Relative contributions of taxonomic and functional diversity to the assembly of plant communities hosting endemic Dianthus species in a mountain steppe.

Plant community assembly is the outcome of long-term evolutionary events (evident as taxonomic diversity; TD) and immediate adaptive fitness (functional diversity; FD); a balance expected to shift in favour of FD in 'harsh' habitats under intense selection pressures. We compared TD and FD responses along climatic and edaphic gradients for communities of two species (Dianthus pseudocrinitus and D. polylepis) endemic to the montane steppes of the Khorassan-Kopet Dagh floristic province, NE Iran. 75 plots at 15 sites were used to relate TD and FD to environmental gradients. In general, greater TD was associated with variation in soil factors (potassium, lime, organic matter contents), whereas FD was constrained by aridity (drought adaptation). Crucially, even plant communities hosting different subspecies of D. polylepis responded differently to aridity: D. polylepis subsp. binaludensis communities included a variety of broadly stress-tolerant taxa with no clear environmental response, but TD of D. polylepis subsp. polylepis communities was directly related to precipitation, with consistently low FD reflecting a few highly specialized stress-tolerators. Integrating taxonomic and functional diversity metrics is essential to understand the communities hosting even extremely closely related taxa, which respond idiosyncratically to climate and soil gradients.

Plant invasion and naturalization are influenced by genome size, ecology and economic use globally.

Human factors and plant characteristics are important drivers of plant invasions, which threaten ecosystem integrity, biodiversity and human well-being. However, while previous studies often examined a limited number of factors or focused on a specific invasion stage (e.g., naturalization) for specific regions, a multi-factor and multi-stage analysis at the global scale is lacking. Here, we employ a multi-level framework to investigate the interplay between plant characteristics (genome size, Grime's adaptive CSR-strategies and native range size) and economic use and how these factors collectively affect plant naturalization and invasion success worldwide. While our findings derived from structural equation models highlight the substantial contribution of human assistance in both the naturalization and spread of invasive plants, we also uncovered the pivotal role of species' adaptive strategies among the factors studied, and the significantly varying influence of these factors across invasion stages. We further revealed that the effects of genome size on plant invasions were partially mediated by species adaptive strategies and native range size. Our study provides insights into the complex and dynamic process of plant invasions and identifies its key drivers worldwide.

Best practices, errors, and perspectives of half a century of plant translocation in Italy.

Conservation translocations are becoming common conservation practice, so there is an increasing need to understand the drivers of plant translocation performance through reviews of cases at global and regional levels. The establishment of the Italian Database of Plant Translocation (IDPlanT) provides the opportunity to review the techniques used in 186 plant translocation cases performed in the last 50 years in the heart of the Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot. We described techniques and information available in IDPlanT and used these data to identify drivers of translocation outcomes. We tested the effect of 15 variables on survival of translocated propagules as of the last monitoring date with binomial logistic mixed-effect models. Eleven variables significantly affected survival of transplants: life form, site protection, material source, number of source populations, propagation methods, propagule life stage, planting methods, habitat suitability assessment, site preparation, aftercare, and costs. The integration of vegetation studies in the selection of suitable planting sites significantly increased the success of translocation efforts. Although posttranslocation watering had a generally positive effect on translocation outcome, other aftercare techniques did not always increase transplant survival. Finally, we found that how funds were spent appeared to be more important than the actual amount spent. Plant translocations in Italy and in the Mediterranean area should account for the complexity of speciation, gene flow, and plant migrations that has led to local adaptations and has important implications for the choice and constitution of source material.

