Rosalina Gabriel

Using taxonomically unbiased criteria to prioritize resource allocation for oceanic island species conservation

Oceanic islands have been the grand stage of documented extinctions. In view of limited resources, efficient prioritization is crucial to avoid the extinction of taxa. This work lists the top 100 management priority species for the European archipelagos of the Macaronesian region (Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands), taking into account both their protection priority and their management feasibility. Bryophytes, vascular plants, molluscs, arthropods and vertebrates were scored by species experts following two sets of criteria: (i) protection priority, including ecological value, singularity, public institutions’ management responsibilities and social value; (ii) management feasibility, including threats knowledge and control feasibility, external socio-economical support for management and biological recovery potential. Environmental managers weighted the same criteria according to their management importance. Final species scores were determined by the combination of both species valuation and criteria weighting. Vascular plants dominate the Top 100 list, followed by arthropods and vertebrates. The majority of listed taxa are endemic to one archipelago or even to a single island. The management feasibility criteria did not dictate that all taxa must be eminently endangered, as for most of the species it should be relatively easy to control threats. The main advantages of this process are the independent participation of scientists and conservation managers, the inclusion of criteria on both protection priority and management feasibility and the taxonomically unbiased nature of the process. This study provides a potentially useful biodiversity conservation tool for the Macaronesian archipelagos that could be readily implemented by the respective regional governments in future legislation.

New national and regional bryophyte records, 26

26 L T Ellis, H Bednarek-Ochyra, R Ochyra, Silvia Calvo Aranda, Maria T Colotti, Maria M Schiavone, Michail V Dulin, P Erzberger, Tulay Ezer, Recep Kara, Rosalina Gabriel, Lars Hedenas, David T Holyoak, P Odor, B Papp, M Sabovljevic, R D Seppelt, V R Smith, Andre Sotiaux, E Szurdoki, Alain Vanderpoorten, J van Rooy, J Żarnowiec Department of Botany, The Natural History Museum, UK, Laboratory of Bryology, Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow, Poland, 3 Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biologia Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e IML, San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina, Institute of Biology Komi Science Centre UB RAS, Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, Russia, Belziger Str. 37, D-10823 Berlin, Germany, Faculty of Science and Arts, Department of Biology, Nigde University, Turkey, Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidade dos Acores, Angra do Heroismo, Portugal, Department of Cryptogamic Botany, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden, Quinta da Cachopa, Barcoila, Cabecudo, Portugal, Department of Plant Taxonomy and Ecology, Lorand Eotvos University, Budapest, Hungary, Botanical Department, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary, Institute of Botany and Botanical Garden, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Serbia, Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia, Department of Botany, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland, South Africa, National Botanic Garden of Belgium, Domein van Bouchout, Meise, Belgium, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Hungary, University of Liege, Institute of Botany, Belgium, National Herbarium, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa, Department of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Institute of Environmental Protection and Engineering, University of Bielsko-Biala, Poland

New national and regional bryophyte records, 34

New national and regional bryophyte records, 34 L T Ellis, A K Asthana, R Gupta, V Nath, V Sahu, H Bednarek-Ochyra, R Ochyra, B Cykowska, S Calvo Aranda, E Fischer, R Gabriel, P Górski, N Gremmen, H Hespanhol, L E Kurbatova, R I Lewis Smith, D G Long, D Bell, F Mogro, C Sérgio, C A Garcia, S Stow, A Martins, V R Smith, J Váňa, A Vanderpoorten Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK, National Botanical Research Institute, India, Laboratory of Bryology, Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, Departamento Biodiversidad y Biologı́a Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain, Universität Koblenzlandau, Koblenz, Germany, Departamento de Ciências Agrárias Universidade dos Açores, Portugal, Department of Botany, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poland, Diever, The Netherlands, Universidade do Porto, Portugal, Komarov Botanical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia, Moffat, Dumfriesshire, UK, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, UK, La Paz, Bolivia, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal, Department of Botany, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, Department of Botany, Charles University, Czech Republic, University of Liège, Institute of Botany, Belgium

The Azorean Biodiversity Portal: An internet database for regional biodiversity outreach

