BACKGROUND & AIMS: :The yeast S. cerevisiae is a central model organism in eukaryotic cell studies and a major component in many food and biotechnological industrial processes. However, the wide knowledge regarding genetics and molecular biology of S. cerevisiae is based on an extremely narrow range of strains. Studies of natural populations of S. cerevisiae, not associated with human activities or industrial fermentation environments, are very few. We isolated a panel of S. cerevisiae strains from a natural microsite, "Evolution Canyon" at Mount Carmel, Israel, and studied their genomic biodiversity. Analysis of 19 microsatellite loci revealed high allelic diversity and variation in ploidy level across the panel, from diploids to tetraploids, confirmed by flow cytometry. No significant differences were found in the level of microsatellite variation between strains derived from the major localities or microniches, whereas strains of different ploidy showed low similarity in allele content. Maximum genetic diversity was observed among diploids and minimum among triploids. Phylogenetic analysis revealed clonal, rather than sexual, structure of the triploid and tetraploid subpopulations. Viability tests in tetrad analysis also suggest that clonal reproduction may predominate in the polyploid subpopulations.

背景与目标： ：酿酒酵母是真核细胞研究中的中心模型生物，在许多食品和生物技术工业过程中都是主要成分。但是，关于酿酒酵母的遗传学和分子生物学的广泛知识是基于非常狭窄的菌株。与人类活动或工业发酵环境无关的酿酒酵母自然种群研究很少。我们从以色列卡梅尔山的天然微型站点“进化峡谷”中分离出一组酿酒酵母菌株，并研究了它们的基因组生物多样性。对19个微卫星基因座的分析显示，从二倍体到四倍体，整个等位基因组中的高等位基因多样性和倍性水平存在差异，这已通过流式细胞仪进行了确认。在来自主要地区或微生态位的菌株之间，微卫星变异水平没有发现显着差异，而具有不同倍性的菌株在等位基因含量上的相似性很低。在二倍体中观察到最大的遗传多样性，而在三倍体中观察到了最小的遗传多样性。系统发育分析显示三倍体和四倍体亚群的克隆结构，而不是有性结构。四元分析中的生存力测试还表明，在多倍体亚群中克隆繁殖可能占主导地位。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Density-dependent processes play a key role in the spatial structuring of biodiversity. Specifically, interrelated demographic processes, such as gene surfing, high-density blocking, and competitive exclusion, can generate striking geographic contrasts in the distributions of genes and species. Here, we propose that well-studied evolutionary and ecological biogeographic patterns of postglacial recolonization, progressive island colonization, microbial sectoring, and even the 'Out of Africa' pattern of human expansion, are fundamentally similar, underpinned by a 'founder takes all' density-dependent principle. Additionally, we hypothesize that older historic constraints of density-dependent processes are seen today in the dramatic biogeographic shifts that occur in response to human-mediated extinction events, whereby surviving lineages rapidly expand their ranges to replace extinct sister taxa.

背景与目标： ：依赖密度的过程在生物多样性的空间结构中起关键作用。具体而言，相互关联的人口统计过程（例如基因冲浪，高密度封闭和竞争排斥）可能会在基因和物种的分布中产生惊人的地理对比。在这里，我们提出，经过充分研究的演化和生态生物地理学模式，从后殖民化，渐进式岛屿殖民化，微生物分区，甚至人类扩张的“非洲以外”模式，在本质上都是相似的，并以“创始人全力以赴”为基础依赖原则。此外，我们假设今天在响应人类介导的灭绝事件而发生的剧烈生物地理变化中看到了密度依赖性过程的较早的历史性限制，由此存活下来的世系迅速扩大了它们的范围，以取代灭绝的姊妹分类单元。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: BACKGROUND:Understanding the patterns of species richness across elevational gradients is a key concept for contemporary research in ecology and evolution, and critical to understanding large-scale trends in biodiversity, global change and conservation. However, patterns of elevational species richness between taxonomic groups, regions and latitudes are inconsistent, so that various, sometimes conflicting hypotheses exist. Several scholars have pointed out that research on elevational distribution patterns is often biased by the sampling design employed. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed species richness of Nematode-Trapping Fungi (NTF) across an elevation gradient at two mountainous sites in western Yunnan Province, P.R. China. We tested for potential differences in the results when using different sampling designs. RESULTS:A total of 3 genera, 17 species, 222 strains of NTF were isolated and identified from Gaoligongshan and Cangshan. Species accumulation curves for both sites and sampling modes had acceptable leveling, demonstrating sufficient sampling effort. At Gaoligongshan, the elevation distribution patterns of NTF were different under two sampling patterns. When reducing the analyzed altitude range in Gaoligongshan, the elevation distribution pattern of the NTF changed. A similar elevation distribution pattern was observed in Cangshan when testing the same altitude range. In general, when treating the same dataset using different sampling designs, the resulting distribution patterns of species richness and occurrence frequencies were clearly different. Moreover, after removal of the samples located within lower-altitude zones affected by anthropogenic interferences, the distribution pattern of NTF in the two sites tended to become uniform. CONCLUSION:The sampling design, and in particular the elevation interval between plots, has a significant effect on the assessment of species distribution in mountainous regions. Other factors such as human activities and the multi-dimensionality of biodiversity also contribute to result biases. It is recommended that sampling design is given careful consideration in future studies on the elevational gradients of species richness, using stratified approaches according to the most relevant factors.

