Present and future of the critically endangered Araucaria angustifolia due to climate change and habitat loss

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesar A Marchioro ◽  
Karine L Santos ◽  
Alexandre Siminski
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Forest Conversion ◽  
Araucaria Angustifolia ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Agricultural Conversion ◽  
Key Species ◽  
On Farm

Abstract The critically endangered Brazilian pine, also called araucaria, (Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze) is a key species of the Araucaria moist forest (AMF, Mixed Ombrophilous Forest). Illegal timber extraction, agricultural conversion and severe degradation have reduced the AMF to only 13 per cent of its original cover, with climate change imposing additional challenges for cold adapted species such as araucaria. Previous studies have assessed climate change impacts on A. angustifolia, but have been limited by analysis constraints. Here, we used a machine learning technique to understand how land use and climate change might affect the distribution of A. angustifolia, and to evaluate the effectiveness of existing protected areas (PAs) to conserve this species. Our results demonstrated that despite the recent efforts to conserve the Atlantic Forest, conversion of natural habitats into forest plantation still occurs within araucaria’s distribution range. Our model predicted a drastic reduction in environmentally suitable areas for this species of up to 77 per cent in the coming decades. Also, the existing PAs show low efficacy to protect suitable areas in the future. Combined, these results suggest that A. angustifolia will be under great threat within the next few decades and the development of conservation strategies to save this species is essential. Ideally, the conservation programs should integrate in situ and on farm approaches, including forest management strategies. Although in situ strategies play an important role as gene banks, on-farm strategies can be used to promote the restoration and expansion of A. angustifolia populations in the areas predicted as suitable.

Strategies for conservation of germplasm in endemic redwoods in the face of climate change: a review

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Ahuja
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Coast Redwood ◽  
Giant Sequoia ◽  
The Face

This study reviews the various conservation strategies applied to the four redwood species, namely coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Sierra redwood or giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) and South American redwood or alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides), which are endemic in the USA, China and South America, respectively. All four redwood genera belong to the family Cupressaceae; they are monospecific, share a number of common phenotypic traits, including red wood, and are threatened in their native ranges due to human activity and a changing climate. Therefore, the management objective should be to conserve representative populations of the native species with as much genetic diversity as possible for their future survival. Those representative populations exhibiting relatively high levels of genetic diversity should be selected for germplasm preservation and monitored during the conservation phase by using molecular markers. In situ and ex situ strategies for the preservation of germplasm of the redwoods are discussed in this study. A holistic in situ gene conservation strategy calls for the regeneration of a large number of diverse redwood genotypes that exhibit adequate levels of neutral and adaptive genetic variability, by generative and vegetative methods for their preservation and maintenance in their endemic locations. At the same time, it would be desirable to conserve the redwoods in new ex situ reserves, away from their endemic locations with similar as well as different environmental conditions for testing their growth and survival capacities. In addition, other ex situ strategies involving biotechnological approaches for preservation of seeds, tissues, pollen and DNA in genebanks should also be fully exploited in the face of global climate change.

scholarly journals Natural history of the critically endangered salamander Pseudoeurycea robertsi

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armando Sunny ◽  
Carmen Caballero-Viñas ◽  
Luis Duarte-deJesus ◽  
Fabiola Ramírez-Corona ◽  
Javier Manjarrez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Morphometric Study ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Plethodontid Salamander ◽  
Nevado De Toluca ◽  
Salamander Species

Mexico is one of the most diverse countries that is losing a large amount of forest due to land use change, these data put Mexico in fourth place for global deforestation rate, therefore, Mexico occupies the first place in number of endangered species in the world with 665 endangered species. It is important to study amphibians because they are among the most threatened vertebrates on Earth and their populations are rapidly declining worldwide due primarily to the loss and degradation of their natural habitats. Pseudoeurycea robertsi is a micro-endemic and critically endangered Plethodontid salamander from the Nevado de Toluca Volcano and to date almost nothing is known about its natural history therefore, we survey fourteen sites of the Nevado de Toluca Volcano a mountain that is part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Mexico. We carry out the most exhaustive sampling scheme of this species throughout the Nevado de Toluca Volcano to know the number of individuals and the microhabitat features associated with the presence of P. robertsi. Likewise, we carry out a morphometric study and coloration measurements of P. robertsi individuals and we determine the potential distribution of P. robertsi and the other 3 species of pletodontids present in the NTV using ecological niche modeling and to determine the most important habitat features associated with the presence of salamander species, as well as to know the niche overlap among salamander species. This information will help raise conservation strategies for this micro-endemic and critically endangered salamander.

