The fingernail clams (Bivalvia: Veneroida: Sphaeriidae) of Morocco: Diversity, distribution and conservation status

In Morocco, many uncertainties surround the current diversity and distribution of the bivalve family Sphaeriidae. Such information, including taxonomy and conservation status, are vital for further studies to improve the knowledge of this family in Morocco and represents the first step towards the development of a national conservation plan for all freshwater bivalves. Between 2016 and 2019, several investigations were carried out to assess the diversity and distribution of Sphaeriidae in the different basins of Morocco, covering different types of habitat (lakes, springs, rivers and small ponds). The identification of specimens and their morpho-ecological features was based on morphological and morphometric analyses. The data on the general distribution of the collected species allowed the evaluation of their conservation status as well. The shell morphology and morphometric analyses revealed the existence of five species belonging to the genus Pisidium [P. casertanum (Poli, 1791), P. (cf.) personatum Malm, 1855, P. subtruncatum Malm, 1855, P. amnicum (O. F. Müller, 1774) and Pisidium sp.] and one species to the genus of Musculium [M. lacustre (O. F. Müller, 1774)]. Sphaeriidae were found in all Moroccan basins, except Bouregreg and Sakia El Hamra-Oued Eddahab Basins. The results showed that Sebou Basin was the species richest with the occurrence of the five species, while Loukkos and Sous-Massa Basins had the lowest-species richness with one species only. The conservation status of sphaeriids in Morocco was evaluated for the first time and resulted in P. (cf.) personatum and P. subtruncatum being proposed as Least Concern and Vulnerable, respectively, while the status of Regionally Extinct is suggested for both species P. amnicum and M. lacustre. First evaluation of the diversity and species richness of the family Sphaeriidae in Morocco with an assignment of an updated conservation status of the recorded species.

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Temporary freshwater wetlands floristics in central Mexico highlands

Botanical Sciences ◽

10.17129/botsci.1532 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 96 (1) ◽

pp. 138 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Tatiana Lobato-de Magalhães ◽

Mahinda Martínez

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Life Form ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Life Forms ◽

Freshwater Wetlands ◽

Central Mexico ◽

Anthropogenic Pressure ◽

Temporary Wetlands ◽

First Time ◽

Economic Use

Background: Mexico has a high diversity of aquatic and subaquatic plants that occur between 1,000 and 2,500 m of elevation, although a larger proportion of aquatic plants is concentrated at lower altitudes. Temporary wetlands harbor close to 73 % of the aquatic species in Mexico. These systems are under a strong anthropogenic pressure and suffer constant degradation.Questions: i) How many species grow in highland temporary wetlands? ii) Are they floristically similar? iii) Is there a latitudinal pattern of species richness?Studied groups: Charophyta, Pteridophyta, Angiosperms.Study site and years of study: Central Mexico (39 wetlands) from 2015 to 2016.Methods: We collected in 39 temporary wetlands for two years. We made a presence/absence list of species per locality, and calculated floristic similarities and correlations between wetlands. We include data characterizing life form, plant use, and conservation status.Results: We found 126 species belonging to 80 genera and 38 families. The richest families were Cyperaceae, Asteraceae, and Poaceae. As to genera, Eleocharis, Cyperus, and Juncus had more species. Species with the widest distributions were Persicaria mexicana, Marsilea mollis, Luziola fluitans, Heteranthera peduncularis, and Nymphoides fallax. We found five different life forms – all herbaceous, including 27 threatened species, 24 species with economic use, 48 endemic species, and 19 cosmopolitan species. In addition, we found 20 species recorded for the first time in some states included in our study, and two species of Eleocharis that might represent undescribed species. The richest wetland harbors 40 species, the poorest has only five. Wetlands were comparable to each other in species composition, and species richness increases towards the south.Conclusions: Temporary wetlands harbor a high floristic diversity and are similar to each other. Lower latitudes host higher numbers of species.

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Malacofaunal inventory in Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary, West Bengal, India

Journal of Threatened Taxa ◽

10.11609/jott.4456.13.2.17807-17826 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 17807-17826

Author(s):

S.K. Sajan ◽

Swati Das ◽

Basudev Tripathy ◽

Tulika Biswas

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Protected Areas ◽

West Bengal ◽

Land Snails ◽

Faunal Composition ◽

Marine Molluscs ◽

As Species ◽

The Family ◽

Conservation Plan ◽

First Time

The knowledge on the floral and faunal composition of protected areas (PAs) is crucial for formulating suitable conservation plan. In this paper, inventory and species richness of non-marine molluscs of Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary has been made and is for the first time from any PA of West Bengal. A total of 276 specimens belonging to 22 species (10 species of land snails and 12 species of freshwater) of non-marine molluscs (land and freshwater) were collected and examined from this sanctuary. The malacofaunal inventory comprises of nine genera under seven families among land snails and 12 genera & seven families from both gastropods & bivalves under the freshwater forms. As far as species richness is concerned, the family Ariophantidae was found to be dominant among land forms whereas species of the families Thiaridae and Unionidae were dominant among freshwater forms.