背景与目标： 背景：了解跨海拔梯度的物种丰富度模式是当代生态学和进化研究的关键概念，对于理解生物多样性，全球变化和保护的大规模趋势至关重要。但是，生物分类群，区域和纬度之间的高程物种丰富度模式是不一致的，因此存在各种有时相互矛盾的假设。几位学者指出，对海拔高度分布模式的研究通常会因所采用的抽样设计而产生偏差。为了检验该假设，我们分析了中国云南西部两个山区的线虫诱捕真菌（NTF）的物种丰富度（沿海拔梯度）。当使用不同的采样设计时，我们测试了结果的潜在差异。
结果：从高黎贡山和苍山共分离鉴定出3个属，17种，222个NTF菌株。地点和采样方式的物种积累曲线均具有可接受的水平，表明有足够的采样努力。在高黎贡山，NTF的高程分布模式在两种采样模式下是不同的。当降低高黎贡山的分析高度范围时，NTF的高程分布模式发生了变化。当测试相同的海拔范围时，在苍山观察到类似的海拔高度分布模式。通常，当使用不同的采样设计处理相同的数据集时，物种丰富度和发生频率的最终分布模式明显不同。此外，在移走了受人为干扰影响的低海拔区域内的样本后，NTF在这两个位置的分布模式趋于变得均匀。
结论：抽样设计，特别是地块之间的高程，对山区物种分布的评估具有重要影响。其他因素，例如人类活动和生物多样性的多维度性，也造成了结果偏差。建议在将来的研究中，根据最相关的因素，采用分层方法，对物种丰富度的海拔梯度进行仔细的采样设计。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Biodiversity may enhance productivity either because diverse communities more often contain productive species (selection effects) or because they show greater complementarity in resource use. Our understanding of how these effects influence community production comes almost entirely from studies of plants. To test whether previous results apply to higher trophic levels, we first used simulations to derive expected contributions of selection and complementarity to production in competitive assemblages defined by either neutral interactions, dominance, or a trade-off between growth and competitive ability. The three types of simulated assemblages exhibited distinct interaction signatures when diversity effects were partitioned into selection and complementarity components. We then compared these signatures to those of experimental marine communities. Diversity influenced production in fundamentally different ways in assemblages of macroalgae, characterized by growth-competition trade-offs, vs. in herbivores, characterized by dominance. Forecasting the effects of changing biodiversity in multitrophic ecosystems will require recognizing that the mechanism by which diversity influences functioning can vary among trophic levels in the same food web.

