Assessing species saturation: conceptual and methodological challenges

Is there a maximum number of species that can coexist? Intuitively, we assume an upper limit to the number of species in a given assemblage, or that a lineage can produce, but defining and testing this limit has proven problematic. Herein, we first outline seven general challenges of studies on species saturation, most of which are independent of the actual method used to assess saturation. Among these are the challenge of defining saturation conceptually and operationally, the importance of setting an appropriate referential system, and the need to discriminate among patterns, processes and mechanisms. Second, we list and discuss the methodological approaches that have been used to study species saturation. These approaches vary in time and spatial scales, and in the variables and assumptions needed to assess saturation. We argue that assessing species saturation is possible, but that many studies conducted to date have conceptual and methodological flaws that prevent us from currently attaining a good idea of the occurrence of species saturation.     

Creating individual accessible area hypotheses improves stacked species distribution model performance

Aim

Stacked species distribution models (SDMs) are an important step towards estimating species richness, but frequently overpredict this metric and therefore erroneously predict which species comprise a given community. We test the idea that developing hypotheses about accessible area a priori can greatly improve model performance. By integrating dispersal ability via accessible area into SDM creation, we address an often‐overlooked facet of ecological niche modelling.

Innovation

By limiting the training and transference areas to theoretically accessible areas, we are creating more accurate SDMs on the basis of a taxon's explorable environments. This limitation of space and environment is a more accurate reflection of a taxon's true dispersal properties and more accurately reflects the geographical and environmental space to which a taxon is exposed. Here, we compare the predictive performance of stacked SDMs derived from spatially constrained and unconstrained training areas.

Main conclusions

Restricting a species’ training and transference areas to a theoretically accessible area greatly improves model performance. Stacked SDMs drawn from spatially restricted training areas predicted species richness and community composition more accurately than non‐restricted stacked SDMs. These accessible area‐based restrictions mimic true dispersal barriers to species and limit training areas to the suite of environments to those which a species is exposed to in nature. Furthermore, these restrictions serve to ‘clip’ predictions in geographical space, thus removing overpredictions in adjacent geographical regions where the species is known to be absent.     

Global patterns of Rhododendron diversity: The role of evolutionary time and diversification rates

Aim

Understanding the evolution of the latitudinal diversity gradient (i.e. increase in species diversity towards the tropics) is a prominent issue in ecology and biogeography. Disentangling the relative contributions of environment and evolutionary history in shaping this gradient remains a major challenge because their relative importance has been found to vary across regions and taxa. Here, using the global distributions and a molecular phylogeny of Rhododendron, one of the largest genera of flowering plants, we aim to compare the relative contributions of contemporary environment, evolutionary time and diversification rates in generating extant species diversity patterns.

Location

Global.

Time period

Undefined.

Major taxa studied

Rhododendron.

Methods

We compiled the global distributions of all Rhododendron species, and constructed a dated molecular phylogeny using nine chloroplast genes and seven nuclear regions. By integrating these two datasets, we estimated the temporal trends of Rhododendron diversification, and explored the global patterns of its species diversity, net diversification rates, and species ages. Next, we reconstructed the geographical ancestral area of the clade. Finally, we compared the relative contribution of contemporary environment, time‐for‐speciation, and diversification rates on the species diversity pattern of Rhododendron.

Results

In contrast to the predictions of the time‐for‐speciation hypothesis, we found that although Rhododendron originated at a temperate latitude, its contemporary species diversity is highest in the tropics/subtropics, suggesting an into‐the‐tropics colonization for this genus. We found that the elevated diversification induced by heterogeneous environmental conditions in the tropics/subtropics shapes the global pattern of Rhododendron diversity.

Main conclusions

Our findings support tropical and subtropical mountains as not only biodiversity and endemism hotspots, but also as cradles for the diversification of Rhododendron. Our study emphasizes the need of unifying ecological and evolutionary approaches in order to gain comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying the global patterns of plant diversity.     

Contrasting intraspecific foliar trait responses to stressful conditions of two rhizomatous granite outcrop species at different scales in southwestern Australia

Plants respond to changing environmental conditions, and their ability to adjust intra‐specifically to such shifts represents an ecological and evolutionary advantage. We studied seven plant traits for two common, rhizomatous granite outcrop species (the fern Cheilanthes austrotenuifolia, and the herb Stypandra glauca) with seasonal foliage during the cooler, wetter winter months at seven sites across an aridity gradient in southwestern Australia. We investigated trait patterns at regional and habitat scale, by investigating changes in trait values along the aridity gradient, and by comparing two different habitats types (sun‐exposed and sheltered). We expected plants occurring in more arid sites and highly irradiated, shallow‐soil (sun‐exposed) habitats, to exhibit traits indicative of more conservative resource acquisition, retention and use strategies. At the habitat scale, we found support for our prediction, with plants in more stressful, sun‐exposed habitats showing traits’ values associated with more conservative strategies (especially for water), such as smaller plants, denser leaves, higher foliar δ¹³C and C/N. However, at the regional scale many traits displayed the opposite pattern, suggesting less conservative resource acquisition in more arid sites. This evidence was particularly pronounced for specific leaf area (SLA), which exhibited a significant, positive relationship with increasing aridity. We suggest that the unexpected regional trends in foliar traits relate to shorter lived, faster growing leaves linked to highly efficient resource acquisition and use strategies during the shorter growing season in the more arid regions. These highly exploitative strategies may enable plants to avoid climate extremes, that is, hot and dry periods in the more arid sites. Our findings of contrasting foliar traits responses at different scales support the importance of multi‐scale approaches to quantify the role of intraspecific trait variability.     

The utility of inflammation and platelet biomarkers in patients with acute coronary syndromes

Introduction

Thrombotic and inflammatory mechanisms are involved in the pathophysiology of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The aim of the study was the evaluation of inflammation (white blood cells count/WBC, C-reactive protein/CRP, interleukin-6/IL-6) and platelet (platelet count/PLT, mean platelet volume/MPV, large platelet/LPLT, beta-thromboglobulin/β-TG) biomarkers in the groups of ACS patients depending on the severity of signs and symptoms and compared to controls without coronary artery disease.

A catalog of fungi recorded from the vicinity of Syowa Station

The Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) was started in 1957. The expedition marked its 60th anniversary in January 2017. In total 76 fungal species (61 ascomycetous fungi, including 9 unidentified species, and 16 basidiomycetous fungi) have thus far been recorded from the area around Syowa Station. In this review, I present a catalog of the fungal species isolated from the vicinity of Syowa Station to mark the 60th anniversary of JARE.     

Assessing water quality and classifying trophic status for scientifically based managing the water resources of the Lake Timsah,the lake with salinity stratification along the Suez Canal

Lake Timsah is considered as the biggest water body at Ismailia City with a surface area of 14?km². It is a saline shallow water basin lies approximately mid-way between the south city of Suez and the north city of Port Said at 30^o35′46.55“N and 32^o19′30.54″E. Because it receives water with high and low salinities, salinity stratification is producing in the Lake Timsah, with values of 14–40‰ for the surface water and over 40‰ for the bottom water. The temperature of the lake water decreased to below 19 °C in the winter and rose to above 29?°C in the summer; the concentration of dissolved oxygen ranged between 6.5 and 12.2?l^?1 and the pH fluctuated between 7.9 in its lower value and 8.2 in its higher value. Water transparency was very low as indicated by Secchi disc readings recorded during this study and varied between 0.3 and 2.7?m. The main chemical nutrient (phosphorus) reached its highest levels of 96?µg?l^?1 in winter and their lowest values of 24?µg?l^?1 during summer. This nutrient concentration is high especially by comparing with those of unpolluted marine waters, but is typical of the more eutrophic coastal waters worldwide. The composition and abundance of phytoplankton with dominancy of diatoms and increased population density (20,986 cell l^?1) reflect the eutrophic condition of the lake. The intensive growth of phytoplankton was enriched by high concentration of chlorophyll a with annual values ranged between 6.5 and 56?µg?l^?1. The objective of the present work was quantitative assessment of the quality of the water of the Lake Timsah using different approaches. During the present study, three different approaches were applied for the quantitative assessment of Lake Timsah water quality: the trophic state index (TST); trophic level index (TLI) and water quality index (WQI). Application of the trophic state and trophic level indices (TSI & TLI) revealed that the Lake Timsah has trophic indices of 60 and 5.2 for TSI and TLI, respectively. Both indices reflected the eutrophic condition of the lake waters and confirmed that the eutrophication is a major threat in the Lake Timsah. On the other hand, the WQI calculated for the Lake Timsah during the present study with an average of 49 demonstrated that the water of the Lake Timsah is bad and unsuitable for main and/or several uses. Moreover, WQI allows accounting for several water resource uses and can serve a more robust than TSI and/or TLI and can be used effectively as a comprehensive tool for water quality quantification. In conclusion, the three subjective indices used for the assessment process for the lake water are more suitable and effective for needs of the sustainable water resources protection and management of the Lake Timsah.     

