Evolutionary potential and adaptation of Banksia attenuata (Proteaceae) to climate and fire regime in southwestern Australia, a global biodiversity hotspot

Substantial climate changes are evident across Australia, with declining rainfall and rising temperature in conjunction with frequent fires. Considerable species loss and range contractions have been predicted; however, our understanding of how genetic variation may promote adaptation in response to climate change remains uncertain. Here we characterized candidate genes associated with rainfall gradients, temperatures, and fire intervals through environmental association analysis. We found that overall population adaptive genetic variation was significantly affected by shortened fire intervals, whereas declining rainfall and rising temperature did not have a detectable influence. Candidate SNPs associated with rainfall and high temperature were diverse, whereas SNPs associated with specific fire intervals were mainly fixed in one allele. Gene annotation further revealed four genes with functions in stress tolerance, the regulation of stomatal opening and closure, energy use, and morphogenesis with adaptation to climate and fire intervals. B. attenuata may tolerate further changes in rainfall and temperature through evolutionary adaptations based on their adaptive genetic variation. However, the capacity to survive future climate change may be compromised by changes in the fire regime

Land-use effects on local biodiversity in tropical forests vary between continents

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Listening to ecosystems: data-rich acoustic monitoring through landscape-scale sensor networks

Ecologists have many ways to measure and monitor ecosystems, each of which can reveal details about the processes unfolding therein. Acoustic recording combined with machine learning methods for species detection can provide remote, automated monitoring of species richness and relative abundance. Such recordings also open a window into how species behave and compete for niche space in the sensory environment. These opportunities are associated with new challenges: the volume and velocity of such data require new approaches to species identification and visualization. Here we introduce a newly-initiated acoustic monitoring network across the subtropical island of Okinawa, Japan, as part of the broader OKEON (Okinawa Environmental Observation Network) project. Our aim is to monitor the acoustic environment of Okinawa’s ecosystems and use these space–time data to better understand ecosystem dynamics. We present a pilot study based on recordings from five field sites conducted over a one-month period in the summer. Our results provide a proof of concept for automated species identification on Okinawa, and reveal patterns of biogenic vs. anthropogenic noise across the landscape. In particular, we found correlations between forest land cover and detection rates of two culturally important species in the island soundscape: the Okinawa Rail and Ruddy Kingfisher. Among the soundscape indices we examined, NDSI, Acoustic Diversity and the Bioacoustic Index showed both diurnal patterns and differences among sites. Our results highlight the potential utility of remote acoustic monitoring practices that, in combination with other methods can provide a holistic picture of biodiversity. We intend this project as an open resource, and wish to extend an invitation to researchers interested in scientific collaboration

Low cost (audio) recording (LCR) for advancing soundscape ecology towards the conservation of sonic complexity and biodiversity in natural and urban landscapes

Low cost (audio) recorders (LCRs) represent a new opportunity to investigate the sonic complexity of both natural and urban ecosystems. LCRs are inexpensive sampling audio recorders which have the external shape of a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, and are composed of a microphone, an analog-to-digital converter, central processing unit with permanent internal non-volatile memory, rechargeable battery, and a USB connection. The reduced dimen­sions allow the device to be deployed inconspicuously within any environment, in any config­uration and for an extended time period. This investigation tested a specific type of LCR (UR-09) with a spectral range of 8 kHz -sufficient to cover the acoustic range of most western Palearctic songbirds. The reliability of the UR-09, compared with other commercial recorders (Zoom H4 and Song Meter SM1) and based on the quality of recordings quantified by the Acoustic Complexity Index (ACI), was tested and confirmed. An example of the application of LCRs is presented in an evaluation of the audio patterns occurring during dawn and dusk choruses within a forested ecosystem. Results of this investigation are encouraging and a new generation of LCR devices is currently being designed with real-time acoustic data processing capabilities, timer programmability, a larger frequency range and wireless communication compatibility. LCRs are revealed to be ideal instruments to conduct surveys in fragile or protected areas and also in urban environments. Moreover, due to their low cost, they can be used to encourage research in soundscape ecology, especially within developing countries, where large areas can be monitored by professionals or incorporating citizen science models of data collection. Keywords Soundscape ecology . Low cost (audio) recorders . Acoustic complexity index . Acoustic monitoring . Citizen science . Urban ecosystem