New bryophyte records for Kosovo from Sharri National Park

The bryoflora of Kosovo is poorly investigated. The aim of this study was to increase that knowledge by investigating Sharri National Park for its moss flora. Several field trips were carried out in 2014, 2015 and 2018. About 1900 specimens were collected in various locations of the Park (e.g. Brezovicë, Prevallë, Prroi i Duhlës, Ostrovicë, Restelicë, Mushtishtë, Pashallarë, Burimi i Lumbardhit etc.). Thus far, most of the specimens are identified and represent 159 moss taxa. Seventy-three taxa are new records for Sharri National Park, in which a total of 255 moss taxa have now been reecorded. Furthermore, 19 species are new records for Kosovo, which is now known to have a total of 346 moss taxa. The new records are for Amphidium lapponicum, Blindiadelphus recurvatus, Brachythecium geheebii, Dicranella schreberiana, Didymodon rigidulus, Grimmia dissimulata, G. muehlenbeckii, G. trichophylla, Kiaeria starkei, Paraleucobryum longifolium, Pohlia melanodon, Ptychostomum elegans, Racomitrium affine, R. lanuginosum, R. macounii subsp. alpinum, Rhynchostegium murale, Schistidium dupretii, Thamnobryum alopecurum and Weissia brachycarpa. There is only one species, Brachythecium geheebii, which is a red list species at the European level. In addition, several species, e.g. Grimmia caespiticia, G. reflexidens, Meesia uliginosa, Schistidium papillosum etc. have conservation value in the context of the Balkans. All this shows for the enormous biodiversity values of Sharri National Park and the need for nature conservation through the institution.

Sakhalin Sturgeon Аcipenser mikadoi (Hilgendorf, 1892): Searching for Technology of Artificial Propagation in Aquaculture

It shows searching for a solution to the issue of the stock rebuilding of the Red List species — the Sakhalin sturgeon. It describes the results of the expedition to the Tumnin river aimed at brood fish procurement and optimization of the technology for its reproduction together with the brood fish grown in aquaculture. It lists the morphological characteristics and fish-cultural and bio-data of the spawner caught in the Tumnin river and the milters grown at the Anyuy Sturgeon Fish Hatchery. A method for the obtainment of reproductive products, hatching and juvenile fish growning is described. As a result of sampling for biopsy, it has been found that the coefficient of oocytesʼ nucleus polarization was 7.4 on the average. The hormonal preparation surfagon was used for sex products stimulation at males and a female. The female ovulated in 12 hours after permitting injection. It was managed to get 2,378 g eggs on the average 87.6 per cent of fertilization. The average ejaculate volume was 455 ml. The spermatozoon mobility at mean 14 °C temperature made up 208 sec. A double fertilization method was used at fertilization of an eggs part, moreover the eggs received were of a high piscicultural quality (99%). The average diameter of swollen eggs was maximum 6.8 mm and minimum 6.6 mm after fertilization. The larvae production made up to 30%, i.e. 27,850 of incubated eggs. 1000 ongrown fry were stocked into the Tumnin river, the last juveniles were directed to fish cultural farms of Russia with a view to form there recruitment-and-brood stocks. According to results of experimental works, done in the Anyuy Fish Hatchery, the first provisional technology of work was recommended on fertilized eggs production from the Sakhalin sturgeon spawners after the schema “a wild female + farmed males” by a method of a double fertilization with the increased exposition time.

Using publicly available data to conduct rapid assessments of extinction risk

The IUCN Red List plays a key role in setting global conservation priorities. Species are added to the Red List through a rigorous assessment process that, while robust, can be quite time-intensive. Here, we test the rapid preliminary assessment of plant species extinction risk using a single Red List metric: Extent of Occurrence (EOO). To do so, we developed REBA (Rapid EOO-Based Assessment), a workflow that harvests and cleans data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), calculates each species' EOO, and assigns Red List categories based on that metric. We validated REBA results against 1,546 North American plant species already on the Red List and found ~90% overlap between REBA's rapid classifications and those of full IUCN assessments. Our preliminary workflow can be used to quickly evaluate data deficient Red List species or those in need of reassessment, and can prioritize unevaluated species for a full assessment.

Using Red List species in designating protection status to forest areas: a case study on the problem of spatio-temporal dynamics

Red-listed species are often used as target species in selection of sites for conservation. However, limitations to their use have been pointed out, and here we address the problem of expected high spatio-temporal dynamics of red-listed species. We used species data (vascular plants, bryophytes, macrolichens and polypore fungi) from two inventories 17 years apart to estimate temporal turnover of red-listed and non-red-listed species in two forest areas (147 and 195 ha) and of plots (0.25 ha) within each area. Furthermore, we investigated how turnover of species affected the rank order of plots regarding richness of red-listed species, using two different national Red List issues (1998 and 2015). In both study areas, temporal turnover was substantial, despite minor changes in the overall number of species. At plot level, temporal turnover in red-listed species was higher than in non-red-listed species, but similar to non-red-listed species of the same frequency of occurrence. Adding the effect of changing identities of species red-listed according to the two Red List issues, further increased the estimated spatio-temporal dynamics. Recorded spatio-temporal turnover also resulted in substantial changes in the rank order of plots regarding richness of red-listed species. Using rare red-listed species for site selection may therefore be accompanied by a higher loss of conservation effectiveness over time than for more common species, and particularly at finer scales.

