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People have always known that their survival depends on something that is outside of their control – that is, nature. Nature regulates human life, and from it people have tried to derive rules for proper behavior. This is the historical starting point of nature conservation.

The intellectual roots of nature conservation are diverse. In Europe, the ideal took shape in the 19th century from such elements as concern over human-caused extinctions, excessive hunting and cruelty toward animals, from utilitarian care for natural resources, and from growing appreciation of nature as a source of human health and inspiration. More recently, the ideal gained support from growing awareness of the dependence of humanity’s future on global-scale changes in ecosystem services.

In what ways do alternative conservation policies help to protect biodiversity? How can conservation policies be extended to those sectors of social and economic activity that most directly affect biodiversity? The whole legacy of conservation science needs to be harnessed to answer such questions.

Modern nature conservation requires efficient governance, built upon competent administrative bodies with sufficient authority. However, the scale and diversity of the problem makes efficient governance difficult. First of all, nature conservation regularly drifts into conflicts with other ideals, revealing conflicting aspirations and vested interests. Another difficulty is that nature conservation aims at a moving target: when certain objectives succeed, new types of problems arise. For example, successful protection of large predators from persecution may create new rounds of protest.

The author of this study, Yrio Haila, from the University of Tampere, Finland, says "It is nowadays possible to come to agreement about ambitious general declarations on biodiversity preservation, but shaping an efficient policy that could possibly halt the deterioration of biodiversity remains difficult. There is simply no straightforward way of halting the expansion of use of the natural resources by the current world society!"

"A wise rule would be to focus on such activities that cause most damage. We are well aware of practices in forestry, agriculture, fisheries and so forth that bring about threats of immediate collapse: Such threats should be firmly addressed, to begin with" adds Dr Klaus Henle from UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, Editor-in-Chief of Nature Conservation.

Original source:
Haila Y (2012) Genealogy of nature conservation: a political perspective. Nature Conservation 1: 27-52. doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.1.2107

The report entitled "Dos and don’ts for butterflies of the Habitats Directive of the European Union" was published in the form of an "Applied Conservation" paper in the newly launched open-access journal Nature Conservation (press release on the journal launch). It includes detailed accounts of each species, their habitat requirements and food-plants, as well as a list of dos and don’ts in the management of their habitats.

European butterflies are under huge threat and almost 10% are now threatened with extinction. The European grassland indicator shows that the abundance of 17 characteristic butterflies has declined by over 70% in the last 15 years.

The main reasons for the declines are habitat loss and incorrect management. Many habitats are now either abandoned from agriculture, allowing them to become overgrown with scrub, while others are too intensively managed. The new publication is thus a pivotal step to get remaining habitats better managed.

Butterflies are sensitive indicators of the environment and populations respond very quickly to habitat change.

Management for butterflies will help ensure the survival of a wide range of other insects, which form the bedrock of European biodiversity.

The guidelines will help ensure that European habitats are managed in a sustainable way that helps the survival of humans as well as wildlife.

The lead author, Chris van Swaay of Dutch Butterfly Conservation said "Managing habitats in the correct way is the single most important issue affecting the survival of European butterflies. This is the first time that practical information has been brought together to address the issue. We hope the advice will be taken up urgently across Europe to help save these beautiful species from extinction."

Klaus Henle of UFZ (Germany) who established the new journal in collaboration with Pensoft Publishers (Bulgaria) within the European Union’s FP7 project SCALES says "Biodiversity loss is one of the most important topics facing the future of our planet. Our new open access journal Nature Conservation is intended to make scientific information freely available to help conserve nature and create a healthy world for everyone. The journal aims particularly at facilitating better interaction between scientists and practitioners and its major goal is to support synergistic interactions among scientists, policy-makers, and managers."

Original source:
van Swaay C, Collins C, Dušej G, Maes D, Munguira ML, Rakosy L, Ryrholm N, Šašić M, Settele J, Thomas JA, Verovnik R, Verstrael T, Warren M, Wiemers M, Wynhoff I (2012) Dos and Don’ts for butterflies of the Habitats Directive of the European Union. Nature Conservation 1: 73-153. doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.1.2786

Improved data reveals new patterns of exotic plant invasions in the United States

Extensive ongoing research on biotic invasions around the world constantly increases data availability and improves data quality. New research in the United States shows how using improved data from previous studies on the establishment of exotic plant species changes the understanding of patterns of species naturalization, biological invasions, and their underlying mechanisms. The study was published in the open access journal NeoBiota.