Mejores prácticas, errores y perspectivas tras medio siglo de reubicaciones botánicas en Italia Resumen Las reubicaciones son una práctica cada vez más común en la conservación, por lo que hay una necesidad creciente por entender los factores del desempeño de las reubicaciones botánicas por medio de la revisión de casos regionales y globales. La creación de la Italian Database of Plant Translocation (IDPlanT) proporciona una oportunidad para revisar las técnicas usadas para los casos de reubicación de 186 plantas realizados durante los últimos cincuenta años en el centro del punto caliente de biodiversidad mediterránea. Describimos las técnicas y la información disponible en IDPlanT y usamos estos datos para identificar los factores involucrados en los resultados de las reubicaciones. Usamos modelos logísticos binomiales de efectos mixtos para analizar el efecto de 15 variables sobre la supervivencia de los propágulos reubicados a partir de la última fecha de monitoreo. Once de las variables afectaron de manera significativa la supervivencia de las plantas: forma de vida, protección del sitio, fuente de materiales, cantidad de poblaciones originarias, método de propagación, etapa de vida del propágulo, método de siembra, evaluación de idoneidad del hábitat, preparación del sitio, cuidados posteriores y costos. La integración de los estudios botánicos a la selección de los sitios idóneos para plantar aumentó el éxito de los esfuerzos de reubicación. Aunque el riego posterior a la reubicación tuvo un efecto positivo general sobre el resultado, las otras técnicas de cuidado posterior no siempre incrementaron la supervivencia de la planta reubicada. Por último, descubrimos que parece ser más importante cómo se utilizan los fondos que la cantidad actual empleada. Las reubicaciones botánicas en Italia y en el área del Mediterráneo deben considerar lo complejo de la especiación, el flujo génico y la migración botánica que han derivado en adaptaciones locales y que han tenido implicaciones importantes para la elección y constitución del material de origen.

Emergent community architecture despite distinct diversity in the global whale shark (Rhincodon typus) epidermal microbiome.

Microbiomes confer beneficial physiological traits to their host, but microbial diversity is inherently variable, challenging the relationship between microbes and their contribution to host health. Here, we compare the diversity and architectural complexity of the epidermal microbiome from 74 individual whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) across five aggregations globally to determine if network properties may be more indicative of the microbiome-host relationship. On the premise that microbes are expected to exhibit biogeographic patterns globally and that distantly related microbial groups can perform similar functions, we hypothesized that microbiome co-occurrence patterns would occur independently of diversity trends and that keystone microbes would vary across locations. We found that whale shark aggregation was the most important factor in discriminating taxonomic diversity patterns. Further, microbiome network architecture was similar across all aggregations, with degree distributions matching Erdos-Renyi-type networks. The microbiome-derived networks, however, display modularity indicating a definitive microbiome structure on the epidermis of whale sharks. In addition, whale sharks hosted 35 high-quality metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) of which 25 were present from all sample locations, termed the abundant 'core'. Two main MAG groups formed, defined here as Ecogroup 1 and 2, based on the number of genes present in metabolic pathways, suggesting there are at least two important metabolic niches within the whale shark microbiome. Therefore, while variability in microbiome diversity is high, network structure and core taxa are inherent characteristics of the epidermal microbiome in whale sharks. We suggest the host-microbiome and microbe-microbe interactions that drive the self-assembly of the microbiome help support a functionally redundant abundant core and that network characteristics should be considered when linking microbiomes with host health.

Life's Mechanism.

The multifarious internal workings of organisms are difficult to reconcile with a single feature defining a state of 'being alive'. Indeed, definitions of life rely on emergent properties (growth, capacity to evolve, agency) only symptomatic of intrinsic functioning. Empirical studies demonstrate that biomolecules including ratcheting or rotating enzymes and ribozymes undergo repetitive conformation state changes driven either directly or indirectly by thermodynamic gradients. They exhibit disparate structures, but govern processes relying on directional physical motion (DNA transcription, translation, cytoskeleton transport) and share the principle of repetitive uniplanar conformation changes driven by thermodynamic gradients, producing dependable unidirectional motion: 'heat engines' exploiting thermodynamic disequilibria to perform work. Recognition that disparate biological molecules demonstrate conformation state changes involving directional motion, working in self-regulating networks, allows a mechanistic definition: life is a self-regulating process whereby matter undergoes cyclic, uniplanar conformation state changes that convert thermodynamic disequilibria into directed motion, performing work that locally reduces entropy. 'Living things' are structures including an autonomous network of units exploiting thermodynamic gradients to drive uniplanar conformation state changes that perform work. These principles are independent of any specific chemical environment, and can be applied to other biospheres.