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The conservation status of birds in Laos: a review of key species

Bird Conservation International ◽

10.1017/s0959270900002197 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 8 (S1) ◽

pp. 1-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

R. M. Thewlis ◽

R. J. Timmins ◽

T. D. Evans ◽

J. W. Duckworth

Keyword(s):

Threatened Species ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Bird Conservation ◽

Additional Species ◽

Key Species ◽

The Status ◽

Global Status ◽

Conservation Concern ◽

First Time ◽

Near Threatened

SummaryLaos is an important country for bird conservation. Bird surveys between 1992 and 1996, the first since 1949, covered 20 main areas, with incidental records from many others.This paper reviews the status of all Lao species reported to be of elevated conservation concern (key species) in any of the following categories: Globally Threatened or Globally Near-Threatened (sensu Collar and Andrew 1988 and Collar et al. 1994), and At Risk or Rare in Thailand (sensu Round 1988 and Treesucon and Round 1990). Several additional species are covered which have clearly undergone a National Historical Decline in Laos. A comprehensive review of other Lao species was not possible, and some species which are in truth of conservation concern have doubtless been overlooked. Historical and modern records were reviewed and population trends identified where possible.Current global status listings (Collar et al. 1994) were supported, except that consideration should be given to changing Red-collared Woodpecker Picus rabieri and Sooty Babbler Stachyris herberti from Threatened to Near-Threatened. If the Lao situation is representative of the species throughout their range, then consideration should also be given to placing Ratchet-tailed Treepie Temnurus temnurus and River Lapwing Vanellus duvaucelii as Near-Threatened.Twenty-seven Globally Threatened species are known from Laos, of which there are recent records of 22. There are recent unconfirmed records of two more. Forty-seven Globally Near-Threatened species are known from Laos, of which there are recent records of 39; there are unconfirmed records of one further species. Five Globally Threatened and five Near-Threatened species were recorded for the first time in Laos in recent years, suggesting that further species of elevated conservation concern remain to be found.

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Two new, sympatric species of Wahlenbergia (Campanulaceae) from the New England Tableland escarpment, New South Wales, Australia

Australian Systematic Botany ◽

10.1071/sb09021 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 22 (5) ◽

pp. 319 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

George T. Plunkett ◽

Jeremy J. Bruhl ◽

Ian R. H. Telford

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

New England ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Sympatric Species ◽

Electron Microscopic ◽

South Wales ◽

Morphometric Analyses ◽

The Status ◽

Microscopic Studies ◽

Fruit Characters

The status of two putative new species of Wahlenbergia sympatric on the New England Tableland escarpment was investigated with morphometric analyses of a database derived from vegetative, floral and fruit characters and scanning electron microscopic studies of seeds. The following new species are described: W. rupicola G.T.Plunkett & J.J.Bruhl and W. telfordii G.T.Plunkett & J.J.Bruhl. Their distributions, habitats and conservation status are noted.

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Lobelia dortmanna (Lobeliaceae) in the Vologda Region

Biological Communications ◽

10.21638/spbu03.2016.106 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Dmitriy Philippov ◽

Yuriy Bobroff ◽

Andrey Czhobadze ◽

Andrey Levashov

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Major Part ◽

Aquatic Macrophyte ◽

Red Data Book ◽

Vologda Region ◽

Ecological Features ◽

Macrophyte Species ◽

The Status ◽

Data Book ◽

First Time

The article presents an analysis of chorologic, biomorphologic, phytocoenotic and ecological features of rare relict aquatic macrophyte species Lobelia dortmanna L. in the Vologda Region. For the first time on the territory of the Vologda Region Lobelia specimen was collected in 1884 by V. S. Sulima-Samuyllo. Southeastern border of areal of water lobelia passes through the Vologda Region where it was found in Babaevskiy (10 lakes), Belozerskiy (3) and Vytegorskiy (4) districts. Lobelia dortmanna is included in Red Data Book of the Vologda Region in the status 2/EN (Endangered). The major part of the records (11 out of 17 lakes) are out of protected areas. Lobelia dortmanna is under protection in 5 protected areas: Botanical nature sanctuaries “Chyornoe ozero” and “Kodozero” (Babaevskiy district), protected nature complex “Onezhskiy”, landscape reserve “Yansorskiy”, hydrological reserve “Shimozerskiy” (Vytegorskiy district). Refs 69. Figs 2.

