Continuous warming shifts the community pattern of periphytic protozoan fauna in marine environments.

Protozoan fauna is playing an important role in the functioning of microbial food webs by transferring the flux of material and energy from low to high tropic levels in marine ecosystems. To assess effects of elevated temperature on the marine ecosystem, periphytic protozoan communities were used as the test microbial fauna, and were incubated in a temperature-controlled circulation system in a successive temperature gradient of 22 (control), 25, 28, 31 and 34 °C. The results showed that: (1) the test microbial fauna was shifted in both species composition and community structure; (2) the average taxonomic distinctness represented a clear decreasing trend, (3) while the variation in taxonomic distinctness significantly increased with increase of water temperature; and (4) the community pattern was significantly departed from an expectation when temperature increased by 12 °C. These results suggested that Protozoa may be used as a useful bioindicator of global warming in marine ecosystems.

Close-to-Nature Silviculture to Maintain a Relict Population of White Oak on Etna Volcano (Sicily, Italy): Preliminary Results of a Peculiar Case Study.

Habitat loss is a potential long-term effect of projected climate change for Mediterranean forest ecosystems. Here, we investigated the effectiveness of a close-to-nature silvicultural practice to conserve an old-growth white oak forest patch in Sicily (Italy) and promote regeneration dynamics. The study area, although small, is distinctive for its isolation, position and environmental characteristics. We conducted a Before-After Control-Impact (BACI) study to analyse the responses of different taxonomic groups (vascular plants and birds) to silvicultural treatments (selection thinning, no thinning), and to determine whether close-to-nature silviculture practices may cause significant shifts in the investigated communities. Specifically, we assessed the responses of (1) vascular plants by means of species diversity and taxonomic distinctness indices and (2) birds in terms of diversity, abundance and forest specialisation. Preliminary results suggest that cautious close-to-nature silviculture practice could-by mimicking natural gap dynamics-contribute to maintaining old-growth forest patches and promote oak seedling emergence without short-term detrimental impacts on biodiversity. Although the monitoring has to be repeated over the long-term, the multi-taxon approach and indices incorporating information on taxonomic relationships into diversity measures were demonstrated to be valuable tools for interpreting biotic community structure and dynamics.

Islands Within Islands: Bacterial Phylogenetic Structure and Consortia in Hawaiian Lava Caves and Fumaroles.

Lava caves, tubes, and fumaroles in Hawai'i present a range of volcanic, oligotrophic environments from different lava flows and host unexpectedly high levels of bacterial diversity. These features provide an opportunity to study the ecological drivers that structure bacterial community diversity and assemblies in volcanic ecosystems and compare the older, more stable environments of lava tubes, to the more variable and extreme conditions of younger, geothermally active caves and fumaroles. Using 16S rRNA amplicon-based sequencing methods, we investigated the phylogenetic distinctness and diversity and identified microbial interactions and consortia through co-occurrence networks in 70 samples from lava tubes, geothermal lava caves, and fumaroles on the island of Hawai'i. Our data illustrate that lava caves and geothermal sites harbor unique microbial communities, with very little overlap between caves or sites. We also found that older lava tubes (500-800 yrs old) hosted greater phylogenetic diversity (Faith's PD) than sites that were either geothermally active or younger (<400 yrs old). Geothermally active sites had a greater number of interactions and complexity than lava tubes. Average phylogenetic distinctness, a measure of the phylogenetic relatedness of a community, was higher than would be expected if communities were structured at random. This suggests that bacterial communities of Hawaiian volcanic environments are phylogenetically over-dispersed and that competitive exclusion is the main driver in structuring these communities. This was supported by network analyses that found that taxa (Class level) co-occurred with more distantly related organisms than close relatives, particularly in geothermal sites. Network "hubs" (taxa of potentially higher ecological importance) were not the most abundant taxa in either geothermal sites or lava tubes and were identified as unknown families or genera of the phyla, Chloroflexi and Acidobacteria. These results highlight the need for further study on the ecological role of microbes in caves through targeted culturing methods, metagenomics, and long-read sequence technologies.

