Biodiversity metrics on ecological networks: Demonstrated with animal gastrointestinal microbiomes

Biodiversity has become a terminology familiar to virtually every citizen in modern societies.It is said that ecology studies the economy of nature,and economy studies the ecology of humans;then measuring biodiversity should be similar with measuring national wealth.Indeed,there have been many parallels between ecology and economics,actually beyond analogies.For example,arguably the second most widely used biodiversity metric,Simpson(1949)’s diversity index,is a function of familiar Gini-index in economics.One of the biggest challenges has been the high“diversity”of diversity indexes due to their excessive“speciation”-there are so many indexes,similar to each country’s sovereign currency-leaving confused diversity practitioners in dilemma.In 1973,Hill introduced the concept of“numbers equivalent”,which is based on Renyi entropy and originated in economics,but possibly due to his abstruse interpretation of the concept,his message was not widely received by ecologists until nearly four decades later.What Hill suggested was similar to link the US dollar to gold at the rate of$35 per ounce under the Bretton Woods system.The Hill numbers now are considered most appropriate biodiversity metrics system,unifying Shannon,Simpson and other diversity indexes.Here,we approach to another paradigmatic shift-measuring biodiversity on ecological networks-demonstrated with animal gastrointestinal microbiomes representing four major invertebrate classes and all six vertebrate classes.The network diversity can reveal the diversity of species interactions,which is a necessary step for understanding the spatial and temporal structures and dynamics of biodiversity across environmental gradients.

Importance of Plant Biodiversity and Long-Term Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources via Biotechnological Strategies

Although climate changes are predicted to be an increasingly dominant threat to plant biodiversity, the degradation of ecosystems witnessed to date has been largely driven by factors such as human-induced habitat loss and fragmentation, overexploitation, pollution and the introduction of invasive species. Given the evidence that climate changes and anthropogenic pressures have greatly increased the extinction of natural populations of species, we can recognize that human-induced land use and climate changes are perhaps the greatest threats to terrestrial biodiversity. In this context, effective prioritization of conservation efforts is critical for the sustainability of biodiversity, as current environmental changes are likely to continue in the future. Countries with limited financial resources for conservation projects may be at greater risk from habitat loss, direct harvesting and invasive species, and may also lead to unsustainable exploitation of resources, further accelerating species loss through direct harvesting and causing rapid loss of biodiversity. In this context, the protection of biodiversity is an important issue that concerns the entire world population. Causes such as anthropogenic pressures, great fires, introduction of new species from different regions, invasion of cultivars and dominant species cause a dramatic impact on plant biodiversity as well as an increase in the number of threatened species. Plant biodiversity constitutes the natural source of products used in the food and pharmaceutical industries and also provides basic different raw materials. On the other hand, plant biodiversity is important in the development of species and more productive species that are more resistant to biological and environmental stresses, and in providing new genetic information for feeding programs. Advances in plant biotechnology, particularly in vitro cultures and molecular biology, have been a powerful tool in the control and conservation of plant biodiversity. Today, biotechnological methods include the most suitable methods for the pathogen-free short-, medium- and long-term preservation of ornamental plants, medicinal and aromatic plants and woody species that are in danger of extinction. In vitro conservation strategies are especially important in the protection of plant species that are vegetatively propagated and have seeds that are intolerant to desiccation. In addition, in vitro techniques provide a reliable platform for the international exchange of plant material, enable the creation of large collections using minimal space, enable the acquisition of valuable materials for wild species recovery, and facilitate molecular research and ecological studies.

Biodiversity Assessment of Avifauna in the Forest Reservation of Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT), Philippines

The research study was conducted to assess and quantify the current status of avifauna biodiversity assets of Aurora State College of Technology’s Forest Reservation in Baler, Aurora, Philippines. Assessment of avifaunal diversity was undertaken by traversing the four established circular plots having a radius of 125 meters or 250 meters diameters each as permanent monitoring stations. Study revealed a total number of 151 Individual species, classified into 23 genera and 21 families. Eighteen of these species are endemic while the remaining five were fully migrated birds. All birds observed were classified as Least Concern (LC) species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species and the updated list of the Birds of the World online. Its abundance, richness and diversity index were calculated using Shannon Diversity Index (H') while Pielou’s evenness (J') for distribution of species. Forest reservation of ASCOT has more even (0.756 J') and moderate diversity (2.812 H') observation on avifauna in general. However, this avian population evaluation was threatened into a verge of extinction due to natural and anthropological threats that causes forest deforestation. Such deforestation of habitat causes dwindling of wildlife territory leading to the scarcity of bird’s population. Thus, the assessment was conducted to aid ASCOT administration find significant plans to ensure sustainable conservation and protection of the remaining avifauna species in the reservation area.

