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Article Reference Priorities for ocean microbiome research
Microbial communities have essential roles in ocean ecology and planetary health. Microbes participate in nutrient cycles, remove huge quantities of carbon dioxide from the air and support ocean food webs. The taxonomic and functional diversity of the global ocean microbiome has been revealed by technological advances in sampling, DNA sequencing and bioinformatics. A better understanding of the ocean microbiome could underpin strategies to address environmental and societal challenges, including achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals way beyond SDG 14 ‘life below water’. We propose a set of priorities for understanding and protecting the ocean microbiome, which include delineating interactions between micro- biota, sustainably applying resources from oceanic microorganisms and creating policy- and funder-friendly ocean education resources, and discuss how to achieve these ambitious goals.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference Physiological response to seawater pH of the bivalve Abra alba, a benthic ecosystem engineer, is modulated by low pH
The presence and behaviour of bivalves can affect the functioning of seafloor sediments through the irrigation of deeper strata by feeding and respiring through siphonal channels. Here, we investigated the physiological response and consecutive impact on functioning and body condition of the white furrow shell Abra alba in three pH treatments (pH = 8.2, pH = 7.9 and pH = 7.7). Although no pH effect on survival was found, lowered respiration and calcification rates, decreased energy intake (lower absorption rate) and increased metabolic losses (increased excretion rates) occurred at pH ~ 7.7. These physiological responses resulted in a negative Scope for Growth and a decreased condition index at this pH. This suggests that the physiological changes may not be sufficient to sustain survival in the long term, which would undoubtedly translate into consequences for ecosystem functioning.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference The Impact of the Honeybee Apis mellifera on the Organization of Pollination Networks Is Positively Related with Its Interactive Role throughout Its Geographic Range
Abstract: Studies at local spatial scales have shown that the generalist honeybee Apis mellifera L. can strongly affect the structural organization and properties of pollination networks. However, there is still little knowledge on how the connectivity of the honeybee within networks (i.e., interactive role) could affect pollination networks at a global scale. To fill this gap, we evaluated how the interactive role of A. mellifera could affect niche overlap, specialization, and robustness of pollination networks. We used 109 weighted pollination networks spread across about 94 degrees of latitude and 227 degrees of longitude. We developed a new standardized framework based on species removal to assess the impact of the honeybee on plant-pollinator networks. We found that when the honeybee was removed from the networks, plant species had less niche overlap (i.e., shared fewer interactions via their pollinators) and the networks became more specialized and more robust to species extinctions. Our findings indicate that A. mellifera’s effects on pollination networks vary geographically and could influence several ecological and evolutionary factors acting at local scales, including pollination services. We hope this contribution will stimulate new macroecological studies involving abundant and generalist species and their functional roles within ecological communities.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Inproceedings Reference Reaching for new heights: canopy laser scanning in the Peruvian Amazon
Large trees are vital for the functioning of tropical forests. They house a wide range of organisms, making them true biodiversity hotspots and play a key role in forest biomass storage.The Life On Trees (LOT) project is a research program in which all eukaryotic organisms on individual trees are surveyed, including plants, fungi, animals and protists. One of the goals of the research program is to explore the link between the distribution of the occurring organisms and the tree architecture of those large trees. To accurately quantify the structure of such trees and investigate the interplay between the tree and its surroundings, terrestrial laser scanning is currently used as a state-of-the-art technology. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) generally uses a laser scanner to scan trees from multiple viewpoints from the ground. In dense tropical forests, the tree canopy often reaches a height of 50 m or more. Due to the large distance between the scanner and the tree crown, even the best laser scanners have difficulty getting a clear view of the top of the canopy. For those large, colossal trees, data is limited and suffers a lot of occlusion. Since all scans are taken from the ground, data on the upperpart of branches is nonexistent. To assess this limitation of TLS, we explore how much additional 3D information is gained from the tree structure by collecting 3D scans inside the tree crown. With the aid of professional climbers, we lifted a RIEGL vz-400 laser scanner into a Dussia tree in Rio Abiseo National park located in the Peruvian Amazon. The selected tree is quite spectacular, it reaches a height of 50 m and a width of 45 m, and is covered with vegetation including many orchids and epiphytes hosting a wide variety of life forms. The first results of this project will be presented, focusing on the tree architecture with its impressive volume and branch length, and the benefits and challenges of scanning inside the tree crown.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Inproceedings Reference Biodiversity of eukaryotes in large tropical trees: the Life On Trees (LOT) program