Diversity of Lacewings (Neuroptera) in an Altitudinal Gradient of the Tacaná Volcano, Southern Mexico.

Neuroptera is an order of insects with a moderate diversity of species numbers yet a high between-family morphological diversity, which has a significant ecological role as a predator. However, there are few studies focused on describing changes in species diversity along environmental gradients. We evaluated changes in the alpha and beta diversity of species and the higher taxa in Neuroptera communities in the Tacaná Volcano in southern Mexico. Five sites each at different altitudes were studied through systematic annual sampling. The taxonomic and phylogenetic alpha diversity were analyzed, as well as the beta diversity and its components, species turnover and nestedness. The alpha diversity had two trends: (1) decreased standardized richness and taxonomic distinctness with increasing altitude, and (2) increased estimated richness and species diversity at intermediate altitudes. The highest turnover values for species, as well as for supra-specific taxa, were recorded at sites with lower altitudes. The highest total beta diversity value was recorded at elevations above 3000 m, whereas the highest number of species and supra-specific taxa were observed at sites between 600 and 2000 m, with an evident decrease above 3000 m. The type of vegetation and environmental conditions may be influencing the decrease in diversity toward higher elevations, which could explain the niche specialization of Neuroptera species to particular sites within the gradient. These results highlight the need to study the environmental factors and their effects on species composition along an elevation gradient.

Highway stormwater ponds as islands of Odonata diversity in an agricultural landscape.

Stormwater management ponds, which are constructed to retain excess runoff and pollutants from traffic, play an important role in the freshwater biodiversity in highly modified areas. However, their roles in agricultural and semi-natural landscapes remain largely unexplored. In this study, we used Odonata as a bioindicator to compare a set of highway stormwater ponds and surrounding ponds within an agricultural and semi-natural landscape to examine the extent to which stormwater ponds act as biodiversity refuges. We analyzed the differences in environmental parameters and the richness, compositions, and conservation values of the odonate communities of stormwater and surrounding ponds. We also examined the factors controlling the differences in the communities of both pond types. The stormwater ponds were smaller, less eutrophicated, less shaded by trees, less stocked with fish, and less connected with other waterbodies than the surrounding ponds. However, they had a higher plant diversity and pH values and were more densely overgrown with vegetation. Compared with surrounding ponds, stormwater ponds had a higher Odonata richness and ß-diversity, but their taxonomic distinctness was significantly lower. Therefore, stormwater ponds hosted more variable communities but their assemblages were taxonomically similar. Indicator species were only identified in stormwater ponds. Furthermore, stormwater ponds harbored more species with higher conservation values. The most important factors affecting the differences between stormwater and surrounding ponds were the trophic state, relative tree shading, and fish stocking intensity. With their increase, the richness and rarity decreased. Our results highlight the potential of stormwater ponds to enhance the biodiversity outside urban areas by providing specific habitat conditions that are unique to the surrounding agricultural landscape. In addition, we suggest management practices that can be used to enhance their biodiversity conservation function.

An approach to determining the nitrofurazone-induced toxic dynamics for ecotoxicity assessment using protozoan periphytons in marine ecosystems.

With several observable responses and sensitivity of protozoans to nitrofurazone (NFZ), the toxic effects of NFZ on protozoans can be an early warning signal of NFZ contamination in the aquatic environment. To evaluate the toxic dynamics induced by NFZ, protozoan samples were collected using microscopy glass slides and exposed to the five concentrations of NFZ: 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 mg ml-1. Substantial differences in the species composition and toxic-dynamics patterns were observed among all concentrations. Briefly, periphytic euplotids and pleurostomatids were the most prevalent at each concentration level, while dysteriids were less dominant among all treatments. Multivariate analysis revealed significant (P < 0.05) differences in the taxonomic patterns of the test organisms among the five treatments. Furthermore, significant deviation of protozoan communities from the expected taxonomic breadth was observed to occur in a dose-dependent manner. Based on these findings, it is suggested that protozoan periphytons could be used as bioindicators to assess the ecotoxicity of NFZ in the marine environment.