scholarly journals A framework for selectively breeding corals for assisted evolution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Humanes ◽  
John Bythell ◽  
Elizabeth Beauchamp ◽  
Mitch Carl ◽  
Jamie Craggs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Selective Breeding ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Acropora Digitifera ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽  
The Face

AbstractCoral cover on tropical reefs has declined during the last three decades due to the combined effects of climate change, destructive fishing, pollution, and land use change. Drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions combined with effective coastal management and conservation strategies are essential to slow this decline. Innovative approaches, such as selective breeding for adaptive traits combined with large-scale sexual propagation, are being developed with the aim of pre-adapting reefs to increased ocean warming. However, there are still major gaps in our understanding of the technical and methodological constraints to producing corals for such restoration interventions. Here we propose a framework for selectively breeding corals and rearing them from eggs to 2.5-year old colonies using the coral Acropora digitifera as a model species. We present methods for choosing colonies for selective crossing, enhancing early survivorship in ex situ and in situ nurseries, and outplanting and monitoring colonies on natal reefs. We used a short-term (7-day) temperature stress assay to select parental colonies based on heat tolerance of excised branches. From six parental colonies, we produced 12 distinct crosses, and compared survivorship and growth of colonies transferred to in situ nurseries or outplanted to the reef at different ages. We demonstrate that selectively breeding and rearing coral colonies is technically feasible at small scales and could be upscaled as part of restorative assisted evolution initiatives. Nonetheless, there are still challenges to overcome before selective breeding can be implemented as a viable conservation tool, especially at the post-settlement and outplanting phases. Although interdisciplinary approaches will be needed to overcome many of the challenges identified in this study, selective breeding has the potential to be a viable tool within reef managers’ toolbox to support the persistence of selected reefs in the face of climate change.

scholarly journals Mexican conifers differ in their capacity to face climate change

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cuauhtémoc Sáenz-Romero ◽  
Maximilien Larter ◽  
Noelia González-Muñoz ◽  
Christian Wehenkel ◽  
Arnulfo Blanco-Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Drought Stress ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Xylem Vulnerability ◽  
Adult Trees ◽  
Pinus Pseudostrobus

The recent massive dieback of forest trees due to drought stress makes assessment of the variability of physiological traits that might be critical for predicting forest response and adaptation to climate change even more urgent. We investigated xylem vulnerability to cavitation and xylem specific hydraulic conductivity in seven species of three principal conifer genera (Juniperus monticola, Juniperus deppeana, Juniperus flaccida, Pinus pseudostrobus, Pinus leiophylla, Pinus devoniana, and the endangered Picea chihuahuana) of the Mexican mountains in order to identify the species most vulnerable to future warmer and drier climates. Hydraulic traits were examined using the in situ flow centrifuge technique (Cavitron) on branches collected from adult trees of natural populations and seedlings growing in a common garden. We found evidence of significant differences in xylem safety between genera (P50: pressure inducing 50% loss of hydraulic conductance): the three juniper species exhibited low P50 values (ranging from -9.9 to -10.4 MPa), relative to the much more vulnerable pine and spruce species (P50 ranging between - 2.9 to - 3.3 MPa).  Our findings also revealed no variation in P50 between adult trees assessed in the field and seedlings growing in a common garden. We therefore propose that if, as projected, climate change makes their natural habitats much warmer and drier, populations of Mexican pines and the studied spruce will be likely to decline severely as a result of drought-stress induced cavitation, while the juniper species will survive.

Seed systems and diversity

2021 ◽  
pp. 271-288
Author(s):  
Niels Louwaars ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Farming System ◽  
Farm Management ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Crop Genetic Diversity ◽  
Modern Breeding ◽  
On Farm ◽  
The Impact

Farmers use various seed systems to obtain seeds for their next crop. The diversity of seeds determines, together with other aspects of the farming system, the biodiversity in farmed areas. Conservation strategies for crop genetic resources distinguish ex situ, on-farm and in situ components. The on-farm management of such resources is highly influenced by the seed systems that farmers use. Next to primary and secondary centres of diversity, this chapter introduces a tertiary source of diversity, based on the creation of new diversity through modern breeding. The impact of different seed systems on the management of crop genetic diversity is also analysed.

scholarly journals Livelihood implications of in situ-on farm conservation strategies of fruit species in Uzbekistan

2017 ◽  
Vol 92 (5) ◽  
pp. 1253-1266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Gotor ◽  
Mauricio R. Bellon ◽  
Muhabbat Turdieva ◽  
Karim Baymetov ◽  
Parhod Nazarov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
On Farm Conservation ◽  
Fruit Species ◽  
On Farm

scholarly journals An Experimental Framework for Selectively Breeding Corals for Assisted Evolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Humanes ◽  
Elizabeth A. Beauchamp ◽  
John C. Bythell ◽  
Mitch K. Carl ◽  
Jamie R. Craggs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Selective Breeding ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Acropora Digitifera ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽  
The Face