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Systematics of the landsnail genus Gyrocochlea and relatives (Mollusca: Charopidae)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zoootaxa.3585.1.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3585 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. SHEA ◽

D. J. COLGAN ◽

J. STANISIC

Keyword(s):

Ribosomal Rna ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

East Coast ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Molecular Techniques ◽

Shell Morphology ◽

North Eastern ◽

Morphological And Molecular Data ◽

First Time

This study reviews the charopid snails of Gyrocochlea s.l. This genus has been used as a convenient ‘catch-all’ for thosespecies characterised by chiefly biconcave brown shells that have a strong radially-ribbed teleoconch. The genuscurrently comprises 34 species but could include many more undescribed species that reside in museum collections usingthis broad conchological definition. The study aims to establish a framework for defining natural monophyletic groupswithin the genus and its relatives based on both morphological and molecular data. In doing so, a number of new generaand species that must be characterised to circumscribe this new definition are also described. The study utilisesqualitative and quantitative conchological data, scanning electron microscopy—primarily of the shell protoconch,anatomical studies of the male reproductive system and DNA sequences of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and theinternal transcribed spacer 2 region of the ribosomal RNA cistrons.This study reaffirms Gyrocochlea s.s. (type species: Helix vinitincta Cox, 1868) as a geographically restricted genuscomprising only a handful of species occurring in the Border Ranges of NSW and Qld following Stanisic (1990) but withthe additional exclusion of Gyrocochlea curtisiana (Hedley, 1912) which will require re-assignment to a new genus.Gyrocochlea vinitincta (Cox) is re-examined and new anatomical details presented. Eight new genera comprisingCumberlandica n. gen., Planorbacochlea n. gen., Barringtonica n. gen., Comboynea n. gen., Cancellocochlea n. gen.,Dictyoropa n. gen., Richmondaropa n. gen. and Macphersonea n. gen. are diagnosed to accommodate species rangingfrom mid-eastern to north-eastern NSW. Seventeen new species are described comprising Cumberlandica wilsoniana n.sp., Cu. wombeyanensis n. sp., P. dandahra n. sp., P. manningensis n. sp., P. nambucca n. sp., P. watagan n. sp., P.graemei n. sp., P. reticulata n. sp., P. yessabahensis n. sp., P. parriwiensis n. sp., Barringtonica polblue n. sp., B.montana n. sp., Comboynea boorganna n. sp., Co. mountaineer n. sp., Co. winghamensis n. sp., Cancellocochleacoolongolook n. sp. and Ca. heatherae n. sp. Gyrocochlea impressa Hedley, 1924, G. planorbis Hedley, 1924, G.conferta Hedley, 1924, G. prava Hedley, 1924, G. eurythma Hedley, 1924, G. conjuncta (Iredale, 1941), G. ponderiStanisic, 2010, G. hawkesburyana Stanisic, 2010 and G. canalis Stanisic, 2010 are variously reassigned to the newgenera. Neotypes are erected for Gyrocochlea impressa Hedley, 1924 (holotype crushed) and Roblinella conjunctaIredale, 1941 (holotype presumed lost). Lectotypes are designated for Gyrocochlea conferta Hedley, 1924 andGyrocochlea eurythma Hedley, 1924. The anatomy of the Sydney Basin Diphyoropa saturni (Cox, 1864) is figured forthe first time and comparisons made between the shell morphology of this species and the general Gyrocochlea shellform. A number of species from other genera are also investigated using molecular techniques to provide a broader viewof the east coast charopid radiation. The biogeographical implications of generic ranges and the conservation status of species are discussed.

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Victorian Pain

10.23943/princeton/9780691174464.001.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rachel Ablow

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Victorian Literature ◽

Social Life ◽

Charles Darwin ◽

Harriet Martineau ◽

The Status ◽

History Of ◽

The Individual ◽

Natural Philosophers ◽

First Time

The nineteenth century introduced developments in science and medicine that made the eradication of pain conceivable for the first time. This new understanding of pain brought with it a complex set of moral and philosophical dilemmas. If pain serves no obvious purpose, how do we reconcile its existence with a well-ordered universe? Examining how writers of the day engaged with such questions, this book offers a compelling new literary and philosophical history of modern pain. The book provides close readings of novelists Charlotte Brontë and Thomas Hardy and political and natural philosophers John Stuart Mill, Harriet Martineau, and Charles Darwin, as well as a variety of medical, scientific, and popular writers of the Victorian age. The book explores how discussions of pain served as investigations into the status of persons and the nature and parameters of social life. No longer conceivable as divine trial or punishment, pain in the nineteenth century came to seem instead like a historical accident suggesting little or nothing about the individual who suffers. A landmark study of Victorian literature and the history of pain, the book shows how these writers came to see pain as a social as well as a personal problem. Rather than simply self-evident to the sufferer and unknowable to anyone else, pain was also understood to be produced between persons—and even, perhaps, by the fictions they read.