背景与目标： 生物多样性可能会提高生产力，这是因为不同的社区更经常包含生产性物种（选择效应），或者因为它们在资源利用方面表现出更大的互补性。我们对这些影响如何影响社区生产的理解几乎完全来自对植物的研究。为了检验先前的结果是否适用于更高的营养水平，我们首先使用模拟来得出选择和互补性对竞争组合中生产的预期贡献，这些组合由中性相互作用，支配性或增长与竞争能力之间的权衡决定。当将多样性效应划分为选择和互补成分时，这三种类型的模拟组合表现出明显的相互作用特征。然后，我们将这些签名与实验性海洋社区的签名进行了比较。多样性对以生长-竞争折衷为特征的大型藻类的组合以根本不同的方式影响生产，而以特征为优势的草食动物则以不同的方式影响了产量。预测多营养生态系统中生物多样性变化的影响将需要认识到，在同一食物网的营养水平上，多样性影响功能的机制可能会有所不同。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :The purpose of this study was to investigate the composition of throat microbiota in pulmonary tuberculosis patients (PTB) in comparison to healthy tuberculin skin test positive (TSTp) and negative (TSTn) individuals. Throat swabs samples were collected, and the microbiota was characterized. Richer operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were present in PTB group, compared to TSTp and TSTn. Regarding alpha diversity analysis there was a higher community diversity in TSTn compared to TSTp. Beta diversity analysis showed different species composition in TSTp compared to TSTn and PTB. There was higher presence of Firmicutes in PTB and TSTn compared to TSTp group at phylum level. At the genus level, Leuconostoc and Enterococcus were higher in TSTn compared to TSTp and Pediococcus, Chryseobacterium, Bifidobacterium, Butyrivibrio, and Bulleidia were higher in PTB compared to TSTn. Streptococcus was higher in TSTn compared to PTB and Lactobacillus in PTB compared to TSTp. At species level, Streptococcus sobrinus and Bulleidia moorei were higher in PTB compared to TSTn individuals, while Lactobacillus salivarius was higher in PTB compared to TSTp. The differences in the microbiome composition could influence the resistance/susceptibility to Mtb infection.

背景与目标： ：这项研究的目的是与健康结核菌素皮肤试验阳性（TSTp）和阴性（TSTn）个体相比，研究肺结核患者（PTB）的咽喉微生物群组成。收集咽拭子样品，并对微生物群进行鉴定。与TSTp和TSTn相比，PTB组中存在更丰富的操作分类单位（OTU）。关于α多样性分析，与TSTp相比，TSTn中的社区多样性更高。 Beta多样性分析显示，与TSTn和PTB相比，TSTp中的物种组成不同。在门生水平上，与TSTp组相比，PTB和TSTn中的Firmicutes含量更高。在属水平上，TSTn中的隐球菌和肠球菌比TSTp高，而Pediococcus，Chryseobacterium，Bifidobacterium，Butyrivibrio和Bulleidia在PTB中比TSTn高。与PTB相比，TSTn中的链球菌更高，而与TSTp相比，PTB中的乳酸菌更高。在物种水平上，与TSTn个体相比，PTB中的链球菌和莫氏肺炎链球菌较高，而与TSTp相比，唾液乳杆菌在PTB中则较高。微生物组组成的差异可能会影响对Mtb感染的抵抗力/敏感性。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Effective management and conservation of biodiversity requires understanding of predator-prey relationships to ensure the continued existence of both predator and prey populations. Gathering dietary data from predatory species, such as insectivorous bats, often presents logistical challenges, further exacerbated in biodiversity hot spots because prey items are highly speciose, yet their taxonomy is largely undescribed. We used high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and bioinformatic analyses to phylogenetically group DNA sequences into molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) to examine predator-prey dynamics of three sympatric insectivorous bat species in the biodiversity hotspot of south-western Australia. We could only assign between 4% and 20% of MOTUs to known genera or species, depending on the method used, underscoring the importance of examining dietary diversity irrespective of taxonomic knowledge in areas lacking a comprehensive genetic reference database. MOTU analysis confirmed that resource partitioning occurred, with dietary divergence positively related to the ecomorphological divergence of the three bat species. We predicted that bat species' diets would converge during times of high energetic requirements, that is, the maternity season for females and the mating season for males. There was an interactive effect of season on female, but not male, bat species' diets, although small sample sizes may have limited our findings. Contrary to our predictions, females of two ecomorphologically similar species showed dietary convergence during the mating season rather than the maternity season. HTS-based approaches can help elucidate complex predator-prey relationships in highly speciose regions, which should facilitate the conservation of biodiversity in genetically uncharacterized areas, such as biodiversity hotspots.