Tree mycorrhizal associations determine how biodiversity,large trees,and environmental factors drive aboveground carbon stock in temperate forests

Biodiversity,large trees,and environmental conditions such as climate and soil have important effects on forest carbon stocks.However,recent studies in temperate forests suggest that the relative importance of these factors depends on tree mycorrhizal associations,whereby large-tree effects may be driven by ectomycorrhizal(EM)trees,diversity effects may be driven by arbuscular mycorrhizal(AM)trees,and environment effects may depend on differential climate and soil preferences of AM and EM trees.To test this hypothesis,we used forest-inventory data consisting of over 80,000 trees from 631 temperate-forest plots(30 m×30 m)across Northeast China to examine how biodiversity(species diversity and ecological uniqueness),large trees(top 1%of tree diameters),and environmental factors(climate and soil nutrients)differently regulate aboveground carbon stocks of AM trees,EM trees,and AM and EM trees combined(i.e.total aboveground carbon stock).We found that large trees had a positive effect on both AM and EM tree carbon stocks.However,biodiversity and environmental factors had opposite effects on AM vs.EM tree carbon stocks.Specifically,the two components of biodiversity had positive effects on AM tree carbon stocks,but negative effects on EM tree carbon stocks.Environmental heterogeneity(mean annual temperature and soil nutrients)also exhibited contrasting effects on AM and EM tree carbon stocks.Consequently,for the total carbon stock,the positive large-tree effect far surpasses the diversity and environment effect.This is mainly because when integrating AM and EM tree carbon stock into total carbon stock,the opposite diversity-effect(also environment-effect)on AM vs.EM tree carbon stock counteracts each other while the consistent positive large-tree effect on AM and EM tree carbon stock is amplified.In summary,this study emphasized a mycorrhizal viewpoint to better understand the determinants of overarching aboveground carbon profile across regional forests.

Sustaining forest biodiversity:Exploring the effect of long-term natural disturbance dynamics on contemporary lichen communities in primary forest ecosystems

In this era of biodiversity loss and climate change,quantifying the impacts of natural disturbance on forest communities is imperative to improve biodiversity conservation efforts.Epiphytic and epixylic lichens are effective forest quality bioindicators,as they are generally long-lived organisms supported by continuity of specific forest structures and their associated microclimatic features.However,how lichen communities respond to the effects of fluctuating historical disturbances remains unclear.Using a dendrochronological approach,this study investigates how natural disturbance dynamics indirectly influence various lichen community metrics in some of Europe's best-preserved primary mixed-beech forests.Mixed modelling revealed that natural historical disturbance processes have decades-long effects on forest structural attributes,which had both congruent and divergent impacts on lichen community richness and composition.Total species richness indirectly benefited from both historical and recent higher-severity disturbances via increased standing dead tree basal area and canopy openness respectively-likely through the presence of both pioneer and late-successional species associated with these conditions.Red-listed species richness showed a dependence on habitat continuity(old trees),and increased with disturbance-related structures(standing dead trees)whilst simultaneously benefiting from periods without severe disturbance events(old trees and reduced deadwood volume).However,if the disturbance occurred over a century in the past,no substantial effect on forest structure was detected.Therefore,while disturbance-mediated forest structures can promote overall richness,threatened species appear vulnerable to more severe disturbance events-a concern,as disturbances are predicted to intensify with climate change.Additionally,the high number of threatened species found reinforce the critical role of primary forest structural attributes for biodiversity maintenance.Hence,we recommend a landscape-scale conservation approach encompassing forest patches in different successional stages to support diverse lichen communities,and the consideration of long-term disturbance dynamics in forest conservation efforts,as they provide critical insights for safeguarding biodiversity in our changing world.