Over the centuries, people brought uncounted numbers of nonnative or exotic plant species to the United States for a range of purposes. Usually cultivated for food or ornamental purposes, most of these plants are considered "naturalized" when they reproduce and sustain populations over many generations without direct help from humans. Many others were introduced accidentally.

"About 10 percent of naturalized plant species usually become invasive, and more may be so over time" says Qinfeng Guo, research ecologist with the Forest Service Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center and lead author of the article. "This means that they begin to spread considerable distances from the parent plants, often crowding or shading out native plant populations."

Guo and fellow researchers used newly added and improved data to look more closely at plant naturalization patterns across the United States. Focusing on the state-level, they correlated previously used independent variables analyses, such as human population and area with comparable-level date on native and exotic plant richness.

"When we looked at the additional variables for which data just became available, some different patterns emerged, some significant," said Guo."We found that though the number of native plant species is largely controlled by natural factors such as area and temperature, exotic species are predominantly influenced by social factors, such as human population levels and dates when states were first settled."

The researchers concluded that the positive effect of human population on the number of exotic species is probably associated with the primary sources and points of introduction along with human-assisted dispersal in the United States. They also found a strong relationship between foreign and domestic exotic richness, which might indicate that domestic and foreign exotic plants exhibit similar patterns and mechanisms of naturalization across the 48 United States despite their different origins.

Though this particular study was conducted primarily at the state level, different statistical methods produced remarkably similar results regardless spatial correlation. "However, a greater challenge ahead now is how to properly handle greater numbers of variables with increased data availability," said Guo. "Caution is needed when dealing with this data at other spatial scales such as county and county-level."

Original source:
Guo Q, Rejmánek M, Wen J (2012) Geographical, socioeconomic, and ecological determinants of exotic plant naturalization in the United States: insights and updates from improved data. NeoBiota 12: 41-55. doi: 10.3897/neobiota.12.2419

Since in 2006 an unknown leafmining moth was found in North Italian vineyards by Mario Baldessari and colleagues, often in great numbers, scientists have tried to put a name to this apparently new invader. Italian scientists from the Fondazione Edmund Mach di San Michele all’Adige and the Università di Padova turned for help to taxonomists in the Netherlands and United States. The new species was described in the open access journal ZooKeys.

The family to which the moth belongs, the shield bearing leafminers (Heliozelidae) appeared to be poorly studied in North America, discovered Erik J. van Nieukerken of NCB Naturalis (Leiden, Netherlands) and David L. Wagner of the University of Connecticut (Storrs, USA). Together with the Italian scientists they studied the life history, morphology and DNA barcodes of the new species and related leafminers.

"When we analysed the DNA barcodes, we found many more species than we knew to exist on grape and related plants in North America" said Erik van Nieukerken. With some difficulty the four known species could be matched to species recognised by DNA. That left our species and some others without a name. The new species, baptised Antispila oinophylla (literally: the moth with the opposite spots of the wine (grape) leaves), was previously confused with a North American species that feeds on Virginia creeper.

The new species occurs in eastern North America from Georgia north to Ontario, and feeds as larva on several species of wild grapes. In this area it seems to be the commonest species of this family on wild grapes. The larva eats out typical leafmines, and cuts out a shield at the end of the mine, leaving a characteristic hole in the leaf behind when it walks down the plant in search for a pupation site. The moth only measures about 5-6 mm wingspan, or 3 mm length at rest, and is blackish, with shining silvery spots and head.

In Italy the species was found in vineyards in the Trento and Veneto regions since 2006, and reaching high levels of infestation during the last years. The Italian authors of this paper studied the distribution and life history in detail: the leafminer apparently has a good taste and prefers the leaves of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Muscat grapes. Local outbreaks can probably result in economic damage. Parasitic wasps may be the best remedy to control the populations of this pest.

It is unknown how this species has reached Europe. The small shields with larvae or pupae, attach to all sorts of material, trunks, stakes, but also debris, and could easily be transported in this way: they will survive a long time at low temperatures. Even adults could have been transported in airplanes or cargo on ships. Invasions such as this are becoming more and more common. Knowledge of the correct taxonomy opens knowledge to the life history, distribution and natural enemies of invasive species.

Taxonomic knowledge of such insects unfortunately is often insufficient, and the authors plea to study such insects taxonomically before they become a problem.

