Climate effects on the distribution of wetland habitats and connectivity in networks of migratory waterbirds

The establishment and maintenance of conservation areas are among the most common measures to mitigate the loss of biodiversity. However, recent advances in conservation biology have challenged the reliability of such areas to cope with variation in climate conditions. Climate change can reshuffle the geographic distribution of species, but in many cases suitable habitats become scarce or unavailable, limiting the ability to migrate or adapt in response to modified environments. In this respect, the extent to which existing protected areas are able to compensate changes in habitat conditions to ensure the persistence of species still remains unclear. We used a spatially explicit model to measure the effects of climate change on the potential distribution of wetland habitats and connectivity of Natura 2000 sites in Italy. The effects of climate change were measured on the potential for water accumulation in a given site, as a surrogate measure for the persistence of aquatic ecosystems and their associated migratory waterbirds. Climate impacts followed a geographic trend, changing the distribution of suitable habitats for migrants and highlighting a latitudinal threshold beyond which the connectivity reaches a sudden collapse. Our findings show the relative poor reliability of most sites in dealing with changing habitat conditions and ensure the long-term connectivity, with possible consequences for the persistence of species. Although alterations of climate suitability and habitat destruction could impact critical areas for migratory waterbirds, more research is needed to evaluate all possible long-term effects on the connectivity of migratory networks.     

Functional traits of woody plants: correspondence of species rankings between field adults and laboratory‐grown seedlings?

Abstract. Research into interspecific variation in functional traits is important for our understanding of trade‐offs in plant design and function, for plant functional type classifications and for understanding ecosystem responses to shifts in species composition. Interspecific rankings of functional traits are a function of, among other factors, ontogenetic or allometric development and environmental effects on phenotypes. For woody plants, which attain large size and long lives, these factors might have strong effects on interspecific trait rankings. This paper is the first to test and compare the correspondence of interspecific rankings between laboratory grown seedlings and field grown adult plants for a wide range of functional leaf and stem traits. It employs data for 90 diverse woody and semiwoody species in a temperate British and a (sub)Mediterranean Spanish flora, all collected according to a strict protocol. For 12 out of 14 leaf and stem traits we found significant correlations between the species ranking in laboratory seedlings and field adults. For leaf size and maximum stem vessel diameter > 50 % of variation in field adults was explained by that in laboratory seedlings. Two important determinants of plant and ecosystem functioning, specific leaf area and leaf N content, had only 27 to 36 and 17 to 31 % of variation, respectively, in field adults explained by laboratory seedlings, owing to subsets of species with particular ecologies deviating from the general trend. In contrast, interspecific rankings for the same traits were strongly correlated between populations of field adults on different geological substrata. Extrapolation of interspecific trait rankings from laboratory seedlings to adult plants in the field, or vice versa, should be done with great caution.     

The role of pi-acidic and pi-basic chiral stationary phases in the high-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of unusual beta-amino acids

The application of 3,5-dimethylphenyl-carbamoylated-beta-cyclodextrin (Cyclobond I 2000 DMP) and 2,6-dinitro-4-trifluoromethylphenyl-ether-beta-cyclodextrin-based (Cyclobond DNP) chiral stationary phases for the high-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of unusual beta-amino acids is reported. The investigated amino acids were saturated or unsaturated alicyclic beta-3-homo-amino acids and bicyclic beta-amino acids. Prior to chromatographic analyses, all amino acids were transformed to N-3,5-dinitrobenzoyl- or N-3,5-dimethylbenzoyl form to ensure a pi-acidic or pi-basic function and to enhance the pi-acidic-pi-basic interactions between analytes and chiral selectors. Chromatographic results are given as retention, separation and resolution factors. The chromatographic conditions were varied to achieve optimal separation. The sequence of elution of the enantiomers was determined in some cases.     