背景与目标： ：有效管理和保护生物多样性需要了解捕食者与猎物之间的关系，以确保捕食者和猎物种群的持续存在。从食虫类蝙蝠等捕食物种收集饮食数据通常会带来后勤方面的挑战，在生物多样性热点地区这种情况会进一步加剧，因为猎物种类特别多，但其分类法在很大程度上并未得到描述。我们使用高通量测序（HTS）和生物信息学分析将DNA序列系统发育地分类为分子操作分类单位（MOTUs），以检查澳大利亚西南部生物多样性热点中三种同伴食虫蝙蝠物种的捕食者-猎物动态。根据所使用的方法，我们只能将4％到20％的MOTU分配给已知的属或种，从而强调了在缺乏综合遗传参考数据库的地区中，不论分类学知识如何，都必须检查饮食多样性的重要性。 MOTU分析证实发生了资源分配，饮食差异与三种蝙蝠的生态形态差异正相关。我们预测蝙蝠物种的饮食会在高能量需求时收敛，即雌性的产期和雄性的交配季节。季节对雌性蝙蝠的饮食有交互作用，但对雄性蝙蝠的饮食没有影响，尽管小样本量可能限制了我们的发现。与我们的预测相反，两种在生态形态上相似的物种的雌性在交配季节而不是生育季节显示出饮食趋同。基于HTS的方法可以帮助阐明高特异性地区中复杂的捕食者与猎物之间的关系，这应有助于在遗传多样性不足的地区（例如生物多样性热点）保护生物多样性。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :The present study concerns seasonal variations, correlation coefficient and biodiversity indices of zooplanktons during January-December, 2008 in the Harsool-Savangi dam, Aurangabad, India. A total of 25 genera were recorded of which 10 were Rotifers, 8 Cladocerons, 5 Copepods and 2 Ostracods. Present study revealed maximum percentage wise compositions of Rotifers at north site were 58.28%, Cladocerons at south site were 29.78%, Copepods at east site were 16.59% and Ostracods at south site were 4.20%, respectively. Minimum percentage wise compositions Rotifers at south site were 51.54%, Cladocerons at west site were 26.71%, Copepods at north site were 11.03% and Ostracods at north site were 1.36%, respectively. Margalefs index (R1) and Menhinick index (R2) values (3.58 and 0.87) were found to be the highest at south site and lowest at (3.16 and 0.56) north site. Simpson's index (I) values (0.43) were found to be the highest at north site and lowest (0.37) at south site. Shannon-Weiner index (H') values (1.06) were found to be the highest at south site and lowest values (0.94) at north site. Maximum species evenness was recorded at south site while minimum species evenness was recorded at north site. Maximum population density of Rotifers, Cladocerons, Copepods and Ostracods (799, 350, 163 and 18) were recorded at north site in summer and minimum (58, 35, 22 and 13) were recorded at south site in monsoon, respectively.

背景与目标： ：本研究涉及印度奥兰加巴德Harsool-Savangi大坝2008年1月至12月期间浮游动物的季节变化，相关系数和生物多样性指数。总共记录了25属，其中轮虫10头，枝角类8头，Co足类5头，鸵鸟纲2头。目前的研究表明，北侧轮虫的最大比例组成为58.28％，南侧的枝角类为29.78％，东侧的Co足类为16.59％，南侧的Ost类为4.20％。南部站点的轮虫的最小百分比组成分别为51.54％，西部站点的枝角类为26.71％，北部站点的Co足类为11.03％，北部站点的Ost类为1.36％。发现Margalefs指数（R1）和Menhinick指数（R2）值（3.58和0.87）在南部站点最高，而在北部站点最低（3.16和0.56）。发现辛普森指数（I）值（0.43）在北部站点最高，而在南部站点最低（0.37）。南部地区的Shannon-Weiner指数（H'）值（1.06）最大，而北部地区的最低值（0.94）。在南部站点记录了最大物种均匀度，而在北部站点记录了最小物种均匀度。夏季北侧记录的轮虫，枝角类，Co足类和蛇足类的最大种群密度（799、350、163和18）分别在季风南部记录到的最小种群密度（58、35、22和13）。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Refugia have been suggested as priority sites for conservation under climate change because of their ability to facilitate survival of biota under adverse conditions. Here, we review the likely role of refugial habitats in conserving freshwater biota in arid Australian aquatic systems where the major long-term climatic influence has been aridification. We introduce a conceptual model that characterizes evolutionary refugia and ecological refugees based on our review of the attributes of aquatic habitats and freshwater taxa (fishes and aquatic invertebrates) in arid Australia. We also identify methods of recognizing likely future refugia and approaches to assessing the vulnerability of arid-adapted freshwater biota to a warming and drying climate. Evolutionary refugia in arid areas are characterized as permanent, groundwater-dependent habitats (subterranean aquifers and springs) supporting vicariant relicts and short-range endemics. Ecological refugees can vary across space and time, depending on the dispersal abilities of aquatic taxa and the geographical proximity and hydrological connectivity of aquatic habitats. The most important are the perennial waterbodies (both groundwater and surface water fed) that support obligate aquatic organisms. These species will persist where suitable habitats are available and dispersal pathways are maintained. For very mobile species (invertebrates with an aerial dispersal phase) evolutionary refugia may also act as ecological refugees. Evolutionary refugia are likely future refugia because their water source (groundwater) is decoupled from local precipitation. However, their biota is extremely vulnerable to changes in local conditions because population extinction risks cannot be abated by the dispersal of individuals from other sites. Conservation planning must incorporate a high level of protection for aquifers that support refugial sites. Ecological refuges are vulnerable to changes in regional climate because they have little thermal or hydrological buffering. Accordingly, conservation planning must focus on maintaining meta-population processes, especially through dynamic connectivity between aquatic habitats at a landscape scale.