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Dwindling status of Epimedium Elatum (Morren & Decne) and its geographical distribution in Kashmir Himalaya, India

Current Botany ◽

10.25081/cb.2018.v9.20180106 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 47-52

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plant ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Culture Techniques ◽

Kashmir Himalayas ◽

Near Future ◽

First Time ◽

Tissue Culture Techniques

Epimedium elatum (Morren & Decne) of family Berberidaceace is a rare perennial medicinal plant, endemic to high altitude forests of Northwestern Himalayas in India. Ethnobotanically, it has been used as an ingredient for treatment of bone-joint disorders, impotence and kidney disorders in Kashmir Himalayas. Phytochemically, it is rich in Epimedin ABC and Icariin; all of these have been demonstrated to possess remarkable biological activities like PDE-5 inhibition (treatment of erectile dysfunction), anticancer, antiosteoporosis antioxidant and antiviral properties. The present investigation reports its traditional usage, comprehensive distribution and conservation status from twenty ecogeographical regions in Kashmir Himalayas, India. The species was reported from Gurez valley for the first time. Numerous threats like excessive grazing, deforestration, habitat fragmentation, tourism encroachment, landslides and excessive exploitation have decreased its natural populations in most of the surveyed habitats. Consequently, its existence may become threatened in near future if timely conservation steps are not taken immediately by concerned stakeholders involved in medicinal plant research. Moreover, use of plant tissue culture techniques is recommended for development of its in vitro propagation protocols. Therefore, introduction of this medicinal plant in botanical gardens, protected sites and development of monitoring programmes are needed for its immediate conservation in Northwestern Himalayas, India.

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The Legal Status of Local Government in South Africa under the New Constitutional Dispensation

Southern African Public Law ◽

10.25159/2522-6800/2952 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Mbuzeni Mathenjwa

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Local Government ◽

Legal Status ◽

Case Law ◽

The Status ◽

History Of ◽

The Republic ◽

First Time

The history of local government in South Africa dates back to a time during the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. With regard to the status of local government, the Union of South Africa Act placed local government under the jurisdiction of the provinces. The status of local government was not changed by the formation of the Republic of South Africa in 1961 because local government was placed under the further jurisdiction of the provinces. Local government was enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa arguably for the first time in 1993. Under the interim Constitution local government was rendered autonomous and empowered to regulate its affairs. Local government was further enshrined in the final Constitution of 1996, which commenced on 4 February 1997. The Constitution refers to local government together with the national and provincial governments as spheres of government which are distinctive, interdependent and interrelated. This article discusses the autonomy of local government under the 1996 Constitution. This it does by analysing case law on the evolution of the status of local government. The discussion on the powers and functions of local government explains the scheme by which government powers are allocated, where the 1996 Constitution distributes powers to the different spheres of government. Finally, a conclusion is drawn on the legal status of local government within the new constitutional dispensation.

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Status of Family Fissidentaceae in Gujarat

Cryptogam Biodiversity and Assessment ◽

10.21756/cba.v1i1.11022 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

D.G. Shah ◽

D.N. Mehta ◽

R.V. Gujar

Keyword(s):

Distinct Species ◽

The State ◽

The Other ◽

Land Plants ◽

Reproductive Structures ◽

The Family ◽

The Status ◽

Vegetative Characters ◽

First Time ◽

Different Parts

Bryophytes are the second largest group of land plants and are also known as the amphibians of the plant kingdom. 67 species of bryophytes have been reported from select locations across the state of Gujrat. The status of family fissidentaceae which is a large moss family is being presented in this paper. Globally the family consists of 10 genera but only one genus, Fissidens Hedw. has been collected from Gujarat. Fissidens is characterized by a unique leaf structure and shows the presence of three distinct lamina, the dorsal, the ventral and the vaginant lamina. A total of 8 species of Fissidens have been reported from the state based on vegetative characters as no sporophyte stages were collected earlier. Species reported from the neighboring states also showed the absence of sporophytes. The identification of different species was difficult due to substantial overlap in vegetative characters. Hence a detailed study on the diversity of members of Fissidentaceae in Gujarat was carried out between November 2013 and February 2015. In present study 8 distinct species of Fissidens have been collected from different parts of the state. Three species Fissidens splachnobryoides Broth., Fissidens zollingerii Mont. and Fissidens curvato-involutus Dixon. have been identified while the other five are still to be identified. Fissidens zollingerii Mont. and Fissidens xiphoides M. Fleisch., which have been reported as distinct species are actually synonyms according to TROPICOS database. The presence of sexual reproductive structures and sporophytes for several Fissidens species are also being reported for the first time from the state.

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