Delimitation of Major Lineages within \u3cem\u3eCuscuta\u3c/em\u3e Subgenus \u3cem\u3eGrammica\u3c/em\u3e (Convolvulaceae) using Plastid and Nuclear DNA Sequences

Subgenus Grammica, the largest and most diverse group in the parasitic genus Cuscuta, includes ~130 species distributed primarily throughout the New World, with Mexico as its center of diversity. To circumscribe the subgenus ans assess the relationships among its major lineages, we conducted the first phylogenetic study of Grammica using plastid trnL F and nrITS sequences from a wide taxonomic sampling covering its morphological, physiological, and geographical diversiity. With the exception of of one species belonging elsewhere, the subgenus was found to be monophyletic. The results further indicate the presence of 15 well supported major clades within Grammica. Some of those lineages correspond partially to earlier taxonomic treatments, but the majority of groups are identified in this study for the first time. The backbone relationships among major clades, however, remain weakly supported or unresolved in some cases. The phylogenetic results indicate that the fruit dehiscence character is homoplastic, thus compromising its value as a major taxonomic and evolutionary feature. While several striking cases of long distance dispersal are inferred, vicariance emerges as the most dominant biogeographical pattern for Cuscuta. Species placed within one of the caldes with a predominantly South American distribution are hypothesized to have substantially altered plastid genomes

Revising the UMLS Semantic Network

The integration of standardized biomedical terminologies into a single, unified knowledge representation system has formed a key area of applied informatics research in recent years. The Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) is the most advanced and most prominent effort in this direction, bringing together within its Metathesaurus a large number of distinct source-terminologies. The UMLS Semantic Network, which is designed to support the integration of these source-terminologies, has proved to be a highly successful combination of formal coherence and broad scope. We argue here, however, that its organization manifests certain structural problems, and we describe revisions which we believe are needed if the network is to be maximally successful in realizing its goals of supporting terminology integration

Advancing impact assessments of non-native species: strategies for strengthening the evidence-base

The numbers and impacts of non-native species (NNS) continue to grow. Multiple ranking protocols have been developed to identify and manage the most damaging species. However, existing protocols differ considerably in the type of impact they consider, the way evidence of impacts is included and scored, and in the way the precautionary principle is applied. These differences may lead to inconsistent impact assessments. Since these protocols are considered a main policy tool to promote mitigation efforts, such inconsistencies are undesirable, as they can affect our ability to reliably identify the most damaging NNS, and can erode public support for NNS management. Here we propose a broadly applicable framework for building a transparent NNS impact evidence base. First, we advise to separate the collection of evidence of impacts from the act of scoring the severity of these impacts. Second, we propose to map the collected evidence along a set of distinguishing criteria: where it is published, which methodological approach was used to obtain it, the relevance of the geographical area from which it originates, and the direction of the impact. This procedure produces a transparent and reproducible evidence base which can subsequently be used for different scoring protocols, and which should be made public. Finally, we argue that the precautionary principle should only be used at the risk management stage. Conditional upon the evidence presented in an impact assessment, decision-makers may use the precautionary principle for NNS management under scientific uncertainty regarding the likelihood and magnitude of NNS impacts. Our framework paves the way for an improved application of impact assessments protocols, reducing inconsistencies and ultimately enabling more effective NNS management

The botany and proximate analyses of some edible species of the New Zealand flora : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Plant Biology at Massey University