背景与目标： ：由于在不利条件下促进生物群生存的能力，人们已经建议将Refugia作为气候变化保护的优先场所。在这里，我们回顾了主要的长期气候影响已被干旱化的干旱澳大利亚水生系统中，避难所栖息地在保护淡水生物区系中的可能作用。我们基于对澳大利亚干旱地区水生生境和淡水类群（鱼类和水生无脊椎动物）属性的评论，介绍了表征进化避难所和生态难民的概念模型。我们还确定了识别未来可能发生的避难所的方法，以及评估干旱适应的淡水生物区系对变暖和干燥气候的脆弱性的方法。干旱地区的进化避难所的特征是永久性的，依赖地下水的栖息地（地下蓄水层和泉水），支持残骸和短距离流行。生态难民在不同的时空可能会有所不同，这取决于水生生物分类的扩散能力以及水生生境的地理位置和水文连通性。最重要的是支持专性水生生物的多年生水体（地下水和地表水）。这些物种将在有合适栖息地并保持传播途径的地方持久存在。对于活动性很强的物种（具有空中扩散期的无脊椎动物），进化避难所也可以充当生态难民。进化避难所很可能是未来的避难所，因为它们的水源（地下水）与当地降水分离。但是，它们的生物群系极易受到当地条件变化的影响，因为无法通过其他地方散布个人来减轻种群灭绝的风险。保护规划必须为支持避难所的含水层提供高水平的保护。由于生态避难所几乎没有热或水文缓冲，因此很容易受到区域气候变化的影响。因此，保护​​规划必须着重于维持高居种群的过程，特别是通过在景观尺度上水生生境之间的动态联系。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :The preservation of tropical forests is increasingly at risk, including forests located within human-modified landscapes that retain high conservation value. People modify and interact with these landscapes through a wide range of uses. However, our knowledge of how different forest uses affect biodiversity is limited. Here, we analyse the responses of different taxa to four distinct categories of forest management, namely old-growth forest, Brazil nut extraction areas, reduced impact logging areas, and eucalyptus plantations. Within six independent replicates of each category, we sampled three taxa (fruit-feeding butterflies, dung beetles, and trees) in eastern Amazonia. Forests under moderate use (Brazil nut extraction and reduced-impact logging) had similar, albeit slightly lower, diversity levels relative to old-growth forests, while communities in plantations were significantly less diverse. Only 4%, 20%, and 17%, of the sampled butterfly, dung beetle, and tree species, respectively, were restricted to old-growth forests. This study provides further empirical evidence of the importance of old-growth forest conservation in the context of human-modified landscapes. It also suggests that landscape matrices integrating forest uses at varying intensities are well positioned to reconcile biodiversity conservation with the production of goods that support local livelihoods.

