1,721,158 research outputs found
Knowledge gaps and challenges for conservation of Mediterranean wetlands: Evidence from a comprehensive inventory and literature analysis for Sardinia
Full text linkWetlands are some of the most important ecosystems on Earth. They play a key role in mitigating climate change-related events and filtering polluted water, and provide habitats for a wide range of species. Despite their importance, and numerous regulations that support their conservation, wetlands continue to be destroyed. Recent reports have indicated a progressive decline in ecological character of remaining wetlands. This research reviews and extends the present status of wetland knowledge in Sardinia, the second largest Mediterranean island. For the first time, Sardinian wetlands were comprehensively mapped using satellite images and field validation. Impacts were also assessed. Trends in literature published about Sardinian wetlands since 1900 were then analysed, mainly according to the location(s) and topic(s) studied. In total, 2,501 Sardinian wetland sites were identified. The most common impacts observed in the field were vegetative degradation and water pollution. Of these wetlands, 2,274 have never been the subject of a research paper. Despite recent increases in publication rates, there was a lack of even basic knowledge about many wetlands, especially smaller ones. Larger wetlands have been studied from a range of viewpoints. In the light of these results, suggestions for improved awareness, effective management and conservation of Mediterranean wetlands were established. Future work should be directed to filling gaps in basic information, and to improvements in research and conservation, which might include multidisciplinary approaches in support of more comprehensive conservation management plans
Editorial: Floristic and vegetation studies in the era of big data: challenges, trends and applications
Full text linkUnderstanding long-distance seed dispersal by sea currents: first results of experi ments on Juniperus, Daucus, Ferula and Pancratium spp. from the Mediterranean Basin
No full textTo increase their evolutionary success, plants developed several adaptations
to spread as widely and quickly as possible. Among them, the dispersal
by water or hydrochory is a widely recognized but often overlooked
effective syndrome; if propagules are also saltwater resistant, these can
be dispersed through sea currents and break the barriers of insularity.
The Mediterranean Basin, and especially islands, are natural laboratories
of sea hydrochory (thalassochory) as main or complementary syndrome.
We performed experiments with dispersal units of four genera native to
the Mediterranean (Juniperus, Daucus, Ferula and Pancratium) including
species differing in their distribution and possible dispersal ability:
the coastal Juniperus macrocarpa, Daucus rouyi, Ferula arrigonii and
Pancratium maritimum vs. the preferably inland J. turbinata and J.
oxycedrus, F. communis and D. carota; and the endemic inland P. illyricum.
We tested their period of dispersal units’ buoyancy and seed
viability after floating to hypothesize their colonization distances. Our
preliminary results suggest that some species show specific thalassochory
syndrome while others could be dispersed by sea, although they probably
evolved primarily for other dispersal types. Pancratium maritimum
shows synchrony in floatability and vitality, suggesting a strong interconnection
between the two traits. The congeneric P. illyricum shows
poor floating ability and resistance to saltwater, which might explain its
limited distribution. The genera Daucus and Ferula showed as well poor floating ability, but they can germinate after seawater exposition. Differently,
all Juniperus species –all spread through insular and continental
Mediterranean territories– show a less floatability than P. maritimum,
while their viability remains high even after sinking, confirming that Juniperus
species are particularly adapted to other dispersal types, such
as endozoochory, although they are occasionally or stochastically able
to be long dispersed by sea. This study contributes to explaining the
overlooked but potentially crucial ability of vascular plants to colonize
Mediterranean coastal ecosystems
Gone with the waves: the role of sea currents as key dispersal mechanism for Mediterranean coastal and inland plant species
Full text linkThalassochory, the dispersal of propagules through marine currents, is a key long-distance dispersal (LDD) mechanism with implications for global biogeography and particularly for island colonization. The propagules of coastal plant species are generally assumed to be better adapted for sea dispersal than those of inland plants, but this hypothesis remains largely untested. We conducted experiments on four genera (Juniperus, Daucus, Ferula, and Pancratium) and compared traits among nine species with different habitats and distributions. Our results showed that Juniperus spp. and P. maritimum have strong thalassochorous potential within the Mediterranean Basin. Interestingly, we did not find a clear association on the thalassochorous potential of coastal versus inland species within all the tested genera, apart from P. maritimum compared with the endemic inland P. illyricum. These findings suggest that thalassochory may be a more common dispersal mechanism than previously assumed. The apparently weak link of dispersal syndrome with species ecology broadens the possibility of dispersal by the sea also for inland plants, although considered to be poorly salt-tolerant. Moreover, our results reveal significant differences in sea dispersal between endemic and widespread species, but do not rule out an important role of thalassochory in shaping the distribution patterns of archipelago endemic flora. The presented method is largely replicable and could be used for further studies with a larger set of species to better delineate trends of sea dispersal syndrome among species with different ecology or dispersal traits
The endemic and range restricted vascular plants of Croatia: Diversity, distribution patterns and their conservation status
No full textThe Balkan Peninsula is recognized as an important centre of native and endemic plant species diversity as well as an important wildlife refuge area. However, although Croatia hosts more than half of plant species found on the Balkan Peninsula, the endemic taxa have never been evaluated or used to define conservation priorities. We analyzed the qualitative composition of the endemic and range restricted species, their spatial distribution, centres of endemism, and conservation status (non-IUCN). We generated an updated and annotated checklist of 349 endemic or range-restricted plant taxa (6.9% of the entire native flora), subdivided in 231 species, 103 subspecies and 15 hybrids and belonging to 149 genera and 43 families. Among the 231 species, 69 are considered endemic to Croatia and confined to a small area (< 4,500 km2), while 162 are considered range restricted species, which have larger ranges and/or are shared with neighbouring countries. The genera Centaurea and Hieracium have the highest number of endemic and range restricted taxa. Spatial analyses indicated two notable centres of species richness-the mountainous Dinaric Alps and the SE Adriatic coast, including the islands. Regions with a high richness of range-restricted taxa did not coincide with areas of high richness of endemic species. Taxa exhibited modest bimodality with respect to altitudinal distribution. In addition, the greatest diversity of taxa is concentrated in northwest of Croatia and could be related to differences in mean annual air temperatures and the duration of insolation. As regards their conservation status, 13 of the 349 taxa are endangered, and 62 are near threatened or vulnerable. Despite relatively strong legal protection of endemic and range restricted species, 37 taxa remain unprotected. Changes in conservation practice are therefore proposed
Sex and gender aspects in anesthetics and pain medication. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-30726-3_13.
No full textGoing Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
- …
