Molecular biogeography of red deer Cervus elaphus from eastern Europe: insights from mitochondrial DNA sequences

European red deer are known to show a conspicuous phylogeographic pattern with three distinct mtDNA lineages (western, eastern and North-African/Sardinian). The western lineage, believed to be indicative of a southwestern glacial refuge in Iberia and southern France, nowadays covers large areas of the continent including the British Isles, Scandinavia and parts of central Europe, while the eastern lineage is primarily found in southeast-central Europe, the Carpathians and the Balkans. However, large parts of central Europe and the whole northeast of the continent were not covered by previous analyses. To close this gap, we produced mtDNA control region sequences from more than 500 red deer from Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia and combined our data with sequences available from earlier studies to an overall sample size of almost 1,100. Our results show that the western lineage extends far into the European east and is prominent in all eastern countries except for the Polish Carpathians, Ukraine and Russia where only eastern haplotypes occurred. While the latter may actually reflect the natural northward expansion of the eastern lineage after the last ice age, the present distribution of the western lineage in eastern Europe may in large parts be artificial and a result of translocations and reintroduction of red deer into areas where the species became extinct in historical times.     

Genetic divergence and phylogeographic relationships among european perch (Perca fluviatilis) populations reflect glacial refugia and postglacial colonization

We used the widely distributed freshwater fish, perch (Perca fluviatilis), to investigate the postglacial colonization routes of freshwater fishes in Europe. Genetic variability within and among drainages was assessed using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequencing and RAPD markers from 55 populations all over Europe as well as one Siberian population. High level of structuring for both markers was observed among drainages and regions, while little differentiation was seen within drainages and regions. Phylogeographic relationships among European perch were determined from the distribution of 35 mtDNA haplotypes detected in the samples. In addition to a distinct southern European group, which includes a Greek and a southern Danubian population, three major groups of perch are observed: the western European drainages, the eastern European drainages including the Siberian population, and Norwegian populations from northern Norway, and western side of Oslofjord. Our data suggest that present perch populations in western and northern Europe were colonized from three main refugia, located in southeastern, northeastern and western Europe. In support of this, nested cladistic analysis of mtDNA clade and nested clade distances suggested historical range expansion as the main factor determining geographical distribution of haplotypes. The Baltic Sea has been colonized from all three refugia, and northeastern Europe harbours descendants from both eastern European refugia. In the upper part of the Danube lineages from the western European and the southern European refugia meet. The southern European refugium probably did not contribute to the recolonization of other western and northern European drainages after the last glaciation. However, phylogenetic analyses suggest that the southern European mtDNA lineage is the most ancient, and therefore likely to be the founder of all present perch lineages. The colonization routes used by perch probably also apply to other freshwater species with similar distribution patterns.     

Comparisons and relationships of the African and European Miocene carnivoran assemblages

In the present article, the Middle and Late Miocene carnivoran faunas of Europe and Africa are compared for establishing their relationships. The Middle Miocene carnivoran assemblages from both continents are quite different at the specific and generic levels, less expressed in family composition. The comparison of the Late Miocene carnivoran assemblages indicates the following: the African carnivoran assemblage is different from the European ones both at the generic and specific level; the carnivoran faunas of Europe can be split into two geographic groups, “western” and “eastern”; the Turolian African assemblage is more diversified at the family level; the African carnivoran assemblage differs from the European ones in the presence of herpestids, the higher abundance of mustelids and the fewer hyaenids. It is more similar to the Late Miocene carnivoran assemblages of western and central Europe than eastern Europe.     

What counts? Volunteers and their organisations in the recording and monitoring of biodiversity

There is a pressing need for volunteer amateur naturalists to participate in data collection for biodiversity monitoring programmes in Europe. It is being addressed in some countries, but less so in others. This paper discusses the results from qualitative research using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant observation within nine Participatory Monitoring Network (PMN) organisations in six European countries. The paper examines the features that facilitate recruitment, retention and motivations of volunteers to participate in biodiversity monitoring, including the social and cultural milieus in which they operate. The paper concludes that volunteers place a high degree of significance on their social experience within PMNs. Successful creation and management of PMNs thus requires that similar levels of attention be paid to social aspects of the organisation as are paid to the generation and management of data.     

Health and social inequality in Europe.