背景与目标： ：保护热带森林的风险日益增加，包括位于保留了高保护价值的人为改变的地貌内的森林。人们通过广泛的用途来修改这些景观并与之交互。但是，我们对不同森林利用方式如何影响生物多样性的知识是有限的。在这里，我们分析了不同分类单元对森林经营的四个不同类别的响应，即老龄森林，巴西坚果采摘区，减少影响的伐木区和桉树人工林。在每个类别的六个独立重复样本中，我们在东亚马逊地区采样了三个分类单元（以喂食蝴蝶，粪甲虫和树木为食）。与老龄林相比，适度使用的森林（巴西坚果提取和减少影响的伐木）的多样性水平相似，尽管略低，但人工林的多样性却明显较低。分别只有4％，20％和17％的蝴蝶，，甲虫和树木物种被限制在古老的森林中。这项研究提供了进一步的经验证据，说明在人工改造景观的背景下旧森林保护的重要性。它还表明，以不同强度整合森林利用的景观矩阵处于有利位置，可以使生物多样性保护与支持当地生计的商品生产相协调。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Hotspots, which have played a central role in the selection of sites for reserves, require careful rethinking. We carried out a global examination of distributions of all nonmarine mammals to determine patterns of species richness, endemism, and endangerment, and to evaluate the degree of congruence among hotspots of these three measures of diversity in mammals. We then compare congruence of hotspots in two animal groups (mammals and birds) to assess the generality of these patterns. We defined hotspots as the richest 2.5% of cells in a global equal-area grid comparable to 1 degrees latitude x 1 degrees longitude. Hotspots of species richness, "endemism," and extinction threat were noncongruent. Only 1% of cells and 16% of species were common to the three types of mammalian hotspots. Congruence increased with increases in both the geographic scope of the analysis and the percentage of cells defined as being hotspots. The within-mammal hotspot noncongruence was similar to the pattern recently found for birds. Thus, assigning global conservation priorities based on hotspots is at best a limited strategy.

背景与目标： ：热点在选择储备地点中发挥了核心作用，需要仔细考虑。我们对所有非海洋哺乳动物的分布情况进行了全球检查，以确定物种丰富度，特有性和濒危模式，并评估哺乳动物这三种多样性测度的热点之间的一致性程度。然后，我们比较两个动物组（哺乳动物和鸟类）中热点的一致性，以评估这些模式的普遍性。我们将热点定义为在全球等面积网格中相当于1度纬度x 1度经度的最丰富的单元格的2.5％。物种丰富性，“地方性”和灭绝威胁的热点并不一致。三种类型的哺乳动物热点只有1％的细胞和16％的物种是共有的。一致性随着分析的地理范围和定义为热点的单元百分比的增加而增加。哺乳动物内部热点不一致与最近发现的鸟类相似。因此，基于热点分配全球保护优先级充其量只是一种有限的策略。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Movement of water from soil to atmosphere by plant transpiration can feed precipitation, but is limited by the hydraulic capacities of plants, which have not been uniform through time. The flowering plants that dominate modern vegetation possess transpiration capacities that are dramatically higher than any other plants, living or extinct. Transpiration operates at the level of the leaf, however, and how the impact of this physiological revolution scales up to the landscape and larger environment remains unclear. Here, climate modelling demonstrates that angiosperms help ensure aseasonally high levels of precipitation in the modern tropics. Most strikingly, replacement of angiosperm with non-angiosperm vegetation would result in a hotter, drier and more seasonal Amazon basin, decreasing the overall area of ever-wet rainforest by 80 per cent. Thus, flowering plant ecological dominance has strongly altered climate and the global hydrological cycle. Because tropical biodiversity is closely tied to precipitation and rainforest area, angiosperm climate modification may have promoted diversification of the angiosperms themselves, as well as radiations of diverse vertebrate and invertebrate animal lineages and of epiphytic plants. Their exceptional potential for environmental modification may have contributed to divergent responses to similar climates and global perturbations, like mass extinctions, before and after angiosperm evolution.