1. The edible organs of some New Zealand plant species have been assessed at light microscope level for their botanical basis, and for their nutritional basis by proximate analysis and Plasma Emission Spectrometry. 2. The species investigated, listed by Colenso (1880) as the most valued plant foods of the pre-European Maori, were: Pteridium esculentum (rhizome), Corynocarpus laevigatus (kernel), Elaeocarpus dentatus, (pericarp), Sonchus asper (herb), Calystegia sepium (rhizome), Cyathea medullaris (frond stipe), Cordyline australis (leaf bases, root), Rhopalostylis sapida (apical shoot), Typha orientalis (pollen and rhizome), Beilschmiedia tawa (kernel), Marattia salicina (rhizomal scale), Porphyra columbina (frond), Auricularia polytricha (basidiocarp), Arthropodium cirratum (rhizome), Bolboschoenus fluviatilis (rhizomal tuber), Gastrodia cunninghamii (rhizome) and Asplenium bulbiferum (immature frond). 3. Specimens were collected at the appropriate traditional seasons (except for Gastrodia cunninghamii) and samples prepared by freeze-drying and milling. Samples were also prepared of the cooked organs of Corynocarpus laevigatus, Elaeocarpus dentatus, Sonchus asper, Cyathea medullaris, Beilschmiedia tawa and Porphyra columbina. 4. Analytical determinations were made for lipid, by extraction with di-ethyl ether; nitrogen, by micro-Kjeldahl method and colorimetric measurement of ammonia using indophenol; protein, by Bradford procedure using Coomassie Brilliant Blue and colorimetry; dietary fibre, by Englyst procedure using enzymatic digestion and colorimetry; soluble sugar, by acid hydrolysis and colorimetry; and starch, by enzymatic digestion and colorimetry. 5. Botanical investigations were made following histological procedures and microtechnique using paraffin wax embedding and staining with safranin and fast green; and by differential staining of hand-cut sections using Sudan Blue, iodine and Coomassie Brilliant Blue. 6. Analytical determinations were made for 23 trace, minor and major constituent elements, using inductively-coupled argon plasmas in a simultaneous emission spectrometer. 7. Proximate analyses showed high levels of lipid in Corynocarpus laevigatus, Cyathea medullaris, and Sonchus asper, of protein in Corynocarpus laevigatus, Sonchus asper, Rhopalostylis sapida, Typha orientalis (pollen) and Asplenium bulbiferum; of dietary fibre in Auricularia polytricha, Beilschmiedia tawa, Marattia salicina (root) and Porphyra columbina (uncooked); of soluble sugar in Cyathea medullaris, Cordyline australis (leaf bases and root), Typha orientalis (rhizomes and pollen) and Pteridium esculentum; and of starch in Corynocarpus laevigatus, Elaeocarpus dentatus, Marattia salicina, Calystegia sepium and Gastrodia cunninghamii. 8. High levels of essential minerals and trace elements were measured in many samples, and some excess levels of toxic metals were recorded. 9. The nutritional and ethnobotanical aspects of a pre-European Maori diet were related to the analytical and botanical findings of the investigation

Impact of Flower Harvesting on the Salt Marsh Plant \u3cem\u3eLimonium carolinianum\u3c/em\u3e

Because of the potentially detrimental effects of seed production on adult survivorship and growth, moderate flower harvesting may have little negative impact on population growth of long-lived perennial plants such as Limonium carolinianum (Walter) Britton. We examined this by collecting data on survivorship, growth, and fecundity of an unharvested population over a period of 5 years and conducted a controlled experiment to examine the effect of harvesting on adult survivorship and growth over a 3-year period. Data were summarized in the form of a stage structured matrix population model with a stochastic element that incorporated year-to-year variation in transition probabilities. Contrary to our original hypothesis, we found that preventing seed set through removal of flowers did not increase adult survivorship or growth. By determining the harvest level that reduced population growth rate to 1.0, we estimated the maximum sustainable harvest level to be 16%, a value that is approximately half that of reported harvest levels on accessible marshes in the study area. In spite of this, the reported harvest levels are unlikely to drive local populations to extinction in the foreseeable future. Providing the adult population size is \u3e100 and harvest levels are \u3c90%, time to local extinction will exceed 100 years. This is a function of the very high survivorship of adults in this species and the fact that harvesting has no negative impact on adult survivorship or growth. However, because of the long preadult phase in this species (8–9 years) and the fact that fecundity of young adults is low, recovery from overharvesting is extremely slow. Adult population size can be reduced to 25% of its original value in 7 years at high harvest levels, but it will take 34 years on average to recover once harvesting is terminated