In most European countries health has been shown to be linked to social circumstances--gradients in health status have persisted for decades, despite major changes in the principal causes of death. In central and eastern Europe life expectancy has stagnated since the mid-60s, whereas in the West it has increased; but even in the West it is related to income distribution. Social differences in mortality in men are three times as large in some countries as in others, and are influenced by factors other than conventional risk factors. Substantial declines in mortality and morbidity could result from a narrowing of health inequalities even when differences in health risk between social groups are comparatively small. Policies to reduce health inequalities can be introduced in smaller communities and organisations such as the school and workplace. National policies are variable; factors generating inequalities require action across several policy areas.     

Understanding the migration ecology of European red admirals Vanessa atalanta using stable hydrogen isotopes

Tracking migratory movement of small animals with variable migration patterns is difficult with standard mark–recapture methods or genetic analysis. We used stable hydrogen isotope (δD) measurements of wings from European red admirals Vanessa atalanta to study several aspects of this species’ migration. In the central part of southern Europe we found large differences in δD values between red admirals sampled in autumn and spring supporting the hypothesis that reproduction takes place in the Mediterranean region during winter. There was also an apparent influx to southern Europe in the spring of individuals with a more southerly origin, since many samples had higher δD values and similar to those expected from coastal areas of North Africa. We found a clear seasonal difference in the δD values of red admirals sampled in northern Europe. Spring migrants arriving in northern Europe generally had high δD values that indicated a southerly origin. In autumn, δD values suggested that red admirals were mostly from regions close to the sampling sites, but throughout the sampling period there were always individuals with δD values suggesting non‐local origins. The migration pattern of this species is supposedly highly variable and plastic. δD differences between individuals in the western part of Europe were generally small making migratory patterns difficult to interpret. However, butterflies from western Europe were apparently isolated from those from north‐eastern Europe, since δD values in the western region rarely corresponded to those of autumn migrants from the north‐east. Use of δD data for inferring butterfly migration in Europe is complex, but our study showed that this technique can be used to help uncover previously unknown aspects of red admiral migration.     

Indexing European bird population trends using results of national monitoring schemes: a trial of a new method

Many European countries have annual breeding bird monitoring schemes based on nationwide samples; most are in northern and western Europe. We have developed a method to produce yearly population indices of bird species across countries by combining the results of existing national schemes. The method takes into account the differences in population sizes per country, as well as the differences in field methods, and the numbers of sites and years covered by the national schemes. In order to test the method, we collected raw data from a number of countries and applied an index method to produce scheme results per country. Data were collected for five farmland species (Lapwing Vanellus vanellus, Linnet Carduelis cannabina, Skylark Alauda arvensis, Whitethroat Sylvia communis and Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella), from seven countries (UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Latvia and Estonia) for a 20-year period (1978–97). The trial demonstrated that it was possible to combine national indices to provide supra-national yearly totals and their standard errors; the results were similar to those produced when the raw data were used. Thus, yearly European indices can be produced by exchanging only limited amounts of information, that is the national yearly indices of each species or, preferably, the yearly population numbers and their standard errors. At a European scale, the populations of the five species selected have changed considerably. In western Europe (UK, Netherlands, Denmark and former West Germany combined), Linnet, Skylark and Yellowhammer have declined and Whitethroat has increased. Most changes occurred during the first ten-year period (1978–88). The changes in eastern Europe (the remaining countries) were less clear, in part because the statistical power of the national schemes is as yet limited.     

Educational differences in smoking: international comparison

ObjectiveTo investigate international variations in smoking associated with educational level.DesignInternational comparison of national health, or similar, surveys.SubjectsMen and women aged 20 to 44 years and 45 to 74 years.Setting12 European countries, around 1990.ResultsIn the 45 to 74 year age group, higher rates of current and ever smoking among lower educated subjects were found in some countries only. Among women this was found in Great Britain, Norway, and Sweden, whereas an opposite pattern, with higher educated women smoking more, was found in southern Europe. Among men a similar north-south pattern was found but it was less noticeable than among women. In the 20 to 44 year age group, educational differences in smoking were generally greater than in the older age group, and smoking rates were higher among lower educated people in most countries. Among younger women, a similar north-south pattern was found as among older women. Among younger men, large educational differences in smoking were found for northern European as well as for southern European countries, except for Portugal.ConclusionsThese international variations in social gradients in smoking, which are likely to be related to differences between countries in their stage of the smoking epidemic, may have contributed to the socioeconomic differences in mortality from ischaemic heart disease being greater in northern European countries. The observed age patterns suggest that socioeconomic differences in diseases related to smoking will increase in the coming decades in many European countries.     

