The Lichens’ Microbiota, Still a Mystery?

Lichens represent self-supporting symbioses, which occur in a wide range of terrestrial habitats and which contribute significantly to mineral cycling and energy flow at a global scale. Lichens usually grow much slower than higher plants. Nevertheless, lichens can contribute substantially to biomass production. This review focuses on the lichen symbiosis in general and especially on the model species Lobaria pulmonaria L. Hoffm., which is a large foliose lichen that occurs worldwide on tree trunks in undisturbed forests with long ecological continuity. In comparison to many other lichens, L. pulmonaria is less tolerant to desiccation and highly sensitive to air pollution. The name-giving mycobiont (belonging to the Ascomycota), provides a protective layer covering a layer of the green-algal photobiont (Dictyochloropsis reticulata) and interspersed cyanobacterial cell clusters (Nostoc spec.). Recently performed metaproteome analyses confirm the partition of functions in lichen partnerships. The ample functional diversity of the mycobiont contrasts the predominant function of the photobiont in production (and secretion) of energy-rich carbohydrates, and the cyanobiont’s contribution by nitrogen fixation. In addition, high throughput and state-of-the-art metagenomics and community fingerprinting, metatranscriptomics, and MS-based metaproteomics identify the bacterial community present on L. pulmonaria as a surprisingly abundant and structurally integrated element of the lichen symbiosis. Comparative metaproteome analyses of lichens from different sampling sites suggest the presence of a relatively stable core microbiome and a sampling site-specific portion of the microbiome. Moreover, these studies indicate how the microbiota may contribute to the symbiotic system, to improve its health, growth and fitness.

The principle of ensuring ecological continuity in the areas of influence of roads

Introduction.The main environmental risks posed by roads are population depletion (deaths on roads) and barrier effects (habitat fragmentation). Barrier effects - animals avoid crossing roads, which leads to a decrease in the size and quality of habitat, optimal population size, reduced ability to find food and partner, increased genetic structuring and local extinction (Forman et al. 2003; Andrews et al. 2015; van der Ree et al. 2015). These risks against the background of other stressors, in particular the presence of invasive species, pollution, pesticide use, climate change, plant and animal diseases, may threaten the survival of populations.This issue is especially relevant for herpetofauna due to their biological characteristics. In particular, reptiles and amphibians move slowly, are too small (for drivers to see), do not avoid roads, and in cold periods roads attract amphibians (thermoregulation) because the coating absorbs and retains heat (Case and Fisher 2001; Jochimsen et al. 2004).The principle of ensuring ecological continuity is to identify priority efforts to mitigate environmental risks for animals and reduce the negative impact of the transport complex as a spatial barrier and source of pollution by introducing a number of technical means (eco-crossings, screens, embankments, landscaping). As it is not possible to change the environmental risks on all roads and for all species at present, it is necessary to identify the most vulnerable species, assess the risks to populations and the need for mitigation based on analysis of road density and traffic intensity.Problem Statement. With the advent of land transport there was a progressive environmental problem - the transformation of landscapes, it first appeared in countries with developed road infrastructure in Western Europe and the United States, and quickly spread around the globe (Ellenberg, et al., 1981; Fetisov, 1999; Zagorodnyuk, 2006, Ilyukh, Khokhlov, 2012). Numerous publications by both foreign and domestic authors are devoted to the study of the impact of transport infrastructure. Special attention of European authors is paid to the study of the phenomenon of fragmentation of natural ecosystems. In Europe, there is a network of experts and institutions of IENE, which is studying the possibility of implementing preventive measures for landscape fragmentation, promotes the development of transport infrastructure in accordance with environmental requirements, by creating a safe, environmentally sustainable European transport infrastructure.The ecological trail of the road network significantly exceeds its length (Vozniuk, 2014). This is due to the effects of, in particular, mortality on the roads of mammals, reptiles, reptiles (Forman et al. 2003), landscape fragmentation (roads divide the area into isolated areas, with low populations (sometimes below the minimum), so such populations lose genetic diversity and may become extinct locally), the loss of habitats of species and a decrease in the level of connectivity. In addition to these obvious effects, noise and vibration pollution are added, which inhibit the ability of reptiles, birds and mammals to detect prey or avoid predators (Forman et al. 2003), disturbed light regime (Rich and Longcore 2006). Roads contribute to the development of soil erosion processes, the spread of invasive and introduced species (300-800 seeds/m2 per year are transported to roadside ecotones by vehicles (Von der Lippe and Kowarik 2007), which contributes to the formation of local pseudo-populations), create obstacles and sources. (Forman et al. 2003).Purpose. Substantiation of the principle of ecological continuity regarding the negative impact of transport infrastructure on natural ecosystems and search for possible ways to minimize and prevent such impact.Materials and methods. The main research methods are the application of theoretical general scientific approaches to study: analysis and synthesis of international and domestic scientific and theoretical works, EU documentation (charters, design requirements), Ukrainian legal framework, literature sources; collection and analysis of statistical data to identify the dangers of the impact of road infrastructure on biodiversity and determine the value of the natural landscape.Results. The result is an analysis of the scientific literature on the negative impact of transport infrastructure on animals, systematization of the main impacts for the preparation of methodological documents for organizations planning and designing transport infrastructure in Ukraine to reduce the negative impact.Conclusions. The principle of ensuring ecological continuity is to minimize the negative consequences for the environment. In particular, by leveling the spatial barrier of the public highway. When laying a road through natural ecosystems, it is necessary to build transitions and passages for animals. In this case, their density and type must correspond to the natural rank of the territory. The construction of crossings for animals should be mandatory for all types of roads that cross ecological corridors. This is especially true for smaller roads, completely devoid of any transitions for animals, noise shields (on such roads are more likely to hit animals). An important point is the need to plan preventive methods at the planning stage of road construction. The analysis of the European experience shows that the negative impact of transport infrastructure on biota can be solved by consolidating the efforts of road transport specialists and specialists in the field of nature protection.Keywords:motor road,wildlife crossing, biodiversity, road infrastructure, ecological continuity