Evaluating soil acidification risk and its effects on biodiversity–ecosystem multifunctionality relationships in the drylands of China

Background:Soil acidifcationn caused by anthropogenic activities may aft soil biochemical cydling,bidiversity,productivity,and multiple eosystem-related functions in drylands.However,to date,such information is lacking to support this hypothesis.Methods Based on a transect survey of 78 naturally assembled shrub communities,we caloulated acid deposition flux in Northwest China and evaluated its likely ecological ffets by testing three altemnative hypotheses,namely:.nidche complementarity,mass ratio,and vegetation quantity hypotheses Rao's quadratic entopy and community-weighted mean traits were employed to represent the complementary aspect of niche complementarity and mass ratio effects,respectively.Resulbs:We observed that in the past four decades,the concentrations of exchangeable base cations in soil in Northwest China have decreased significantly to the extent of having faced the risk of depletion,whereas changes in the calium carbonate content and pH of soil were not significant.Adid deposition primani ly increased the aboweground biomass and shrub density in shrublands but had no sigmificant effect on shrub richness and ecasystem multifunctionality(EMF),indicating that acid deposition had positive but weak ecological effects on dryland ecosystems.Community wd ghted mean of functional traits(representing the mass ratio hypothesis)correlated negatively with EMF,whereas both Rao's quadratic entropy(representing the niche complementarity hypothesis)and aboveground biomass(representing the vegetation quantity hypothesis)correlated positively but insignifcantly with EMF.These biodiversity-EMF relationships highlight the fragility and instability of drylands relative to forest ecasystems.Concuions:The findings from this study serve as important reference points to understand the ris of soil acidification in arid regions and its impacts on biodiversity-EMF relationships.

Sustainable Wetland Management Using the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework as a Guide in the Sierra Leone Case

The Sustainable Wetland Management adopted for this study depicts that, the identification of drivers and impacts is needed first, in other to get a clearer roadmap, after which the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework would come into play to serve as a pathway for Sustainability. The study evaluates how Sierra Leone might implement the Framework’s proposed strategies in National Wetland Management. As a result, the research tried to thoroughly examine the factors that contribute to wetland degradation as well as the effects they have on the people who live nearby. The purposive sampling method was used to administer 385 structured questionnaires to inhabitants. The data was then processed in an Excel spreadsheet. Microsoft Publisher was used to draw the framework and a descriptive analysis was done. Results indicated that;the majority of the inhabitants of Aberdeen Creek are traders/self-employed, furthermore, the majority chose the place because it’s less expensive and nearer to the workplace, settlement expansion and pollution are the two most common degrading activities, while flooding and health-related issues are some of the consequences, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is regarded to be a perfect tool for wetland management. It was concluded that to accomplish the objectives in the framework, it is necessary to have both political and social will. Satellite data and water quality research are further needed to validate the report.

Biodiversity of Edible Caterpillars of Imbrasia and Host Plants in Boukoko (Central African Republic)

In Central African Republic, edible caterpillars of Imbrasia gender are income of rural populations, present an opportunity to improve food security and belonging to the category of Non-wood forest products. The goal of this study is to document the ecology of caterpillars of genre Imbrasia in relation to its host plants in Boukoko. The questionnaire was addressed to the actors of the collection and consumption of caterpillars in this Commune, to their local knowledge concerning this food resource as well as the plants of their locality on which caterpillars are collected. The survey took place in September to October 2022 and as a general rule, the 120 respondents were elderly people whose age range varied from 35 to 70 years old. Plant samples are collected in their natural environment. Based on local names;herbaria are mounted, plants photographed and samples collected. The types of edible caterpillars have been inventoried in the field in collaboration with the local populations who consume them. Based on local names, the caterpillars are captured manually from morphological traits and then stored in bottles containing 70% ethanol. The specimens were identified. The data was entered into the Excel spreadsheet which also made it possible to produce histograms with the frequencies of the plant species most valued by the different caterpillars. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was then performed using R software to highlight the correlation between caterpillars and host plants. The main economic importance trees hosting edible caterpillars of Imbrasia gender in Boukoko region are: Entandrophragma cylindricum, Pentaclethra macrophylla, Maesopsis eminii, Albizia ferruginea, Macaranga spinosa, Amphimas ferrugineus, Pentaclethra macrophylla, Racosperma auriculiforme, Eribroma oblonga. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) carried out to assess the variability between the different species of caterpillars according to their host plants shows that the first two axes F1 and F2 explain 27.34% of the overall variability. The different variables along the two factorial axes are weakly correlated. The caterpillar species Imbrasia truncata, Imbrasia epimethea, Imbrasia obscura, Imbrasia petiveri, Imbrasia forda and Imbrasia alopia have more host plant diversity than the caterpillar species: Imbrasia melanops, Imbrasia eblis, Imbrasia anthina, Imbrasia wahlbergii and Imbrasia oyemensis.