Molecular phylogeography of domesticated barley traces expansion of agriculture in the Old World

Barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare) was first cultivated 10,500 years ago in the Fertile Crescent and is one of the founder crops of Eurasian agriculture. Phylogeographic analysis of five nuclear loci and morphological assessment of two traits in >250 domesticated barley accessions reveal that landraces found in South and East Asia are genetically distinct from those in Europe and North Africa. A Bayesian population structure assessment method indicates that barley accessions are subdivided into six clusters and that barley landraces from 10 different geographical regions of Eurasia and North Africa show distinct patterns of distribution across these clusters. Using haplotype frequency data, it appears that the Europe/North Africa landraces are most similar to the Near East population (F ST = 0.15) as well as to wild barley (F ST = 0.11) and are strongly differentiated from all other Asian populations (F ST = 0.34-0.74). A neighbor-joining analysis using these F ST estimates also supports a division between European, North African, and Near East barley types from more easterly Asian accessions. There is also differentiation in the presence of a naked caryopsis and spikelet row number between eastern and western barley accessions. The data support the differential migration of barley from two domestication events that led to the origin of barley--one in the Fertile Crescent and another farther east, possibly at the eastern edge of the Iranian Plateau--with European and North African barley largely originating from the former and much of Asian barley arising from the latter. This suggests that cultural diffusion or independent innovation is responsible for the expansion of agriculture to areas of South and East Asia during the Neolithic revolution.     

Molecular differentiation within European <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cratoneuron filicinum</Emphasis>, and differences from Asiatic and American populations

Variation in ITS and the two chloroplast markers rpl16 and tRNA-Gly was studied to explore phylogeographic patterns in, especially, western Eurasiatic Cratoneuron filicinum (Hedw.) Spruce. ITS and chloroplast data yield incongruent results and are therefore analysed separately; recombination is indicated for ITS. For both data sets one group of haplotypes is widespread in western Eurasia. Another is found in the Mediterranean region and occurs in southern Scandinavia (ITS) or large portions of northern Europe, but is missing in central Europe. It is suggested that the northern populations of the latter haplotypes have dispersed from eastern or south-eastern glacial refugia. At the continental scale, south-east Asiatic populations differ from those in western Eurasia, with an apparent meeting zone west of the Himalayas. American haplotypes are most similar to some European ones according to ITS, but to south-east Asiatic ones according to chloroplast data.     

Geographical partitioning of goat diversity in Europe and the Middle East

Thirty microsatellite markers were analysed in 1426 goats from 45 traditional or rare breeds in 15 European and Middle Eastern countries. In all populations inbreeding was indicated by heterozygosity deficiency (mean FIS = 0.10). Genetic differentiation between breeds was moderate with a mean FST value of 0.07, but for most (c. 71%) northern and central European breeds, individuals could be assigned to their breeds with a success rate of more than 80%. Bayesian-based clustering analysis of allele frequencies and multivariate analysis revealed at least four discrete clusters: eastern Mediterranean (Middle East), central Mediterranean, western Mediterranean and central/northern Europe. About 41% of the genetic variability among the breeds could be explained by their geographical origin. A decrease in genetic diversity from the south-east to the north-west was accompanied by an increase in the level of differentiation at the breed level. These observations support the hypothesis that domestic livestock migrated from the Middle East towards western and northern Europe and indicate that breed formation was more systematic in north-central Europe than in the Middle East. We propose that breed differentiation and molecular diversity are independent criteria for conservation.     

Phylogeography and genetic structuring of European nine-spined sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius)-mitochondrial DNA evidence

As a consequence of colonisation from different glacial refugia, many northern European taxa are split into distinct western and eastern lineages. However, as for the nine-spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), the exact location of the contact zone between lineages often remains poorly known. We assessed the genetic differentiation and diversity in the nine-spined stickleback within Europe using 1037 base pairs of cytochrome b sequence for 320 individuals from 57 locations, including pond, lake, river, and coastal habitats. Our main aims were (i) to locate the contact zone between the previously recognized western and eastern lineages, (ii) investigate latitudinal patterns in genetic diversity, (iii) compare genetic diversity among different habitat types, and (iv) date the known split between eastern and western lineages. The data revealed the split between eastern and western to be located across the Danish Straits and roughly following the Norway/Sweden border to the North. Reference sites from Canada form their own clades, and one of the Canadian sites was found to have a haplotype common to the Eastern European lineage, possibly representing an ancestral polymorphism. The split between the two European clades was dated to approximately 1.48 million years ago (Mya), and between Canada and Europe to approximately 1.62 Mya. After controlling for habitat effects, nucleotide (but not haplotype) diversity across populations decreased with increasing latitude. Coastal populations showed significantly higher haplotype diversity (but not nucleotide diversity) than pond populations, but there were no detectable differences in haplotype diversity among different freshwater habitat types (viz. river, lake and pond populations), or between coastal and lake/river populations. Sequences were found to cluster according to their geographic proximity, rather than by habitat type, and all habitat types were found within each major clade, implying that colonisation and adaptation between the coastal and freshwater environments in different regions must have occurred in parallel.     