近年来中国热带地区外来有害昆虫的种类特征及入侵分析

我国热带地区是外来入侵物种发生与危害的重灾区,近年来外来有害昆虫入侵所引发的生物灾害及生态安全问题日趋严峻。在海南省、广东省、广西壮族自治区、云南省、福建省外来入侵昆虫的调查结果及文献资料的基础上,整理分析了中国热带地区外来入侵昆虫的种类构成、分布、原产地及首次发现地。据统计,2000-2014年我国热带地区的外来入侵昆虫种类共计23种,隶属于6目11科,数量最多的为半翅目(13种,56.52%),其中以粉蚧科和粉虱科居多;热带地区的外来入侵昆虫在不同地区之间的物种数量差异较大,其中海南省最多(19种,82.61%),其后依次为广东省(16种,69.57%)、云南省(14种,60.87%)、广西壮族自治区(12种,52.17%),而福建省最少(9种,占39.13%);在入侵我国热带地区的外来有害昆虫中,原产于亚洲、北美洲的种类最多均为6种,占26.09%,南美洲占21.74%,而从非洲、大洋洲、欧洲传入的分别占8.70%、4.35%、4.35%;外来入侵昆虫的首次发现地位于广东省的有9种,占39.13%,出现在海南省和云南省的各占30.43%、21.74%,出现在广西壮族自治区的为8.70%。阐明我国热带地区外来有害昆虫的种类特征及入侵现状,可为该地区外来入侵昆虫的监测与防控提供一定的依据。     

低温等离子髓核消融术治疗高原地区椎间盘源性下腰痛的疗效及对患者生活质量的影响

目的:研究低温等离子髓核消融术(LTPNPA)治疗高原地区椎间盘源性下腰痛(DLBP)的疗效及对患者生活质量的影响。方法:选择从2015年9月到2017年1月在我院接受治疗的高原地区DLBP患者,随机分为对照组(n=59)和观察组(n=59),对照组患者给予常规腰椎牵引治疗,观察组患者则予以LTPNPA术式治疗,对所有患者进行为期6个月的随访,并对比两组疗效、临床指标(疼痛缓解时间和住院时间)、治疗前后的椎间隙高度R值和Oswestry功能障碍指数(ODI)评分以及不同时期的日常生活能力量表(ADL)评分。结果:观察组的优良率是98.31%,高于对照组的88.14%(P0.05)。观察组的疼痛缓解时间及住院时间均少于对照组(P0.05)。治疗后两组的ODI评分均低于治疗前,且观察组较对照组偏低(P0.05)。治疗后两组的椎间隙高度R值相比差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。治疗后1个月、3个月、6个月两组的ADL评分均高于治疗前,治疗后3个月和6个月高于治疗后1个月,治疗后6个月高于治疗后3个月,且观察组均较对照组偏高(P0.05)。结论:对高原地区DLBP患者应用LTPNPA术式治疗,具有明显疗效,还可提升其生活质量,临床上可考虑在高原地区推广LTPNPA术式,从而使患者获得最佳疗效。