Social and Environmental Impacts of Maryland Oil Palm Plantations on Forests,Biodiversity,and Community Livelihoods in Liberia

Liberia holds 44.5% of the remaining portion of the Upper Guinean Rainforest in West Africa,which is home to critically endangered forest elephants and western chimpanzees.The forests are of vital importance for the livelihoods of millions of West Africans and provide key ecosystem services of local and global importance for food systems transformation and agroecology.Liberia’s efforts toward land reform through legislation and policies recognise communities’rights to own and manage their customary lands and resources.These include the National Forestry Reform Law of 2006,the Community Rights Law Concerning Forest Lands of 2009,and the Land Rights Act of 2018,and more.In May 2022,a program team from the Sustainable Development Institute(SDI)-Friends of the Earth Liberia researched the social and environmental impacts of Maryland Oil Palm Plantations(MOPPs)in Liberia.Twenty-three(23)key informant interviews(KIIs)and 10 focus group discussions(FGDs)were conducted in seven communities in and around the MOPP.They included farmers,contract workers,MOPP staff,local authorities,women and youth leaders,the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)Inspector,the Civil Society Head,and the Gender Coordinator of Maryland County.The team cross-checked information with formal documents as much as possible and took photographs and global positioning system(GPS)locations of areas of deforestation,pollution,and conflict.The team also used observation to monitor environmental pollution,such as affluent into water bodies and planting oil palm in wetlands.The team used narrative analysis and geospatial landscape analysis to analyze the data.The research finds that land conflict and deforestation have several negative impacts on communities.MOPP has not respected land tenure rights or followed Free Prior and Informed Consent(FPIC)standards,including resettlement without reparation and destruction of farms and old towns without(sufficient)compensation or restitution.During MOPP land acquisition and clearance,communities experienced the loss of their farms and the identification of villages as“village de squatters”,leading to restricted access to farmland,heightened food insecurity,and reduced income from cash crops to support families.MOPP destroyed high conservation value areas and destroyed secondary forest regrowth,which affected important biodiversity areas.MOPP is one of the four large-scale industrial palm oil plantations in Liberia in Maryland County.It has a palm oil mill in a joint venture with Golden Veroleum Liberia(GVL).Its 2011 concession agreement includes 8,800 hectares for industrial palm oil plantations.

China Unveils Its 2024 Biodiversity Catalog

On May 22,2024,coinciding with the International Biodiversity Day,the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)released its“Catalog of Life China 2024 Annual Checklist,”marking a significant advancement in documenting China’s rich biodiversity.This comprehensive inventory now encompasses an impressive total of 155,364 species and subspecies,including 141,484 distinct species and 13,880 subspecies,reflecting China’s ongoing commitment to understanding and preserving its natural heritage.

The Concept of the Soul of Multiverse as a Genuine Supporter of Wildlife and Biodiversity on Earth

This work used the cosmological neuroscientific concept of Soul of Multiverse for placing the problem of wildlife and biodiversity protection into a new philosophical environment where religious,scientific and philosophical approaches are in harmony.It resulted in the thought that the obligation of protecting wildlife and biodiversity on Earth,just as the sanctity of caring for all human lives,originated in cosmic laws set in the divine blueprints of the Soul of Multiverse.These laws seem to relay that in the 21st century the time has come on Earth to stop killing animals for food,to stop overhunting and overfishing,to stop industrial activities responsible for deforestation,desertification,air pollution and climate change,and to run animal experiments for science and medicine only in the extremely limited,most justified cases and only until new technologies make them no longer necessary.The conclusion was that to achieve these goals,new global governing mechanisms are needed.Specifically,the establishment of a Government of Earth,the next step of the political process that started with the United Nations in the first place,may be necessary to solve the global problems of wildlife and biodiversity protection since meaningful solutions for global problems require global governing mechanisms.