Distribution of the reef manta ray Mobula alfredi and the oceanic manta ray Mobula birostris in the Philippines: a collaborative effort for conservation.

Little is known about manta ray population size, structure and connectivity in the Philippines. In collaboration with dive operators, non-governmental organizations and authorities, sightings of manta rays were collated into a single national database. Using in-water photographs and videos gathered through citizen science and dedicated research efforts, this study compiled sightings between 2004 and 2020, showing 22 separate sites throughout the archipelago with manta rays present. A total of 392 individual reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) and 107 oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris) were identified from the collected footage. Four specific sites in the provinces of Masbate and Palawan together hosted 89% of all identified individuals and accounted for 95% of sightings, highlighting these areas are key aggregation sites. This study also reports the movements of M. birostris within the Philippines, based on photo-identification of three individuals moving 150 km between Cebu and Masbate. Despite the growing number of recreational divers in Daanbantayan and San Jacinto, an 80% decline in M. birostris sightings was observed at these sites. To ensure effective future conservation, it is recommended that efforts focus on the identification and protection of manta ray hotspots and migratory corridors, the creation of a sustainable tourism framework and, most important, the implementation of mitigation strategies to reduce fisheries interactions.

The global spectrum of plant form and function: enhanced species-level trait dataset.

Here we provide the 'Global Spectrum of Plant Form and Function Dataset', containing species mean values for six vascular plant traits. Together, these traits -plant height, stem specific density, leaf area, leaf mass per area, leaf nitrogen content per dry mass, and diaspore (seed or spore) mass - define the primary axes of variation in plant form and function. The dataset is based on ca. 1 million trait records received via the TRY database (representing ca. 2,500 original publications) and additional unpublished data. It provides 92,159 species mean values for the six traits, covering 46,047 species. The data are complemented by higher-level taxonomic classification and six categorical traits (woodiness, growth form, succulence, adaptation to terrestrial or aquatic habitats, nutrition type and leaf type). Data quality management is based on a probabilistic approach combined with comprehensive validation against expert knowledge and external information. Intense data acquisition and thorough quality control produced the largest and, to our knowledge, most accurate compilation of empirically observed vascular plant species mean traits to date.

Residency, movement patterns, behavior and demographics of reef manta rays in Komodo National Park.

Background: The reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) is a globally threatened species and an iconic tourist attraction for visitors to Indonesia's Komodo National Park (NP). In 2013, manta ray fishing was banned in Komodo NP and its surroundings, preceding the nationwide manta ray protection in 2014. Over a decade ago, a previous acoustic telemetry study demonstrated that reef manta rays had high fidelity to sites within the park, while more recent photo-identification data indicated that some individuals move up to 450 km elsewhere. Characterization of manta ray demographics, behavior, and a focused assessment on site use of popular tourism locations within the park is vital to assist the Komodo NP Management Authority formulate appropriate manta ray conservation and management policies. Methods: This study uses a long-term library (MantaMatcher.org) of photo-identification data collected by researchers and citizen scientists to investigate manta ray demographics and habitat use within the park at four sites frequented by tour operators: Cauldron, Karang Makassar, Mawan, and Manta Alley. Residency and movements of manta rays were investigated with maximum likelihood analyses and Markov movement models. Results: A total of 1,085 individual manta rays were identified from photographs dating from 2013 to 2018. In general, individual manta rays displayed a higher affinity to specific sites than others. The highest re-sighting probabilities came from the remote southern site, Manta Alley. Karang Makassar and Mawan are only ~5 km apart; however, manta rays displayed distinct site affinities. Exchange of individuals between Manta Alley and the two central sites (~35.5 km apart) occurred, particularly seasonally. More manta rays were recorded traveling from the south to the central area than vice versa. Female manta rays were more mobile than males. Similar demographic groups used Karang Makassar, Mawan, and Manta Alley for foraging, cleaning, cruising, or courtship activities. Conversely, a higher proportion of immature manta rays used the northern site, Cauldron, where foraging was commonly observed. Fishing gear-related injuries were noted on 56 individuals (~5%), and predatory injuries were present on 32 individuals (~3%). Tourism within the park increased from 2014 to 2017, with 34% more dive boats per survey at Karang Makassar and Mawan. Discussion: The Komodo NP contains several distinct critical habitats for manta rays that encompass all demographics and accommodate seasonal manta ray movements. While the present study has not examined population trends, it does provide foundational data for such work. Continued research into manta ray abundance, long-range movements, and identifying and protecting other critical aggregation areas within the region is integral to securing the species' recovery. We provide management recommendations to limit undue pressure on manta rays and their critical habitats from tourism.

Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world's largest fish, the whale shark.

Marine traffic is increasing globally yet collisions with endangered megafauna such as whales, sea turtles, and planktivorous sharks go largely undetected or unreported. Collisions leading to mortality can have population-level consequences for endangered species. Hence, identifying simultaneous space use of megafauna and shipping throughout ranges may reveal as-yet-unknown spatial targets requiring conservation. However, global studies tracking megafauna and shipping occurrences are lacking. Here we combine satellite-tracked movements of the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, and vessel activity to show that 92% of sharks' horizontal space use and nearly 50% of vertical space use overlap with persistent large vessel (>300 gross tons) traffic. Collision-risk estimates correlated with reported whale shark mortality from ship strikes, indicating higher mortality in areas with greatest overlap. Hotspots of potential collision risk were evident in all major oceans, predominantly from overlap with cargo and tanker vessels, and were concentrated in gulf regions, where dense traffic co-occurred with seasonal shark movements. Nearly a third of whale shark hotspots overlapped with the highest collision-risk areas, with the last known locations of tracked sharks coinciding with busier shipping routes more often than expected. Depth-recording tags provided evidence for sinking, likely dead, whale sharks, suggesting substantial "cryptic" lethal ship strikes are possible, which could explain why whale shark population declines continue despite international protection and low fishing-induced mortality. Mitigation measures to reduce ship-strike risk should be considered to conserve this species and other ocean giants that are likely experiencing similar impacts from growing global vessel traffic.

Citizen science reveals the population structure and seasonal presence of whale sharks in the Gulf of Thailand.

The whale shark Rhincodon typus is a broadly distributed and highly mobile planktivorous shark species. The sharks form predictable aggregations in many areas, providing the opportunity for cost-effective scientific monitoring through divers and other marine resource users. Sightings of individuals outside of these aggregate zones elsewhere in their range are typically rare. We used a citizen science-based approach to shed light on occurrence and seasonality in the waters around Koh Tao, Thailand and neighbouring islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Although there is a paucity of quantitative data, anecdotal reports suggest substantial declines in sightings in the early 2000s. We identified a total of 178 individual whale sharks (from 249 sightings) between 2004 and 2019, with most of these (84%) from the 2015-2019 time period due to an increase in sighting reports facilitated by social media and direct marketing. Size estimates were reported for 102 of the sightings, with a range of 2-6 m and mean of 3.7 m overall. Sex was reported for 27% of sightings, with a 2:1 female-to-male ratio. Modified maximum likelihood methods suggest whale sharks are transient to Koh Tao and surrounding areas, with whale shark sightings following the regional monsoon cycle. One international resighting was obtained from Malaysian waters (~700 km away). Encouraging citizen science participation is particularly useful in data-poor regions like the Gulf of Thailand, despite limitations in size and sex estimation reliability, which can play an important complementary role in dedicated research programs.

Pieces in a global puzzle: Population genetics at two whale shark aggregations in the western Indian Ocean.