Seed-dispersing bird assemblages in riparian environments of a partially urbanized river basin, Southeastern Brazil / Assembleias de aves dispersoras de sementes em ambientes ripários de uma bacia hidrográfica parcialmente urbanizada, no sudoeste brasileiro

Abstract Birds play a key role in ecosystem dynamics, including urban and rural areas, bringing environmental quality improvements and ecological stability. Species contribute directly to natural regeneration of vegetation and succession processes, by offering ecosystem services as seed dispersal, an important role in human-modified areas. We studied the assemblages of fruit-eating birds in riparian environments of Monjolinho basin, central São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil. Birds were recorded in 41 points distributed in riparian ecosystems alongside waterbodies, in landscapes with five types of surrounding matrices: urban, periurban, farmland, and native vegetation. We described how assemblages are structured aiming to evaluate the possible influence of seasonality and landscape type. We recorded 39 bird species that can play a role as seed-dispersers, 32 in wet season and 32 in dry season. There were no significant differences in the diversity and dominance of species between seasons considering the entire area, indicating stability of basic assemblage structure. However, total number of individuals of all species recorded in different landscapes were influenced by seasonality. Also, the composition and abundance of species significantly changed between seasons, leading to a high dissimilarity with almost 50% of the species contributing with almost 90% of the observed variation. A higher taxonomic diversity and distinctness pointed to a wider array of possible seed dispersal services in natural areas, while the lowest values of indexes were found in human-modified areas. The higher number of non-related bird species during dry season contrasted with the higher number of individuals during wet season, indicating that there is more possible ecosystem services offered by frugivorous birds in driest period of the year, while in the rainy period the carrying capacity of the riparian environments was increased.

Resumo As aves desempenham um papel chave na dinâmica dos ecossistemas, incluindo áreas urbanas e rurais, e trazem melhorias na qualidade ambiental e estabilidade ecológica. As espécies contribuem diretamente com a regeneração natural da vegetação e processos de sucessão por oferecerem serviços ecossistêmicos como a dispersão de sementes, um papel fundamental em áreas alteradas. Nós estudamos a assembleia de espécies de aves que se alimentam de frutos em ambientes ripários da bacia do rio Monjolinho, região central do estado de São Paulo, sudeste do Brasil. As aves foram registradas em 41 pontos distribuídos em ecossistemas ripários ao longo dos corpos d'água, em paisagens com quatro tipos de matrizes em seu entorno: urbana, periurbana, rural e vegetação nativa. Nós descrevemos como as assembleias estão estruturadas, objetivando avaliar a possível influência da sazonalidade e do tipo de paisagem do entorno. Foram registradas 39 espécies de aves que podem desempenhar o papel de dispersoras de sementes, sendo 32 espécies no período chuvoso e 32 no período seco. Não foi detectada diferença significativa na diversidade e dominância de espécies entre estações em toda área de estudo, indicando estabilidade da estrutura básica das assembleias. Entretanto, o número total de indivíduos de todas as espécies registrados nas diferentes paisagens foi influenciado pela sazonalidade. Além disso, a composição e abundância de espécies mudou significativamente entre as estações, levando a uma alta dissimilaridade com quase 50% das espécies contribuindo com quase 90% da variação observada. A diversidade e distinção taxonômicas mais altas apontam para maior variedade de serviços ecossistêmicos possíveis relacionados à dispersão de sementes em áreas naturais, enquanto os menores valores desses índices foram encontrados em áreas antropizadas. Um maior número de espécies distintas com menor proximidade taxonômica durante a estação seca, em contraste com um alto número de indivíduos observados na estação chuvosa, indica que existe uma maior gama de possíveis serviços ecossistêmicos oferecidos pelas aves frugívoras no período mais seco do ano, enquanto no período de maior pluviosidade os ecossistemas apresentaram maior capacidade suporte.

Patterns of richness, diversity and abundance of an odonate assemblage from a tropical dry forest in the Santiago Dominguillo Region, Oaxaca, México (Insecta: Odonata).

