species of low global risk-low global responsibility (range: 15–100%; mean 51%) and high global risk-high global responsibility (range: 0–73%; mean 35%). In 25 states, more than half of the species on the state lists were in the low global risk-low global responsibility category. Most U.S. state agency lists represent a combined strategy of highlighting species of both local and global conservation significance. Even with this combined local-global strategy, most state lists were predominated by species that represent local but not global conservation significance. Such a strategy could have profound negative consequences for many species that are not formally recognized under national endangered species protections but that are also left off of state-level endangered species lists.