The whale shark Rhincodon typus is found throughout the world's tropical and warm-temperate ocean basins. Despite their broad physical distribution, research on the species has been concentrated at a few aggregation sites. Comparing DNA sequences from sharks at different sites can provide a demographically neutral understanding of the whale shark's global ecology. Here, we created genetic profiles for 84 whale sharks from the Saudi Arabian Red Sea and 72 individuals from the coast of Tanzania using a combination of microsatellite and mitochondrial sequences. These two sites, separated by approximately 4500 km (shortest over-water distance), exhibit markedly different population demographics and behavioral ecologies. Eleven microsatellite DNA markers revealed that the two aggregation sites have similar levels of allelic richness and appear to be derived from the same source population. We sequenced the mitochondrial control region to produce multiple global haplotype networks (based on different alignment methodologies) that were broadly similar to each other in terms of population structure but suggested different demographic histories. Data from both microsatellite and mitochondrial markers demonstrated the stability of genetic diversity within the Saudi Arabian aggregation site throughout the sampling period. These results contrast previously measured declines in diversity at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Mapping the geographic distribution of whale shark lineages provides insight into the species' connectivity and can be used to direct management efforts at both local and global scales. Similarly, understanding historical fluctuations in whale shark abundance provides a baseline by which to assess current trends. Continued development of new sequencing methods and the incorporation of genomic data could lead to considerable advances in the scientific understanding of whale shark population ecology and corresponding improvements to conservation policy.

The association of leaf sulfur content with the leaf economics spectrum and plant adaptive strategies.

Sulfur is an essential macronutrient for plant primary metabolism. Its availability can modulate plant growth in most terrestrial ecosystems. However, its relationship with other leaf and nutrient traits, and hence its contribution to plant functioning, remains unclear. We analysed leaf and nutrient traits for 740 vascular plant species growing in a wide range of environmental conditions in Northern Italy. We determined whether leaf sulfur content per unit leaf dry mass (LSC) is associated with leaf economics spectrum, and whether its distribution among functional types (growth forms, leaf life span categories, and Grime's CSR (Competitive, Stress-tolerant, Ruderal strategies) could help to elucidate adaptive differences within plant taxa. High LSC values were mainly associated with fast-growing species representative of R- and C- strategy selection, thus the acquisitive extreme of plant economics, reflecting strong potential connections with ecosystem properties such as biomass production or litter decomposability. In general, LSC was significantly and positively correlated with leaf nitrogen content, and nitrogen to sulfur ratio was constant throughout growth forms, leaf life span and CSR strategies, and phylogenetic effects were evident. Our findings highlight that LSC variation is strongly associated with the leaf economics spectrum, suggesting that additional nutrients seldom included in functional analyses may also be embroiled within the context of plant economics. However, different ratios among nitrogen and sulfur may be expected across different plant families, suggesting that deeper insight from functional groups can provide a bridge between plant stoichiometry and ecology, useful for the evaluation of ecological responses to global change.

Movement ecology of black marlin Istiompax indica in the Western Indian Ocean.

The black marlin Istiompax indica is an apex marine predator and is susceptible to overfishing. The movement ecology of the species remains poorly known, particularly within the Indian Ocean, which has hampered assessment of their conservation status and fisheries management requirements. Here, we used pop-up archival satellite tags to track I. indica movement and examine their dispersal. Forty-nine tags were deployed off Kenya during both the north-east (November-April) and south-west (August-September) monsoon seasons, providing locations from every month of the year. Individual I. indica were highly mobile and track distance correlated with the duration of tag attachment. Mean track duration was 38 days and mean track distance was >1800 km. Individuals dispersed in several directions: north-east into Somalian waters and up to northern Oman, east towards the Seychelles, and south into the Mozambique Channel. Their core habitat shifted seasonally and overlapped with areas of high productivity off Kenya, Somalia and Oman during the first half of the year. A second annual aggregation off the Kenyan coast, during August and September, did not coincide with high chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentrations or thermal fronts, and the drivers of the species' presence and movement from this second aggregation was unclear. We tested their habitat preferences by comparing environmental conditions at track locations to the conditions at locations along simulated tracks based on the empirical data. Observed I. indica preferred cooler water with higher chl-a concentrations and stayed closer to the coast than simulated tracks. The rapid and extensive dispersal of I. indica from Kenya suggests that there is likely a single stock in the Western Indian Ocean, with individuals swimming between areas of high commercial catches off northern Somalia and Oman, and artisanal and recreational fisheries catches throughout East Africa and Mozambique.

Climatic and evolutionary contexts are required to infer plant life history strategies from functional traits at a global scale.