A strategic study on biodiversity conservation in Xishuangbanna

Xishuangbanna harbors valuable tropical rainforests with abundant biod iversity and it is acknowledged as a treasure house of wildlife. By describing t he characteristics of its physical geography, the authors analyzed the habitat c omplex. The major vegetation types and rare wildlife were systematically studied to indicate the major elements and great value of the biodiversity. The present status of general biodiversity conservation was briefly appraised to reveal the potential crises and problems in the conservation practice. Based on the theori es and experience borrowed from modern conservation biology and innovations at h ome and abroad, 4 primary strategies were accordingly suggested to establish a b eneficial mutual-improvement mechanism for the better conservation so that the b iodiversity conservation and utilization can be properly integrated, the local p eople's livelihood effectively uplifted and their over-dependence on the resourc es relatively lessened.

Investigation and Research on Biodiversity of Chen Lake Wetland

Plant diversity, animal diversity and ecosystem diversity in the wetland were studied with field investigation and statistical analysis, and then biodiversity of Chen Lake wetland was also valued. The results showed that the reasonable utilization and protection for biodiversity of Chen Lake wetland gave important contribution to improving the regional environment and sustainable development of Wuhan, and even the middle-lower Yangtze area.

生物多样性评价软件Biodiversity Mapping的设计与实现

针对目前国内生物多样性相关软件缺乏的情况 ,利用可视化开发方法和地理信息系统组件包ShapeViewerObjects开发了一个综合性的生物多样性评价软件BiodiversityMapping。该软件运行于Windows98/NT操作系统下 ,是一个 32位Windows应用软件 ;可以计算 8类 37种α、β生物多样性测度并能利用地理信息系统技术将结果空间化表达。利用该软件计算了北京东灵山地区 3个研究区域 (小龙门、梨园岭和东灵山主峰 )内 11个生境中大步甲属(Carabus)昆虫的Shannon Wiener多样性指数并制图 ,然后对这 3个地区进行了右尾和排序。结果表明 ,Biodiversi tyMapping软件能够准确方便地计算多种生物多样性测度 ,是生物多样性评价的一个有力工具。

The Super-population Bridges the Habitat Diversity and Biodiversity

There is another way for new species to invade former settlers＇ habitats and successfully settle there; it is demonstrated that the su- per-population, which plays a key role in changing the world-wide environment, can create many new microhabitats in the old habitat, it is these new microhabitats that make new species easily come into the old habitat and settle there without fierce competition with former settlers. In other words, the super-population lead to the differentiation of the worldwide environment, lead to the environmental diversity in the biosphere. Through the differentiation of the environment the super-population produces many new microhabitats for new species, the appearance of many new microhabitats make it possible for new species to coexist with former settlers in the biosphere. The cqexistence of new species with former settlers or with new species＇ ＂ancestors＂ results in the increaseing in the biodiversity of the biosphere. The super-population is the founder of many new environments on the earth, it bridges the habitat diversity and the biodiversity. Now It is easy to explain the phenomenon that new species sometimes coexist with former settlers and even depend on former settlers in the biosphere rather than fierce competition between them.

Review of Research Methods on Biodiversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi （AMF） are essential functional microbiology in natural ecosystems. It is very important to research community composition and di- versity of AMF for achieving sustainable development of ecosystems. The paper described several methods of researching the diversity of AMF, especially for molecular techniques, reviewed the application status of these methods in AMF research, and pointed out that the effective combination of morphological and molecular methods could better reveal the biodiversity and ecological functions of AMF in natural ecosystems.