A study on the patterns of richness, diversity and abundance of the Odonata from Santiago Dominguillo, Oaxaca is presented here. A total of 1601 specimens from six families, 26 genera and 50 species were obtained through monthly samplings of five days each. Libellulidae was the most diverse family (21 species), followed by Coenagrionidae (19), Gomphidae (4) and Calopterygidae (3). The Lestidae, Platystictidae and Aeshnidae families were the less diverse, with only one species each. Argia was the most speciose genus with 11 species, followed by Enallagma, Hetaerina, Erythrodiplax and Macrothemis with three species each and Phyllogomphoides, Brechmorhoga, Dythemis, Erythemis and Orthemis with two species each. The remaining 17 genera had one species each. Argia pipila Calvert, 1907 and Leptobasis vacillans Hagen in Selys, 1877 were recorded for the first time for the state of Oaxaca. We also analysed the temporal patterns of taxonomic and phylogenetic divergence for the Santiago Dominguillo Odonata assemblage: the Shannon diversity value throughout the year was 21.07 effective species, while the Simpson diversity was 13.17. In general, the monthly phylogenetic divergence was higher than expected for taxonomic distinctness, and lesser for average taxonomic distinctness. Monthly diversity, evenness and taxonomic divergence showed significant positive correlations (from moderate to strong) with monthly precipitation values. The analysis of our results, however, indicates that an increase in rainfall not only influences the temporal diversity of species, but also the identity of supraspecific taxa that constitute those temporal assemblages, i.e. there is an increase in temporal phylogenetic divergence.

Effects of latitude, host body size, and host trophic guild on patterns of diversity of helminths associated with humans, wild and domestic mammals of Mexico.

Parasites are strictly associated with their hosts and present a great diversity of life histories, often resulting in different diversity patterns than those observed in free-living species. However, ecological approaches have detected that, in some cases, mammal-associated helminths respond similarly to non-parasitic species in terms of diversity patterns. Using 2200 recorded interactions, we analysed the diversity patterns of helminths (Acanthocephala, Nematoda and Platyhelminthes) harbored by humans, wild and domestic mammals of Mexico, depending on latitude, host body mass and trophic guild (carnivore, herbivore, insectivore, omnivore), considering helminth richness and average taxonomic distinctness, and host phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic clustering. Latitude was positively correlated with the average taxonomic distinctness encompassing the three parasite phyla and nematodes. Northern latitudes had less taxonomically related parasite assemblages. Host body mass had a significant negative relationship with the average taxonomic distinctness of acanthocephalans and the richness of helminths associated to wild hosts. The omnivore hosts had greater parasite richness, while insectivores had a less taxonomically related parasite assemblage and herbivores had a more heterogeneous parasite assemblage. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating different dimensions of diversity, such as average taxonomic distinctness and to consider the composition of parasite assemblages to better understand their diversity patterns.

Endoparasitic diversity from the Southern Ocean: is it really low in Antarctic fish?

The biodiversity and composition of endoparasites in fish obtained from the Antarctic and subantarctic zones are compared in this study. Several fish were collected in the summer from Antarctica (King George Island) and the Southern Pacific coast (Strait of Magellan and Almirante Montt Gulf). This database was complemented with published information on fish endoparasite communities from both zones, with specimens of fish sample size n ≥ 15. Thus, 31 fish species were analysed in this study, which altogether had 79 parasite species. Diversity indices were calculated for the parasite community of each fish species. Then they were compared between the Antarctic and subantarctic zones. Parasite species composition and host specificity (as the number of fish species used by a parasite species) were also analysed and compared between zones. The diversity indices and the abundance of parasites were significantly higher in the Antarctic than the subantarctic fish. Few parasite species (7.6%) were shared between fish from both zones, showing significant differences in parasite composition. Antarctic parasites were less host-specific than subantarctic parasites, which allowed the coexistence of several parasite species in the fish. The high parasite abundance in Antarctic fish could trigger sympatric speciation in certain parasitic lineages or the exploitation of new resources, resulting in more parasite species than those in subantarctic environments. The high abundance of Antarctic parasites implies different methods and rates of transmission than those of subantarctic parasites. In addition, more alternative fish hosts were used by the Antarctic than subantarctic parasites. This altogether indicates that host-parasite interaction dynamics significantly differ between the Antarctic and subantarctic systems.