Life history strategies are fundamental to the ecology and evolution of organisms and are important for understanding extinction risk and responses to global change. Using global datasets and a multiple response modelling framework we show that trait-climate interactions are associated with life history strategies for a diverse range of plant species at the global scale. Our modelling framework informs our understanding of trade-offs and positive correlations between elements of life history after accounting for environmental context and evolutionary and trait-based constraints. Interactions between plant traits and climatic context were needed to explain variation in age at maturity, distribution of mortality across the lifespan and generation times of species. Mean age at maturity and the distribution of mortality across plants' lifespan were under evolutionary constraints. These findings provide empirical support for the theoretical expectation that climatic context is key to understanding trait to life history relationships globally.

Satellite tracking of rehabilitated sea turtles suggests a high rate of short-term survival following release.

The rehabilitation of wildlife can contribute directly to the conservation of threatened species by helping to maintain wild populations. This study focused on determining the post-rehabilitation survival and spatial ecology of sea turtles and on comparing the movements of individuals with flipper amputations (amputees) to non-amputee animals. Our aims were to assess whether rehabilitated sea turtles survive after release, to compare and contrast the movement characteristics of the different species of sea turtles we tracked, and to examine whether amputees and non-amputees within species behaved similarly post-release. Twenty-six rehabilitated sea turtles from four species, including hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata (n = 12), loggerhead Caretta caretta (n = 11), green Chelonia mydas (n = 2), and olive ridley Lepidochelys olivacea (n = 1) sea turtles from the United Arab Emirates were fitted with satellite tags before release. Rehabilitation times ranged from 89 to 817 days (mean 353 ± 237 days). Post-release movements and survival were monitored for 8 to 387 days (mean 155 ± 95 days) through satellite tracking. Tag data suggested that three tracked sea turtles died within four days of release, one after 27 days, and one after 192 days from what are thought to be anthropogenic factors unrelated to their pre-rehabilitation ailments. We then compared habitat use and movement characteristics among the different sea turtle species. Although half of all turtles crossed one or more international boundaries, dispersal varied among species. Loggerhead turtles had a high dispersal, with 80% crossing an international boundary, while hawksbill turtles displayed higher post-release residency, with 66% remaining within UAE territorial waters. Amputee turtles moved similarly to non-amputee animals of the same species. Loggerhead turtles travelled faster (mean ± sd = 15.3 ± 8 km/day) than hawksbill turtles (9 ± 7 km/day). Both amputee and non-amputee sea turtles within a species moved similarly. Our tracking results highlight that rehabilitated sea turtles, including amputees, can successfully survive in the wild following release for up to our ~one-year monitoring time therefore supporting the suitability for release of sea turtles that have recovered from major injuries such as amputations. However, more broadly, the high mortality from anthropogenic factors in the Arabian Gulf region is clearly a serious issue and conservation challenge.

Movement and habitat use of striped marlin Kajikia audax in the Western Indian Ocean.

Striped marlin Kajikia audax are globally Near Threatened and their stock in the Indian Ocean was last assessed as "overfished and subject to overfishing". Significant gaps in our understanding of their ecology remain, hampering the efforts of fisheries managers to ensure stock sustainability. There is a particular lack of fisheries-independent data. Here we present the results from the first large-scale satellite tracking study of K. audax in the Indian Ocean. We tagged 49 K. audax with pop-up archival satellite-linked tags off the Kenyan coast from 2015 to 2019. Individuals were highly mobile, covering horizontal distances of up to 9187 km over periods ranging up to 183 days, with a mean daily distance of ~48 km. Long-distance movements were recorded to the east and north of East Africa, with the most distant tracks extending north to the Arabian Sea and east to near the Maldives. None of the K. audax swam south of East Africa. Kernel utilization distributions of fish locations demonstrated their shifting seasonal activity hotspots. Over the sport-fishing season (and tagging period) in Kenya, from December to March, K. audax typically stayed off the East African coast. After March, the activity hotspot shifted north to a region close to the Horn of Africa and Socotra Island. Remotely sensed sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a maps indicated that this seasonal movement could be driven by a shift in prey availability. Our results show the high mobility of K. audax in the Western Indian Ocean, and that individuals seasonally range between two major fishing areas.