利用3种校正方案提高间接法测定兴安落叶松人工林叶面积指数的精度

木质部和集聚效应是影响间接法测定叶面积指数(LAI)精度的主要因素, 尤其是木质部的校正一直存在争议。针对这一问题, 该研究首先利用半球摄影法(DHP)和LAI-2000植物冠层分析仪法(LAI-2000法) 2种间接法测定了小兴安岭兴安落叶松(Larix gmelinii)人工林叶面积最大时期的有效LAI (L_e), 然后提出了A、B、C 3种校正方案来提高间接法的测定精度。同时, 利用凋落物法和异速生长方程法2种直接法测定LAI, 以凋落物法测定值为标准来评估3种校正方案的校正效果, 并检验天顶角范围对校正结果是否存在显著影响。结果表明: 在0-45° (1-3环)、0-60° (1-4环)、45°-60° (4环)及0-75° (1-5环) 4种不同天顶角范围内, DHP测定的L_e比凋落物法、异速生长方程法测定值分别低估19%-32%和8%-29%; 而LAI-2000法也得到相似的结论, 分别低估9%-30%和8%-28%。虽然校正方案A高估了木质部对LAI的贡献, 但在45º-60º天顶角范围内, 能有效地校正DHP测定的L_e, 在1-3环和1-4环天顶角范围内, 能有效地校正LAI-2000法测定的L_e。4种天顶角范围内, 校正方案B均能有效地校正DHP测定的L_e。整体来看, 4种天顶角范围内, 校正方案C对DHP和LAI-2000法测定值的校正效果均优于其他2种方案。研究结果表明除木质部和集聚效应外, 天顶角范围的选择也是决定间接法测定LAI精度的重要因素。     

Recipe for success: A network perspective of partnership in nature conservation

Successful conservation initiatives require collaboration between stakeholders across a range of organisational foci and expertise. In Romania, the EU LIFE Nature programme is the most important financing instrument for nature conservation, and projects commonly involve partnerships between public authorities, NGOs, enterprises, and research institutions. To understand strengths and gaps in conservation partnerships for LIFE Nature projects implemented in Romania, we applied a Social Network Analysis approach to 85 partner organisations across 35 projects. We complemented this approach with a questionnaire directed to project managers to identify the criteria for selecting partners, and the role of partners in the project. The network included mostly public authorities (50%), yet the Romanian Ornithological Society (NGO) and the University of Bucharest were the most influent organisations in the network. Public authorities, park authorities, and enterprises were often selected as partners because of their financial contributions and local connections. In contrast, research institutions and NGOs were selected as partners because of their technical expertise and policy influence at the national level. Furthermore, research institutions, parks authorities and NGOs were involved in proposal writing, preparatory and management activities, while public authorities had no predefined roles in LIFE projects. The analysis also showed that the Romanian conservation system is polycentric, with influence shared between research organisations, NGOs, and public authorities. Interviews with project managers revealed that Romania submits relatively fewer projects compared to Western EU countries because public agencies have low technical and logistic capacity. We recommend a national level strategy for increasing project submission rates and quality of proposals that addresses the need for strengthening ties between core organisations and public authorities, especially at the local level. These findings are likely to be applicable to other EU member states that are currently struggling to get funding for conservation projects, ultimately moving the EU closer to achieving the European Union Biodiversity Strategy 2020 targets.     

Population ecology of the rare carabid beetle Carabus variolosus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in north-west Germany

The declining European ground beetle Carabus variolosus, an indicator of undisturbed woodland brooks and swamps, is listed in the EU Species and Habitats Directive. Little is known about this flightless and endangered beetle, apart from its distribution range and habitat stenotopy. We present the results of a 2-year mark-release-recapture study on two neighbouring populations in Germany, which investigated basic parameters of population ecology that may be influential in the persistence of the beetle. Extremely small population sizes were the key findings. Since population densities corresponded to those of typical Carabus species, the size of the habitats was most probably the limiting factor. The risk of heavy losses during offspring development and hibernation may be alleviated by the considerable proportion of C. variolosus reproducing in more than 1 year. The fact that we did not recapture any marked specimens from the neighbouring population suggests a very limited dispersal power. The results imply a high vulnerability of the species, provide basic methodological information for an implementation of the EC Directive and for further research, and highlight the necessity to enlarge populated habitats.     

How does habitat diversity affect the species–area relationship?

Aim   To examine the way in which 'area' and 'habitat diversity' interact in shaping species richness and to find a simple and valid way to express this interaction.
Location   The Natura 2000 network of terrestrial protected areas in Greece, covering approximately 16% of the national territory.
Methods   We used the Natura 2000 framework, which provides a classification scheme for natural habitat types, to quantify habitat heterogeneity. We analysed data for the plant species composition in 16,143 quadrats in which 5044 species and subspecies of higher plants were recorded. We built a simple mathematical model that incorporates the effect of habitat diversity on the species–area relationship (SAR).
Results   Our analysis showed that habitat diversity was correlated with area. However, keeping habitat diversity constant, species richness was related to area; while keeping area constant, species richness was related to habitat diversity. Comparing the SAR of the 237 sites we found that the slope of the species–area curve was related to habitat diversity.
Main conclusions   Discussion of the causes of the SAR has often focused on the primacy of area per se versus habitat heterogeneity, even though the two mechanisms are not mutually exclusive and should be considered jointly. We find that increasing habitat diversity affects the SAR in different ways, but the dominant effect is to increase the slope of the SAR. While a full model fit typically includes a variety of terms involving both area and habitat richness, we find that the effect of habitat diversity can be reduced to a linear perturbation of the slope of the species accumulation curve.     