Original source:
Nieukerken EJ van, Wagner DL, Baldessari M, Mazzon L, Angeli G, Girolami V, Duso C, Doorenweerd C (2012) Antispila oinophylla new species (Lepidoptera, Heliozelidae), a new North American grapevine leafminer invading Italian vineyards: taxonomy, DNA barcodes and life cycle. ZooKeys 170: 29–77. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.170.2617

Named ‘mountain dweller’, it is the highest-altitude living member of its genus

Germán Chávez and Diego Vásquez from the Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad (CORBIDI) in Peru have discovered a new colorful lizard which they named Potamites montanicola, or "mountain dweller". The new species was found in Cordillera de Vilcabamba and Apurimac river valley, the Cusco Region of Peru at altitude ranging from 1,600 to 2,100 meters. Their study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

"The new discovery raises some questions", say the authors. This is the only member of the genus known to live at such altitude. It is yet unknown what biological mechanisms help the lizard to survive in this harsh environment, much colder than what it’s relatives in the genus prefer. Scientists also believe the lizard may be nocturnal, which raises the question of how it maintains its body temperature during night time. In some cases, individuals were observed swimming in streams, which is rather unusual behavior for the members this genus.

"Further studies are needed to reveal its biology, population structure and conservation status, and outline its overall distribution", Chávez concludes.

Original source:
Chávez G, Vásquez D (2012) A new species of Andean semiaquatic lizard of the genus Potamites (Sauria, Gymnophtalmidae) from southern Peru. ZooKeys 168: 31. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.168.2048

Scientists at the University of Illinois, USA have discovered a new species of tiny, grasshopper-like insect in the tropical rainforests of the Toledo District in southern Belize. Dr Sam Heads and Dr Steve Taylor co-authored a paper, published in the open access journal ZooKeys, documenting the discovery and naming the new species Ripipteryx mopana. The name commemorates the Mopan people – a Mayan group, native to the region.

"Belize is famous for its biodiversity, although very little is known about the insect fauna of the southern part of the country. This is particularly true of the Orthoptera – the grasshoppers, crickets and katydids" said entomologist and lead author on the paper, Dr Sam Heads. "The new insect is the first representative of it’s family ever to be found in Belize. Given the amount of high quality habitats in the region, it isn’t really surprising that new species still await discovery, especially in the less -explored areas" added Dr Heads.

Just less than 5 mm long, the insect is a tiny, black, white and orange coloured, grasshopper-like species that uses its large jumping hind legs to escape predators.

"Very little is known about the biology of this genus and its closest relatives" said Heads, who specializes in the study of orthopteran insects. "The group as a whole is rather poorly studied and even though we continue to document new species, we still have a long way to go".

Original source:
Heads SW, Taylor SJ (2012) A new species of Ripipteryx from Belize with a key to the species of the Scrofulosa Group (Orthoptera, Ripipterygidae). ZooKeys 169: 1-9. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.169.2531

Analysis of chromosome number variation among species of a North American group of prickly pear cacti (nopales) showed that the most widespread species encountered are of hybrid origin. Those widespread species likely originated from hybridization among closely related parental species from western and southeastern North America. This study was published in the open access journal Comparative Cytogenetics.

The prickly pear cacti (of the genus Opuntia) are endemic to the Americas. The genus is well known for the taxonomic difficulties it poses, as a result of hybridization and morphological variation, as well as lack of intense study. Studies of chromosomal differences among species have been beneficial with regards to recognition and determination of hybrid origins of many taxa. Those studies of the differences in chromosome number have shown that a majority of species of the genus have undergone genome duplication (also known as polyploidy).

This study suggests that a group of well-known prickly pear species occurring primarily in the United States are mostly derived from hybridization and genome duplication, which occurred as a result of the genetic separation of closely related parent species through habitat fragmentation during different times of the Pleistocene. Those closely related species, which were restricted to the southern United States, after thousands of years of separation, came back in contact and formed the common hybrids in the group, which in turn became dominant and more successful in distribution over their progenitors. Their progenitors remained confined to the southern part of their distribution likely as a result of their non-adaptability to adverse environmental conditions, which hybrid taxa were more than able to cope with. This scenario results in the distribution pattern of species that we see today.

This study underscores that genome duplication has had an important effect on the evolution of prickly pear cacti and that understanding patterns in chromosome numbers can be used, in part, to infer the historical biogeography of certain plant groups.

Original Source:
Majure LC, Judd WS, Soltis PS, Soltis DE (2012) Cytogeography of the Humifusa clade of Opuntia s.s. Mill. 1754 (Cactaceae, Opuntioideae, Opuntieae): correlations with pleistocene refugia and morphological traits in a polyploid complex. Comparative Cytogenetics 6(1): 53-77. doi: 10.3897/CompCytogen.v6i1.2523

Additional Information:
This work was supported in part by funding from the USGS Biological Resources Discipline (#04HQAG0135) to Gary N. Ervin, a New England Botanical Club graduate research grant, the American Society of Plant Taxonomists Shirley and Alan Graham student research award, a Cactus and Succulent Society of America research grant, the Florida Plant Conservation Program, and NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant (DEB-1011270).