There is a growing interest in academia to provide biodiversity data to both the scientific community and the public. We present an internet database of the terrestrial lichens, bryophytes, vascular plants, molluscs, arthropods, vertebrates and coastal invertebrates of the Azores archipelago (Portugal, North Atlantic): the Azorean Biodiversity Portal (ABP, http://www.azoresbioportal.angra.uac.pt/). This is a unique resource for fundamental research in systematics, biodiversity, education and conservation management. The ABP was based on a regional species database (ATLANTIS), comprised of grid-based spatial incidence information for c. 5000 species. Most of the data rely on a comprehensive literature survey (dating back to the 19th century) as well as unpublished records from recent field surveys in the Azores. The ABP disseminates the ATLANTIS database to the public, allowing universal, unrestricted access to much of its data. Complementarily, the ABP includes additional information of interest to the general public (e.g. literature on Macaronesian biodiversity) together with images from collections and/or live specimens for many species. In this contribution we explain the implementation of a regional biodiversity database, its architecture, achievements and outcomes, strengths and limitations; we further include a number of suggestions in order to implement similar initiatives.There is a growing interest in academia to provide biodiversity data to both the scientific community and the public. We present an internet database of the terrestrial lichens, bryophytes, vascular plants, molluscs, arthropods, vertebrates and coastal invertebrates of the Azores archipelago (Portugal, North Atlantic): the Azorean Biodiversity Portal (ABP, http://www.azoresbioportal.angra.uac.pt/). This is a unique resource for fundamental research in systematics, biodiversity, education and conservation management. The ABP was based on a regional species database (ATLANTIS), comprised of grid-based spatial incidence information for c. 5000 species. Most of the data rely on a comprehensive literature survey (dating back to the 19th century) as well as unpublished records from recent field surveys in the Azores. The ABP disseminates the ATLANTIS database to the public, allowing universal, unrestricted access to much of its data. Complementarily, the ABP includes additional information of interest to the ge...

New national and regional bryophyte records, 37

We report the first record of Drepanocladus longifolius for Slovakia evidenced by herbarium specimen.

Responses of photosynthesis to irradiance in bryophytes of the Azores laurel forest

Abstract Photosynthetic responses to light intensity were studied under laboratory conditions in seven bryophyte species from evergreen laurel forest, a threatened habitat, on Terceira island in the Azores. Four mosses (Andoa berthelotiana, Echinodium prolixum, Fissidens serrulatus, Myurium hochstetteri) and three liverworts (Bazzania azorica, Frullania tamarisci, Lepidozia cupressina) were selected to encompass a range of potential responses to variations in the forest light environment. Carbon dioxide exchange measurements were made, using an infra-red gas-analyser, at photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) of 0-900 µmol m-2 s-1 and a mean temperature of 21°C in fully hydrated shoots. Most species achieved light saturation of photosynthesis below 30 µmol m-2 s-1, the lowest value being for A. berthelotiana (20 µmol m-2 s-1) and the highest for M. hochstetteri (68 µmol m-2 s-1). The liverwort F. tamarisci had the highest maximum photosynthetic rate (Pmax, 23 µmol CO2 g-1 h-1) whereas Pmax was lowest in the mosses E. prolixum and M. hochstetteri (10 µmol CO2 g-1 h-1). Dark respiration rate, a critical factor in toleration of shade by forest floor plants, was highest in the species with the highest values for Pmax. Compensation point was extremely low (7 µmol photons m-2 s-1) in Fissidens serrulatus, a species found in the deep shade of forest ravines and caves, and highest in M. hochstetteri a moss restricted to better illuminated habitats within and outside the forest. No photoinhibition was detected during the relatively short exposures to high irradiances. Comparison of these responses with data on the forest light environment indicates that, despite the possession of considerable shade adaptations, during winter in the evergreen laurel forest, low light levels may often limit photosynthetic rates of the bryophytes.

Killarniensolide, methyl orsellinates and 9,10-dihydrophenanthrenes from the liverwort Plagiochila killarniensis from Scotland and the Azores

Abstract Methyl everninate has been identified as the major constituent of the deuterochloroform extract of ten specimens of the liverwort Plagiochila killarniensis . Using NMR fingerprinting and GC–MS, the new methyl 6-hydroxy-2-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxybenzoate and three other methyl orsellinate derivatives were identified as minor components. 9,10-Dihydro-3,5-dimethoxyphenanthren-2-ol and 9,10-dihydro-3-methoxyphenanthrene-4,5-diol, previously reported from a Neotropical Plagiochila , were also present. Killarniensolide, a new phthalide, was isolated; its structure was elucidated as 3- (2-hydroxy-4,5-dimethoxybenzyl)-7-methoxyphthalide by NMR spectroscopy, GC–MS and isolation of an acetate derivative. Chemical differences between specimens from Scotland and the Azores were relatively minor but characteristic; small differences between some of the Scottish materials were also observed.

