Extent of intraspecific trait variability in ecologically central and marginal populations of a dominant alpine plant across European mountains.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Studying trait variability and restricted gene flow between populations of species can reveal species dynamics. Peripheral populations commonly exhibit lower genetic diversity and trait variability due to isolation and ecological marginality, unlike central populations experiencing gene flow and optimal conditions. This study focused on Carex curvula, the dominant species in alpine acidic meadows of European mountain regions. The species is sparser in dry areas such as the Pyrenees and Balkans, compared to the Central-Eastern Alps and Carpathians. We hypothesized that distinct population groups could be identified based on their mean functional trait values and their correlation with the environment; we predicted that ecologically marginal populations would have stronger trait correlations, lower within-population trait variability (intraspecific trait variability, ITV) and lower genetic diversity than populations of optimal habitats. METHODS: Sampling was conducted in 34 populations that spanned the entire distribution range of C. curvula. We used hierarchical clustering to identify emergent functional groups of populations, defined by combinations of multiple traits associated with nutrient economy and drought tolerance (e.g. specific leaf area, anatomy). We contrasted the geographical distribution of these groups in relation to environment and genetic structure. We compared pairwise trait relationships, within-population trait variation (ITV) and neutral genetic diversity between groups. KEY RESULTS: Our study identified emergent functional groups of populations. Those in the southernmost ranges, specifically the Pyrenees and Balkan region, showed drought-tolerant trait syndromes and correlated with indicators of limited water availability. While we noted a decline in population genetic diversity, we did not observe any significant changes in ITV in ecologically marginal (peripheral) populations. CONCLUSIONS: Our research exemplifies the relationship between ecological marginality and geographical peripherality, which in this case study is linked to genetic depauperation but not to reduced ITV. Understanding these relationships is crucial for understanding the biogeographical factors shaping trait variation.

Data mobilisation at the Fund of Invertebrates of the State Museum of Natural History of the NAS of Ukraine.

Background: The described dataset contains occurrence records of invertebrate specimens deposited at the State Museum of Natural History of the NAS of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine (SMNH NASU). It combines diverse taxonomic groups, mostly belonging to the class Insecta of the phylum Arthropoda, that were selected as prioritised for digitisation in war conditions. Selected specimens were ascertained as those being the most vulnerable to hostilities and requiring virtual preservation. Such virtual preservation is essential in the war realities as collection can be lost or damaged at any moment, resulting in a significant retrospective biodiversity data gap. At the same time, collection virtualisation and its deposition on the internet grant remote access to scientists who cannot visit it in person due to the war. Moreover, we believe that the mobilisation of the data from the Ukrainian collections and their publication online are essential for the integration of Ukrainian research facilities into a global scientific biodiversity pool. New information: A total of 3,660 occurrence records mobilised in 2023-2024 from the collection of invertebrates of the SMNH NASU, were published. This dynamic dataset will be continually supplied by new records during further digitisation work.

Data mobilisation in the LWS Herbarium: success and prospects.

Background: Digitisation of hosted specimens is a crucial task for all herbaria worldwide and is one of the main streams for today. By digitising their collections and publishing the datasets, the herbaria grant access to essential data to a wide research audience and, as a result, involve their collections in scientific work more actively. Digitisation also allows virtual preservation of the collections, which is especially important in conditions of hostilities, when the entire collection can be destroyed or damaged in one moment. This paper describes two datasets recently published in GBIF in the framework of the LWS herbarium digitisation initiative. It also contains some considerations about further digitisation priorities and plans in the LWS Herbarium in the context of complicated war conditions and limited facilities. New information: In total, 2,419 occurrence records from Ukraine mobilised from LWS Herbarium were published. These datasets are planned to be dynamic with the addition of new records along with progress of digitisation work at LWS. At least 6,000 more records are planned to be published through these datasets in 2024.

An annotated nomenclatural checklist of endemic vascular plants distributed in the Ukrainian Carpathians.

Background: The current paper presents a nomenclatural checklist for vascular plants validated being (sub)endemic to and present in the flora of the Ukrainian Carpathians. This checklist is a part of the work targeted on an inventory of endemic plants distributed in the Ukrainian Carpathians. It is mainly based on the analysis of primary sources (i.e. original protologues and monographic works), but also uses the data provided in the recent online taxonomic aggregators, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Catalogue of Life (CoL), Plants of the World Online (POWO), Euro+Med PlantBase, World Flora Online (WFO) and others. Over 7,000 specimens deposited in the leading Ukrainian herbaria were also revised and used as a supporting data source during the work on the checklist. New information: The checklist provides a revised nomenclature, including corrections on publication dates, rediscovered taxonomic protologues, corrected authorships and revised taxonomic status for (sub)endemic (sub)species of vascular plants occurring in the Ukrainian Carpathians. It contains 1,101 names, from which 78 species and subspecies have been accepted as valid and 1023 species and infraspecific taxa are provided as synonyms. It is completed with critical notes on the nomenclature of problematic taxa and brief annotations regarding their distribution in the Ukrainian Carpathians, indicating the endemicity range and sozological status for all analysed (sub)species.The current checklist is linked with the GBIF taxonomic backbone, provides notes on detected issues and primarily focuses on its update and correction of the nomenclatural issues and taxonomic inconsistencies, but also aims at discussing issues in other popular taxonomic databases.Sabulinapauciflora is proposed as a new combination to comply with a recent revision of the genus Sabulina.

Genus Aconitum (Ranunculaceae) in the Ukrainian Carpathians and adjacent territories.

Background: The dataset represents a comprehensive collection of occurrence records concerning the genus Aconitum (Ranunculaceae) in the Ukrainian Carpathians and adjacent territories. It is based primarily on the results of critical revision of the main herbarium collections of the Carpathian region (i.e. LW, LWS, LWKS, KRA, KRAM, CHER, KW, UU and KWHU). Besides this, the dataset contains the data parsed (and taxonomically revised) from the published materials and other available sources (e.g. Karel Domin's Card Index). New information: In total, 2,280 occurrence records of the genus Aconitum representatives distributed in the Ukrainian Carpathians were published.

Endemic vascular plants in the Ukrainian Carpathians.

Background: This dynamic dataset aims to gather all available data, extracted mostly from the preserved material deposited at the leading Ukrainian herbaria on the distribution of the endemic vascular plants in the Ukrainian Carpathians and adjacent territories. This dataset is created in the framework of mapping the distribution of the endemic plants and is aimed to unveil the patterns of their spatial distribution, ecological preferences and temporal trends in the flora of the Ukrainian Carpathians. A total of 76 species and subspecies of vascular plants belonging to 49 genera and 27 families are reported herein to occur in the Ukrainian Carpathians and close regions. Amongst the total number of reported 6,427 occurrence records, 1,961 records are georeferenced and supported with a translation of Cyrillic information into English. The remaining occurrence records will be georeferenced and translated into English in the near future, as well as the dataset being completed with new records obtained from the new sources. New information: In total, 6,427 occurrence records of the endemic vascular plants distributed in the Ukrainian Carpathians were published.