Utilization of species checklist data in revealing the spatial distribution of fish diversity.

Marine fish species checklists from six Chinese coastal waters were combined for the analysis of taxonomic diversity. The Genus-Family index (G-F index) ranged between 0.39 and 0.84, which generally indicated a decreasing trend with increasing latitude, with the exception of the southernmost area. Average taxonomic distinctness showed a slight increasing trend from northern to central study areas, but whether the taxonomic distinctness indices represent a latitudinal gradient of biodiversity requires further study. The multivariate analysis revealed a distinct latitudinal variation in fish assemblages. These results indicate that species checklist data are helpful in understanding the diversity distribution of fish species in the coastal zone. The potential of a species inventory should be exploited to fully understand biodiversity.

Diversity and composition of volant and non-volant small mammals in northern Selangor State Park and adjacent forest of Peninsular Malaysia.

Volant and non-volant small mammals from three forest reserves, located inside and outside Selangor State Park, Malaysia, were trapped and documented. A total of five-line transects, each 200 m long and a total of 100 collapsible cage traps, three harp traps and ten mist nets were deployed at each study site to capture rodents and bats species. The presence of 47 species of volant and non-volant mammals was documented with the highest abundant species being Leopoldamys sabanus (n = 61). The Family Vespertilionidae was the most diverse, while Muridae was the most abundant species. Diversity indices have shown forest reserves - Gading Forest Reserve (FR) and Bukit Kutu FR - located in the State Park, have a higher species composition than the impaired adjacent forest reserve, Bukit Tarek FR extension. The taxonomic diversity and taxonomic distinctness of the three forest reserves ranged between 2.433 and 2.610, while the taxonomic distinctness values ranged between 2.638 and 2.748. Even though Gading FR recorded the highest number of species diversity, the Chao 1 diversity estimator and the rarefaction accumulation curve indicated that Bukit Kutu comprised more species. Comparisons between other state parks and national parks in Peninsular Malaysia indicated that Selangor State Park indeed harbours relatively more species of small mammals. Northern Selangor State Park and adjacent forest should be recognised as a conservation priority area, although there are comparatively more species harboured in other regions of the State Park. With the current information on fauna diversity, proper management should be formulated to preserve the existing ecosystems in order to ensure the continuity of fauna diversity in Malaysia.

Response of traditional and taxonomic distinctness diversity indices of benthic macroinvertebrates to environmental degradation gradient in a large Chinese shallow lake.

A variety of biodiversity metrics are available to assess the quality of aquatic ecosystems. However, different types of metrics perform with considerable variation and provide various information involved in ecosystem conditions. Taxonomic distinctness (TD) indices have been recommended as desirable measures for assessing environmental degradation, but their utility based on lake macroinvertebrates is still largely unknown. Here, we evaluated the response of traditional and taxonomic distinctness diversity indices (the average taxonomic distinctness, Δ+, and variation in taxonomic distinctness, Λ+) of benthic macroinvertebrates to environmental degradation gradient in Lake Taihu, the third largest freshwater lake in China. Benthic assemblages responded markedly to human disturbances, with significance among-region differences in community composition throughout four seasons. The traditional biodiversity indices (Shannon-Wiener diversity and Pielou's evenness) showed high sensitivity in discriminating anthropogenic impacts, with highest values in macrophytic region but lowest values in eutrophic region. In contrast, Δ+ and Λ+ did not perform well in distinguishing sites subjected to different disturbance levels. The Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis both indicated that traditional biodiversity metrics (Shannon-Wiener diversity, taxon richness, and Pielou's evenness) responded more readily to water quality variables (Secchi depth, electrical conductivity, and comprehensive trophic level index) than Δ+ and Λ+. Despite the weak correlations between TD indices of benthic macroinvertebrates and water quality in the present study, we suggest that the TD indices should still be considered in bioassessment programs because they provide useful complementary information on traditional diversity indices.