Species from different taxonomic groups show similar invasion traits

Invasion ecology tends to treat taxonomic groups separately. However, given that all invasive species go through the same stages of the invasion process (transport, escape, establishment, spread), it is likely that – across taxa – comparable traits help to successfully complete this process ("invasion traits"). Perhaps not all invasive species have the same invasion traits, but different combinations of invasion traits can be found among invaders, corresponding to different possibilities to become a successful invader. These combinations of invasion traits might be linked to taxonomic affiliation, but this is not necessarily the case. We created a global dataset with 201 invasive species from seven major taxonomic groups (animals, green plants, fungi, heterokonts, bacteria, red algae, alveolates) and 13 invasion traits that are applicable across all taxa. The dataset was analysed with cluster analysis to search for similarities in combinations of invasion traits. Three of the five clusters, comprising 60% of all species, contain several major taxonomic groups. While some invasion trait frequencies were significantly related to taxonomic affiliation, the results show that invasive species from different taxonomic groups often share similar combinations of invasion traits. A post-hoc analysis suggests that combinations of traits characterizing successful invaders can be associated with invasion stages across taxa. Our findings suggest that there are no universal invasion traits which could explain the invasion success of all invaders, but that invaders are successful for different reasons which are represented by different combinations of invasion traits across taxonomic groups

Termite nests as an abundant source of cultivable actinobacteria for biotechnological purposes

A total of 118 actinobacterial isolates were collected from the three types of termite nests (mound, carton, and subterranean nests) to evaluate their potential as a source of bioactive actinobacteria with antimicrobial activity. The highest number (67 isolates) and generic abundance (7 known genera) of actinobacterial isolates were obtained from carton nests. Streptomyces was the dominant genus in each type of termite nest. In the non-Streptomyces group, Nocardia was the dominant genus detected in mound and carton nests, while Pseudonocardia was the dominant genus in subterranean nests. A discovery trend of novel species (<99% similarity in the 16S rRNA gene sequence) was also observed in the termite nests examined. Each type of termite nest housed >20% of bioactive actinobacteria that could inhibit the growth of at least one test organism, while 12 isolates, belonging to the genera Streptomyces, Amycolatopsis, Pseudonocardia, Micromonospora and Nocardia, exhibited distinct antimicrobial activities. Streptomyces sp. CMU-NKS-3 was the most distinct bioactive isolate. It was closely related to S. padanus MITKK-103T, which was confirmed by 99% similarities in their 16S rRNA gene sequences. The highest level of extracellular antimicrobial substances was produced by the isolate CMU-NKS-3, which was grown in potato dextrose broth and exhibited a wide range (6.10×10−4–1.25 mg mL−1) of minimum inhibitory concentrations against diverse pathogens. We concluded that termite nests are an abundant source of bioactive strains of cultivable actinobacteria for future biotechnological needs

Socio‐economic impact classification of alien taxa (SEICAT)

1 Many alien taxa are known to cause socio‐economic impacts by affecting the different constituents of human well‐being (security; material and non‐material assets; health; social, spiritual and cultural relations; freedom of choice and action). Attempts to quantify socio‐economic impacts in monetary terms are unlikely to provide a useful basis for evaluating and comparing impacts of alien taxa because they are notoriously difficult to measure and important aspects of human well‐being are ignored. 2 Here, we propose a novel standardised method for classifying alien taxa in terms of the magnitude of their impacts on human well‐being, based on the capability approach from welfare economics. The core characteristic of this approach is that it uses changes in peoples' activities as a common metric for evaluating impacts on well‐being. 2 Impacts are assigned to one of five levels, from Minimal Concern to Massive, according to semi‐quantitative scenarios that describe the severity of the impacts. Taxa are then classified according to the highest level of deleterious impact that they have been recorded to cause on any constituent of human well‐being. The scheme also includes categories for taxa that are not evaluated, have no alien population, or are data deficient, and a method for assigning uncertainty to all the classifications. To demonstrate the utility of the system, we classified impacts of amphibians globally. These showed a variety of impacts on human well‐being, with the cane toad (Rhinella marina) scoring Major impacts. For most species, however, no studies reporting impacts on human well‐being were found, i.e. these species were data deficient. 2 The classification provides a consistent procedure for translating the broad range of measures and types of impact into ranked levels of socio‐economic impact, assigns alien taxa on the basis of the best available evidence of their documented deleterious impacts, and is applicable across taxa and at a range of spatial scales. The system was designed to align closely with the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) and the Red List, both of which have been adopted by the International Union of Nature Conservation (IUCN), and could therefore be readily integrated into international practices and policies

