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Diversity, Volume 4, Issue 2 (June 2012) – 6 articles , Pages 164-257

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723 KiB  
Article
Genetic Diversity in A Core Subset of Wild Barley Germplasm
by Yong-Bi Fu and Carolee Horbach
Diversity 2012, 4(2), 239-257; https://doi.org/10.3390/d4020239 - 14 Jun 2012
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7026
Abstract
Wild barley [Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum (C. Koch) Thell.] is a part of the primary gene pool with valuable sources of beneficial genes for barley improvement. This study attempted to develop a core subset of 269 accessions representing 16 countries from the [...] Read more.
Wild barley [Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum (C. Koch) Thell.] is a part of the primary gene pool with valuable sources of beneficial genes for barley improvement. This study attempted to develop a core subset of 269 accessions representing 16 countries from the Plant Gene Resources of Canada (PGRC) collection of 3,782 accessions, and to characterize them using barley simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Twenty-five informative primer pairs were applied to screen all samples and 359 alleles were detected over seven barley chromosomes. Analyses of the SSR data showed the effectiveness of the stratified sampling applied in capturing country-wise SSR variation. The frequencies of polymorphic alleles ranged from 0.004 to 0.708 and averaged 0.072. More than 24% or 7% SSR variation resided among accessions of 16 countries or two regions, respectively. Accessions from Israel and Jordan were genetically most diverse, while accessions from Lebanon and Greece were most differentiated. Four and five optimal clusters of accessions were obtained using STRUCTURE and BAPS programs and partitioned 16.3% and 20.3% SSR variations, respectively. The five optimal clusters varied in size from 15 to 104 and two clusters had only country-specific accessions. A genetic separation was detected between the accessions east and west of the Zagros Mountains only at the country, not the individual, level. These SSR patterns enhance our understanding of the wild barley gene pool, and are significant for conserving wild barley germplasm and exploring new sources of useful genes for barley improvement. Full article
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231 KiB  
Article
Marine Biodiversity, Climate Change, and Governance of the Oceans
by Robin Kundis Craig
Diversity 2012, 4(2), 224-238; https://doi.org/10.3390/d4020224 - 18 May 2012
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 13807
Abstract
Governance of marine biodiversity has long suffered from lack of adequate information about the ocean’s many species and ecosystems. Nevertheless, even as we are learning much more about the ocean’s biodiversity and the impacts to it from stressors such as overfishing, habitat destruction, [...] Read more.
Governance of marine biodiversity has long suffered from lack of adequate information about the ocean’s many species and ecosystems. Nevertheless, even as we are learning much more about the ocean’s biodiversity and the impacts to it from stressors such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and marine pollution, climate change is imposing new threats and exacerbating existing threats to marine species and ecosystems. Coastal nations could vastly improve their fragmented approaches to ocean governance in order to increase the protections for marine biodiversity in the climate change era. Specifically, three key governance improvements would include: (1) incorporation of marine spatial planning as a key organizing principle of marine governance; (2) working to increase the resilience of marine ecosystems be reducing or eliminating existing stressors on those ecosystems; and (3) anticipation of climate change’s future impacts on marine biodiversity through the use of anticipatory zoning and more precautionary regulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Law of Climate Change and Biodiversity Protection)
5773 KiB  
Article
Diversity of Mat-Forming Fungi in Relation to Soil Properties, Disturbance, and Forest Ecotype at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, USA
by Matthew J. Trappe, Kermit Cromack, Jr., Bruce A. Caldwell, Robert P. Griffiths and James M. Trappe
Diversity 2012, 4(2), 196-223; https://doi.org/10.3390/d4020196 - 24 Apr 2012
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 10323
Abstract
In forest ecosystems, fungal mats are functionally important in nutrient and water uptake in litter and wood decomposition processes, in carbon resource allocation, soil weathering and in cycling of soil resources. Fungal mats can occur abundantly in forests and are widely distributed globally. [...] Read more.
In forest ecosystems, fungal mats are functionally important in nutrient and water uptake in litter and wood decomposition processes, in carbon resource allocation, soil weathering and in cycling of soil resources. Fungal mats can occur abundantly in forests and are widely distributed globally. We sampled ponderosa pine/white fir and mountain hemlock/noble fir communities at Crater Lake National Park for mat-forming soil fungi. Fungus collections were identified by DNA sequencing. Thirty-eight mat-forming genotypes were identified; members of the five most common genera (Gautieria, Lepiota, Piloderma, Ramaria, and Rhizopogon) comprised 67% of all collections. The mycorrhizal genera Alpova and Lactarius are newly identified as ectomycorrhizal mat-forming taxa, as are the saprotrophic genera Flavoscypha, Gastropila, Lepiota and Xenasmatella. Twelve typical mat forms are illustrated, representing both ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi that were found. Abundance of fungal mats was correlated with higher soil carbon to nitrogen ratios, fine woody debris and needle litter mass in both forest ecotypes. Definitions of fungal mats are discussed, along with some of the challenges in defining what comprises a fungal “mat”. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity and Forest Dynamics and Functions)
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108 KiB  
New Book Received
The Green Leap: A Primer for Conserving Biodiversity in Subdivision Development. By Mark E. Hostetler, University of California Press, 2012; 205 pages. Price: US26.95 / £ 18.95 ISBN 978–0–520–27111–1
by Shu-Kun Lin
Diversity 2012, 4(2), 194-195; https://doi.org/10.3390/d4020194 - 20 Apr 2012
Viewed by 4590
Abstract
Written for anyone interested in green development—including policy makers, architects, developers, builders, and homeowners—this practical guide focuses on the central question of how to conserve biodiversity in neighborhoods and to minimize development impacts on surrounding habitats. The Green Leap specifically helps move green [...] Read more.
Written for anyone interested in green development—including policy makers, architects, developers, builders, and homeowners—this practical guide focuses on the central question of how to conserve biodiversity in neighborhoods and to minimize development impacts on surrounding habitats. The Green Leap specifically helps move green development beyond the design stage by thoroughly addressing construction and post-construction issues. [...] Full article
310 KiB  
Article
Significant Pairwise Co-occurrence Patterns Are Not the Rule in the Majority of Biotic Communities
by Eva Pitta, Sinos Giokas and Spyros Sfenthourakis
Diversity 2012, 4(2), 179-193; https://doi.org/10.3390/d4020179 - 17 Apr 2012
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 7336
Abstract
Our aim was to investigate species co-occurrence patterns in a large number of published biotic communities, in order to document to what extent species associations can be found in presence-absence matrices. We also aim to compare and evaluate two metrics that focus on [...] Read more.
Our aim was to investigate species co-occurrence patterns in a large number of published biotic communities, in order to document to what extent species associations can be found in presence-absence matrices. We also aim to compare and evaluate two metrics that focus on species pairs (the ‘natural’ and the ‘checkerboard’ metric) using also artificial matrices. We applied the two metrics to many data sets from a huge variety of insular systems around the world. Both metrics reliably recover deviating species pairs and provide similar, albeit not identical, results. Nevertheless, only a few matrices exhibit significant deviations from random patterns, mostly vertebrates and higher plants. The benchmark cases cited in literature in favor of such assembly rules are indeed included in these exceptional cases. In conclusion, competitive or cooperative species interactions shaping communities cannot be inferred from patterns exhibited by presence-absence matrices. When such an analysis is attempted though, both the ‘natural’ and the ‘checkerboard’ metric should be set in a proper framework in order to provide useful insights regarding species associations. A large part of the discussion on species co-occurrence had originally been based on a few exceptional data sets that are not indicative of general patterns. Full article
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228 KiB  
Article
Adaptive Management to Protect Biodiversity: Best Available Science and the Endangered Species Act
by Olivia Odom Green and Ahjond S. Garmestani
Diversity 2012, 4(2), 164-178; https://doi.org/10.3390/d4020164 - 30 Mar 2012
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 7779
Abstract
Although flawed, the most powerful tool for protecting biodiversity in the United States is the Endangered Species Act, which requires the use of the best available science to ensure that endangered and threatened species are not put in jeopardy of extinction. Unfortunately, the [...] Read more.
Although flawed, the most powerful tool for protecting biodiversity in the United States is the Endangered Species Act, which requires the use of the best available science to ensure that endangered and threatened species are not put in jeopardy of extinction. Unfortunately, the best available science mandate is virtually meaningless and imposes no additional scientific rigor in agency decision making beyond what is normally required of administrative procedures. In this paper, we propose to define best available science in a way that shifts from a way of using science to a way of doing science, and a sound method of doing science for wildlife management and climate change is via the principles of adaptive management [1]. Adaptive management, as a means of data accumulation and continuous learning, can fulfill and give teeth to the best available science mandate while increasing the adaptive capacity of wildlife management agencies to protect biodiversity in an unpredictably dynamic environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Law of Climate Change and Biodiversity Protection)
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