Discriminating the effects of local stressors from climatic factors and dispersal processes on multiple biodiversity dimensions of macroinvertebrate communities across subtropical drainage basins.

Metacommunity ecology emphasizes that community structure and diversity are not only determined by local environmental conditions through environmental filtering, but also by dispersal-related processes, such as mass effects, dispersal limitation and patch dynamics. However, the roles of dispersal processes are typically ignored in bioassessment approaches. Here, we simultaneously explored the potential influences of four groups of factors: local stressors, climatic factors, within-basin spatial factors and basin identity in explaining variation in diversity indices of macroinvertebrate assemblages from seven subtropical tributary rivers. A total of 12 biodiversity indices based on species identities, functional traits and taxonomic relatedness were calculated and used in the subsequent statistical analysis. Our results showed that, although differing in their relative importance, the four explanatory factor groups all played important roles in explaining variation in biodiversity indices. Of the pure fractions, index variation was best explained by local environmental stressors, whereas the other three explanatory factor groups appeared less influential. Furthermore, diversity indices from species, functional and taxonomic dimensions responded distinctly to the focal ecological factors, and differed in their abilities to portray the effects of human disturbances on macroinvertebrate communities. Taxonomic distinctness indices performed best, with the highest amount of variation associated to local stressors and hardly any variation explained by other factors, implying that these indices are robust in portraying human disturbances in streams. However, species diversity and functional diversity indices were also affected by spatial processes and climatic factors, suggesting that these indices should be used with caution in bioassessment. We hence conclude that environmental assessment of riverine ecosystems should not rely entirely on the perspective of species sorting. In contrast, both roles of spatial processes and environmental variables related to human disturbances and climatic variation should be incorporated in management and conservation of riverine ecosystems.

Spatially Structured Environmental Variation Plays a Prominent Role on the Biodiversity of Freshwater Macrophytes Across China.

Different non-mutually exclusive mechanisms interactively shape large-scale diversity patterns. However, our understanding of multi-faceted diversity and their determinants in aquatic ecosystems is far from complete compared to terrestrial ones. Here, we use variation partitioning based on redundancy analysis to analyze the relative contribution of environmental and spatial variables to the patterns of phylogenetic, taxonomic, and functional diversity in macrophyte assemblages across 214 Chinese watersheds. We found extremely high spatial congruence among most aspects of biodiversity, with some important exceptions. We then used variation partitioning to estimate the proportions of variation in macrophyte biodiversity explained by environmental and spatial variables. All diversity facets were optimally explained by spatially structured environmental variables, not the pure environment effect, implying that macrophyte are taxonomically, phylogenetically, and functionally clustered in space, which might be the result of the interaction of environmental and/or evolutionary drives. We demonstrate that macrophytes might face extensive dispersal limitations across watersheds such as topography and habitat fragmentation and availability.

Changes in multiple facets of macroinvertebrate alpha diversity are linked to afforestation in a subtropical riverine natural reserve.

Land use change is one of the major factors impacting freshwater biodiversity. Afforestation could convert new lands from agriculture or urban land uses to reduce erosion and lead to landscape alterations and biodiversity changes. Here, we examined the changes in the three facets of macroinvertebrate alpha diversity (i.e., taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity) and further explored possible mechanisms driving their variations before (2007) and after (2016) afforestation along the undammed Chishui River, the core of the National Nature Reserve of Rare and Endemic Fishes in the Upper Yangtze River. We found that taxonomic diversity measures (e.g., species richness, Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson index) increased but all measures of functional diversity (e.g., FRic, FEve, FDiv, and RaoQ) and phylogenetic diversity (e.g., indices of taxonomic distinctness) exhibited stability after the afforestation practice. We also found that only significant taxonomic diversity variation was detected and it showed a relationship to alterations of land use rather than local environmental condition changes across the 10-year afforestation practice. Moreover, hydrology and nutrients levels showed changes after afforestation, but these changes had no effect on the biodiversity changes based on multiple linear regression models. In each survey, the three facets of alpha diversity were significantly explained by natural physical factors and showed inconsistent responses to these underlying environmental variables. In addition, the biodiversity-environment relationships remained stable before and after afforestation, indicating that the inherent mechanisms that drive macroinvertebrate community variation have not changed. Our findings highlight that different alpha diversity measures of lotic macroinvertebrates provide different information about biodiversity and respond differently to various environmental variables. Thus, it is necessary to integrate them into one framework when applying routine monitoring, assessment, and conservation procedures based on lotic macroinvertebrates.