Collaboration will increase flow of new species descriptions from scientists in developing countries, promote open access publishing

Washington, D.C. – February 10, 2012 – The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) and Pensoft Publishers are pleased to announce a new collaboration that will increase the flow of new species descriptions from scientists in developing countries into the Encyclopedia of Life and promote the open access publishing model in taxonomy.

Many of Pensoft’s journals, including the International Journal of Myriapodology (centipedes and millipedes), MycoKeys (mycology), PhytoKeys (botany), and ZooKeys (zoology) will participate in the new EOL Open Access Support Project (EOASP).  The initiative will provide funding to support independent taxonomists and taxonomists living in developing countries to publish their results in Pensoft’s four quality journals with open access principles.

Any new species description published in one of the journals leads to the automatic creation of a new page in EOL. If a paper re-describes a poorly described species, that information will also appear on an EOL page.

During the manuscript submission process, the authors will have the opportunity to request financial support between 200 and 400 USD per paper, which covers the open access fee for 10 to 20 printed pages. The support for larger papers (e.g., monographs) will be limited to the same maximum of 400 USD; authors should meet the remaining costs themselves.

The EOASP initiative promotes the open access publishing model in taxonomy among researchers, students, citizen scientists, and general public and will support and educate the next generation of taxonomists in open science principles. EOASP also aims to motivate publishers to modernize their publishing models and workflows to fit the changing needs of scientists and researchers around the world.

Please visit Pensoft’s page to learn more about the eligibility criteria for manuscripts, authors and journals.

For more information about joining the EOASP initiative either as a funder or a publisher, please contact Cynthia Parr of Encyclopedia of Life, via secretariat [AT] eol.org

Several periods of field work during 2008 have led to the discovery of a new species of bamboo-feeding plant lice in Costa Rica’s high-altitude region “Cerro de la Muerte”. The discovery was made thanks to molecular data analysis of mitochondrial DNA. The collected records have also increased the overall knowledge of plant lice (one of the most dangerous agricultural pests worldwide) from the region with more that 20%. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

It is a well established fact that the arthropod fauna, to which plant lice also belong, is abundantly present in the tropical regions. Not so with plant lice, which prefer the temperate climates of the Northern Hemisphere. This has been a bit of a paradox for scientists although it is also known that plant lice diversity increases in high altitude areas, such as mountains and high plateaus. Such is the sampling area visited in Costa Rica: “Cerro de la Muerte”, or The Mountain of the Dead, the highest point in the Costa Rican section of the Inter-American Highway.

Many plant lice species feed only on one type (or even species) of plant; the diet of the newly described plant lice species consists (based on current data), for example, solely of a type of bamboo (Chusquea tomentosa). A molecular analysis was used to determine to which taxonomic genus it belongs (Rhopalosiphum). Its description is based also on molecular information of fragments of the mitochondrial DNA (COI), and on nuclear gene coding, in addition to morphologic external characteristics.

Plant lice are recognized among the biggest insect pests on agriculture and gardening. From a zoological point of view though, they are very successful organisms, which although present mainly in temperate climates, have the potential to threaten even tropical regions, dedicated to plant cultivation.

Original Source:
Pérez Hidalgo N, Martínez-Torres D, Collantes-Alegre JM, Villalobos Muller W, Nieto Nafría JM (2012) A new species of Rhopalosiphum (Hemiptera, Aphididae) on Chusquea tomentosa (Poaceae, Bambusoideae) from Costa Rica. ZooKeys 166: 59-73. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.166.2387

Contact:
Nicolás Pérez Hidalgo. University of Leon
nperh@unileon.es
(+34) 676145552

 

A conventionally written (MS Word) Checklist of vascular plants of the Departmentof Ñeembucú, Paraguay (De Egea et al. 2012), consisting of more than 4,100 taxon names,  was converted from text into Darwin Core Archive format and published simultaneously in both human-readable, traditional  publication and structured, machine-readable data. The process is described in an associated forum paper (Remsen et al. 2012).

The process was performed from the final revised version, after peer-review and editorial acceptance. The data were published and indexed through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT) and significant portions of the text of the paper were used to describe the metadata on IPT. After publication, the data will become available through the GBIF infrastructure and can be re-used on their own or collated with other data.

The two papers were published in issue 9 of PhytoKeys. The study was supported in part by the ViBRANT project.