背景与目标： ：植物的蒸腾作用将水从土壤运动到大气中可以增加降水量，但受植物的水力承载能力的限制，这些植物的水力随着时间的流逝并不一致。在现代植被中占主导地位的开花植物具有蒸腾作用的能力，远高于其他任何活着的或灭绝的植物。蒸腾作用在叶的水平上进行，但是尚不清楚这种生理革命的影响如何扩大到景观和更大的环境。在这里，气候模拟表明被子植物有助于确保现代热带地区季节性高水平的降水。最为引人注目的是，用非被子植物的植被代替被子植物将导致亚马逊盆地更热，更干燥，更季节性，从而使曾经湿润的雨林的总面积减少了80％。因此，开花植物的生态优势极大地改变了气候和全球水文循环。由于热带生物多样性与降水和雨林地区密切相关，被子植物的气候变化可能促进了被子植物本身的多样性，以及各种脊椎动物和无脊椎动物动物谱系以及附生植物的辐射。它们在环境改良方面的巨大潜力可能有助于在被子植物进化前后对类似的气候和诸如物种灭绝之类的全球性扰动做出不同的反应。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Cumulative effects assessment (CEA), as a required practice for the environmental assessment (EA) of projects in many countries, faces several practical challenges, especially related to biodiversity. Drawing on the perspectives and experiences of Canadian EA practitioners, this paper explores options or drivers of change for improving project-based assessment to better tackle cumulative effects on biodiversity. An on-line survey was conducted with 40 professionals from the private sector, government departments/agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations, examining the current challenges and opportunities regarding: CEA process for biodiversity; responsibilities for undertaking CEA tasks; resources to support and promote good CEA practice. In terms of process, there is shared understanding on: (i) the need of EA terms of reference to provide specific directions on CEA; (ii) CEA should capture both human and natural drivers of cumulative change; (iii) spatial boundaries for CEA should be based on ecological boundaries. There are dissenting views about: (i) whether CEA should consider all valued components (VCs) potentially affected by a project or only those for which residual effects are predicted; and (ii) delimitation of future temporal limits. In terms of responsibilities, participants agreed that project proponents should retain a central role in conducting CEA, but government agencies should lead the collection/provision of information about other projects in the study area and baseline VC conditions. Information and knowledge management resources could be also applied in the context of governmental agencies and consultancy firms to support CEA for biodiversity.

背景与目标： ：累积效果评估（CEA）作为许多国家/地区项目环境评估（EA）的必需做法，面临着一些实际挑战，尤其是与生物多样性相关的挑战。借鉴加拿大EA工作者的观点和经验，本文探索了变革的选择或驱动因素，以改进基于项目的评估，从而更好地解决对生物多样性的累积影响。对来自私营部门，政府部门/机构，大学和非政府组织的40名专业人员进行了在线调查，调查了以下方面的当前挑战和机遇：CEA生物多样性流程；承担CEA任务的责任；资源以支持和促进良好的CEA做法。在程序方面，对以下方面达成了共识：（i）EA职责范围需要提供有关CEA的具体指导； （ii）CEA应该抓住人类和自然的累积变化驱动力； （iii）CEA的空间边界应基于生态边界。关于以下方面有不同意见：（i）CEA是应考虑受项目潜在影响的所有有价值的成分（VC），还是仅应考虑预计会产生残余影响的那些成分； （ii）划定未来的时限。在责任方面，与会人员一致认为，项目支持者应在开展CEA方面发挥核心作用，但政府机构应领导收集/提供有关研究领域和基准风险投资条件的其他项目的信息。信息和知识管理资源也可以在政府机构和咨询公司的范围内使用，以支持CEA促进生物多样性。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :One of the biggest challenges for conservation biology is to provide conservation planners with ways to prioritize effort. Much attention has been focused on biodiversity hotspots. However, the conservation of evolutionary process is now also acknowledged as a priority in the face of global change. Phylogenetic diversity (PD) is a biodiversity index that measures the length of evolutionary pathways that connect a given set of taxa. PD therefore identifies sets of taxa that maximize the accumulation of 'feature diversity'. Recent studies, however, concluded that taxon richness is a good surrogate for PD. Here we show taxon richness to be decoupled from PD, using a biome-wide phylogenetic analysis of the flora of an undisputed biodiversity hotspot--the Cape of South Africa. We demonstrate that this decoupling has real-world importance for conservation planning. Finally, using a database of medicinal and economic plant use, we demonstrate that PD protection is the best strategy for preserving feature diversity in the Cape. We should be able to use PD to identify those key regions that maximize future options, both for the continuing evolution of life on Earth and for the benefit of society.