Six decades of change in pollution and benthic invertebrate biodiversity in a southern New England estuary.

Pollution has led to a decline of benthic invertebrate biodiversity of Narragansett Bay, raising questions about effects on ecosystem functions and services including shellfish production, energy flow to fishes, and biogeochemical cycles. Changes in community composition and taxonomic distinctness (biodiversity) were calculated from the 1950s-when quantitative benthic invertebrate data first became available-to 2015. Change in community composition of the bay was correlated with changes in dissolved inorganic nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, and sediment contaminants. A mid-bay reference site showed moderate changes in community composition but no change in biodiversity. In contrast, a more impacted site in the upper bay showed substantial differences in community composition over time and a decline in taxonomic distinctness. Bay-wide, as inputs of some stressors such as nutrients and sediment contaminants have declined, there are signs of recovery of benthic biodiversity but other stressors such as temperature and watershed development are increasing.

Morphological and molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in revegetated iron-mining site has the same magnitude of adjacent pristine ecosystems.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important during revegetation of mining sites, but few studies compared AMF community in revegetated sites with pristine adjacent ecosystems. The aim of this study was to assess AMF species richness in a revegetated iron-mining site and adjacent ecosystems and to relate AMF occurrence to soil chemical parameters. Soil samples were collected in dry and rainy seasons in a revegetated iron-mining site (RA) and compared with pristine ecosystems of forest (FL), canga (NG), and Cerrado (CE). AMF species were identified by spore morphology from field and trap cultures and by LSU rDNA sequencing using Illumina. A total of 62 AMF species were recovered, pertaining to 18 genera and nine families of Glomeromycota. The largest number of species and families were detected in RA, and Acaulospora mellea and Glomus sp1 were the most frequent species. Species belonging to Glomeraceae and Acaulosporaceae accounted for 42%-48% of total species richness. Total number of spores and mycorrhizal inoculum potential tended to be higher in the dry than in the rainy season, except in RA. Sequences of uncultured Glomerales were dominant in all sites and seasons and five species were detected exclusively by DNA-based identification. Redundancy analysis evidenced soil pH, organic matter, aluminum, and iron as main factors influencing AMF presence. In conclusion, revegetation of the iron-mining site seems to be effective in maintaining a diverse AMF community and different approaches are complementary to reveal AMF species, despite the larger number of species being identified by traditional identification of field spores.

Stochastic losses of fire-dependent endemic herbs revealed by a 65-year chronosequence of dispersal-limited woody plant encroachment.

The factors responsible for maintaining diverse groundcover plant communities of high conservation value in frequently burned wet pine savannas are poorly understood. While most management involves manipulating extrinsic factors important in maintaining species diversity (e.g., fire regimes), most ecological theory (e.g., niche theory and neutral theory) examines how traits exhibited by the species promote species coexistence. Furthermore, although many ecologists focus on processes that maintain local species diversity, conservation biologists have argued that other indices (e.g., phylogenetic diversity) are better for evaluating assemblages in terms of their conservation value. I used a null model that employed beta-diversity calculations based on Raup-Crick distances to test for deterministic herbaceous species losses associated with a 65-year chronosequence of woody species encroachment within each of three localities. I quantified conservation value of assemblages by measuring taxonomic distinctness, endemism, and floristic quality of plots with and without woody encroachment. Reductions in herb species richness per plot attributable to woody encroachment were largely stochastic, as indicated by a lack of change in the mean or variance in beta-diversity caused by woody encroachment in the savannas studied here. Taxonomic distinctness, endemism, and floristic quality (when summed across all species) were all greater in areas that had not experienced woody encroachment. However, when corrected for local species richness, only average endemism and floristic quality of assemblages inclusive of herbs and woody plants were greater in areas that had not experienced woody encroachment, due to the more restricted ranges and habitat requirements of herbs. Results suggest that frequent fires maintain diverse assemblages of fire-dependent herb species endemic to the region. The stochastic loss of plant species, irrespective of their taxonomic distinctness, to woody encroachment suggests that the relevance of niche partitioning or phylogenetic diversity to the management of biodiversity in wet pine savannas is minimal.