自然资源保护区环境教育效果评价研究——以武当道茶(Eurya Alata)保护示范区为例

作为全球生物多样性最丰富的国家之一,我国的野生植物资源遭受着严峻的生存威胁。因此,分析野生植物资源保护区周边农户的环境教育效果具有现实意义。采用武当道茶保护示范区的调研数据,基于KAP理论构建“环境教育状况、认知、态度和行为”框架评价农户环境教育效果,并对其参与意愿影响因素进行分析。结果表明:1)武当道茶保护示范区农户野生植物资源保护教育的综合得分为62.6分,整体水平处于“效果明显范畴”,4个评价体系的得分为行为层面(75.2分)、态度层面(60.2分)、知识层面(57.8分)、实施层面(52.2分)依次递减的特征,呈现出重行为轻认知的特点。2)IPA对比分析图显示,环境行为位于继续保持区域,环境态度位于过度加强区域,环境知识位于次要加强区域。农户行为是提升野生植物资源保护教育效果的首要条件,未来需要继续保持;农户的知识是关键因素,未来需要进一步加强;农户的态度效果因子可适当放缓。3)农户的性别、年龄以及文化水平是影响环境教育感知的重要因素,男性受访者的环境教育感知强于女性,但在行为意识方面有欠缺,女性农民则相反。年龄越大的农户其感知能力越弱,文化程度越高的农户,环境教育效果越好。建议大力挖掘野生植物资源保护与可持续利用内容,加强对农户关于农业生物多样性保护方面的宣传教育与普及;从完善野生植物资源保护教育设施、丰富野生植物资源保护教育内容等措施提升农户的环境教育效果。

珠江三角洲城市群留鸟多样性格局及其驱动机制

鸟类是反映城市生境和生物多样性变化的重要指标,城市鸟类多样性分布格局模拟与预测是当前城市生物多样性保护研究中重点关注的难题。珠江三角洲城市群经历了快速的城市化过程,景观变化显著,给城市生境和生物多样性保护带来了巨大挑战。为解析城市鸟类多样性与城市生境之间的空间关联机制,构建“单物种分布预测-物种多样性聚类-多样性的影响归因”的空间综合途径,开展珠江三角洲城市群留鸟空间格局与形成机制研究。结果表明:1)珠江三角洲城市群的87种留鸟构成的多样性与适宜性具有高度的城-乡梯度分布模式;将留鸟的空间适宜性聚类可分为8类,总体上留鸟的中高适宜区占比小于30%。2)结构方程模型的解析可以发现,人类活动显著地正向影响了鸟类多样性的空间分布格局,影响系数介于0.28~1.94;而植被、气候、地形的正向或负向效应差异明显。研究可为城市生物多样性保护,调控鸟类多样性的生境影响因素,开展城市生态建设与管理提供科学依据。

基于InVEST-Biodiversity模型的闽江流域生境质量变化评价

基于InVEST模型的Biodiversity模块,测定闽江流域的生物多样性生态服务功能,运用模型结果中的生境质量指数和生境稀缺度指数评估闽江流域生态环境质量,对区域生态环境保护具有参考价值。经模型运算得到:2000年、2005年、2010年闽江流域生境质量指数得分分别为27.90、27.82、27.79,10年间下降了0.39%,2005—2010年期间较2000—2005年期间下降速率降低了62.50%;台江、鼓楼、仓山、长乐地区是生境质量较低的地域,其生境质量指数得分10年间均值为0.15、0.23、0.33、0.53;道路、居住地、工业用地、采矿场4种地类对闽江流域生态环境的干扰是生境质量变化的主要驱动因素;森林地类生境稀缺度指数下降了89.80%,生境质量指数10年间均值为0.99,占地面积增加了0.09%。研究表明,10年间闽江流域整体生境质量处于良好水平,且保持稳定。

Characteristics and the Issue of Eco-safety for the Plant Biodiversity in Longtan Nature Reserve

The characteristic and status quo of plant biodiversity in Longtan Nature Reserve was evaluated from the three aspects of species diversity, genetic diversity and ecosystem dioversity. And the primary eco-safety influencing factors for plant biodiversity in Longtan nature reserve were put forward. The results show that the plant species in Longtan Nature Reserve was abundant, including 2 821 species of vascular bundle plants belonging to 1029 genera, 205 families. The main problems influencing eco-safety included the destruction of endangered wild plants and exotic species invasion.