Rarity patterns and conservation priorities in Cactaceae species from the Southern Central Andes: a case study from the Calchaquíes Valleys, Salta, Argentina

En este trabajo se estudiaron 34 especies de Cactaceae de los Valles Calchaquíes, Argentina, para determinar 1) el nivel de rareza de las especies, 2) la proporción de especies raras entre grupos taxonómicos y ecológicos, y 3) la consistencia espacial de la rareza a lo largo del rango de distribución. Se definió a la rareza a través de un modelo que combina medidas del rango geográfico de distribución y el tamaño poblacional local de cada especie. La rareza no se concentró en ningún grupo taxonómico o ecológico particular de Cactaceae; sin embargo, 28 especies presentaron algún nivel de rareza. En la mayoría de las especies, la rareza varió a lo largo del área de distribución geográfica; sólo cinco especies fueron consistentemente raras en todas las poblaciones evaluadas. Seis especies fueron calificadas como extremadamente raras; todas de la subfamilia Cactoideae, cuatro endémicas del sur de los Andes Centrales y difiriendo en su forma de crecimiento. Sólo dos de las 34 especies estudiadas presentaron una rareza extrema y constante a lo largo de toda su distribución. La determinación del nivel de rareza fue útil para identificar especies que pueden estar en peligro o que pueden necesitar más estudios. Este trabajo permitió indicar qué especies de Cactaceae son más vulnerables a las perturbaciones antropogénicas o naturales, en comparación con las especies comunes. Muchas de las especies Cactaceae identificadas aquí como raras fueron mencionados por la IUCN en las categorías intermedias de extinción, por lo que la rareza parece estar relacionada con la vulnerabilidad a la extinción en la parte más sur de los Andes Centrales.In this study, 34 Cactaceae species from the Calchaquíes Valleys, Argentina, were studied to determine 1) species rarity level, 2) proportion of rare species among taxonomic and ecological groups and, 3) whether rareness is consistently distributed throughout the species geographical ranges. We used a model where rarity is defined by the geographic range and the local population size to define species rarity. Rareness was not concentrated in any particular taxonomic or ecological group of Cactaceae; however 28 species were rare at some level. In most species, rarity varied across the geographical range, only five species remained consistently rare in all the surveyed populations. Six species qualified as extremely rare, all from the Cactoideae subfamily, four endemic to the southernmost Central Andes and differing in their growth forms. Only two of the 34 studied species, appeared as both extremely and consistently rare across its distribution. Determining rarity levels is useful for identifying species that may be in danger and/or in need for further studies. Rarity, used as an indicator of species vulnerability, allowed us, to identify Cactaceae species that are more vulnerable to anthropogenic or natural disturbance, compared with common species. Many of the Cactaceae species identified here as rare were mentioned by IUCN at intermediate categories of extinction. Our approach seems then to yield useful results and rareness in the present context appears to be related with vulnerability to extinction within the southernmost Central Andes.Fil: Godoy Bürki, Ana Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; ArgentinaFil: Aagesen, Lone. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; ArgentinaFil: Sajama, Modesto Jesus. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Agronomía. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Botánicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Bravo, Silvia Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Agronomía. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Botánicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Alonso Pedano, Mariana Inés. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Agronomía. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Botánicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ortega Baes, Francisco Pablo. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Agronomía. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Botánicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin