Faculty Opinions recommendation of A global synthesis reveals biodiversity loss as a major driver of ecosystem change.

Author(s):  
Andrew Hector
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 115-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pincelli M. Hull ◽  
Simon A. F. Darroch

Mass extinctions shape the history of life and can be used to inform understanding of the current biodiversity crisis. In this paper, a general introduction is provided to the methods used to investigate the ecosystem effects of mass extinctions (Part I) and to explore major patterns and outstanding research questions in the field (Part II). The five largest mass extinctions of the Phanerozoic had profoundly different effects on the structure and function of ecosystems, although the causes of these differences are currently unclear. Outstanding questions and knowledge gaps are identified that need to be addressed if the fossil record is to be used as a means of informing the dynamics of future biodiversity loss and ecosystem change.


Nature ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 486 (7401) ◽  
pp. 105-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
David U. Hooper ◽  
E. Carol Adair ◽  
Bradley J. Cardinale ◽  
Jarrett E. K. Byrnes ◽  
Bruce A. Hungate ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
V. Dodokhov ◽  
N. Pavlova ◽  
T. Rumyantseva ◽  
L. Kalashnikova

The article presents the genetic characteristic of the Chukchi reindeer breed. The object of the study was of the Chukchi reindeer. In recent years, the number of reindeer of the Chukchi breed has declined sharply. Reduced reindeer numbers could lead to biodiversity loss. The Chukchi breed of deer has good meat qualities, has high germination viability and is adapted in adverse tundra conditions of Yakutia. Herding of the Chukchi breed of deer in Yakutia are engaged only in the Nizhnekolymsky district. There are four generic communities and the largest of which is the agricultural production cooperative of nomadic tribal community «Turvaurgin», which was chosen to assess the genetic processes of breed using microsatellite markers: Rt6, BMS1788, Rt 30, Rt1, Rt9, FCB193, Rt7, BMS745, C 143, Rt24, OheQ, C217, C32, NVHRT16, T40, C276. It was found that microsatellite markers have a wide range of alleles and generally have a high informative value for identifying of genetic differences between animals and groups of animal. The number of identified alleles is one of the indicators of the genetic diversity of the population. The total number of detected alleles was 127. The Chukchi breed of deer is characterized by a high level of heterozygosity, and the random crossing system prevails over inbreeding in the population. On average, there were 7.9 alleles (Na) per locus, and the mean number of effective alleles (Ne) was 4.1. The index of fixation averaged 0.001. The polymorphism index (PIC) ranged from 0.217 to 0.946, with an average of 0.695.


Erdkunde ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Lundberg ◽  
Jutta Kapfer ◽  
Inger Elisabeth Måren
Keyword(s):  

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