New national and regional bryophyte records, 42

New national and regional bryophyte records, 42 L. T. Ellis, M. Aleffi, V. A. Bakalin, H. Bednarek-Ochyra, A. Bergamini, P. Beveridge, S. S. Choi, V. E. Fedosov, R. Gabriel, M. T. Gallego, S. Grdović, R. Gupta, V. Nath, A. K. Asthana, L. Jennings, H. Kürschner, M. Lebouvier, M. C. Nair, K. M. Manjula, K. P. Rajesh, M. Nobis, A. Nowak, S. J. Park, B.-Y. Sun, V. Plášek, L. Čı́hal, S. Poponessi, M. G. Mariotti, A. Sabovljević, M. S. Sabovljević, J. Sawicki, N. Schnyder, R. Schumacker, M. Sim-Sim, D. K. Singh, D. Singh, S. Majumdar, S. Singh Deo, S. Ştefănuţ, M. Suleiman, C. M. Seng, M. S. Chua, J. Váňa, R. Venanzoni, E. Bricchi, M. J. Wigginton Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK, University of Camerino, Camerino (MC), Italy, Botanical Garden-Institute, Vladivostok, Russia, Laboratory of Bryology, Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Biodiversity & Conservation Biology, Birmensdorf, Switzerland, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand, National Institute of Ecology, Seocheon, Korea, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia, Azorean Biodiversity Group — CITAA, DCA — University of the Azores, Portugal, Departamento de Biologı́a Vegetal (Botánica), Universidad de Murcia, Spain, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, India, Conservation Biogeography and Macroecology Group, SGE — University of Oxford, UK, Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Systematische Botanik und Pflanzengeographie, Germany, CNRS UMR 6553, Université de Rennes 1, France, Department of Botany, The Zamorin’s Guruvayurappan College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, University of Opole, Poland, Department of Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Korea, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic, University of Genova, Genova, Italy, Institute of Botany and Botanical Garden, University of Belgrade, Serbia, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland, Institut für Systematische Botanik, Universität Zürich, Switzerland, Department of Botany, University of Liège, Belgium, Centre for Environmental Biology, University of Lisbon, Portugal, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, India, Botanical Survey of India, Central National Herbarium, Howrah, India, Institute of Biology Bucharest of Romanian Academy, Romania, Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, University Malaysia, Sabah, Malaysia, Department of Botany, Charles University, Czech Republic, University of Perugia, Italy, Warmington, Peterborough, UK

Geographical, temporal and environmental determinants of bryophyte species richness in the Macaronesian islands.

Species richness on oceanic islands has been related to a series of ecological factors including island size and isolation (i.e. the Equilibrium Model of Island Biogeography, EMIB), habitat diversity, climate (i.e., temperature and precipitation) and more recently island ontogeny (i.e. the General Dynamic Model of oceanic island biogeography, GDM). Here we evaluate the relationship of these factors with the diversity of bryophytes in the Macaronesian region (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Cape Verde). The predictive power of EMIB, habitat diversity, climate and the GDM on total bryophyte richness, as well as moss and liverwort richness (the two dominant bryophyte groups), was evaluated through ordinary least squares regressions. After choosing the best subset of variables using inference statistics, we used partial regression analyses to identify the independent and shared effects of each model. The variables included within each model were similar for mosses and liverworts, with orographic mist layer being one of the most important predictors of richness. Models combining climate with either the GDM or habitat diversity explained most of richness variation (up to 91%). There was a high portion of shared variance between all pairwise combinations of factors in mosses, while in liverworts around half of the variability in species richness was accounted for exclusively by climate. Our results suggest that the effects of climate and habitat are strong and prevalent in this region, while geographical factors have limited influence on Macaronesian bryophyte diversity. Although climate is of great importance for liverwort richness, in mosses its effect is similar to or, at least, indiscernible from the effect of habitat diversity and, strikingly, the effect of island ontogeny. These results indicate that for highly vagile taxa on oceanic islands, the dispersal process may be less important for successful colonization than the availability of suitable ecological conditions during the establishment phase.

Assessing the completeness of bryophytes inventories: an oceanic island as a case study (Terceira, Azorean archipelago)

How useful, complete or unbiased are comprehensive databases in order to provide reliable estimations of diversity? Using compiled data from bryophytes in Terceira Island (Azores), we specifically aim (1) to describe the register of species over time, (2) to assess the inventory completeness, i.e., the ratio between the observed and the maximum expected species, and (3) to locate the most promising areas for further surveys. First, each new recorded species was plotted against its collecting year, using the number of database-records as a surrogate of survey effort, to get the accumulation curves. These curves were then extrapolated to obtain the theoretical number of existing species according to Clench and exponential models. Spatial and habitat characteristics of the recorded taxa were also explored. Our results show an increasing trend in the rate of recorded species (c. five species per year), as well as a maximum of around a third of the theoretically “real” number of expected species that could yet remain unknown. Nevertheless, predictions of species richness were highly variable depending on the fitting curve used. Survey effort was similar between liverworts and mosses, as were inventory completeness values, but the rate of new recorded species was higher for mosses. Although bryologists visited preferably native habitats, we show that new species citations may also be found in modified habitats (e.g., exotic forests and semi-natural grasslands). We conclude that the analysis of extensive databases is a useful tool in revealing the recording and taxonomic gaps, further showing that bryophyte inventories could still be incomplete in Terceira Island. A strategy on how to improve species’ collections in remote areas is suggested, hoping to contribute to all-inclusive biodiversity studies in the Azores and elsewhere.