Vegetation mapping and nature conservation: a case study in Terceira Island (Azores)

In order to emphasize the importance of vegetation mapping for nature conservation purposes a case study in Terceira island (Azores) is presented, in which the importance of the natural vegetation of the eastern slope of Santa Bárbara volcano (which is part of the Site of Community Importance of Santa Bárbara–Pico Alto) is evaluated through the elaboration of its vegetation map. Fourteen (14) different natural vegetation types were identified: grasslands (1 type), peat bogs (2 types), scrubs (2), forests (5), successional vegetation (3) and vegetation of rocky slopes (1). All communities are protected under the Habitat and Species Directive (EC/92/43) and most of them are endemic to the Azores Islands. This fact, together with the significant number of Azorean endemic taxa (18), Macaronesian endemic taxa (5) and species protected under the Habitat and Species Directive (7), gives this area an important conservation value that justifies future protection actions. Vegetation mapping is an important tool for the characterization, evaluation and implementation of managing plans of natural areas of the Azores islands. The use of a floristic-based classification, supported by multivariate analysis and structural data, is an efficient methodology for the construction of these maps. The data collected comprise an important set of information about the distribution and abundance of natural vegetation types and endemic and rare species. This information was not available until now and is indispensable for the elaboration of management plans of Special Zones for Conservation that will be part of the NATURA 2000 network.     

Reproducible transfection in the presence of carrier DNA using FuGENE6 and Lipofectamine2000

We have examined transfection conditions of chinese hamster ovary cells using FuGENE6 and immortalized gonadotrope cell line LbetaT2 cells using Lipofectamin 2000 and to obtain reproducible and reliable transfection. The experiments were performed with fluorescent protein expression vectors, pEYFP-C1 and pECFP-C1, or secreted-type alkaline phosphatase vector, pSEAP2, as reporter genes. The number of cells that received reporter plasmid increased in proportion to the amount of DNA and reached a plateau at a large amount. Co-transfection using two fluorescence vectors with a small amount of DNA demonstrated that every transfected cell received both vectors without discrimination. The results further indicate that there is a hierarchy of DNA receptiveness among competent cells. Simultaneously, we observed that a reliable transfection took place at the high dose of DNA. That is, the addition of carrier DNA makes possible a reliable delivery of a small amount of DNA of interest to the competent cells. Similar results were also obtained by pSEAP2 vector. Co-transfection of pEYFP-C1 and pECFP-C1 with various ratios at adequate amounts demonstrated that the fluorescence intensities by each vector are proportional to each amount of vector used with comparable efficiency. In addition, we observed that the variation of the assay using fluorescent vectors or secreted alkaline phosphatase vectors were small enough within the +/- 25% (SD, n = 4), showing that the internal marker often used to normalize the data is not essential, since the vectors used allow us to exclude cell-harvest and cell-lysis. Thus, the present study demonstrates that the addition of carrier DNA during transfection provides reproducible and reliable results.     

Mechanism of pH-triggered collapse of phosphatidylethanolamine liposomes stabilized by an ortho ester polyethyleneglycol lipid

The mechanism of pH-triggered destabilization of liposomes composed of a polyethyleneglycol-orthoester-distearoylglycerol lipid (POD) and phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE) has been studied using an ANTS/DPX leakage and a lipid-mixing assay. We developed a kinetic model that relates POD hydrolysis to liposome collapse. This minimum-surface-shielding model describes the kinetics of the pH-triggered release of POD/PE liposomes. In the model, when acid-catalyzed hydrolysis lowers the mole percentage of POD on the liposome surface to a critical level, intervesicular lipid mixing is initiated, resulting in a burst of contents release. Two phases of content leakage are observed: a lag phase and a burst phase. During the lag phase, less than 20% of liposomal contents are released and the leakage begins to accelerate when approaching to the transition point. During the burst phase, the leakage rate is dependent on interbilayer contact. The burst phase occurs when the surface density of the PEG lipid is 2.3 +/- 0.6 mol%, regardless of the pH. Vesicles containing 4 mol% of a pH-insensitive PEG-lipid conjugate and 10% POD did not leak contents or collapse at any pH. These data are consistent with the stalk theory to describe the lamellar-to-inverted hexagonal phase transition and set a lower bound of approximately 16 PE lipids on the external monolayer as the contact site required for lipid mixing between two bilayers.