Is the last glaciation the only relevant event for the present genetic population structure of the meadow brown butterfly Maniola jurtina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)?

Phylogeographical studies are available for a considerable number of European species, but few analyses exist for temperate species with very large and fairly continuous populations that are also absent from Northern Europe. Therefore, we studied the butterfly Maniola jurtina as a model for this group. The species has two major genetic lineages (mean genetic distance between lineages: 0.033; F _CT: 0.052), most probably evolving in glacial differentiation centres in the western and eastern Mediterranean. The onset of this differentiation might have been the beginning of the last glacial stage maximum some 40 kyr bp . A hybrid zone between these two lineages exists in western Central Europe. No genetic substructures have been found within the two lineages ( F _SC: 0.017) and average genetic distances are very small. Therefore, it is highly probable that postglacial expansion was of the phalanx type. There is, at most, very limited differentiation at regional and local scales. However, the genetic diversity within populations is high (means: A : 2.68; H _E: 17.2%; P : 78%), as would be predicted for such a common species. Comparison of these results with a published allozyme analysis revealed a similar phylogeographical pattern, but lower genetic diversity in the latter. Morphological patterns of wings and genitalia show similar geographical patterns as allozyme data.   © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 85 , 419–431.     

Microsatellite genetic variation reveals extensive introgression between wild and introduced stocks, and a new evolutionary unit in French pike Esox lucius L.

The genetic variability of 11 French pike Esox lucius populations from rivers or extensive aquaculture ponds was analysed using seven microsatellite markers. The fish stocking of eastern European pike in French rivers is widespread, so five supplementary populations from this region were also analysed. Genetic variability within the French population was small, and similar to that previously found in Europe for this species. French populations from stocked rivers and extensive farms formed a genetically homogeneous group, and did not diverge from most eastern European samples, which may reflect either ancestral polymorphism or a complete introgression of French populations by introduced stocks. Bayesian analysis of the admixture between populations enabled identification of the French populations that were likely to be affected by introduced stocks (of local or foreign origin). Three genetically distinct evolutionary branches were identified: continental Europe, Danube basin, and south‐western France. The last is a new finding in the species which needs to be further explored by comparisons with wild populations at other sites.     

Basic features of the nemoral curculionid-beetle fauna (Coleoptera,Curculionoidea) from eastern Europe and western Siberia

There are 132 curculionids associated with deciduous trees in eastern Europe and western Siberia. The weevils and bark beetles make up the basis of the fauna, forming almost 80%. The fauna of oak is the richest (64 species). The species composition on the ash-tree (50% are monophages) is highly original. Impoverishment of the species composition from the west to the east is revealed. The fauna declines by 18% from 45 to 55° E. The species composition reduces two times beyond the Urals. The faunal boundaries are revealed from west to east and from east to west. The most significant boundary (47% of the fauna do not pass it) for distribution of species to the east is situated between 40 and 45° E. Two significant faunal boundaries are revealed from south to north. The fauna of curculionids of deciduous trees is formed by four groups of species. The southern European species (54%) and western palaearctic species (40%) dominate. The species composition of the studied territory is similar to the fauna of Middle Europe. Formation of the modern fauna of curculionids of deciduous trees in eastern Europe probably occurred in the Holocene. The western Palaearctic and Transpalaearctic species could have occupied the considered territory since the Late Pleistocene. Southern European species appeared in the considered territory after the Valdai glaciation during the warming in the Atlantic period of the Holocene. Penetration of East Palaearctic species began rather recently (last few decades), probably due to climate warming and economic activities.     

Monitoring presence and advance of the alien invasive western corn rootworm beetle in eastern Slovenia with highly sensitive Metcalf traps

The American Chrysomelid beetle Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (D.v.v.), also called the western corn rootworm, spread from the location of its original introduction into Europe, Belgrade airport (BACA 1993), in all directions. Within a decade it occupied almost all countries of South-eastern and Central Europe. However, it reached Slovenia as late as 2003: Only 19 specimen were found in maize fields of the eastern and also western provinces. Already in the summer of 2004, their number had risen to 386 which were mainly found in the eastern provinces near the borders to Croatia, Austria and Hungary. For their monitoring, a simple trap is being described which can be acquired in high numbers at a very low price and can guaranty a most sensitive detection of beetles. The Metcalf cup trap which in Slovenia so far has been unknown performed the task of monitoring quite well at five locations. It will also facilitate the future search for new and increasing infestations. Comparing 2004 with the year 2003, D.v.v. expanded its range in eastern Slovenia by about 15 km. These new infestations will include territories in which fields of the regionally Important oil seed pumpkin Cucurbita pepo are located. With important traffic connections between South-eastern and Central Europe, Slovenia will occupy a bridgehead function in the preventive protection of maize from D.v.v. spreading into more northerly European regions including western Austria and southern Germany.     