Coral cover on tropical reefs has declined during the last three decades due to the combined effects of climate change, destructive fishing, pollution, and land use change. Drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions combined with effective coastal management and conservation strategies are essential to slow this decline. Innovative approaches, such as selective breeding for adaptive traits combined with large-scale sexual propagation, are being developed with the aim of pre-adapting reefs to increased ocean warming. However, there are still major gaps in our understanding of the technical and methodological constraints to producing corals for such restoration interventions. Here we propose a framework for selectively breeding corals and rearing them from eggs to 2.5-year old colonies using the coral Acropora digitifera as a model species. We present methods for choosing colonies for selective crossing, enhancing early survivorship in ex situ and in situ nurseries, and outplanting and monitoring colonies on natal reefs. We used a short-term (7-day) temperature stress assay to select parental colonies based on heat tolerance of excised branches. From six parental colonies, we produced 12 distinct crosses, and compared survivorship and growth of colonies transferred to in situ nurseries or outplanted to the reef at different ages. We demonstrate that selectively breeding and rearing coral colonies is technically feasible at small scales and could be upscaled as part of restorative assisted evolution initiatives. Nonetheless, there are still challenges to overcome before selective breeding can be implemented as a viable conservation tool, especially at the post-settlement and outplanting phases. Although interdisciplinary approaches will be needed to overcome many of the challenges identified in this study, selective breeding has the potential to be a viable tool within a reef managers toolbox to support the persistence of selected reefs in the face of climate change.

scholarly journals Using natural analogues to investigate the effects of climate change and ocean acidification on Northern ecosystems

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 2299-2311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel S P Rastrick ◽  
Helen Graham ◽  
Kumiko Azetsu-Scott ◽  
Piero Calosi ◽  
Melissa Chierici ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Saturation State ◽  
Key Species ◽  
Natural Analogues

Abstract Northern oceans are in a state of rapid transition. Still, our knowledge of the likely effects of climate change and ocean acidification on key species in the food web, functionally important habitats and the structure of Arctic and sub-Arctic ecosystems is limited and based mainly on short-term laboratory studies on single species. This review discusses how tropical and temperate natural analogues of carbonate chemistry drivers, such as CO2 vents, have been used to further our knowledge of the sensitivity of biological systems to predicted climate change, and thus assess the capacity of different species to show long-term acclimation and adaptation to elevated levels of pCO2. Natural analogues have also provided the means to scale-up from single-species responses to community and ecosystem level responses. However, to date the application of such approaches is limited in high latitude systems. A range of Arctic and sub-Arctic sites, including CO2 vents, methane cold seeps, estuaries, up-welling areas, and polar fronts, that encompass gradients of pH, carbonate saturation state, and alkalinity, are suggested for future high latitude, in-situ ocean acidification research. It is recommended that combinations of monitoring of the chemical oceanography, observational, and experimental (in situ and laboratory) studies of organisms around these natural analogues be used to attain better predictions of the impacts of ocean acidification and climate change on high latitude species and ecosystems.

scholarly journals Natural history of the critically endangered salamander Pseudoeurycea robertsi

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armando Sunny ◽  
Carmen Caballero-Viñas ◽  
Luis Duarte-deJesus ◽  
Fabiola Ramírez-Corona ◽  
Javier Manjarrez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Ecological Niche Modeling ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Morphometric Study ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Plethodontid Salamander ◽  
Nevado De Toluca ◽  
Salamander Species

Mexico is one of the most diverse countries that is losing a large amount of forest due to land use change, these data put Mexico in fourth place for global deforestation rate, therefore, Mexico occupies the first place in number of endangered species in the world with 665 endangered species. It is important to study amphibians because they are among the most threatened vertebrates on Earth and their populations are rapidly declining worldwide due primarily to the loss and degradation of their natural habitats. Pseudoeurycea robertsi is a micro-endemic and critically endangered Plethodontid salamander from the Nevado de Toluca Volcano and to date almost nothing is known about its natural history therefore, we survey fourteen sites of the Nevado de Toluca Volcano a mountain that is part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Mexico. We carry out the most exhaustive sampling scheme of this species throughout the Nevado de Toluca Volcano to know the number of individuals and the microhabitat features associated with the presence of P. robertsi. Likewise, we carry out a morphometric study and coloration measurements of P. robertsi individuals and we determine the potential distribution of P. robertsi and the other 3 species of pletodontids present in the NTV using ecological niche modeling and to determine the most important habitat features associated with the presence of salamander species, as well as to know the niche overlap among salamander species. This information will help raise conservation strategies for this micro-endemic and critically endangered salamander.

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