Introduction: Basic data on biodiversity, such as the variety of life forms coexisting on a single tree, are still lacking and prevent a full understanding of the complexity of interactions among organisms in a tropical rainforest. Filling this gap has recently become more achievable thanks to advances in canopy access methods and genetic tools. Objective: The main aims of the research program Life On Trees (LOT) are to generate baseline knowledge about the number of species a single tropical tree can support and to understand how these communities of organisms are assembled. Methods: Our first project is performed in one of the most biologically diverse regions: the Peruvian Amazon, in the Rio Abiseo National Park. We focus our sampling on a spectacular Dussia tree (Fabaceae), which is 50 m high and 45 m wide and covered with epiphytes. For safety reasons, the sampling is carried out by professional climbers, guided by experts of the different eukaryotic groups studied (plants, fungi, animals, protists). In order to better understand the contribution of different tree components (bark, leaves, fruits, flowers, dead wood) to overall tree biodiversity, we assign observations into communities based on height zone or microhabitat and examine similarities and nestedness in the composition of these communities. The complex architecture of the tree is studied using terrestrial LiDAR and the location of samples is recorded using a high precision differential GPS receiver (dGNSS). The collected specimens will be determined by classical taxonomy and genetic methods (DNA metabarcoding). An online tracking system for those specimens sent to taxonomists for identification, as well as a central database system, are already under development. Results: The first results of the LOT-Peru project from April-May 2022 and of the preliminary tests conducted in October 2021 will be presented. Implications: The scope of this program is not only scientific. Using the simple example of a large tree, we can reach out to the public and explain difficult concepts, such as what biodiversity is and how it is generated and sustained. In addition, the tree is a strong symbol that has an emotional impact. We hope that this program will build awareness about the impacts of deforestation, and conversely the value of conservation, by showing foresters, city dwellers or villagers that when a tree is cut down, a whole range of biodiversity disappears.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference ATLANTIC ANTS: a data set of ants in Atlantic Forests of South America
Abstract Ants, an ecologically successful and numerically dominant group of animals, play key ecological roles as soil engineers, predators, nutrient recyclers, and regulators of plant growth and reproduction in most terrestrial ecosystems. Further, ants are widely used as bioindicators of the ecological impact of land use. We gathered information of ant species in the Atlantic Forest of South America. The ATLANTIC ANTS data set, which is part of the ATLANTIC SERIES data papers, is a compilation of ant records from collections (18,713 records), unpublished data (29,651 records), and published sources (106,910 records; 1,059 references), including papers, theses, dissertations, and book chapters published from 1886 to 2020. In total, the data set contains 153,818 ant records from 7,636 study locations in the Atlantic Forest, representing 10 subfamilies, 99 genera, 1,114 ant species identified with updated taxonomic certainty, and 2,235 morphospecies codes. Our data set reflects the heterogeneity in ant records, which include ants sampled at the beginning of the taxonomic history of myrmecology (the 19th and 20th centuries) and more recent ant surveys designed to address specific questions in ecology and biology. The data set can be used by researchers to develop strategies to deal with different macroecological and region-wide questions, focusing on assemblages, species occurrences, and distribution patterns. Furthermore, the data can be used to assess the consequences of changes in land use in the Atlantic Forest on different ecological processes. No copyright restrictions apply to the use of this data set, but we request that authors cite this data paper when using these data in publications or teaching events.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2022
Article Reference A subfossil spirostreptid millipede from SW Libya (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Spirostreptidae)
Two fragments of millipedes, referred to the genus Archispirostreptus, are reported from an archaeological site in the Tadrart Acacus region of southwestern Libya. Radiocarbon dating of the specimens shows that one of them dates to between ca. 9100 and 8800 years ago, and the other one between 6400 and 6300 years ago (calibrated dates). The site lies far from known present-day occurrences of spirostreptid millipedes, and the Libyan subfossils probably, like other isolated occurrences of Archispirostreptus species in the Sahara and the Middle East, represent geographical relicts of a former, continuous distribution. The millipedes were probably able to survive at the Libyan site during the early and middle Holocene periods thanks to the more humid conditions, and may descend from animals that initially colonised the area during the even more humid, and longer, last interglacial period.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2020
Article Reference Gergithoides Schumacher, 1915 in Vietnam, with two new species and taxonomic notes on the genus (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Issidae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Review of the clavatus group of the lanternfly genus Pyrops (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoridae)
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2017
Article Reference Geoarchaeological research of the large palaeolake of the Moervaart (municipalities of Wachtebeke and Moerbeke-Waas, East Flanders, Belgium) From Late Glacial to Early Holocene
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications 2018