Forest and the city: A multivariate analysis of peri-urban forest land cover patterns in 283 European metropolitan areas

Heterogeneous definitions of urban areas and poorly homogenized forest data at the country scale have hampered the comparative assessment of peri-urban forest structure in developed countries. The present study investigates selected landscape characteristics of peri-urban forests in 283 metropolitan areas in Europe controlling for the role of the local context and regional suburbanization trends. Using landscape metrics derived from Urban Atlas maps (a Copernicus/GMES initiative providing a comprehensive land-use assessment of European cities >100,000 inhabitants), significant differences in peri-urban forest structure were detected under five European regions. Specific class metrics (percent forest area, mean patch size, perimeter-to-area ratio) were correlated with urban morphology, landscape and territorial indicators. On average, forest cover is larger in northern and southern European metropolitan areas. Forest patch size increases from western to eastern Europe, with more regular patch shapes in central and eastern regions and less regular shapes in the rest of Europe. Forest class area increases with the area of discontinuous, medium-density settlements. Forest patch size increases with the average patch size of discontinuous dense urban fabric. Our evidence outlines a ‘sprawl model' shaping fringe landscapes characterized by discontinuous urban settlements mixed with fragmented – but possibly well protected – forest patches.     

Faith, Hope, Neoliberalism: Mapping Economies of Violence on the Margins of Europe

This paper explores the manner in which the east of Europe has been theorized in the post cold war environment, and the implications for our understanding of the relationship between east and west. It argues that hegemonic discourses of neoliberalism lend a quality of inevitability to the integration of east into west, which in turn leads to a singular conception of Europe at the end of a trajectory of development. The paper argues that the relationship of western Europe to eastern Europe is more fruitfully explored through the conceptual framework of a center to its margins, which allows for a broader range of analysis on the issues — conceptual and implementational — at stake in transition processes, and which will allow for a theoretical exploration of where power is located and exercised. Because eastern Europe is understood in scholarly and policy communities as politically and geographically European, the study of postcommunist transition in Europe falls outside the purview of a development studies community that is increasingly focused on the emerging north/south divide. In a scholarly environment where the East/West divide no longer constitutes a salient focus of study, there is a need for the development of a framework that will provide a richer understanding of the reconstituted relationships being formed in Europe in the post-cold war environment. This paper argues that the social, economic, and political impact of disciplinary neoliberalism in eastern Europe can benefit from an analysis that takes into consideration the Eurocentric, disciplinary power that lies at the core of the transition process. Toward this end, it is necessary to query the discursive foundations of what constitutes the ‘properly European’ in order to develop a framework for a more fruitful course of analysis with respect to the relationship between Europe and its fluctuating eastern margins.     

Obesity in Europe

Obesity, defined as a body mass index > 30 kg/m² is relatively common in Europe, particularly among women, and especially in Southern and Eastern European countries. Among men the distribution of body mass index values is surprisingly similar in most countries of Europe. Educational level is strongly inversely associated with the prevalence of obesity. Although differences in body mass index cannot entirely explain the large variation in risk factors and mortality from coronary heart disease, it can be shown that within populations an increased body mass index is associated with less favorable risk patterns. More research is needed to elucidate the reasons for the large variation in the prevalence of obesity among European women and to the health risks associated with obesity in different European countries.     

紫荆属的系统发育和生物地理学研究

紫荆属（Cercis L.）约含8种,间断分布于亚洲东、西部、欧洲南部和北美。应用核糖体DNA的ITS基因序列研究紫荆属的系统发育关系。在最简约性分析,北美的两个种和南欧、西亚的一个种构成一单系群而隐藏于东亚的种类中。这表明紫荆属北美的种类和南欧、西亚的种类之间的关系比它们的各自与东亚的种类的关系要密切。研究还发现北美洲东、西部的种类可能具较近亲缘。紫荆属以白令陆桥或北大西洋陆桥为迁移途径的可能性似乎都不能排除;北半球的生物地理分布式样可具有复杂的起源。