Impact of river weirs on bedload dynamics in low to medium energy rivers

<p>Assessing the impact of weirs in low- to medium-energy rivers, especially their influence on the bedload continuity, is an important issue for the understanding and management of river hydrosystems. The implementation of European regulations has for example led to an increasing number of restoration projects involving the total or partial dismantling of weirs. The effect of weirs on sedimentary continuity is beginning to be studied but remains poorly understood. In this study we present the results of monitoring over three hydrological seasons of 900 particles equipped with PIT tags set up around two weirs on the Rognon river (France) and the Amblève river (Belgium). For the two sites studied, and while floods were relatively frequent (max 5 return-interval years for the Rognon River and 2 return-interval years for the Amblève River), nearly 80% of the tagged particles positioned just upstream of the weirs were exported downstream of them during the study period. However, the tagged particles in the control reaches, non-influenced by weirs, travelled distances 2 to 2.5 times greater than the particles injected in the impoundment. Mobilisation rates are also significantly higher in the control reaches. Whereas the size of the mobilised particles (D50, D90) is similar between the impoundment and the control reaches in the Amblève river, mobilised particles are significantly smaller in the impoundment reach in the Rognon river. This data indicates that these weirs can have a significant effect by slowing down the bed load velocity, especially its coarsest part. Nevertheless, in the current weir operating, weirs do not interrupt the bedload continuity. This type of structure does not seem to constitute a real obstacle to sedimentary continuity and the question of their dismantling may be raised in view of the potential impacts they could have on the other components of ecological continuity.</p>

Contrasting trends between species and catchments in diadromous fish counts over the last 30 years in France

The decline and collapse of populations have been reported for a large range of taxa. Diadromous fishes migrate between fresh water and the sea and encounter many anthropogenic pressures during their complex life cycle. In spite of being of ecological, cultural and economic interest, diadromous fishes have been in decline for decades in many parts across the world. In this study, we investigated the change in five diadromous fish counts in France over a 30-year period using 43 monitoring stations located in 29 rivers across 18 catchments. Our hypothesis was that the counts of these species evolved in a contrasting way between catchments. We also tested the effect of five drivers potentially contributing to the observed trends: catchment, latitude, presence of commercial fisheries, improvement of ecological continuity and salmon stocking. We found contrasting trends in fish counts between species at the national scale, with some taxa increasing (Anguilla anguilla and Salmo trutta), some showing a slight increase (Salmo salar) and some decreasing (Alosa spp. and Petromyzon marinus). For each taxon, except Anguilla anguilla, we highlighted a significant catchment effect indicating contrasting trends between catchments and stations. However, we found no significant effect of catchment characteristics for any of the studied taxa.