Are endemic species necessarily ecological specialists? Functional variability and niche differentiation of two threatened Dianthus species in the montane steppes of northeastern Iran.

Endemic species are believed to converge on narrow ranges of traits, with rarity reflecting adaptation to specific environmental regimes. We hypothesized that endemism is characterized by limited trait variability and environmental tolerances in two Dianthus species (Dianthus pseudocrinitus and Dianthus polylepis) endemic to the montane steppes of northeastern Iran. We measured leaf functional traits and calculated Grime's competitor/stress-tolerator/ruderal (CSR) adaptive strategies for these and co-occurring species in seventy-five 25-m2 quadrats at 15 sites, also measuring a range of edaphic, climatic, and topographic parameters. While plant communities converged on the stress-tolerator strategy, D. pseudocrinitus exhibited functional divergence from S- to R-selected (C:S:R = 12.0:7.2:80.8% to 6.8:82.3:10.9%). Canonical correspondence analysis, in concert with Pearson's correlation coefficients, suggested the strongest associations with elevation, annual temperature, precipitation seasonality, and soil fertility. Indeed, variance (s2) in R- and S-values for D. pseudocrinitus at two sites was exceptionally high, refuting the hypothesis of rarity via specialization. Rarity, in this case, is probably related to recent speciation by polyploidy (neoendemism) and dispersal limitation. Dianthus polylepis, in contrast, converged towards stress-tolerance. 'Endemism' is not synonymous with 'incapable', and polyploid neoendemics promise to be particularly responsive to conservation.

Soil Application of Effective Microorganisms (EM) Maintains Leaf Photosynthetic Efficiency, Increases Seed Yield and Quality Traits of Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Plants Grown on Different Substrates.

EM (effective microorganisms) is a biofertilizer consisting of a mixed culture of potentially beneficial microorganisms. In this study, we investigated the effects of EM treatment on leaf in vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence of photosystem II (PSII), yield, and macronutrient content of bean plants grown on different substrates (nutrient rich substrate vs. nutrient poor sandy soil) in controlled environmental conditions (pot experiment in greenhouse). EM-treated plants maintained optimum leaf photosynthetic efficiency two weeks longer than the control plants, and increased yield independent of substrate. The levels of seed nutritionally-relevant molecules (proteins, lipids, and starch) were only slightly modified, apart from the protein content, which increased in plants grown in sandy soil. Although EM can be considered a promising and environmentally friendly technology for sustainable agriculture, more studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism(s) of action of EM, as well as its efficacy under open field conditions.

Sex change in kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis Planch.): a developmental framework for the bisexual to unisexual floral transition.

KEY MESSAGE: The developmental morphology of male and female kiwifruit flowers is tracked to delimit a framework of events to aid the study of divergence in floral gene expression. The transition from hermaphrodite to unisexual development of kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis Planch) flowers has been reported previously, but differences in gene expression controlling sexual development for this species have not been associated with the major developmental changes occurring within pistils. We investigated the key stages in male and female flower development to define the point at which meristematic activities diverge in the two sexes. A combination of scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy was used to investigate pistil development from the earliest stages. We identified seven distinct stages characterized by differences in ovary size and shape, macrosporogenesis, ovule primordium development, anther locule lengthening, microspore wall thickening, and pollen degeneration. Sex differences were evident from the initial stage of development, with a laterally compacted gynoecium in male flowers. However, the key developmental stage, at which tissue differentiation clearly deviated between the two sexes, was stage 3, when flowers were 3.5 to 4.5 mm in length at approximately 10 d from initiation of stamen development. At this stage, male flowers lacked evident carpel meristem development as denoted by a lack of ovule primordium formation. Pollen degeneration in female flowers, probably driven by programmed cell death, occurred at the late stage 6, while the final stage 7 was represented by pollen release. As the seven developmental stages are associated with specific morphological differences, including flower size, the scheme suggested here can provide the required framework for the future study of gene expression during the regulation of flower development in this crop species.