Seed-dispersing bird assemblages in riparian environments of a partially urbanized river basin, Southeastern Brazil

Abstract Birds play a key role in ecosystem dynamics, including urban and rural areas, bringing environmental quality improvements and ecological stability. Species contribute directly to natural regeneration of vegetation and succession processes, by offering ecosystem services as seed dispersal, an important role in human-modified areas. We studied the assemblages of fruit-eating birds in riparian environments of Monjolinho basin, central São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil. Birds were recorded in 41 points distributed in riparian ecosystems alongside waterbodies, in landscapes with five types of surrounding matrices: urban, periurban, farmland, and native vegetation. We described how assemblages are structured aiming to evaluate the possible influence of seasonality and landscape type. We recorded 39 bird species that can play a role as seed-dispersers, 32 in wet season and 32 in dry season. There were no significant differences in the diversity and dominance of species between seasons considering the entire area, indicating stability of basic assemblage structure. However, total number of individuals of all species recorded in different landscapes were influenced by seasonality. Also, the composition and abundance of species significantly changed between seasons, leading to a high dissimilarity with almost 50% of the species contributing with almost 90% of the observed variation. A higher taxonomic diversity and distinctness pointed to a wider array of possible seed dispersal services in natural areas, while the lowest values of indexes were found in human-modified areas. The higher number of non-related bird species during dry season contrasted with the higher number of individuals during wet season, indicating that there is more possible ecosystem services offered by frugivorous birds in driest period of the year, while in the rainy period the carrying capacity of the riparian environments was increased.

Resumo As aves desempenham um papel chave na dinâmica dos ecossistemas, incluindo áreas urbanas e rurais, e trazem melhorias na qualidade ambiental e estabilidade ecológica. As espécies contribuem diretamente com a regeneração natural da vegetação e processos de sucessão por oferecerem serviços ecossistêmicos como a dispersão de sementes, um papel fundamental em áreas alteradas. Nós estudamos a assembleia de espécies de aves que se alimentam de frutos em ambientes ripários da bacia do rio Monjolinho, região central do estado de São Paulo, sudeste do Brasil. As aves foram registradas em 41 pontos distribuídos em ecossistemas ripários ao longo dos corpos dágua, em paisagens com quatro tipos de matrizes em seu entorno: urbana, periurbana, rural e vegetação nativa. Nós descrevemos como as assembleias estão estruturadas, objetivando avaliar a possível influência da sazonalidade e do tipo de paisagem do entorno. Foram registradas 39 espécies de aves que podem desempenhar o papel de dispersoras de sementes, sendo 32 espécies no período chuvoso e 32 no período seco. Não foi detectada diferença significativa na diversidade e dominância de espécies entre estações em toda área de estudo, indicando estabilidade da estrutura básica das assembleias. Entretanto, o número total de indivíduos de todas as espécies registrados nas diferentes paisagens foi influenciado pela sazonalidade. Além disso, a composição e abundância de espécies mudou significativamente entre as estações, levando a uma alta dissimilaridade com quase 50% das espécies contribuindo com quase 90% da variação observada. A diversidade e distinção taxonômicas mais altas apontam para maior variedade de serviços ecossistêmicos possíveis relacionados à dispersão de sementes em áreas naturais, enquanto os menores valores desses índices foram encontrados em áreas antropizadas. Um maior número de espécies distintas com menor proximidade taxonômica durante a estação seca, em contraste com um alto número de indivíduos observados na estação chuvosa, indica que existe uma maior gama de possíveis serviços ecossistêmicos oferecidos pelas aves frugívoras no período mais seco do ano, enquanto no período de maior pluviosidade os ecossistemas apresentaram maior capacidade suporte.