Predicting Ecosystem Metaphenome from Community Metagenome: A Grand Challenge for Environmental Biology

Elucidating how an organism’s characteristics emerge from its DNA sequence has been one of the great triumphs of biology. This triumph has cumulated in sophisticated computational models that successfully predict how an organism’s detailed phenotype emerges from its specific genotype. Inspired by that effort’s vision and empowered by its methodologies, this Viewpoint describes a grand challenge to predict the biotic characteristics of an ecosystem, its metaphenome, from nucleic acid sequences of all the species in its community, its metagenome. Meeting this challenge would integrate rapidly advancing abilities of environmental nucleic acids (eDNA and eRNA) to identify organisms, their ecological interactions, and their evolutionary relationships with advances in mechanistic models of complex ecosystems. Addressing the challenge aims to help integrate ecology and evolutionary biology into a more unified and successfully predictive science that can better help describe and manage ecosystems and the services they provide to humanity.

A common typology for ecosystem characteristics and ecosystem condition variables

The UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) aims at regular and standardised stocktaking on the extent of ecosystems, their condition and the services they provide to society. Recording the condition of ecosystems is one of the most complex pieces in this exercise, needing to be supported by robust and consistent guidelines. SEEA EEA defines the condition of an ecosystem as its overall quality, measured in terms of quantitative metrics describing both abiotic and biotic characteristics. The main objective of this paper is to propose a simple universal classification (typology) for these ecosystem condition characteristics and metrics, based on long standing ecological concepts and traditions. The proposed SEEA EEA Ecosystem Condition Typology (SEEA ECT) is a hierarchical classification consisting of six classes grouped into three main groups (abiotic, biotic and landscape-level ecosystem characteristics). In order to facilitate practical applications, SEEA ECT is cross-linked to the most relevant existing typologies for ecosystem characteristics currently used for other purposes. To ensure clarity and practicality, we identified potential overlaps between classes and also identified the most important groups of ‘ancillary data’ that should not be considered as ecosystem condition characteristics. We consider that this new typology for ecosystem condition will create a meaningful reporting structure for ecosystem condition accounts, thus facilitating its standardisation and broad application.

Un planeta montañoso. Una aproximación a la clasificación de las montañas de la Tierra / A mountainous planet. An approximation to the classification of the Earth’s mountains

En este trabajo se pretende realizar una clasificación de las montañas terrestres. Con este fin se elabora una tipología que utiliza elementos culturales, morfotectónicos y bioclimáticos. Se parte de los conceptos de montaña y cordillera percibidos por montañeros, artistas, viajeros y estudiosos del mundo de las montañas. A estas consideraciones se añaden las derivadas de su ubicación y disposición para, acto seguido, clasificar las montañas según sus características morfotectónicas y bióticas. Desde esta doble perspectiva se obtiene una visión de conjunto del relieve montañoso novedosa y poco abordada en la literatura científica. A modo de síntesis y aportación de interés, el trabajo se ilustra con dos figuras en las que se muestran las montañas y cordilleras con su distribución geográfica y su tipología. Une planète montagneuse. Une approximation à la classification des montagnes de la Terre.- Dans ce travail, nous faisons une classification des montagnes du monde. À cette fin, nous avons élaboré une typologie qui utilise des éléments culturels, morpho tectoniques et bioclimatiques. Elle part des concepts de montagne et de chaîne de montagnes que les alpinistes, les artistes, les voyageurs et les spécialistes du monde de la montagne perçoivent. À ces considérations s’ajoutent celles dérivées de leur emplacement et leur disposition afin de classer les montagnes en fonction de leurs caractéristiques morpho tectoniques et biotiques. En guise de synthèse et d’apport d’intérêt, cette recherche est illustrée à l’aide de deux figures qui montrent les montagnes et les massifs montagneux par leur répartition géographique et leur typologie.A mountainous planet. An approximation to the classification of the Earth’s mountains- This work aims to make a classification of the Earth’s mountains. For this purpose, a typology that uses cultural, morphotectonic and bioclimatic elements is developed. It is based on the concepts of mountain and mountain range perceived by mountaineers, artists, travelers and scholars. To these considerations are added those derived from their location and disposition in order to immediately classify the mountains according to their morphotectonic and biotic characteristics. As a synthesis and contribution of interest, the work is illustrated with two figures showing the mountains and mountain ranges with their geographical distribution and typology.