РАРИТЕТНІ ВИДИ РОСЛИН У ФЛОРИСТИЧНОМУ СКЛАДІ БАЗАЛЬТОВИХ КАР’ЄРІВ ВОЛИНСЬКОГО ПОЛІССЯ

Industrial deposits of basalt are located in the northwestern part of Rivne region and confined to Rivne tectonic fault and Volyn trap cover. Close deposits of basalt to the surface is observed in the basin of the Goryn River (on the gap between the village of Zlazne and Basaltove (the tract of Janov Dolyna), the neighborhood of Berestovets, Velykyi Mydsk (near the village of Mutvytzia), near the village of Rudnya) in Kostopil district, also in the Styr River basin (the neighborhood of Polytzi and Ivanchi (Rafalivskyy Quarry) in Volodymyrets district). Materials from field floristic research conducted over 2017-2018 were used for analysis. The research included areas of existing and produced basalt quarries, as well as an adjacent area of direct influence of 10-50 m width. Species of flora were included in the structure of the rare phytocomponent, listed in the third edition of the Red Book of Ukraine (2009) and also species that are subject to protection at the regional level. All identified rare species of flora were analyzed by category of rarity within the entire territory of Rivne region (4 categories of species were identified: very rare, rare, limited distribution, endangered). According to the results of the research, 4 species of flora from the Red Book of Ukraine (2009) and 18 species are under Rivne region protection. Among the Red List species, stable populations form Epipactis helleborine and Utricularia minor. Dactylorhiza incarnata and Atocion lithuanicum are represented by isolated generative individuals in the studied territory. By category of rarity, limited distribution and endangered species are presented. The rarest species, Primula elatior was found, there are 4 rare species (Gagea pratensis, Aquilegia vulgaris, Rosa mediata, Melittis sarmatica). 9 species are endangered, most of them are typical for reserves: Batrachium circinatum and Hippuris vulgaris. 4 species belong to the group of limited distribution. Phytososological interest in Rivne region is the findings of such species as Pyrola media, Scabiosa columbiana and Chamaenerion dodonaei. The gradual regeneration of natural vegetation after the termination of direct anthropic influence helps to distribute rare phytocomponents. Most of the rare species have a limited distribution, a small number and are often spread in the areas with a lower cenotic competition.

Marine Species Traits in the LifeWatch Taxonomic Backbone

Describing species patterns and their underlying processes are essential to assessing the status and future evolution of marine ecosystems. This effort requires biological information on functional and structural species traits, such as feeding ecology, body size, reproduction, and life history. Basic trait information was already available within the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), for a limited number of taxa: Biological and ecological traits (e.g., body size, feeding type) Taxonomic traits (e.g., paraphyletic groups) Human-defined traits (e.g., Red List species) Biological and ecological traits (e.g., body size, feeding type) Taxonomic traits (e.g., paraphyletic groups) Human-defined traits (e.g., Red List species) Within the EMODnet Biology project and the LifeWatch Taxonomic Backbone, this initiative was taken one step further, and ten traits were prioritized to document: taxonomy, environment, geography, depth, body size, substratum, mobility, skeleton, diet, and reproduction. Criteria for selecting these traits were: applicability to most taxa, easy availability, and the fact that their inclusion would result in new research and/or management applications. Taxonomy- and environment-related information are available within WoRMS, whereas geography data are available through the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). During 2018, the skeleton information was added to WoRMS. Currently, almost 4,000 accepted marine species have information regarding their supporting structure, enclosures, and composition. Body size information wascollected for distinct (taxonomic) groups, which resulted in more than 6,000 accepted marine species having quantitative body size information included in WoRMS. An ongoing traits data mining exercise is combining body size with benthos-plankton information, extracted both from WoRMS and the European Ocean Biogeographic Information System (EurOBIS), to assign functional groups such as macrobenthos, microplankton, etc. to the taxa in WoRMS. All trait information collected in WoRMS is made available through a dedicated thematic traits portal.

Southeast Asian Butterfly Project

Butterflies are important ecosystem components. They play a major role in pollination, are preyed upon and parasitized by other species, and because of their specific habitat requirements, populations can change quickly and are widely regarded as sensitive environmental indicators, being used to assess factors ranging from climate change to land management. So in addition to their enormous aesthetic appeal and educational value to the layperson, they are important to the scientific community in investigating pressing climate change and biodiversity issues. While attention to and knowledge of butterflies in western countries is significant, this is not necessarily the case for species-rich tropical areas. Naturalis Biodiversity Center possesses a world-class collection of Southeast Asian butterflies, Indonesian specimens in particular, and would like to bridge this geographic gap in knowledge by embarking on a five-year project to establish an online presence of Southeast Asian butterflies. We hope to establish a consortium of interested international museums and institutes to join us in documenting species-level natural histories, distribution and occurrence data, and photos. The data we will be using will come from literature, digitized collections and observations. Ultimately, we hope to also develop a species identification app, provide links to Red List species protection data, serve as an online field guide for butterfly enthusiasts, and promote and stimulate European Union (EU) and Southeast Asian collection digitization. We will begin this year with a pilot project limited to swallowtails (Papilionidae) in our initial effort to provide an online resource of Southeast Asian butterflies for scientists, educators and laypersons alike.