背景与目标： ：保护生物学面临的最大挑战之一是为保护规划人员提供优先工作的方法。人们已经将很多注意力集中在生物多样性热点上。然而，面对全球变化，保护进化过程现在也被认为是当务之急。系统发育多样性（PD）是一种生物多样性指数，用于衡量连接给定分类群的进化途径的长度。因此，PD会识别出能够最大程度地积累“功能多样性”的分类单元集。但是，最近的研究得出的结论是，分类单元丰富度是PD的良好替代。在这里，我们通过对无可争议的生物多样性热点-南非海角的菌群进行系统的全生物群落系统发育分析，证明了分类生物丰富度与PD脱钩。我们证明了这种解耦对于保护规划具有现实意义。最后，使用药用和经济植物使用数据库，我们证明了PD保护是保护开普省特征多样性的最佳策略。我们应该能够使用PD来确定那些可以最大化未来选择的关键区域，无论是地球上生命的持续发展还是为了社会的利益。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :Consumption of globally traded agricultural commodities like soy and palm oil is one of the primary causes of deforestation and biodiversity loss in some of the world's most species-rich ecosystems. However, the complexity of global supply chains has confounded efforts to reduce impacts. Companies and governments with sustainability commitments struggle to understand their own sourcing patterns, while the activities of more unscrupulous actors are conveniently masked by the opacity of global trade. We combine state-of-the-art material flow, economic trade, and biodiversity impact models to produce an innovative approach for understanding the impacts of trade on biodiversity loss and the roles of remote markets and actors. We do this for the production of soy in the Brazilian Cerrado, home to more than 5% of the world´s species. Distinct sourcing patterns of consumer countries and trading companies result in substantially different impacts on endemic species. Connections between individual buyers and specific hot spots explain the disproportionate impacts of some actors on endemic species and individual threatened species, such as the particular impact of European Union consumers on the recent habitat losses for the iconic giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). In making these linkages explicit, our approach enables commodity buyers and investors to target their efforts much more closely to improve the sustainability of their supply chains in their sourcing regions while also transforming our ability to monitor the impact of such commitments over time.

背景与目标： ：在一些世界上物种最丰富的生态系统中，大豆和棕榈油等全球贸易农产品的消费是造成森林砍伐和生物多样性丧失的主要原因之一。但是，全球供应链的复杂性使减少影响的努力变得混乱。承担可持续性承诺的公司和政府努力了解自己的采购模式，而更加不道德的行为者的活动很容易被全球贸易的不透明所掩盖。我们结合了最新的物质流，经济贸易和生物多样性影响模型，以产生一种创新的方法来理解贸易对生物多样性丧失的影响以及偏远市场和参与者的作用。我们这样做是为了在巴西塞拉多（Cerrado）生产大豆，巴西塞拉多（Cerrado）是世界上5％以上物种的家园。消费国和贸易公司的不同采购方式对当地特有物种造成了截然不同的影响。个体购买者与特定热点之间的联系说明了某些行为者对地方物种和个人受威胁物种的不成比例的影响，例如欧盟消费者对标志性巨型食蚁兽（Myrmecophaga tridactyla）最近生境丧失的特殊影响。通过使这些联系明确化，我们的方法使商品购买者和投资者能够更加紧密地针对自己的努力，以改善其采购区域中供应链的可持续性，同时也转变了我们监控此类承诺的影响的能力。

BACKGROUND & AIMS: :The program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) is one of the major attempts to tackle climate change mitigation in developing countries. REDD+ seeks to provide result-based incentives to promote emission reductions and increase carbon sinks in forest land while promoting other cobenefits, such as the conservation of biodiversity. We model different scenarios of international REDD+ funds distribution toward potential recipient countries using 2 carbon emission reduction targets (20% and 50% compared to the baseline scenario, i.e., deforestation and forest degradation without REDD+) by 2030. The model combines the prioritization of environmental outcomes in terms of carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation and social equity, accounting for the equitable distribution of international REDD+ funds. Results highlight the synergy between carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation under alternative fund allocation criteria, especially for scenarios of low carbon emission reduction. Trade-offs increase when distributional equity is considered as an additional criterion, especially under higher equity requirements. The analysis helps to better understand the inherent trade-offs between enhancing distributional equity and meeting environmental targets under alternative REDD+ fund allocation options.

背景与目标： ：减少森林砍伐和森林退化造成的排放计划（REDD）是解决发展中国家减缓气候变化的主要尝试之一。 REDD寻求提供基于结果的激励措施，以促进减排并增加林地的碳汇，同时促进其他协同效益，例如保护生物多样性。我们使用20个碳减排目标（与基准情景相比分别为20％和50％，即没有REDD的森林砍伐和森林退化）来模拟向潜在接收国分配国际REDD资金的不同方案，该方案在2030年之前完成。该模型结合了环境优先级碳封存，生物多样性保护和社会公平方面的成果，说明了国际REDD资金的公平分配。结果突出显示了在替代性资金分配标准下，固碳与生物多样性保护之间的协同作用，特别是对于低碳排放的情景。当将分配权益作为附加标准时，折衷会增加，尤其是在较高的权益要求下。该分析有助于更好地了解在分配REDD资金分配方案下提高分配公平性与实现环境目标之间的内在取舍。