A New Park for Shanghai

This article summarizes the urban proposal of the team led by Professor Estanislau Roca, consisting of professors and students of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), for the International Student Urban Design Competition for Shanghai Railway Station presented in 2015 at the Haishang Cultural Center in Shanghai. Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tongji University, Cardiff University, Southeast University of Nanjing and UPC participated in the competition. The UPC team won a second ex aequo prize with MIT. The UPC proposal represents the urban redevelopment of an extensive area located in the heart of the city of Shanghai, where the creation of a park comprising about 40 hectares was conceived. The park is designed to form a vast new space in the city, in an area covered by railroad tracks east of the Shanghai Railway Station, which form a great barrier that divides the Zhabei District into two disconnected parts. In the framework of the Shanghai Master Plan 2020–2040, the metropolitan scale is reflected at the local level. The proposal reinforces the continuity of green and blue through strategies that connect the new park with other existing open urban spaces and rivers. Furthermore, it enhances ecological continuity and stimulates regeneration. The project contributes to improving problems with air pollution while at the same time making the currently adopted measures more economically sustainable. Conceived from a holistic perspective, the idea is modelled on a harmonious, inclusive, friendly, smart, accessible, sustainable city networked through the state-of-the-art technology that is essential for such complex urban transformations. What is more, it rigorously pursues economic viability throughout each stage of implementation by guaranteeing that each phase finances itself while maintaining the ledger in a positive balance.

Large-scale habitat model reveals a key role of large trees and protected areas in the metapopulation survival of the saproxylic specialist Cucujus cinnaberinus

Deforestation for agricultural purposes and logging over centuries has resulted in a significant loss of forest cover and the deep structural and functional simplification of persistent European woodlands, which has led to a large-scale decline in biodiversity. Despite recent reforestation efforts in many regions of Europe, populations of numerous forest species remain unrecovered. Due to the loss of ecological continuity and the simplification of the ecosystem structure and functionality, the value of secondary forests in sustaining habitat specialists is being questioned. Here, we build a large-scale habitat suitability model to predict the current potential of forests to host populations of the flagship European saproxylic beetle Cucujus cinnaberinus. Our maximum entropy model revealed that the distribution of suitable habitats strongly corresponds to the occurrence of large and well-preserved forest complexes that are characterized by an ecological continuity of the stands. Among the analysed environmental variables, the mean tree diameter and distance to protected areas were the most important suitable habitat contributors. The optimum habitats were identified almost exclusively within some parts of the Carpathians and the northeastern part of the country, particularly in the Białowieża Forest, which include the best preserved European forests. Although a large number of small habitat patches was revealed across the country, these patches were highly scattered and had low predicted suitability. This study demonstrates that most woodlands are unsuitable for C. cinnaberinus, which points to the limited value of secondary forests for habitat specialists. Our findings emphasize the importance of large and intact forests with undisrupted ecological continuity as key areas for the persistence of the rare saproxylic beetle, which provokes questions about the effectiveness of reforestation as a tool for the conservation of forest habitat specialists.

Ecological continuity and transformation after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction in northeastern Panthalassa

The Permo-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) is often implicated in the transition from the Paleozoic evolutionary fauna (PEF) to the modern evolutionary fauna (MEF). However, the exact timing and details of this progression are unknown, especially regarding the vacating and filling of functional ecological space after the PTME. Here, we quantify the functional diversity of middle Permian and Early Triassic marine paleocommunities in the western US to determine functional re-organization in the aftermath of the PTME. Results indicate that while the PTME was selective in nature, many new Triassic taxa either re-filled functional roles of extinct Permian taxa or performed the same functional roles as Permian survivors. Despite this functional overlap, Permian survivors and new Triassic taxa differed significantly in their relative abundances within those overlapping functions. This shift in numerical emphasis, driven by an increase in abundance towards more MEF-style traits, may represent a first step in the transition between the PEF and MEF. We therefore suggest that the extreme impact of the PTME had significant and permanent re-organizational effects on the intrinsic structure of marine ecosystems. Early Triassic ecosystems likely bridged the gap between the Paleozoic and modern evolutionary faunas, as newly originated Triassic taxa shared ecospace with Permian survivors, but shifted functional emphasis.

The lichens of the Krasín Nature Reserve in Biele Karpaty Mts (Western Carpathians, Slovakia)

The outputs of a pilot lichenological survey of the protected area Krasín (Western Carpathian Mts) are given. The area harbours various habitats (calcareous outcrops, southern xerotherm slopes, oak woods with Quercus pubescens, and hornbeam-linden woods) providing suitable conditions for a wide range of epiphytic, saxicolous, and epigeic lichens. During the field survey, 72 lichen taxa were recorded. Five of them are considered as threatened in Slovakia and four of them as indicators of forest ecological continuity.